Law Commons^™

Iraq, Secured Transactions, And The Promise Of Islamic Law, Mark J. Sundahl

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

When Iraq regains political stability, major reconstruction projects will have to be funded and local businesses will need financing in order to gain a foothold in the new economy. In order to attract the necessary capital, the Iraqi law of secured transactions must be reformed to allow for lenders to take security in the assets of their borrowers. However, the challenge of reforming Iraqi commercial law is complicated by the requirement under the new Iraqi Constitution that any new statutes enacted by the Iraqi legislature comply with the principles of Islamic law. This Article sets forth proposals for reform that …

Harmonizing The Battle Of The Forms: A Comparison Of The United States, Canada, And The United Nations Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods, Charles Sukurs

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

As trade between the United States and Canada continues to increase on the heels of the free trade agreements of the early 1990s, the question of which body of commercial law to apply to these transactions becomes increasingly important. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) serves as the default governing law for many of these transactions. In spite of its lack of use and the confusion it has brought to choice of law provisions as a self-executing treaty, many scholars have suggested that the CISG can continue to serve as a body of …

Commercial Norms, Commercial Codes, And International Commercial Arbitration, Christopher R. Drahozal

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines whether the incorporation of commercial norms into commercial codes is an appropriate law-making strategy. Most commercial codes, including the Uniform Commercial Code, regard common business practices as an important source for courts to consider when resolving contract disputes. Yet some scholars criticize this incorporation strategy, arguing that reliance on commercial norms is often inappropriate and may distort the true nature of the parties' agreement. Reliance on commercial norms does restrict the ability of contracting parties to allocate part of their agreement to extra-legal means of enforcement. Nevertheless, this Article asserts that those costs may be outweighed by …

U.S. Supreme Court Subordinates Enforcement Of Regulatory Statutes To Enforcement Of Arbitration Agreements, Christine L. Davitz

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Through a series of cases culminating with Vimar Seguros Y Reaseguros v. M/V Sky Reefer, the U.S. Supreme Court has developed a strong pro-arbitration stance regarding disputes arising out of international commercial contracts. This Note analyzes the Court's reasons for this stance and compares those reasons with the history and purposes of the Federal Arbitration Act and the New York Convention. The author concludes that the Court's reasons are at odds with the FAA and the New York Convention. The Note further articulates the dangers posed to U.S. public policies that are created by allowing arbitration of statutory claims. The …

Extraterritorial Application Of Title Vii: The Foreign Compulsion Defense And Principles Of International Comity, Mary C. St. John

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

With an increasing number of United States corporations locating and affiliating overseas and United States citizens seeking employment with multinational corporations, the debate over the extraterritorial application of United States discrimination laws has attracted greater international attention. The 1991 amendment to Title VI1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin, specifically provides for extraterritorial application of Title Vii. The foreign compulsion defense, however, limits the scope of Title VII's application abroad and raises the issue of whether U.S. corporations can claim this defense when foreign …

Considering Business Opportunities In The Soviet Union In The 1990s, Richard N. Dean

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The purpose of this Essay has been to provide, in somewhat summary fashion, basic background and guidelines to assist Western companies that are considering commercial transactions in the Soviet Union. It was not intended to be an exhaustive analysis of all factors that may affect the negotiation, completion and implementation of commercial transactions in the Soviet Union. Rather, we have drawn from our experience in assisting our clients over the last three years in the USSR and have attempted to provide an appropriate context for the consideration of potential business opportunities.

In our experience, the most effective perspective to adopt …

Special Project -- Legal Issues Arising From The Mexican Economic Crisis, Robert L. Morgan -- Special Projects Editor, J. Robert Paulson, Jr., Fred A. Frost, Terrence L. Dugan, Cynthia L. Wells, G. Wilson Horde, Iii, Judith B. Anderson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The economic crisis in Mexico, which profoundly altered the financial and political course of that nation, has also had a significant impact on persons and corporations having business ties to Mexico. Foreign investors and businesses now are required to follow new Mexican rules that often differ dramatically from those previously in effect. The impact of the crisis has not been confined to changes in Mexican law. A substantial number of issues have arisen that will have significant bearing on United States and international law.

The Special Project discusses the changes in the legal environment following the crisis, with its focus …

Letters Of Credit In East-West Trade: Soviet Reception Of Capitalist Custom, George M. Armstrong, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the Soviet system for financing the purchase and sale of goods by a Soviet enterprise from a Western merchant. This Article is organized chronologically, commencing with the initial contact between a Western merchant and an FTO, the merchant's liaison with Soviet industrial enterprises.

The Article examines the role of the FTO in mediating relations between Soviet enterprises and their Western contracting partners. It then examines the procedures employed by the Bank for Foreign Trade to establish the credit, to handle the documentary transaction, and to determine whether to honor the seller's demand for payment. The Article finally …

Extraterritorial Effects Of United States Commercial And Antitrust Legislation: A View From "Down Under", Warren Pengilley

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

British Commonwealth lawyers, in general, and Australian lawyers, in particular, traditionally maintain a conservative view of the extraterritorial reach of commercial legislation. As a result of the Alcoa decision in 1945, if not earlier decisions, the United States courts have espoused fairly grand ideas on the stretch of their judicial writ. In fact, the "effects" doctrine was first proclaimed in 1909 by the United States Supreme Court in American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Co. In this case, the Court proclaimed that the United States has the power to punish "acts done outside [the] jurisdiction but intended to produce and …

Draft International Anticounterfeiting Code: Neo-Realism As A Vehicle For Analyzing The Effect Of Nonsignatories' Perceptions On The Development Of An Anticounterfeiting Norm, Shari D. Olenick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

NOTE -

The United States, the European Common Market (EEC), Canada, and Japan are currently considering a draft convention entitled "Agreement on Measures to Discourage the Importation of Counterfeit Goods' (hereinafter referred to as the Anticounterfeiting Code or Code) which is designed to minimize the international problem posed by counterfeit merchandise. This Note highlights the international legal significance of the counterfeiting problem. Previous attempts to confront the problem provide the backdrop for a tripartite analysis which treats the following issues in the proposed Code: workability questions evident from an initial examination of the Code; the Code as a norm-creating vehicle; …

Foreign Discovery And U.S. Antitrust Policy--The Conflict Resolving Mechanisms, Donald L. Flexner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A look back at the last thirty years of United States antitrust's foreign "voyages of discovery" among friendly nations reveals a picture too often resembling not so much an era of good feeling as a thirty years war. Following hard upon Judge Hand's famous formulation of the "effects" doctrine in Alcoa in 1946 the Antitrust Division conducted a series of investigations in which compulsory process was used to seek documents located in foreign nations. Prodded by what they viewed as U.S. antitrust authorities' impermissible overreaching, the affected countries began to enact defensive "blocking statutes." The passage by Canada's Ontario Province …

Recent Decisions, William W. Allen, Alexander A. Hassani, Peter A. Schuller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

INCOME TAX--LIQUIDATION OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS--SHAREHOLDERS IN A LIQUIDATING FOREIGN CORPORATION MUST INCLUDE IN THE CORPORATION'S EARNINGS AND PROFITS ACCOUNT THE AMOUNT OF RECAPTURED EXCESS DEPRECIATION REALIZED UPON THE SALE OF ITS ASSETS

William W. Allen

CUSTOMS DUTIES--ANTIDUMPING ACT OF 1921--THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY HAS No AUTHORITY TO TERMINATE A WITH-HOLDING OF APPRAISEMENT PRIOR TO THE PUBLICATION OF A DUMPING FINDING BASED ON A LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY DETERMINATION BY THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Alexander A. Hassani

INTERNATIONAL BANKING--BANKRUPTCY-FOREIGN BANKS NEITHER REGULATED BY NOR LICENSED To Do BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES MAY FILE FOR VOLUNTARY BANKRUPTCY UNDER THE NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY …

International Transactions In A Cold Climate; Or Whatever Became Of The Law Merchant?, Henry Harfield

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

International trade can be conducted only under the rule of law. There is no rule of law that governs international trade. These statements form a paradox, and the beginning of two possible syllogisms. One construction is that since there is no rule of law governing international trade, and international trade is dependent upon the rule of law, international trade must perish. The other and more hopeful construction is that international trade does exist, it must exist, and because it is dependent upon the rule of law, a rule of law must be devised.

I believe in the latter formulation, but …