Law Commons^™

Charting A Progressive International Financial Agenda, Daniel Bradlow

Working Papers

This paper argues that the current financial crisis offers the best opportunity for progressive reform in international financial governance in many years. It cautions that developing countries and civil society will only be able to fully exploit this opportunity if they are well prepared and realistic in their expectations. It concludes with a set of recommendations on what reforms developing countries and civil society should promote in the current negotiations about international financial governance.

Tax Shelter Malpractice Cases And Their Implications For Tax Compliance , Jay A. Soled

American University Law Review

In malpractice lawsuits, taxpayers prevailed in courtrooms, around arbitration tables, and in settlement negotiations against peddlers of abusive tax shelters. This analysis illustrates how the tax shelter malpractice experience embodies many virtues that yield tax compliance. From these virtues emerge several important lessons on how to curb aggressive tax planning. Evident from these virtues and lessons is that malpractice litigation is a powerful tool in the sphere of tax compliance, and, where possible, reforms should be instituted to further promote its use.

Intolerable Situations And Counsel For Children: Following Switzerland's Example In Hague Abduction Cases , Merle H. Weiner

American University Law Review

In the twilight days of 2007, Switzerland took decisive action to protect children who were being harmed by the application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction ("Hague Abduction Convention" or "Convention"). 1 Its Parliament passed the Federal Act on International Child Abduction and the Hague Conventions on the Protection of Children and Adults ("Swiss Act"). 2 The Swiss Act, which should enter into force in mid-2009, 3 gives important and necessary guidance to Swiss courts about the phrase "intolerable situation" in Article 13(b) of the Hague Abduction Convention. 4 The Swiss Act also directs …

Mercury Rising: The Omnibus Autism Proceeding And What Families Should Know Before Rushing Out Of Vaccine Court, Gordon Shemin

American University Law Review

This Comment sheds light on the “opt-out” provision of the Vaccine Act. It namely discusses the effect of short-form petitions and their impact on subsequent civil action, by examining consequences flowing from the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. In short, it argues that the Vaccine Court erred with its decision to permit short-form petitions by overlooking that procedure’s long-term implications on vaccine plaintiffs. In addition, this Comment lays out a scenario to illustrate the potential pitfalls of a hasty exit from the OAP and offers some guidance to plaintiffs to avoid this outcome. The final part of this Comment offers some ideas …

Candor, Zeal, And The Substitution Of Judgment: Ethics And The Mentally Ill Criminal Defendant , John D. King

American University Law Review

This Article explores the tension between autonomy and paternalism that characterizes the attorney-client relationship when a criminal defense attorney represents a mentally impaired client. Specifically, the Article analyzes the ethical frameworks that constrain the discretion of the attorney in this situation and proposes a new paradigm for ethical decisionmaking when an attorney represents a marginally competent client.

The criminal defense attorney is both a zealous advocate for her client and an officer of the legal system. In representing a marginally competent client, the initial ethical dilemma facing the attorney is whether she has an obligation to alert the court to …

Book Review: Stephen Hopgood, 'Keepers Of The Flame: Understanding Amnesty International', Kenneth Anderson

Book Reviews

American University, WCL Research Paper No. 2008-66Abstract:This brief review (1100 words) examines Stephen Hopgood's half journalism-half anthropological journey inside the world of Amnesty International. The book is an outstanding piece of both reportage and analysis, and the review discusses the various pressures, political and ideological and social, on AI and those that work in its International Secretariat. As the review notes, AI is more like a religious order than anything else, and that observation has ramifications for the NGO world beyond AI.

International Financial Reform And Africa: What Is To Be Done?, Daniel Bradlow

Working Papers

This paper discusses the likely implications of the financial crisis on Africa and considers what Africa can do to position itself to extract some benefit from the negotiations on international financial governance reform.

A Requiem For My New York Times Home Subscription, Kenneth Anderson

Popular Media

This very short (2000 words) online opinion piece addresses the question of why the author gave up home delivery of the New York Times. It argues that, quite apart from issues of political bias, the New York Times has successively moved to turn itself from a newspaper into a magazine, and, in facing the pressures of the Internet economic model, into a device for creating, caring for, and feeding the newspaper's "online communities" - a business model increasingly based on selling cultural participation in shared-bias-communities. The Times is moving toward a content model that presumes that its readers read it …

A Requiem For My New York Times Home Subscription, Kenneth Anderson

Popular Media

This very short (2000 words) online opinion piece addresses the question of why the author gave up home delivery of the New York Times. It argues that, quite apart from issues of political bias, the New York Times has successively moved to turn itself from a newspaper into a magazine, and, in facing the pressures of the Internet economic model, into a device for creating, caring for, and feeding the newspaper's "online communities" - a business model increasingly based on selling cultural participation in shared-bias-communities. The Times is moving toward a content model that presumes that its readers read it …

The Past, Present, And Future Of The United Nations: A Comment On Paul Kennedy And The Parliament Of Man, Kenneth Anderson

Book Reviews

The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations (ISBN 978-84-8306-737-6) American University, WCL Research Paper No. 2008-70AbstractThis is the English language version of an essay (10,000 words) appearing in the Revista de Libros (Madrid), considering the history and future of the United Nations and global governance through the lens of Paul Kennedy's recent work, The Parliament of Man. The essay is highly skeptical of what it describes as platonism about the future of the UN as the seat of global governance. It offers an alternative view of how to consider the work of the UN, …

Overvaluing Uniformity, Amanda Frost

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

"E NSURING the uniform interpretation of federal law has long been considered one of the federal courts' primary objectives, and uniformity is regularly cited in some of the most intractable debates about the structure and function of the federal court system. For example, specialized courts are lauded for their ability to ensure uniformity in the areas of law over which they have jurisdic- tion. Similarly, proponents of exclusive federal jurisdiction contend that the federal courts provide greater consistency in the interpre- tation of federal law than could fifty different state courts. Some commentators claim that Congress' power to create exceptions …

The Past, Present, And Future Of The United Nations: A Comment On Paul Kennedy And The Parliament Of Man (El Pasado Como Prologo: El Futuro Glorioso Y El Turbio Presente De Las Naciones Unidas (Revista De Paul Kennedy, El Parlamento De La Humanidad)), Kenneth Anderson

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

American University, WCL Research Paper No. 2008-72Abstract:This is the original Spanish language version of an essay (10,000 words) appearing in the Revista de Libros (Madrid), considering the history and future of the United Nations and global governance through the lens of Paul Kennedy's recent work, The Parliament of Man. The essay is highly skeptical of what it describes as platonism about the future of the UN as the seat of global governance. It offers an alternative view of how to consider the work of the UN, in three areas: security, economic development, and values. The essay argues that, particularly with …

Hiding Behind Reciprocity: The Temporary Presence Exception And Patent Infringement Avoidance, Jonas Anderson

J. Jonas Anderson

The temporary presence exception provides vessels engaged in international transport with a defense to patent infringement when traveling outside of the vessel’s home nation. The exception was adopted internationally and added to the Paris Convention in an effort to (1) minimize the costs associated with transporting between various countries with distinct national patent systems and (2) eliminate international tensions arising from charges of patent infringement when in foreign lands. Although the modern enactments of the temporary presence exception further these goals, this article argues that the exception is overbroad. Specifically, this article argues that the exception’s reciprocity requirement, in concert …

'Dynamic Competition' Does Not Excuse Monopolization, Jonathan Baker

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This comment on a forthcoming article by Keith Hylton and David Evans explains why considerations of "dynamic competition" do not argue against antitrust enforcement. While the prospect of achieving monopoly may foster innovation, that observation misleads as to appropriate antitrust policy unless qualified by the observation that the push of competition generally spurs innovation more than the pull of monopoly. Moreover, the longstanding doctrinal rule that mere monopoly pricing is not illegal should not be read as demonstrating that antitrust law values monopolies for their role in promoting innovation.

Disparity In Copyright Protection: Focus On The Finished Image Ignores The Art In The Details , Karen D. Williams

American University Law Review

Courts initial reactions play a major role in the assessment of copyright protection. A quick recognition of pictorial quality can result in an easy finding of originality. Based upon the extremely low threshold, such a quick summation is not surprising or necessarily refutable. However, the blanket assumption of a pictorial quality in photography creates a disparity in copyright protection for works of graphic design, like maps, which may not emit that immediate pictorial or aesthetic quality but may still employ creative choice. Those works that “scream” their pictorial nature get cursory review while the more subtle are being categorized as …

To Abstain Or Not To Abstain: A New Framework For Application Of The Abstention Doctrine In International Parallel Proceedings, Jocelyn H. Bush

American University Law Review

It is obvious to most that the ties between people and businesses in different countries have increased dramatically in recent years. One of the effects of this globalization of the world’s economies and societies is an increase in international or transnational litigation. As traveling and conducting business across international borders becomes easier and cheaper, and the number of international business transactions increases, so too have the number of lawsuits involving parties and transactions or occurrences from different countries. This development has led to a corresponding increase in the number of lawsuits before United States courts which are similar, or indeed …

Should Summary Judgment Be Granted?, Bradley Scott Shannon

American University Law Review

This article discusses (and criticizes) the recent change from "shall" to "should" in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 to describe the standard by which a federal district court is to decide a "properly made and supported" motion for summary judgment. The article concludes that the text of Rule 56, which formally provided that such a motion "shall" be granted, cannot plausibly be construed as meaning "should"; that this change was not supported by those authorities cited by the Federal Civil Rules Advisory Committee; and that, as a normative matter, "should" is an inappropriate standard in this context. Federal district …

Are You Still My Mother, Interstate Recognition Of Adoption By Gays And Lesbians , Rhonda Wasserman

American University Law Review

Parents and their biological children routinely cross state borders safe in the assumption that the parent-child relationship will be recognized wherever they go. The central issue raised in this Article is whether the law guarantees parents and their adopted children the same security if the parents are gay. This question is part of a broader debate about the obligation of states to recognize changes in family status effected under the laws of other states, such as same-sex marriages and migratory divorces. The debate is divisive because it pits the family against the state; one state against another; and the needs …

The Inter-American System Of Human Rights: Challenges For The Future, Claudio Grossman

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Inter-American system is a combination of human rights norms and supervisory institutions within the Americas. The applicable rules consist primarily of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man ("American Declaration") and the American Convention on Human Rights ("American Convention"). The institutions involved are the organs responsible for supervising compliance with the established rules: the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("the Commission") and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ("the Court"). The system performs supervisory functions basically through country reports adopted by the Commission which describe the overall human rights situation in a country and decisions in …

Banding Together: Reflections On The Role Of The Women's Bar Association Of The District Of Columbia And The Washington College Of Law In Promoting Women's Rights, Jamie Abrams, Daniela Kraiem

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The Washington College of Law and the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia share an important historical connection; Ellen Spencer Mussey and Emma Gillett founded both institutions together, in 1898 and 1917, respectively. Mussey and Gillett were pioneers in legal education, legal reform, and the development of women lawyers. 2 More significant than the work they performed during their lives, however, is the legacy of activism, reform, and support that they ignited by founding two institutions that advance women in the law. These institutions have trained and supported generations of women lawyers through world wars and depressions, through …

Patient-Tailored Medicine, Part One: The Impact Of Race And Genetics On Medicine, Corrine Parver

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

One of the more controversial elements of advancing technology is the use of race and genetics to help create more specific types of medicines that will help combat diseases and conditions that appear to be more prevalent within certain races or ethnic groups than in others. Considering the history of discrimination and inadequate treatment of individuals on the bases of race and gender in the United States, there is justifiable concern that race or gender-based treatment could be used to legitimate discrimination. On the other hand, there is substantial proof that the current method of creating medicines for the general …

A Sovereign Wealth Turn, Anna Gelpern

Working Papers

On September 2, 2008, a group of leading sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) agreed on generally accepted principles and practices. The process that created the so-called Santiago Principles is important in its own right, as a milestone on the way to what might become international financial architecture. Since SWFs rose to prominence two years ago, they have been trapped in sterile domestic arguments between national security and open investment. These have obscured SWFs' significance and the governance challenge they present. The challenge reflects the power shifts and culture clashes of financial integration, which, thanks to capital flow reversals, no longer looks …

Integrating Comparative Criminal Law: Criminal Law And Procedure, At Home And Abroad, Roger Fairfax

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Say Cheese! Examining The Constitutionality Of Photostops, Molly Bruder

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Weighing Influence: Employment Discrimination And The Theory Of Subordinate Bias Liability, Keaton Wong

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

States Of Terror, States Of Consent: Philip Bobbitt's Strategic Transnational Politics For The Twenty-First Century, Kenneth Anderson

Book Reviews

American University, WCL Research Paper No. 2008-64Abstract:This essay is a book review from the Times Literary Supplement of Philip Bobbitt's widely remarked and admired Terror and Consent. The review compares Bobbitt's unabashedly strategic view of the response of democratic states to terrorism, and contrasts it with more narrowly cost-benefit analysis-driven approaches to responding to terrorism. The review criticizes 'tactical' approaches to terrorism as too focused upon 'event driven catastrophism'. The review considers Bobbitt's analysis of the changing nature of states, and the rise of what he calls the 'market-state'. The essay ends by querying whether the market-state, as Bobbitt conceives …

Enacting A Reasonable Federal Shield Law: A Reply To Professors Clymer And Eliason, James Thomas Tucker, Wermiel

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Problems With The Reporter's Privilege, Eliason D. Eliason

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Paper Trail: Working Papers And Recent Scholarship, Jonathan Baker

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Editor’s Note: In this edition we review two papers by leading government economists, past, present, and perhaps future. The first paper, by Dennis Carlton and Ken Heyer, takes a cautious policy approach to single-firm conduct based on theory, empirical evidence, and “considerations of administrability and consistency with general and widely held presumptions” and sets out four “underlying principles” that should govern policy toward single-firm conduct. The second paper, on the role of market concentration in modern economic analysis of horizontal mergers, is by Jonathan Baker, in which he explains how market concentration can sensibly be used for merger analysis. Send …

Foreword: Left Out In The Cold - Welcome Remarks, Nadine Strossen

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.