Law Commons^™

Strategic Litigation In Wartime: Judging The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Through The Genocide Convention, Michael Ramsden

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Ukraine's recent initiation of legal proceedings against Russia under the Genocide Convention is a prominent example of what has been termed "strategic litigation," denoting the bringing of a case with a goal to produce a wider impact beyond the courtroom. In Allegations of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russia), Ukraine sought a series of declarations from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Russia's decision to use force in Ukraine, and its ongoing operation, was unlawful, insofar as such a decision rested on the prevention of genocide. Given that the ICJ does not have the jurisdiction to determine whether Russia has committed …

Practitioners' Perception Of Court-Connected Mediation In Five Regions: An Empirical Study, Shahla F. Ali

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Courts throughout the world face the challenge of designing court mediation programs to provide opportunities for party-directed reconciliation on the one hand, while ensuring access to formal legal channels on the other. In some jurisdictions, mandated programs require initial attempts at mediation, while in others, voluntary programs encourage party-selected participation. This Article explores the attitudes and perceptions of eighty-three practitioners implementing court mediation programs in five regions in order to understand the dynamics, challenges, and lessons learned from the perspectives of those directly engaged in the work of administering, representing, and mediating civil claims. Given the highly contextual nature of …

Japan's Love For Derivative Actions, Dan W. Puchniak, Masafumi Nakahigashi

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Not long ago, there was a consensus in the legal academy that the Japanese were irrational litigants. As the theory went, Japanese people would forgo litigating for financial gain because of a cultural obsession with maintaining social harmony. Based on this theory, it made perfect (but economically irrational) sense that Japanese shareholders let their U.S.-transplanted derivative action lay moribund for almost four post-war decades, while at the same time the derivative action was a staple of shareholder litigation in the United States.

The 1980s brought a wave of law and economics to the scholarship of Japanese law, which largely discredited …

Avoid Or Compensate? Liability For Incidental Injury To Civilians Inflicted During Armed Conflict, Yael Ronen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Under international law, civilians suffering injuries that are incidental to a lawful attack on a military objective are left to bear the cost of their losses. In recent years there have been calls for a change in policy that would entitle victims of military attacks to compensation, even if their losses are incidental and non-fault-based. This Article explores the notion of such a quasi-strict liability rule, which is likely to disrupt the existing balance of powers and interests under the laws of armed conflict. Following an exploration of the conceptual basis for such an obligation, the Article examines the effect …

Immunity For Artworks On Loan? A Review Of International Customary Law And Municipal Anti-Seizure Statutes In Light Of The "Liechtenstein" Litigation, Matthias Weller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Are we witnessing the emergence of a legal principle of immunity for artworks on loan from abroad? This Article analyzes to what extent such a principle exists or is about to come into being and what its legal potential might be. To this end, Part II examines one of the leading cases about artworks on loan, the Liechtenstein case, and compares it to other controversies about loaned artworks to identify possible signs of a development in court practice towards a principle of immunity for artworks on loan. Against the background of the legal weaknesses of a yet inchoate concept of …

Recent Developments In Anti-Money Laundering And Related Litigation Traps For The Unwary In International Trust Matters, Bruce Zagaris

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In 1998, governments and international organizations continued their active efforts to increase regulatory and criminal enforcement of various laws to stem the tide of transnational crime. These efforts were reflected in the criminalization of various business and financial transactions, the imposition of new due diligence measures on the private sector and the concomitant weakening of privacy and confidentiality laws, strengthened penalties for non-compliance with regulatory efforts, and new law enforcement techniques, such as undercover sting operations, wiretapping, expanded powers to search homes and businesses, and controlled deliveries. So obtrusive are many of the law enforcement techniques and the privatization of …

Extra-Statutory Discovery Requirements: Violating The Twin Purposes Of 28 U.S.C. Section 1782, Christopher W. Sanzone

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note analyzes Section 1782 of United States Code Chapter 28 and its role in the realm of international judicial assistance. The twin aims of Section 1782 are: (1) to provide efficient means of assistance to participants in foreign litigation, and (2) to encourage foreign countries by example to provide similar assistance to U.S. litigants in court. This Note posits that these goals are violated when a district court, considering a request for documents, imposes a threshold, extra-statutory requirement that the material requested be discoverable in the foreign jurisdiction where the litigation is pending.

After analyzing the legislative history of …

"Weightier Than A Mountain": Duty, Hierarchy, And The Consumer In Japan, Anita Bernstein, Paul Fanning

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The authors analyze the 1994 Japanese products liability law from a national-culture perspective. After examining the historical backdrop of the consumer's social role in both the United States and Japan, the authors argue that the new law cannot create a strict liability system like that of the United States in Japan, because the unique Japanese cultural context and its manipulation discourage the use of the legal process to advance consumer interests.

The Iranian Asset Negotiations, John E. Hoffman, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

At the outset, I owe an obligation to you and to my fellow panelists to reveal my true colors. Following the remarks of Mr. Aksen and Mr. Rhodes, you would be entitled to expect me to give some examples of how some distressed clients entered this wonderful world of arbitration, how the scales fell from their corporate eyes, and how their problems were solved. I am going to tell a bit of a story this afternoon. The focus of it is arbitration, but I should tell you it is not an arbitration that occurred. The story is of an arbitration …

Recent Decisions, Timothy J. Peaden, Charles S. Baugh, Marc W. Joseph, Melissa Q. Windham

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Antitrust--Noerr-Pennington Extends Immunity from Sherman Act to Foreign Litigation and Foreign Acts that result in Alleged Antitrust Violations, Coastal States Marketing, Inc. v. Hunt, 694 F.2d 1358 (5th Cir. 1983).

Antitrust--Foreign Import Cartels are Liable under the Sherman Act although domestic export competitors are shielded with a Webb-Pomerene exemption. Daishowa International v. North Coast Export Co., 1982-2 Trade Cas.64,774 (N.D. Cal.).

Obtaining Personal Jurisdiction Over Alien Corporations--A Survey Of U.S. Practice, John D. Gleissner, David C. Veeneman, S. Rodgers Wheaton

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

With the increase in international trade, civil litigation between persons of different nationalities has become increasingly important. Today alien and foreign corporations are being brought before American courts to defend actions arising out of products liability, contract, and tort. There is considerable authority holding alien and foreign corporations amenable to jurisdiction on the basis of a single act or business transaction. The states themselves are affecting international trade since state law is chosen to determine the amenability of alien and foreign corporations to suit in diversity actions in federal court.

This survey presents a cross-section of recent cases and attempts …