Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Aba Rule Of Law Initiative Celebrating 25 Years Of Global Initiatives, M. Margaret Mckeown
The Aba Rule Of Law Initiative Celebrating 25 Years Of Global Initiatives, M. Margaret Mckeown
Michigan Journal of International Law
Relying on extensive reports, program documentation, and interviews with important actors in the rule of law movement, this article will explore how one key player in the international-development field—the ABA—has furthered rule of law values through its global programs. The first half of the article surveys the ABA’s involvement in rule of law initiatives. Part I explores the origins of the ABA’s work in this field, which date back to the organization’s founding and took shape after the demise of the former Soviet Union. Part II surveys the expansion of the ABA’s programs beyond Eastern Europe to other regions—a growth …
Reconceptualizing States Of Emergency Under International Human Rights Law: Theory, Legal Doctrine, And Politics, Scott P. Sheeran
Reconceptualizing States Of Emergency Under International Human Rights Law: Theory, Legal Doctrine, And Politics, Scott P. Sheeran
Michigan Journal of International Law
States of emergency are today one of the most serious challenges to the implementation of international human rights law (IHRL). They have become common practice and are associated with severe human rights violations as evidenced by the Arab Spring. The international jurisprudence on states of emergency is inconsistent and divergent, and what now constitutes a public emergency is ubiquitous. This trend is underpinned by excessive judicial deference and abdication of the legal review of states' often dubious claims of a state of emergency. The legal regime, as positively expressed in international human rights treaties, does not adequately reflect the underlying …
Competing Legal Cultures And Legal Reform: The Battle Of Chile, James M. Cooper
Competing Legal Cultures And Legal Reform: The Battle Of Chile, James M. Cooper
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article explores the competition that exists between U.S. and German legal cultures and examines Chilean legal reform efforts since the late 1990s as a case study of this competition. A country's legal culture is comprised of the self-governing rules and operations of national and regional bar associations, the format of legal education, the structure of the legal and judicial profession, the role of the judiciary, jurisprudential style, and the reputation of the legal sector according to the general public. The influence of predominant legal cultures on developing nations has been explored in a number of contexts, while the importance …
Global Markets And The Evolution Of Law In China And Japan, Takao Tanase
Global Markets And The Evolution Of Law In China And Japan, Takao Tanase
Michigan Journal of International Law
The first angle of this Article concerns the exclusivity of rights, which is the notion that a right has an exclusive boundary of ownership. The socialist system and traditional customary law in China gave only weak recognition to this concept, especially prior to China's move toward a market economy and the introduction of modern law. The second angle addresses the functionality of extralegal norms. Law reforms tend to be measured by the efficiency gains they produce, a process intensified by competition among systems. The third angle involves the ideological nature of the market-oriented development of law. The foreign enterprises and …
What Have We Learned About Law And Development? Describing, Predicting, And Assessing Legal Reforms In China, Randall Peerenboom
What Have We Learned About Law And Development? Describing, Predicting, And Assessing Legal Reforms In China, Randall Peerenboom
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article applies existing conceptual tools for describing, predicting, and assessing legal reforms to the efforts to establish rule of law in China, in the process shedding light on the various pathways and methodologies of reform so as to facilitate assessment of competing reform strategies. While drawing on China for concrete examples, the discussion involves issues that are generally applicable to comparative law and the new law and development movement, and thus it addresses
Legal Institutions And International Trade Flows, Daniel Berkowitz, Johannes Moenius, Katharina Pistor
Legal Institutions And International Trade Flows, Daniel Berkowitz, Johannes Moenius, Katharina Pistor
Michigan Journal of International Law
Why do domestic legal institutions matter, and why can trading parties-in particular exporters of complex goods-not easily opt-out of their domestic legal institutions? The authors argue that domestic institutions remain important even in a globalized world, because they are the final option for enforcing a claim against a party in the event of a breach of contract. International contracts take place in the shadow of the parties' home institutions. Unless parties can negotiate a settlement, or the losing party voluntarily complies with a foreign court or arbitration ruling, the winning party must seek enforcement against the assets of the losing …
Beyond Rights: Legal Process And Ethnic Conflicts, Elana A. Baylis
Beyond Rights: Legal Process And Ethnic Conflicts, Elana A. Baylis
Michigan Journal of International Law
Unresolved ethnic conflicts threaten the stability and the very existence of multi-ethnic states. Ethnically divided states have struggled to build structural safeguards against such disputes into their political and legal systems, but these safeguards have not been able to prevent all conflict. Accordingly, multi-ethnic states facing persistent ethnic conflicts need to develop effective dispute resolution systems for resolving those conflicts. This presents an important question: what kinds of processes and institutions might enable ethnic groups to resolve their conflicts with each other and the state? This Article explores that question, reviewing the interdisciplinary literature on ethnic conflicts, the legal literature …
Multiple International Judicial Forums: A Reflection Of The Growing Strength Of International Law Or Its Fragmentation?, Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao
Multiple International Judicial Forums: A Reflection Of The Growing Strength Of International Law Or Its Fragmentation?, Pemmaraju Sreenivasa Rao
Michigan Journal of International Law
The main thrust of this presentation is to suggest that the creation of multiple international judicial tribunals is a function of the ever-expanding nature of international law and that the creation of such tribunals is a sign of the growing maturity of international law. While it is admitted that these tribunals have to be sensitive to the needs of promoting the unity and integrity of international law, a brief look at the available evidence of their functioning so far has revealed no cause for concern of fragmentation. The author will look specifically at the working of the International Tribunal for …
The Political Economy Of Rule Of Law Reform In Developing Countries, Ronald J. Daniels, Michael Trebilcock
The Political Economy Of Rule Of Law Reform In Developing Countries, Ronald J. Daniels, Michael Trebilcock
Michigan Journal of International Law
In this paper, the authors briefly review the recent experience with rule of law reform initiatives in Latin America, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe, drawing on more detailed case studies by the authors. The authors are currently working on a similar case study on rule of law reform experiences in Asia.
Articulating The Right To Democratic Governance In Africa, Nsongurua J. Udombana
Articulating The Right To Democratic Governance In Africa, Nsongurua J. Udombana
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article articulates the right to democratic governance in Africa, arguing that democratic entitlement ought to acquire, if indeed it already has not acquired, a degree of legitimacy in the continent. If democratic governance is a fundamental human right, which this Article asserts it is, it follows that any African State that denies its citizens the right to any of the elements of democratic entitlement-such as free and open elections-is violating a fundamental right, which should attract responsibility. The Article begins with an examination of the patrimonial State structure in Africa and its negative impact on governance. It is a …
Let One Hundered Flowers Bloom, One Hundred Schools Contend: Debating Rule Of Law In China, Randall Peerenboom
Let One Hundered Flowers Bloom, One Hundred Schools Contend: Debating Rule Of Law In China, Randall Peerenboom
Michigan Journal of International Law
The Article proceeds in three stages. Part I provides a brief overview of thin versions of rule of law and their relation to thick theories. Part II then takes up the four thick versions of rule of law. Part III addresses a number of thorny theoretical issues that apply to rule of law theories generally and more specifically to the applicability of rule of law to China. For instance, can the minimal conditions for rule of law be sufficiently specified to be useful? Should China's legal system at this point be described as rule by law, as in transition to …
The Beginnings Of The Rule Of Law In The International Trade System Despite U.S. Constitutional Constraints, Yong K. Kim
The Beginnings Of The Rule Of Law In The International Trade System Despite U.S. Constitutional Constraints, Yong K. Kim
Michigan Journal of International Law
This study focuses on the emergence of ROL in U.S. international trade policy, a development which merits closer examination for the following reasons. First, the United States must still be considered the leader in international trade policy, and a ROL order without the most important trading entity would make little sense. Second, the United States is probably the foremost proponent of instituting a ROL order in international trade, though, ironically, it may also be the prime culprit in adhering to certain power-ordered relationships. Third, it seems only fair, if not natural, to extend the United States' domestic respect for the …
Custom, Power, And The Power Of Rules, Michael Byers
Custom, Power, And The Power Of Rules, Michael Byers
Michigan Journal of International Law
This article begins by explaining briefly the differing perspectives which these two general categories of scholars - those who study international law and those who study international relations - have of international society generally, and of law and power more specifically. This article exposes the fact that power is an important but largely unnoticed subject of much international legal discourse and also canvasses attempts by international relations scholars to incorporate law into their understandings of power.
The Role Of Law In The Soviet System: Looking Back And Moving Forward, Sarah J. Reynolds
The Role Of Law In The Soviet System: Looking Back And Moving Forward, Sarah J. Reynolds
Michigan Journal of International Law
Review of Russian Law: The End of the Soviet System and the Role of Law by F.J.M. Feldbrugge
Perestroika African Style: One-Party Government And Human Rights In Tanzania, John Quigley
Perestroika African Style: One-Party Government And Human Rights In Tanzania, John Quigley
Michigan Journal of International Law
The one-party systems in Africa have drawn negative reactions from Western States that provide economic aid. The article assesses the one-party system in light of international human rights law and asks whether aid-giving States must consider whether one-party rule in recipient States violates international standards. In this connection, the article asks whether the rights of association and political freedom as developed in Europe can fairly be applied to Africa, given its historical experience.