Law Commons^™

Recollections Of The 1952 International North Pacific Fisheries Convention: The Decline Of The Principle Of Abstention, Shigeru Oda

San Diego International Law Journal

Having recently completed twenty-seven years on the bench of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, I have just returned to Sendai, Japan, my home town. Please permit me therefore to offer some personal recollections of the time fifty years ago when, as a graduate law student from occupied Japan traveling on a passport issued by General MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers in Japan, I began preparation of my doctoral dissertation at Yale Law School.

The 1953 International North Pacific Fisheries Convention: Half-Century Anniversary Of A New Department In Ocean Law, Harry N. Scheiber

San Diego International Law Journal

In the broadest historical perspective, the Convention laid the groundwork for the modern-day norm of multi-lateralist style and structure for sustainable management of ocean resources. It is fitting, then, that a conference bringing together experts on ocean law and policy from many countries would have gathered in 2003 at the University of California, Berkeley to consider the current-day initiatives in multilateralism and, at the same time, to recall their origins and precursors starting with the International North Pacific Fisheries Convention.

Regionalism, Fisheries, And Environmental Challenges In The Pacific, Jon M. Van Dyke

San Diego International Law Journal

The Pacific, the world's largest ocean, contains many of the world's smallest countries. Most of these isolated islands were under colonial domination from the mid-19th century (or earlier) until about the 1970s, when they became independent. New Zealand (Aotearoa) and Australia participate in many Pacific regional organizations and activities. They are viewed as partners but play separate and different, while still important, roles because of their larger size and differences in culture and history.

Japan, The North Atlantic Triangle, And The Pacific Fisheries: A Perspective On The Origins Of Modern Ocean Law, 1930-1953, Harry N. Scheiber

San Diego International Law Journal

I seek to establish here the degree to which multilateralism prevailed in the postwar era, or instead was overcome by unilateralist objectives and methods in pursuit of national interests. The empirical basis and special focus in much of my analysis is the discussion of Canada's role in regard to the diplomacy of the Pacific fisheries and more generally in regard to the process of developing modern ocean law as reflected in Canadian-U.S.-Japanese-British relations.

Rhetoric Or Rights?: When Culture And Religion Bar Girls' Right To Education, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Women account for almost two-thirds of the world's illiterates. In the year 2000, the World Education Forum met in Dakar, Senegal and set goals to (1) eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and (2) achieve gender equality in education by 2015. Two months before 2004, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) reported that sixty percent of the 128 countries that attended the Dakar Conference would not meet these goals. The report attributed the failure to sharp discrimination against girls in social and cultural practices. The report failed to mention that social and cultural …

The Race To The Bottom: The United States' Influence On Mexican Labor Law Enforcement, Jenna L. Acuff

San Diego International Law Journal

There are several theories why the Mexican government has refused to enforce the stringent laws enumerated in the Mexican Constitution. For example, the North American Social Dumping Theory and Mexico's desire to retain foreign direct investment from foreign countries as a source of revenue and employment. This Comment seeks to analyze and expound on these theories and to develop two additional theories that have only been discussed in passing. Part II begins with a brief look at the history of Mexican labor, including pre- and post-Revolution working conditions. Part III discusses Mexico's encouragement and protection of foreign direct investment and …

Executive Power Essentialism And Foreign Affairs, Curtis A. Bradley, Martin S. Flaherty

Michigan Law Review

Conflict abroad almost always enhances executive power at home. This expectation has held true at least since the constitutions of antiquity. It holds no less true for modern constitutions, including the Constitution of the United States. Constitutional arguments for executive power likewise escalate with increased perceptions of foreign threat. It is therefore hardly surprising that broad assertions of presidential power have become commonplace after the events of September 11, 2001, and the ensuing war on international terrorism. One perennial weapon in the executive arsenal is the so-called "Vesting Clause" of Article II of the Constitution. This clause, which provides that …

The Vienna Convention On The Law Of Treaties In U.S. Treaty Interpretation, Evan J. Criddle

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Investment Protection In Bilateral And Free Trade Agreements: Implications For The Granting Of Compulsory Licenses, Carlos M. Correa

Michigan Journal of International Law

Can the exercise of any of the key provisions in investment agreements lead to rights and practices that deviate from the terms of the TRIPS Agreement? This issue is specifically explored in relation to compulsory licenses, one of the "safeguards" contemplated in the TRIPS Agreement that developing countries have actively tried to preserve in order to mitigate the powers conferred to patent owners. Despite this attention and interest, no single compulsory license has been granted in a developing country after the adoption of the TRIPS Agreement. This article explores the extent to which investment protection may add another barrier for …

Of Federalism, Human Rights, And The Holland Caveat: Congressional Power To Iplement Treaties, Ana Maria Merico-Stephens

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article explores whether the Rehnquist Court's federalism doctrine, as elaborated during this last decade, should or ought to extend to the domestication of discrete provisions of ratified human rights treaties. It explores this question by examining the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Covenant) and by considering the civil remedy provision of Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as potential implementing legislation for the equality provisions of the Covenant. In the context of this inquiry, the discussion engages federalism, as developed by the current Court, on its own terms. That is, I do not seek here to defend it …

Wto And Gmos: Analyzing The European Community's Recent Regulations Covering The Labeling Of Genetically Modified Organisms, Brian Schwartz

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note explores the compatibility of the EC's GMO regulations within the framework of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("SPS Agreement"), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade ("TBT Agreement"), and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994" or "GAT"), all integral parts of the WTO Agreement. Part II presents arguments for or against the use of GM-products. Part III explores the concept of ecolabeling by analyzing the general goals of such programs, including the economic theory behind green consumerism and the characteristics necessary for effective schemes. Part IV describes the core …

The United Nations Security Council's Quest For Effectiveness, Emilio J. Cárdenas

Michigan Journal of International Law

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on New York's World Trade Center Towers and Washington's Pentagon, instantly refocused the United Nations' attention on the issue of international terrorism. The Security Council (Council) responded immediately: first, on September 12, 2001, with an unequivocal condemnation of the attacks, contained in Resolution 1368 (2001), and second, on September 28, 2001, with the enactment of Resolution 1373 (2001), which, under Chapter VII of the Charter, mandated that all Member States take specific actions to combat international terrorism. Terrorism was rightly understood to be "a threat to international peace and security."

Political Challenges Behind The Implementation Of The Optional Protocol To The Convention On The Rights Of The Child, Michael Southwick

Cornell International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Harnessing The Treaty Power In Support Of Environmental Regulation Of Activities That Don't "Substantially Affect Interstate Commerce", Katrina Fischer Kuh

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article proposes a framework for applying the treaty power that would accomplish the goal of environmental regulation. This framework would be applied where the President has signed, and Congress has ratified, a treaty and Congress has enacted domestic legislation in some way satisfying the goals or requirements of the treaty. Under this framework, the inquiry into whether the treaty power could appropriately be used by Congress in excess of its Article I, Commerce Clause powers would be indexed to the strength of (1) the contract-like nexus between the necessarily reciprocal requirements and the goals of the treaty and the …

Federal Common Law In An Age Of Treaties, Michael P. Van Alstine

Faculty Scholarship

In this article Professor Van Alstine explores the interaction between the limitations on the doctrine of federal common law and the power of federal courts to interpret the law within the scope of treaties. The article first reviews the constitutional foundation for the operation of treaties as directly applicable ("self-executing") federal law. It then explains that, notwithstanding the Erie doctrine, federal courts may obtain lawmaking powers from either a delegation by Congress or in certain areas of "uniquely federal interest."

Professor Van Alstine then argues that the judicial relationship with self-executing treaty law in principle proceeds from the same source …

Challenges In Implementing And Enforcing Children’S Rights, Kathy Vandergrift

Cornell International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Treaty Governance, Intellectual Property And Biodiversity, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

When resources become valuable, various social and institutional pressures come to bear to enclose them in a property rights regime. Given the substantial progress of biotechnology and the life sciences, genetic resources found in biological diversity are experiencing such pressures. The question of how much commodification or commercialization of genetic resources is appropriate is of global concern; it affects the distribution of wealth in and among societies and countries. This article explores the emerging treaty law on intellectual property and biodiversity. It inquires What is biodiversity? and Why is biodiversity preservation important? It then focuses on the United Nations Framework …

The Caspian Dispute: Is A Doctrinal Analysis Too Late Or Can We Turn Back The Hands Of Time, Houman Afshar

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Domestic Origins Of International Agreements, Rachel Brewster

Faculty Scholarship

This paper examines how international agreements are substitutes for statutes. The statutory law-making system and international agreement negotiations are separate, but sometimes rival, processes for setting national-level policy. International agreements have several advantages over domestic statutes. Under United States law, international agreements can entrench policies that might otherwise be subject to change; they can transfer agenda-setting power from the Congress to the President; and they can delegate authority to international organizations. Each of these effects can lead domestic interest groups to seek international negotiations rather than domestic legislation. Little difference exists between the politics of international and domestic law: Interest …

The New Codex Alimentarius Commission Standards For Food Created With Modern Biotechnology: Implications For The Ec Gmo Framework's Compliance With The Sps Agreement, Aaron A. Ostrovsky

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note makes two assertions. First, despite the fact that the Codex guidelines do not specifically invoke the Precautionary Principle in name, it can indeed be read into the guidelines in the amount of deference given to states in how they assess risk. This in turn means that the E.C.'s Deliberate Release Directive should be enjoy a presumption of compliance with both the SPS Agreement and the GATT. The second assertion is that even if the adjudicating body of the WTO finds that the Deliberate Release Directive, in relying on the Precautionary Principle, prescribes a higher level of protection than …

Pros And Cons Ensuing From Fragmentation Of International Law, Gerhard Hafner

Michigan Journal of International Law

The system of international law has become increasingly fragmented, particularly since the end of the Cold War. This paper intends to present the main features of this development and its implications.

The Varied Policies Of International Juridical Bodies- Reflections On Theory And Practice, John H. Jackson

Michigan Journal of International Law

It can be seen that "fragmentation" can have several dimensions, and that the difference between juridical approaches as well as legislative approaches to treaty or other norm stating documents can result not only from different institutional settings, but also from different policy goals assumed for differing dispute settlement systems.

Bridging Fragmentation And Unity: International Law As A Universe Of Inter-Connected Islands, Joost Pauwelyn

Michigan Journal of International Law

The fragmentation of the international legal system is not new. The consent-based nature of international law inevitably led to the creation of almost as many treaty regimes, composed of different constellations of states, as there are problems to be dealt with. Traditionally, these different regimes operated in virtual isolation from each other. Most importantly, the Bretton Woods institutions (World Bank, IMF, and GATT, now WTO) focused on the world's economic problems, while the UN institutions tackled the world's political problems. Both the IMF and World Bank articles of agreement, for example, explicitly state that political factors cannot be taken into …

Interpreting The Wto Agreements- A Commentary On Professor Pauwelyn's Approach, Joshua Meltzer

Michigan Journal of International Law

In his paper, Professor Pauwelyn argues that pursuant to Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna Convention), the Appellate Body should consider other rules of international law in the interpretation of the WTO Agreements, when that law reflects the "common intentions" of the parties to the WTO. He argues that this does not mean that "all the parties to the WTO treaty must have formally and explicitly agreed, one after the other, to the new non-WTO rule; nor even that this rule must be otherwise legally bind all WTO members; but rather, that this new …

Reply To Joshua Meltzer, Joost Pauwelyn

Michigan Journal of International Law

A reply to Joshua Meltzer's comment on the author's paper Bridging Fragmentation and Unity: International Law as a Universe of Inter-Connected Islands

Reply To Andreas L. Paulus Consensus As Fiction Of Global Law, Andreas Fischer-Lescano, Gunther Teubner

Michigan Journal of International Law

Andreas Paulus reminds us correctly that narratives "of a world of sovereign states loosely cooperating in 'coalitions of the willing' no longer tell the whole story." One of the achievements of the 20th century has been the insertion of a vertical dimension within horizontal international law; a dimension created by the ICJ's Traction decision and the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties, and within which we can observe "obligations arising for states without or against their will." Any narrative that characterizes these legal norms as a simple product of interstate consensus is particularly thin if analysis focuses upon the …

The Reality Of Private Rights, Duties, And Participation In The International Legal Process, Jordan J. Praust

Michigan Journal of International Law

In a realistic and descriptive sense, international law is a complex and dynamic legal process profoundly interconnected with regional and domestic legal processes throughout the globe. There are no single sources or evidences of international law; no single set of participants; and no single arenas or institutional arrangements for the creation, invocation, application, change or termination of such law. Like all human law, it is full of human choice and rich in individual and group participation and inter-affectation. Awareness of this reality can have significant consequences with respect to identification of international legal norms, realistic meaning or content, remedies, and …

Lessons From The Protracted Mox Plant Dispute: A Proposed Protocal On Marine Environmental Impact Assessment To The United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea, Maki Tanaka

Michigan Journal of International Law

Although the ITLOS order attempted to facilitate dialogue between the parties, the Tribunal was incapable of addressing the root cause of the MOX plant controversy, namely the lack of an adequate mechanism for transboundary environmental impact assessment at the onset of the conflict under UNCLOS. Similarly, the OSPAR and Annex VII tribunals have failed to bring about the efficient resolution of this procedural environmental dispute. This Article addresses the prevention of similar incidents by proposing the creation of a marine environmental impact assessment protocol to UNCLOS to make assessment procedures operational from the initial stage of controversial projects.

Development: Domestic Constraints And External Opportunities From Glabalization, T. N. Srinivasan

Michigan Journal of International Law

In what follows, this Article first discusses the process of development in Section II. Section III is devoted to the external aspects of development, namely international trade, finance, and intergovernmental organizations. Section IV is concerned with the domestic dimensions and legal reform, drawing on the debate on legal reforms in India. The author offers a few concluding remarks in Section V.

Sexual Slavery And The International Criminal Court: Advancing International Law, Valerie Oosterveld

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article explores the advancement of the international crime of sexual slavery, from its initial inclusion in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court through further development in the delineation of the ICC's Elements of Crime document. This Article begins with a detailed exploration of the negotiation process that led to the inclusion of the crime of sexual slavery in the Rome Statute. The first Section describes the decision to include both sexual slavery and enforced prostitution as crimes, as well as the debate on listing sexual slavery as a crime separate from that of enslavement. Next, the Section …