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Osgoode Hall Law School of York University

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Undercompensating For Discrimination: An Empirical Study Of General Damages Awards Issued By The Human Rights Tribunal Of Ontario, 2000-2015, Audra Ranalli, Bruce Ryder Jan 2017

Undercompensating For Discrimination: An Empirical Study Of General Damages Awards Issued By The Human Rights Tribunal Of Ontario, 2000-2015, Audra Ranalli, Bruce Ryder

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The authors present the results of a comprehensive quantitative analysis of general damages awards issued by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario from 2000 to 2015. From the results, the authors argue that general damages awards continue to be too low to reflect the importance of the equality rights protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code. While many expected that general damages awards would increase as a result of amendments to the Code that took effect in 2008, the data reveals that the range of the vast majority of general damages awards has remained relatively unchanged following the legislative reforms. …


The Rule Of Law, Legal Pluralism, And Challenges To A Western-Centric View: Some Very Preliminary Observations, Peer Zumbansen Jan 2017

The Rule Of Law, Legal Pluralism, And Challenges To A Western-Centric View: Some Very Preliminary Observations, Peer Zumbansen

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Despite hundreds of “Rule of Law” projects at the World Bank and a host of research into the foundations and content of the Rule of Law, we are still nowhere near an altogether satisfactory definition. While the Rule of Law is repeatedly being referred to in ‘legal assistance’ and ‘law reform’ projects and lives as a guiding principle in constitutions around the world, we don’t seem able to settle on a commonly agreed-upon approach to its nature and institutional form. In this context, the Rule of Law provides an opportunity to engage critically with the differences in perception and bias …


Technological Neutrality: Recalibrating Copyright In The Information Age, Carys J. Craig Jan 2017

Technological Neutrality: Recalibrating Copyright In The Information Age, Carys J. Craig

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This article aims to draw the connection between how we conceptualize legal rights over information resources and our capacity to develop technologically neutral legal norms in the information age. More specifically, it identifies and critically examines three competing approaches to the idea of technological neutrality apparent in copyright jurisprudence. Ultimately, it is argued that true technological neutrality requires not simply the seamless expansion of legal rights into new technological contexts, but the careful, contextual recalibration of rights and interests in light of shifting values and changing circumstances. As a normative principle, technological neutrality in copyright law thus demands a nuanced …


Law And Digestion: A Brief History Of An Unpalatable Idea, Dan Priel Jan 2017

Law And Digestion: A Brief History Of An Unpalatable Idea, Dan Priel

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

According to a familiar adage the legal realists equated law with what the judge had for breakfast. As this is sometimes used to ridicule the realists, prominent defenders of legal realism have countered that none of the realists ever entertained any such idea. In this short essay I show that this is inaccurate. References to this idea are found in the work of Karl Llewellyn and Jerome Frank, as well as in the works of their contemporaries, both friends and foes. But I also show the idea is older than the legal realists. One finds casual references to it in …


Reconsidering Copyright's Constitutionality, Graham Reynolds Mar 2016

Reconsidering Copyright's Constitutionality, Graham Reynolds

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

In 1996, in Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin – Michelin & Cie v. National Automobile, Aerospace, Transportation and General Workers Union of Canada (CAW-Canada) (Michelin), Teitelbaum J. of the Federal Court (Trial Division) held both that specific provisions of the Copyright Act did not infringe the right to freedom of expression as protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) and that, even if they did, these provisions could be justified under s. 1 of the Charter. Since Michelin, these conclusions have been treated by Canadian courts as settled. The purpose of this paper is to challenge these …


Cosmopolitanism, Custom And Complexity: Kant's Cosmopolitan Norms In Action, Tracey Leigh Dowdeswell Jan 2016

Cosmopolitanism, Custom And Complexity: Kant's Cosmopolitan Norms In Action, Tracey Leigh Dowdeswell

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Immanuel Kant's Cosmopolitanism has come to stand alongside Political Realism and Liberal Internationalism as one of three broad theories of ethics in international relations. Yet Cosmopolitanism has been subjected to criticisms that the universal norms identified by Kant - including such norms as hospitality, reciprocity, and publicity (transparency and free political participation) - are Western and Eurocentric in nature, incompatible with cultural pluralism, and lack the justification and legitimacy for the broad-based consensus required for a Cosmopolitan politicalsphere to emerge among the world’s diverse peoples. This paper seeks to address these criticisms of Cosmopolitanism by studying examples of Cosmopolitan norms …


Lessons From Washington And Colorado: The Potential Financial Gains Of Recreational Marijuana To Canada, Nachshon Goltz, Ekaterina Bogdanov Jan 2016

Lessons From Washington And Colorado: The Potential Financial Gains Of Recreational Marijuana To Canada, Nachshon Goltz, Ekaterina Bogdanov

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

While Colorado and Washington are among the jurisdictions spearheading the global trend towards legalization of recreational Cannabis (marijuana), Canada lags behind in the regulatory process - but not in Cannabis consumption. An empirical study conducted in downtown Toronto, as well as studies done by Statistics Canada, reveal that Cannabis use is widespread among Canadians, which indicates that the current regulatory regime is not effective as a deterrent.

This paper details the results of the above-mentioned empirical study, reviews the regulatory framework of recreational Cannabis use in Colorado, Washington and Canada, and uses taxation data from Colorado to estimate the potential …


Banning Bribes Abroad: U.S. Enforcement Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Ellen Gutterman Jan 2016

Banning Bribes Abroad: U.S. Enforcement Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Ellen Gutterman

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The United States has been at the forefront of international efforts to combat corruption in the global economy for almost forty years, chiefly through its Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Over the past decade, US enforcement of the FCPA has surged - both in increased numbers of enforcement actions and through the application of increasingly expansive interpretations of jurisdiction through which to enforce the FCPA on an extraterritorial basis. On one hand, extraterritorial enforcement of the FCPA has promoted anti-corruption policies and the banning of bribes abroad. At the same time, three aspects of FCPA enforcement shape and constrain the …


Who Has Benefited Financially From Investment Treaty Arbitration? An Evaluation Of The Size And Wealth Of Claimants, Gus Van Harten Jan 2016

Who Has Benefited Financially From Investment Treaty Arbitration? An Evaluation Of The Size And Wealth Of Claimants, Gus Van Harten

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

We collected data on the size and wealth of the foreign investors that have brought claims and received compensation due to ISDS. Our main findings are that the beneficiaries of ISDS, in the aggregate, have overwhelmingly been companies with more than USD1 billion in annual revenue – especially extra-large companies with more than USD10 billion – and individuals with more than USD100 million in net wealth. ISDS has produced monetary benefits primarily for those companies or individuals at the expense of respondent states. Incidentally, we also found that extra-large companies’ success rates in ISDS, especially at the merits stage, exceeded …


Evaluating The Impact Of Remedial Authority: Adjudicative Tribunals In The Health Sector, Steven J. Hoffman, Lorne Sossin Jan 2016

Evaluating The Impact Of Remedial Authority: Adjudicative Tribunals In The Health Sector, Steven J. Hoffman, Lorne Sossin

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Adjudicative tribunals play an important role in the health sector yet their actual influence, as part of the health system, remains undetermined. Most of the studies that have evaluated their work have focused on measures of accountability and independence, rather than the indicators of societal impact. As efforts to reform health systems continue internationally, it is crucial that we understand the benefits and costs of adjudicative tribunals for providers and consumers of heath. In this regard, empirically evaluating the impact of adjudicative tribunals will help inform policymaking through the collection of objective data. A strong and accountable health care system …


Key Flaws In The European Commission’S Proposals For Foreign Investor Protection In Ttip, Gus Van Harten Jan 2016

Key Flaws In The European Commission’S Proposals For Foreign Investor Protection In Ttip, Gus Van Harten

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

In November 2015, the European Commission released a proposed text on foreign investor protection in the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In this paper, I outline key flaws in this proposal, including language buried in the text that significantly undermines the EC's proposed provisions on the investment court system (ICS) and on the right to regulate.


Will It Ever Be 50/50?: Diversity And Gender In The Law Firm And On Corporate Boards, Kathleen Killin Jan 2016

Will It Ever Be 50/50?: Diversity And Gender In The Law Firm And On Corporate Boards, Kathleen Killin

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Today, women account for 50% of graduates from university programs in Canada and abroad. Traditional gender roles are a growing “thing of the past” with women taking on more responsibility and leadership positions within law and business. However, a gap still remains between the sexes in partner track and directorships. This paper explores regulatory bodies, both in law and finance, which have voiced for change and sparked conversation to bridge this gap. As one will find, major successes have occurred in recent years, however a commitment must be maintained in order to continue to advance gender diversity in law and …


Islamic Law And Constitution-Making: The Authoritarian Temptation And The Arab Spring, Mohammad Fadel Jan 2016

Islamic Law And Constitution-Making: The Authoritarian Temptation And The Arab Spring, Mohammad Fadel

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The political dynamics that have characterized post-Mubarak Egypt have often been understood to be a battle between "religious" forces, represented by the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters, and "secularist" forces, represented by a diverse group of civil society actors. Opposition of this latter group to the "religious" politics of the Muslim Brotherhood is therefore understood to be the primary cause of the events that led to the July 3, 2013 military coup that overthrew Egypt's only freely elected President, Mohammed Morsi. Without denying the salience of a religious-secularist divide in Egypt, this narrative of post-Mubarak politics fails to appreciate the …


Investment Treaties And The Internal Vetting Of Regulatory Proposals: A Case Study From Canada, Gus Van Harten, Dayna Nadine Scott Jan 2016

Investment Treaties And The Internal Vetting Of Regulatory Proposals: A Case Study From Canada, Gus Van Harten, Dayna Nadine Scott

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

In this paper, we report findings on whether trade and investment agreements that allow for investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) contribute to regulatory chill. The study focused on whether ISDS contributed to changes in internal vetting of government decisions related to environmental protection in the province of Ontario, Canada. Our main source of information was confidential interviews with insiders, mostly current or former officials in ministries with an environmental or trade mandate. We aimed to advance understanding of litigation risk and government decision-making with a focus on ISDS.


Everyday Legal Problems And The Cost Of Justice In Canada: Overview Report, Trevor C. W. Farrow, Ab Currie, Nicole Aylwin, Lesley Jacobs, David Northrup, Lisa Moore Jan 2016

Everyday Legal Problems And The Cost Of Justice In Canada: Overview Report, Trevor C. W. Farrow, Ab Currie, Nicole Aylwin, Lesley Jacobs, David Northrup, Lisa Moore

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Law and legal problems are part of everyday life. If you have ever been harassed at work, unfairly fired or evicted, divorced, not received support payments, disputed a will or a cell phone contract, or had your credit rating challenged, you may have already experienced one of these types of everyday legal problems. If so, you are not alone. Almost half (48.4%) of Canadians over 18 will experience at least one civil or family justice problem over any given three-year period. Even though many Canadians do not understand, feel connected to or welcomed by the justice system, essentially all of …


Payment Law: Legislative Competence In Canada, Benjamin Geva Jan 2016

Payment Law: Legislative Competence In Canada, Benjamin Geva

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This article addresses the legislative competence in Canada in relation to regulatory and transactional aspects of payment of law. Setting out the parameters of "payment law", the article examines the federal legislative powers in relation to bills and notes as well as baking, in broader constitutional and historical context, and argues for federal jurisdiction. A possible legislative role for the provinces is also discussed.


Have We Legalized Corruption?: The Impacts Of Expanding Municipal Authority Without Safeguards In Toronto And Ontario, Stanley Makuch, Maathew Shuman Jan 2016

Have We Legalized Corruption?: The Impacts Of Expanding Municipal Authority Without Safeguards In Toronto And Ontario, Stanley Makuch, Maathew Shuman

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This article discusses the importance of rule of law values such as predictability, certainty, equality, and procedural safeguards in controlling corruption at the municipal level of government and how those values are being replaced by political and economic values such as efficiency, discretion, responsiveness, and need. Particular attention is placed on how this change in values may lead to corruption and the abuse of power in planning and other decisions made by municipal governments.


‘By The Court’: The Untold Story Of A Canadian Judicial Innovation, Peter Mccormick Jan 2016

‘By The Court’: The Untold Story Of A Canadian Judicial Innovation, Peter Mccormick

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The Supreme Court of Canada has for several decades used an anonymous and unanimous decision format – ‘By the Court’ – for a subset of its constitutional decisions; although some of the specific cases (such as the Quebec Secession Reference) have been closely examined, the practice itself has never received focused consideration. This article establishes a chronology, an inventory, and a typology for the Supreme Court’s ‘By the Court’ judgments, and concludes by suggesting that it use has become more frequent under the current Chief Justice.


Indigenous Territorial Rights In The Common Law, Kent Mcneil Jan 2016

Indigenous Territorial Rights In The Common Law, Kent Mcneil

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This chapter compares Indigenous territorial rights in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand thematically under four headings: the sources, nature and content, proof, and protection of Indigenous rights. The first two are closely linked, as the nature and content of Indigenous rights are determined largely by their sources. Likewise, proof of Indigenous rights also depends on their sources. The protection they are accorded in any particular nation-state depends mainly on its constitution, with recent additional protection emerging in international law. The major premise of the chapter is that Indigenous rights are territorial, encompassing real property rights and governmental …


Designing Emotional And Psychological Support Into Truth And Reconciliation Commissions, Verlyn F. Francis Jan 2016

Designing Emotional And Psychological Support Into Truth And Reconciliation Commissions, Verlyn F. Francis

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Truth and reconciliation commissions are a dispute resolution process used to attempt reconciliation of disputants after internal conflicts and civil wars. A large component of this transitional justice process involves truth-telling by perpetrators and victims.

Using the example of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, this article argues that successful reconciliation depends on the design of the process. It is important for the designers of conflict resolution process to balance individual and institutional interests while ensuring all stakeholders are at the design table. Since truth-telling in these circumstances usually involves recalling and testifying about traumatic events, it is important …


The Brazilian Clean Company Act: Using Institutional Multiplicity For Effective Punishment, Mariana Mota Prado, Lindsey D. Carson, Izabela Correa Jan 2016

The Brazilian Clean Company Act: Using Institutional Multiplicity For Effective Punishment, Mariana Mota Prado, Lindsey D. Carson, Izabela Correa

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

In Brazil’s battle against corruption over the past two decades, there has been significant progress related to systems of oversight and investigation, but very little progress in holding corrupt actors legally accountable for their transgressions. We suggest that until very recently this could be partially explained by the fact that there was institutional multiplicity (i.e. duplication of functions) in oversight and investigative institutions, while at the punishment stage, a single and underperforming institution — the judiciary — exercised monopolistic authority. To circumvent the limits associated with Brazilian courts, the government is increasingly relying on administrative sanctions for corruption. It is …


Contested Citizenship In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Elena Cirkovic Jan 2016

Contested Citizenship In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Elena Cirkovic

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

According to Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the right to nationality and citizenship can be considered as a universal human right: ‘(1) everyone has the right to nationality’ and ‘(2) no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality’. However, the qualifications of the bearer of ‘universal’ rights are unspecified. Equating nationality with citizenship has contributed to a situation where people(s) have to fit the category of being a ‘national’ in order to obtain citizenship. The question of access to national and international rights remains the question …


A Law Of Just Transitions?: Putting Labor Law To Work On Climate Change, David J. Doorey Jan 2016

A Law Of Just Transitions?: Putting Labor Law To Work On Climate Change, David J. Doorey

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Climate change will dramatically affect labor markets, but labor law scholars have mostly ignored it. Environmental law scholars are concerned with climate change, but they lack expertise in the complexities of regulating the labor relationship. Neither legal field is equipped to deal adequately with the challenge of governing the effects of climate change on labor markets, employers, and workers. This essay argues that a legal field organized around the concept of a 'just transition' to a lower carbon economy could bring together environmental law, labor law, and environment justice scholars in interesting and valuable ways. "Just transitions" is a concept …


Conservatives, The Supreme Court, And The Constitution: Judicial-Government Relations, 2006-15, Christopher P. Manfredi Jan 2016

Conservatives, The Supreme Court, And The Constitution: Judicial-Government Relations, 2006-15, Christopher P. Manfredi

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Three high profile government losses in the Supreme Court in late 2013 and early 2014, combined with the government’s response to those losses, generated a narrative of an especially fractious relationship between the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Court. This article analyzes this narrative more rigorously by going beyond a mere tallying of government wins and losses in the Court. Specifically, it examines Charter-based invalidations of federal legislation since 2006, three critical reference opinions rendered at the government’s own request, and two key judgments delivered in the spring of 2015 concerning aboriginal rights and the elimination …


From Paper To Electronic Order: The Digitalization Of The Check In The Usa, Benjamin Geva Jan 2016

From Paper To Electronic Order: The Digitalization Of The Check In The Usa, Benjamin Geva

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This article explores the various stages in the check payment in which electronic transmission has replaced physical delivery. Part I discusses converting the check into an electronic entry at a point of sale of goods and services. Part II addresses the electronic presentment of a check. Part III deals with the possible conversion of the check from paper to electronic, and vice versa, within the interbank check collection system. Interbank exchange of check images is the subject of Part IV. Part V addresses the electronic order that operates like a check but that has never been in a paper format. …


The ‘Objectives’ And ‘Principles’ Of The Wto Trips Agreement: A Detailed Anatomy, Alison Slade Jan 2016

The ‘Objectives’ And ‘Principles’ Of The Wto Trips Agreement: A Detailed Anatomy, Alison Slade

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Articles 7 and 8 of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) are entitled ‘Objectives’ and ‘Principles’ respectively. These provisions occupy a prominent position within the text of the Agreement, yet have figured sparingly in the legal reasoning of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). The illogical nature of this discrepancy is accentuated when considered in light of four key factors. First, the pioneering step taken by the negotiators of the TRIPS Agreement to include broad declarations of intent within the legally operative text. Second, the 2001 reinforcement given to the authority of these provisions through …


Corruption And Development: The Need Of International Investigations With A Multijurisdictional Approach And The Involvement Of Multilateral Development Banks With National Authorities, Juan Ronderos, Michelle Ratpan, Andrea Osorio Rincon Jan 2016

Corruption And Development: The Need Of International Investigations With A Multijurisdictional Approach And The Involvement Of Multilateral Development Banks With National Authorities, Juan Ronderos, Michelle Ratpan, Andrea Osorio Rincon

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The authors argue that while both Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and national governments have mechanisms to fight corruption, the outcomes of these enforcement mechanisms diverge. MDBs are interested in the causes and effects of corruption from a development perspective and, as such, tend to sanction Small and Medium Enterprises and individuals, while national governments are focused on a more punitive outcome, targeting larger multinational corporations. The article examines the enforcement objectives articulated in national legislation, namely the American Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act and its Canadian counterpart (the CFPOA) as well as several Canadian cases, on the one hand, and …


Consult, Consent And Veto: International Norms And Canadian Treaties, Shin Imai Jan 2016

Consult, Consent And Veto: International Norms And Canadian Treaties, Shin Imai

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Large parts of Canada, from Ontario to parts of British Columbia and north to the Northwest Territories, are covered by the “numbered treaties”, signed between First Nations and the Crown between 1871 and 1929. These treaties provide for the creation of small reserves for the Indians, and the “surrender” of the remaining tracts of land to the Crown. The land that is “surrendered” continues to be available for Indigenous hunting, fishing and harvesting activities. However, once the land is “taken up” by the provincial Crown for activities such as mining, lumbering and settlement, the treaty rights to hunt, fish and …


Is The Death Of The Paper Cheque Upon Us?: The Electronic Presentment And Deposit Of Cheques In Canada, Benjamin Geva Jan 2016

Is The Death Of The Paper Cheque Upon Us?: The Electronic Presentment And Deposit Of Cheques In Canada, Benjamin Geva

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

Over the years, banks have been introducing automation to their own respective cheque collection podecures. Particularily, interbank facilities and large institutions have developed automated systems using cutting age technology in which very little is done manually and at the branch level.


Inventing Legal Combat: Pro-Poor 'Struggles' In The Human Rights Jurisprudence Of The Nigerian Appellate Courts, 1999-2011, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Basil E. Ugochukwu Jan 2016

Inventing Legal Combat: Pro-Poor 'Struggles' In The Human Rights Jurisprudence Of The Nigerian Appellate Courts, 1999-2011, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Basil E. Ugochukwu

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

This article deals with the question whether the jurisprudence of Nigeria’s appellate courts has helped advance or impede the struggles of the poor to assert their human rights in the country. The article begins by defining, delimiting, and situating the concepts “struggle” and “human rights as struggle.” It then moves on to identify and discuss the factors that make the struggles that the poor and the subaltern must wage to realize their human rights a tough one. Following this discussion, the article turns its attention to its main focus, i.e., an analytical examination of the ways in which the corpus …