Law Commons^™

100 Years Of International Ip - Reflections On Past, Present And Future, Frederick M. Abbott

Scholarly Publications

We have been asked to reflect on the past 100 years of international intellectual property law and to try to project forward about what changes might be necessary or desirable in the future. Only a science fiction writer would purport to have some idea about what things might look like a hundred years in the future, including from the standpoint of international intellectual property, so my remarks on that will be somewhat more proximate to the present.

Child-Proofing Global Public Health In Anticipation Of Emergency, Frederick M. Abbott

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Facilitating Access To Cross-Border Supplies Of Patented Pharmaceuticals: The Case Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Frederick M. Abbott

Scholarly Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into stark relief the gaps in global preparedness to address widespread outbreaks of deadly viral infections. This article proposes legal mechanisms for addressing critical issues facing the international community in terms of providing equitable access to vaccines, treatments, diagnostics, and medical equipment. On the supply side, the authors propose the establishment of mandatory patent pools ('Licensing Facilities') on a global or regional, or even national basis, depending upon the degree of cooperation that maybe achieved. The authors also discuss the importance of creating shared production facilities. On the demand side, the authors propose the establishment …

Let International Competition Negotiations Sleep A While Longer: Focus On Tools And Capacity, Frederick M. Abbott

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Substitute And Complement Theories Of Judicial Review, David Landau

Scholarly Publications

Constitutional theory has hypothesized two distinct and contradictory ways in which judicial review may interact with external political and social support. One line of scholarship has argued that judicial review and external support are substitutes. Thus, "political safeguard" theorists of American federalism and the separation of powers argue that these constitutional values are enforced through the political branches, making judicial review unnecessary. However, a separate line of work, mostly composed of social scientists examining rights issues, argues that the relationship between courts and outside support is complementary-judges are unlikely to succeed in their projects unless they have sufficient assistance from …

Vulnerable Insiders: Constitutional Design, International Law And The Victims Of Armed Conflict In Colombia, David Landau

Scholarly Publications

This article, prepared for a conference on “The External Dimensions of Constitutions” held at the University of Cambridge in September 2016, explains how the Colombian Constitutional Court constructed a set of rights for a group of vulnerable insiders—victims of the country’s long-running internal armed conflict. The Court based its jurisprudence on a 1991 constitutional design that turned towards international law as a way of resolving a severe domestic crisis of violence and legitimacy. The Court has drawn heavily on principles of international human rights law and international humanitarian law to develop a set of protections for Colombia’s massive population of …

Democratic Erosion And Constitution-Making Moments: The Role Of International Law, David Landau

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections On The Report Of The Un Secretary General’S High Level Panel On Access To Medicines, Frederick M. Abbott

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Revising International Law: A Liberal Account Of Natural Resources, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

In this Article, I defend the view that natural resources originally belong to individuals who have legitimately established private property claims over them. Natural resources do not belong to a collective entity such as the people or the state. My argument is simple. Relying on the Lockean contractarian tradition, I argue that individuals must delegate any resource controlled by the state. This is because all powers of the state are, morally, delegated powers. A group's claims over natural resources is entirely derivative of the original claims of its members. Only individuals can originally appropriate natural resources; only they have the …

Property And Exceptionalism In China And The Anglo-American World, 1650-1860, Tahirih V. Lee

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

A Game-Theoretic Model Of International Climate Negotiations, Shi-Ling Hsu

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Natural Law As Part Of International Law: The Case Of The Armenian Genocide, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

In this Article I argue that some norms are part of international law even if they have never been created by treaty or custom. Because such norms have never been posited, they are natural law norms, and my thesis is that these natural law norms are as much part of international law as the posited norms. By this I mean that these norms should figure in any catalog of what international law prescribes or permits.

Brain Drain, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Litigating Canada-U.S. Transboundary Harm: International Lawmaking And The Threat Of Reciprocity, Shi-Ling Hsu

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Vexing Problem Of Authority In Humanitarian Intervention: A Proposal, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

As is well known, the doctrine of humanitarian intervention raises a host of thorny issues: the threshold for intervention, the question of proportionality, the problem of last resort, the dilemma of whether or not to codify standards and procedures, and so forth. In this paper I will not address those issues; crucial and controversial as they are; I will assume that they have been somehow settled. I will also assume that it is desirable to find alternatives to unilateral intervention. The question, then, becomes this: who should authorize humanitarian intervention? Any acceptable authorizing procedure must avoid over-intervention and abuse on …

Governance Of International Institutions: A Review Of The North American Commission For Environmental Cooperation's Citizen Submissions Process, David L. Markell

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The North American Commission For Environmental Cooperation After Ten Years: Lessons About Institutional Structure And Public Participation In Governance, David L. Markell

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Nations And The Offenses Clause Of The Constitution: A Defense Of Federalism, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Collective Humanitarian Intervention, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

Until very recently, those who favored the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention were regarded either as hopeless idealists, or worse still, as trigger-happy "moral imperialists." Yet, the doctrine of humanitarian intervention has experienced a dramatic revival with the end of the Cold War. The realignment of global political forces and the awareness of the crucial link between human rights and peace have produced a significant change of opinion among governments and writers on the subject. While opinion is still sharply divided on the issue of unilateral humanitarian intervention, most international actors and observers are rallying behind the idea that the United …

International Abductions, Low Intensity Conflicts, And State Sovereignty: A Moral Inquiry, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

What are the moral principles bearing on operations such as an international abduction? International abductions are part of a larger category of international acts referred to as "low-intensity" operations. Can these acts be morally justified in time of peace? Can one nation, for example, rightfully claim that abductions of persons who are suspected of horrendous crimes by agents of another country violate the first country's sovereignty? Does the interest of the other country in bringing such persons to trial outweigh that sovereignty claim? If not, what interest of the second country could possibly justify the abduction? In any case, are …

Feminism And International Law: A Reply, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

Over the past several years, legal scholars have extended feminist theory to many areas of the law, and legal discourse has been enriched by feminist jurisprudence. Until recently, however, international law had not undergone a sustained feminist critique. This gap is now slowly being filled; a notable contribution to that effort is a recent article by Hilary Charlesworth, Christine Chinkin, and Shelley Wright.

This Essay presents a reply to the Charlesworth-Chinkin-Wright critique. Although much of this reply engages more general issues in feminist theory, it would be impossible, within the scope of this work, to address every important political, cultural, …

The Kantian Theory Of International Law, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

This Article defends the view, first developed by Immanuel Kant, that international law and domestic justice are fundamentally connected.'

International Obligation And The Theory Of Hypothetical Consent, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

In this article I make three related arguments. First, I argue that the traditional approach to the problem of international obligation is incomplete and much too simplistic. Drawing in part on the ideas of Ronald Dworkin, I suggest that rather than a question of fidelity to international law, the foundational problem is the determination of international law. Second, I consider and reject two theories of international obligation: the theory based on the concept of interdependence and the theory of actual consent of states. Third, I suggest a theory of international obligation based on human rights. This theory is drawn from …