Law Commons^™

Decolonising Restoration And Justice: Restoration In Transitional Cultures, Mark Findlay

Research Collection School Of Law

This article is a strategy for the comparative analysis of justice in various contesting forms. To identify useful levels of the comparative project, the colonising potential of restorative justice is examined. In this context the influence of formalised justice mechanisms over the less formal is explored, with examples in transitional cultures in the South Pacific discussed. Local and global potentials (and dilemmas) are identified for analysis. The integration of justice forms, both in terms of structure and ideology, is argued for. Notions of collaborative rather than restorative justice are advanced, in order that the intersection between state-sponsored and customary justice ...

Puerto Rico: Cultural Nation, American Colony, Pedro A. Malavet

UF Law Faculty Publications

As a matter of law, Puerto Rico has been a colony for an uninterrupted period of over five hundred years. In modern times, colonialism—the status of a polity with a definable territory that lacks sovereignty because legal/political authority is exercised by a peoples distinguishable from the inhabitants of the colonized region—is the only legal status that the isla (island) has known. This Article posits that Puerto Rico's colonial status—particularly its intrinsic legal and social constructs of second-class citizenship for Puerto Ricans—is incompatible with contemporary law or a sensible theory of justice and morality.

Puerto ...

Spotting Money Launderers: A Better Way To Fight Organized Crime?, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

Money laundering investigations have been much in the news of late. There have been stories that Radil Salinas de Gortari laundered kickbacks from drug traffickers while his brother was President of Mexico. That Ferdinand Marcos stashed nearly half a billion dollars in Swiss banks while he ruled the Philippines. That two of Mexico's largest banks have pleaded guilty to laundering charges stemming from a controversial U.S. sting operation. That the former prime minister of Ukraine pleaded guilty to Swiss charges that he laundered $9 million in stolen funds, even as he faced U.S. charges of laundering $114 ...

Globalizing The Rule Of International Law At The Pre-Dawn Of A New Millennium, Sompong Sucharitkul

The Sompong Sucharitkul Center for Advanced International Legal Studies

Following the close of the United Nations Decade of International Law on December 31, 1999, a new era has dawned within the American Society of International Law. The Group or Section involved in the United Nations Decade of International Law has renewed its continuing interests in international legal developments under the newly acquired title of UN21 or United Nations Legal Developments in the Twenty-First Century. Setting aside the precise date at which the twenty-first century and the Third Millennium may be truly considered to start running, i.e., on January 1st, 2000 Y2K or 2001 Y2K + 1. It is clear ...

The Effectiveness Of International Legislative Responses To The Helms-Burton Act, Bernadette Atuahene

All Faculty Scholarship

The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act (Helms-Burton Act) is the latest appendage to the Cuban embargo. Title III has caused an international uproar because it gives U.S. victims of Cuban expropriation a right of action within U.S. courts against third parties who traffic in confiscated property. For example, a U.S. citizen can sue a Canadian Mining company doing business in Cuba if they are operating on or using expropriated property. The Helms-Burton Act (HBA) targets U.S. allies who continue to trade and invest in Cuba regardless of pending U.S. claims of expropriation. In ...

Kosovo's War Victims: Civil Compensation Or Criminal Justice For Indentity Elimination?, Irene Scharf

Faculty Publications

This Article is presented in three Parts. The first Part examines the likelihood that the displaced war victims could receive some type of civil compensation for their losses through the local courts in Yugoslavia. Part II scrutinizes the basic international human rights doctrines and systems of enforcement to determine whether they may offer remedies for the victims of identity elimination. Part III explores the likelihood that, through the Yugoslav Tribunal, those responsible for identity elimination may be held criminally responsible for their actions in Kosovo.

Protecting Nature "Down Under": An American Law Professor's View Of Australia's Implementation Of The Convention On Biological Diversity--Laws, Policies, Programs, Institutions And Plans, 1992-2000, Robert F. Blomquist

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Dos Visiones Norteamericanas De La Jurisdicción De La Unión Europea, Richard T. Stith

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is America A Systematic Violator Of Human Rights In The Administration Of Criminal Justice?, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article focuses on vast American violations of human rights in the administration of criminal justice. It traces the development of these rights in the context of the two most pernicious human rights violations plaguing the United States: the death penalty and racism in the enforcement of criminal laws. The author calls attention to the politicization of the American justice system and its devastatingly negative impact on America’s preservation of human rights.

The Separation Of Questions Of Law And Fact In The New Russian And Spanish Jury Verdicts, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article discusses the division of labor between the judge and the jury in rendering judgment, and the separation of law and fact historically and currently, focusing on Spain and Russia. Both Russia and Spain rejected the Anglo-American general verdict of “guilty” or “not-guilty” in favor of a list of questions or propositions presented to the jury during their criminal procedure reforms of the 1990’s. This article also delves into the jury deliberation, verdict, and judgment process of the two countries.

Indeterminate Claims: New Challenges To Self-Determination Doctrine In Yugoslavia, Timothy W. Waters

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Serbia has two autonomous provinces, with nearly identical constitutional and political claims: heavily Albanian Kosovo and ethnically diverse but Serb-majority Vojvodina. One is headed towards some form of internationally recognized independence; the other almost certainly is not, even though calls for its autonomy have been mounting. What makes the difference?

This article examines what the reasons for these different outcomes show about the changing content of self-determination in an environment of persistent ethnic claims. The defining characteristic of self-determination today is its indeterminacy, which allows policymakers to pursue a broader range of policies than was possible in the era of ...

The Basic Law: A Fifty Year Assessment, Donald P. Kommers

Journal Articles

In 1949 the new German Basic Law raised many questions. Could a newly minted constitution-mere words on paper-breathe new life into a people devastated by war? Would it serve as a stable framework of government? Would it promote respect for human rights and popular government? Would it foster internal political unity? Half a century later all these questions can be answered in the affirmative. The Basic Law is one of the world’s most respected and imitated constitutions and it has emerged as the vital center of Germany's constitutional culture. It is invoked repeatedly in parliamentary debates and resorted ...

A Comparative Constitutional Law Canon, Donald P. Kommers, John E. Finn

Journal Articles

The article discusses what types of legal cases constitute a “canon” on American constitutional theory and comparative constitutional law, examples of case law that illustrate important developments in the two subjects. It describes the process taken by the article's authors to select a small sampling of 90 “canon” cases for their course book on American constitutional law, which is designed for the academic community and for undergraduate students enrolled in a traditional liberal arts curriculum.

Fox Hunting, Pheasant Shooting And Comparative Law, Alan Watson, Khaled Abou El Fadl

Scholarly Works

The Roman jurists, ancient rabbis and Muslim jurists were very different people. Above all, the rabbis and Muslim jurists were engaged on a search for law as truth. And the Roman jurists were much more obviously upper-class gentlemen.91 But the similarities are great. All three had a passion for legal interpretation. They delighted in discussing hypothetical cases. They chased after solutions by ways of reasoning devised by themselves. Practical utility, while present, was in the background. At times, to outsiders, their opinions seem outr6, even callous, remote from reality. They have little interest in what actually happens in court ...

Book Review, Mark J. Loewenstein

Articles

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance Lessons From Russian Enterprise Fiascos, Michael A. Heller, Merritt B. Fox

Articles

This Article draws on a rich array of deviant behavior in Russian enterprises to craft lessons for corporate governance theory. First, Professors Fox and Heller define corporate governance by looking to the economic functions of the firm. Based on this definition, they develop a typology that comprehensively shows all the channels through which bad corporate governance can inflict damage on a country's real economy. Second, they explain the causes of Russian enterprise fiascoes by looking to the particular initial conditions prevailing at privatization-untenable firm boundaries and insider allocation of firm shares-and the bargaining dynamics that have followed. This focus ...

Civilizing The Natives: Marriage In Post-Apartheid South Africa, David L. Chambers

Articles

South Africa is a land of many cultures. For several hundred years, British and Afrikaaner whites controlled the country, systematically manipulating black people to the whites' advantage. For the most part, however, whites tolerated the continuation within black communities of traditional marriage practices that white Christians considered uncivilized. In 1994, South Africa changed governments. A black majority Parliament came to power, adopting a consitution dedicated to equality and human dignity. Four years later, Parliament adopted a new marriage law that, though permitting some of the external trappings of the traditional marriage system to continue, eliminated by law much of the ...

The Finality Of Judgment And Sentence Prerequisite In The United States-Peru Bilateral Prisoner Transfer Treaty: Calling Congress And The President To Reform And Justifying Jurisdiction Of The Inter-American Human Rights Commission And Court, 15 Am. U. Int'l L. Rev. 1071 (2000), Ralph Ruebner, Lisa Carroll

UIC John Marshall Law School Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Ending The Apartheid Of The Closet: Sexual Orientation In The South African Constitutional Process, Eric C. Christiansen

Publications

This paper will briefly examine the process of creating a new South African Constitution in the 1990s. Nearly a decade of talks preceded the adoption of South Africa's first multi-racial democratic constitution in 1994. These talks and the subsequent drafting conventions created an astonishing document, stunning in its novelty in South African history, in its expressed values, and in its fundamental compromises. Part Three draws on a wide variety of primary documents from disparate sources to offer an original historical reconstruction of the inclusion of sexual orientation protections in the policy documents, Bill of Rights drafts, and constitutional proposals ...

Patent Infringement Damages In Japan And The United States: Will Increased Patent Infringement Damage Awards Revive The Japanese Economy?, Toshiko Takenaka

Articles

Accordingly, this Article will look at the impact of the new Japanese legislation on patent infringement damages and will discuss whether the increase in damage awards contributes to the creation of breakthrough technology. To understand this impact, Part I will discuss pre-1998 legislation damages and highlight the difference between damages awarded by United States courts and those awarded by Japanese courts, by comparing United States and Japanese case examples. In examining the general tort and patent law theories, Part I will also try to identify the source of the difference and discuss how this difference is reflected in current United ...

Statutory Interpretation In The Courtroom, The Classroom, And Canadian Legal Literature, Stephen F. Ross

Journal Articles

In recent years, judges and scholars in Canada and the United States are devoting more attention to the theory and techniques involved in statutory interpretation. Although some advocate "foundational" theories to answer all theories of interpretation, most difficult cases require a pragmatic approach that requires analysis of the statutory text, original legislative intent, and legislative purpose in light of modern circumstances. Moreover, the most difficult cases may not be answerable by any of these approaches. In difficult cases, judges often resort to "normative canons" - rules they created to further a jurisprudence they desire. These canons need to be closely examined ...

Law And Values In Governance: The Singapore Way, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection School Of Law

The article examines the role of law and the legal system in catalysing Singapore's development success. It argues that there is a dichotomy in the approach with regard to commercial law and law relating to individual freedom and rights and civil society. Universalism characterises the treatment of commercial laws while cultural relativism and a communitarian-based understanding of rights and obligations are features of the law relating to the rights of the individual. Instrumentalism, driven by a particularistic 'communitarian' political philosophy underpinned by strong Confucianist values, is very much motivated by the need for good governance as a prerequisite for ...

Balance-Of-Payments Crises In The Developing World: Balancing Trade, Finance And Development In The New Economic Order, Chantal Thomas

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Parallel Proceedings-Converging Views: The Westec Appeal, Janet Walker

Articles & Book Chapters

The flexibility afforded by new rules for jurisdiction and judgments creates opportunities for parallel proceedings and the potential for inconsistent results. Could mechanisms developed in other systems be adopted, such as the lis pendens rule in Europe, or would they merely replace the 'race to judgment' with a 'race to file'? What might a "made in Canada" solution look like? Would it succeed in preventing abuse without compromising fairness in the individual case?

Five Years After Beijing: A Report Card On Women’S Human Rights, Athena D. Mutua

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Continuing Payment Of One's Debt To Society: The German Model Of Felon Disenfranchisement As An Alternative, Nora V. Demleitner

Scholarly Articles

None available.

From Pirates To Partners: Protecting Intellectual Property In China In The Twenty-First Century, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United States repeatedly threatened China with a series of economic sanctions, trade wars, non-renewal of most-favored-nation status, and opposition to entry into the World Trade Organization. Such threats eventually led to compromises by the Chinese government and the signing of intellectual property agreements in 1992, 1995, and 1996. Despite these agreements, intellectual property piracy remains rampant in China.

Although China initially had serious concerns about the United States's threats of trade sanctions, the constant use of such threats by the U.S. government has led China to change its reaction and ...

The Process Geography Of Law (As Approached Through Andalucian Gitano Family Law), Susan G. Drummond

Articles & Book Chapters

Comparative law and legal anthropology have for long theorized on the basis of a traditional geography which saw states, regions, locales and social fields as having durable boundaries containing stable and homogenous cultures. This idea of place is now undergoing a massive transformation in response to the effects of and theories about globalization. The emerging ‘process geography’ rejects these traditional ideas, arguing that they are not, and indeed have never been aspects of reality, which is better represented by an imagery of processes. However, it is argued here that globalization is not a synonym for homogenization, nor has place suddenly ...

Nationality, Domicile And Habitual Residence - Does The New German Citizenship Law Call For A Change Of A Principal Connecting Factor In Private International Law ?, Marc Cziesielsky

LLM Theses and Essays

The purpose of the new citizenship law which was proposed by the new German federal government was to give legal aliens living in Germany a choice to become German citizens without having to give up the nationality which was conferred on them by their parentage or descent. This thesis will question whether this rigid concept should be completely abolished after an assessment of both the constitutionality and the exact implications of the new citizenship law. In the light of the conclusions, the comparative part of this thesis will then focus on a more general approach and will compare the concepts ...

The United States Supreme Court And Indigenous Peoples: Still A Long Way To Go Toward A Therapeutic Role, S. James Anaya

Articles

No abstract provided.