Law Commons^™

Peace And Democracy: The Link And The Policy Implications, Valerie Epps

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The United Nations Charter prohibits "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."' This is the great peace principle of international law, described by Professor Thomas Franck as "the apex of the global normative system...

Copyright Protection For Software, Ralph Oman

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The United States blazed the trail in giving copyright protection for software. Until just recently, many other countries favored sui generis protection for software, but that argument was finally settled in GATT/TRIPs and last December's World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty.

The Rule Of Law Initiative At The United States Institute Of Peace, Charles Duryea Smith

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Thank you so much, Valerie, for the invitation to join you today. I have chosen what I think is an important part of the larger subject of Peace and Democracy: The Link and the Policy Implications; it is the rule of law.

Can A State Commit A Crime? Definitely, Yes!, Alain Pellet

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

As is well known, the International Law Commission (ILC) decided in 1976 to include an article in its Draft Articles on State Responsibility that makes a distinction between normal international wrongful acts, which it called delicts, on the one hand, and exceptionally grave breaches of international law which it called international crimes, on the other hand.

Time To Try Mediation Of International Commercial Disputes, Harold L. Abramson

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

How many attorneys in the audience have ever participated in a domestic mediation? I see the hands of about four out of about a hundred people in attendance. How many attorneys in the audience have ever participated in an international mediation? I see two people raising their hands. This is a larger percentage of people than I had anticipated! (laughter)

Mediation In International Commercial Arbitration: Some Practical Aspects, David W. Plant

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

In international commercial arbitration, some disputes cry out for informal resolution by the parties themselves. In assessing their response, parties, arbitrators and arbital institutions must have in mind fundamental, practical and ethical considerations. This paper addresses some of the practical and provocative issues raised in these circumstances.

Establishment Of An International Criminal Court, Steven J. Gerber

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

It cannot be overemphasized how historic the negotiations to establish a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) have been. Over 120 states have participated in the process and not one of them questions the need for a permanent ICC to try individuals accused of the most serious international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity or serious violations of the laws and customs of war (war crimes).

Truth And Reconciliation Commissions, Angelika Schlunck

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Truth and reconciliation commissions have played a critical role in a number of countries that had to come to terms with a past marked by protracted conflict, civil strife, violence, and massive human rights abuse. The most widely known example is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission established in 1995 in South Africa to examine Apartheid-Era crimes.

Lost In Paradise: Lobbying Strategies For Public International Law Issues, Bruce Zagaris

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Increasingly in an interconnected world, Americans and people throughout the world are encountering situations in which their human rights are abused abroad. People are traveling to exotic parts of the world that have not experienced the extent of foreign penetration. Simultaneously, the enormous gaps between wealthy and impoverished

Software Protection: Copyrights, Patents, Trade Secrets And/Or Sui Generis, Karl F. Jorda

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

What is the best form of protection for software has been and still is a most unsettled and vexing - and hence very topical - issue in intellectual property (IP) law and practice.

Asset Forfeiture: Home And Abroad, Steven L. Kessler

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Good intention will always be pleaded for every assumption of power.... [T]he Constitution was made to guard the people against the dangers of good intentions. There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters. -Daniel Webster

Facilitating Accountability: The Potential Value Of International Guidelines Against Impunity, Madeline Morris

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

We strive to overcome impunity for international crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Our reasons may include a vision of justice and perhaps a hope for deterrence.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Compliance Issues From A German And European Perspective, Andreas G. Junius

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Corruption has become a major topic of almost daily attention within the media. It has been of varying degrees of concern in different countries. Historic and cultural differences play a role. In some Asian or Arab cultures, for instance, the bakshish mentality is a way of life and is socially accepted.

The Facilitation Of National And International Accountability Mechanisms: The Creation Of The International Legal Assistance Consortium (Iliac), Mark S. Ellis

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

In early 1997, Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni' assembled a group of individuals to discuss the creation of a set of guiding principles for combatting impunity for international crimes. The group included myself, Professor Michael Scharf,2 Professor Paul Williams,3 and Professor Madeline Morris.

Section 1782 Of Title 28 (U.S. Code): Is There A Discoverability Requirement?, Gregory F. Hauser

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

There is an excellent, thorough, and relatively recent discussion of the issue in a student note by Peter Metis.' These remarks supplement and update that discussion.

Death Penalty Primer: Reviewing International Human Rights Development & The Aba Resolution For A Moratorium On Capital Punishment In Order To Inform Debates In U.S. State Legislatures, Dorean Marguerite Koenig

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

More than half of the world's nations have either abolished or no longer practice the death penalty. I In this coming year, the opportunity for a vast expansion in the number of nations which no longer adhere to the death penalty appears almost certain because of events which occurred in 1997, some of which are detailed here.

Jurisdiction And Evidence - An English Perspective, Steven Loble

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The countries of Europe have entered into multilateral treaties to facilitate doing business in Europe. These treaties cover jurisdiction, enforcement of foreign judgments and choice of law. The individual states in the United States have analogous arrangements to facilitate doing business within the United States.

International Law And The Implementation Of The American Bar Association Resolution Regarding The American Bar Association Resolution Regarding The Death Penalty, Ved P. Nanda

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

My assignment is to consider the emerging international norms and how they might affect implementation of the American Bar Association (ABA) resolution calling for a moratorium on the imposition and enforcement of the death penalty.'

Revive The Hague Evidence Convention, Andrew N. Vollmer

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

This article is about the Hague Evidence Convention' and the Supreme Court's decision in Aerospatiale.2 Because Of Aerospatiale, the Hague Evidence Convention is used only rarely for party discovery in United States litigation. That is unfortunate, and my purpose here is to suggest reasons and ways to revive use of the Convention. I will first discuss several aspects of the international discovery situation before Aerospatiale.

The Federal Common Law Of Universal, Obligatory, And Definable Human Rights Norms, Derek P. Jinks

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

International law is part of United States law. Indeed, international law - or the "law of nations" in eighteenth century parlance - has been considered part of United States law since the founding. The Judiciary Act of 1789, the enabling legislation of Article III, establishes federal court jurisdiction over torts committed in violation of the law of nations.

International Law And Abolition Of The Death Penalty: Recent Developments, William A. Schabas

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

As a goal for civilized nations, abolition of the death penalty was promoted during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' in 1948. It found, however, that expression was only implicit in the recognition of what international human rights law designated "the right to life;" the same approach was taken in the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, adopted May 4, 1948.

Strengthening The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition, Harry H. Almond Jr.

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The Jessup Competition has awakened perspectives about decision making in the students of international law. It has served in the legal education of countless students, and it has even served the promotion and perhaps the development of international law itself

Diplomatic Immunity: To Have Or Not To Have, That Is The Question, Mark S. Zaid

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The question of whether diplomats should be fully immune from criminal prosecution, no matter what the alleged crime, is one that is neither new nor free from dispute. As a matter of international law and United States domestic law, the source of the immunity and the extent to which it extends is quite clear.

Challenges For An Independent Asian Human Rights Commission, Bina D'Costa

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

While there exists a solid body of principles and a wide-ranging and growing number of institutions currently working to promote and protect human rights in Asia, there have unfortunately been few consolidated regional efforts for legal enforcement against violations. An Asian Human Rights Commission is the most logical and sought after body for this purpose.

Ngoc Efforts Towards The Creation Of A Regional Human Rights Arrangement In The Asia-Pacific Region, Ali Mohsin Qazilbash

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

I feel honored to be given an opportunity to speak at this panel on an issue which has a lot to do with a part of the world I belong to. NGOs in Asia and the Pacific have been crucial to the struggle for a regional human rights arrangement. Indeed it is they who have kept both the debate over and the struggle for an Asian human rights system alive.

Issues Surrounding The Creation Of A Regional Human Rights System For The Asia-Pacific, Kelly Dawn Askin

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The only major region of the world that does not have a regional human rights commission or court is the Asia-Pacific. The Asia-Pacific can generally be recognized to include not only the entire Asian region, from Japan and the Philippines in the East to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the West, but also areas of the South Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, the East Indies and the Pacific Islands, and Russia.

Creating And Conducting In-Class Simulations In Public International Law: A Producer's Guide, Andrew L. Strauss

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

I define an in-class simulation as any classroom exercise that attempts to depict real-life events. Simulations can be extremely elaborate attempts to enact complex proceedings, or they can be as simple as having two students spontaneously represent lawyers making opposing arguments during class discussion.

Execution Of Foreign Nationals In The United States: Pressure From Foreign Governments Against The Death Penalty, John Quigley

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

One of the sources of pressure against the use of capital punishment in the United States is foreign governments. Half the world's states do not use capital punishment. Importantly, that half includes all of Western Europe. The states of Western Europe, as a result of their economic situation and their economic cohesiveness, are better positioned than most other states in the world to put pressure on the United States on human rights matters.

Crimes Of War: A Personal Account Of The Horrors Revealed By An Investigation Of A Nazi War Criminal, Peter Watson

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Crimes of war pose an inherent contradiction. They demand justice, but we find ourselves uneasy at putting our enemies on trial. Since Nuremburg, such issues have challenged our morality and confronted our conscience. Is it that we recoil from the spoils of the victor, taking illegitimate advantage of the vanquished?

The Logical Next Step? An International Perspective On The Issues Of Human Cloning And Genetic Technology, Jason T. Corsover

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

"If you're a scientist, you believe that it is good to find out how the world works; that it is good to find what the realities are; that it is good to turn over to mankind at large the greatest possible power to control the world…”

- Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project