Law Commons^™

Global Law And Plunder: The Dark Side Of The Rule Of Law, Ugo Mattei, Marco De Morpurgo

Bocconi Legal Papers

The ‘rule of law’ has traditionally been conceived as an intrinsically positive and politically neutral ‘tool’, universally valid and capable of being ‘exported’ everywhere. This paper—which represents a synthetic exposition of the ideas expressed in Ugo Mattei and Laura Nader, Plunder: When the Rule of Law is Illegal (Blackwell Publishing, Oxford 2008)—asserts that such an ambiguous concept has a bright and a dark side, the latter being excluded from any public discussion. The rhetoric of the ‘rule of law’ has been used by Western powers in order to justify interventions (mainly) into the ‘developing’ world, that ultimately turned into practices …

Wild-West Cowboys Versus Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Some Problems In Comparative Approaches To Extreme Speech, Eric Heinze

Prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London

All European states ban some form of hate speech. US law precludes such bans. In view of the political and symbolic importance of free speech, it becomes tempting to assume that trans-Atlantic differences towards hate speech reflect deeper cultural divisions.

However, we must pay attention to comparative methodology before drawing ambitious conclusions about cross-cultural social and political differences that derive solely from differences in formal, black-letter norms. In this volume, Robert Post claims that formal, constitutional requirements of content-neutral regulation reflect a freer public sphere in the US, in contrast to the European public sphere.

Yet a legal-realist approach casts …

Water As A Public Good: The Status Of Water Under The General Agreement On Tariffs And Trade, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

Is water a “product” subject to the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)? I argue that it is not, because the established, widespread, and consistent assertion by states of public ownership over their water resources through both municipal and international law (the “public-ownership consensus”) precludes any reading of GATT that would fundamentally alter the unique status of those resources. My reasoning therefore differs from others who have addressed this issue in that I first examine the broader legal context in which the WTO exists and then consider how that context compels an interpretation of “product” …

The English Fox In The Louisiana Civil Law Chausse-Trappe: Civil Law Concepts In The English Language; Comparativists Beware!, Alain Levasseur, Vicenc Feliu

Vicenç Feliú

The Avant-Projet of the French Law Obligations and the French Law of Prescriptions, which we will cite as the Projet-Catala, is a monumental undertaking to modernize Parts III and IV of Book Three of the French Civil Code, “Obligations,” and to continue the work of Jean Carbonnier who demonstrated “in transfiguring the first Book” that it was possible to “rehabilitate” the Code of 1804 “without damaging its structure or form.” “The program mobilized thirty-four persons” under the sponsorship of the Association Henri Capitant and was presented in the form of a “Rapport à Monsieur le Garde des Sceaux” in September …

Law Across Borders: What Can The United States Learn From Japan?, Eric Feldman

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Human Rights And Military Decisions: Counterinsurgency And Trends In The Law Of International Armed Conflict, Dan E. Stigall, Christopher L. Blakesley, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The past several decades have seen a Copernican shift in the paradigm of armed conflict, which the traditional Law of International Armed Conflict (LOIAC) canon has not fully matched. Standing out in stark relief against the backdrop of relative inactivity in LOIAC, is the surfeit of activity in the field of international human rights law, which has become a dramatic new force in the ancient realm of international law. Human rights law, heretofore not formally part of the traditional juridico-military calculus, has gained ever increasing salience in that calculus. Indeed, human rights law has ramified in such a manner that …

On The Role And Regulation Of Private Negotiations In Governance, Joseph W. Yockey

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Feminizing Capital: A Corporate Imperative, Darren Rosenblum

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article argues that Norway’s Corporate Board Quota Law (“CBQ”) fosters a productive symbiosis between the public and private spheres. Recent studies indicate that higher numbers of women in executive positions result in stronger rates of corporate return on equity (“ROE”). Countries with higher levels of women's political representation also tend to have higher levels of economic growth. Increasing women's workforce participation outside the home can drive overall economic growth. These factors prompted the CBQ's proponents to argue for the economic imperative of women's corporate leadership. The CBQ will not only ameliorate gender inequality, but will bring new life to …

Turkey: At The Crossroads Of Secular West And Traditional East, Padideh Ala'i

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

On January 9, 2008 Washington College of Law at American University sponsored a conference entitled: Turkey: At the Crossroads of Secular West and Traditional East. This conference was percipitated by the recent election of the AKP party in Turkey and my trip to Turkey in summer 2007. In this short introduction to the American University International law Review symposium issue, I summarize the major issues raised in that one day conference specifically by Dean Haluk Kabaalioglu of Yeditepe University Facutly of Law, expert on EU law and Turkish-EU relations,and Professor Feroz Ahmad, the learned historian of modern Turkey. The aim …

The Enduring Connections Between Law And Culture: Reviewing Lawrence Rosen, Law As Culture, And Oscar Chase, Law, Culture, And Ritual, Paul Schiff Berman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In an era of globalization, "culture" is sometimes treated as a dirty word. For those who see the world as increasingly "flat," culture can seem to be merely a retrograde imposition of local prerogative that stands in the way of progress. Likewise, those who seek greater harmonization of human rights norms, commercial trade rules, or other legal standards may view culture as simply a monkey wrench in the machinery of global consensus and cooperation. In such debates, culture is often conceptualized as fundamentally pre-modern, something "they" cling to, but that "we" have long since jettisoned.

Two recent books - Law …

Law, Society, And Medical Malpractice Litigation In Japan, Eric Feldman

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The European Commission Project Regarding Competition In Professional Services, Laurel Terry

Faculty Scholarly Works

One goal of this article is to help EU Member States' policy-makers and citizens understand the broad-brush nature of the EU Initiative and remember that it was a call for further investigation by EU Member States. This article provides a detailed case study of the EU Initiative so that as many individuals as possible in the European Union can understand the issues at stake and participate in rigorous discussions about the justifications for, and costs and benefits of, particular lawyer regulation rules in particular countries. Although one goal of this article is to empower European stakeholders and policy-makers, it is …

Legislative Supremacy In The United States?: Rethinking The Enrolled Bill Doctrine, Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov

Dr. Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov

This Article revisits the “enrolled bill” doctrine which requires courts to accept the signatures of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on the “enrolled bill” as unimpeachable evidence that a bill has been constitutionally enacted. It argues that this time-honored doctrine has far-reaching ramifications that were largely overlooked in existing discussions. In addition to reexamining the soundness of this doctrine’s main rationales, the Article introduces two major novel arguments against the doctrine. First, it argues that the doctrine amounts to an impermissible delegation of both judicial and lawmaking powers to the legislative officers of Congress. Second, …

Substance Or Mere Technique? A Precis On Good Faith Performance In England, France And Germany, Luigi Russi

Luigi Russi

This paper attempts to offer a concise discussion of good faith performance and other functionally equivalent doctrines in the laws of England, Germany and France. The study’s goal is that of appraising the consistency of existing differences. More specifically, of whether they relate merely to technique - not being paralleled by diverging final outcomes - or whether the rift is deeper and goes to the very substance of the approach to the solution of similar practical problems. For this purpose, the work first shows the close connection between good faith performance (of contractual obligations) and good faith enforcement (of contractual …

Working The Common Law Pure: Developing The South African Law Of Delict (Torts) In Light Of The Spirit, Purport And Objects Of The South African Constitution's Bill Of Rights, Christopher J. Roederer

Christopher J. Roederer

No abstract provided.

Pedagogies Of Comparative Jurisprudence: On The Gleaning Of 'Trans-Cultural Perspectives' From The World's Legal Systems, Maxwell O. Chibundu

Maxwell O. Chibundu

No abstract provided.

Self-Representation In The International Arena: Striking A False Right Of Spectacle, Eugene Cerruti

Eugene Cerruti

Cerruti: Self-Representation in the International Arena Abstract The more recent historical scholarship has demonstrated that the practice of self-representation at common law was developed and promoted not to secure a valued right to the accused but rather to compromise the defendant’s ability to present an effective defense to the charges – by denying him an effective right to be represented by counsel. The Supreme Court in Faretta v. California stood this history on its head in order to read into the Sixth Amendment an implied right to self-representation equal to the now preeminent right to counsel. The Faretta doctrine was …

The Duty Of Treatment: Human Rights And The Hiv/Aids Pandemic, Noah B. Novogrodsky

Noah B Novogrodsky

This article argues that the treatment of HIV and AIDS is spawning a juridical, advocacy and enforcement revolution. The intersection of AIDS and human rights was once characterized almost exclusively by anti-discrimination and destigmatization efforts. Today, human rights advocates are demanding life-saving treatment and convincing courts and legislatures to make states pay for it. Using a comparative Constitutional law methodology that places domestic courts at the center of the struggle for HIV treatment, this article shows how the provision of AIDS medications is reframing the right to health and the implementation of socio-economic rights. First, it locates an emerging right …

Things Fall Apart: The Illegitimacy Of Property Rights In The Context Of Past Theft, Bernadette Atuahene

Bernadette Atuahene

Stakeholder Reaction To Emissions Trading In The United States, The European Union, And The Netherlands, Bryant Walker Smith

Bryant Walker Smith

As a contribution to the debate over market-based environmental regulation, this article examines the reaction of stakeholders to cap-and-trade programs proposed and/or implemented in the United States, the European Union, and the Netherlands for industrial emissions of certain pollutants. Those pollutants include nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulfur dioxide (SO2), mercury (Hg), and greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2). For the purpose of the article, stakeholders include environmental groups, regulators, and particularly industry.

The broad conclusion, to which the remainder of the article provides context, is straightforward: Industry dislikes regulation. It strongly dislikes redundancy. It loathes uncertainty. Even emitters that have …

Comentario Al Libro "Testamento: Disposizioni Generali" Del Profesor Stefano Delle Monache, Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

En el presente comentario se efectúa una brevísima micro comparación entre los desarrollos efectuados en los sistemas italiano y peruano sobre el testamento. Para ello se tomará como base las temáticas presentadas por el profesor Delle Monache en el libro bajo comentario.

Constituting Vanuatu: Societal, Legal And Local Perspectives,, Benedict Sheehy, Jackson Maogoto

Benedict Sheehy

Governance in Vanuatu has been a source of concern for Australia as it forms part of Australia’s ‘Arc of Instability.’ Vanuatu has adopted a modified Westminster system as that system is often advocated as the model for constitutions and governance around the world. In various former colonies local populations were expected to simply absorb its liberal democratic principles apparently on some assumption that such principles were an innate part of human nature. Most readings of history would come to a different conclusion. Vanuatu illustrates this error and the complexities of a society that not only creates a broad challenge for …