Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

“The Pursuit Of Happiness” Comes Home To Roost? Same-Sex Union, The Summum Bonum, And Equality, Patrick Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

John Locke understood human happiness to amount to the removal of "uneasiness." This paper argues that,to the extent that the United States is a nation dedicated to "the pursuit of happiness" understood as the removal of "uneasiness," same-sex unions or marriages should be given legal recognition. While Locke defended a variation on traditional marriage on the grounds of progenitiveness and care for dependent offspring, his more foundational commitment to the importance of the removal of uneasiness precludes, on pain of inconsistency, limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. This paper argues, furthermore, that conservatives and neo-conservatives who celebrate this nation's being …

Subsidiarity In The Tradition Of Catholic Social Doctrine, Patrick Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

This chapter is an invited contribution to the first English-language comparative study of subsidiarity, M. Evans and A. Zimmerman (eds.), Subsidiarity in Comparative Perspective (forthcoming Springer, 2013). The concept of subsidiarity does work in many and varied legal contexts today, but the concept originated in Catholic social doctrine. The Catholic understanding of subsidiarity (or subsidiary function) is the subject of this chapter. Subsidiarity is often described as a norm calling for the devolution of power or for performing social functions at the lowest possible level. In Catholic social doctrine, it is neither. Subsidiarity is the fixed and immovable ontological principle …

The Liberty Of The Church: Source, Scope And Scandal, Patrick Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

This article was presented at a conference, and is part of a symposium, on "The Freedom of the Church in the Modern Era." The article argues that the liberty of the Church, libertas Ecclesiae, is not a mere metaphor, pace the views of some other contributions to the conference and symposium and of the mentality mostly prevailing over the last five hundred years. The argument is that the Church and her directly God-given rights are ontologically irreducible in a way that the rights of, say, the state of California or even of the United States are not. Based on a …

Resisting The Grand Coalition In Favor Of The Status Quo By Giving Full Scope To The Libertas Ecclesiae, Patrick Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

This paper argues that questions about "religious freedom" must be subordinated to the fundamental principle of the liberty of the Church, libertas Ecclesiae. The First Amendment's agnosticism with respect to the liberty of the Church is not ultimately normative. Catholics and others who merely seek religious "accommodation," as with the HHS mandate, for example, are agents of a status quo that illegitimately has comfortable self-preservation as its highest value. It is Catholic doctrine that "creation was for the sake of the Church," not for the sake of, say, religious freedom. The paper argues that the contingent constitution of …

Social Architecture And The Law: Law, Through The Lens Of Religion, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

How can we account for the differing popular images of attorney in variouscountries? One way of doing so may be to bring a paradigm developed in religious studies toexamine the most publically accessible and prototypical venue for attorneys, the courtroom.Specifically, applying the model of critical spatial studies developed by Lefebvre and Soja inorder to examine religious ritual space to bear on a different kind of ritual space, the courtroom,its structure, organization, and use may illuminate both societal understandings of how the lawrelates to the citizen, but also inform the differing perception and status of lawyers in the United States, Britain, …

Revolutions And Rebellions And Syria's Paths To War And Peace, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

In less than a month, peaceful Tunisian and Egyptian protesters ousted two of the most authoritarian rulers of the Arab world. The human and economic costs: a total of about 1100 people dead (300 in Tunisia and 800 in Egypt) and some decline in economic growth. These were the dignity revolutions. In contrast, the Syrian peaceful uprising quickly turning into armed rebellion is now 22 months old with over 60,000 people (civilians, rebels, security and military officers, women and children) dead, more than 4,000,000 persons displaced from their homes, and destruction estimated at $70 billion. This is now, without doubt, …

Re-Emerging Equality Traditions Of Justice In The Cultural Roots Of The Egyptian Revolution, Giancarlo Anello, Khaled Qatam

giancarlo anello

For years, modern Egyptian Islamic thinkers have been attempting to define Islamic ideals of social justice and the way in which they have been ignored in the post-colonial period. This paper will discuss and critique the mid-20th century works of theorists of the Muslim Revolution like Abbas Mahmud ‘Aqqad (author of al-dymuqratyah fy al-islam, Democracy in Islam) and Sayyid Qutb (author of al-‘adalah al-ijtima‘iyya fy al-islam, Social Justice in Islam) in order to shape the discourse about the relevance of their theories of democracy, justice and equality for today’s political movements

Reforming Surveillance Law: The Swiss Model., Susan Freiwald, Sylvain Méille

Susan Freiwald

As implemented over the past twenty-seven years, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”), which regulates electronic surveillance by law enforcement agents, has become incomplete, confusing, and ineffective. In contrast, a new Swiss law, CrimPC, regulates law enforcement surveillance in a more comprehensive, uniform, and effective manner. This Article compares the two approaches and argues that recent proposals to reform ECPA in a piecemeal fashion will not suffice. Instead, Swiss CrimPC presents a model for more fundamental reform of U.S. law.

This Article is the first to analyze the Swiss law with international eyes and demonstrate its advantages over the U.S. …

Symposium: Building Global Professionalism: Emerging Trends In International And Transnational Legal Education, Anil Kalhan

Anil Kalhan

It has become a matter of recurring lament and concern — and periodically, an object of satire and derision — that Americans lack basic knowledge, awareness, or interest concerning the world beyond their borders; whether in terms of history, public affairs, culture, language, or even basic geography. Politicians, corporate leaders, scholars, and other observers across a broad spectrum routinely warn of the potential dangers this global awareness deficit poses to the well-being and security of the United States. In an increasingly interdependent world — with a growing array of economic, political, social, and environmental problems that transcend national borders — …

Thinking Critically About International And Transnational Legal Education, Anil Kalhan

Anil Kalhan

It has become a matter of recurring lament and concern — and periodically, an object of satire and derision — that Americans lack basic knowledge, awareness, or interest concerning the world beyond their borders; whether in terms of history, public affairs, culture, language, or even basic geography. Politicians, corporate leaders, scholars, and other observers across a broad spectrum routinely warn of the potential dangers this global awareness deficit poses to the well-being and security of the United States. In an increasingly interdependent world — with a growing array of economic, political, social, and environmental problems that transcend national borders — …

Recognizing New Syrian National Coalition Alone Won’T End War In Syria, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Those who doubt Lakhdar Brahimi’s assessment of the crisis in Syria ought to rethink their position. His ostensibly naïve initiative for a ceasefire over the Eid holidays might have been a brilliant maneuver that ended the existence of the Syrian National Council, the previously prominent face of the Syrian opposition. Before proposing an ambitious plan of six or one hundred points like his predecessor, Brahimi wanted to make sure that there are reliable representatives of both sides who can exert influence and control over their subordinates. After visiting Russia and China, he proposed, from Tehran, that both the opposition forces …

Who Is The Syrian Opposition?, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Since the start of the uprising in Syria, countries supporting the opposition groups wanted to unify them. They organized a series of the so-called “Friends of Syria” conferences one after another only to adjourn without realizing their objective. In most cases, the meetings created more discord than opportunities for unity.

Keeping It Legal: Transboundary Management Challenges Facing Brazil And The Guarani, David Cassuto

David N Cassuto

This paper examines the legal and ecological problems facing the Guarani Aquifer System. Because the majority of the Guarani Aquifer System underlies Brazil, the Brazilian legal regime forms the paper’s principal focus. The importance of the region makes the need for accurate information crucial. Yet relying on such information to manage a complex resource presents risks. Too often, the role of uncertainty in regulating is underplayed. Increasing knowledge over the resource demands categorizing “hard” and “soft” uncertainties, especially those presented by climate change. In addition, regulators must acknowledge the unitary nature of the aquifer while remaining sensitive to differing national …

Comparative Law As A Bridge Between The Nation-State And The Global Economy: An Essay For Herbert Bernstein, Richard Buxbaum

Richard M. Buxbaum

Professor Richard M. Buxbaum delivered the Fourth Annual Herbert L. Bernstein Memorial Lecture in Comparative Law in 2005 and this article is based on his remarks. The article is included in the inaugural volume of CICLOPs that collects the first six Bernstein lectures. In this paper, Richard Buxbaum is primarily concerned with the potential of comparative law as a method to bridge the disparities between the laws of nation-states and the needs of the globalized economy. Buxbaum investigates three separate roles for comparative law in closing this gap: First, he discusses the potential uses of comparative law with regard to …

Why Is The U.S.-Islamic World Relation So Fragile?, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Can Non-Violent Resistance And Armed Rebellion Co-Exist?, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Social Change in Arab Societies

The Construction Of Suitability Obligation Of Financial Institutions When Selling Structured Products: From Comparative Law Perspective, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen

Christopher Chao-hung Chen

The purpose of this article is to examine the suitability rules regarding structured products under Taiwan law from a comparative law perspective. After the global financial crisis, Taiwan has imposed specific suitability obligations on financial institutions when they promote derivatives and structured products. However, the suitability rule is only placed in administrative regulations and its scope is also limited. In addition, Taiwan law does not distinguish different types of relationships between a financial institution and a client. Furthermore, the biggest challenge to the suitability rule is to define the meaning of ‘suitable’. This article argues that the starting point is …

Adjudication Supervision And Judicial Independence In The P.R.C., Margaret Woo

Margaret Y. K. Woo

This article examines how the judicial committee and the concept of “supervision” operate to enable and constraint judicial independence in the People’s Republic of China. By allowing the liberal reopening of final judgments, adjudication supervision can ensure justice by allowing the correction of errors but it can also place enormous institutional constraints on individual judicial work. Adjudication supervision reflects the belief that individual judicial work must be subjected to supervision by the masses, legal institutions such as the procuracy, and the state. Ultimately, judicial independence in China means the independence of the court as a whole and not the work …

Islamists Bring Religion Down To Earth: The End Of Religious Idealism, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Solidarity Forever: An Idea And Its Roots In Catholic Social Thought, Thomas Kohler

Thomas C. Kohler

Roots of the idea of solidarity in Catholic Social Thought--and its political, economic, legal, implications

Social Architecture And The Law, Lorin Geitner

Lorin C. Geitner

The reputation of attorneys has steadily declined over the last 50 years. How can we determine why this has occurred? Given the relatively high reputation of British Barristers, a comparison of US and British court room arrangement and practice may provide some clues, and the heuristic of "critical spatial studies" provides a methodology.

Constitutional Protection For Environmental Rights: The Benefits Of Environmental Process, Erin Daly

Erin Daly

More and more constitutions around the world -- from Bangladesh to Bolivia, and from the Philippines to the countries of the EU -- are explicitly protecting environmental rights and the values of a clean and healthy environment. In many instances, environmental rights are recognized not as substantive entitlements (which would allow litigants to sue if the government polluted their rivers or clearcut their forests), but as procedural rights. Examples of procedural rights include imposing on governments the obligation to consult with communities before they take actions that will affect their environment or giving individuals the right to participate in governmental …

The Gulf Cooperative Council And The Arab Spring, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Apathy In The Face Of Cruelty, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Women And Law: A Comparative Analysis Of The United States And Indian Supreme Courts’ Equality Jurisprudence, Eileen Kaufman

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Dignity In The Service Of Democracy, Erin Daly

Erin Daly

At a broad level, perhaps the most noticeable trend in Latin American constitutional law is the increasing muscularity of constitutional tribunals. Throughout the region, particularly in South America, tribunals charged with interpreting their country’s constitution are increasingly asserting themselves and inserting themselves into public controversies, from abortion to same sex marriage to the rights of political association. This heightened judicial activity can come at a cost to democracy: typically, the more social issues are decided by unelected and unaccountable judges rather than through a political process, the less the people control the resolution of those issues. The more outcomes are …

The Moral Responsibility Of The Corporate Lawyer, Judith Mcmorrow

Judith A. McMorrow

No abstract provided.

Finding Home In The World: A Deontological Theory Of The Right To Be Adopted, Paulo Barrozo

Paulo Barrozo

Because of the continued dominance of consequentialist views, the deontological paradigm that emerges in the form of a human rights approach to adoption faces two major and partially connected obstacles. First, and despite the fact that the human rights approach has found compelling advocates, its jurisprudential basis has yet to be fully articulated. And in part because of insufficient theorization, the emerging deontological adoption is constantly at risk of being rhetorically and practically subsumed or engulfed by the resilient consequentialist-cum-charity paradigm. This article addresses these two obstacles, laying out the foundations of a deontological theory of adoption.After the Introduction, Part …

Intrusive Monitoring: Employee Privacy Expectations Are Reasonable In Europe, Destroyed In The United States, Lothar Determann, Robert Sprague

Robert Sprague

This Article examines the contrasting policy and legal frameworks relating to data privacy in the United States and the European Union, with a particular focus on workplace privacy and intrusive surveillance technologies and practices. It examines the U.S. perspective on modern work-related employer monitoring practices, the laws giving rise to possible employee privacy rights, and specific types of employer monitoring that may lead to actionable invasions of employee privacy rights. This article then addresses the issue of employee privacy from the EU perspective, beginning with an overview of the formation of authority to protect individual privacy rights, followed by an …

Reflections Regarding Place Of Damage In Relation To Keyword Advertising, Ulf Maunsbach

Ulf Maunsbach

No abstract provided.