Digital Commons Network^™

Drug Trafficking And The Presidential Family In Venezuela: The Narco Nephews, Daniela Castro

Capstones

An explosive combination of political turmoil, a deep economic crisis and critical security situation has Venezuela on the verge of collapse. Despite the alarming situation in the country, not everyone is doing so bad, especially those close to the ruling power. Ferraris, access to private aircrafts and bodyguards are only some of the privileges that only few can get access to in this impoverished South American nation.

Efrain Antonio Campo Flores, 30, and Franqui Francisco Flores de Freitas, 31 -- the nephews of the Venezuelan Presidential couple -- were found guilty of conspiring to import hundreds of kilograms of cocaine …

Emigration, Repatriation And The Reality Of Returned Youth In El Salvador, Isabel C. Duarte Vasquez

Master's Theses

According to US Customs and Border Protection, over 59 thousand unaccompanied minors from the Northern Triangle (Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) have been detained at the US border, of those 59 thousand, 17 thousand are from El Salvador. El Salvador is home to some of the most dangerous and ruthless gangs of the twenty-first century. Their ruthlessness comes from 1980s guerrilla warfare experience. In addition, El Salvador serves as a transshipment point for illicit substances from South America into Mexico. These dynamics fuel the homicide rate of the region as local gang members must protect their territory by any means …

The Canada Brand: Violence And Canadian Mining Companies In Latin America, Shin Imai, Leah Gardner, Sarah Weinberger

All Papers

The Canada Brand: Violence and Canadian Mining in Guatemala

This is the first report to profile specific forms of violence and criminalization associated with Canadian mining projects in Latin America over a fifteen-year period. Each incident is carefully footnoted and all web links are preserved using Harvard Law School’s Perma.cc service. The report is critical of the lack of Canadian mechanisms for investigating human rights abuses of Canadian companies operating overseas. It draws on the thinking of former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Ian Binnie and others to argue that the concepts of proximity to violence and complicity of the …

Bringing Balance To The Force: The Militarization Of America’S Police Force And Its Consequences, Anta Plowden

University of Miami Law Review

The current trend in the militarization of police can be traced back to the earliest times in our country. We are soon approaching a tipping point in which the combination of aggressive military tactics, wrongful deaths and injuries, and a lack of accountability will lead to an increase in civil unrest and animosity towards those who have sworn to uphold the law. In an ironic twist of fate, the military force, which law enforcement is trying to emulate, has made sharp adjustments in the way it operates due to the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has adopted more police-like …

Blockchain (Distributed Ledger Technology) Solves Vat Fraud, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Andrew Shact

Faculty Scholarship

At the World Economic Forum more than 800 executive and technology experts were asked when they thought a particular “tipping point” would be reached – when would we see a government collect tax with blockchain? The agreed date was 2023 (on average). A full 73% of the respondents however, expected the tipping point to have been reached by 2025.

This paper argues that the EU VAT will be an early adopter, if not the earliest adopter of blockchain. There are a number of reasons why. Blockchain will bring substantial efficiencies to VAT collection. It will reduce costs, and build critical …

Americas Coverage, Human Rights Brief

Human Rights Brief Fall 2016 Regional Coverage

No abstract provided.

Niños, Niñas Y Adolescentes In Guatemala: Reflections On The Implementation Of The Ley Pina, Stacy Kowalski

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This Note examines Guatemala’s Ley de Protección Integral de la Niñez y Adolescencia (Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents, or Ley PINA) and analyzes why this law has not effectively protected the rights of children and adolescents, within the context of historical and structural violence, which contribute to a lack of prioritization of youth in Guatemala. In 2014, the United States experienced a large influx of unaccompanied minors fleeing primarily from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. A delegate of attorneys and law students traveled to Guatemala to interview child advocates, including government officials, and representatives of non-governmental …

Sí, Tengo Miedo--Yes, I Am Afraid: How The Current Interpretation Of Asylum Law Is Contrary To Legislative Intent And What The Courts Should Do About It, Chelsea Mullarkey

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note examines the current interpretation of asylum law and its misapplication when it comes to Central American asylees. Migrants from Central America who are escaping gang violence have long been neglected and overlooked. Thousands of them make the long and arduous journey to the United States borders only to be deported back to the violence they have been trying to escape. This Note first examines the history of refugee law in the United States and the recent actions taken in an attempt to stem the flow of Central American migrants into this country. This Note then demonstrates that Central …

A Comparative Approach To Economic Espionage: Is Any Nation Effectively Dealing With This Global Threat?, Melanie Reid

University of Miami Law Review

In 1996, Congress passed the Economic Espionage Act (EEA), 18 U.S.C. Sections 1831 and 1832, to help thwart attempts by foreign entities intent on stealing U.S. proprietary information and trade secrets. Despite the passage of the EEA almost twenty years ago, if recent statistics are to be believed, there is so much trade secret thievery going around that the United States finds itself in the midst of an epidemic of economic espionage. Currently, any and all U.S. technology that is vulnerable and profitable is being targeted. Unfortunately, existing remedies and enforcement have barely blunted the onslaught against the U.S. which …

Legal Approaches To Combating Sex Trafficking: A Compilation Of Research And A Comparative Analysis Of The Most Effective Means Of Reducing Trafficking Globally, Emily Ann Larkins

Selected Honors Theses

This research explores the relationship between three important factors necessary for reducing sex trafficking globally through a comparative analysis of four specific countries and their success in addressing these factors. The three factors that will be discussed in their relation to sex trafficking are government cooperation, border control, and illegalization of prostitution. These factors were chosen based on how consistently they showed up in research done for this thesis. The countries chosen for analysis-Sweden, the Netherlands, Thailand, and Singapore- were chosen based on region, trafficking levels, and unique facts that stood out as potentially significant. As will be discussed, Sweden …

Bingo, Morality And The Criminal Law, Frederick J. Ludwig, Dominic Hughes, O.P.

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

The Future Of The Economic Analysis Of Law In Latin America: A Proposal For Model Codes, Juan Javier Del Granado, M. C. Mirow

M. C. Mirow

Nothing excites civilian lawyers and judges more than commissions for codification. Codification is more than an academic enterprise. Codification projects directly cut across the interface between law and life. ALACDE intends to harness this Latin American interest in codification to bring the economic approach to Latin America. A new-generation law and economics civil and commercial code will be a conscious project to restate Roman law's usefulness for coping with today's problems. Through law and economics, Roman law will renew itself. As a paradigmatic private-law system, Roman law is eminently amenable to a state-of-the-art fusion with law and economics. Sensitivity to …

To Discovery And Beyond: A Comprehensive Look At Argentina’S Data Protection Laws, Sean Mccleary

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This article strives to shed light on the interplay between discovery practice under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Argentina's data protection laws, and the ever-present possibility of discovery sanctions. For all intents and purposes, data protections laws serve as a double-edged sword that seek to protect an individual's privacy; however, data protection laws were not designed with litigation in mind. And because of that, it can be difficult for an Argentine company to comply with a discovery request that would implicate an individual's data privacy under Argentine law. In the end, it comes down to a balancing test. This …

All In The Family: The Influence Of Social Networks On Dispute Processing, Manuel A. Gómez

Manuel A. Gómez

No abstract provided.

Judicial Ethical Integrity: Challenges And Solutions, Morris A. Ratner

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Why Reforms Alone Are Insufficient To Strengthen The Judiciary: A Case Study Of Guatemala's Judicial Selection Processes, Mirte Postema

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Left Behind: The Dying Principle Of Family Reunification Under Immigration Law, Anita Ortiz Maddali

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

A key underpinning of modern U.S. immigration law is family reunification, but in practice it can privilege certain families and certain members within families. Drawing on legislative history, this Article examines the origins and objectives of the principle of family reunification in immigration law and relies on legal scholarship and sociological and anthropological research to reveal how contemporary immigration law and policy has diluted the principle for many families—particularly those who do not fit the dominant nuclear family model, those classified as unskilled, and families from oversubscribed countries—and members within families. It explores the ways in which women and children, …

Guilty Until Proven Innocent: A Comparative Analysis Of Organized Crime Laws In The United States, Italy, Japan, And Ecudor, Christina M. Strompf

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

“[T]he ‘relative power’ of criminal networks will continue to rise, and some countries could even be taken over and run by these networks.”1 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines “organized crime” as “any group having some manner of formalized structure and whose primary objective is to obtain money through illegal activities.

Global Insecurity: How Risk Theory Gave Rise To Global Police Militarization, Nicholas S. Bolduc

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Today, across the globe, police agencies are militarizing to confront modern-day threats. This gradual shift towards militarized policing stems from the concept of risk-risk has driven nations to amend their laws so that their law enforcement agencies may militarize to meet whatever risk they face. In the United States, the gradual shift towards militarized police occurred after the crippling of the Posse Comitatus Act in the face of the developing 'War on Drugs" However, America is a late development in this trend; the majority of the Western world militarized themselves through the concept of 'gendarmes", while the Chinese militarized their …

The Confluence Of Gender And Poverty: The Shameful History Of The Trafficking Of Poor Persons For Sexual Exploitation, Jody Raphael

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Profile In Public Integrity: Drew Sullivan, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Drew Sullivan is currently an advising editor at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Program (OCCRP) in Sarajevo, which he co-founded in 2006. Previously, he founded the Center for Investigative Reporting in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Journalism Development Network. He has received many honors for his investigative reporting on issues of transnational crime and corruption, including the Global Shining Light Award and the Online Journalism Award.

International Environmental And Resources Law 2015 Annual Report, David Hunter

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Corruption And Development: The Need Of International Investigations With A Multijurisdictional Approach And The Involvement Of Multilateral Development Banks With National Authorities, Juan Ronderos, Michelle Ratpan, Andrea Osorio Rincon

Osgoode Legal Studies Research Paper Series

The authors argue that while both Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and national governments have mechanisms to fight corruption, the outcomes of these enforcement mechanisms diverge. MDBs are interested in the causes and effects of corruption from a development perspective and, as such, tend to sanction Small and Medium Enterprises and individuals, while national governments are focused on a more punitive outcome, targeting larger multinational corporations. The article examines the enforcement objectives articulated in national legislation, namely the American Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act and its Canadian counterpart (the CFPOA) as well as several Canadian cases, on the one hand, and …

International Environmental And Resources Law 2015 Annual Report, Kristen Hite, Lynn A. Long, Stephanie Altman, Derek Campbell, David Gravallese, Richard A. Horsch, David Hunter, Erika Lennon, Thomas Parker Redick, Matt Oakes

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

J. D. Course Descriptions, Nova Southeastern University

Shepard Broad College of Law Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Balancing Judicial Independence And Accountability In A Transitional State: The Case Of Thailand, David Pimentel

Articles

Balancing judicial independence against judicial accountability is a classic problem, but the debate has often taken place without reference to specific legal cultures and traditions, and there is compelling reason to believe that the “right” balance may be different in different societies. Thailand is in transition, so the models of established Western democracies may be ill-suited to the problems and issues of the Thai judiciary. Moreover, independence and accountability are not ends in themselves, but means to the same end: that of fair, impartial, and effective justice. Independence can help, primarily by bolstering the “judicial courage” exercised by judges called …

The Rise Of Human Trafficking In Central America, Iris Ventura

Student Works

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Approach To Economic Espionage: Is Any Nation Effectively Dealing With This Global Threat?, Melanie M. Reid

Melanie M. Reid