Digital Commons Network^™

Escaping Quarantine: Marine Hospitals, The Constitution Act, 1867 And Canada’S First Federal Health Care Program, Dan Dwyre

Dalhousie Journal of Legal Studies

Previous scholarship has argued that the enumeration of marine hospitals as a federal head of power in the Constitution Act, 1867 reflected a national concern over immigration and quarantine. This article disputes that. Using primary sources, this paper demonstrates that Canadian marine hospitals were established in port communities to provide for the general health of itinerant merchant sailors, who would otherwise be a burden on local hospitals and charitable organizations. The article concludes that marine hospitals can be viewed in retrospect as one of Canada’s first federal health care programs.

Shaping Egypt’S Transition To Sustainable Electric Transport: Current Policies And Future Directions, Noha A. Ragab

Theses and Dissertations

Egypt has enacted policies to promote the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in order to reduce their overall carbon footprint. However, the pace of transition remains limited, so the research aims to answer the following question: “How do current policies shape Egypt’s transition towards sustainable electric transport, and what additional measures can support this transition?" The study employs a qualitative analysis methodology, based on diffusion of innovation theory and conceptual framework, to analyze current policies in Egypt and identify challenges and gaps in their implementation. It also analyzes responses from 23 interviews with experts in the field, manufacturers, dealers, EV …

The Commons Of The Mind: Modeling Repeat-Player Behavior In Intellectual Property Infringement Disputes, Eliot Bridges Warner

University Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the applicability of Marc Galanter's 1974 model of repeat-player (RP) and one-shotter (OS) civil litigation to the domain of intellectual property (IP) infringement disputes. While Galanter's framework predicts that repeat players will enjoy structural advantages over one-shotters, this paper argues that IP deviates from that model in consequential ways. Unique features of IP infringement litigation, including the duty to enforce, the risk of invalidation at trial, the inverse relationship between firm size and infringement stakes, and compounding advantages accruing to large firms, produce a hierarchy of strategic advantage that is more steeply resource-dependent than Galanter anticipates.

Drawing …

Engaging Immigrant Families Of Children With Disabilities: Recommendations For Practitioners, Robai N. Werunga, John William Mckenna, Rocio Rosales

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Family involvement is essential for positive school outcomes. Yet research suggests that family engagement for students with disabilities may be marked by conflict. Furthermore, creating an environment that promotes active engagement for immigrant families may be challenging. In this paper, we synthesize existing research, legal guidance, and community-engaged insights to present four practice-oriented recommendations for educators and practitioners working with immigrant families of children with disabilities. Grounded in Hans and Love’s stages of immigrant family engagement, these recommendations aim to support meaningful and culturally responsive participation in special education processes.

The President As Agent: Reframing The Major Questions Doctrine, Matthew Collins

ConLawNOW

On the heels of the Learning Resources v. Trump decision, this Essay argues that agency theory provides an important framework for understanding the major questions doctrine. This perspective has received little attention in legal scholarship. The Essay casts the major questions doctrine in a new light by framing it as a constraint on the president acting as Congress’s agent. By highlighting this bridge between private-law agency principles and public law, the piece offers two novel insights. First, it reconceptualizes the relationship between the major questions and nondelegation doctrines: the former addresses the unfaithful execution of Congress’s directives by the executive …

Reframing Narratives: Remedies For Improved Human Trafficking Coverage, Stefanie Henriques

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The global rise in human trafficking is not receiving adequate media attention. While newspaper coverage of the topic has increased, current research argues that the issue is framed with a lack of diversity, limiting audience understanding of its complexity. Some researchers also note that coverage disproportionately focuses on sex trafficking, with minimal attention directed to other forms of trafficking such as the labor or organ trade. This paper conducts a narrative literature analysis of media research on human trafficking, drawing on framing theory to identify dominant frames in media messaging and synthesize cross-cultural factors that impact how the issue is …

Evaluating Legal Frameworks For The Protection Of Consumers Of Digital Financial Services: Global Trends And Their Significance For Vietnam, Ha Son Nguyen, Lanh Dinh Cao, Nguyen Dinh Phan

International Journal on Consumer Law and Practice

The development of digital financial services (DFS) in the context of global digital transformation poses fundamental challenges for the legal framework for consumer protection, particularly in developing countries such as Vietnam. This article argues that the sectoral approach currently adopted in Vietnam, with rules dispersed across various specialized statutes, has created a structurally significant legal gap, a lack of consistency in protection standards, and limitations on effective coordination among regulatory authorities. It thereby undermines the law’s capacity to protect consumers in the highly cross-sectoral environment of digital finance.

Through an analytical and comparative approach that draws on the experiences of …

The Law And Policy Of Gender Provisions In Multilateral And Regional Trade Governance, Maria Panezi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Trade is neither gender-neutral in its design nor in its outcomes. This Article offers a bird's-eye view of the law and policy of gender provisions in multilateral and regional trade governance, examines the conceptual boundaries of incorporating gender into trade policy, and evaluates legal and policy approaches that can make trade more responsive to the asymmetries that disproportionately affect women. Using Canada as a case study, the Article examines one of the most comprehensive national frameworks for mainstreaming gender in trade, including the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) methodology and the inclusion of dedicated gender and trade chapters in several …

Necessary Biosafety Precautions For Patented Gmos: Ramifications Of Inconsistent Parties Between The Cartagena Protocol And Trips Agreement, Lauren Clements

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Genetically Modified Organisms (“GMOs”) compose a class of potentially patentable biotechnology that are prominent in international markets. Developed countries like the United States, function as leading producers of these patented GMOs and therefore play a significant role in their development and transnational export. Minimum protections for these forms of biotechnology are outlined in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS Agreement”), which permits the patenting of GMOs that ultimately enter the stream of international commerce. Notwithstanding the potential risks GMOs present to the environment, public health, and the economy, the TRIPS Agreement fails to address any form …

Green Technology And International Patents: Incentivizing Innovation Or Blocking Access?, Matteo Rizzi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

As the global climate crisis intensifies, the transition to clean energy technologies has become an urgent priority for the world's largest carbon dioxide emitters: China, the United States, and India. This Note examines how patent law can serve as a critical instrument in accelerating that transition. The patent system’s core quid pro quo grants inventors exclusive rights in exchange for public disclosure, creating powerful incentives for innovation. Yet the law’s failure to require active use of patented technologies has enabled a range of anticompetitive behaviors, including patent trolling, patent warehousing, and the accumulation of dormant patent portfolios, that allow proprietary …

Recalibrating The Veto Power In A Multipolar World: From Power To Fairness And Accountability In International Law, Dr. Ardit Memeti, Dr. Fatemah Albader

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article draws upon the principles of nemo iudex in causa sua and par in parem non habet imperium to emphasize the moral and legal contradictions inherent in the current use and structure of the Permanent 5 (P5) veto power in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC, Security Council, or Council). This Article proposes that targeted reform to suspend the veto power in very limited cases where the P5 members are direct parties to a dispute would address these moral and legal contradictions. The Russia-Ukraine conflict exemplifies how the (mis)use of the veto power by a P5 member can paralyze …

How International Copyright Approaches To Generative Ai May Influence The Development Of U.S. Copyright Laws For Ai, Tessa Chew

San Diego International Law Journal

Since late 2022, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has emerged as a vital technological tool in many industries by producing human-like content based on its trained datasets. This advancement has sparked an international debate over the ethical and legal implications of using copyrighted works for Artificial Intelligence (AI) training. Countries have taken differing legislative approaches to this issue. Japan aims to promote innovation with minimal restrictions; the United Kingdom aims to protect copyright holders by implementing strict AI copyright protections; and the European Union focuses on the transparency of the AI’s copyright use. The United States is currently at a regulatory …

A Systematic Review Of Restorative Justice In Criminal Contexts, Sigifredo Castell Britton

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Restorative justice has gained growing attention within criminal justice reform as a practical alternative to approaches centered only on punishment. It emphasizes accountability, dialogue, and community reintegration, offering a different way to understand how change in behavior takes place. This systematic review examined quantitative evidence from 34 studies, selected from an initial pool of 112 records identified through databases such as Google Scholar, ProQuest, JSTOR, and institutional repositories. The studies assessed a range of interventions, including victim-offender mediation, diversion programs, community conferencing, and in-prison initiatives, which allowed comparison across different settings and populations. Across these studies, 79.4% reported statistically significant …

Film, Television, And Artificial Intelligence: Ensuring The Role Of Screenwriters In Anticipation Of Generative Artificial Intelligence’S Increasing Capabilities, Rachel Johnson

San Diego International Law Journal

Artificial Intelligence (AI) currently is one of most critical topics discussed across industries. AI technology, such as Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), looms over people employed in creative fields who view it as a threat to their livelihoods. Legislative and judicial law must grapple with the complex legal issues GAI poses. In the entertainment realm, employees in professions such as Hollywood’s film industry have found ways to secure their present and near future against AI-encroachment.

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), a labor union covering the screenwriters of television and film, coordinated the second longest labor strike in Hollywood’s …

How States Can React To The “Summer Of Flooding,” Increase Flood Insurance Coverage, And Improve Flood Resiliency, Perry S. Warren, Esq., Joseph P. Keller, Esq.

San Diego Journal of Climate & Energy Law

Summer 2025 was the United States’ “summer of flooding,” as shown by four one-in-1,000-year rainfall events that occurred during a single week in July. Because flood damage is not covered under a standard homeowners, renters, or commercial insurance policy, many individuals and businesses affected by these storms will face difficulties repairing their property unless they purchased flood insurance. As flood risks increase due to climate change, flood insurance will become increasingly unaffordable unless governments intervene.

In 2024, Pennsylvania became the first and only state that established a Flood Insurance Premium Assistance Task Force. The Task Force issued nine recommendations calculated …

The Ministerial Exception And Its Relationship To The First Amendment, Erik W. Stanley

Tulsa Law Review

No abstract provided.

Colonial To Neoliberal Governmentality In Monument Governance: Shifting Positionalities Of The Monument Adjacent Communities In India, Ujal Kumar Mookherjee, Shreyasi Bhattacharya

Socio-Legal Review

Organised monument governance in India began during the colonial rule. The colonial governance enterprise was bureaucratic and worked through stringent laws which often came down heavily on the monument-adjacent communities. The totalising nature of Indian colonial governmentality fractured the local community, disabling their engagement with the State either as civil society, as individuals or as social groups, while on the other hand enabling such engagement through a “community” constructed on religious lines. Colonial continuities in monument governance meant that a roughly similar position continued in the post-colony. On the international plane, however, there has been a discursive shift in valorisation …

The Civil Liability Gap For Oil Spills Caused By Non-State Armed Groups: The Case Of The Mv Sounion Tanker In The Red Sea, Emery Hansell

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

On August 21, 2024, the Greek-flagged oil tanker MV SOUNION ("Sounion") was attacked by Houthis as it passed through the Red Sea. The Houthis, a rebel group that controls large swaths of Yemen, then set the ship ablaze, threatening to spill roughly 1 million barrels of crude oil into the water. The cleanup was anticipated to cost $20 billion. The question thus arises: who would—and who should—pay for that cleanup? At the moment, there is no effective solution.

As an initial matter, current international law focuses on State liability and is therefore unlikely to require the Houthis—as a non-State actor—to …

The Constitutionality Of The Special Trial Counsel Under The Apogee Of Judicial Deference, Josef Danczuk

Pace Law Review

Congress has undertaken some of its broadest reforms of military courts-martial in decades. The creation of the Special Trial Counsels (STCs) intentionally removes nearly all courts-martial powers from military commanders for “covered offenses,” some of the most serious prosecutions. Many commentators have expressed concern that this change untethers the courts-martial system from its historical anchor of discipline within the military—an anchor that the Supreme Court has used to grant exceptional deference to Congress for its legislation pursuant to the Make Rules Clause. However, the constitutionality of the STCs and the deference federal courts grant Congress in this realm should not …

The War For American Independence Was Biblical And Just*, Mark David Hall

Journal of Law and Government

In his essay, Mark David Hall presents an overview of Christian scholarship on the question of whether the War for American Independence is biblical and just. He then considers Romans 13 and shows that Protestants, especially Calvinists, came to interpret these verses to permit active resistance to tyrannical rulers. Finally, he discusses the conflict in light of the just war tradition and contends that the patriots had excellent reasons to believe their active resistance was biblical and just.

Was The American Revolution Biblical And/Or Just?, Gregg L. Frazer

Journal of Law and Government

The questions of whether the American Revolution was biblical and whether it was just may be necessarily intertwined. If it was biblical, then it was just. If it was unbiblical, it was necessarily unjust. If it was merely non-biblical, that is, if the Bible does not speak to the question, then it could be either just or unjust by some human standard. For the purposes of this paper, the question of whether it was just by a merely human standard will be addressed independently of, and in addition to, the infinitely more important question of whether it is biblical. We …

Introducing The Covenantal-Noncentralization Index (Cni) For Assessing Localism, Social Capital, Community Challenges And Community Health, Kahlib Fischer, Edwin Christmann, Melissa Stewart, Todd Robatin, Zachary Federico, John Kebles, Lucy Lambert, Alex Mishra

Journal of Law and Government

Numerous indices measuring social capital and community challenges at the local level exist, but none attempt to offer a measure of community health as an independent variable in comparison to community challenges as a dependent variable. Therefore, we propose the Covenantal-Noncentralization Index (CNI) in an effort to provide a more nuanced understanding of social capital at the local level as well as to differentiate between an independent variable index consisting of family stability, religious adherence, non-profit activity, and charitable giving and dependent variables representing various community challenges: violent crime, childhood poverty, STD rate, high school diploma completion, GDP, and unemployment. …

Defending The West By Reclaiming The Past, Steven Alan Samson

Journal of Law and Government

The Western world was originally shaped by the fine arts and philosophy of Greece, the architecture and law of Rome, and the faith, morality, and prophetic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. As the West loses the religious bond that generated its culture, careful attention should be given to reclaiming and rebuilding this moral and spiritual infrastructure.

Generating Solutions To Generative Ai, Joseph M. Marrero

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reading Between The Treaties: Why The Supreme Court Must Honor The Indian Canons Of Construction, Amelia R. Wimmer

American Indian Law Journal

This Note critically examines the Indian canons of construction as interpretive tools employed by the United States Supreme Court in cases involving treaties and statutes with Tribal Nations. Ultimately tracing their origins to Worcester v. Georgia, this Note explores how the Indian canons were designed to protect tribal sovereignty, ensure the liberal construction of ambiguous provisions in favor of tribes, and prevent the abrogation of tribal land and rights. Shifts in interpretive philosophy and the rise of textualism have led to a checkered application of the Indian canons across courts. However, a continued application of the Indian canons is necessary …

Tribal Nations As Lords Of The Fee: A Common Law Argument For Tribal Discretion In Spending Federal Forfeiture Funds, Kent A. Anderson

American Indian Law Journal

Federal criminal forfeiture is a powerful tool meeting at the nexus of criminal law and property law. Courts justify its use based on its English common law history. After seizing and selling assets, the federal government doles out payments from its Assets Forfeiture Fund to cooperating law enforcement agencies through equitable sharing agreements that bind recipients to use funds for law enforcement purposes. Tribal Nations have compelling legal and policy arguments for their entitlement to greater access to and discretion over forfeiture funds obtained through seizures in Indian country. These legal arguments are grounded in: (1) federal criminal forfeiture’s failure …

Real Promise For False Claims: A Whistleblower Litigation Strategy To Reward Investigative Journalism, Frank D. Lomonte

Washington Law Review

Every year, investigative reporters uncover stories of waste, fraud, and corruption, alerting the government to taxpayer ripoffs that had previously gone undiscovered or ignored. For decades, non-journalists have been reaping windfall rewards—sometimes in the millions—by using false-claims statutes to bring whistleblower actions on the government’s behalf. With news organizations struggling for their economic survival, and efforts to secure alternative financial support through government bailouts faltering, is it time for journalists to seek a share of the money they recoup for taxpayers by becoming plaintiffs?

This Article explores the possibilities, and downside risks, of using the federal False Claims Act, and …

Fetal Personhood And Inheritance By Unborn Children, Alyssa A. Dirusso, Emily Price

ACTEC Law Journal

This article will first discuss the status of the law with respect to inheritance rights of the unborn, including both posthumous children and posthumously-conceived children. This paper next describes the fetal personhood movement and its recognition of not only life but also death before birth. The article explains the current law on survivorship and inheritance rights. Then this article discusses the implications of death before birth on intestate distributions. These implications lead the authors to recommend a default rule barring unintentional nevernatal inheritance. The authors support, however, practical provisions for the unborn for those who choose to do so.

"Health" In Hems Means Complete Well-Being, Claudia E. Tordini, Richard S. Franklin

ACTEC Law Journal

This article focuses on the definition of “health” as used in the ascertainable standard exception of Internal Revenue Code § 2041(b)(1)(A), most frequently articulated in trusts as “health, education, maintenance and support” (HEMS). It is clear that a discretionary power to distribute for one’s own health is permitted without causing a taxable general power of appointment, but there is a dearth of authority indicating the meaning of health for this purpose. This article provides the research and foundation for understanding that health as used in HEMS is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the …

The Canons Fell Silent: An Analysis Of The Supreme Court's Failure To Use Statutory Interpretation Tools In Sackett V. Epa, Lauren Carlsen

Washington Law Review

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court denied decades of precedent, agency action, and the proper use of canons of interpretation in its decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (Sackett). This case adopted the “continuous surface connection” test, which requires an indistinguishable surface water connection between a wetland and a navigable water to assert Clean Water Act jurisdiction over the wetland. This limitation on agency authority under the Clean Water Act was created through a statutory analysis that failed to apply the “Plain Meaning” and “Whole Act” canons of statutory interpretation. The Court narrowly applied the meaning of …