Law Commons^™

Taming The "Feral Beast": Cautionary Lessons From British Press Reform, Lili Levi

Lili Levi

Abstract: As technology undermines the economic model supporting traditional newspapers, power shifts from the watchdog press to those it watches. Worldwide calls for increased press “responsibility” are one result. Pending British press reform provides a troubling example with far-ranging implications for freedom of the press. Under the guise of modest press self-regulation, the U.K. is currently poised to upend 300 years of press freedom via the recently-approved Royal Charter for Self-Regulation of the Press. The Royal Charter was adopted in response to the moral panic engendered by Britain’s tabloid phone-hacking scandal. An example of 20^th Century regulation poorly fitted …

The Recognition Of Indigenous Peoples’ Land: Application Of The Customary Land Rights Model On The Bedouin Case, Morad Elsana

Morad Elsana

ABSTRACT This paper introduces new possibilities for the recognition of Bedouin land in Israel. It shows that the application of the prevalent methods of indigenous land recognition is possible in the Bedouin case, and it would bring legal recognition of Bedouin land rights. The paper first presents the recognition of indigenous peoples land right in Canada, Australia, and other countries, while concentrating on the native title doctrine and the adoption of indigenous customary law. It shows how many colonial legal systems eventually discovered that their judicial systems included principles that recognize indigenous customary land rights. The application of such principles …

The Evolution Of The Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Changing Interpretations Of The Dmca And Future Implications For Copyright Holders, Hillary A. Henderson

Hillary A Henderson

Copyright law rewards an artificial monopoly to individual authors for their creations. This reward is based on the belief that, by granting authors the exclusive right to reproduce their works, they receive an incentive and means to create, which in turn advances the welfare of the general public by “promoting the progress of science and useful arts.” Copyright protection subsists . . . in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or …

Deja Vu All Over Again? The Internal Affairs Rule And Entity Law Convergence Patterns In Europe And The United States, Matthew G. Dore

Matthew G Dore

Many scholars embrace the view that corporate law convergence is an inevitable byproduct of the internal affairs rule and market competition by jurisdictions that seek to attract new entity formations by offering ever more efficient business association laws. Yet recent developments in Europe and the U.S. cast doubt on this proposition. As the article describes, the European Court of Justice embraced the internal affairs rule more than a decade ago, and European Union legislation now offers new opportunities for EU Member States to compete in the company law field. But Europe has experienced neither U.S.-style jurisdictional competition for business entity …

Boilerplate Shock, Gregory Shill

Gregory Shill

No nation was spared in the recent global downturn, but several countries in the Eurozone arguably took the hardest punch, and they are still down. Doubts about the solvency of Greece, Spain, and a number of their neighbors are increasing the likelihood of a breakup of the common European currency. Observers believe a single departure and sovereign debt default might set off a “bank run” on the euro, with devastating regional and global consequences.

What mechanisms are available to address—or ideally, to prevent—such a disaster?

One unlikely candidate is boilerplate language in the contracts that govern Eurozone sovereign bonds. As …

Enforcement In A Regime Complex, Sergio Puig

Sergio Puig

Today’s international business environment is fundamentally different than that of fifty years ago. Traditional trade meant selling into one nation goods that were made in another; now trade is mostly about making things in multiple countries and selling them everywhere. Yet the two main branches of public international law that address international business—international trade law and international investment law—have their providence and continue to be viewed as two discrete, separate systems. Through case studies, this Article explores how trade and investment are converging, and the resulting difficulties governments and private interests face when international rules are enforced. The tasks of …

"To Kill A Cleric?: The Al-Awlaki Case And The Chaplaincy Exception Under The Laws Of War", K Benson

K Benson

Anwar al-Awlaki was the first American citizen to be targeted for extrajudicial assassination by the Obama administration. While scholarly attention has focused on legality of his killing under domestic law, his status as a chaplain under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) has gone unexamined. The possibility that Anwar al-Awlaki may have been a protected person as a chaplain has profound ramifications for the legality of his killing and for the conduct of the war on terror more generally. As the definition of a "Chaplain" under IHL is under-developed at best and vague at worst, ideologues such as Mr. al-Awlaki operate in …