Law Commons^™

Nuclear Power, Risk, And Retroactivity, Emily Hammond

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster presented a familiar scenario from a risk perception standpoint. It combined a classic" dread risk" (radioactivity), a punctuating event (the disaster itself), and resultant stigmatization (involving world wide repercussions for nuclear power). Some nuclear nations curtailed nuclear power generation, and decades-old opposition to nuclear power found a renaissance. In these circumstances, risk theory predicts a regulatory knee-jerk response, potentially resulting in inefficient overregulation. But it also suggests procedural palliatives that conveniently overlap with administrative law values, making room for the engagement of the full spectrum of stakeholders. This Article sketches the U.S. regulatory response to …

The Democratization Of Energy, Joseph P. Tomain

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The electricity industry is changing in dramatic ways. Most significantly, as demonstrated by the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan, the country is witnessing the merger of energy and environmental regulation. Historically, energy regulation was driven by the need to produce more power for economic growth. By contrast, environmental regulation attended to the pollution of the environment. Production of energy depends upon the use of natural resources, and throughout the fuel cycle from extraction and transportation to the burning and disposal of those resources, the environment is directly affected. Most dramatically, greenhouse gas emissions present climate change challenges. In order to …

Fukushima's Shadow, Lincoln L. Davies, Alexis Jones

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The March 11, 2011 tragedy at the Fukushima Daiichi power station in Japan immediately etched its place in history as arguably the most noteworthy of the three nuclear energy disasters to date. This Article surveys the response to Fukushima both in Japan and worldwide. It observes that rather than stopping what many thought was a burgeoning "nuclear renaissance," the global policy reaction post-Fukushima was more varied. Using the examples of Germany, the United States, and China, the Article examines the three general approaches to nuclear energy that nations have followed since Fukushima: abandonment, status quo, and expansion. The Article then …

Enforcing The Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime: The Legality Of Preventive Measures, Cristian Defrancia

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Efforts to limit the proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear-weapons-related technology have increasingly involved economic, technological, and military forms of coercion implemented in an environment of low-level conflict. Coercive counterproliferation measures have included a range of actions, including targeted economic sanctions, industrial sabotage, cyber attacks, targeted killings, and military strikes. While the nonproliferation obligations of states are well-established under relevant treaties, state practice, and the international monitoring system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), norms relating to the enforcement of those obligations are not clearly defined in legal instruments. This Article reviews the legality of prevention and enforcement measures …

Establishing An Aggressive Legal Framework For The Future Of Wind Energy In Europe, Tyler Hagenbuch

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Europe is the world's frontrunner in wind energy, and European governments are committed to aiding renewable energy entrepreneurs and investors. In April 2009, the EU passed a new Climate Action Directive. The Directive set goals for both increased use of renewable energy and decreases in greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this legislative success, the Climate Action Directive was widely criticized as insufficient and ineffective. Indeed, there are numerous substantive concessions given to industry in the emission reduction portion of the Directive. Dissenters argued the weaknesses of the emissions reduction Directive squandered the EU's opportunity to be a world leader in energy …

Looking Beyond The Dabhol Debacle: Examining Its Causes And Understanding Its Lessons, Preeti Kundra

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note analyzes foreign direct investment in India, looking into the investment troubles surrounding the Dabhol power project, India's largest foreign investment project to date. After providing an introduction to the mechanics of project finance and a backdrop to the Dabhol power project, the Note considers whether the Indian government's actions, specifically the use of the Indian legal system, constituted "total expropriation" and violations of international law. Additionally, this Note considers what systemic changes India can make in order to create a more investment-friendly environment in the post-Dabhol context.

The Caspian Sea Legal Regime, Pipeline Diplomacy, And The Prospects For Iran's Isolation From The Oil And Gas Frenzy, Faraz Sanei

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The signing of the "deal of the century" in Bahu creating one of the first major Caspian energy consortiums between Azerbaijan and western oil companies signaled the beginning of a new era in world energy politics. The discovery of potentially huge oil and gas reserves in the newly-independent states of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan opened the door for western oil companies rushing to gain a competitive foothold in the new energy market. For Asia and the West this discovery provides a golden opportunity to ensure market stability through diversification of energy export routes. For the United States and its political …

Legal Issues Relating To The Canadian National Energy Program, Jean-Paul Lacasse

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since its unveiling on October 28, 1980, Canada's National Energy Program has been commented upon abundantly in government circles, newspaper articles, trade magazines, and financial industry seminars, drawing both oil industry and foreign reactions. It has received less notice in scholarly publications, however, perhaps because it is a complex and continuously changing program that did not become effective until legislation was enacted. The purpose of this Article is to sketch a broad picture of the National Energy Program (NEP) while focusing on its Canadianization aspects, the new oil and gas taxation situation, and the Program's various transnational law implications. As …

Book Reviews, Edward C. Brewer, Iii., W. Paul Gormley, Allaire U. Karzon.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

DIRECT INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S.: A GUIDE TO INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, LAWS AND RESTRICTIONS 1980-1981

Raymond Waldmann

Washington D.C.: Transnational Investments, Ltd.; London: Kluwer Publishing, 1980. Pp. viii, 443. $75.00, London £45 plus £1 surface mail.

Reviewed by Edward C. Brewer, III.

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NUCLEAR ENERGY AND NUCLEAR WEAPON PROLIFERATION

Frank Barnaby, Jozef Goldblat, Bhupendra Jasani, and Joseph Rotblat,eds. Published for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. London: Taylor & Francis, 1979. Pp. xxiv, 462.

Reviewed by W. Paul Gormley

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INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF U.S. INCOME TAXATION Vois. I and III

Elisabeth Owens Boston, Mass.: Harvard Law School, 1980. Pp.305. …

Nuclear Power And Non-Proliferation: The View From Brazil, James P. Rowles

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article contains a hypothetical memorandum written by a hypothetical Brazilian policymaker, together with a hypothetical draft Brazilian proposal for the establishment of an International Plutonium Storage regime. None of these materials should be interpreted as a statement of policy by any Brazilian official or by the Republic of Brazil...

This article consists primarily of a hypothetical review memorandum written for Brazilian President Joao Baptista Figueiredo by a hypothetical Brazilian policymaker offering advice on two issues of immediate concern to Brazil. The first involves proposals for the establishment, under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) auspices, of an International Plutonium Storage …

The Canadian National Energy Program: An Example Of Assertion Of Economic Sovereignty Or Creeping Expropriation In International Law, Errol P. Mendes

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Canadian National Energy Program provides insight into the critical global debate on the expropriation of alien investors' property. Sovereign states can no longer expropriate by forced and outright transfers of an alien's assets without any compensation. States which expropriate in this manner face massive retaliation from the powerful capital-exporting countries through, inter alia, the cutting of trade and commercial ties, the freezing of assets, retaliatory diplomatic moves, and court action in the home state of the investors. The principles of international law and policy concerning expropriation are gradually evolving through diplomatic negotiations, international and domestic courts and tribunals, resolutions …

Books Received, C. C. S.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ACCESS TO ENERGY: 2000 AND AFTER

By Melvin A. Conant

Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1979. Pp. 134.

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THE CHEYENNE WAY: CONFLICT AND CASE LAW IN PRIMITIVE JURISPRUDENCE

By K.N. Llewellyn and E. Adamson Hoebel Norman:

University of Oklahoma Press, 1978. Pp. 360.

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CHINESE LEGAL TRADITION UNDER THE MONGOLS: THE CODE OF 1291 AS RECONSTRUCTED

By Paul Heng-chao Ch'en.

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979. Pp. 205.

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EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKETS: TOWARDS A GENERAL THEORY OF INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT

By Bruno H. Solnik

Lexington, Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1973. Pp. 114.

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MODERN INTERNATIONAL LAW

By R.C. Hingorani

Oceana: Dobbs …

The Changing Framework Of Concession Agreements And The Oil Industry, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Symposium presents discussions of various aspects of the subject of the changing framework of concession agreements and the oil industry. Dr. Zuhayr Mikdashi analyzes policy considerations that influence developing nations seeking greater benefit from their resources, and presents several suggestions for increased cooperation among developing countries. Dr. Theodore Moran offers a critical evaluation of traditional United States investment policies and advocates a modified concession agreement aimed at minimizing friction between the parties. Mr. James Jensen concludes the Symposium with a comprehensive analysis of recent trends in company-state relations in the Middle East.