Law Commons^™

The Mexican Petroleum License Of 2013: A Step To The Past To Bring Mexico Into The Present And The Grounds For An Uncertain Future, Guillermo Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

The Footprint Of The Chinese Petro-Dragon: The Future Of Investment Law In Transboundary Resources, Guillermo Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

The Blurring Of The Public/Private Distinction Or The Collapse Of A Category? The Story Of Investment Arbitration, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

The paper is a response piece to Deborah Hensler and Damira Khatam’s new article, Re-inventing Arbitration: How Expanding the Scope of Arbitration Is Re-Shaping Its Form and Blurring the Line Between Private and Public Adjudication. Their main argument regarding the public-private distinction is that the arbitral procedure has changed as a consequence of the substantive issues resolved in this particular ADR system. According to them the arbitral system, which was originally conceived for commercial purposes, has become another way of litigating public law, but without the accountability mechanisms attached to public courts. In this paper, I agree in large part …

Mexico's Energy Reform And The 2012 U.S.-Mexico Transboundary Agreement. An Opportunity For Efficient, Effective And Safe Exploitation Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Nature knows no legal boundaries. Resources cannot be stopped by walls with barbwire; no matter how high some people want to build them. They cross- national territories and expand under their logic. They belong to many nations, and they are there for the responsible exploitation of their communities. The Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and its rich hydrocarbon deposits are no exceptions. The implication of this is that for the development of this enclosed sea area to be efficient, effective, and safe it requires not only the cooperation of government officials but also the inclusion of other actors, such as academic …

To Speak With One Voice: The Political Effects Of Centralizing The International Legal Defense Of The State, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

When a government official defends a case before an international court, whose interest should he/she be representing? In today’s era of expanding international treaties that give standing to individual claimants, international courts review the actions of different government actors through the yardsticks of international law. The state is not unitary; alleged victims can bring international claims against various government entities including the executive, the legislature, the administrative branch, and the judiciary. Yet, the international legal defense of government actions is in the hands of the executive power. This paper focuses on the consequences of this centralization for inter-branch politics. It …

The 2012 Agreement On The Exploitation Of Transboundary Hydrocarbon Resources In The Gulf Of Mexico Confirmation Of The Rule Or Emergence Of A New Practice?, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez, Richard J. Mclaughlin

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

This Article explores the international law applicable to the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources that straddle the boundaries between States (transboundary fields) and its applicability to the U.S. and Mexico maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mexico. After a detailed examination of the different sources of international law including treaties, customary norms, judicial decisions, and bilateral practice, the Article concludes that the United States and Mexico have deviated in some regards from the standard international legal practices that other States have adopted to exploit transboundary hydrocarbon resources. The two most notable deviations are in allowing either nation to unilaterally exploit the …

Energy Reform In Mexico: Lessons And Warnings From International Law, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

The article analyzes some of the contents of the Mexican Energy Reform of 2013 and warns on the international legal implications that the path that Mexico has chosen to follow could bring to its economy and international relations. Concretely, it argues that in order to avoid falling into the same mistakes made by other Latin American countries in the region, Mexico must consider its obligations contained in international treaties signed with the United States on transboundary resources, and its obligations in bilateral investment treaties that protect foreign investors from certain government acts and policies.

The Hydrocarbon Industry’S Challenge To International Investment Law: A Critical Approach, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

The research presented here challenges the contemporary view that the international investment regime has a “chilling effect” on host government policies. That critique errs in assuming that the effects of the modern bilateral investment treaties on decision-making within host governments have been uniform across states and economic sectors The main argument presented here is that in developing countries that depend on the oil and gas sectors, the international investment regime rarely deters host government rent-seeking behavior that can harm foreign investors.

In petro-dependent developing nations that have weak institutional capacity the survival of the government becomes tied to its ability …

A New International Legal Regime For A New Reality In The War Against Drugs, Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

Guillermo J. Garcia Sanchez

The paper reviews the existing international legal regime on the war against drugs and argues that it has become obsolete in the face of the trend to legalize the consumption of certain drugs, such as marijuana, in developed nations. It particularly analyzes the contradictory practice of the United States to pressure producing states, such as Mexico and Colombia, to enforce the regime and at the same time allow the legalization of consumption in local U.S. states.