Law Commons^™

International Law And Security Dilemmas In Multiethnic States, Nedzad Basic

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper considers how the international legal system may be reconstructed through the introduction of new legal relationships among these principles of international law to encourage different ethnic and religious communities, which rely on the principle of self-determination, and central governments, which invokes the principle of territorial integrity of its state, to make rational choices that will reduce the likelihood of minority/government conflict in the future. Sub-national groups understand self-determination of peoples to include the right of secession which threatens the territorial integrity of a state, while the territorial integrity of a state prohibits self-determination to be understood as statehood. …

Multinational Corporations And Compliance With International Regulations Relating To The Petroleum Industry, Emeka Duruigbo

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article is divided into three major sections. The first section defines the terms "compliance" and "enforcement" as they are used in this work. The second section contains an exposition of the traditional methods of compliance and enforcement, including their bases, scope, strengths and pitfalls. This part is divided into three subsections, each concentrating on a single method. The third section discusses an alternative approach of a norm of corporate behavior, emphasizing that ethical principles should be given legal teeth in international business and be integrated into the corpus of international law. The conclusion reached is that a concerted and …

Kosovo: To Bomb Or Not To Bomb? The Legality Is The Question, Leslie A. Burton

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

In 1998 and 1999, Yugoslavia was engaged in an "ethnic cleansing," involving the systematic murder of its ethnic minorities, especially within its state of Kosovo. Although the United Nations issued Resolutions condemning Yugoslavia's actions, the U.N. stopped short of ordering any enforcement action. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ("NATO") members agreed that action must be taken to stop the slaughter. After attempts to negotiate peace in the region proved unsuccessful, NATO determined that an aggressive response was the only altemative. On March 24, 1999, NATO-sponsored forces commenced bombing Kosovo. The bombing ended on June 10, 1999, having achieved its aim. …

Enforcing Arbitration Awards Under The International Convention For The Settlement Of Investment Disputes (Icsid Convention), Vincent O. Nmehielle

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article addresses the broad question of enforcement of ICSID arbitral awards under the Convention, with the goal of analyzing the attendant issues. The article is divided into four parts. Part Two deals with background issues such as the purpose of ICSID as envisaged by the ICSID Convention and the composition of the ICSID. Part Three analyzes the ICSID arbitral process and discusses the ICSID's jurisdiction and the constitution of its arbitral panel. Part Four, the main section, discusses the recognition and enforcement of awards. This section will analyze the various steps of enforcement: recognition, enforcement itself, and execution of …

New Developments In 2001 Chinese Criminal Procedure Law, Xia Jinwen

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

On March 17,1996, the 8th National People's Congress passed a new criminal procedure law during its 4th conference, based on an earlier code promulgated on January 1, 1980. In general, the new Criminal Procedure Code introduced significant developments in connection with the following aspects of the law: presumption of innocence, coercive measures, abolition of exemption from prosecution, criminal defenses, and the reformation of judicial proceedings.

An Overview Of Insolvency Proceedings In Asia, Leslie A. Burton

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper gives an overview of current bankruptcy (insolvency) proceedings in Asia. It will explain the existing laws, which are generally old and too outmoded to resolve modem cross-border debtor/creditor disputes. It will explore cultural attitudes which have both inhibited use of the existing laws and prevented meaningful changes to them. It will discuss how the changing structure of the market makes bankruptcy proceedings more common today than in the past, and appears to be leading many countries to revamp their bankruptcy laws. This paper will focus on the bankruptcy laws of eight Asian countries: Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, …

Genetically Modified Plants: A Need For International Regulation, Henrique Freire De Oliveira Souza

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Amongst all the possible issues related to biotechnology, the issue concerning genetically modified food (GMF) has special importance: while the "creators" of this kind of food are starting to exploit it commercially, resistance to genetically modified food has risen under the leadership of the European countries.

This paper will be confined only to genetically modified plants (GMP) , and their impacts on both the environment and the economy. In this paper, an overview will be provided of the issues involved in the context of GMP, including aspects of consumer and environmental protection, international trade, and intellectual property. Then, and using …

Confessions And The Right To Counsel: Reflections On Recent Changes In Turkish Criminal Procedure, Robert K. Calhoun

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The author delivered these remarks at the First International Workshop on Criminal Law Reform which was held in Istanbul, Turkey from October 20-24, 1999. The conference was sponsored by the Goethe Institute; Heinrich-Eoell-Stifling, Germany; University of Kansas School of Law; Marmara University School of Law; and Yeditepe University School of Law.

Update On The Hague Convention On The Recognition & Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments, Edward C.Y. Lau

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This comment is based on remarks at the Eighth Regional Meeting of the American Society of International Law, at Golden Gate University School of Law, on March 19, 2000.

An Introductory Framework For Analyzing The Proposed Hague Convention On Jurisdiction And Foreign Judgments In Civil And Commercial Matters: U.S. And European Perspectives, Michael Traynor

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This comment is based on remarks at the Eighth Regional Meeting of the American Society of International Law, at Golden Gate University School of Law, on March 19, 1999. Given developments in the draft convention since then, references in this comment are to the Preliminary Draft Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, adopted by the Special Commission on 30 October 1999.

The Lockerbie Controversy: Tension Between The International Court Of Justice And The Security Council, Eric Zubel

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

Pan American Flight 103 exploded midair over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21,1988. Investigations suggested that two Libyan nationals were to blame. When the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on the Libyan government in 1993 for its failure to cooperate with U.S. and U.K extradition requests, Libya turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for help. Libya asked the ICJ to declare that Libya was not obliged to extradite its nationals to the United States or the United Kingdom and further asked the Court to enjoin the U.S. and the U.K from the use of force or threats against Libya. …

Toward An International Bankruptcy Policy In Europe: Four Decades In Search Of A Treaty, Leslie A. Burton

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

As multinational trade has increased, so has the need for crossborder insolvency agreements. For forty years, the European Community and European Union have attempted to agree on cross-border insolvency procedures. The author explores the history of these efforts, the policy issues which have made agreement difficult, and the demise of the EUs best hope for a cross-border insolvency agreement: the failed 1995 Convention. Finally, she compares past and current proposals, and explains why they are inferior solutions to the failed Convention.

Out Of A Tangled Skein Into The International: The Development Of Legal Culture, Alexander Boldizar, Outi Korhonen

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The authors examine the heterogeneous and heteronomous threads in a skein of national and international legal cultures using the Czech Republic as a case study.

The 1996 Brazilian Commercial Arbitration Law, Cristina Schwansee Romano

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The author provides a systematic overview of recent legal developments that favor the use of international commercial arbitration in Brazil. This study provides an overview of the main aspects of the 1996 Brazilian Arbitration Law and the major innovations that it has introduced in Brazil.

Transboundary Water Pollution And State Responsibility: The Sandoz Spill, Astrid Boos-Hersberger

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Editorial

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Preparing For The Pacific Century: Fostering Technology Transfer In Southeast Asia, Jeffrey J. Blatt, Phillip H. Miller

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article discusses a number of considerations that are central to structuring a successful technology transfer or investment in Southeast Asia. Most of the discussion examines these considerations from the perspective of an MNC that is a potential technology transferor, investor, or vendor in the region. However, this article should also be of interest to those responsible for formulating government policies to encourage technology transfer, since it is important to do so with the MNC's perspective in mind. Clearly, for a technology transfer to be successful over the long term, a balance must be achieved between the goals of the …

Transfer Pricing: Achieving Fair National Taxation Of International Transactions, Pamela L. Kayfetz, Leo B. Helzel

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article will examine the significance of transfer pricing. Further, it will review, as an example, the current national and international systems and procedures for identifying and capturing tax lost due to inaccurate transfer pricing used by two countries: the United States, as the originator and developer of much of the transfer pricing methodology, and Japan, one of the countries most actively involved in the regulation of transfer pricing and also a major trading partner of the United States. It will include a brief analysis of current issues and possible solutions to transfer pricing.

Transfer Pricing Solutions In The Global Economy, Sandra Reid Robertson

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper will provide a brief history of the problems which transfer pricing issues have caused for both international companies and taxing jurisdictions. It will also examine efforts by the United States tax system to remedy this two-sided problem. The United States has primarily attempted to deal with the problem from its fiscal perspective, the underpayment of United States income tax by foreign companies through transfer pricing abuse. The double taxation problem for taxpayers has an effective, albeit cumbersome, solution in the competent authority process. However, the very fact that double taxation problems still exist, suggests the need for more …

A Study Of The Significant Aspects Of German Contract Law, Manfred Pieck

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Environmental Law System Of The Federal Republic Of Germany, Monika T. Neumann

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper presents a general overview of German environmental law, its principles, and its implementation. It briefly touches on the cultural and historical contexts in which this field of law evolved, as well as on its underlying policy. Being located in the center of Europe, Germany is tied into several systems of international relationships - regional, European, and global - that have to be examined with regard to their impact on German environmental law. Within the scope of this paper, the complex system of the legal obligations produced by these international relationships and German environmental law itself, consisting as it …

Africa And The Environment, Christian N. Okeke

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The point of departure for this paper is the conviction that the major questions and problems, so often dismissed as "problems of the Third World" of which Africa occupies a central place, must be the starting point for the building of a system of international law, and indeed, are the bases upon which the discipline can come to terms with itself in the context of present-day realities. Thus, this attempt to examine environmental law from the point of view of decolonization and development will be deliberately restricted to the African area. This necessitates the placing of Africa very close to …

The Right Of Secession As A Human Right, Alexander Martinenko

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

After four decades of relative stability, the modern international system finds itself face to face with an old problem, a problem resulting from two of the major developments of our time: the breakdown of the "world socialist system" and the disappearance of its leader, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (hereinafter USSR) itself. Both events were welcomed by the international community because they ended the danger of a confrontation between West and East. But at the same time they revived the world's old troubles with disintegrated states. The USSR and Yugoslavia have collapsed and the world has seen the peaceful …

A Note On The Right Of Secession As A Human Right, Christian N. Okeke

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This note examines first, the conditions that give rise to secession; next, the old and new normative framework and constitutional law and the attitude of states to secession; arguments for and against secession and new trends on the issue of secession; and the practical significance of the provision of the right of secession in the constitutions of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (hereinafter U.S.S.R.), and the provision of the right to secession in the Constitution of the Ukrainian Republic (hereinafter U.R.).

Lex Mercatoria In European And U.S. Trade Practice: Time To Take A Closer Look, Barton S. Selden

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This is an expanded version of the talk presented at the Fifth Annual Fulbright Symposium on International Legal Problems, Fourth Regional Meeting of the American Society of International Law, "Current Developments in International Trade Cooperation and the Protection of the Environment and Human Rights," held on March 17, 1995, at Golden Gate University School of Law in San Francisco. Edited by Jeffrey A. Chen .

The New Lex Mercatoria, Francesco Galgano

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

We live in a post-industrial era. We learn this from sociologists who demonstrate it by showing the index of the number of industrial employees is lower than that of service employees, thus, a transition from an industrial to a post-industrial era. The United States was the first to pass this point in 1956, while Italy passed it in 1982. Post-industrial society is not just a society of automation. The prefix "post" implies other aspects as well. Besides an industrial society there is also a financial society. What is new is not only how the goods are produced (with machines controlled …

An International Legal Framework For Forest Management And Sustainable Development, Emmanuel B. Kasimbazi

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This paper examines soft international law principles that regulate forest management. It proceeds from the 1972 Stockholm Conference on Human Environment as a major source of international environmental law and surveys major international customary law norms that have followed. The article ends with the Rio Declaration as the latest source of soft international environmental law. The discussion of the paper hinges on the strength and limitations of soft international law principles in regulating sustainable development of forests.

International Human Rights And The Kurds, Dr. Amir A. Majid

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

This article analyses the Kurdish rebellion for autonomy, the actions of the Iraqi forces against them and the measures taken by the United Nations, the United States and other Coalition States to protect the Kurds in the aftermath of the January/February 1991 Gulf War. The International actions will be assessed in light of the present rules of International Law and, in particular, whether they contravene any provision of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child And United States Abortion Law, Sanford J. Fox

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

The ratification of treaties governing human rights often raises the question of whether obligations imposed by the treaty are compatible with the existing domestic law of the ratifying state. One common way of resolving such conflicts is for the State to avoid undertaking the inconsistent legal obligation by qualifying its acceptance of the treaty with a reservation, even when domestic law already provides for resolving such conflicts. Another measure that may be adopted, particularly where the treaty provision at issue is cast in general terms, is for the ratifying state to include a Declaration or an Understanding (RUD) with its …

South Africa: Building A Culture Of Law, Anthony Lewis

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.