Law Commons^™

Editor's Note, Padraig O'Malley

New England Journal of Public Policy

In the months preceding the U.S. presidential election in November 2004, George Bush and John Kerry conducted what passed for a serious debate on U.S. foreign policy, especially the rationale for the war in Iraq and on the state of the "war on terror." It was easy to lose sight of the primary purpose of these two special issues of the New England Journal of Public Policy on war. So I should, perhaps, remind our readers.

The question posed was: what lessons can we draw from the wars and conflicts of the twentieth century that might help us to take …

One Morning In Morocco, Eli Mechanic

New England Journal of Public Policy

Presents the journal of an American student studying in Morocco based on his firsthand experiences on how Arabs viewed the Iraq war from January to May 2003. Lesson learned on March 20, 2003 where he felt the anger of Arab people upon seeing an American; Excitement of Arabs upon hearing news about dead Americans; Realization of the Moroccans on the cruelty of the Americans.

We Were Allies Once: Lessons Of D Day, 1944, Nigel Hamilton

New England Journal of Public Policy

Nigel Hamilton swivels the century around the pivot of the massive cooperation and collaboration between the United States and its allies during World War II. In the early years, European and British troops suffered a series of discouraging defeats by the Nazis, and then when the United States entered the war the great collaboration among the allies was instrumental in achieving victory in Europe. This joint effort of nations continued for a time with such institutions as the UN and NATO and other international bodies. The war in Iraq ruptured the alliance. American unilateralism has distinguished most of the debacle …

Natural Forum And The Elusive Significance Of Jurisdiction Agreements, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The Singapore court's power to stay its proceedings by reason of its not being the appropriate forum the proceedings ought not to be continued is underpinned by the common law principle enunciated in The Spiliada that generally a trial should be heard in its natural forum. The Rainbow Joy adds significantly to Singapore law on forum non conveniens on two important points. First, it establishes that it is not necessary to show that the alternative forum abroad is constituted as a court of law. Secondly, the case establishes that whether there is a defense claim on the merits is an …

Bloggers Beware: The Five Commandments For Bloggers, Warren B. Chik

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

There is a need for Singapore bloggers to be aware of legal issues arising from their online diaries, particularly in the light of the recent cases involving seditious remarks made online by bloggers that resulted in jail terms and fines; and earlier in the year, a dispute arose over allegedly defamatory speeches made by a blogger about A*STAR’s Chairman, Philip Yeo, which was resolved amicably, but not without an apology. The threats of legal repercussions in the form of civil lawsuits and criminal charges serve as reminders of the potential legal problems that can arise from blogging, and indeed from …

Multiracialism Engineered: The Limits Of Electoral And Spatial Integration In Singapore, Eugene K. B. Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper examines Singapore's innovations in electoral and spatial integration. In examining the Group Representation Constituency and the Ethnic Integration Policy, a critique is made of the official discourse that multiracialism is internalized and entrenched in Singapore's political psyche and electoral process. While the electoral and spatial integration policies are driven by the objective of enhancing multiracialism, their actual workings do not adequately advance the development of norms and values that would be truly supportive of the need for a multiracial legislature and an abiding commitment to multiracialism. The layering of the electoral system with other political objectives, such as …

Trade Mark Dilution In Singapore: The Aftermath Of Mcdonald’S V Mactea, David Llewelyn

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In a unanimous decision delivered in September 2004, the Court of Appeal of Singapore has ruled against McDonald's Corporation in its attempts to stop a small Singapore company, Future Enterprises Pty Ltd, from registering its marks "MacNoodles", "MacTea" and "MacChocolate". This case has international significance as the Singapore court ruled, confirming the position taken by courts in a number of other jurisdictions, that McDonald's did not have an exclusive right over the prefix "Mc" in relation to food and beverages in the absence of deception or confusion. However, Singapore's trade mark laws have since undergone a major revamp. Under the …

Wacana Kearifan Kapitalis Dalam Dunia Postmodern: Tinjauan Atas Kampanye One/Live 8, Musa Maliki

Global: Jurnal Politik Internasional

The tension of postmodern condition creates two distinctive grand-narrative discourses in seeing poverty: modernist and anti-modernist. Even though the discourse of the postmodern condition remains within the regime of grand narrative discourses, there is a little narrative called the wisdom of capitalist discourse. It has been successful in the constructive active and non-violence resistance to make poverty history by ONE/Live 8 campaign. By the discourse's scheme, this study argues that the existence of poverty text is not the epistemological problem that can be solved exogenously by problem solving theory (grand theory), but it is the ontological problem that can be …

Proposed Anti-Spam Legislation Model In Singapore - Are We Losing The War Before Even Starting The Battle?, Warren B. Chik

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Unsolicited messages have grown into an intractable parasite on the underbelly of an otherwise effectual and vibrant electronic communications regime. There has been a sudden surge in the enactment of anti-spam laws globally within the last couple of years. On 25 May 2004, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore jointly released a Consultation Paper on a Proposed Legislative Framework for the Control of E-mail Spam in Singapore. It is timely to consider the proposed anti-spam legislation model for Singapore in the light of such existing laws in other countries and their levels of effectiveness …

The Viability Of Stimulating Technology-Oriented Entrepreneurial Activity In China, Taiwan, Japan, And South Korea: How Regulations And Culture Encourage The Creation, Development And Exploitation Of Intellectual Property, Matthew L. Goldberg

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.

Report Of The Law Reform Committee On Pre- And Post-Judgement Interest, Tiong Min Yeo, Wai Yee Wan, Joyce Chao, Julie Huan, Vincent Leow, Sriram Chakravarthi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

No abstract provided.

On The Sources Of Islamic Law And Practices, Ahmed Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Peter W. Van Arsdale On This Place Will Become Home: Refugee Repatriation To Ethiopia By Laura C. Hammond. Ithaca, Ny: Cornell University Press, 2004. 257pp., Peter W. Van Arsdale

Human Rights & Human Welfare

No abstract provided.

It's All Right To Be Wrong, Sometimes, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Racist comments made by some youths have spawned many reactions from Singaporeans. This presents another interesting issue: Do these reactions themselves evince the kind of intolerance of a diversity of opinions which they are attacking? When and how can we differ without being intolerant and disrespectful?

It's All Right To Be Wrong, Sometimes, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Racist comments made by some youths have spawned many reactions from Singaporeans. This presents another interesting issue: Do these reactions themselves evince the kind of intolerance of a diversity of opinions which they are attacking? When and how can we differ without being intolerant and disrespectful?

No Vision? Youths Need Role Models, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Much recent talk about the vision (or lack thereof) of our young people has revolved around a search for solutions in the form of programmes that give them an opportunity to broaden their minds and, it is hoped, develop their characters.

No Vision? Youths Need Role Models, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Much recent talk about the vision (or lack thereof) of our young people has revolved around a search for solutions in the form of programmes that give them an opportunity to broaden their minds and, it is hoped, develop their characters.

Critical Thinking Straight From The Heart, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The state of the hearts of our young people, specifically whether they have the moral courage to stand up for what they believe in, is in the spotlight again with this newspaper's upcoming Youthink pages intended to showcase their views. The Youthink pages might go some way to show if the concern with our youth is well-founded. An interesting issue is raised: What exactly is critical thinking?

Neotrusteeship In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Afghanistan is currently under the tentative rule of an international administration, or neotrusteeship, thereby restricting its national sovereignty. However, self-determination and nonintervention have never been persistent features of Afghanistan. Foreign interventions, invasions and great power showdowns on its territory have made a truly autonomous Afghan state a shortlived phenomenon. The outcome at each stage of Afghan history has been an unstable state that seems to invite even more external involvement.

Colombia, Travis Ning

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The events of September 11 continued of the pattern of redefinition in the conflict in Colombia. The complex war of today actually began decades ago as a small political struggle, which has gradually developed into a large-scale civil war. The continuation and growth of civil strife in Colombia witnessed the emergence of several organized anti-government guerrilla movements. Some of these groups have since been defeated or have integrated themselves into the recognized political system. Others have continued to violently challenge Colombian government authority. Currently, the two most significant anti-government insurgency groups are the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and …

Democratization In Afghanistan, Chris Rowe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

What determines whether a specific country embarks on the road to democracy, if it completes that voyage successfully, and finally consolidates democratic values, practices, and institutions? Analysts have debated these issues for decades and have identified a number of historical, structural, and cultural variables that help account for the establishment of successful democracies in some countries and its absence in others. Frequently cited prerequisites for democracy include social and economic modernization; a large and vibrant middle class; and cultural norms and values relating to politics.

Chechnya, Kelley Laird

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The root of animosity between Russians and Chechens extends for more than a century, beginning when Chechens opposed Russia’s conquest of the Caucasus between 1818 and 1917. Tension reached an apex in the 1940s when Stalin deported thousands of Chechens to Siberia and East Asia in fear that they would collaborate with German Nazis.

Georgia, James Smithwick

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The conflict between Chechnya and Russia combined with September 11 has focused more international attention on the Russian Caucuses. However, little has changed since America declared a War on Terror in the Republic of Georgia. The state turned a blind eye to religious persecution before September 11, and continues to do so. Multiple separatist movements persist in the same manner as they did prior to September 11.

Big Government And Its Wars On Crime: Crime Control As A Method Of Government Expansionism, Paul R. Rickert

Paul R Rickert

The federal government has expanded to meet perceived social needs and as issues come to the forefront that Washington elites believe they can fix. Consequently, they expand the power and role of the government. One way this is done is through progressive criminalization of once held freedoms. Consider the first drug laws, consider the war on poverty, consider the tax code, the new war on drugs, and hate-crimes legislation. Although tax law is not criminal law per-se, in the end, choosing not to pay taxes results in prosecution. Laws and regulations ultimately must have “teeth” for it to be effective. …

Globalizing Democracy Or Democratizing Globalism?, Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Transnational Democracy: Political Spaces and Border Crossings edited by James Anderson. London: Routledge, 2002. 224pp.

The Promise And Limitations Of International Human Rights Activism, Rebecca Evans

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Breaking Silence: The Case that Changed the Face of Human Rights by Richard Alan White. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2004. 320 pp.

Human Rights And Post-War Reconstruction: Introduction, Roberto Belloni

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The expression “post-war reconstruction,” commonly adopted by both practitioners and academics, is somewhat misleading. Reconstruction does not entail rebuilding or return to the pre– war state of affairs as the expression seems to suggest. Rather, reconstruction involves difficult multiple transitions: from war to peace, from a state to a market economy, and from authoritarianism to democracy. Each transition taken by itself would be daunting. Taken together, they can be almost overwhelming.

Democratization In Iraq, Kate Lotz, Tim Melvin

Human Rights & Human Welfare

With the war in Iraq over, Coalition forces are still present as the cultivation of Iraqi democracy is underway. Coalition-led democratization in Iraq will prove to be a lengthy and complex objective, but one which will be pursued until successfully accomplished.

Europe, Victoria Lowdon, Angela Woolliams, Robin Davey

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Both individually and collectively, European countries have vast experience with international and domestic terrorism. Because the point of terrorist attacks is primarily within a particular country (United Kingdom, Turkey and Spain), terrorism has come to be viewed by these states as a domestic problem. At the same time European countries have recognized the value of inter-governmental cooperation, which has been codified in various bilateral and multilateral agreements and conventions dating back to the 1950’s.

Breaking Bodies Into Pieces: Time, Torture And Bio-Power, Cary H. Federman, Dave Holmes

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article is an attempt to comprehend the bureaucratic phenomenon of the deathwatch, the last 24 hours of a prisoner’s life, stressing the theoretical applications scholars can make to the study of docile bodies on death row. Because years of work are necessary to obtain obedience from condemned inmates, health care professionals lend more than an aura of legitimacy to the capital punishment process. As an integral part of the prison and capital punishment, they provide stability, reliability, and the means to achieve the goals of peaceful executions. The ultimate objective of utilizing health care professionals is the sanitization of …