Law Commons^™

Limits Of The Rule Of Law: Negotiating Afghan "Traditional" Law In The International Civil Trials In The Czech Republic, Tomas Ledvinka, James M. Donovan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Drawing on ethnographic research of judicial cases in the Czech Republic which involve the law in migrants' countries of origin, this Article outlines how multiple strategies handle encounters with the legal-cultural differences of Afghanistan in order to neutralize what may be called the "alterity" of law. The Article suggests that far from being analytical tools, concepts such as "context," "culture," and "customary" are strategically used by courts to neutralize unsettling aspects of foreign Afghan legalities. Further, it applies Leopold Pospisil's ethnological concept of legal authority as a vehicle for reinterpreting the contextual differentiation of Afghan "traditional" law as an alternative …

Symposium Address: The Role Of Lawyers In The Wto, James Bacchus

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A final point I would make to students who are here today and about to go out into the legal world would be this: I have noticed that what I do is a bit controversial in some places. Why is that so?

It is because the world is changing and because, understandably, people have apprehensions about change. It is also because there is very little understanding of what it is that we are doing in Geneva. Consciously, and intentionally, I have spent my first years on the Appellate Body in silence. Vanderbilt is one of the few places where I …

Remarks Of Professor Robert A. Friedlander, Professor Robert A. Friedlander

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Terrorism, in its essence, consists of common crimes: murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, arson and whatever other act of violence is utilized for terrorist ends and as terrorist means. Admittedly the world's democracies have not only failed to develop an acceptable definition for the global arena, they have also been unable to fashion a proper meaning for their own domestic statutes. We should never forget the symbiotic relationship which exists between terrorism and democracy. As the French political analyst, Jean Francois Ravel, has cogently remarked: "The main target of international terrorism is the idea of freedom as …

A Report On Certain Recent Legal Developments In The International Monetary Fund, Joseph Gold

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the recent past, the main activity of the International Monetary Fund in connection with the development of international law has been the negotiation and drafting of an amendment of the Fund's Articles of Agreement. The present report deals primarily with that activity, but also comments on the sixth general review of the quotas of member states in the Fund.

On August 15, 1971, the United States, having decided to free itself from certain constraints that had become unacceptable and to exercise greater autonomy for national policies, suspended the convertibility into gold or other reserve assets of balances of United …

International Transactions In A Cold Climate; Or Whatever Became Of The Law Merchant?, Henry Harfield

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

International trade can be conducted only under the rule of law. There is no rule of law that governs international trade. These statements form a paradox, and the beginning of two possible syllogisms. One construction is that since there is no rule of law governing international trade, and international trade is dependent upon the rule of law, international trade must perish. The other and more hopeful construction is that international trade does exist, it must exist, and because it is dependent upon the rule of law, a rule of law must be devised.

I believe in the latter formulation, but …