Law Commons^™

The Reactionary Road To Free Love: How Doma, State Marriage Amendments And Social Conservatives Undermine Traditional Marriage, Scott Titshaw

Scott Titshaw

Much has been written about the possible effects on different-sex marriage of legally recognizing same-sex marriage. This article looks at the defense of marriage from a different angle: It shows how rejecting same-sex marriage results in political compromise and the proliferation of “marriage light” alternatives (e.g., civil unions, domestic partnerships, or reciprocal beneficiaries) that undermine the unique status of marriage for everyone. In the process, it examines several aspects of the marriage debate in detail. After describing the flexibility of marriage as it has evolved over time, the article focuses on recent state constitutional amendments attempting to stop further development. …

The Taking Of Diplomatic Hostages, Tehran 1979: An Islamic And International Legal Perspective., Michael P. Hatchell

Michael P Hatchell

This paper will examine the hostage crisis at the American embassy in light of Islamic Sharia, the 1979 International Court of Justice case concerning United States Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran, the Iranian constitution and international law—both treaty law and principles of customary international law. Each one will shed a different light on the hostage crisis in 1979 and through their individual lenses a collective picture will emerge that will sharpen the condemnation of hostage taking regardless of the situation, rationale or ideology.

Problems Of Perception In The European Court Of Human Rights: A Matter Of Evidence?, Anne Richardson Oakes

Anne Richardson Oakes

The “doctrine of appearances” is now an important element of the jurisprudence of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The court derives support for its interpretations from the traditional precept of the common law that “justice must be seen to be done.” However, the formulations of the European Court are idiosyncratic and apparently driven by an asserted perception of an increased public sensitivity in this area. This paper examines these formulations and considers the extent to which judicial principles of procedural fairness require an empirical connection.

Of Particles And Proportionality: Negotiating A Truce Between Humanitarian And Human Rights Principles In The Law Of Armed Conflict, Matt Meltzer

Matt Meltzer

The conflict between international humanitarian law (“IHL”) and human rights law (“HRL”) in the regulation of combat is one of the most hotly debated issues in the law of armed conflict. As human rights law has come into greater prominence over the past twenty years, international tribunals and non-government organizations have struggled with how to effectively integrate its principles with the longer-established strictures of international humanitarian law. Because human rights law would prohibit a large swathe of hostile conduct that international humanitarian law has long permitted, a conflict between these two fields is inevitable. At stake in this legal debate …

Providing A Foundation For Wealth For Wealth Creation And Development In Africa: The Role Of The Rule Of Law, John Mukum Mbaku

JOHN MUKUM MBAKU

PROVIDING A FOUNDATION FOR WEALTH CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: THE ROLE OF THE RULE OF LAW JOHN MUKUM MBAKU ABSTRACT This paper examines the struggle in Africa to alleviate and eventually eradicate poverty. It is argued that the most effective way for African countries to deal with poverty is to create wealth. Unfortunately, these countries have not been able to create the wealth that they need to confront poverty. This is due primarily to the fact that since independence, these countries have not been able to undertake democratic institutional reforms to create and adopt institutional arrangements that guarantee and …

The Emergence Of Private Property Law In China And Its Impact On Human Rights, Mark D. Kielsgard, Lei Chen

Mark D. Kielsgard

ABSTRACT This article investigates the development of private property law in the PRC and its connection to the growth of human rights trends in China. It assesses the vitality of these trends, reviews the relevant historic legal and social background and demonstrates how the introduction of private property in China has fundamentally altered the fabric of its civil society. Drawing upon case studies and statutory analysis, and evaluating them from the perspective of both Chinese and Western scholarship, it analyzes trends driving greater democratic structures by reviewing the self-governance of condominium owners associations and the human rights practices they have …

Error In Persona Vel In Objecto And Aberratio Ictus Vel Impitus: A Transferred Malice?, Khalid Ghanayim

Khalid Ghanayim

No abstract provided.

Politics And Legal Regulation In The International Business Environment: An Fdi Case Study Of Alstom, S.A., In Israel, Jeffrey A. Van Detta

Jeffrey A. Van Detta

This article identifies and carefully considers the panoply of municipal and international legal issues that arise from a hypothetical Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by one of the world’s largest Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs). Specifically, the article fleshes out a detailed FDI analytic framework as we considered the hypothesized—yet, entirely plausible—investment by Alstom, S.A., in Israel’s energy sector: joint-venturing with Israel’s Multimatrix, Ltd., to employ Alstom’s world-class wind-power expertise in developing a 75-turbine wind farm on the wind-swept Golan Heights, one of the Occupied Territories.

Among the specific issues addressed are:

1. The political situation in Israel, Syria, and Iran;

2. The …

Changing The Paradigm Of International Criminal Law: Considering The Work Of The United Nations War Crimes Commission Of 1943-1948, Daniel T. Plesch, Shanti Sattler

Daniel T Plesch

Changing the Paradigm of International Criminal Law: Considering the Work of the United Nations War Crimes Commission of 1943-1948 by Dr Dan Plesch and Shanti Sattler This article discusses the precedents of the largely forgotten United Nations War Crimes Commission (U.N.W.C.C.) of 1943-1948. The work of this multinational body should be regarded as a source of customary international law. We seek to introduce the U.N.W.C.C. and the thousands of national trials it supported into modern discourse about the development of international criminal justice and argue why they are relevant to current deliberations. The article concludes that the U.N.W.C.C. has been …

The Importation Of The Rule Of Reason In European Competition Law: The Implications Of Economic And Behavioral Theories And The Case Of Port Services, Davide Maresca

Davide Maresca

The regulation of international markets is nowadays faced with an important debate emerging from the study that started long ago at the Chicago School, passed through behavioral theories, and arrived in the European Union model. Two main theories set against each other concerning the market and antitrust regulation. The first one, law and economics theory, is based on the economic analysis of the costs and benefits of restraint of trade, and justifies a restraint only for economic reasons. The second, behavioral law and economics theory, is based on the empirical analysis of the regulation through instruments taken from social sciences. …

Toward Cyber Peace: Managing Cyber Attacks Through Polycentric Governance, Scott Shackelford

Scott Shackelford

Views range widely about the seriousness of cyber attacks and the likelihood of cyber war. But even framing cyber attacks within the context of a loaded category like war can be an oversimplification that shifts focus away from enhancing cybersecurity against the full range of threats now facing companies, countries, and the international community. Current methods are proving ineffective at managing cyber attacks, and as cybersecurity legislation is being debated in the U.S. Congress and around the world the time is ripe for a fresh look at this critical topic. This Article searches for alternative avenues to foster cyber peace …

U.S.Foreign Trade Zones, Tax-Free Trade Zones Of The World, And Their Impact On The U.S. Economy, Susan W. Tiefenbrun

Susan W Tiefenbrun

ABSTRACT

U.S. Foreign Trade Zones, Tax-Free Trade Zones of the World, and Their Impact on the United States Economy , by Susan Tiefenbrun

Free trade zones (FTZs) date back to the time of the Phoenicians; they developed in the l970s and proliferated from 1980 until today. FTZs are duty-free areas where goods may be warehoused, processed, sold, serviced, distributed, showcased, packaged, labeled, sorted, assembled, and/or manufactured as finished goods prior to re-exporting them as duty-exempt finished products. More than one 135 countries operate tax-free trade zones. There are more than 3,500 of these zones and subzones all over the world, …

Comparative Negligence And Mitigation Of Damages: Two Sister-Doctrines In Search Of Reunion, Yehuda Adar Dr.

Yehuda Adar Dr.

This article addresses a neglected problem in Anglo-American tort law, namely, the apparent inconsistency between comparative negligence and mitigation of damages. Notwithstanding the now unquestionable victory of comparative negligence over the old all-or-nothing doctrine of contributory negligence, the doctrine of mitigation (or avoidable consequences) seems to retain its doctrinal integrity. Under comparative negligence, any loss that the victim could have avoided is apportioned between the victim and the tortfeasor. In contrast, under the doctrine of mitigation, a tort victim can never recover for any element of loss that could have been avoided. The apparent tension between these two loss allocation …

Jurisdiction Of Arbitration Tribunals In France, Ozlem Susler Ms

OZLEM SUSLER MS

This article relates to international commercial arbitration as it examines the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals to rule on their own jurisdiction. It reviews arbitral jurisdiction in France by considering the principle of compétence- compétence as applied by its national courts. Although this principle is recognised in the national arbitration laws of many jurisdictions, there are some important differences. For instance, there is divergence in relation to the stage at which judicial intervention occurs and the degree of intervention by courts of different countries. Divergence is also observed in the type of judicial review undertaken by the courts. This article focuses …

Demons: Be Gone, David D. Butler

David D. Butler

This essay argues that though contrary to Muslim doctrine, the secret disposal of Osama bin Laden at sea was necessary to prevent any known grave from becoming a pilgrimage site for Muslim jihadists. The essay compares the secret burial of bin Ladin, to that of Adolph Hitler and the recent reburial of Rudolph Hesse, also at sea, and concludes all three are reasonable steps to forestall further terrorist activity.

Illuminating Corruption Pathways: Modifying The Fcpa’S “Grease Payment” Exception To Galvanize Anti-Corruption Movements In Developing Nations, Ivan Perkins

Ivan Perkins

The Article proposes a new web-based reporting and publication system for “grease” or “facilitating” payments under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The FCPA penalizes the bribery of foreign government officials, but contains an exception for facilitating payments, made to expedite “routine governmental actions” such as mail or telephone services. Noting the ambiguities within the exception, many commentators and practitioners have called for its abolition. The Article proposes a different solution: entities making facilitating payments should be required to report these payments to the Department of Justice (“DOJ”). Then, the DOJ would publish this information on a website, with graphics …

Expanding Secured Credit For Firms In China: Is The Floating Charge An Appropriate Transplant?, Mark Williams, Haitian Lu

Haitian LU

Despite the global trend in favour of a notice-filing system for secured credit advances to firms secured on personal property, China adopted new provisions embodying the essential characteristics of the English floating charge in the country’s first comprehensive Property Law in 2007. This article traces the development and essential characteristics of the floating charge in England, the reason for China’s adoption of this security device, and considers whether this transplant provides Chinese borrowers and lenders with a useful addition to credit-security system that will aid further economic expansion. We follow the legal transplantation literature to analyse the Chinese security regime, …

The English Approach To Compétence-Compétence, Ozlem Susler Ms

OZLEM SUSLER MS

This article examines the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals to rule on their own jurisdiction. It reviews arbitral jurisdiction in the United Kingdom by considering the principle of compétence-compétence as provided for in its arbitration law. The term compétence-compétence – also referred to as compétence sur la competence or kompetenz-kompetenz – confers a right on arbitrators to decide their own jurisdictional authority to hear a dispute and is essential to the practice of international commercial arbitration.Although this principle is recognised in the national arbitration laws of many jurisdictions, there are some important differences. For instance, there is divergence in the stage …

China's Engagement With The Security Council, Christopher James Mccabe Holland

Christopher J M Holland

China’s engagement with the UN Security Council has received close attention since its veto of UN action in Syria. Some commentators have argued that this veto signals the beginning of a more aggressive and independent China, and is an indication of its resilience to western and foreign pressure. However, this paper argues that the significance of China’s resistance to UN action should not be overstated.

The proposed intervention in Syria, like in Libya, was justified in legal terms on the basis of the doctrine of the “responsibility to protect” (R2P). Since the genesis of this doctrine at the turn of …

The Myth Of Cross-Border Cooperation: Mutual Assistance For The Collection Of Tax Claims In Cross-Border Insolvencies, Mathews Vattamala

Mathews Vattamala

“No country is an island to itself.” Cross-border tax cooperation and compliance are crucial to the health of the United States economy and the protection of its tax base. Yet, foreign courts administering cross-border insolvencies may deny a U.S. tax claim, even when such claims are treated as secured claims under local law. In a similar vein, a U.S. bankruptcy court recently refused to recognize the tax claim of a foreign government in reliance of the anachronistic common law doctrine, known as the “revenue rule.” To ensure other governments extend the U.S. the necessary cooperation it will need to collect …

Barbarians At The Legal Gates: Examining South Korea's Pre-Emptive Globalization Policies Prior To Legal Market Liberalization, Jasper Kim

Jasper Kim

Many South Korean law firms saw the liberalization of the South Korean legal market, with an estimated size of approximately $3 billion (as of 2010), as a major risk factor given the negative experience of Germany and France, two markets that were dominated by foreign law firms following liberalization of their legal services markets. Cognizant of this, South Korean policymakers strategically structured the liberalization of South Korea’s legal market in a way that would maximize the benefits and mitigate the risks to local law firms. This article argues that the introduction of the nation’s three “pre-emptive” policies --1) a required …

Transparency Between Norm, Technique And Property In International Law And Governance—The Example Of Corporate Disclosure Regimes And Environmental Impacts, Larry Cata Backer

Larry Cata Backer

This article considers the role of transparency in corporate governance, focusing on the regulatory forms in international environmental law and policy. It is divided into five sections. After this Introduction, Section II considers conventional sources of international environmental law for its transparency effects on the environmental impacts of business activity, looking at both hard law and soft law frameworks. While there is a substantial and growing body of public international hard and soft law frameworks in environmental governance, much of that is focused on the role of states and the information and participation rights of affected communities in the political …

A Costly Illusion? An Empirical Study Of Taiwan’S Use Of Isolation To Control Tuberculosis Transmission And Its Implications For Public Health Law And Policymaking, Shinrou Lin

Shinrou Lin

The resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) and the emergence of multidrug-resistant TB have resulted in the detention of patients in a number of international jurisdictions since the 1990s, including in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government adopted isolation as an official policy to control TB’s spread in its 2006 Ten-Year Mobilization Plan, whose goal is to halve TB incidence from 66.7 per 100,000 persons to 34 per 100,000 persons. The isolation program allows treating physicians to nominate patients for isolation while public health officials may also isolate patients if necessary. Hospitals providing care to isolated patients would be reimbursed from the budget of …

A Higher Authority: Judicial Review Of Religious Tribunals, Amanda M. Baker

Amanda M Baker

Religious diversity within a secular state raises a host of issues, not least the question of how to resolve a conflict between obligations of citizenship and demands of faith. Nowhere is this question more visible that in the ongoing debate over the rights of citizens to submit their disputes to religious tribunals and have the resulting decision enforced by a civil court. This Article surveys the right of an individual to civil enforcement of religious arbitration decisions. In particular, it focuses on the level of judicial review courts apply to religious arbitration awards compared to the awards of secular arbitration. …

Jus Post Bellum In Iraq: The Development Of Emerging Norms For Economic Reform In Post Conflict Countries, Christina C. Benson Jd, Mba

Christina C Benson JD, MBA

Finally emerging from decades of conflict and isolation, Iraq has endured three devastating wars, the demise of the Saddam Hussein regime, the end of international economic sanctions, and the protracted process of approving a constitution and forming a new democratically elected government. The nation’s emergence from war, and efforts to build the foundations of stable governance and economic growth, provides a fascinating case study for analyzing new international norms promoting the “rule of law” in post-conflict countries. This paper directly addresses arguments that early legal and economic reforms implemented by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and the Iraqi Interim Government …

Forum Shopping And The Cost Of Access To Justice: Cost And Certainty In International Commercial Litigation And Arbitration, Ali Assareh

Ali Assareh

International commercial transactions sometimes give rise to disputes. Resolving these disputes requires access to justice (whether through litigation or arbitration), and access to justice costs money⎯in some cases, enough money to overshadow the substance of the underlying dispute. Knowing this, international commercial parties almost always include a “dispute resolution” clause in their contracts. Yet, despite their prevalence and importance in managing future arbitration and litigation costs, dispute resolution clauses are often poorly negotiated and hastily drafted, perhaps because some factors that affect the cost of resolving future disputes are not known by the parties ex ante. But, while some factors …

How Legislative Bans On Foreign And International Law Obstruct The Practice And Regulation Of American Lawyers, David Nersessian

David Nersessian

Thirty-two state legislatures have introduced (and five have enacted) “blocking” initiatives that prohibit foreign or international law in state judicial decisions. Some states, such as Oklahoma, extend this ban to religious tenets, notably Sharia law. Scholarly discourse to date has focused principally upon how such legislation discriminates against minority religious groups. The academic community has yet to consider the serious collateral (and apparently unintended) impact of such laws on American lawyers, which is the subject of this article.

Blocking laws make it all but impossible for practicing lawyers to fulfill their ethical obligations in legal matters abroad, which forces them …

Challenges And Opportunities For The Indonesian Securities Takeover Regulations: General Framework And Analysis From Dutch Law And Theoretical Perspectives, Yozua Makes

Yozua Makes

This article examines question of the extent to which the rules in Indonesia concerning takeover of a public listed company: (1) facilitate efficient exchange of shares in the capital market with fair protection for all stakeholders in a takeover transaction pursuant to Good Corporate Governance (GCG) principles; and (2) accommodate principles and protection provided in the securities laws of more developed jurisdictions. These issues are addressed by analyzing the current Indonesian legal framework from the perspective of fairness and efficiency in the securities regulations and corporate governance principles. A comparative discussion of laws and regulations in Indonesia and the Netherlands …

Neither Magic Bullet Nor Lost Cause: Land Titling And The Wealth Of Nations, Scott Shackelford

Scott Shackelford

This Article offers a critique of land titling movements. Formalizing property rights is a popular idea. Endorsements range from Ronald Coase, Milton Friedman, Francis Fukayama, and Jeanne Kirkpatrick, to David Owen, and Margaret Thatcher. This Article seeks to determine whether such widespread praise is justified based on an analysis of the available empirical literature on the subject. I argue that instead of property rights formalization being a panacea cure for alleviating poverty in the developing world, it is but one part of a more holistic process of legal reform that is required before economic development might be catalyzed and property …

The More Favorable Regime For Confirming International Arbitral Awards Made In The U.S.: A Choice Within The ‘Overlapping Coverage’ Of Faa Chapters One And Two, Suyash Paliwal

Suyash Paliwal

According to U.S. courts, Chapters One and Two of the Federal Arbitration Act provide “overlapping coverage” over arbitral awards that were made in the U.S. and also fall under the New York Convention. The meaning of “overlapping coverage” under U.S. arbitral law remains unclear, but affects the defeated party’s ability to challenge the conversion of these awards to court judgments and, consequently, the parties’ decision to seat an arbitration in the U.S. According to every Circuit that has addressed the question, when a U.S.-rendered award is domestic, it is subject to summary, challenge-free confirmation under Chapter One if it is …