Law Commons^™

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Code and Custom in a Thai Provincial Court

By David M. Engel

Tuscon, Arizona: The University of Arizona Press, 1978. Pp. 230. $4.95.

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Human Rights and Development: Report of a Seminar on Human Rights and Their Promotion in the Caribbean

By the International Commission of Jurists and The Organization of Commonwealth Bar Associations

Bridgetown, Barbados, W.I.: The Cedar Press, 1978. Pp. 190.

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Iceburg Utilization: Proceedings of the First International Conference Held at Ames, Iowa

Edited by A.A. Husseiny

New York, New York: Pergamon Press, 1978. Pp. 760. $35.00.

The Contemporary Antitrust Regulation Of Joint Ventures In The European Economic Community, Stephen O. Spinks

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The joint venture is a form of organization widely used in international business. Although anticompetitive effects of mergers, interlocking directorates, and cartels are more frequently the targets of enforcement efforts under antitrust laws than joint ventures, the latter can be equally effective in reducing competition in the market place.

The legal status of joint ventures in various jurisdictions has remained a subject of some confusion possibly because of their hybrid nature--not quite cartels, yet not quite mergers. This confusion still exists to some extent in the United States, despite the fact that the Supreme Court has held that section 7 …

Nlrb Jurisdiction Over Foreign Governments, Dan T. Carter

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In State Bank of India the National Labor Relations Board reversed its discretionary abstention policy and asserted jurisdiction over the American operations of a foreign government employer. Previously the Board had declined to assert jurisdiction over these employers out of deference to foreign sovereigns, and because of the Supreme Court's admonition against extraterritorial application of the National Labor Relations Act in the absence of "an affirmative intention of the Congress clearly expressed." The Board now believes that neither public policy nor the policies of the NLRA can justify abstention. Although the Board has deemed the recently enacted Foreign Sovereign Immunities …

The United States Record Communications Industry Dichotomy--Time For Change, Paul E. Tellier

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This paper will explore the battle between Western Union and the international record carriers in the record communications field. It will trace the development of the United States record communications industry from the early history of electric telegraphy, through the enactment of the Communications Act of 1934 and the Western Union divestitute of 1943, the gateway and mailgram cases of the second half of the twentieth century. It will examine the diverse solutions proposed--ranging from free competition between Western Union and the international record carriers in both the domestic and international markets to the creation of a single monopolistic entity …

Book Review, Igor I. Kavass

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The limited use of American case law in the Commonwealth countries should not be surprising. With the exception of English cases, the decisions of other Commonwealth countries receive the same indifferent treatment in all Commonwealth jurisdictions; the English courts studiously ignore the decisions of other Commonwealth countries. For that matter, American courts do not consult the case law of English and other Commonwealth countries all too frequently. Espinoza v. Farah Manufacturing Co. is a recent example in point. In that case, the Supreme Court was asked to interpret the meaning of the terms "nationality" and "national origin" as used. in …

Crisis In The Courts: Proposals For Change, Griffin B. Bell

Vanderbilt Law Review

The popular conception of the crisis in the courts focuses upon the condition of the courts and particularly upon the increasing volume of disputes that are presented for resolution. For example,Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert of the Third Circuit, one of the busiest federal circuits, has observed: "The reality is that today there is a mad rush to the Federal courts." The available statistics reflect Judge Aldisert's observation. For instance, according to the most recent report of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, record numbers of cases have been filed in the circuit and district courts during the past …

The Influence Of James B. Thayer Upon The Work Of Holmes, Brandeis, And Frankfurter, Wallace Mendelson

Vanderbilt Law Review

James Bradley Thayer was one of the major figures in American constitutional law if only because of his influence upon Holmes, Brandeis, and Frankfurter (to say nothing of Learned and Augustus Hand). Now almost forgotten, Thayer, along with Christopher Columbus Langdell, John Chipman Gray, and James Barr Ames, was one of the giants at the Harvard Law School during its "golden age"at the close of the nineteenth century.' His legal career began only after serious flirtation with divinity and the Greek and Latin classics. That his interest in such matters was never suppressed entirely is evident in his "A Western …

Title Vii - Seniority - The Relevant Scope Of Inquiry For Determining The Legality Of A Seniority System, James D. Spratt, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which became effective on July 2, 1965, was enacted to eliminate artificial barriers to employment that historically have deprived minorities and women of employment opportunities. Section 703 of the Act thus makes discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin an unlawful employment practice. In order to obtain relief from a discriminatory employment practice, an aggrieved party must demonstrate that the defendant intentionally engaged in the unlawful practice. Because the broad language of sections 703(a), 703(c), and 706(g) fails to define the terms "discriminate" and"intentionally," the effectiveness …

Discussion: Crisis In The Courts, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Articles by Attorney General Griffin Bell, Chief Judge Harry Phillips, and Dean John W. Wade contained in this issue are based upon remarks made by the authors at the Cecil Sims Lecture Series, which was presented by the Vanderbilt Law School on November 4, 1977. The Sims Lecture Series was established in 1973 in memory of Cecil Sims, a 1914 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and a preeminent attorney in Nashville, Tennessee. It was designed to foster discussion of issues of current significance to the legal community by bringing outstanding judges, attorneys, and public servants into close contact with …

The Expansion Of Federal Jurisdiction And The Crisis In The Courts, Harry Phillips

Vanderbilt Law Review

Diversity jurisdiction has undergone intensive scrutiny and criticism for many years, with some commentators advocating repeal, and others urging retention. Among the critics of diversity jurisdiction are some of the legal profession's most prominent members. Roscoe Pound, Louis D. Brandeis, and Charles William Eliot were members of a committee that questioned diversity jurisdiction as long ago as 1914, and Senator George W. Norris of Nebraska led the Senate Judiciary Committee in recommending repeal of diversity jurisdiction in 1928. In 1954, Associate Justice Felix Frankfurter, an ardent foe of diversity jurisdiction, referred to "the mounting mischief inflicted on the federal judicial …

Some Comments On The Litigation Explosion, John W. Wade

Vanderbilt Law Review

My comment must start with a strong commendation of Attorney General Bell for recognizing the crisis created by the current "litigation explosion" in our courts and for providing leadership in seeking means for alleviating and perhaps even solving it. I am sure that the Justice Department's new Section on Improvement in the Administration of Justice will prove invaluable, both as an originator and a clearinghouse for compiling and evaluating new ideas and as a means for putting them into effect. Dan Meador makes an ideal selection as assistant attorney general to head it. I also must commend the Justice Department …

Recent Cases, Robert E. Banta, Oby T. Brewer, Iii, Cornelia A. Clark, I. Terry Currie, Douglas W. Ey, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

Constitutional Law-First Amendment-School Authorities May Prohibit High School Student's Distribution of Sex Questionnaire to Prevent Possible Psychological Harm to Other Students Robert Edward Banta

Plaintiff, editor of a high school publication,' brought suit in federal court seeking an order compelling defendant school officials to allow the student publication to distribute a sex questionnaire,to students in the high school and to publish the results. Plaintiff claimed that defendants had not shown that the planned distribution would disrupt school activities and that, therefore, defendants'prohibition of the questionnaire violated 42 U.S.C. § 19831 and the first and fourteenth amendments. Pointing to potential psychological …

Law And Social Order In The United States, James W. Ely, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

No student of American legal history can overlook the significant work of J. Willard Hurst, who has been described as "the foremost historian of American law."' A prolific author, Hurst has been concerned primarily with the relationship between law and the economic system. His most recent volume, Law and Social Order in the United States, is an important contribution to the rapidly growing literature in the legal history field. Based upon the Carl L.Becker Lectures that Hurst delivered at Cornell University in 1976, the book ranges broadly over America's nineteenth- and twentieth-century legal past, with emphasis upon law and social …