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Full-Text Articles in Law

Bankruptcy For The Poor?, Stephanie Ben-Ishai, Saul Schwartz Sep 2015

Bankruptcy For The Poor?, Stephanie Ben-Ishai, Saul Schwartz

Stephanie Ben-Ishai

The conventional wisdom is that the poor are not heavy users of the insolvency system, because creditors are unwilling to take risks on the poor and because many of the poor are judgment-proof. However, credit is now widely available across the spectrum of income groups. In addition, poverty is often a temporary state for many Canadians; therefore, being judgment-proof is likewise temporary. Some of those who are poor at any point in time are in fact in need of bankruptcy protection. They have debts that they are unable to pay and little likelihood of being able to repay in the …


The Greening Of Canadian Cyber Laws: What Environmental Law Can Teach And Cyber Law Can Learn, Sara Smyth Aug 2015

The Greening Of Canadian Cyber Laws: What Environmental Law Can Teach And Cyber Law Can Learn, Sara Smyth

Sara Smyth

This article examines whether Canadian environmental law and policy could serve as a model for cyber crime regulation. A wide variety of offences are now committed through digital technologies, including thievery, identity theft, fraud, the misdirection of communications, intellectual property theft, espionage, system disruption, the destruction of data, money laundering, hacktivism, and terrorism, among others. The focus of this Article is on the problem of data security breaches, which target businesses and consumers. Following the Introduction, Part I provides an overview of the parallels that can be drawn between threats in the natural environment and on the Internet. Both disciplines …


All Things In Proportion - American Rights Review And The Problem Of Balancing, Jud Mathews, Alec Stone Sweet Aug 2015

All Things In Proportion - American Rights Review And The Problem Of Balancing, Jud Mathews, Alec Stone Sweet

Jud Mathews

This paper describes and evaluates the evolution of rights doctrines in the United States, focusing on the problem of balancing as a mode of rights adjudication. In the current Supreme Court, deep conflict over whether, when, and how courts balance is omnipresent. Elsewhere, we find that the world’s most powerful constitutional courts have embraced a stable, analytical procedure for balancing, known as proportionality. Today, proportionality analysis (PA) constitutes the defining doctrinal core of a transnational, rights-based constitutionalism. This Article critically examines alleged American exceptionalism, from the standpoint of comparative constitutional law and practice. Part II provides an overview of how …


Comparative Legal Traditions In A Nutshell, Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Michael Wallace Gordon Jun 2015

Comparative Legal Traditions In A Nutshell, Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Michael Wallace Gordon

Paolo G. Carozza

An introduction to comparative law written from the American lawyer’s viewpoint rather than that of the European civil law lawyer. This expert discussion concentrates on the three major legal traditions of the West: civil, common, and socialist. Subjects covered include legal structures in civil law nations; legal actors in civil law tradition; procedure; substantive law; sources of law; judicial process; and rules. Also contains chapters on the European Union and the European human rights system.


Foreign Precedent In State Const Interpretation, Jonathan L. Marshfield Apr 2015

Foreign Precedent In State Const Interpretation, Jonathan L. Marshfield

Jonathan Marshfield

Americans are rightly proud that they created the first successful written constitutions. But constitutionalism is now an international phenomenon. Since the United States Constitution was ratified, there have been an estimated 879 constitutional systems adopted around the world. Some failed quickly, but others have endured and helped to stabilize volatile societies. Constitutionalism now has a rich international history, and the United States is one of many countries with a proud and meaningful constitutional tradition. It is not surprising, therefore, that American courts are sometimes caught “peeking abroad” to see what they might glean from other constitutional systems


Comparative Legal Traditions In A Nutshell. 3rd Edition., Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Colin Picker Apr 2015

Comparative Legal Traditions In A Nutshell. 3rd Edition., Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Colin Picker

Paolo G. Carozza

An introduction to comparative law written from the American lawyer’s viewpoint rather than that of the European civil law lawyer. This expert discussion concentrates on the three major legal traditions of the West: civil, common, and socialist. Subjects covered include legal structures in civil law nations; legal actors in civil law tradition; procedure; substantive law; sources of law; judicial process; and rules. Also contains chapters on the European Union and the European human rights system.


Comparative Legal Traditions: Text, Materials, And Cases On Western Law. 3rd Edition., Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Colin Picker Apr 2015

Comparative Legal Traditions: Text, Materials, And Cases On Western Law. 3rd Edition., Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Colin Picker

Paolo G. Carozza

This new edition includes some significant revisions since the last edition was published in 1994. The new edition includes: A greater emphasis on Public Law in the Continental and Common law traditions; More coverage of the impact of the regional European law (EC EU and ECHR) on the legal traditions;Some updated Problems (including one concerning Mixed Jurisdictions); and Numerous updates to the Common Law Tradition materials in light of the many significant reforms in England over the last ten years.


Comparative Environmental Constitutionalism, Erin Daly, James May Mar 2015

Comparative Environmental Constitutionalism, Erin Daly, James May

Erin Daly

As more and more countries around the globe are amending their constitutions to recognises environmental rights and duties relating to air, water, the use of natural resources, sustainability, climate change, and more, courts are increasingly engaging with these provisions and developing a common constitutional law of environmental rights. This article examines this growing jurisprudence and surveys the central axes around which debates about environmental constitutionalism revolve. First, we examine whether environmental rights are more suitably advanced at the international level or at the national level of constitutional law, as is increasingly the case; the former offers two alternatives—protecting the environment …


Ending Female Genital Mutilation And Child Marriage In Tanzania, Lisa Avalos, Naima Farrell, Rebecca Stellato, Marc Werner Mar 2015

Ending Female Genital Mutilation And Child Marriage In Tanzania, Lisa Avalos, Naima Farrell, Rebecca Stellato, Marc Werner

Lisa Avalos

This article analyzes the intertwined practices of female genital mutilation, child marriage, domestic violence, and bride price in Tanzania. It argues that these different types of violence reinforce one another. Interventions must therefore address the problems together, as multiple manifestations of gender-based violence. The article makes recommendations for reform.


Removing The Distraction Of Delay, Jill E. Family Mar 2015

Removing The Distraction Of Delay, Jill E. Family

Jill E. Family

Immigration adjudication is in an awkward position. There is an intricate system to adjudicate immigration removal (deportation) cases, but that system is hindered by restrictions, and the constant threat of further restrictions, that reflect distaste for providing process to foreign nationals facing removal. There is a push and pull phenomenon, with immigration adjudication stretched uncomfortably in between two forces. On the one side, there is a push to apply common notions of due process to immigration removal cases, to push that the same concepts of procedural justice should apply in immigration cases as they would in any other context. On …


Insuring Floods: The Most Common And Devastating Natural Catastrophies In America, Christopher French Feb 2015

Insuring Floods: The Most Common And Devastating Natural Catastrophies In America, Christopher French

Christopher C. French

Flooding is the most common natural catastrophe Americans face, accounting for 90% of all damage caused by natural catastrophes. Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, for example, collectively caused over $160 billion in damage, but only approximately 10% of the Hurricane Katrina victims and 50% of the Hurricane Sandy victims had insurance to cover their flood losses. Consequently, both their homes and lives were left in ruins in the wake of the storms. Nationwide, only approximately 7% of homeowners have insurance that covers flood losses even though the risk of flooding is only increasing as coastal areas continue to be developed and …


Law In Regression? Impacts Of Quantitative Research On Law And Regulation, David C. Donald Dec 2014

Law In Regression? Impacts Of Quantitative Research On Law And Regulation, David C. Donald

David C. Donald

Quantitative research (QR) has undeniably improved the quality of law- and rulemaking, but it can also present risks for these activities. On the one hand, replacing anecdotal assertions regarding behavior or the effects of rules in an area to be regulated with objective, statistical evidence has advanced the quality of regulatory discourse. On the other hand, because the construction of such evidence often depends on bringing the complex realities of both human behavior and rules designed to govern it into simple, quantified variables, QR findings can at times camouflage complexity, masking real problems. Deceptively objective findings can in this way …


Decentralizing The Amendment Power, Jonathan L. Marshfield Dec 2014

Decentralizing The Amendment Power, Jonathan L. Marshfield

Jonathan Marshfield

The United States Constitution could soon be re-written by the states. Article V of the Constitution authorizes two-thirds of the state legislatures to bypass Congress and demand a convention to initiate federal constitutional amendments addressing any number of issues. States have adopted resolutions calling for a convention to consider amendments that would, among other things, require a balanced federal budget, eliminate life tenure for Supreme Court Justices, constitutionalize universal healthcare, and even invalidate bulwark rulings such as Roe v. Wade. In April 2014, Michigan arguably became the thirty-fourth state to adopt such a resolution, and convention supporters believe that a …