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Full-Text Articles in Law

Do Investors In Controlled Firms Value Insider Trading Laws? International Evidence, Laura N. Beny Oct 2007

Do Investors In Controlled Firms Value Insider Trading Laws? International Evidence, Laura N. Beny

Law & Economics Working Papers Archive: 2003-2009

This article characterizes insider trading in controlled firms as an agency problem. Using a standard agency model of corporate value diversion through insider trading by a controlling shareholder, I derive testable hypotheses about the relationship between corporate value and insider trading laws. The article tests these hypotheses using cross-sectional data on firms from a group of developed countries. The results show that stringent insider trading laws and enforcement are associated with greater corporate valuation among firms in common law countries, a result that is consistent with the claim that insider trading laws can mitigate agency costs. In contrast, insider trading …


The Eighteenth Birthday Of The Convention Of Rights Of The Child: Achievements And Challenges, Jaap E. Doek Oct 2007

The Eighteenth Birthday Of The Convention Of Rights Of The Child: Achievements And Challenges, Jaap E. Doek

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Although the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child has produced positive results in many countries, the United States remains one of the few nations that has not signed on to this treaty. This Essay will begin by describing the content of the treaty. This Essay will discuss the achievements, challenges, and solutions resulting from the treaty in the areas of child poverty, violence against children, and child labour. Given the positive results produced in other countries, this Essay will conclude with an invitation to the United States to join the Convention on the Rights of the Child.


International Law And Constitutional Interpretation: The Commander In Chief Clause Reconsidered, Ingrid Brunk Wuerth Oct 2007

International Law And Constitutional Interpretation: The Commander In Chief Clause Reconsidered, Ingrid Brunk Wuerth

Michigan Law Review

The Commander in Chief Clause is a difficult, underexplored area of constitutional interpretation. It is also a context in which international law is often mentioned, but not fully defended, as a possible method of interpreting the Constitution. This Article analyzes why the Commander in Chief Clause is difficult and argues that international law helps resolve some of the problems that the Clause presents. Because of weaknesses in originalist analysis, changes over time, and lack of judicial competence in military matters, the Court and commentators have relied on second-order interpretive norms like congressional authorization and executive branch practice in interpreting the …


Transnational Networks And International Criminal Justice, Jenia Iontcheva Turner Mar 2007

Transnational Networks And International Criminal Justice, Jenia Iontcheva Turner

Michigan Law Review

The theory of transgovernmental networks describes how government officials make law and policy on issues of global concern by coordinating informally across borders, without legal or official sanction. Scholars have argued that this sort of coordination is useful in many different areas of cross-border regulation, including banking, antitrust, environmental protection, and securities law. One area to which the theory has not yet been applied is international criminal law. For a number of reasons, until recently, international criminal law had not generated the same transgovernmental networks that have emerged in other fields. With few exceptions, international criminal law had been enforced …


The Michigan Guidelines On Protection Elsewhere, Colloquium On Challenges In International Refugee Law Jan 2007

The Michigan Guidelines On Protection Elsewhere, Colloquium On Challenges In International Refugee Law

Other Publications

Refugees increasingly encounter laws and policies which provide that their protection needs will be considered or addressed somewhere other than in the territory of the state where they have sought, or intend to seek, protection. Such policies-including "country of first arrival," "safe third country," and extraterritorial processing rules and practices-raise both opportunities and challenges for international refugee law. They have the potential to respond to the Refugee Convention's concern "that the grant of asylum may place unduly heavy burdens on certain countries" by more fairly allocating protection responsibilities among states. But insistence that protection be provided elsewhere may also result …


The Unresolved Equation Of Espionage And International Law, A. John Radsan Jan 2007

The Unresolved Equation Of Espionage And International Law, A. John Radsan

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Essay, in order to offer up something to that appetite, is divided into five parts. After this introduction, the author, A. John Radsan, describes a Hegelian impulse, the perpetual drive to find unity in disorder. That impulse, for better or worse, creates the train and the track for many of the academy's journeys. Radsan then defines what is meant by "intelligence activities" for purposes of this Essay, after which Radsan surveys the scholarship that existed before this symposium on the relationship between espionage and international law. As the number of pages written on this topic suggests, scholarship on espionage …


Keynote Address, Jeffrey H. Smith Jan 2007

Keynote Address, Jeffrey H. Smith

Michigan Journal of International Law

This afternoon, I want to touch briefly on a number of issues rather than discuss one or two to death. I chose this approach because it seemed an appropriate way to open a conference. I also chose it because I hope I can convince you that intelligence and international law interact in a way that simultaneously strengthens the law and improves intelligence; that law matters, especially in time of war; and that both good intelligence and good law have one common core value: integrity. So that you will have a sense of the perspective that I bring to this, I …


What Is The Use Of International Law? International Law As A 21st Century Guardian Of Welfare, Emmanuelle Jouannet Jan 2007

What Is The Use Of International Law? International Law As A 21st Century Guardian Of Welfare, Emmanuelle Jouannet

Michigan Journal of International Law

The thesis of this Essay is that international law currently represents a welfare-driven and bio-political structuring mode for international society which not only counterbalances liberal economic globalization, but also draws from it. This inquiry offers a political interpretation of contemporary international law to clarify its functioning and the effects of its legal rationality, as well as to answer the question of its efficacy. An evolution has taken place for at least a century and has only attainted partial completion. It is the fruit of modernity that constantly projects its aspirations, its unity, and its contradictions onto the international legal system. …


Secrets And Lies: Intelligence Activities And The Rule Of Law In Times Of Crisis, Simon Chesterman Jan 2007

Secrets And Lies: Intelligence Activities And The Rule Of Law In Times Of Crisis, Simon Chesterman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article will consider generally the prospects for an approach to intelligence activities based on the rule of law, focusing on the problem of covertness. In particular, it will examine the debate over how law should deal with crises, epitomized by the "ticking time-bomb" hypothetical. On the one hand, some call for a pragmatic recognition that, in extremis, public officials may be required to act outside the law and should seek after-the-fact ratification of their "extra-legal measures." On the other hand, others argue that the embrace of "extra-legal measures" misconceives the rule of law, underestimates the capacity of a …


State Intelligence Gathering: Conflict Of Laws, Charles H.B. Garraway Jan 2007

State Intelligence Gathering: Conflict Of Laws, Charles H.B. Garraway

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article begins with an examination of the development of the law of war (Part II) and human rights law (Part III) before looking at the differing legal categories of armed conflict (Part IV). It then examines the applicability of human rights law in situations of armed conflict (Part V) and the increasing complexity of defining violence, whether as armed conflict or otherwise (Part VI). The Article proceeds with an examination of the overlap between the law of war and human rights law (Part VII) and the risk of divergence that this overlap causes (Part VIII). Finally, it seeks to …


Protection Elsewhere: The Legal Implications Of Requiring Refugees To Seek Protection In Another State, Michelle Foster Jan 2007

Protection Elsewhere: The Legal Implications Of Requiring Refugees To Seek Protection In Another State, Michelle Foster

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article first questions the legitimacy of protection elsewhere practices. It then considers the circumstances in which the transfer of refugees might take place. It should be emphasized that the Michigan Guidelines set out the minimum requirements and constraints imposed by international law when a state wishes to implement a protection elsewhere policy. In addition, in some instances the Michigan Guidelines engage in "progressive development" of the law by suggesting safeguards that, while not strictly required by international law, should be respected in order to ensure the implementation of such policies in a way that protects and ensures the rights …


Averting Catastrophe: Why The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Is Losing Its Deterrence Capacity And How To Restore It, Orde F. Kittrie Jan 2007

Averting Catastrophe: Why The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Is Losing Its Deterrence Capacity And How To Restore It, Orde F. Kittrie

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article analyzes from a legal perspective the responses of the international community, and especially the Security Council, to the examples of nuclear proliferation outlined in this Article and the impact of those responses on the vitality of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. In doing so, the Article identifies and focuses on two key, interrelated themes. The first theme is the effect on these responses of the NPT's remarkably weak mechanisms for detecting violations of NPT obligations. The second theme is the frequent strong reluctance of the international community, including the Security Council, to impose serious sanctions for proliferation activity when …


Privatization And The Human Right To Water: Challenges For The New Century, Melina Williams Jan 2007

Privatization And The Human Right To Water: Challenges For The New Century, Melina Williams

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Note considers implications for the human fight to water in the context of the trend toward privatization of water supplies. Part II examines the legal bases of the right to water, and Part III discusses the potential obligations that arise from it. Part IV then looks at the interaction between the fight to water and arrangements to privatize water supplies. This Note posits that human rights law does not simply support or oppose privatization of water supplies and services. Rather, bringing a human rights perspective to the problem of providing water to the world's population both clarifies the minimum …


Introduction, Steven R. Ratner Jan 2007

Introduction, Steven R. Ratner

Michigan Journal of International Law

The articles in this symposium issue of the Michigan Journal of International Law represent the product of a historic and path-breaking conference held at the University of Michigan Law School in February 2007. The two-day meeting brought together an extraordinary array of scholars and practitioners to examine closely the relevance of international law for the gathering of intelligence by states. Although this long-neglected topic has gained increased relevance since the use of more controversial intelligence-gathering methods by the United States as part of its "global war on terror," many of the legal issues are as old as the craft of …


Counterintuitive: Intelligence Operations And International Law, Glenn Sulmasy, John Yoo Jan 2007

Counterintuitive: Intelligence Operations And International Law, Glenn Sulmasy, John Yoo

Michigan Journal of International Law

The question before us is whether international law is useful or required to govern the covert intelligence-gathering activities of nation-states during peacetime. The very notion that international law is currently capable of regulating intelligence gathering is dubious. In fact, we suggest that international regulation of intelligence operations could have the perverse effect of making international conflict more, rather than less, likely. Certainly, there is legitimate space for coordination and cooperation between states in sharing intelligence, but such "sharing" does not involve significant needs for universal regulation by international law. Simply stated, it is not in the interests of nation-states or …


What's International Law Got To Do With It? Transnational Law And The Intelligence Mission, James E. Baker Jan 2007

What's International Law Got To Do With It? Transnational Law And The Intelligence Mission, James E. Baker

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article describes a continuum of contemporary threats to U.S. national security, with a focus on nonstate terrorism. Part III addresses the role of intelligence and national security law, and in particular law addressed to process, in combating these threats. Good process advances the liberty and safety interests embodied in the concept of national security. Good process improves the quality of decision. It also enhances accountability, which in turn improves decision. Where good process is defined in law to include executive directive, it is better insulated from the immediate imperatives of secrecy and speed.


Towards A Right To Privacy In Transnational Intelligence Networks, Francesca Bignami Jan 2007

Towards A Right To Privacy In Transnational Intelligence Networks, Francesca Bignami

Michigan Journal of International Law

Privacy is one of the most critical liberal rights to come under pressure from transnational intelligence gathering. This Article explores the many ways in which transnational intelligence networks intrude upon privacy and considers some of the possible forms of legal redress. Part II lays bare the different types of transnational intelligence networks that exist today. Part III begins the analysis of the privacy problem by examining the national level, where, over the past forty years, a legal framework has been developed to promote the right to privacy in domestic intelligence gathering. Part IV turns to the privacy problem transnationally, when …


Individual And State Responsibility For Intelligence Gathering, Dieter Fleck Jan 2007

Individual And State Responsibility For Intelligence Gathering, Dieter Fleck

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the purpose of this contribution to examine relevant norms and principles for assessing acts of intelligence gathering under international law (Part I), evaluate legal problems of attribution of such acts (Part II), and, where governments commit wrongful acts, look into circumstances precluding their wrongfulness (Part III). Based on these considerations, legal consequences for criminal accountability (Part IV) and reparation (Part V) will be discussed. Finally, some conclusions may be drawn (Part VI).


An Unrecognized State In Foreign And International Courts: The Case Of The Republic Of China On Taiwan, Pasha L. Hsieh Jan 2007

An Unrecognized State In Foreign And International Courts: The Case Of The Republic Of China On Taiwan, Pasha L. Hsieh

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article provides a comparative analysis of the status of the Republic of China on Taiwan in foreign and international settings. Most existing literature written from the traditional public international law perspective focuses on Taiwan's separate statehood from China. This Article addresses an important pragmatic issue that international courts and courts in foreign countries frequently face: whether Taiwan is a "foreign State" for particular salutatory purposes in judicial proceedings. Part I of this Article provides an overview of China-Taiwan relations and the status of Taiwan under international law. I argue that the ROC on Taiwan has been a sovereign State …


Can We Compare Evils? The Enduring Debate On Genocide And Crimes Against Humanity, Steven R. Ratner Jan 2007

Can We Compare Evils? The Enduring Debate On Genocide And Crimes Against Humanity, Steven R. Ratner

Articles

A look back at the twentieth century reveals that the most critical steps in the criminalization of mass human rights constituted the academic work of Raphel Lemkin and his conceptualization of genocide; the International Military Tribunal Charter’s criminalization of crimes against humanity and the trials that followed; and the conclusion and broad ratification of the Genocide Convention. The Convention was the first treaty since those of slavery and the “white slave traffic” to criminalize peacetime actions by a government against its citizens. Since that time, customary international law has recognized the de-coupling of crimes against humanity from wartime.


Refugee Solution, Or Solutions To Refugeehood?, James C. Hathaway Jan 2007

Refugee Solution, Or Solutions To Refugeehood?, James C. Hathaway

Articles

This is the text of a lecture delivered by James C. Hathaway in London in October 2006 to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of Jesuit Refugee Service. The lecture was sponsored jointly by the Centre for the Study of Human Rights, London School of Economics; the Heythrop Institute for Religion, Ethics, and Public Life; and Jesuit Refugee Service (UK).


Business, Steven R. Ratner Jan 2007

Business, Steven R. Ratner

Book Chapters

This chapter seeks to expose some of the divergences between doctrine and reality, and to suggest ways of understanding the field that take proper account of business. It does so first by examining the roles and goals of business entities with respect to international environmental law. It then examines how international law has accommodated the place of business in environmental policy with respect to two key issues: (1) corporations as the target of legal obligations; and (2) corporations as participants in the process of international environmental law, particularly with respect to law-making and implementation. I conclude with some thoughts regarding …


Partially Odious Debts?, Omri Ben-Shahar, Mitu Gulati Jan 2007

Partially Odious Debts?, Omri Ben-Shahar, Mitu Gulati

Articles

The despotic ruler of a poor nation borrows extensively from foreign creditors. He spends some of those funds on building statues of himself, others on buying arms for his brutal secret police, and he places the remainder in his personal bank accounts in Switzerland. The longer the despot stays in power, the poorer the nation becomes. Although the secret police are able to keep prodemocracy protests subdued by force for many years, eventually there is a popular revolt. The despot flees the scene with a few billion dollars of his illgotten gains. The populist regime that replaces the despot now …


Tax Competition, Tax Arbitrage And The International Tax Regime, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah Jan 2007

Tax Competition, Tax Arbitrage And The International Tax Regime, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

In the past ten years, I have argued repeatedly that a coherent international tax regime exists, embodied both in the tax treaty network and in domestic laws, and that it forms a significant part of international law (both treaty-based and customary). The practical implication is that countries are not free to adopt any international tax rules they please, but rather operate in the context of the regime, which changes in the same ways international law changes over time. Thus, unilateral action is possible, but is also restricted, and countries are generally reluctant to take unilateral actions that violate the basic …


The New United States Model Income Tax Convention, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Martin B. Tittle Jan 2007

The New United States Model Income Tax Convention, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Martin B. Tittle

Articles

On 15 November 2006, the United States Treasury released its long-awaited new Model Income Tax Convention (“New Model”), which replaced the 1996 US Model (“Old Model”). This article reviews some of the major differences between the New and Old Models, as well as some of the major differences between the New Model and the current (2005) OECD Model Tax Convention. The article also discusses some new trends in US treaty policy which are not reflected in the New Model. The article concludes by evaluating the New Model in light of the emerging trend to use tax treaties not just to …


Why Refugee Law Still Matters, James C. Hathaway Jan 2007

Why Refugee Law Still Matters, James C. Hathaway

Articles

I am concerned that the singular importance of international refugee law is profoundly misunderstood. My more specific worry is that erroneous and competing claims by governments and the refugee advocacy community about the structure and purpose of refugee law threaten its continuing ability to play a truly unique human rights role at a time when no meaningful alternative is in sight.