Law Commons^™

Time For A New Approach? Federalism And Foreign Affairs After "Crosby V. National Foreign Trade Council", James J. Pascoe

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On June 19, 2000, in Crosby v. National Foreign Trade Council--a much-anticipated decision involving the intersection of federalism and foreign relations--the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Massachusetts law restricting state purchases from companies doing business in Burma. Crosby represents the Court's first consideration not only of local selective purchasing laws but, more importantly, its first consideration of the sort of subnational sanctions first developed by state and local governments during the anti-apartheid campaign of the 1980's. Thus, Crosby may pose an obstacle to human rights activism by local governments using economic sanctions to punish perceived human-rights offenders.

Because the …

A Brave New Lochner Era? The Constitutionality Of Nafta Chapter 11, Steve Louthan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the eight years since its adoption, NAFTA Chapter 11 has escaped significant scrutiny from academics and journalists alike. However, with the recent filing of several Chapter 11 expropriation claims involving U.S. states, Chapter 11 has begun to gain some notoriety in the press and sparked at least two legal symposia this past year.

This Note begins by highlighting the recent Methanex Chapter 11 claim involving the State of California. Methanex, a Canadian chemical manufacturer and importer, claimed $1.6 billion in damages over California's ban of the chemical MTBE. Despite the EPA'S classification of MTBE as a possible carcinogen and …

The Globalizing State, Alfred C. Aman, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

he primary purpose of this Article is to consider the relationship of globalization to domestic law, a topic that, for the most part, has been neglected by the legal literature to date. In so doing, this Article shall develop the concept of the globalizing state, a theory of the state based on states' new roles in furthering global competitiveness, as well as the transformative effects of these new roles on the state itself. This Article refers to globalization as an interpretive approach to issues no longer classifiable--or even understandable--in terms of classic dichotomies of domestic and global, public and private, …

A New Miranda For Foreign Nationals?, James A. Deeken

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note will explore the conflict between federalism expressed in the U.S. Constitution and the demands that international treaties, entered into by the federal government, make on local governments. Part I will explain the current state of the issues addressed in the Note, including the Vienna Convention, and the relevant provisions relating to the arrests of foreign nationals. The Note will then examine whether, given that international treaties have been interpreted as providing rights and provisions that are only enforceable by countries, a private party, such as a foreign national, has the power to invoke the provisions in his defense …

A Not So Distant Mirror: Federalism And The Role Of Natural Law In The United States, The Republic Of Ireland, And The European Community, Paul W. Butler, David L. Gregory

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Mr. Butler and Professor Gregory discuss the themes of federalism and natural law by examining United States, Republic of Ireland, and European Community cases regarding reproductive freedom, sexual preference, and divorce. The authors find a parallel between Ireland's difficulty in reconciling its Catholic values with the more secular human rights views of the European Community and the religious and social tension caused by federalism in the United States. While courts in both Ireland and the United States have used natural law to justify the level of substantive due process they accord privacy rights, the authors note that …