Law Commons^™

Sec Enforcement And Professional Accountants: Philosophy, Objectives And Approach, John C. Burton

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Commission's enforcement program in regard to professional accountants is one of the means by which it seeks to improve the quality and reliability of financial reporting in the United States. Effective utilization of this program can achieve an increasing quality of professional performance and the implementation on an industry-wide basis of improved quality control procedures, thereby assuring the vitality of auditing standards and public confidence in the profession as a whole. These objectives are being achieved through a selective, albeit vigorous, application of enforcement powers and the continued use of flexible and innovative approaches by the SEC. While the …

Current Problems Of Accountants'responsibilities To Third Parties, T. J. Fiflis

Vanderbilt Law Review

When the auditor begins the audit program, he will record in "working papers" his work and findings. Each page will be dated and initialed by all persons who dealt with it. The papers should be indexed and bound and retained for some years. They should also be comprehensible as they are intended for use by others as well as for later use.

A trial balance is usually the first working paper. Other standard working papers are data from the corporate charter, by-laws,and minutes and analyses of accounts, prescribed by the audit program. One of the last working papers will be …

We Often Paint Fakes, Abraham J. Brilof

Vanderbilt Law Review

To begin, the profession has disseminated the message far and wide that its members are the high priests responsible for the interpretation and application of a very special body of knowledge known as "generally accepted accounting principles" usually referred to as "GAAP." On analysis one quickly discerns that no such defined body of principles exists. Some commentators maintain, in fact,that not a single accounting precept is deserving of the designation"principle" and these exegetics urge that the critical phrase be changed to read "generally accepted accounting standards," hence" GAAS." Others, reflecting on the evils perpetrated in the name of GAAP and/or …

The Establishment Of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles And Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, James F. Strother

Vanderbilt Law Review

This article will discuss accounting principles and auditing standards and the respective roles played in their development and regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the organized accounting profession and other public and private agencies. Accounting principles and auditing standards comprise two fundamentally different and distinct bodies of convention and practice. Generally accepted accounting principles and generally accepted auditing standards are those principles and standards which for a number of reasons have come to be accepted and applied by issuers, accountants, and auditors. Combined with the procedures and techniques attending their observation and application, generally accepted accounting principles and auditing …

Accounting Standards In The United States And The United Kingdom: Their Nature, Causes And Consequences, George J. Benston

Vanderbilt Law Review

The purpose of this article is to account for the existence of differing accounting standards in the United States and the United Kingdom despite a common language, common practice and a fundamentally common political and economic base in the two countries. What factors explain the fact that, while accounting standards in the United States are codified and explicit, they remain on the whole uncodified and implicit in Great Britain? From which system does the investor more likely benefit? The first section of this paper begins with descriptions of auditing and reporting standards in each country. The factors which influence the …

Recent Cases, Gregg N. Gimsley

Vanderbilt Law Review

The instant decision is of major importance because it clearly defines a more liberal standard for aiding and abetting under section 10(b), reads a requirement of due care by accountants into section 17(a), and serves as an additional warning to the accounting profession of its expanding responsibilities in the field of securities regulation. By establishing negligence, duty to disclose, and causal connection, rather than actual knowledge, substantial assistance,and reliance, as the major elements of aiding and abetting a violation of Rule 10b-5, the Seventh Circuit has given this cause of action the broadest interpretation to date. Nothing precluded this interpretation …

The Argentine Foreign Investment Law And Its Andean Common Market Inspiration, Robert Y. Stebbings

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Back in power after nearly twenty years of forced exile, the government of Juan Domingo Per6n fulfilled one of its most popularly acclaimed promises. Following a prolonged emotion-charged journey through the first Congress since the dissolution of that body in 1966, Argentina's new Foreign Investment Law (the "Law") became effective in December 1973. Law No. 20.577 regulates foreign direct investments, foreign credits and contracts involving payments abroad. Appearing almost simultaneously, Law No.20.575 requires registration with the government of all persons or entities who carry out any activity related to Argentina on behalf of foreign interests. The Foreign Investment Law was …

International Straits, Global Communications, And The Evolving Law Of The Sea, W. George Grandison, Virginia J. Meyer

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the continuing law of the sea negotiations, strong support has developed among a majority of states for the extension of territorial seas to twelve miles. In the absence of other provisions, codification of this extension in a new law of the sea treaty will cause over 100 straits, including many of the most heavily traveled and strategically important, to be overlapped by the territorial sea. Because this will alter the pattern of international legal norms that has preserved freedom of navigation and overflight between ocean areas, considerable controversy has ensued over the question of what legal regime should govern …

A Retrospective Analysis Of United Nations Activity In The Congo And Its Significance For Contemporary Africa, Agola Auma-Osolo

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

U Thant's decision to take action against Katanga's secession--a decision that was welcomed by most African countries--must have been motivated, at least in part, by his Third World sympathies as well as his views as to the significance of chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. It was his positive attitude toward the Afro-Asian bloc, of which his own country is a member, that determined the decision U Thant made. Had U Thant been from the West, it is more likely that his decision would not have deviated from that of Hammarskjold...

With these experiences, it is therefore hoped that …

Information On The Court Of Justice Of The European Communities, J. A. Stoll

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hearings of the Court comprise a calendar of public hearings, drawn up on a weekly basis. It is, however, sometimes necessary subsequently to change dates. The Hearings of the Court in French may be ordered from the Registry of the Court free of charge. (This calendar, which is only a guide, is hardly of any use to anyone residing in the United States.)

The Court Of Justice Of The European Communities: An Annotated Bibliography -- 1951-1973, Igor I. Kavass

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This bibliography attempts to bring together information about the publications of the Court of Justice and those of other Community institutions pertinent to the work of the Court, as well as relevant juridical writings about the Court and its activities published as books, essays, journal articles, comments, notes, etc. Wherever possible, individual entries are followed by short annotations or explanatory comments. Annotations to the more important treatises or monographs include citations to book reviews.

This bibliography, like all legal bibliographies of its type, is selective in that it lists only those works which the compiler was able to identify and …

Jurisdiction And Procedure Of The Court Of Justice Of The European Communities, Robert A. Buchanan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Court of Justice of the European Communities is the final adjudicatory body for questions arising under the three Community treaties--the European Economic Community Treaty (EEC), the European Coal and Steel Community Treaty (ECSC), and the European Atomic Energy Community Treaty (EUR-ATOM). Since none of the treaties confers upon the Court the power to adjudicate questions involving the domestic laws of Member States, the Court's jurisdiction extends only to interpretation of Community law. Basically, the jurisdiction of the Court can be divided into the following subject areas: actions against Member States, actions against Community institutions, claims for damages against the …

Community Rules Of Competition, Charles A. Schliebs

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since the inception of the European Economic Community (EEC) in the 1957 Treaty of Rome, the Member States have recognized that activities to restrict competition and abuses of dominant positions in business could seriously hinder the free flow of goods and services and the creation of a common market within the Community. The Treaty of Rome provides that one activity of the Community shall be "the institution of a system ensuring that competition in the Common Market is not distorted." Articles 85 and 86 form the basis of this system. Article 85 contemplates control of cartels and concerted anticompetitive practices. …

The Protection Of Industrial Property Rights In The European Economic Community, Ronald L. Smallwood

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This study of European Economic Community (EEC) industrial property rights discusses trademarks, patents, and copyrights. The legal foundation for the protection of these industrial property rights in the EEC is derived from article 36 of the EEC Treaty, which expressly allows an exception to the prohibition of restrictions against the free movement of goods within the EEC when justified by the protection of industrial property, and article 222, which encompasses the protection of industrial property in the Member States. Although decisions of the Court of Justice on industrial property rights are infrequent, their ramifications are significant throughout the Community since …

The Role Of The Court Of Justice In The Development Of Agricultural Policy In The European Communities, Stanley D. Miller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Twenty-five years ago, the center of power for agricultural policy lay firmly in the national capitals. With the signing of the Treaty of Rome, that authority began a gradual flow from the Member States to the institutions of the EEC, particularly the Commission located in Brussels. The transition is not yet complete and has not been without its setbacks, but most Europeans and all the governments of the Member States now accept and support the reality of a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The innovative steps taken by the EEC in attempting to weld the agricultural economies of the several states …

Recent Decisions, Mark A. Schneider

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This landmark decision is the first time that the Court of Justice has ordered a party abusing a dominant position to correct that abuse constructively, by requiring the monopolizer to sell to the complaining and injured party sufficient quantities to satisfy that party's requirements. Although not novel when compared with United States antitrust law, this is one large step beyond previous decisions within the EEC. The wide spectrum of remedies available under American law, ranging from criminal prosecution, to administrative orders, and to civil suits where the broad powers of equity are available, has not previously been applied within the …

Book Reviews, Joseph J. Norton, L. Harold Levinson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

When considered as an installment in the unfolding of Friedmann's views, based on his earlier writings, the conclusion to the book under review is to be cherished. When considered, on the other hand, solely in context of the contributed chapters of the same volume, the conclusion does not emerge as Friedmann at his most forceful or persuasive. To find the best of Friedmann, we need only sample his prolific contributions to the law reviews, whether on the United States involvement in the Vietnam conflict, the judgment of the International Court in the South West Africa cases, the risks to humanity …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ABSTRACTION AND USE OF WATER: A COMPARISON OF LEGAL REGIMES By Ludwik A. Teclaff

New York, United Nations Publications,1972. Pp. iv, 254. $5.50.

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CONSULATE OF THE SEA AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

By Stanley S. Jados

University, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press,1975. Pp. xvi, 326. $12.00

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FOOTSTEPS INTO THE FUTURE

by Rajni Kothari

New York: The Free Press, 1974. Pp. xxiii, 173. $8.95.

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THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Edited by H. Gary Knight

St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1975.Pp. xiii, 253. $14.00.

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THE ILLEGAL DIVERSION OF AIRCRAFT AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

By Edward McWhinney

Leiden: A.W. …

The Canada Business Corporations Act: Some Aspects Of Transnational Interest, Robert W.V. Dickerson, David L. Vaughan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

With passage into law on March 24, 1975, of the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) it is probably safe to say by way of provocative introduction that Canada has enacted the most modern corporation law in the English-speaking world. The Act is to be proclaimed in force at the end of December, 1975. Although the predecessor statute, the Canada Corporations Act, will remain in force, no new corporations may be incorporated under it.

Limitation Of Liability Versus Direct Action Statutes, H. Barton Williams

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The legislative history of the maritime limitation of liability statutes, both in the United States and in England, is uncomplicated. The original sources are available, and in several important opinions, the Supreme Court of the United States has set forth the history of the limitation statutes. Limitation of liability to the value of the owner's interest in the vessel and freight is a principle that springs solely from the general maritime law, and was not recognized either at common law or by the civil law.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to say when and where the idea of limitation …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Case Digest

1. ADMIRALTY

SEAMAN ENTITLED TO MAINTENANCE AND CURE UNTIL INJURY DIAGNOSED INCURABLE

INJURED SEAMAN WHO ABANDONS REHABILITATION PROGRAM DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES DOES NOT FORFEIT His RIGHT TO MAINTENANCE AND CURE

SHIPOWNER NOT ENTITLED TO INDEMNITY FOR SETTLEMENT PAID TO INJURED SEAMAN UNDER No LEGAL COMPULSION

THE SUITS IN ADMIRALTY ACT AND THE PUBLIC VESSELS ACT COMPREHEND WRONGFUL DEATH ACTIONS

2. ALIEN'S RIGHTS

MERE SEPARATION OF AN ALIEN AND HIS SPOUSE SHORTLY AFTER MARRIAGE DOES NOT MAKE THE MARRIAGE A SHAM FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES

ENTRY OF AN ALIEN INTO THE UNITED STATES INCLUDES ANY ENTRANCE FOLLOWING A MEANINGFUL …

Book Review, Harold J. Berman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The world has grown quite used to the fact that almost all Soviet export and import transactions are conducted by specialized state foreign trade organizations (ob'edineniia, "combines" or "associations") subordinate to a single state agency, the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade. The idea of such a "state monopoly" of foreign trade was originally put forth by Lenin and instituted by a decree of April 1918. It was intended primarily as a means of national economic defense: to protect the fledgling Soviet economy against anticipated imperialist exploitation. This was before the introduction of a centrally planned economy, and before even the …

The Role Of The Corn Products Doctrine In Foreign Exchange Transactions, Charles H. Manning

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Exchange rate gain or loss may result from fluctuations of exchange rates or from formal governmental action such as revaluation and devaluation. In evaluating the significance of foreign exchange transactions and their tax consequences, the types of transactions that produce exchange rate gain or loss must be distinguished. The first type of transaction is currency speculation in which exchange rate gain or loss is the only profit or loss realized. The second type of transaction involves the purchase and sale of inventory in which the exchange rate gain or loss is ancillary to the monetary gain or loss realized on …