Law Commons^™

The Cost Of Doing Business In Asia: A Comparative Legal Study Of Environmental Regulations In The Emerging Markets Of Thailand, Malaysia, And Indonesia, Brooke R. Padgett

Brooke R. Padgett

Abstract: This article explores whether voluntary standards, customary law, or more binding bilateral investment treaties are best for corporations, the emerging markets of Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and the environment itself. While corporations, markets, and the environment facially seem to have divergent priorities, environmental disasters are more costly after the fact than they are to prevent so in reality their priorities may not be so different after all. Some of the potential issues the paper will examine and address are big picture macro level such as fairness to future generations, intergenerational rights; the actual cost through questions of polluter pays, …

Does Customary International Law Obligate States To Extradite Or Prosecute Individuals Accused Of Committing Crimes Against Humanity?, Eveylon Cw Mack

Eveylon CW Mack

The effort to establish a Convention on Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) has gained support at the U.N. International Law Commission. Proponents of a CAH Convention assert that the lack of a treaty addressing inter-State cooperation promotes impunity for international crimes that are particularly egregious and are prohibited as norms recognized as jus cogens. In order to avoid safe havens for those who commit CAH, many CAH Convention proponents advocate for inclusion of an obligation to extradite or prosecute an offender that turns up in a State party’s territory. They assert that the inclusion of such an obligation is particularly important …

China's Role In Well-Known Marks Protection: It's Now Or Never...Or Dilution, Ava Farshidi

Ava Farshidi

Infringement over the transliteration, converting text to another script, of well-known marks is a major problem for foreign companies in China. If a multinational company does not create its own Chinese transliteration, the Chinese public may create one, which will ultimately affect the company’s ownership of the mark in a different language. Although China became a member of both the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property (“Paris Convention”) and the agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPS”), China has adopted laws that directly conflict with these international guidelines for well-known marks, which has paved the way …

“A Pointless Legal Revolution? Constitutional Supremacy And Eu Membership In Spain, 1978-2014”, Antonio-Carlos Pereira-Menaut

antonio-carlos pereira-menaut

This topic belongs to history. After Franco’s death (1975) Spain embarked on a ‘legal revolution’ that, if pressed to its extremes, could be hardly compatible with European integration. Understandably, the Spaniards throve to create not just a new constitution but also a whole new legal order, with the following traits:

First, legal monism, and pyramid-like shape. Second, every legally relevant thing should be traceable back to the Constitution, that would legitimate and pervade all laws, by-laws, decrees, orders, administrative acts and judicial rulings. Ideally, every law, act or verdict would be but a development of the Constitution. Third, the border …

Preventing Cold War: Militarization In The Southernmost Continent And The Antarctic Treaty System's Fading Effectiveness, Dillon A. Redding

Dillon A Redding

This note argues that the preservation of Antarctica for peaceful research and internationally cooperative activity as envisioned originally by the Antarctic Treaty in 1961 has gone unrealized amid growing international interest in the strategic advantages offered by Antarctica, including the possibility of large swathes of mineral deposits and optimal locations for satellite stations. Part 1 describes the motivations behind the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and outlines the relevant provisions of the Antarctic Treaty. Part 2 examines the military advantages to a state presence in Antarctica and the ways in which the ATS allows for such a presence to be carried …

Institutionalist Theory And International Legal Scholarship, William Aceves

William Aceves

No abstract provided.

Bioprospecting And Biolaw In Brazil: Uncertainties In The Legal And Executory Context, Wilson Jesus Beserra Almeida Professor

Wilson Jesus Beserra Almeida

This study aims to investigate the regulation of Bioprospecting in Brazil, especially in regard to the appropriateness of the legislation to the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as well as to assert about the care that has been afforded in the covenants contained in clauses signed between Brazil and other countries, in order to preserve the diversity and integrity of the genetic patrimony of the country.

Cuba And China: A Comparative Study Of Digital Oppression, Katharine M. Villalobos

Katharine M. Villalobos

The Digital Age has introduced a new form of expression that totalitarian states are struggling to silence. With social sharing websites like Twitter and Youtube, political dissidents living under oppressive governments can expose governmental abuse to web-users worldwide in a matter of seconds. However, while digital media has proved more difficult to control than traditional, non-electronic media, dictatorships like Cuba and China are resolved to prevent its inhabitants from freely using and expressing themselves on the Internet—even if that means violating their obligations as signatories of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Both Cuba and China are …

Decoding Bollywood’S Royalty-Sharing Conundrum, Pralika Jain

Pralika Jain

India’s film making community and business got „industry‟ status only in 2011. However, unlike major industries such as telecom and pharmaceutical, the film industry (popularly known as “Bollywood”) is characterised by a major lack of legal rules and institutions to administer them, the problem being most acute in respect of artists. Consequently, the industry is governed completely by market forces whose successful players wield nearly all the bargaining power. It’s almost baffling that a film industry which is currently worlds second in terms of revenue is so thinly regulated.

Contract Resurrected! Contract Formation: Common Law ~ Ucc ~ Cisg, Sarah H. Jenkins

Sarah H Jenkins

Contract Resurrected!

After the promulgation of the Restatement (Second) of the Law of Contracts with its expanded theory of Section 90, quasi-contract and promissory estoppel were hailed as the only theories needed for recovery. Contract was dead! This was the dominant prospective regarding the continued efficacy of contract and contract law. The contract theorists were wrong. The mushrooming global interdependency among nations demands legal rules and principles to govern exchanges between businesses and reaffirms the value of contract as a juridical tool. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods as a recent promulgation reaffirms the …

Racking Up The Money: A Solution To The Ongoing Battle Between Rico And The Revenue Rule, Kye C. Handy

Kye C Handy

The Revenue Rule, a common law rule from British court systems, prevents foreign countries from bringing claims in the United States to enforce or adjudicate tax claims that did not happen in the United States. The Supreme Court in Pasquantino v. United States held that Canada’s right to collect imported liquor taxes was not barred by the Revenue Rule. However, the Second Circuit in European Community v. RJR Nabisco Inc., ruled the European Union and Colombia could not recover lost tax money or enforcement costs from cigarette smuggling under RICO because of the Revenue Rule. The European Community petitioned the …

The Emergence Of New Corporate Social Responsibility Regimes In China And India, Shruti Rana, Afra Afsharipour

Shruti Rana

In an era of financial crises, widening income disparities, and environmental and other calamities linked to corporations, calls for greater corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) are increasing rapidly around the world. Though CSR efforts have generally been viewed as voluntary actions undertaken by corporations, a new CSR model is emerging in China and India. In a marked departure from CSR as it is known in the United States and as it has been developing through global norms, China and India are moving towards mandatory, not voluntary, CSR regimes. They are doing so not only in a time of great global economic …

Taming The "Feral Beast": Cautionary Lessons From British Press Reform, Lili Levi

Lili Levi

Abstract: As technology undermines the economic model supporting traditional newspapers, power shifts from the watchdog press to those it watches. Worldwide calls for increased press “responsibility” are one result. Pending British press reform provides a troubling example with far-ranging implications for freedom of the press. Under the guise of modest press self-regulation, the U.K. is currently poised to upend 300 years of press freedom via the recently-approved Royal Charter for Self-Regulation of the Press. The Royal Charter was adopted in response to the moral panic engendered by Britain’s tabloid phone-hacking scandal. An example of 20^th Century regulation poorly fitted …

Reforming Irish Abortion Law In The Wake Of Tragedy: Looking To Portugal And Germany For Culturally Sensitive Models, Kimi M. Ide-Foster Miss

Kimi M. Ide-Foster Miss

On October 18, 2012, “inhumane laws, lack of guidelines on how to apply the laws that do exist, fear of prosecution on behalf of doctors, medical incompetence, [and] influences of the most conservative wing of the Catholic Church over hospitals” all merged together to end in one of the saddest deaths in modern medicine. The death of Savita Halappanavar, a thirty one-year old married dentist, in an Irish hospital shocked the country. Dying at the Galway University Hospital Intensive Care Unit after being 17 weeks pregnant and found to be miscarrying, her repeated requests for an abortion fell on deaf …

Law And Economic Development: A New Beginning?, Lan Cao

Lan Cao

No abstract provided.

The Diaspora Of Ethnic Economies: Beyond The Pale?, Lan Cao

Lan Cao

No abstract provided.

The Abolition Of The Mandatory Death Penalty In The Commonwealth: Recent Developments From India And Bangladesh, Andrew Novak

Andrew Novak

India and Bangladesh are following the Commonwealth-wide trend toward discretionary death penalty regimes and away from the common law mandatory death penalty. This case note analyzes three recent decisions of the Supreme Court of India and the Bangladesh Appellate Division invalidating mandatory death sentences.

Andrew Novak is an adjunct professor of law at American University Washington College of Law, and an adjunct professor of criminology, law, and society at George Mason University. He is the author of The Global Decline of the Mandatory Death Penalty: Comparative Jurisprudence and Legislative Reform in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean (Ashgate 2014) and The …

Us-China Trade Relations—Litigation In The Wto 2001–2014., Stuart Malawer

stuart malawer

No abstract provided.

Has The Cftc Gone Too Far In Trying To Keep The American Economy Safe From Cross-Border Swaps?, Gabriel Lau

Gabriel Lau

With the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”) in 2010, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) received the daunting task regulating swap markets. Following two iterations of proposed guidance and comment periods, the CFTC released its finalized “Interpretive Guidance and Policy Statement Regarding Compliance with Certain Swap Regulations” (“Guidance”) on July 26, 2013. In the Guidance, the CFTC gives its interpretation and policy outlook for promulgating rules with respect to the regulation of cross-border swaps. This paper examines both the critiques of the Guidance, including issues of international comity and rule promulgation procedures, and …

Comparing The Limits Of Federal Government Liability In Brazil And In The United States, Maria Dolores S M Martins

Maria Dolores S M Martins

No abstract provided.

International Legal Control Of Domestic Administrative Action, Joel P. Trachtman

Joel P Trachtman

International law increasingly is designed to constrain the regulatory activities of countries where these activities have external effects on other countries. While countries retain the right to regulate, it is a qualified right, with a number of restrictions under international trade, investment, finance, human rights, and other areas of international law. The restrictions are often nuanced: while maintaining maximum policy autonomy, countries agree to international legal rules that establish increasingly complex preconditions for national regulatory action. In some cases, preconditions are formulated so as to establish procedural, as distinguished from substantive, predicates for national action. These varying types of preconditions …

The Door Ajar: The Life Of The Alien Tort Statute Before And After Kiobel V. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Matthew K. Toyama

Matthew K. Toyama

Since the April 2013 Supreme Court decision of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, the future of international human rights litigation in U.S. federal courts flounders in a quagmire of complex precedent and wants a light in the darkness. This paper seeks to find the foundation of the relationship of the law of nations to at least one sovereign state, the United States, then investigates the life of a major liaison in this regard, the Alien Tort Statute, and explores the viability of the ATS as a channel for international human rights litigation moving forward. Consistent judicial opinion, contextual and textual …

Behavioral International Law, Tomer Broude

Tomer Broude

Economic analysis and rational choice have in the last decade made significant inroads into the study of international law and institutions, relying upon standard assumptions of perfect rationality of states and decision-makers. This approach is inadequate, both empirically and in its tendency towards outdated formulations of political theory. This article presents an alternative behavioral approach that provides new hypotheses addressing problems in international law while introducing empirically grounded concepts of real, observed rationality. First, I address methodological objections to behavioral analysis of international law: the focus of behavioral research on the individual; the empirical foundations of behavioral economics; and behavioral …

Client Trust Account Fraud: Analyzing State, Federal, And International Rules And Regulations While Developing Effective Solutions For Prevention, Daniel H. Smith

Daniel H Smith

CLIENT TRUST ACCOUNT FRAUD: ANALYZING STATE, FEDERAL, AND INTERNATIONAL RULES AND REGULATIONS WHILE DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR PREVENTION Daniel Hooper Smith Abstract Client Trust Account Fraud: Analyzing State, Federal, and International Rules and Regulations While Developing Effective Solutions for Prevention examines client trust accounts and fiduciary duties associated with them and categorizes three types of client trust account fraud (“CTA fraud”). In addition, this Article compares four states’ client trust account rules and regulations and discusses how fraudsters attempt to circumvent the law in each jurisdiction. This Article then analyzes state, federal, and international agency regulation with respect to client …

"Toiling In The Danger And In The Morals Of Despair": Risk, Security, Danger, The Constitution, And The Clinician's Dilemma, Michael L. Perlin, Alison Julia Lynch

Michael L Perlin

Abstract: Persons institutionalized in psychiatric hospitals and “state schools” for those with intellectual disabilities have always been hidden from view. Such facilities were often constructed far from major urban centers, availability of transportation to such institutions was often limited, and those who were locked up were, to the public, faceless and often seen as less than human.

Although there has been regular litigation in the area of psychiatric (and intellectual disability) institutional rights for 40 years, much of this case law entirely ignores forensic patients – mostly those awaiting incompetency-to-stand trial determinations, those found permanently incompetent to stand trial, those …

“Friend To The Martyr, A Friend To The Woman Of Shame”: Thinking About The Law, Shame And Humiliation, Michael L. Perlin, Naomi Weinstein

Michael L Perlin

The need to pay attention to the law‘s capacity to allow for, to encourage, or (in some cases) to remediate humiliation, or humiliating or shaming behavior has increased exponentially as we begin to also take more seriously international human rights mandates, especially – although certainly not exclusively – in the context of the recently-ratified United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a Convention that calls for “respect for inherent dignity,” and characterizes "discrimination against any person on the basis of disability [as] a violation of the inherent dignity and worth of the human person...."

Humiliation and shaming, …

Law, Otherness, And Human Trafficking, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Realizing 'Other Rights' To Prevent Sex Trafficking, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

International law has long prohibited sex trafficking. The current international legal framework on sex trafficking sets forth a three-pronged approach to anti-trafficking efforts: (1) criminalization of acts of trafficking, (2) trafficking prevention programs, and (3) aid for victims of trafficking. To date, efforts undertaken by various countries have focused primarily on the first component, with comparatively minimal resources being allocated to prevention or victim assistance programs. Those countries that have initiated prevention measures tend to adopt a narrow view of "prevention programs" – focusing on activities such as public awareness campaigns warning of the penalties associated with such crimes or …

Birth Registration: An Essential First Step Toward Ensuring The Rights Of All Children, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of Creating “A World Fit For Children”, Jonathan Todres

Jonathan Todres

No abstract provided.