Law Commons^™

The Korean “Cinema Of Assimilation” And The Construction Of Cultural Hegemony In The Final Years Of Japanese Rule, Brian Yecies, Richard Howson

Dr Brian Yecies

During the late 1930s, as Japan escalated war preparations with China, and after Governor-General Minami formalized the assimilationist ideology of “Japan and Korea as One Body”, cinema in Korea experienced a fundamental transformation. Korean filmmakers had little choice but to make co-productions that aimed to draw Koreans toward Japanese ways of thinking and living, while promoting a sense of loyalty to the Japanese Empire. Within this colonial context, and especially after the 1940 Korean Film Law facilitated the absorption of the Korean film industry into the Japanese film industry, a particular type of masculine hegemony was encouraged by a comprehensive …

What Is Twail?, Makau W. Mutua

Makau Mutua

The piece seeks to conceptualize the insurgent movement in international law known as Third World Approaches to International Law. Driven by scholars from the Third World, TWAIL rejects the traditional tenets and assumptions of traditional international law and argues for a re-imagination of the law of nations to purge it of racial and hegemonic precepts and biases to create a truly universal corpus that embraces inclusivity and empowerment. The movement turns away from the imperialist and colonialist foundation of international law. It argues that international law must be devoid of oppression, exploitation, and domination. The piece is among the first …

Critical Race Theory And International Law: The View Of An Insider-Outsider, Makau Mutua

Makau Mutua

This article contends that international law, like national law, is captive to the racial biases and hierarchies that hide injustice under the pretext of legal neutrality and universality. It argues that international law is tormented by racist and hegemonic asymmetries that govern the international order. The piece posits that international law could benefit greatly from the method of critical race theory in unpacking the pathologies of power and race that define it. It focuses on the use of international law to conceive and buttress the exploitation and marginalization of the North by the South. It calls for a reconstruction of …

Legal Thinking, The Adversarial Process And Exonerating Innocent Defendants: A Socio-Legal View Of The Wrongful Conviction Process., Gary J. Kowaluk

Gary J Kowaluk

Little is as frustrating as advocating the release of an innocent defendant who has been wrongfully convicted. Surprisingly, most of the wrongfully convicted fail to overturn their cases through the courts, and rely on government officials and prosecutor’s to find other ways to release them from custody. Too often the wrongful conviction process leaves lawyers and judges arguing to legally support injustices in the face of a practical common sense indicating a defendant’s innocence. This paper is an attempt to understand the tendency of legal professionals to argue against remedying a wrongful conviction in favor of the continued social injustice …

Law And Popular Culture: Examples From Colombian Slang And Spanish-Language Radio In U.S., Ernesto A. Hernandez-Lopez

Ernesto A. Hernandez

This article argues that critical analysis of popular culture themes benefits legal scholarship by providing distinct cross-border perspectives and illuminating popular resistance efforts to hegemonic forces. This examination occurs in an Inter-American context, characterized by a south-north dynamic and migration's transnational influence. In these dynamics, there is significant popular resistance and anti-subordination to hegemonic forces. Legal scholarship often overlooks this by focusing on formal legal texts and processes. This resistance is visible within popular culture, as part of ¿hidden transcripts.¿ This article makes two claims about popular culture's relevance, one methodological/theoretical claim and one substantive claim. First, observing how popular …

Law And Popular Culture: Examples From Colombian Slang And Spanish-Language Radio In The U.S., Ernesto A. Hernandez-Lopez

Ernesto A. Hernandez

This article argues that critical analysis of popular culture themes benefits legal scholarship by providing distinct cross-border perspectives and illuminating popular resistance efforts to hegemonic forces. This examination occurs in an Inter-American context, characterized by a south-north dynamic and migration's transnational influence. In these dynamics, there is significant popular resistance and anti-subordination to hegemonic forces. Legal scholarship often overlooks this by focusing on formal legal texts and processes. This resistance is visible within popular culture, as part of ¿hidden transcripts.¿

This article makes two claims about popular culture's relevance, one methodological/theoretical claim and one substantive claim. First, observing how popular …

Tax Equity, Anthony C. Infanti

Anthony C. Infanti

Simply put, this article stands the traditional concept of tax equity on its head. Challenging the notion that tax equity is an unequivocal good, this article deconstructs the concept of tax equity to reveal the subtle, yet pernicious ways in which it shapes tax policy debates and impinges upon contributions to those debates. The article describes how tax equity, with its narrow focus on “income” as the sole relevant metric for judging tax fairness, presupposes a population that is homogeneous along all other lines. Through this insidious homogenization, tax equity performs both a sanitizing and a screening function in the …

Review Of "Havens In A Storm: The Struggle For Global Tax Regulation", Anthony C. Infanti

Anthony C. Infanti

This short essay is a review of J.C. Sharman’s book "Havens in a Storm: The Struggle for Global Tax Regulation." In the essay, I first provide a brief overview of Sharman’s book, which approaches the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s struggle with tax havens over “harmful tax competition” from a political science perspective. I then describe how the book (and, by extension, this review) will be of interest not only to those in the fields of international tax and international relations, but also to those concerned more generally with the dynamics of struggles between the powerful and the weak. …

Escogedoras And Molineras In Veracruz, Mexico (1928-32): Exploring The Political Role Of Popular Women In Post-Revolutionary Society, Ernesto A. Hernandez-Lopez

Ernesto A. Hernandez

This article suggests that during Revolutionary state formation (1928-32) in Mexico, Veracruzano women had active roles in state politics. This political participation existed despite women in Mexico being denied legal rights to vote or to hold political office. This essay demonstrates how escogedoras (coffee sorters) and molineras (maize grinders) used their economic influence to negotiate with central and regional governments in Mexico. For escogedoras their participation in an export industry provided 'negotiation power' to participate in politics. For molineras working in an industry which dramatically decreased a woman's work-week from 30 plus hours to 4 hours provided them with similar …

Escogedoras And Molineras In Veracruz, Mexico (1928-32): Exploring The Political Role Of Popular Women In Post-Revolutionary Society, Ernesto A. Hernandez-Lopez

Ernesto A. Hernandez

This article suggests that during Revolutionary state formation (1928-32) in Mexico, Veracruzano women had active roles in state politics. This political participation existed despite women in Mexico being denied legal rights to vote or to hold political office. This essay demonstrates how escogedoras (coffee sorters) and molineras (maize grinders) used their economic influence to negotiate with central and regional governments in Mexico. For escogedoras their participation in an export industry provided 'negotiation power' to participate in politics. For molineras working in an industry which dramatically decreased a woman's work-week from 30 plus hours to 4 hours provided them with similar …