Law Commons^™

Host Country Legislation: A Necessary Condition?, Don Wallce, Jr.

Fordham International Law Journal

The subject of this Essay is the adoption of a “legislative guide” on privately financed infrastructure (“PFI”) by the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”), at its plenary session in July 2000 in New York. The guide deals with subjects a host country legislature should consider in deciding whether legislation is needed to attract investment and enable the country to proceed with PFI, such as constitutional and legislative authority; a competitive procurement regime; questions of the exclusivity and duration of concessions; construction, operations, and regulation; and settlement of disputes. UNCITRAL also decided at its plenary session that more …

Emerging Market Growing Pains: Lessons Of The California Power Crisis, George K. Miller

Fordham International Law Journal

In his March 15 column in The Wall Street Journal, David Wessel drew some interesting comparisons between Indonesia's and California's power crises. He observed that the U.S. federal government and bond market will have assisted California on terms much more favorable than those the International Monetary Fund imposed on Indonesia. Obviously California is not facing the same issues regarding currencies and interest rates. Both governments, however, face the political challenge of deregulating retail rates for electricity.

Export Credit Agencies, Project Finance, And Commercial Risk: Whose Risk Is It, Anyway?, Rodney Short

Fordham International Law Journal

This Essay questions whether Extra Credit Agencies should provide such long-term commercial risk insurance in project finance transactions. It can be argued that ECA-provided commercial risk insurance in project financings lifts from commercial banks the onus of rigorously analyzing the commercial risks of a project and that ECAs lack the institutional experience and commercial orientation to sufficiently appraise a project's commercial risk. This leads to the very real possibility that projects will be undertaken that on their own (i.e., without commercial risk insurance) might not be commercially viable.

Sovereignty, Human Rights, And Self-Determination: The Meaning Of International Law, Father Robert Araujo

Fordham International Law Journal

This Essay contends that popular sovereignty and the other rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) are inextricably linked. When popular sovereignty is criticized, what will become of the other rights? The principal goal of this Essay, then, is to examine the concept of sovereignty as it relates to the practice and protection of human rights issues grounded in international law. This examination should reveal the existence of more than one kind of sovereignty: that of the State and that of the people (the nation or nations). This Essay's goal is to demonstrate that a State is …

Access To Justice In Lithuania, Linas Sesickas

Fordham International Law Journal

This article examines the state of the Lithuanian legal system ten years after its independence and offers suggestions for reforms that would increase citizens' access to justice. The article addresses issues arising from the increasing legal and economic complexity of Eastern Europe and the corresponding increased need for legal advice. Finally, the article notes the difficulty in acheiving individualism and human rights goals while socio-economic disparity is increasing.

More Than Money, Justice Catherine Branson

Fordham International Law Journal

In this Paper, I refer to probably the most disadvantaged sector of the Australian community, its indigenous peoples. I have chosen this group, because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have become a significant body of litigants in my Court since the Federal Court of Australia was given jurisdiction to make determinations of native land title. I will start by providing some limited information concerning indigenous Australians. This information, by necessity, glosses over the diverse experiences and lifestyles of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and indeed, the diversity of non-indigenous Australian experiences and lifestyles. Nonetheless, it reflects the …

Closing Address, April 8, 2000, Vincent Saldanha

Fordham International Law Journal

Vincent Saldanha thanked the participants for attending the conference. He noted that it is also an uncomfortable situation to presume to speak on behalf of the poor, as the poor are neither voiceless nor invisible. He noted, however, that the discussions over the previous days were devoid of arrogance and patronage. He went on to note that, despite the many international perspectives presented at the conference, there were a great deal of commonalities between the issues facing those who provide legal services for indigent populations. Mr .Saldanha argued that there is a fundamental right to justice, and noted that this …

Legal And Judicial Development: The Role Of Civil Society In The Reform Process, Maria Bakolias

Fordham International Law Journal

While many governments are undertaking reforms that aim to improve judicial and legal systems, there is a growing realization that civil society plays a vital and even necessary role in these efforts. Civil society is critical in these, as well as the reform efforts which are outside of government-initiated programs. Drawing on a few selected examples, this Paper aims to show why civil society is a key player in such reform activities and how civil society has participated in the reform process in selected countries. Specifically, many of these examples are supported by projects financed by the World Bank. The …

The Effect Of Globalization On Domestic Legal Services, Michael Dowdle, E. Clinton Bamberger, Dorchen Leidholdt, Filipe Gonzalez Morales, Lucie White

Fordham International Law Journal

Globalization, in the context of this panel, refers to international, trans-border processes which are not regulated by the international legal framework, either private law or public international law. These processes, these unregulated influences, are having both positive and negative effects and affecting aspects of culture and society which had previously been considered domestic or wholly domestic concerns. This is creating a tension within both the domestic and international environments, and it is this particular tension that this panel seeks to address.

E. Clinton Bamberger, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Maryland Law School, will speak about how domestic systems in …

The Delivery Of Civil Legal Aid Services In South Africa, David J. Mcquoid-Mason

Fordham International Law Journal

This paper is intended to deal with the different methods of delivering civil legal aid services in South Africa. Before doing so, however, brief mention will be made of the structure of the legal profession and the impact of the new South African Constitution (or "Constitution"), as both have influenced the development of legal aid services in the country. Mention in passing will also be made to special procedures and courts that can be used to access justice in civil matters.

Issues Of Concern To Developing And Transitional Countries, Frank Upham, Martin Bohmer, Felix Morka, Linas Sesickas, Futoshi Toyama

Fordham International Law Journal

Led by moderator Frank Upham, the panelists discussed legal aid in the context of societies transitioning from one form of social order to another, and the institution-building that is required.

Private Order And Public Institutions, Ellen D. Katz

Reviews

In Private Order Under Dysfunctional Public Order, John McMilan and Christopher Woodruff describe the private institutions that order commercial transactions in developing economies where commercial actors view the formal legal regime as unreliable. Presenting evidence from surveys of market participants in several Eastern European countries and in Vietnam, McMillan and Woodruff depict a system of private order that requires formal organization and the creation of institutions to share information and coordinate multiparty responses. These institutions do not simply offer a viable alternative to public procedures, but also enable commercial transactions to occur where the vacuum in public order would otherwise …

If Taxpayers Can't Be Fooled, Maybe Congress Can: A Public Choice Perspective On The Tax Transition Debate, Kyle D. Logue

Reviews

In When Rules Change: An Economic and Political Analysis of Transition Relief and Retroactivity , Shaviro takes the various strands of the existing literature on retroactivity and weaves them together, applying his unique combination of legal expertise, political pragmatism, and theoretical sophistication in public finance economics as well as political science. The result is a subtle, balanced, and scholarly treatise on transition relief and retroactivity that should serve as the starting point for all future research in the field. In its stated objectives, the book is admirably ambitious.

This Review will, in a broad sense, follow Shaviro's characterization of the …

Liability Issues Facing Online Businesses, David E. Shipley

Scholarly Works

Online businesses are confronted by a wide variety of liability issues covering almost the full range of the standard law school curriculum. The liability problems that face a small business in Vidalia, Georgia, which is selling Vidalia onion products at specialty stores, through print advertising, and by mail, do not go away when the business starts marketing through a Web site. In fact, there might be more exposure doing business online, and there are variations depending upon the nature of the business in question. For example, as discussed below, an Internet Service Provider ("ISP") like America Online has worries that …

Three Arguments Against Mt. Healthy: Tort Theory, Constitutional Torts, And Freedom Of Speech, Michael L. Wells

Scholarly Works

Mt. Healthy City School District Board of Education v. Doyle is among the most important, and least discussed, cases in constitutional tort law. It stands for the abstract principle that the "but-for" rule of causation, which is the usual test in common-law torts, applies in constitutional torts as well. Doyle, a nontenured school teacher, quarreled with another teacher, with school employees, and with students. Two specific incidents deserve mention. First, on one occasion he "made an obscene gesture to two girls in connection with their failure to obey commands made in his capacity as cafeteria supervisor." Second, after the principal …

Implied Limits On The Legislative Power: The Intellectual Property Clause As An Absolute Constraint On Congress, Paul J. Heald, Suzanna Sherry

Scholarly Works

Professors Heald and Sherry argue that the language of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, the Intellectual Property Clause, absolutely constrains Congress's legislative power under certain circumstances. Their analysis begins by looking at other limits on the legislative power that the Court has found in the Bankruptcy Clause, the Eleventh Amendment, the Tenth Amendment, and Article III. Then by examining the history and structure of the Intellectual Property Clause and relevant precedent, they distill four principles of constitutional weight--the Suspect Grant Principle, the Quid Pro Quo Principle, the Authorship Principle, and the Public Domain Principle. These principles inform the Court's …

State Taxation Of Electronic Commerce: Perspectives On Proposals For Change And Their Constitutionality, Kendall L. Houghton, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

Over the past few years, an enormous amount of attention has been devoted to the problems raised by state taxation of electronic commerce, possible solutions to those problems, and, more recently, the question of whether there is a ‘problem‘ at all. We have both been, and continue to be, deeply involved in the debate over these issues -- a debate that has sometimes generated more heat than light. We view this forum as furnishing us an opportunity to take a step back from the fray and to offer our views not only on the critical issues that are dominating the …

Book Review Of Getting Around Brown: Desegregation, Development, And The Columbus Public Schools, Davison M. Douglas

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Law And The Environment: Reflections On Woburn

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

What Does The Constitution Say About The Vouchers?, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Risk Of Defined Contribution Plans, Regina T. Jefferson

Scholarly Articles

This article analyzes the risk of shortfall in the expected retirement benefits in defined contribution plans, as regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The article compares and contrasts the allocation of investment risks between defined benefit and defined contribution plans. This article demonstrates that current pension law offers inadequate protection of the expected retirement benefit in defined contribution plans and proposes additional fiduciary, insurance, and funding protection for defined contribution plans.

The Law Of Peoples, Mortimer N.S. Sellers

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Evidence Issues In Domestic Violence Civil Cases, Jane C. Murphy, Jane H. Aiken

All Faculty Scholarship

New laws and policies aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence have been adopted across the country over the last twenty years.The legal approaches taken to protect battered women and control family violence have resulted in significant changes in family law. New laws include statutes permitting civil protection or restraining orders, and laws requiring that domestic violence be considered in custody and/or visitation decisions. Both of these types of statutory reforms can provide protection to adult victims of domestic violence and their children. Evaluating a parent's fitness by considering past acts of violence to other family members results in decisions …

When Daddy Wants Out: The Issue Of Paternity, Jane C. Murphy, Cheri Wyron Levin

All Faculty Scholarship

Perhaps you've seen the signs along a number of major highways in Maryland. A pregnant Mona Lisa advertising a DNA testing company with the caption "Who's the Daddy?" With the rise in the number of children born out of wedlock in Maryland in the last several decades, paternity testing is becoming routine and family law practitioners are handling more cases in which the father or mother or both are trying to change who is named as the legal father in a paternity or divorce judgment. The law governing such cases has changed substantially since 1995. This article will guide the …

Collecting Child Support: A History Of Federal And State Initiatives, Jane C. Murphy, Naomi R. Cahn

All Faculty Scholarship

In this article we sketch an overview of the increasing federal involvement in the child-support area. Because the federal role has grown so dramatically over the past 25 years, family law practitioners need to understand the different federal programs and requirements that affect state management of child-support programs. While for many low-income parents state agencies handle child-support establishment and collection, the federalization of child support has practical implications when it comes to both establishing and enforcing child support. For example, as the time limits of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act begin to have their effects, child support …

When The Wall Has Fallen: Decades Of Failure In The Supervision Of Capital Juries, José F. Anderson

All Faculty Scholarship

Since the return of capital punishment after Furman v. Georgia nearly three decades ago, the Supreme Court of the United States has struggled to control the administration of capital punishment when those decisions are made or recommended by a citizen jury. Although there is no constitutional requirement that a jury participate in the death penalty process, most states do provide, through their capital punishment statutes, that a jury will participate in the decision. The preference for jury sentencing in these circumstances reflects a reluctance to leave power over life solely in the hands of one judge. Still, some scholars have …

Race, Space And Place: The Internal Critique Of The Empowerment Zones Program, Audrey Mcfarlane

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the extent to which the Empowerment Zones Program is properly viewed as a neutral, rational, and beneficial program for poor, inner-city communities and their residents by exploring the limits and potential of its chief mechanism, economic development, as a tool to achieve social justice for the inner cities. This Article grounds its exploration within the contested terrain of the city, not simply as a legal or juridical concept, but in terms of its reality as a lived place on the eve of the 21st century.

Living Trusts In The Unauthorized Practice Of Law: A Good Thing Gone Bad, Angela M. Vallario

All Faculty Scholarship

An elderly man recently lost his wife and visits the lawyer's office for assistance in the administration of her estate. After the attorney expresses her condolences, she asks if his wife had a will. The client reaches into a brown shopping bag and retrieves a two-and-a-half inch black binder containing several trusts. The elderly gentleman and his deceased wife were told this would eliminate the expensive legal nightmare of probate. Unfortunately, like many others, this couple was victimized by a trust mill.

The Power Of The Treasury: Racial Discrimination, Public Policy And "Charity" In Contemporary Society, David A. Brennen

Scholarly Works

The Treasury Department is empowered to enforce “established public policy” with respect to tax-exempt charities. Under this public policy power, the Treasury has revoked the tax-exempt charitable status of organizations that discriminated against blacks, organizations whose members engaged in civil disobedience against war, and organizations involved in illegal activity. The Treasury interprets its public policy power as applying to any activity that violates clear public policy. Thus, presumably, the Treasury could use this power to deny tax-exempt charitable status to an organization that engages in conduct that violates assisted suicide laws, anti-abortion laws, or other sufficiently “established” public policies.

The …

Much Ado About Spam: Unsolicited Advertising, The Internet, And You., Scot M. Graydon

St. Mary's Law Journal

Internet users need protection from unsolicited commercial emails (UCEs), and this protection should come from federal legislation. Despite seventeen states having passed some sort of legislation regulating UCEs, this is insufficient to protect Internet users from UCEs. State laws are not uniformed and UCEs frequently cross state lines. Internet advertisers prefer commercial emails because of the ability to market to millions of consumers at a low cost. Consumers, however, suffer delays to their Internet access because of the amount of data UCEs accumulate, and in some cases may have to pay additional fees if they exceed the data limits of …