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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Law
Biopiracy And Beyond: A Consideration Of Socio-Cultural Conflicts With Global Patent Policies, Cynthia M. Ho
Biopiracy And Beyond: A Consideration Of Socio-Cultural Conflicts With Global Patent Policies, Cynthia M. Ho
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article provides afresh and multi-dimensioned approach to a long-standing claim of biopiracy patents made by developing countries and communities. The basic principles of patent law and policy are first established to provide a foundation from which to evaluate the claim that genetic resources and traditional knowledge from developing countries are being misappropriated in a variety of ways that are loosely referred to as biopiracy. The Article distinguishes rhetoric from reality in examining biopiracy allegations from the perspective of national patent laws, as well as international agreements. In addition, the Article explains the underlying conflicts, misconceptions, and historical biases that …
Take The Long Way Home: Sub-Federal Integration Of Unratified And Non-Self-Executing Treaty Law, Lesley Wexler
Take The Long Way Home: Sub-Federal Integration Of Unratified And Non-Self-Executing Treaty Law, Lesley Wexler
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article introduces the longstanding treaty compliance debate and expands it to include the question of whether treaties influence sub-federal actors in non-ratifying countries. This Part draws on norm theory to conclude that sub-federal actors may use treaties and treaty processes as: (a) a framework to understand the underlying substantive issue, (b) a way to reduce drafting costs, (c) a focal point to measure compliance, (d) evidence of an international consensus, (e) a mechanism to express or signal a cosmopolitan identity, or (f) a springboard to criticize the current administration.
Transparency: An Analysis Of An Evolving Fundamental Principle In International Economic Law, Carl-Sebastian Zoellner
Transparency: An Analysis Of An Evolving Fundamental Principle In International Economic Law, Carl-Sebastian Zoellner
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Note will first sketch the theoretical underpinnings of transparency in an interdisciplinary overview of its possible meanings and advantages in the present context. It will then survey documents and instruments of international economic law in which language embracing the transparency principle is already present. The Note's main section proceeds to ask whether, in the actual application of those agreements, the transparency principle has had any notable impact on the interpretation of state obligations. Finally, in addressing transparency's future role in international economic law, this Note briefly discusses additional problems which might be resolved through a transparency-based approach.
The Universal Declaration On Bioethics And Human Rights: Promoting International Discussion On The Morality Of Non-Therapeutic Research On Children, Anna Gercas
Michigan Journal of International Law
After describing the Declaration and its drafting history, this Note will summarize several international, national, and regional guidelines regarding children as research subjects. The Note then argues for a prohibition of non-therapeutic research on children and concludes that international human rights law offers the most appropriate basis for the development of regulations on human experimentation.
Paper Dragon: Inadequate Protection Of Intellectual Property Rights In China, Omario Kanji
Paper Dragon: Inadequate Protection Of Intellectual Property Rights In China, Omario Kanji
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Note will explore the extent to which China is in violation of its obligations under TRIPs. Section I surveys the current state of IPR infringement in China. Section II analyzes relevant TRIPs provisions, case law, and treaties that supplement TRIPs provisions. Section III analyzes Chinese criminal law, the December 2004 Judicial Interpretation of Chinese criminal law, and Chinese IP law as they pertain to IPR infringement. Section IV outlines enforcement efforts in China against the backdrop of the law analyzed in the previous section. Section V evaluates these enforcement efforts given China's capabilities and obligations, and Section VI concludes …
The United States As Global Sheriff: Using Unilateral Sanctions To Combat Human Trafficking, Janie Chuang
The United States As Global Sheriff: Using Unilateral Sanctions To Combat Human Trafficking, Janie Chuang
Michigan Journal of International Law
By situating the U.S. rise to dominance in historical and political context, this Article underscores the significance of U.S. unilateralism for international anti-trafficking law and policy.
Illegal Peace?: An Inquiry Into The Legality Of Power-Sharing With Warlords And Rebels In Africa, Jeremy I. Levitt
Illegal Peace?: An Inquiry Into The Legality Of Power-Sharing With Warlords And Rebels In Africa, Jeremy I. Levitt
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article represents the first conscientious attempt to address these questions, present a conceptual framework for examining the legal and political efficacy of coercing democratically constituted governments into sharing power, and define a lawful basis or approach to sharing power when governments are confronted with the aforementioned scenario. The Article is polemical and questions the dominant logic that political power-sharing is lawful, legitimate, and unequivocally serves the public good, arguing that power-sharing deals that ignore controlling rules are unlawful and not viable.
Rebus Sic Stantibus: Notification Of Consular Rights After Medellin, Aaron A. Ostrovsky, Brandon E. Reavis
Rebus Sic Stantibus: Notification Of Consular Rights After Medellin, Aaron A. Ostrovsky, Brandon E. Reavis
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Comment examines, through principles of public international law and U.S. jurisprudence, the relationship between U.S. courts and the ICJ to determine if the former are indeed bound by the latter's decisions, proprio motu, or if instead some Executive action is required to make the decisions binding on the judiciary. Part of this examination will entail a discussion of the potential for dialogue between the ICJ and U.S. courts to "pierce the veil of sovereignty" that traditionally conceals the inner workings of sovereign states from the scrutiny of international tribunals. Based on this assessment, the Comment then addresses how …
International Treaty Enforcement As A Public Good: Institutional Deterrent Sanctions In International Environmental Agreements, Tseming Yang
International Treaty Enforcement As A Public Good: Institutional Deterrent Sanctions In International Environmental Agreements, Tseming Yang
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article approaches the issues through the lens of two general questions. First, what are the functions of treaty enforcement and institutional deterrent sanctions? Second, what are the obstacles to the effective deployment of institutional deterrent sanctions in response to noncompliance? This Article elaborates on the instrumental purposes of enforcement as well as its independent normative function. Much of the analysis follows the recent stream of works that combines both international law and international relations theory. These works offer a rich understanding of the conduct of states and the functioning of international legal regimes.
Power, Norms, And International Intellectual Property Law, Tai-Heng Cheng
Power, Norms, And International Intellectual Property Law, Tai-Heng Cheng
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Article begins with the premise that international law is the net result of global processes of interactions among state and non-state participants in the international system. The Article builds on the author’s previous work by proposing a theory of international law that fills the interstices between private and public international law. Participants generally deploy power and invoke legal and social norms in pursuit of interests and in response to the strategies of other participants. Eventually, outcomes that reflect both power and norms result, and these outcomes in turn modify norms and reallocate power. New outcomes then follow in future …
An Analysis Of Potential Conflicts Between The Stockholm Convention And Its Parties' Wto Obligations, D. Dean Batchelder
An Analysis Of Potential Conflicts Between The Stockholm Convention And Its Parties' Wto Obligations, D. Dean Batchelder
Michigan Journal of International Law
This Comment examines the compatibility of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants with parties' WTO obligations under the GATT Agreement. The Stockholm Convention represents a broad-based attempt to regulate persistent organic pollutants (POPs), some of the most damaging chemicals to the environment and human health. The commitments that parties to the Stockholm Convention have undertaken to control POPs may implicate international trade commitments. Hopefully the discussion in this Comment may also be relevant to other multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), especially those involving trade measures.
The False Panacea Of Offshore Deterrence, James C. Hathaway
The False Panacea Of Offshore Deterrence, James C. Hathaway
Articles
Governments take often shockingly blunt action to deter refugees and other migrants found on the high seas, in their island territories and in overseas enclaves. There is a pervasive belief that when deterrence is conducted at arms-length from the homeland it is either legitimate or, at the very least, immune from legal accountability.
Regulatory Purpose And 'Like Products' In Article Iii:4 Of The Gatt (With Additional Remarks On Article Iii:2), Donald H. Regan
Regulatory Purpose And 'Like Products' In Article Iii:4 Of The Gatt (With Additional Remarks On Article Iii:2), Donald H. Regan
Book Chapters
In EC-Asbestos the Appellate Body has told us that (l) in interpreting Article III:4 of the GATT, we must take explicit account of the policy in Article III: l that measures should not be applied "so as to afford protection to domestic production" [hereafter just "so as to afford protection"]. In Chile- Alcohol the Appellate Body has told us that (2) in deciding whether a measure is applied "so as to afford protection," we must consider "the purposes or objectives of a Member's legislature and government as a whole"- in other words, the regulatory purpose of the measure. Chile- Alcohol …
Refugees' Human Rights And The Challenge Of Political Will, James C. Hathaway
Refugees' Human Rights And The Challenge Of Political Will, James C. Hathaway
Articles
Governments in all parts of the world are withdrawing in practice from meeting the legal duty to provide refugees with the protection they require. While states continue to proclaim a willingness to assist refugees as a matter of political discretion or humanitarian goodwill, many appear committed to a pattern of defensive strategies designed to avoid international legal responsibility toward involuntary migrants. Some see this shift away from a legal paradigm of refugee protection as a source of enhanced operational flexibility in the face of changed political circumstances. For refugees themselves, however, the increasingly marginal relevance of international refugee law has …