Law Commons^™

The Iraqi High Criminal Court: Controversy And Contributions, Michael A. Newton

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The Iraqi High Criminal Court established to prosecute Saddam Hussein and other leading Ba’athists is one of the most visible of the current efforts to establish criminal accountability for violations of international norms. Juxtaposed against other tribunals, the High Criminal Court has provoked worldwide debate over its processes and its prospects for returning societal stability founded on respect for human rights and the rule of law to Iraq. This article explores in detail the legal basis for the formation of the High Criminal Court under the law of occupation. It addresses the relationship between the Iraqi model of prosecuting crimes …

He Knew Why He Was Here, D. D. Welch

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hal was passionate about his Transnational Legal Studies Program. He was brought to Vanderbilt in 1965 to build an international law program from scratch. In these days of globalization, it is difficult to remember how innovative his work was. In his first year, there were three international law courses at the Law School, all taught by him. There was a testy difference of opinion on campus about whether international law materials should be housed in the Law Library or remain in the University's Central Library...and there were not many materials in that collection. When Maier was named Director of the …

Finding The Winning Combination: How Blending Organ Procurement Systems Used Internationally Can Reduce The Organ Shortage, Sarah E. Statz

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The shortage in transplantable organs worldwide not only leads to unnecessary death, but also to grave human rights abuses through illegal methods of procuring organs. The shortage leads some desperate to find an organ through any possible means, including purchasing an organ on the black market. The system for procuring organs in the United States is based on altruism, where potential donors have to opt in to the system in order for their organs to be donated. This creates issues at the time of death for medical professionals or the next of kin to decide whether their patient or loved …

In Honor Of Professor Harold G. Maier, David P. Stewart

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Among his many other significant accomplishments and career achievements, Professor Maier can count a singular experience which few in the field of international law are privileged to enjoy-that of spending a year as the Counselor on International Law at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.

The Counselor occupies a senior position within the Office of the Legal Adviser. Organizationally, the incumbent reports to and works directly with the Legal Adviser and his Deputies in advising the Secretary of State and other senior officials on whatever fast-moving issues might occupy the foreign policy attention of the government at a …

Doctrines Without Borders: Territorial Jurisdiction And The Force Of International Law In The Wake Of Rasul V. Bush, Brennan T. Brooks

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States responded with military action aimed at eradicating terrorist networks around the world. The action in Afghanistan resulted in several hundred captured enemy combatants being sent to the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Because the base is not within the territory of the United States, the Bush administration took the position that the detainees could be held indefinitely without review in civilian courts. In a surprising move, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the detainees did have a right to petition civilian courts for habeas corpus review. Thus, the …

Criminal Defamation And The Evolution Of The Doctrine Of Freedom Of Expression In International Law, Jo M. Pasqualucci

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Restrictions on freedom of expression may take direct and indirect forms. A state may censor speech, criminalize defamation, harass the media or individual journalists, fail to investigate crimes against the media , require the compulsory licensing of journalists, or fail to enact freedom of information laws or laws that prohibit monopoly ownership of the media. A victim of a restriction on freedom of expression that violates international law may have no recourse in domestic courts, either because state law offers no remedy or because judges are too intimidated to enforce the laws as written. In such instances, victims need recourse …

Linking The International Legal Framework To Building The Formal Foundations Of A "State At Risk", Michael Schoiswohl

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article describes and critically assesses the recent constitution-making process in Afghanistan in relation to the international legal framework. The Article provides an account of that process within the larger context of the state-building efforts as envisioned in the 2001 Bonn Agreement. Focusing on the interaction between national state-building and international normative benchmarks, the Article evaluates the extent to which the recently adopted Constitution links to the international legal framework. While paying lip service to the adherence of international law, including international human rights law, the Constitution does not adequately address the relationship between international legal obligations and municipal law. …

Harold G. Maier: A World Class Fellow Indeed, Paul M. Kurtz

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hal Maier has played many roles in my life: he has been my teacher, my boss, my advisor, my colleague, and most and best of all, my friend. In all those roles, he has exhibited enthusiasm, patience, tact, and brilliance. Not at all a bad combination, I would say.

Come with me back to his classroom, circa 1970-1971. The subject is Conflict of Laws (which was required back then) or Law of the European Economic Community (which one with no interest in international law only took because of the masterful teacher). Clad in white shirt and oh-so-narrow tie which he …

Transnational Litigation: Is There A "Field"? A Tribute To Hal Maier, Linda Silberman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

I was pleased to be asked to offer a few words in honor of my friend, Professor Hal Maier, on the occasion of his retirement from Vanderbilt University Law School. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Hal, not only because he has been a wonderful friend and colleague over the years, but also because he sparked my interest in a field to which I had only recently turned when we first met and one that now absorbs much of my time and attention. The "field"--if it can be characterized as such--is "international litigation" or "transnational litigation," and that …

Creative Industries In Developing Countries And Intellectual Property Protection, Lauren Loew

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

International intellectual property law (hereafter referred to as IP law) has an increasingly important significance for international trade and relations. From the music industry to the drug industry, intellectual property is a lucrative market, and both individuals and corporations have a lot to lose from the infringement of intellectual property rights. For example, music is a $40 billion worldwide industry. According to the Recording Industry Association of American (RIAA), the music industry loses approximately $4.2 billion each year to worldwide piracy. Although these facts bring to light the economic losses of industries and individuals from IP infringement, the global community …

Harold Maier, Comity, And The Foreign Relations Restatement, Andreas F. Lowenfeld

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hal Maier's career and mine have interacted in several respects. We have both served in the Legal Adviser's Office of the State Department; we have both taught Conflict of Laws as well as International Law; and we have both tried to show--I believe successfully--that there is no sharp divide between "Public International Law" and "Private International Law." In particular, we have both been interested in the reach and limits of economic regulation across international frontiers, initially in connection with antitrust and securities regulation, but also in connection with economic sanctions, pollution controls, and other interactions of governmental and private activity. …

Universal Jurisdiction And The Pirate: Time For An Old Couple To Part, Joshua M. Goodwin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For hundreds of years, the world has allowed any nation-state to exercise universal jurisdiction over high seas piracy. This has been recently codified by the United Nations in the Convention on the Law of the Seas. It has been almost universally assumed that allowing states to do this was legitimate. As this Note will argue, however, the reasons for allowing states to exercise jurisdiction in this way no longer make sense in the modern world. Further, allowing states to exercise universal jurisdiction over pirates violates the due process rights of the pirates and poses a threat to international stability. To …