Law Commons^™

Workplace Electronic Privacy Protections Abroad: The Whole Wide World Is Watching, William A. Herbert

William A. Herbert

Legal and public policy ideas and concepts are known to traverse national borders. The rapidity of this multinational exchange of ideas has been substantially enhanced through the technological revolution over the past two decades. How a nation adopts or rejects particular ideas and concepts reflects on its particular history, culture and priorities. The establishment of legal protections for privacy against intrusions by governments, employers, companies and individuals represents a concept that has been adopted in different ways by other nations. This article will focus on how the European Union and certain Western countries have approached the issue of protecting individual …

Free Speech And Holocaust Denial, Russell L. Weaver

Russell L. Weaver

The Duty Of Treatment: Human Rights And The Hiv/Aids Pandemic, Noah B. Novogrodsky

Noah B Novogrodsky

This article argues that the treatment of HIV and AIDS is spawning a juridical, advocacy and enforcement revolution. The intersection of AIDS and human rights was once characterized almost exclusively by anti-discrimination and destigmatization efforts. Today, human rights advocates are demanding life-saving treatment and convincing courts and legislatures to make states pay for it. Using a comparative Constitutional law methodology that places domestic courts at the center of the struggle for HIV treatment, this article shows how the provision of AIDS medications is reframing the right to health and the implementation of socio-economic rights. First, it locates an emerging right …

Comparing Judicial Compensation: Apples, Oranges, And Cherry-Picking, Matthew W. Wolfe

Matthew W. Wolfe

United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts describes the American judiciary as the envy of other constitutional democracies. But in one respect, the judiciary apparently trails others: judicial pay. Citing higher salaries of judges in other countries, Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justices Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito have all argued that inadequate judicial pay leads to a decline in judicial performance and quality. Judicial pay advocates apparently make these comparisons to emphasize that low judicial salaries “threaten” judicial quality and independence or, alternatively, that high judicial salaries “ensure” quality and independence. But the argument is incomplete, relying upon …

With A Little Help From The Courts: Mark Tushnet On Judicial Review Of Social And Economic Rights, Adam Shinar

Adam Shinar

This is a review of Mark Tushnet's "Weak Courts, Strong Rights: Judicial Review and Social Welfare Rights in Comparative Constitutional Law". The review outlines the main arguments in the book and then moves to elaborate on two preconditions, which, I think, are necessary for Tushnet's project to succeed – the existence of a strong civil society and an institutional willingness to implement social welfare rights. In addition, this review seeks to situate the book within Tushnet's broader constitutional theory project. In particular, the review attempts to reconcile this work with Tushnet's "Taking the Constitution Away from the Courts", a work …

Mutual Recognition Based On Substituted Compliance: An Integral Component Of The Sec’S Mandate, Cheryl C. Nichols

Cheryl C. Nichols

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) must utilize mutual recognition based on substituted compliance to maintain American preeminence in the global securities market. In fact, mutual recognition based on substituted compliance facilitates the SEC’s ability to fulfill its statutory mandate-- to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. Currently, all US investors may have access to foreign exchanges in the global securities market without the protection of the U.S. federal securities laws; at a minimum, the SEC must take action to fulfill the first prong of its statutory mandate--to protect investors. In addition, maintaining …

Copyright Infringement In The Internet Age - Primetime For Harmonized Conflict-Of-Laws Rules?, Anita B. Frohlich

Anita B Frohlich

The traditionally national nature of law endangers its very raison d’être in today’s interconnected and borderless world. Conflict-of-laws methodology may prove to represent an adequate means to maintain relevance of national legal tradition in presence of the increasingly international nature of legal disputes. Here, I propose that only a harmonized conflict-of-laws framework can achieve this goal. Specifically, I focus on international copyright law since (1) the current national jurisprudence in this field is unsatisfactory and disparate, (2) international intellectual property law has so far mostly failed to cross-fertilize with the field of conflict of laws, and (3) there have been …

Reaffirming The Rights Of Foreign Investors To The Protection Of Icsid Arbitration: Sempra Energy International V. The Argentine Republic, Daniel Krawiec

Daniel A Krawiec II

Earlier this decade, the Argentine government responded to a substantial domestic economic crises by passing several emergency laws and unilaterally changing the terms of its investment agreements with foreign investors. Sempra v. Argentine Republic is an important case because the tribunal decisively reaffirmed the right to ICSID arbitration for American investors harmed by Argentina’s actions. Furthermore, the tribunal held that the U.S.-Argentina bilateral investment treaty provided substantial substantive investment protection.

“The Longest Journey, With A First Step”: Bringing Coherence To Sovereignty And Jurisdictional Issues In Global Employee Benefits Law, Paul Secunda

Paul M. Secunda

One of the most neglected areas of employee benefits law in the United States today is the extraterritorial application of ERISA to U.S. employees in other countries. Additionally, the courts and legislature have not spent the necessary time to discuss ERISA coverage issues for foreign employees, both legal and illegal and both working for foreign government and non-government employers, in the United States. These are increasingly crucial areas of U.S. employee benefits law as the globalization of the world's workplaces continues apace.

After surveying the tangled web of ERISA law in this context, the article proposes two statutory fixes and …

Leave Those Orcs Alone: Property Rights In Virtual Worlds, Kevin Deenihan

Kevin E Deenihan

Conversion of property is a familiar piece of law. What about conversion of virtual property? In 2006, a man filed suit claiming theft of virtual real estate he maintained in a Virtual World. The Judge may well have wondered: is this property law? Intellectual property? Torts? Contract? When should the law even apply to Virtual Worlds at all? New societies populated by millions of people have sprung up in the online context. Their inhabitants buy goods, trade with each other, and form complex self-regulating organizations and economic systems. All are activities governed in the real world by centuries of legal …

Comparing Judicial Compensation: Apples, Oranges, And Cherry-Picking, Matthew W. Wolfe, Reed Watson

Matthew W. Wolfe

United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts describes the American judiciary as the envy of other constitutional democracies. But in one respect, the judiciary apparently trails others: judicial pay. Citing higher salaries of judges in other countries, Chief Justice Roberts and Associate Justices Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito have all argued that inadequate judicial pay leads to a decline in judicial performance and quality. Judicial pay advocates apparently make these comparisons to emphasize that low judicial salaries “threaten” judicial quality and independence or, alternatively, that high judicial salaries “ensure” quality and independence. But the argument is incomplete, relying upon …

Premesse Implicite: Struttura Del Diritto E Formante Extralegale In Italia (Implicit Premises: Structure Of The Law And Extralegal Formant In Italy), Luigi Russi, Matteo Mattioni

Luigi Russi

The paper (in Italian) – a revision of ILSU Working Paper No. 2008-01/IT - aims to schematically illustrate and clarify the logical categories according to which it is hypothesized that the extralegal formant – law practitioners - of a specific civil law jurisdiction – Italy - logically understand the unity and functioning of their legal system. According to the working hypothesis, the logical categories described in the paper should provide an illustration of the formal framework of reference which Italian jurists resort to, for the purpose of justifying their arguments about the law. Hence, the analysis carried out in the …

Judgments Of The United States Supreme Court And The South African Constitutional Court As A Basis For A Universal Method To Resolve Conflicts Between Fundamental Rights, Daniel H. Erskine

Daniel H. Erskine

This article describes the methods utilized by the United States Supreme Court to resolve specific cases involving conflicts between federal constitutional rights, a federal constitutional right and a state constitutional or statutory right, and an international treaty right and a federal constitutional right. Consideration of particular decisions representative of the manner the Court resolves conflicts between rights in the three typologies described above, illustrates how the Court views such conflicts and the rationales employed to resolve apparent conflicting rights. The rationales used by the United States Supreme Court are compared to the South African Constitutional Court’s decisions in the Soobramoney, …

The Trial Of Queen Caroline And The Impeachment Of President Clinton: Law As A Weapon For Political Reform, Daniel H. Erskine

Daniel H. Erskine

This article explores the calculated use of legal mechanisms to impact national politics and the effect such utilization had on accomplishing deliberate political reform. In answering why political actors use legal procedures as political weapons and whether such use is effective, this paper analyzes two historical examples to illustrate that law as political weapon is extremely successful in accomplishing political change. In the early 1800’s, England’s King sought to defrock his politically radical heroine Queen Caroline through the parliamentary mechanism of a Bill of Pains and Penalties, which caused a flourish of public criticism and call for political revolution. Public …

The Yukos War: The Five Year Anniversary, Dmitry Gololobov

Dmitry Gololobov

No abstract provided.

Restitution In America: Why The U.S. Refuses To Join In The Global Restitution Party, Chaim Saiman

Chaim Saiman

In the past generation, restitution law has emerged as global phenomenon. From its Oxbridge home restitution migrated to the rest of the Commonwealth, and ongoing Europeanization projects have brought the common law of restitution into contact with the Romanist concept of unjust enrichment, further internationalizing this movement. In sharp contrast to the Commonwealth, in the United States, scholarly interest in restitution, in terms of books, articles, treatises, symposia and courses on restitution is meager, at best. Similarly, while restitution, equity and tracing cases receive considerable treatment at the highest levels of the English judiciary, U.S. courts do not seem interested …

Fairness In Contractual Relations: An Economic-Oriented Understanding Of Good Faith Performance, Luigi Russi

Luigi Russi

This is a derivative version of 'Can Good Faith Performance Be Unfair? An Economic Framework for Understanding the Problem', which appeared in the Whittier Law Review, vol. 29, 2008. In comparison to the version therein published, I have eliminated the mathematical appendix, and attempted to outline my reasoning exclusively in words, for it to be accessible to a wider readership.

Can Good Faith Performance Be Unfair? An Economic Framework For Understanding The Problem, Luigi Russi

Luigi Russi

The paper deals with the duty of good faith in contract performance, as set out in the U.C.C. In particular, it focuses on the different theories as to its practical meaning, by distinguishing between two types of standards: behavioral and economic ones. The latter are further framed after the Learned Hand formula of negligence, as adapted to contractual relationships by relevant literature. By analyzing the functioning of economic standards in presence of transaction costs, it is then concluded that economic standards are only weakly preferable to behavioral ones which, under certain conditions, may prove as useful in providing a practical …

Invited Comparative Commentary To The 67th Biennial German Jurists Meeting, Thomas Kohler

Thomas C. Kohler

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Between China And The United States In The Legislative Background Of Limited Partnership And The Independent Legal Personality, Thomas Geu, Li Wu

Thomas E. Geu

Publication available in Mandarin only.

Reflections On Oklahoma City University School Of Law's Certificate In American Law Program, Lee F. Peoples

Lee Peoples

No abstract provided.

Избирательные Системы Стран Ближнего Востока: Сравнительный Анализ, Leonid G. Berlyavskiy

Leonid G. Berlyavskiy

Избирательное Право Итальянской Республики И Федеративной Республики Германии: Сравнительный Анализ, Leonid G. Berlyavskiy

Leonid G. Berlyavskiy

The Challenge Of Comparative Civil Procedure, Scott Dodson

Scott Dodson

This Review Essay, solicited by the Alabama Law Review, reviews "Civil Litigation in Comparative Context" (West 2007), by Oscar G. Chase, Helen Hershkoff, Linda Silberman, Yasuhei Taniguchi, Vincenzo Varano, and Adrian Zuckerman. It also identifies some areas of exceptionalist American civil procedure that recently have been converging towards global norms and argues that those convergences, if they continue, could render comparative studies particularly meaningful.

A Meating Of The Minds: Possible Pitfalls And Benefits Of Certified Organic Livestock Production And The Prodigious Potential Of Brazil, Adam C. Schlosser

Adam C. Schlosser

Certified organic food represents the fastest growing segment of food production in both the United States and throughout the entire world. This article examines the issues and opportunities facing both large and small scale farmers wishing to engage in organic livestock production. Organic regulations cover everything involved in production, starting with the organic certification process and concluding with slaughter and the subsequent shipping and sale of the end organic product. The final section of this article addresses the unique ability of Brazil – described alternatively as “the world’s warehouse” and the “world’s [future] source of food” – to increase the …

Fighting The Food Crisis: Feeding Africa One Family At A Time, Karol C. Boudreaux, Adam Aft

Karol C. Boudreaux

Food riots have exploded. Prices for staple goods—wheat, maize, rice—have risen dramatically. 1 in 3 people in sub-Saharan Africa confront hunger and malnutrition, persistent threats. Many of the hungry are Africa’s smallholder farmers, subsistence farmers whose productivity has fallen over the past three decades while agricultural productivity rates have soared in other parts of the word. This article asks: what kinds of strategies, both legal and practical, will it take to effectively address the problem of a food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa? Scholars and politicians point to the need for a Green Revolution for Africa, a new effort to increase …