Law Commons^™

Jurisdictional Salvation And The Hague Treaty , Kevin M. Clermont

Kevin M. Clermont

No abstract provided.

Juvenile Death Sentence Lives On... Even After Roper V. Simmons, Akin Adepoju

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This article begins with a discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision to abolish the death penalty as applied to individuals convicted of crimes they committed before they turned 18 and proceeds with a detailed exposition of worldwide standards of juvenile sentencing. Part I of this note briefly discusses the history and purposes of the juvenile justice system in the United States. Further, there is a general discussion on the constitutionality of life without parole sentences, which provides an overview of the inconsistencies between Federal and State Courts’ approaches when sentencing juveniles to life without parole. Part II analyzes the international …

Spreading Democracy Everywhere But Here: The Unlikely Prospect Of Foreign National Defendants Asserting Treaty Violations In American Courts After Sanchez-Llamas V. Oregon And Medellin V. Dretke, Miriam F. Miquelon-Weismann

University of Massachusetts Law Review

To squarely address this decisional quagmire, this article examines the binding effect of ICJ orders, entered pursuant to its compulsory jurisdiction, on American courts; earlier decisions of the Supreme Court penalizing foreign nationals for failing to timely raise individual treaty claims; the effect on treaty enforcement in domestic courts after the executive branch’s recent foreign policy decision to withdraw from compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; the current policy disputes dividing the United States and the ICJ; and, the national interest, or lack thereof, in treaty compliance. The article concludes that the government’s current claim that a “long standing presumption” exists to prevent …

A Square Peg Into A Round Hole: Trade Dress Protection Of Websites, The Perspective Of The Consumer And The Dilemma For The Courts, Amber R. Cohen

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This Note explores the legalities of trade dress protection for a website, the enforcement of such protection, and what is necessary to protect the “look and feel” of a website. Further, this Note claims it is nearly impossible to protect the “look and feel” of a website because the functionality of the site will always trump protection.

Computer Programs Under The United States Intellectual Property System: Sui Generis Legislation Is Needed, Joseph Francis Agnelli, Iii

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Section I of this article explores the different avenues of intellectual property protection presently available for computer software here in the United States. Section II then discusses how the European Community has resolved the computer program crisis under European intellectual property law. Lastly, section III will illustrate why sui generis legislation would be the paramount way for Congress to attack the intricacy that is created by computer programs under American intellectual property law.

The Global Cost Of Green: Recent Trade Issues And Litigation Between The United States And China May Dissolve Global Green Cooperation, David P. Vincent

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article begins by looking at how China has moved forward in embracing green technology development, the government’s role in that growth and whether its support is truly harmful on a global scale. It highlights key laws in the United States and the WTO involving trade—specifically subsidies, countervailing duties and anti-dumping regulations. An examination of recent trade cases involving the United States and China is followed by an analysis of America’s recent trade-oriented actions and legislation. Lastly, this Article will consider the legal implications of recent trade developments between these countries as well as policy implications, including the effect on …

Press Freedom And Coverage In The U.S. And Kosovo: A Series Of Comparisons And Recommendations, Ben Holden

Missouri Law Review

The Republic of Kosovo was created from the southernmost section of the former Yugoslavia by American military intervention and subsequent worldwide humanitarian guidance between 1999 and 2008. The resulting nation (which Russia, China, and others do not recognize) was born with one of the most pro-speech and press-friendly constitutions in the world. This Article compares and contrasts four press freedoms in the U.S. and Kosovo: (1) censorship and liability for publication of “truthful” speech; (2) liability for media errors; (3) shield laws; and (4) transparency in courts and records. Where the law and social mores of Kosovo are silent, recommendations …

Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

This article reviews significant recent developments in the laws affecting Virginia taxation. Each section covers legislative changes, judicial decisions, and selected opinions or pronouncements from the Virginia Department of Taxation (the "Tax Department") and the Virginia Attorney General over the past year.

Evaluating Effective Lawyer-Client Communication: An International Project Moving From Research To Reform, Clark D. Cunningham

Clark D. Cunningham

No abstract provided.

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Fall 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Helping International Students Avoid The Plagiarism Minefield: Suggestions From A Second Language Teacher And Writer, Diane B. Kraft

Law Faculty Popular Media

In this column for Perspectives: Teaching and Writing, Professor Diane B. Kraft provides suggestions to address the problem of plagiarism by international law students.

Nuclear Chain Reaction: Why Economic Sanctions Are Not Worth The Public Costs, Nicholas C.W. Wolfe

Nicholas A Wolfe

International economic sanctions frequently violate human rights in targeted states and rarely achieve their objectives. However, many hail economic sanctions as an important nonviolent tool for coercing and persuading change. In November 2013, the Islamic Republic of Iran negotiated a temporary agreement with major world powers regarding Iran’s nuclear program. The United States’ media and politicians have repeatedly and incorrectly attributed Iran’s willingness to negotiate to the effectiveness of economic sanctions.

Politicians primarily focus on immediate domestic effects and enact sanctions without a thorough understanding of the long-term effects on the United States economy and the public within a targeted …

Reforming Property Law To Address Devastating Land Loss, Thomas W. Mitchell

Faculty Scholarship

Tenancy-in-common ownership represents the most widespread form of common ownership of real property in the United States. Such ownership under the default rules also represents the most unstable ownership of real property in this country. Thousands of tenancy-in-common property owners, including members of many poor and minority families, have lost their commonly-owned property due to court-ordered, forced partition sales as well as much of their real estate wealth associated with such ownership as a result of such sales. Though some scholars and the media have highlighted how thousands of African-Americans have lost an untold amount of property and substantial real …

The Cost Of Doing Business In Asia: A Comparative Legal Study Of Environmental Regulations In The Emerging Markets Of Thailand, Malaysia, And Indonesia, Brooke R. Padgett

Brooke R. Padgett

Abstract: This article explores whether voluntary standards, customary law, or more binding bilateral investment treaties are best for corporations, the emerging markets of Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and the environment itself. While corporations, markets, and the environment facially seem to have divergent priorities, environmental disasters are more costly after the fact than they are to prevent so in reality their priorities may not be so different after all. Some of the potential issues the paper will examine and address are big picture macro level such as fairness to future generations, intergenerational rights; the actual cost through questions of polluter pays, …

Navigating Pacific Fisheries: Legal And Policy Trends In The Implementation Of International Fisheries Instruments In The Western And Central Pacific Region, Quentin Hanich, Ben M. Tsamenyi

Quentin Hanich

Navigating Pacific Fisheries analyses the legal and policy context for the conservation, management and exploitation of tuna fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific region.

Time To Try Mediation Of International Commercial Disputes, Harold Abramson

Harold I. Abramson

No abstract provided.

The Evolution Of Corporate Governance In Japan: The Continuing Relevance Of Berle And Means, Takaya Seki, Thomas Clarke

Seattle University Law Review

The evolution of corporate governance in Japan towards international standards continues, though at a gradual pace that often concerns outsiders. The substance of Japanese corporate governance is often questioned due to a lack of understanding of the unique elements of the Japanese institutional system. Japanese companies are under a sustained assault from overseas investors to introduce a greater number of independent directors on boards, improve accountability, and enhance transparency. The majority of Japanese companies have taken what they regard as significant steps in this direction of accountability. In Japan, however, there is a different conception of the role of the …

Reconciling Energy And Food Security Law, Rhett B. Larson

University of Richmond Law Review

This article argues that making "water security" a more predominant policy aim can help reconcile and integrate energy security and food security. Water security is the condition of a nation and its citizens having reasonable physical and economic access to sufficient and sustainable water, combined with acceptable levels of water-related risks (e.g., drought, flood, and water-related plagues).

Revisiting The Tax Treatment Of Citizens Abroad: Reconciling Principle And Practice, Michael S. Kirsch

Michael Kirsch

In an increasingly mobile world, the taxation of citizens living abroad has taken on increased importance. Recent international administrative developments — most notably, the weakening of foreign bank secrecy and expansion of global information sharing norms — have further raised the profile of this issue. While U.S. law traditionally has taxed U.S. citizens living abroad in the same general manner as citizens living in the United States, a number of scholars have proposed abandoning the use of citizenship as a jurisdictional basis to tax. In its place, they would apply residence-based principles — i.e., exercising full taxing rights over U.S. …

International Law Weekend 2013 Keynote Address: The Advocate In The Transnational Justice System, Donald F. Donovan

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

I am very grateful for the opportunity to address this audience at International Law Weekend 2013.

Gandhi’S Nightmare: Bhopal And The Need For A Mindful Jurisprudence, Nehal A. Patel

Nehal A. Patel

No abstract provided.

Getches Wilkinson Center Newsletter, Winter/Spring 2014, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment Newsletter (2013-)

No abstract provided.

Chinese International Film Encounters: Closing The Gaps With Hollywood With Soft Power Appeal At Home And Abroad (中国电影与韩国的国际碰撞-中国电影通过软实力追赶好莱坞), Brian Yecies

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

In this article, I aim to expand our understanding of the transnational production and increasing international appeal of contemporary Chinese cinema in 2012 and 2013; my viewpoint is from the outside looking in. To achieve this aim, I analyze two key developments that are contributing to the rapidly shifting shape and style of the Chinese film industry: 1) increasing post-production collaborations with film industry practitioners and firms from South Korea – an important trading partner for China; and 2) the popular reception of Chinese films on the international film festival circuit, in particular the responses of a diverse group of …

Piracy In Southeast Asia: An Overview Of International And Regional Efforts, Ahmad Amri

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

One of the main maritime security threats in Southeast Asia is Piracy. While piracy has been a perennial problem, this threat has received increasing attention in the region over the past few years. Reports published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as well as the International Maritime Bureau show an alarming number of piratical acts in Southeast Asian waters over the past decade. Southeast Asia had the second highest number of piracy attacks in the world from 2008–2012. Only the African Region transcended Southeast Asia in the number of attacks. This is concerning because the geographical location of the region …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions From International Shipping: The Response From China's Shipping Industry To The Regulatory Iinitiatives Of The International Maritime Organization, Yubing Shi

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) received its mandate to regulate shipping greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the Kyoto Protocol. However, the IMO Convention and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea also provide it with competence in this area. In exercising its mandate, the IMO has developed regulatory initiatives. China’s shipping industry is playing a growing role in the international shipping market, and its response to these initiatives will have a substantial effect on the future application of these regulations. This article analyses the GHG mandate of the IMO, examines the main outcomes achieved within the organization on …

The Sustainable Use And Conservation Of Biodiversity In Abnj: What Can Be Achieved Using Existing International Agreements?, Jeff Ardron, Rosemary Rayfuse, Kristina Gjerde, Robin Warner

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

Attention has recently been given to shortcomings and gaps in the governance regime for marine areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), especially with regard to the conservation of marine biodiversity. This paper provides a brief overview of existing ABNJ treaties and their associated governance bodies. Examples of the manner in which some gaps have been (or are in the process of being) filled are outlined. These examples suggest that given the political will, existing bodies could achieve significantly more. Additionally, greater involvement from those conservation conventions that have already proven themselves to be effective in areas under national jurisdiction, such as …

Dowry In Bangladesh: A Search From An International Perspective For An Effective Legal Approach To Mitigate Women’S Experiences, Afroza Begum

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

For some 40 years, Bangladesh has fought a losing battle against the existence of dowries and their associated abuse with no indication of even a minimal impact as dowry demands inflate and violence increases. In one year alone, dowry related violence claimed the lives of 325 women and contributed to 66.7 per cent of the violent incidents against women. This article aims to investigate the appropriateness and effectiveness of legal approaches to dowry and propose a different standard for redressing women’s disadvantaged situation in the traditional culture of Bangladesh.

The Dynamics Of Transitional Justice: International Models And Local Realities In East Timor, Charles Hawksley

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

[extract] As Ruti Teitel has outlined, transitional justice can be seen as evolving in three phases. The first involved criminal trials, such as Nuremberg and Tokyo, which sought to hold individuals accountable for abuses of human rights during World War II, and this was buttressed by the development of various international legal instruments to protect rights which today constitute a central aspect of approaches to transitional justice. In the 1980s and 1990s a second phase of transitional justice occurred with post-dictatorship tribunals and bodies such as truth commissions, both of which 'thickened' transitional justice by introducing a restorative element. The …

Posthumously Conceived Children: An International And Human Rights Perspective , Maya Sabatello

Journal of Law and Health

This essay considers posthumous conception from an international and child-centered approach. After a sketch in Part I of the phenomenon of posthumous conception and the complexities it evokes, Part II examines the types of issues arising in court cases concerning posthumous conception. Part III considers how courts in their rulings have addressed the welfare and best interests of posthumously conceived children and analyzes the scope and meaning of relevant decisions. Part IV looks into children’s rights or interests raised in those judicial decisions: parental acknowledgement, family structures, identity harm, and inheritance and social benefits. This part draws on the Convention …

Safety Over Semantics: The Case For Statutory Protection For Domestic Violence Asylum Applicants., Spencer Kyle

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Women and children make up the vast majority of the world’s refugee population. However, in the United States, the majority of successful applicants are men. Asylum seekers who assert claims of domestic violence are largely unsuccessful. The current immigration laws do not take gender into account when determining societal factors for obtaining asylum. People often misinterpret most foreign domestic violence allegations as differences of religion or cultural practices. Many believe domestic violence against women is solely a private issue and not the product of a political or social system designed to make women inferior to men. This dichotomy allows people …