Law Commons^™

Indonesia And Asean Plus Three Financial Cooperation, Ariswan Gunadi

Indonesia Law Review

Indonesia and ASEAN Plus Three Financial Cooperation is a very well-written book by Eko Saputro. The ASEAN Plus Three Financial Cooperation was established to maintain and strengthen the common objective of its member, particularly in the economic area.1 This book analyzes Indonesia’s current position in East Asia, in the connection with the ASEAN Plus Three Financial Cooperation. Divided into 7 chapters, the book provides an analysis of Indonesia’s role APT financial regionalism with more emphasize on the financial sector instead of education.

Slipping Through The Cracks: How Digital Music Streaming Cuts Corners On Artists’ Royalty Revenues Globally, Frances Lewis

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

At a time when the digital distribution of music is dominating the music industry, there are more music consumers than ever. This makes it vitally important for performing artists to receive the credit they are due. An inherent problem in music’s digital distribution market is that music streaming companies often fail to acquire proper licenses to expand their music libraries faster than their competitors. Performing artists who may not have the same income stream as their A-list counterparts often cannot bear the cost of litigation to pursue uncredited royalties. The U.S. class action model provides performing artists with a legal …

What About Small Businesses? The Gdpr And Its Consequences For Small U.S.-Based Companies, Craig Mcallister

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Fast-approaching changes to European data privacy law will have consequences around the globe. Historically, despite having dramatically different approaches to data privacy and data protection, the European Union and the United States developed a framework to ensure that the highspeed freeway that is transatlantic data transfer moved uninterrupted. That framework was overturned in the wake of revelations regarding U.S. surveillance practices, and amidst skepticism that the United States did not adequately protect personal data. Further, the European Union enacted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a sweeping overhaul of the legal data protection landscape that will take effect in May …

Exploiting Latin American Microfinance Deregulation: One Borrower At A Time, Karlamaria Cabral

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Microfinance seeks to eradicate poverty through the economic growth and development that results when seed capital is given to microenterprises. In 2015, Latin America’s microfinance loan portfolio totaled $40 billion USD and included more than twenty-two million borrowers. Due to the current state of microfinance in the region—abusive lending practices and betraying the original goal and purpose of eradicating poverty—this Note advocates for a regional regulatory body, such as the Latin American Microfinance Association, that would develop and assist Latin American countries to implement model legal frameworks that increase client protection, create licensing requirements, establish interest rate caps, and recognize …

Sovereign Debt Restructuring And English Governing Law, Steven L. Schwarcz

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The problem of sovereign indebtedness is becoming a worldwide crisis because nations, unlike individuals and corporations, lack access to bankruptcy laws to restructure unsustainable debt. Decades of international efforts to solve this problem through contracting and attempted treaty-making have failed to provide an adequate debt-restructuring framework. A significant amount of outstanding sovereign debt is governed, however, by English law. This Article argues that the U.K. Parliament has the extraordinary power to help solve the problem of unsustainable country debt by changing English law to facilitate fair and consensual debt restructuring. This Article also proposes modifications to English law that Parliament …

Restructuring Intellectual Property Jurisdictions Post-Brexit: Strategic Considerations For The Eu And Britain, Alexandra George

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Britain’s decision to “Brexit” from the European Union has caused great uncertainty and justified concern with respect to intellectual property laws and investments. Post-Brexit arrangements between the European Union and Britain have not yet been determined, and it is unclear whether these will be settled with respect to intellectual property law before Brexit is due to take effect in 2019. With intellectual property intensive industries accounting for 88 percent of EU imports and 90 percent of EU exports, British-EU intellectual property arrangements are the subject of intense interest worldwide as intellectual property owners and users speculate as to the likely …

Tax In The World Of Antitrust Enforcement: European Commission’S State Aid Investigations Into Eu Member States’ Tax Rulings, Nina Hrushko

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In August 2016, after a two-year investigation, the European Commission issued a negative State aid ruling against Ireland, finding that the country had provided illegal tax benefits to Apple Inc. and requesting the government to collect €13 billion in retroactive taxes from the company. This decision sparked a heated debate around the globe about the European Commission’s authority to interfere into the individual EU Member States’ fiscal policies and order retroactive tax recoveries. This Note explores the application of EU State aid rules to tax laws and, in particular, EU Member States’ tax rulings, and discusses the European Commission’s investigations …

International Gas Outlook And Implications For Developing Tanzania’S Gas Projects, Nicolas Maennling, Perrine Toledano, Thomas Mitro

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In the frame of its partnership with Uongozi – Tanzania, CCSI drafted a brief that reviews recent international gas developments, the outlook in this regard and implications for the development of proposed offshore gas projects in Tanzania. As the country aims to benefit from its gas discoveries by increasing its domestic gas use, it also outlines some of the trade-offs and considerations that need to be taken into account when negotiating the domestic gas allocation.

Ccsi Submission To Un Special Rapporteur On Extreme Poverty Re: United States Country Visit, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Professor Philip Alston, will conduct a country visit to the United States in December 2017. In response to his call for input, CCSI sent a submission focused the United States’ role in the international investment regime, and the United States’ international investment agreements (IIAs), noting that the IIAs to which the US is a party raise tensions, and can potentially create conflicts, with the US’s human rights obligations, including those that apply extraterritorially, and exacerbate conditions of poverty, extreme poverty and inequality.

At The Intersection Of Land Grievances And Legal Liability: The Need To Reconsider Contract Rights And Expectations At The Supranational Level, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Lise Johnson, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

This Article explores how host governments’ legal obligations can affect or constrain their ability to address “land grievances,” which are defined as concerns raised by local individuals or communities in response to negative impacts of land-based investments. Obligations under international investment law, international human rights law, and investor-state contracts can be in tension or can directly conflict with one another, creating complexity for governments seeking to respond to land grievances. To explore the legal considerations that governments must navigate in this context, this Article considers several options that governments could pursue to respond to land grievances. In all of the …

Trade Strategies Of The Tpp-11 Countries: Asian Regionalism In Turbulent Times, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Pacific Partnership (TPP) in January 2017 hasprompted the remaining countries to pursue alternative trade strategies. Australia andJapan have pushed for effectuating the TPP without US participation. The currentefforts focus on seeking consensus on the scope of suspensions over the originalagreement. The TPP-11 countries expect to reach an agreement in principle during theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November 2017. Critical factors that willinfluence the TPP also include negotiations for the 16-country RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership and China’s new trade initiatives. Hence, EUpolicy on trade and investment agreements with the Asia-Pacific ought to consider thechanging dynamics of …

Reassessing The Trade-Development Nexus In International Economic Law: The Paradigm Shift In Asia-Pacific Regionalism, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article reassesses the trade-development nexus in international economic law and provides the first examination of the approach to realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through regional integration. It argues that the emerging New Regional Economic Order in the multi-polar system will fortify the coalition of the developing countries in structuring the legalization of pro-development trade policy. For decades, the misconceived concept of special and differential treatment has ignored the reality of the North-South Grand Bargain and disconnected the World Trade Organization from its development objectives. The development crisis of the Doha Round requires a feasible “Plan B” for …

Trade Strategies Of The Tpp-11 Countries: Asian Regionalism In Turbulent Times, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The US withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Pacific Partnership (TPP) in January 2017 hasprompted the remaining countries to pursue alternative trade strategies. Australia andJapan have pushed for effectuating the TPP without US participation. The currentefforts focus on seeking consensus on the scope of suspensions over the originalagreement. The TPP-11 countries expect to reach an agreement in principle during theAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November 2017. Critical factors that willinfluence the TPP also include negotiations for the 16-country RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership and China’s new trade initiatives. Hence, EUpolicy on trade and investment agreements with the Asia-Pacific ought to consider thechanging dynamics of …

Truth Commission Impact: A Participation-Based Implementation Agenda, Tara J. Melish

Tara Melish

With a focus on truth commissions, this Essay argues for a new approach to assessing the impact or effectiveness of transitional justice mechanisms. It recognizes at least four discernible approaches to impact assessment in the current literature. I term these “Quantifiable Truth,” “Victim Perception,” “Formal Political Rights,” and “Redistributive Development.” While each has added important and complementary insights to the field, each has also exhibited important weaknesses in its ability to speak persuasively to the question of meaningful long-term impact on the societal dynamics and institutions that lead to violence in the first place. To help fill this gap, I …

Rethinking The "Less As More" Thesis: Supranational Litigation Of Economic, Social And Cultural Rights In The Americas, Tara J. Melish

Tara Melish

In their 2005 law review article Less as More: Rethinking Supranational Litigation of Economic and Social Rights in the Americas, James Cavallaro and Emily Schaffer argue for a "rethinking" of strategies to advance economic, social and cultural rights in the Americas. They posit that to achieve higher rates of real-world protection for such rights, social rights advocates should do two things: first, bring less litigation and, second, frame any marginal litigation that is pursued as violations of classic civil and political rights. According to the authors, this recommended course will increase the "legitimacy" of the litigation and lead to higher …

Counter-Rejoinder: Justice Vs. Justiciability?: Normative Neutrality And Technical Precision, The Role Of The Lawyer In Supranational Social Rights Litigation, Tara J. Melish

Tara Melish

An important debate is currently underway in the inter-American human rights system involving the proper approach litigators, adjudicators, and advocates should take to supranational litigation of economic, social and cultural rights. Centered on questions of jurisdiction and the proper characterization and limits of justiciability, its resolution has tremendous implications for the tools available to on-the-ground advocates, their real-world effectiveness and sustainability in adjudicatory and advocacy contexts alike, and the rationalization of the system's developing jurisprudence over the long-term.

This article book-ends a trilogy of pieces appearing in the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics by two sets of authors, …

Retiring Forum Non Conveniens, Maggie Gardner

Maggie Gardner

When it comes to transnational litigation in the federal courts, it is time to retire the doctrine of forum non conveniens. The doctrine, which allows judges to decline jurisdiction in cases they believe would be better heard in foreign courts, is meant to promote international comity and protect defendant fairness. But it is not well-designed for the former purpose, and given recent developments at the Supreme Court, it is dangerously redundant when it comes to the latter. This Article seeks to demythologize forum non conveniens, to question its continuing relevance, and to encourage the courts and Congress to narrow its …

United Nations Against Slavery: Unravelling Concepts, Institutions And Obligations, Vladislava Stoyanova

Michigan Journal of International Law

The article starts with a section containing a historical description (Part I). The turn to broader historical accounts is apposite since the engagement of international law with slavery, servitude, and forced labor predates the emergence of international human rights law. It is also important to clarify whether there is any continuity between these earlier engagements of international law and Article 8 of the ICCPR. When it comes to slavery, it is important to consider the practices to which this label was attached and how this still influences the contemporary understanding of the term. Notably, the terminological fragmentation between slavery and …

The “Right To Remain Here” As An Evolving Component Of Global Refugee Protection: Current Initiatives And Critical Questions, Daniel Kanstroom

Daniel Kanstroom

No abstract provided.

India’S Revised Model Bit: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?, Jesse Coleman, Kanika Gupta

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In December 2015, the Indian government approved the final text of its revised model bilateral investment treaty (BIT). Shortly thereafter, in February 2016, India published a joint interpretative statement to clarify its understanding of certain treaty provisions found in existing Indian treaties. These recent developments in Indian investment treaty policy are products of a multi-year review process ,prompted at least in part by the 2011 finding against India in the White Industries claim - the first such known finding against the state – and by several notices of dispute received following the determination in that case.

Remembering An Abolitionist, Ambassador John R. Miller (May 23, 1938-October 4, 2017), Eleanor Kennelly Gaetan, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

A memorial for Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, John R. Miller (May 23, 1938-October 4, 2017). Ambassador Miller believed modern-day slavery, encompassing sex trafficking and forced labor, requires a principled global offensive that the United States is morally obligated to lead. In the four formative years he led the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2002 to 2006, John Miller set the office’s course as diplomatically aggressive and programmatically creative. He made the annual Trafficking in Persons report more than a bureaucratic submission, putting daring heroes at the center, and insisting on compelling …

Unlocking Wrotham Park Damages: Lord Cairns' Act And Loss Of The Ability To Sue For Future Infringements, Alvin W. L. See

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article argues that Wrotham Park damages, if it is to be preserved as a term of art, is best understood as compensating the claimant for losing the ability to sue for future infringements. The claimant’s loss, which is prospective in nature, arises because the court, in exercise of the jurisdiction conferred by Lord Cairns’ Act, decides to award damages in lieu of an injunction as a means of achieving finality in the settlement of the dispute. The damages award is both the source of and the remedy for the loss. The recent attempts at expanding the availability of the …

Evaluating The Cayman Islands Bill Of Rights, Freedoms And Responsibilities: More Evolution Than Revolution, Vaughan Carter

Texas A&M Law Review

Evaluating the Cayman Islands Bill of Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities: More Evolution than Revolution

Where We're Going, We'll Need Roads! Building The Bridge To The Future: Public-Private Partnerships For Future Border Infrastructure Development, Jessica R. Lesnau

Texas A&M Law Review

In a world where global economies are increasingly interdependent, the United States, and its North American counterparts, Canada and Mexico, are booming sources of international trade. Now, more than ever, global competitiveness necessitates developments in U.S. infrastructure, especially at major border crossings where congestion and poor infrastructure create bottlenecks interfering with the free movement of goods. Questions pertaining to international border crossings circle the debate at the most crucial international border crossing in North America: the Ambassador Bridge, which spans the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. A legal battle rages over the proposed construction of a new …

Principled Negotiation: The Final Answer To The South China Sea Dispute, Hoa Nguyen

Texas A&M Law Review

Principled negotiation suggests that in any conflict there are interests that motivate a party’s claimed position. Identifying and focusing on these interests instead of the position itself is the best way to solve the underlying conflict, whether it concerns a family quarrel, a business contract, or an international settlement among nations. On the surface of the South China Sea dispute, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan all make conflicting claims over various features in the South China Sea, particularly the Spratly and Paracel Islands. However, in reality, each nation has particular interests in mind when asserting its claiming …

Legislative Requirements For Cyber Peacekeeping, Nikolay Akatyev, Joshua I. James

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Cyber Peacekeeping strives for the prevention, mitigation and cessation of cyber and physical conflicts. The creation of a Cyber Peacekeeping organization, however, has major legal and political implications. In this work we review current international legislation applicable for functions of Cyber Peacekeeping. Specifically, we analyze prominent works which contribute to definitions, law and ethics regulating cyber conflicts from the perspective of the creation of a CPK organization. Legislative and terminological foundations are analyzed and adopted from current practice. Further, this work analyzes guiding principles of global organizations such as ITU IMPACT, INTERPOL and regional organizations such as NATO and the …

Channeling Unilateralism, Maggie Gardner

Maggie Gardner

When crime reaches across borders to threaten human security or undermine democracy, states often respond by adopting multilateral treaties that obligate each of them to suppress the transnational crime at home. These treaties help, but only to the extent that parties comply with them. Because states generally cannot enforce their laws outside their own territory, transnational criminals can evade prosecution as long as some states are unable or unwilling to meet these treaty commitments. One solution for improving compliance with these treaties may be, counterintuitively, more unilateralism. Using case studies on transnational bribery and drug trafficking, as well as thick …

Parochial Procedure, Maggie Gardner

Maggie Gardner

The federal courts are often accused of being too parochial, favoring U.S. parties over foreigners and U.S. law over relevant foreign or international law. According to what this Article terms the “parochial critique,” the courts’ U.S.-centrism generates unnecessary friction with allies, regulatory conflict, and access-to-justice gaps. This parochialism is assumed to reflect the preferences of individual judges: persuade judges to like international law and transnational cases better, the standard story goes, and the courts will reach more cosmopolitan results. This Article challenges that assumption. I argue instead that parochial doctrines can develop even in the absence of parochial judges. Our …

Rjr Nabisco And The Runaway Canon, Maggie Gardner

Maggie Gardner

In last Term’s RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Community, the Court finished transforming the presumption against extraterritoriality from a tool meant to effectuate congressional intent into a tool for keeping Congress in check. In the hands of the RJR Nabisco majority, the presumption has become less a method for interpreting statutes than a pronouncement on the proper scope of access to U.S. courts, a pronouncement that Congress must labor to displace. Besides the worrisome implications for separation of powers, the majority’s opinion was also disappointing on practical grounds. By applying the presumption too aggressively, the Court missed an opportunity to …

Seeking Justice, Moving On, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Transitional justice measures should be used carefully to heal conflict wounds