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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Odious Debt Doctrine After Iraq, Jai Damle
The Odious Debt Doctrine After Iraq, Jai Damle
Law and Contemporary Problems
The odious debt doctrine has experienced renewed popularity in the past few years; it has been heralded by academics, political commentators, economists, and politicians as a mechanism to alleviate burdens imposed by illegitimate rulers. In its classic formulation, the doctrine provides that a regime's debt is odious, and thus unenforceable, if the state's people did not consent to the debt, the proceeds from the debt were not used for the benefit of the people, and the regime's creditors had knowledge of the first two conditions. In 2003, the newly instated Iraqi regime began negotiations to restructure that country's debt, much …
Odious Debt In Retrospect, Daniel K. Tarullo
Odious Debt In Retrospect, Daniel K. Tarullo
Law and Contemporary Problems
In the eighty years since Alexander Sack coined the phrase "odious debt," academics and activists have periodically rediscovered Sack's idea, often arguing for its application or extension-to this point, in vain. Here, Tarullo reveals the degree to which current interest in the problem of odious debt is intertwined with other problems that strike more critically at the well-being of developing-and emerging-market countries. He reasons that the necessarily complex effort needed to institutionalize a doctrine of odious debt is a potentially effective organizing principle for generating the political will to address these other persistent, debilitating problems.
Sovereign Debt Restructuring, Odious Debt, And The Politics Of Debt Relief, Robert K. Rasmussen
Sovereign Debt Restructuring, Odious Debt, And The Politics Of Debt Relief, Robert K. Rasmussen
Law and Contemporary Problems
Odious debt is more of a literature than a doctrine. Going back to at least the 1920s, one can find arguments that countries should not have to pay back debts that are labeled "odious." The central intuition is that the citizens of a country should not have to pay for the debts incurred by a prior "odious" regime when those funds did not benefit these citizens. It is simply not right to ask people to pay for funds from which they did not benefit, especially when the lender knew of this fact when it made its loan. Here, Rasmussen comments …
The Anarchist In The Coffee House: A Brief Consideration Of Local Culture, The Free Culture Movement, And Prospects For A Global Public Sphere, Siva Vaidhyanathan
The Anarchist In The Coffee House: A Brief Consideration Of Local Culture, The Free Culture Movement, And Prospects For A Global Public Sphere, Siva Vaidhyanathan
Law and Contemporary Problems
Jürgen Habermas' influential historical work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, describes a moment in the social and political history of Europe in which a rising bourgeoisie was able to gather in salons and cafes to discuss matters of public concern. The public sphere represented a set of sites and conventions in the eighteenth century in which (almost exclusively male) members of the bourgeoisie could forge a third space to mediate between domestic concerns and matters of state. Here, Vaidhyanathan examines one particular Public Sphere experiment--the rise of a global Free Culture Movement that aims to limit the spread …
An Essay For Keisha (And A Response To Professor Ford), Barbara J. Flagg
An Essay For Keisha (And A Response To Professor Ford), Barbara J. Flagg
Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy
In chapter 3 I build on this conclusion and argue that political solidarity based on a common relationship to oppression and domination is the appropriate focus of (racial) identity politics and legal rights assertion; by contrast cultural claims are more contestable on both descriptive and normative terms and should be left to more fluid domains of conflict resolution such as social dialogue, the democratic process and the market economy . . . . With respect to the "foreseeable effects" model, the 1995 test for the first prong, the existence of a foreseeable impact, clearly encompasses more than cultural difference.94 In …
The Political Economy Of Unfairness In U.S. Health Policy, Jonathan Oberlander
The Political Economy Of Unfairness In U.S. Health Policy, Jonathan Oberlander
Law and Contemporary Problems
Oberlander discusses the political economy of unfairness in US health policy by first highlighting the moral issues raised by the US's system of financing medical care and then by analyzing the political dynamics that sustain that system.
Just Do It, Girardeau A. Spann
Left Out, Louis Michael Seidman
Left Out, Louis Michael Seidman
Law and Contemporary Problems
Seidman presents information on the collapse of the progressive left's position on criminal justice. The faltering of the left in this area is due to inherent contradictions in their position which have weakened their stance overall.
The Supply And Demand Sides Of Judicial Policy-Making (Or, Why Be So Positive About The Judicialization Of Politics?), Cornell W. Clayton
The Supply And Demand Sides Of Judicial Policy-Making (Or, Why Be So Positive About The Judicialization Of Politics?), Cornell W. Clayton
Law and Contemporary Problems
A major reason that many people are intensely interested in who sits on the Supreme Court is that legal decisions can have great influence on the effectuation or frustration of political objectives. Clayton does not view the trend toward the "judicialization" of politics as necessarily antithetical to democratic values because Court decisions are within the mainstream of contemporary political values and electoral preferences.
Comment On Ferejohn’S “Judicializing Politics, Politicizing Law”, Michael C. Munger
Comment On Ferejohn’S “Judicializing Politics, Politicizing Law”, Michael C. Munger
Law and Contemporary Problems
Munger comments on John Ferejohn's recent article in which Ferejohn examines some key issues raised by the exercise of legislative power by the judicial branch. Ferejohn claims that Americans have chosen to accept the judicialization of politics, leaving the courts the option of exercising power inappropriately. Munger argues that while the courts do have power, they forebear from exercising it for long periods of time.
Deliberative Democracy’S Attempt To Turn Politics Into Law, Christopher H. Schroeder
Deliberative Democracy’S Attempt To Turn Politics Into Law, Christopher H. Schroeder
Law and Contemporary Problems
Deliberative democracy is one of the most discussed contemporary political theories. Schroeder argues that its central claim can be understood as the claim that politics needs to become more like law. While specific recommendations to make specific decision processes more deliberative are fair, the attempt to efface the distinctively non-lawlike attributes of politics entirely cannot withstand scrutiny.
Judicializing Politics, Politicizing Law, John Ferejohn
Judicializing Politics, Politicizing Law, John Ferejohn
Law and Contemporary Problems
Since WWII there has been a profound shift in power away from legislatures and toward courts and other legal institutions around the world. It is no surprise that appointments to both the US Supreme Court and to other federal courts have become partisan political issues. Ferejohn argues that what is at stake, institutionally, is the allocation of legislative power--the power to establish general rules of prospective application.
Deliberation Disconnected: What It Takes To Improve Civic Competence, Arthur Lupia
Deliberation Disconnected: What It Takes To Improve Civic Competence, Arthur Lupia
Law and Contemporary Problems
Lupia argues that the suggestions of those who advocate deliberative democracy to incorporate more and more law-like precepts into politics will not achieve the ultimate ambition of deliberative theory, which is to have the resolution of disputes turn on nothing but the force of the better argument. Lupia discusses mechanisms to build civic competence by creating conditions in which the better argument has an improved change of winning the battle.
Bush V. Gore And The French Revolution: A Tentative List Of Some Early Lessons, Sanford Levinson
Bush V. Gore And The French Revolution: A Tentative List Of Some Early Lessons, Sanford Levinson
Law and Contemporary Problems
Levinson examines the Supreme Court's decision in "Bush v. Gore" as an entry-point into understanding American constitutional culture. "Law," as people ordinarily think of it, may be much less important than people might believe (or hope) with regard to controlling politics. But "law" in another way may have Americans gripped within a constitutional iron cage that makes it next to impossible to engage in a cogent discussion of what might ail contemporary American polity and, concomitantly, what might be needed by way of reforms.
When A King Speaks Of God; When God Speaks To A King: Faith, Politics, Tax Exempt Status, And The Constitution In The Clinton Administration, Randy Lee
Law and Contemporary Problems
In considering the guidance the executive branch of government has provided to resolve questions relating to religious freedom and the issue of church and state, Lee draws upon the positions of both the IRS and the President. Initially, he concludes that when the state requires churches committed to speaking truth in the public square to choose between publicizing their beliefs and remaining tax-exempt, it burdens the free exercise of religion.
Religion And The Law In The Clinton Era: An Anti-Madisonian Legacy, Marci A. Hamilton
Religion And The Law In The Clinton Era: An Anti-Madisonian Legacy, Marci A. Hamilton
Law and Contemporary Problems
Hamilton first examines Pres Bill Clinton's rhetoric, and then his Administration's actions to promote religious free exercise. She hopes to show that the Administration has integrated religious entities into administrative agenda-setting, which is consciously intended to serve religious ends.
The Culture Of Belief And The Politics Of Religion, William P. Marshall
The Culture Of Belief And The Politics Of Religion, William P. Marshall
Law and Contemporary Problems
Religion has stood at the center of the American stage during the years of Bill Clinton's presidency. Marshall argues that the political manifestation of religion is not confined to the instances when religion becomes involved in express political activity, such as lobbying or partisan politics, but rather, religion must be understood as a pervasive social force that has an inevitable political effect.
Putting Law And Politics In The Right Places — Reforming The Independent Counsel Statute, Christopher H. Schroeder
Putting Law And Politics In The Right Places — Reforming The Independent Counsel Statute, Christopher H. Schroeder
Law and Contemporary Problems
The fundamental flaw in the independent counsel statute consists of its attempt to convert a political decision, the decision whether to refer to a case of public corruption to an investigator outside normal prosecutorial offices, into a legal one. When the Independent Counsel Reauthorization Act of 1994 expires on Jun 30, 1999, it should not be reenacted unless this flaw is eliminated.
Comment, Roy A. Schotland
Comment, Roy A. Schotland
Law and Contemporary Problems
The greatest current threat to judicial independence is the increasing politicization of judicial elections. They are becoming nastier, noisier and costlier.
Tqm-Ing Omb: Or Why Regulatory Review Under Executive Order 12,291 Works Poorly And What President Clinton Should Do About It, E. Donald Elliott
Tqm-Ing Omb: Or Why Regulatory Review Under Executive Order 12,291 Works Poorly And What President Clinton Should Do About It, E. Donald Elliott
Law and Contemporary Problems
Reflections are presented on how Pres Clinton should improve the deeply troubled relationship between the OMB and other government agencies. No president would dream of abolishing review of agency actions by the OMB.
Comment: Confrontation Or Cooperation For Mutual Gain, Jonathan R. Macey
Comment: Confrontation Or Cooperation For Mutual Gain, Jonathan R. Macey
Law and Contemporary Problems
Terry Moe and Scott Wilson's (1994) criticism of the role of the president in Positive Political Theory is examined. The theory that the concentration of political power in the hands of the president is beneficial to the US Since the president is better able to resist particularized pressures is questioned.
A Positive Theory Of Legislative Intent, Edward P. Schwartz, Pablo T. Spiller, Santiago Urbiztondo
A Positive Theory Of Legislative Intent, Edward P. Schwartz, Pablo T. Spiller, Santiago Urbiztondo
Law and Contemporary Problems
The debate about statutory interpretation has been affected by the introduction of social choice theory into the study of legal institutions. The positive political theory of legislative intent is examined.
On Pressing Mcnollgast To The Limits: The Problem Of Regulatory Costs, Michael Asimow
On Pressing Mcnollgast To The Limits: The Problem Of Regulatory Costs, Michael Asimow
Law and Contemporary Problems
The rationale for and the utility of the procedures that an administrative agency must follow in order to adopt rules are discussed. The Administrative Procedure Act's rulemaking procedure is examined for cost effectiveness.
A Comment On The Positive Canons Project, Miriam R. Jorgensen, Kenneth A. Shepsle
A Comment On The Positive Canons Project, Miriam R. Jorgensen, Kenneth A. Shepsle
Law and Contemporary Problems
Using the machinery of positive political theory in order to make some sense of legislative intent contains a number of provocative possibilities. Issues that require attention in this theory are addressed.
Congress, The Fcc, And The Search For The Public Trustee, Neal Devins
Congress, The Fcc, And The Search For The Public Trustee, Neal Devins
Law and Contemporary Problems
The features of constitutional politics involving independent agencies are discussed through an examination of FCC efforts to repudiate regulatory initiatives designed to facilitate diversity in broadcasting.
Invisible Cities: The Constitutional Status Of Direct Democracy In A Democratic Republic, Douglas H. Hsiao
Invisible Cities: The Constitutional Status Of Direct Democracy In A Democratic Republic, Douglas H. Hsiao
Duke Law Journal
No abstract provided.
Checks Without Balance: Executive Office Oversight Of The Environmental Protection Agency, Robert V. Percival
Checks Without Balance: Executive Office Oversight Of The Environmental Protection Agency, Robert V. Percival
Law and Contemporary Problems
The tension between the rule of law and the politics of regulation reflected in oversight by the Executive Office of the President of the EPA. The presidential use of regulatory review and the congressional responses it has provoked pose new challenges to theories of the impact of separation of powers on federal policymaking.
The Tragedy Of Distrust In The Implementation Of Federal Environmental Law, Richard J. Lazarus
The Tragedy Of Distrust In The Implementation Of Federal Environmental Law, Richard J. Lazarus
Law and Contemporary Problems
The relationship between the EPA and Congress Since the founding of the EPA in 1970 has been marked by congressional oversight that has seriously frustrated the development and implementation of federal environmental protection policy. A destructive cycle has emerged: agency distrust has led to the failure of its policies, creating further distrust and further failure.