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Full-Text Articles in Law

Business Methods, Technology, And Discrimination, Daniel Harris Brean Dec 2017

Business Methods, Technology, And Discrimination, Daniel Harris Brean

Daniel Harris Brean

The United States is obligated under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) treaty to make patent rights available and enjoyable without discrimination as to the “field of technology” of the invention.  No specific areas of technology may be singled out for unjustified special treatment.  Yet the United States is doing just that with respect to computer-implemented business methods.  Doctrinally, such methods are subject to an especially high bar for patentability.  Statutorily, patents on such methods may be challenged in invalidity proceedings that are exclusively available for so-called “covered business method patents.” The law seems to reflect a skepticism …


Natural Hazards, Human Actors, Serious Harm: Refugee Protection Through Understanding The Social Construction Of Disasters, Matthew Scott Jul 2015

Natural Hazards, Human Actors, Serious Harm: Refugee Protection Through Understanding The Social Construction Of Disasters, Matthew Scott

Matthew Scott

The occurrence of a natural hazard event is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for the unfolding of a ‘natural’ disaster. Disasters result when individuals and communities are exposed and vulnerable to natural hazards, such as droughts, floods and earthquakes. In their turn, exposure and vulnerability are social facts that are often closely correlated with discrimination, for example against women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, as well as for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion. Adopting the perspective that sees disasters as socially constructed in this way, the scope of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status …


Religious Freedom In The Jurisprudence Of The Egyptian And European Court Of Human Rights, Saba Mahmood, Peter G. Danchin May 2013

Religious Freedom In The Jurisprudence Of The Egyptian And European Court Of Human Rights, Saba Mahmood, Peter G. Danchin

Peter G. Danchin

No abstract provided.


Law And Racism In An Asian Setting: An Analysis Of The British Rule Of Hong Kong, Richard Klein Jul 2011

Law And Racism In An Asian Setting: An Analysis Of The British Rule Of Hong Kong, Richard Klein

Richard Daniel Klein

No abstract provided.


Immigration Laws As Instruments Of Discrimination: Legislation Designed To Limit Chinese Immigration Into The United Kingdom, Richard Klein Jul 2011

Immigration Laws As Instruments Of Discrimination: Legislation Designed To Limit Chinese Immigration Into The United Kingdom, Richard Klein

Richard Daniel Klein

No abstract provided.


Delinking Disproportionality From Discrimination: Procedural Burdens As Proxy For Substantive Visions, Maxwell O. Chibundu Jul 2011

Delinking Disproportionality From Discrimination: Procedural Burdens As Proxy For Substantive Visions, Maxwell O. Chibundu

Maxwell O. Chibundu

No abstract provided.


Perspective On Economic Critiques Of Disability Law: The Multifaceted Federal Role In Balancing Equity And Efficiency, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson Jan 2011

Perspective On Economic Critiques Of Disability Law: The Multifaceted Federal Role In Balancing Equity And Efficiency, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Given the recent enactment of the ADA Amendments Act, this article analyzes a Rawlsian philosophical framework with which to view society’s treatment of people with disabilities. Allocation of resources remains a pervasive concern of economists and attorneys alike. Need, merit, and market compete as means by which to decide who should receive what benefits. This article concludes that while economics can play a powerful role in the initial allocation of limited resources there remains a multifaceted federal role to confront discrimination and promote equity.


The High Cost Of Freedom: A Legal And Policy Analysis Of Shelter Detention For Victims Of Trafficking, Anne T. Gallagher, Elaine Pearson Jan 2010

The High Cost Of Freedom: A Legal And Policy Analysis Of Shelter Detention For Victims Of Trafficking, Anne T. Gallagher, Elaine Pearson

Anne T Gallagher

In countries around the world it is common practice for victims of human trafficking who have been “rescued” or who have escaped from situations of exploitation to be placed and detained in public or private shelters. In the most egregious situations, victims can be effectively imprisoned in such shelters for months, even years. This article uses field-based research to document this largely unreported phenomenon. It then considers the international legal aspects of victim detention in shelters and weighs the common justifications for such detention from legal, policy, and practical perspectives.


Women And Private Military And Security Companies, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak Jan 2010

Women And Private Military And Security Companies, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Lack of clarity about the application of international law norms and inadequacies of existing regulatory regimes covering private military and security companies have reinforced concerns about transparency and accountability in respect of gender-related violence, harassment and discrimination. This chapter focuses on the main issues and legal concerns raised by the impact of the privatisation of war on women, both as PMSC employees and civilians. Part I highlights how armed conflict, civil unrest, occupation and transition have a detrimental effect upon the lives of women with particular reference to safety, displacement, health and economic disadvantage. Part II provides a summary of …


From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson Jan 2010

From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

As William Faulkner explained, we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. This article analyzes the continuing constitutional struggle for civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation, concentrating on the constitution state's critique of its constitution. Connecticut is currently at the forefront of recognizing civil rights. Connecticut has ruled that discrimination against gay and lesbian persons is subject to intermediate scrutiny, which has historically been used to review laws that employ quasi-suspect classifications such as gender. Civil marriage for same sex couples is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. …


Cumulative Jurisprudence And Hate Speech: Sexual Orientation And Analogies To Disability, Age And Obesity, Eric Heinze Jan 2009

Cumulative Jurisprudence And Hate Speech: Sexual Orientation And Analogies To Disability, Age And Obesity, Eric Heinze

Prof. Eric Heinze, Queen Mary University of London

Non-discrimination norms in human rights instruments generally enumerate specified categories for protection, such as race, ethnicity, sex or religion, etc. They often omit express reference to sexual minorities.

Through open-ended interpretation, however, sexual minorities subsequently become incorporated. That ‘cumulative jurisprudence’ yields protections for sexual minorities through norms governing privacy, employment, age of consent, or freedoms of speech and association.

Hate speech bans, too, are often formulated with reference to traditionally recognised categories, particularly race and religion. It might be expected that the same cumulative jurisprudence should therefore be applied to include sexual minorities. In this article, that approach is challenged. …


Post-Colonialism, Gender, And Customary Injustice: Widows In African Societies, Uche Ewelukwa Dec 2001

Post-Colonialism, Gender, And Customary Injustice: Widows In African Societies, Uche Ewelukwa

Uche Ewelukwa

By amending discriminatory laws and practices related to the treatment of widows in Africa, widows can gain new rights based on evolving international human rights standards on equality. In Nigeria, both common law and statutes perpetuate discrimination against widows by subjecting them to dehumanizing treatment. The current laws ignore the deep social changes that have been present in Africa since the onset of colonialism. Due to the piecemeal way in which African legal systems were constructed, patently discriminatory laws are routinely upheld by the courts. This is done despite constitutional provisions espousing the principles of equality and non-discrimination, thereby creating …