Law Commons^™

...And The Twain Shall Meet?, Lance A. Compa

Lance A Compa

[Excerpt] No country or company should gain a commercial edge in international trade by jailing or killing union organizers, crushing independent union movements, or banning strikes. Gaining an advantage in labor costs should not depend on exploiting child labor or forced labor, or discriminating against women or oppressed ethnic groups. Deliberately exposing workers to life-threatening safety and health hazards, or holding wages and benefits below livable levels should not be permissible corporate strategies. But these are exactly the abuses that happen all too often in a rapidly globalized world trading system based on "free trade."

Human Rights And Powerlessness: Pathologies Of Choice And Substance, Makau Mutua

Journal Articles

The human rights corpus is a bundle of pathologies of choice and substance. But these pathologies are ideologically driven and inhere in the human rights movement because of the political choices and biases that are part of the cultural universe of human rights. In particular, the corpus is captive to thin notions of human rights that tend not to challenge deeply embedded social and economic assumptions and systems. The historical narrative of the human rights movement closely parallels the hegemonic rise of the West and hence the movement’s imprisonment in an intellectual project that casts the human being in the …

Crucial Role Of The States And Private International Law Treaties: A Model For Accommodating Globalization, The, Julian G. Ku

Missouri Law Review

This brief essay highlights the central and important role that state governments play in the development and integration of private international law treaties into the United States legal system. States play this central role even though, as some of the papers in this symposium have concluded, there are few, if any, constitutional constraints on the ability of the federal government to sign, ratify, and implement treaties that would displace state law. The primacy of states in the integration of private international law, this essay argues, points the way to a model of accommodation of other kinds of treaties affecting traditional …

Tales, Techs And Territories: Private International Law, Globalization, And The Legal Construction Of Borderlessness On The Internet, Andrea Slane

Law and Contemporary Problems

The Internet has often been described as "borderless," owing to the technical features of Internet communications that make content accessible to anyone with a network connection, regardless of his or her location. This borderlessness has been widely thought both to confound legal regimes relying on territoriality and to fundamentally create a crisis for jurisdictional determination of both public- and private-law matters. Here, Slane dissects the images of globalization at work in conflicts cases involving harms caused by postings on the Internet and demonstrates how these images work to produce a coherence for the field of conflicts as well as the …

The Anti-Network: Private Global Governance, Legal Knowledge, And The Legitimacy Of The State, Annelise Riles

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Global private law has become the source of both anxiety and euphoria. Inherent in this fascination is the assumption that global private law threatens the legitimacy of the state by taking over its functions through new techniques of governance. In this article, I build upon research in one arena of global private governance, the production of legal documentation for the global swap markets, to challenge the most prominent assumptions about private law beyond the state. I argue that rather than focusing on how global private law is or is not an artifact of state power, a body of private norms, …

Globalization And Housing Rights, Padraic Kenna

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article seeks to explore the relationship between the growing phenomenon of globalization and the field of housing rights. I begin with a general description of globalization, and move on to discuss its effect on homelessness, and on housing systems across the world. I examine the role of global corporations; the globalization of housing finance and real estate investment; the reordering of cities and slums; the idea of the minimalist state; and the effects of privatization. I examine the rise of governance networks and how they have created new patterns of making law; globalization's effect on housing policy; and its …

The Human Factor: Globalizing Ethical Standards In Drug Trials Through Market Exclusion, Fazal Khan

Scholarly Works

Given the tremendous financial reward that a blockbuster therapy might generate, there are strong incentives to move drug research and development to developing countries, which have minimal ethical guidelines and little transparency. The danger in this race for the prize--or for the bottom--is the exploitation of subaltern populations that have little legal recourse to hold drug companies accountable for the harm that those populations suffer as a result of unethical clinical trials. In other words, the drug industry is acutely aware that there is a minimal threat of costly civil suits and criminal sanctions for their ethical violations in impoverished …

The Limits Of Offshoring-Why The United States Should Keep Enforcement Of Human Rights Standards "In-House", John Mckenzie

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Slides: Threats To Biological Diversity: Global, Continental, Local, J. Michael Scott

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: J. Michael Scott, U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Idaho

38 slides

Regulatory Takings: A Real Globalization Of Property Rights?, Críspulo Marmolejo

Críspulo Marmolejo

This text analyzes basic aspects of the doctrine called “Regulatory Takings”, its relationship with Bilateral Investment Treaties, and how both factors have encouraged a global acceptance of this thesis. Property rights and expropriations really imply an analysis of many other issues related to political economy, public policy and how a particular interpretation of property rights affects many countries, especially in Latin America, Middle East, and other developing regions in the world. The current scenario in Latin America is such that there is inequality in the understanding of property rights and the efficiency of its protection. Therefore, countries without a clear …

The Proliferation Of Global Reits And The Cross-Borderization Of The Asian Market, Julius L. Sokol

San Diego International Law Journal

After a brief discussion on the history of REITs, this Article goes on to analyze their importance and role within the global and Asian economy. Next, the underlying motivations for legal amendments to the REIT structures are discussed, as well as the socio-economic benefits associated with coordinating liberal REIT legislation throughout Asia. Subsequently, this article analyzes the various regulatory aspects of the regimes in Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. In exploring their shortcomings, comparisons are made to the highly successful United States REIT structure. Given the history of our nation's regime, it goes without saying that …

The Evolution Of International Law, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Globalization, characterized by the inter-connectivity of persons, states, and non-state actors on a global plane, has led to the development of binding international law across several legal fields, namely, international human rights, international criminal law, and private international law. This Article explores the proliferation of actors, norms, and organizations, as well as the expansion of international jurisdiction that has underscored the development of international law over the last half century. The Article focuses on the impact of globalized international law on state actors, as well as on individuals, by reshaping their behavior in the international realm. In particular, this Article …

Waving Hello To Democratic Renewal, Christine Bell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Khanna’s argument is simple. American hegemony and the unipolar world have collapsed—without America noticing. The new world is tri-polar. America must compete with Europe’s soft power influence, and China’s economic power influence. The new global game for the “second world” (Turkey, South America, the former USSR “Stans”) is to play all three superpowers against each other, while pretending to be the friends of all.

The "White But Not Quite Man's Burden": Disrupting The Apogee Of Imperial Hegemony?, Anna M. Agathangelou

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The victory of late capitalism and its supreme reign through intensified war have been triumphantly trumpeted in popular media, especially since 1989 after the fall of the former Soviet Union. These aspects do indeed need to be understood and explained and Khanna attempts, in the tradition of realism/pragmatism, to do so.

Goodbye Hegemony, Hello.?, Eric A. Heinze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Parag Khanna’s analysis of American hegemonic decline paints a bleak picture for the future of America’s role in the emerging global order. He is correct to emphasize how the misguided policies of the Bush administration have done untold damage to America’s credibility, prestige, and overall influence in international affairs. It is thus difficult to find fault with such a sobering analysis of the immense challenges that lie ahead for the next U.S. president in the realm of foreign affairs.

March Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“Waving Goodbye to Hegemony” by Parag Khanna. New York Times Magazine. January 27, 2008.

Goodbye To Hegemony-Hello To Thinking Globally, Alison Brysk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

While I was pleased to see a knowledgeable commentator offer the promise of a fresh approach to the decline of American empire, alas Parag Khanna’s provocative essay does not escape the delusions of your father’s realpolitique. What purports to be a broad-minded analysis of the quest for “global equilibrium” under changing conditions, ends up being a playbook for the scramble for global goodies—with a disturbing dash of Huntingtonian Yellow Peril China-bashing. The real lessons here are deeper: the danger of asking the wrong question, and the need to bring global knowledge into a global framework to understand 21 st-century …

Beyond The Four Corners Of A Written Contract: A Global Challenge To U.S. Contract Law, Chunlin Leonhard

Chunlin Leonhard

U.S. contract law has developed on the basis of certain essential assumptions such as freedom of contract, autonomy and liberal individualism. Because of those basic assumptions, U.S. contract law primarily concerns itself with only protecting the resulting bargain reached by the parties. Relying on a set of well entrenched contract interpretation and construction principles, U.S. courts will generally refuse to look beyond the four corners of the written contract. Hence, in a U.S. court, a party is entitled to enforce terms of a written contact to the letter. U.S. contract law’s underlying assumptions, however, reflect the core values of the …

The Petrochina Syndrome: Regulating Capital Markets In The Anti-Globalization Era, Stephen F. Diamond

Stephen F. Diamond

This article argues that the process of globalization has generated a legitimation deficit that can be the source of wasteful, even destructive, social and political conflict. I stylize this outcome as "the PetroChina Syndrome," after a leading example of the kind of activity generated in response to globalization, the PetroChina Campaign, where a coalition of labor, human rights, environmental, anti-slavery and religious groups worked together to oppose the initial public offering of a major Chinese oil company led by Goldman Sachs. The article begins with a discussion of this important but largely unexplored dimension of the anti-globalization era triggered by …

Moving Beyond Markets And Minimalism: Democracy In The Era Of Globalization, Richard Burchill

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Democracy as Human Rights: Freedom and Equality in the Age of Globalization by Michael Goodhart. London: Routledge, 2005.

Reconstituting Japanese Law: International Norms And Domestic Litigation, Timothy Webster

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Essay proceeds in four parts. Part I situates these lawsuits in the context of Japan's growing ethnic diversity. Part II analyzes a decade of racial discrimination lawsuits in Japan, ultimately synthesizing the elements of a compensable act of racial discrimination under current Japanese law. Part III begins with a brief examination of the role of international law in Japan before turning to discussions between the Japanese government and U.N. bodies regarding the proper treatment of foreigners in Japan and the desirability of anti-discrimination laws. Part IV then discusses several failed attempts by national and local lawmakers to pass anti-discrimination …

Competing Legal Cultures And Legal Reform: The Battle Of Chile, James M. Cooper

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article explores the competition that exists between U.S. and German legal cultures and examines Chilean legal reform efforts since the late 1990s as a case study of this competition. A country's legal culture is comprised of the self-governing rules and operations of national and regional bar associations, the format of legal education, the structure of the legal and judicial profession, the role of the judiciary, jurisprudential style, and the reputation of the legal sector according to the general public. The influence of predominant legal cultures on developing nations has been explored in a number of contexts, while the importance …

"Think Glocal, Act Glocal": The Praxis Of Social Justice Lawyering In The Global Era, Lauren Carasik

Faculty Scholarship

Millions of people in the world struggle to survive in extreme economic deprivation, and deteriorating conditions have highlighted the failure of international development policies to "lift all boats." The complex and globalized context of poverty compels social justice lawyers to innovate transnational advocacy strategies, expanding human rights norms as part of those efforts. This Article suggests a cross-border, collaborative advocacy model for clinical education. The model is premised on theories of global interconnectedness that integrate progressive lawyering, social change theory and anti-poverty work in the global era, thereby contributing to the discourse about and praxis of combating international economic injustice. …

Promoting Ethical Standards In Globalized Drug Trials Through Market Exclusion, Fazal Khan

Popular Media

With the increasing accessibility of cheap internet communication, human research subjects and concerned citizens in developing nations can be empowered to effectuate much of the surveillance and monitoring activities of clinical drug trials. For instance, WHO could maintain a multilingual website for the reporting of alleged ethical violations. A credible report could then prompt WHO officials to obtain a sworn statement from the reporter, which would then trigger an investigation into the alleged ethical abuses. Verified reports of ethical abuses can then be taken into account by drug regulatory agencies when determining whether a drug should obtain market approval.

Globalization And Trade Initiatives In The Arab World: Historical Context, Progress To Date, And Prospects For The Future, Susan L. Sakmar

University of San Francisco Law Review

This Article discusses whether external trade intervention, such as the MEFTA Initiative proposed, will lead to greater economic integration of the Arab world into the multilateral trading regime, and whether MEFTA can serve as the catalyst to enhance intra-regional trade and investment.

Off To Work We Go: Creating An Efficient Labor Force Through European Union Employment Regulation Of Third-Country Nationals, Lindsey Lovingood

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis: Will It Change Foreign Investment In Us Markets?, Lindsay Joyner

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

Curse Or Cure? China, Africa, And The Effects Of Unconditioned Wealth, Patrick J. Keenan

Patrick J. Keenan

This article argues that the behavior of many countries is affected by the manner in which they receive financial support. Using China's recent activities in Africa as a sort of natural experiment, I show that unconditioned wealth can produce negative social outcomes without leading to sustained economic growth.

Financial Globalization And Human Rights, Patrick J. Keenan

Patrick J. Keenan

This article develops a model of the enforcement of human rights that accounts for financial globalization. First, I argue that, in practical terms, the traditional approach to protecting human rights by documenting violations of human rights to embarrass states into changing their ways is becoming much less likely to succeed. This reputational approach, often referred to as "naming and shaming," has long been the primary mechanism of enforcing human rights norms. Shaming was sometimes accompanied by a form of economic shunning, with countries who violated human rights norms finding it more difficult to find trading partners in the developed world. …

Sovereign Wealth Funds And Social Arrears: Should Debts To Citizens Be Treated Differently Than Debts To Other Creditors?, Patrick J. Keenan

Patrick J. Keenan

Sovereign wealth funds are investment vehicles by which governments invest some of a nation’s wealth in international financial markets. Some the world’s poorest countries, often with fragile democracies or despotic governments, have been able to amass staggering amounts of wealth in these nominally private funds. For most scholars, the principal worry about these funds is that they make possible investments in pursuit of political, not economic, goals, and thereby strategically harm other countries or the international financial markets. Thus much of the debate about regulating sovereign wealth funds has centered on the international impact of these funds. There has been …