Law Commons^™

Competition Advocacy: Time For A Rethink Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries , Simon J. Evenett

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper examines the conventional wisdom concerning competition advocacy, paying particular attention to the applicability of such wisdom to developing countries. The definition of competition advocacy, its evaluation, and the likelihood of its successful implementation are discussed in some detail. The paper concludes with a call for considerably more thought about what, hitherto, has been one of the relatively uncontroversial aspects of many competition authorities' activities.

Choice Of Law In Contracts: A Chinese Approach, Mo Zhang

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article attempts to emphasize that the choice of law analysis in China is distinct from that of other countries, despite the fact that many of the theories and approaches originate in Western countries. The underlying argument is that the ongoing economic reform in China has become a dramatic and driving force for change in the country. This change necessarily shapes the development of choice of law in China in a unique way, and also de. monstrates how China is getting closer to the rest of world while searching for the "China brand" theory and approach in this regard. What …

Same Plant, Different Soil: Japan's New Merger Guidelines Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries, Salil K. Mehra

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Japan's New Merger Guidelines ("New Merger Guidelines"), issued by the Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") in May 2004, mark a turning point for antitrust in Japan. It is likely that Japan's New Merger Guidelines will be seen as a model for legal transplants in the future. Despite the similarities between Japan's New Merger Guidelines and the U.S. Horizontal Merger Guidelines ("U.S. Merger Guidelines"), Japan's New Merger Guidelines are unlikely to be a "success" in the same way that the U.S. Merger Guidelines have been a success since their adoption by the American competition agencies. Although Japan is far from a …

Political Economy Of Competition Law: The Case Of Thailand, The Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries, Deunden Nikomborirak

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper will address the political economy of competition law in Thailand. Section II will provide a historical perspective of Thai Competition Law. Section III will show what went wrong with the law's implementation since its promulgation in 1999. Section IV will assess the implications of the lack of competition law enforcement on business conduct and the establishment of a competition regime in Thailand. Section V will summarize major lessons learned in the Thai case that may be relevant to other developing countries considering adopting such a law or facing difficulties in its implementation. Finally, Section VI will draw conclusions …

At The Crossroads: Making Competition Law Effective In Pakistan Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries , Joseph Wilson

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Just as the first merger wave of the late 1880's in the United States resulted in the birth of Sherman Act, the recent global merger wave of the early 2000's, coupled with the growing liberalization of trade, prompted a large number of developing and transitional economies to adopt competition laws. Pakistan is one of the few developing countries with a competition law in place for more than three decades: the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Ordinance of 1970 ("MRTPO" or the "Ordinance"). While the Ordinance contained fairly strong provisions, the agency entrusted to implement it, the Monopolies Control Authority ("MCA"), …

Taiwan's Fair Trade Act: Achieving The Right Balance Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries, Pijan Wu, Caroline Thomas

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Adopting competition laws is part-and-parcel of a global trend. Indeed, it is striking to see how many countries first implemented competition laws within the last twenty-five years. In 2000, Frederic Jenny commented that "today between 80 and 100 countries have a competition law or are in the process of adopting one whereas ten years ago no more than 50 countries had such a law." This compares to less than ten countries in 1960. Promulgated by a Presidential Order on February 4, 1991 and coming into force one year thereafter, Taiwan's Fair Trade Act ("FTA") must be interpreted in this context. …

Anticipating Regulation Of New Telecommunications Technologies: An Argument For The European Model, Jessica Finley

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper argues that the United States should look to the European Community in order to rework its telecommunications regulatory structure. More specifically, the United States should reconsider its current system of regulating various telecommunications sectors separately and follow the European Commission by developing a "single regulatory framework." By regulating the telecommunications transmission separately from telecommunications content, the United States can better anticipate emerging technologies rather than struggling to catch up with new technologies as they exceed the reach of the current regulatory framework. Part II will discuss the U.S. and European telecommunications regulatory frameworks. Part III will discuss the …

Competition Policy And Practice In South Africa: Promoting Competition For Development Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries , Trudi Hartzenberg

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

South Africa's new competition policy and law were drafted during the early years of South Africa's new democracy, a period characterized by important domestic policy and regulatory reform. These reforms were not only part of the comprehensive program for the country's economic, social, and political transformation, but also its integration into the global economy after decades of isolation under the apartheid regime. In the case of competition policy, however, concerns about specific development challenges entrenched by the previous era of political and economic control, had to be explicitly reflected in the new South Africa's law and policy. It was clear …

Development Of Competition Law In Vietnam In The Face Of Economic Reforms And Global Integration, The Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries, Alice Pham

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article examines the development of a competition regime in Vietnam, with all of the existing difficulties and problems. In the context of this socialist country, we examine the economic reform and integration process and the challenges of liberalization and globalization. Finally, we provide some thoughts for the future. Specifically, Section II addresses the emergence of Vietnam's competition law since the 1980's. Section III describes some of the key legal provisions of the Competition Law of Vietnam. Section IV evaluates the current challenges in the implementation of the Vietnam competition regime, while Section V proposes some recommendations.

Korea's Competition Law And Policies In Perspective Symposium On Competition Law And Policy In Developing Countries , Youngjin Jung, Seung Wha Chang

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of competition law and competition policy in Korea and to analyze their relationship with other important national economic policies. Section II provides a historical survey of the country's competition law and policy. Section III examines the major components of the law and evaluates how the antitrust authority has actually enforced its provisions in practice. It also highlights elements of the law that have been tailored to Korea's unique economic circumstances. Section IV focuses on the relationship between competition policy and related economic policies-in particular, industrial policy and trade and investment …

Seal Of Disapproval: International Implications Of South Carolina's Notary Statute, T. David Hoyle

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

Reserving, Edward T. Swaine

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The law of treaty reservations - which enables states to ask that their multilateral obligations be tailored to their individual preferences - has been controversial for over fifty years, and is at present subject to pitched battles within (and between) the International Law Commission and numerous other international institutions. There is broad agreement that existing scheme under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties involves a sharp tradeoff between honoring the unalloyed consent of non-reserving states (that is, those agreeing to the treaty as originally negotiated, which may object to proposed reservations) and respecting the conditioned consent of reserving …

Review Essay: 'Seeing Beyond The Limits Of International Law,' Jack L. Goldsmith And Eric A. Posner, 'The Limits Of International Law', Paul Schiff Berman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In 'The Limits of International Law,' Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner use the simplifying assumptions of rational choice theory in an attempt to demonstrate that international law has no independent valence whatsoever. Rather, according to the authors, each state single-mindedly pursues its own rational interest and obeys international legal norms only to the extent that such norms serve those pre-existing interests. In this Review Essay, I argue that their vision of international law is deeply flawed. In particular, I take issue with the authors' assumption that states simply have pre-existing unitary interests that they then rationally pursue. First, I argue …

Dialectical Regulation, Territoriality, And Pluralism, Paul Schiff Berman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Scholarly and policy debates about territoriality and nation-state sovereignty are turning to the ways in which such concepts might be changing in an increasingly interconnected world of interlocking governance structures and systems of communication. Robert Ahdieh's provocative and generative essay, Dialectical Regulation, 38 Conn. L. Rev. 863 (2005-2006), attempts a model for understanding this new plural order. He argues that intersystemic regulation is now a significant legal reality, and analyzes the types of interactions we would expect to see among these multiple regulatory authorities. Ahdieh aims to define dialectical regulation, in which regulators exist in some kind of formal structural …

Nongovernmental Organizations And International Law, Steve Charnovitz

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article examines NGOs and their advocacy activities aimed at influencing international relations. The article addresses longstanding issues such as the legal status of NGOs, as well as new problems such as whether NGO lobbying in intergovernmental forums is democratically legitimate. In doing so, the article draws upon past scholarship to shed light on the guiding ideas in the contemporary debate regarding NGOs. Part I examines issues regarding the identity of NGOs and then catalogs the ways that state practice incorporates NGOs into authoritative decision making. Part II looks at the legal status of NGOs in international law. Part III …

Restoring (And Risking) Interest In International Law, Edward T. Swaine

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Jack Goldsmith of Harvard Law School and Eric Posner of the University of Chicago Law School articulate a comprehensive and engaging theory of state behaviors in their new book, “The Limits of International Law,” but with several internal flaws. Their book uses rational choice theory to explain how states act rationally to maximize their interests, and how, in doing so, states align themselves (sometimes) with international law. This book review argues that while Limits is a skilled and pioneering work that deserves to be taken seriously, it also suffers from tensions and over-generalizations that undermine its claims. As a result, …

The Wall And The Law: A Tale Of Two Judgements, Susan M. Akram, S. Michael Lynk

Faculty Scholarship

The seminal rulings in 2004 by the International Court of Justice and the Israeli High Court on the legality of the wall/barrier that Israel is building through the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem provide a study in contrast. While both judgements were critical of the wall/barrier, their judicial approaches and legal conclusions were strikingly divergent, particularly given that the two courts were purporting to rely upon the same principles of international law. The judgements also elicited quite different political and diplomatic reactions, especially among the parties most involved in the Israel/Palestine conflict. This article explores the legal analysis and …

Centennial Essays: Editors' Introduction, Lori Fisler Damrosch, Bernard H. Oxman

Faculty Scholarship

The first words of the first essay published in our pages pose a challenge as prescient as it is timely:

The increase of popular control over national conduct, which marks the political development of our time, makes it constantly more important that the great body of the people in each country should have a just conception of their international rights and duties.

With this precept in mind, we begin our celebration of the one-hundredth anniversary of the American Journal of lnternational Law and its publisher, the American Society of International Law.

South Korea's National Security Law: A Tool Of Oppression In An Insecure World, Diane B. Kraft

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In September 2004, the ruling party in South Korea, along with two opposition parties, called for the abolishment of the 1948 anti-communist National Security Law. The following month, Amnesty International, a long-time critic of the law, officially called for the law's repeal. The law had been enacted in 1948 in response to threats from communist North Korea, but has long been used by the government to silence legitimate opposition in South Korea. This Comment will examine South Korea's National Security Law as viewed by its domestic supporters and critics, as well as by the international community. Part I will consider …

The Cape Town Approach: A New Method Of Making International Law, Mark J. Sundahl

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The use of multilateral treaties in the field of international commercial law has been in a state of steady decline. Traditional treaty law has been gradually replaced in recent years by softer methods of making international law, such as the use of restatements and model laws. Some scholars even claim that treaty law is dead or dying. This Article explains how the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment (which entered into force on March 1, 2006) provides an innovative approach to the creation of treaties that promises to revive the status of treaties in international law. The …

Diverging Perspectives On Electronic Contracting In The U.S. And Eu, Jane K. Winn, Brian H. Bix

Cleveland State Law Review

Margaret Jane Radin's paper discusses the ways modern technologies have prompted new thinking within and about property, and the way the legal response has failed to take sufficiently into account the countervailing considerations that have shaped earlier Property Law developments. Some new technologies have also caused intellectual and practical struggles within Contract Law. This paper will consider some of the developments of Contract Law related to these changes, in particular the transactions relating to the sale, leasing or free use of computer software and the purchase of computers. Part I of this paper introduces the topic and offers an overview …

Bilateralism Under The World Trade Organization, Y.S. Lee

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The establishment of the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), which replaced the five decades of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ("GATT") regime,' has significantly reinforced multilateral control over international trade on a global scale. As of October 2005, membership in the WTO has reached 148 nations, including the majority of former Soviet bloc and other communist countries,2 making the WTO the "United Nations of International Trade.",3 WTO disciplines have significant impact on world trade today; they have been enforced by the monitoring activities of various WTO bodies and by strengthened dispute resolution mechanisms. In addition, a significant number of …

The Patent Cooperation Treaty: At The Center Of The International Patent System, Jay Erstling

Faculty Scholarship

In view of the fact that the PCT is composed of almost 130 countries and that more than 100 national and regional patent offices, as well as WIPO itself, perform PCT functions, it is remarkable that the system operates so smoothly and continues to gain momentum. Perhaps the system’s greatest strength comes from the immense diversity of legal, linguistic, and national cultures that constitute the PCT. While the system has served to harmonize divergent practices, it has also been obliged to accommodate to the sometimes inflexible peculiarities of national law and procedure. The PCT’s ability to strike a balance between …

Foreign Relations As A Matter Of Interpretation: The Use And Abuse Of Charming Betsy, Roger P. Alford

Journal Articles

Charming Betsy is a canon of construction that construes legislative enactments consistent with the law of nations. This canon promotes the passive virtue of avoiding constitutional problems by eschewing potential international law violations through statutory interpretation, thereby enhancing the United States' performance in foreign affairs. As a rule of separation of powers, Charming Betsy helps explain how foreign relations concerns clarify the scope of legislative, executive, and judicial authority. But when advocates contend that the Constitution likewise should be read through the lens of Charming Betsy, they abuse the doctrine by ignoring its purpose. While structural guarantees that relate to …

Poverty, Agency And Resistance In The Future Of International Law: An African Perspective, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Articles & Book Chapters

This article enquires into the likely posture of future international law with respect to African peoples. It does so by focusing on three of the most important issues that have defined, and are likely to continue to define, international law’s engagement with Africans. These are: the grinding poverty in which most Africans live, the question of agency in their historical search for dignity, and the extent to which these African peoples can effectively resist externally imposed frameworks and measures that have negative effects on their social, economic and political experience. International law’s future posture in these respects is considered through …

Pro-Democratic Intervention In Africa, Jeremy I. Levitt

Journal Publications

In the past twenty years the people of the African continent have experienced human suffering on a scale unparalleled in human history. For the past decade I have examined and documented the evolution of Africa's peacekeeping, peace enforcement, regional collective security, and conflict management landscape as well as Africa's contribution to international law, particularly as it relates to the jus ad bellum, "the law of the use of force". Although an abundance of scholarly work and official studies have examined the complexities of humanitarian intervention, only a select body of credible work has considered the phenomenon of pro-democratic intervention (PDI)--very …

The Current State Of International Law, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Role Of International Law In Post-Conflict Constitution-Making: Toward A Jus Post Bellum For “Interim Occupations”, Jean L. Cohen

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reviving The Nuclear Power Option In The United States: Using Domestic Energy Law To Cure Two Perceptions Of International Law Illegality, James E. Hickey Jr.

Hofstra Law Review

Two perceptions, right or wrong, of international law illegality on the part of the United States have arisen in the last few years with regard to both the use of military force in Iraq and to global warming. The first perception is that the United States invaded Iraq illegally to secure a significant source of foreign oil. The second perception is that the United States ignores the letter and spirit of the evolving international climate change regime to reduce greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions.

Both perceptions of international law illegality directly reflect the domestic growth energy policy of the United States …

China And The Human Right To Health: Selective Adaptation And Treaty Compliance, Pitman B. Potter

All Faculty Publications

The international community has devoted considerable energy to dialogue and exchanges with China on issues of treaty compliance in areas of trade and human rights, and while many improvements are evident in China’s legal regimes for trade and human rights, problems remain. Further, academic and policy discourses on China’s trade and human rights policy and practice are all too often conflicted by normative differences and illusions about them. The paradigm of “selective adaptation” offers a potential solution by examining compliance with international trade and human rights treaties by reference to the interplay between normative systems associated with international rule regimes …