Commercial Law Commons^™

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Global Pharmaceutical Patent Law In Developing Countries- Amending Trips To Promote Access For All, Angela J. Anderson

ExpressO

This comment will analyze the need to amend and revise the current global pharmaceutical patent system under TRIPS to take into account the needs of developing countries and overall public health. This comment will emphasize that the current international trade rules, which although administered by the WTO, are dictated by developed country governments and powerful pharmaceutical companies, and therefore, without reform will further diminish the access of poor people in developing countries to vital medicines. Part II of this comment will provide a general overview of the international trade law governing patents on pharmaceuticals focusing specifically on the development of …

Global Pharmaceutical Patent Law In Developing Countries- Amending Trips To Promote Access For All, Angela J. Anderson

ExpressO

This comment will analyze the need to amend and revise the current global pharmaceutical patent system under TRIPS to take into account the needs of developing countries and overall public health. This comment will emphasize that the current international trade rules, which although administered by the WTO, are dictated by developed country governments and powerful pharmaceutical companies, and therefore, without reform will further diminish the access of poor people in developing countries to vital medicines. Part II of this comment will provide a general overview of the international trade law governing patents on pharmaceuticals focusing specifically on the development of …

Understanding Jurisprudential Approaches To Islam, Marc L. Roark

ExpressO

The United States recent deal with a United Arab Emirites Company to operate seven U.S. Ports highlights a growing tension in U.S. and Arabic commercial relations. One tension that has remained unnoticed is the role that U.S Courts play in interpreting Islamic texts when the commercial or legal outcome depends on an understanding of the religious culture. This article describes seven cases that demonstrate various approaches to this problem. This article utilizes an approach by James Boyd White, and suggests that translation or its kin transliteration can help judges in deciding Islamic legal principles.

“It’S The [Tort System], Stupid:” Consumer Deductibles; How To More Equitably Distribute The Risks Of Medical Malpractice And Adequately Compensate Victims Without Statutory Damage Caps., Bradford Luke Ledbetter

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

The Wto Agreement On Government Procurement And The Uncitral Model Procurement Law: A View From Outside The Region, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

Two of the most significant efforts to bring municipal procurement institutions up to international standards are the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Procurement of Goods, Construction and Services. Though the Model Law has had limited adoptions, it enjoys global influence as a source of norms and practices for good public procurement. The GPA, also reflective of international standards, seems to be on the rise, as more WTO members elect to become GPA contracting parties. This article explores two aspects of these instruments. First, the article explores how the Model Law promotes efficient public …

Bankruptcy Abuse: An Empirical Study Of Consumer Exemptions Cases, Bernard Trujillo

ExpressO

On April 20, 2005, the President of the United States signed a sweeping legislative overhaul of the consumer bankruptcy system. The bankruptcy reform legislation is based on an empirical assertion: that sophisticated debtors with the means to re-pay their debts were instead filing for bankruptcy and acquiring a discharge, thereby abusing the bankruptcy system.

This Article presents the results of an empirical study of bankruptcy court doctrine in consumer exemptions proceedings over a twenty-year period. The findings suggest a serious empirical flaw in the premise of the bankruptcy reform legislation. The study shows that the bankruptcy system minimizes abuse by …

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

From "Federalization" To "Mixed Governance" In Corporate Law: A Defense Of Sarbanes-Oxley, Robert B. Ahdieh

Faculty Scholarship

Since the very moment of its adoption, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 has been subject to a litany of critiques, many of them seemingly well-placed. The almost universal condemnation of the Act for its asserted 'federalization' of corporate law, by contrast, deserves short shrift. Though widely invoked - and blithely accepted - dissection of this argument against the legislation shows it to rely either on flawed assumptions or on normative preferences not ordinarily acknowledged (or perhaps even accepted) by those who criticize Sarbanes-Oxley for its federalization of state corporate law.

Once we appreciate as much, we can begin by replacing …

Harmonizing Business Laws In Africa: Ohada Calls The Tune, Claire M. Dickerson

ExpressO

OHADA (in English, “Organization for Harmonization in Africa of Business Laws”) is a system of business laws and implementing institutions. Sixteen West African nations adopted this regime in order to increase their attractiveness to foreign investment. Because most of the member-states are former French colonies, the OHADA laws are based on the French legal system. Despite certain economists’ recent, well-publicized assertions that any French-based legal system is incompatible with development, other studies challenge those claims and in doing so outline characteristics that a pro-development system of business laws should possess. A review of selected provisions from OHADA’s corporate law and …

From St. Ives To Cyberspace: The Modern Distortion Of The Medieval 'Law Merchant', Stephen E. Sachs

ExpressO

Modern advocates of corporate self-regulation have drawn unlikely inspiration from the Middle Ages. On the traditional view of history, medieval merchants who wandered from fair to fair were not governed by domestic laws, but by their own lex mercatoria, or "law merchant." This law, which uniformly regulated commerce across Europe, was supposedly produced by an autonomous merchant class, interpreted in private courts, and enforced through private sanctions rather than state coercion. Contemporary writers have treated global corporations as descendants of these itinerant traders, urging them to replace conflicting national laws with a law of their own creation. The standard history …

Price, Path & Pride: Third-Party Closing Opinion Practice Among U.S. Lawyers (A Preliminary Investigation), Jonathan C. Lipson

ExpressO

This article presents the first in-depth exploration of third-party closing opinions, a common but curious – and potentially troubling -- feature of U.S. business law practice. Third-party closing opinions are letters delivered at the closing of most large transactions by the attorney for one party (e.g., the borrower) to the other party (e.g., the lender) offering limited assurance that the transaction will have legal force and effect.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of legal opinions are delivered every week. Yet, lawyers often complain that they create needless risk and cost, and produce little benefit. Closing opinions thus pose a basic question: …

Patterns In A Complex System: An Empirical Study Of Valuation In Business Bankruptcy Cases, Bernard Trujillo

ExpressO

This Article applies complex systems research methods to explore the characteristics of the bankruptcy legal system, presenting the results of an empirical study of twenty years of bankruptcy court valuation doctrine in business cramdown cases. These data provide solid descriptions of how courts exercise their discretion in valuing firms and assets.

This Article accomplishes two objectives: First, using scientific methodology, this Article explains the content of bankruptcy valuation doctrine. Second, this Article uses doctrine as a variable to explore system dynamics that govern the processes of change over time.

Significant findings include (i) courts tend to “split the difference” in …

Institutions, Incentives, And Consumer Bankruptcy Reform, Todd Zywicki

George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series

Consumer bankruptcy filing rates have soared during the past 25 years. From 225,000 filings in 1979, consumer bankruptcies topped 1.5 million during 2004. This relentless upward trend is striking in light of the generally high prosperity, low interest rates, and low unemployment during that period. This anomaly of ever-upward bankruptcy filing rates during a period of economic prosperity had spurred calls to reform the Bankruptcy Code to place new conditions on bankruptcy relief. Although bankruptcy reform has drawn broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, these proposals have proven controversial within the academy. Critics have argued that these reforms are unnecessary …

Evaluating Work: Enforcing Occupational Safety And Health Standards In The United States, Canada And Sweden, Daniel B. Klaff

ExpressO

The United States’ occupational safety and health enforcement system is breaking down. Klaff argues that much of this breakdown has to do with a fundamental lack of worker participation in the United States’ safety and health system. Klaff makes his case by comparing and contrasting the history and enforcement schemes of the United States, Canada, and Sweden. After arguing for economic rights as human rights, Klaff concludes by offering a set of recommendations for the United States’ occupational safety and health system based upon his value-centered analysis.

Textual Harassment: A New Historicist Reappraisal, Hila Keren

ExpressO

This year marks the four hundredth anniversary of the Parol Evidence Rule, the rule that dictates that the interpretation of a written contract should be determined solely according to its text and not influenced by prior contradictory external information. This article uses the occasion to offer a fresh interdisciplinary view of the Rule. The analysis presents a unique contribution to the heated debate regarding the desired levels of formalism and textualism in present-day contract law, by using New-Historicist tools.

Unexplored aspects of the roots of the Rule are illuminated through an in-depth investigation of the first case of the contractual …

Leaving Money On The Table: Contract Practice In A Low-Trust Environment, Ruben Kraiem

ExpressO

Social capital – the level of trust inherent in a society – will affect the contracting practices that are considered standard, practical or fair. These practices in turn will help determine the parties’ positions as they approach their negotiation, how they will communicate, and what terms they will agree in any particular transaction. This is true not only for the small transaction, but also for large and complex deals. As a result, when operating in a low-trust environment, even sophisticated parties (who can bear the costs of tailoring an agreement to their particular case), will be prone to relinquish or …

Gollum, Meet Sméagol: A Schizophrenic Rumination On Mediator Values Beyond Self-Determination And Neutrality, James R. Coben

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Let me begin by declaring my biases. First, I am a dissatisfied consumer of mediation services, having represented both employment discrimination and family law clients in mediations. The mediators' rapid retreat to caucus, their tendency to incorrectly evaluate my clients' cases, and their strong push for particular settlement structures while simultaneously proclaiming process neutrality, all too frequently have left me (and my clients) disappointed and disillusioned. Second, I am a chronicler of "mediation car wrecks" - a voyeur, if you will, of those times when mediations go so badly that the parties end up disputing about them in court. Third, …

Law's Non-Existent Empire, Jeanne L. Schroeder, David G. Carlson

Articles

The article critiques Pierre Schlag's normative legal thought, arguing that while his descriptive critique of law as a fiction is accurate, his normative proposal to abolish law is contradictory and flawed. By incorporating Lacanian psychoanalysis, the authors contend that law, as part of the symbolic order, is constitutive of subjectivity and cannot be abolished. They propose that legal scholarship should instead focus on exposing law's role in shaping subjectivity rather than seeking to eliminate it. The analysis emphasizes that law, like language, is an intersubjective system sustained by collective belief, despite lacking a concrete foundation.

Latin American Legal History: Some Essential Spanish Terms, M C. Mirow

Faculty Publications

Terms related to Latin American legal history translated into English.

Enforcing The Community Reinvestment Act: An Advocate's Guide To Making The Cra Work For Communities, Richard D. Marsico

Articles & Chapters

This guide to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is designed to provide community advocates with the basic information and skills they need to challenge bank redlining and promote economic development in their neighborhoods. The Guide includes four sections: the legal structure of the CRA; important information about banks and how to get it; analyzing a bank's CRA records, and participating in the CRA enforcement process.

Disneyworld Is Not Enough, Kenneth Anderson

Book Reviews

Review of The Mouse That Roared: Disney and the end of innocence, by Henry A. Giroux. Rowman and Littlefield, 12 Hid's Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford This essay reviews a book of cultural criticism directed against what the author, Henry Giroux, regards as the corporate manipulation of culture, particularly the culture of children, by corporate interests, particularly the Disney company. The review argues that, contrary to Giroux's argument, Disney and such corporations relentlessly press the message of American left-liberal politically correct piety.

U.S. Income Taxation Of Foreign Parties: A Primer, Ernest R. Larkins

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

Over the last five years for which data are available, the number of foreign corporations showing net income on Form 1120F, U.S. Income Tax Return of a Foreign Corporation, has increased 36.5 percent. [1] In addition, the number of individuals granted temporary stays in the United States as non-immigrants has steadily increased from 9.5 million in 1985 to 24.8 million in 1996, an average annual increase of 9.1 percent. [2] These increases evidence growing opportunities to serve international clients and suggest that tax professionals must have a fundamental working knowledge of the way the U.S. tax system treats foreign parties. …

Front Matter

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Economic Espionage: The Front Line Of A New World Economic War

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

Syracuse Journal Of International Law And Commerce - Vol. 26, No. 1 (Complete)

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

No abstract provided.

1997-1998 Survey Of International Law In The Second Circuit

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

This survey reviews significant case law from the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the Federal District Courts in New York, and the New York Court of Appeals decided from Aug. 1, 1997 through Aug. 1, 1998. Only those cases which overturned old law and/or broke new ground were included in this survey. Consequently, cases that simply reaffirmed previous decisions were not reported.

Table of Contents I. Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act II. Forum Non-Conveniens III. Immigration and Nationality Act IV. Quasi-In-Rem Jurisdiction and the Question of Due Process for Foreign Entities V. Warsaw Convention

Saddam Hussein As Hostes Humani Generis? Should The U.S. Intervene?, Edieth Y. Wu

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

This article discusses several jurisdictional principles which may assist the United States in its efforts to acquire jurisdiction in certain situations that are declared, by the United States, egregious enough to warrant intervention. The United States has long used the "effects doctrine" 1 to assert extraterritorial jurisdiction. This article concentrates on developing and employing the Hostes Humani Generis Theory 2 and its past and possible future use. The central focus is to determine whether the possibility exists that the United States may use the theory in an effort to acquire physical jurisdiction over Saddam Hussein.

A survey, though not comprehensive, …

The Sps Agreement Of The World Trade Organization And International Organizations: The Roles Of The Codex Alimentarius Commission, The International Plant Protection Convention, And The International Office Of Epizootics, Terence P. Stewart, David S. Johanson

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

The proper fanctioning of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) depends in part upon three international organizations, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the International Office of Epizootics (OIE). The SPS Agreement states that the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards of these organizations are the benchmark international standards for WTO members, and recent WTO decisions demonstrate the importance of international standards in the settlement of WTO disputes involving SPS measures. The Codex, IPPC, and OIE also provide valuable services that benefit the …

Book Review, Henry H. Perritt Jr.

Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce

Book Review: Richard Haas, The Reluctant Sheriff: The United States After the Cold War, New York, Council on Foreign Relations (1997)