Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Minority Protections And Bilateral Agreements: An Effective Mechanism, Elizabeth F. Defeis

UC Law SF International Law Review

Following the breakup of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, attention focused on developing international norms, agreements and regimes for effective minority protection. Under the auspices of United Nations and regional organizations, multilateral and bilateral treaties and declarations have been adopted. These documents recognize that diverse initiatives are necessary to reduce ethnic conflict and encourage States to implement appropriate initiatives. Reliance upon bilateral agreements is particularly encouraged in those situations involving protection of minorities in a situation where ethnic minorities reside in States adjacent to or near their country of nationality as a result of change of boarders or the …

With A Broad Brush: The Federal Regulation Of Sanctions Against Burma (Myanmar), James Finch, David Schmahmann, Particia Bailey

UC Law SF International Law Review

On April 21, 1998, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department issued regulations to implement the Executive Order that applied sanctions against Myanmar. With certain exceptions, the Regulations prohibit new investment by U.S. individuals or companies in Myanmar. This Essay explains and analyzes the reach of the Regulations and their potential ramifications.

Global Trade And The New Millennium: Defining The Scope Of Intellectual Property Protection Of Plant Genetic Resources And Traditional Knowledge In India, Meetali Jain

UC Law SF International Law Review

As a signatory to the global Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights treaty (TRIPS), India is obligated to develop national legislation that conforms to the international standards of intellectual property rights protection by January 1, 2000. India now faces the option of either acceding to the requirements of TRIPS or accepting various penalties, including sanctions, from the international community.

This Note focuses on the protection of one type of property, namely plant genetic resources. The case of India provides fertile ground for an examination of the clash between notions of global intellectual property rights and notions of national and local sovereignty over …

Case Update: German Compuserve Director Acquitted On Appeal, Lothar Determann

UC Law SF International Law Review

This update to an earlier article by Dr. Determann reviews the recent acquittal of Felix Somm. The article discusses the case against the backdrop of German internet law. This update also discusses a new European Community directive aimed at regulating electronic commerce.

Disabled Meanings: A Comparison Of The Definitions Of Disability In The British Disability Discrimination Act Of 1995 And The Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990, Nick Wenbourne

UC Law SF International Law Review

The British Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) marks an important turning point in the history of disability civil rights in Great Britain. The DDA was the first legislation in Europe to specifically acknowledge that disabled people suffer from discrimination in a number of fields and public services including employment, education and transportation. However, people across the political spectrum have criticized the DDA.

This note compares the DDA with its United States counterpart, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and radical legislation of its kind in the world. This note pays particular attention to …

Will The Bang Mean Big Changes To Japanese Financial Laws, Jessica C. Wiley

UC Law SF International Law Review

In response to both domestic and international pressure, the Japanese government began a series of reforms designed to deregulate their financial market in 1998. The reform plan is modeled after the British and U.S. deregulation measures often-termed "Big Bang" reforms. The essence of Japan's Big Bang is the end of highly segmented financial markets in favor of a single market where domestic and foreign banks, securities houses, insurance companies and other financial institutions will be free to compete in each other's business specialties.

The recent amendments to the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law are an example of Japanese Big …

We've Only Just Begun: The Law Of Sexual Harassment In Japan, Ryuichi Yamakawa

UC Law SF International Law Review

Discussions about sexual harassment in Japan first began a decade ago. However, Japan's Equal Employment Opportunity Law did not directly address sexual harassment until it was amended in 1997. Instead, Japanese courts responded with a jurisprudence that has distinctive characteristics regarding the nature of liability for sexual harassment. First, Japanese courts created a doctrine that sexual harassment constitutes a tort because it infringes on women's "personal rights" or on her rights to the dignity of her personality regarding sexuality. Second, Japanese courts held employers liable for sexual harassment by supervisory employees of subordinates. The 1997 amendment to the Equal Employment …

Sweating The International Garment Industy: A Critique Of The Presidential Task Force's Workplace Codes Of Conduct And Monitoring System, Heidi S. Bloomfield

UC Law SF International Law Review

Like employers in the United States, employers in Japan seek to prevent their former employees from competing with them by using noncompete covenants. As Japan's work force and employment system become more diverse, individualized and laterally mobile, noncompete provisions are appearing before the Japanese courts with increasing frequency.

The Japanese courts' approach to noncompete clauses is to scrutinize their "reasonableness" by balancing the competing interests of the employer in protecting its business goals and the employee in preserving his right to freedom of occupation. However, the notion of "reasonableness" has been elusive, causing the Japanese courts to struggle with application …

Religion And State In Israel: The Case For Reevaluation And Constitutional Entrenchment, Gidon Sapir

UC Law SF International Law Review

From the establishment of the State of Israel until very recently, the issue of religion and state was handled in Israel according to the doctrine of status quo. As a result, matters of religion and state have changed little from the time the State of Israel was established. Underlying the status quo-viewed as an informal "gag rule"-was the perception that it served as a necessary condition for the emergence, maintenance and stability of democracy in Israel. Yet on many occasions over the past several years, once latent disagreements over matters of religion and state have become a major source of …

Efficiency And Equal Protection In The New European Contract Law: Mandatory, Default And Enforcement Rules, Ugo Mattei

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Retooling American Discovery For The Twenty-First Century: Toward A New World Order?, Richard L. Marcus

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

United States Supreme Court Cases In The Court Of Justice Of The European Communities, Peter Herzog

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The World Trade Organization And States' Rights: Will Foreign Threats Over Massachusetts' Burma Law Lead To A Domsetic Backlash Against International Trade Agreements, Brian Owens

UC Law SF International Law Review

This Note argues that the WTO's current dispute resolution system creates sovereignty tensions between member nations that are afforded a host of protections and their sub-national entities which do not have comparable protections. For example, states and other sub-national governments do not have standing before the WTO. They can neither bring a dispute before the WTO nor defend themselves against an attack on their domestic laws from WTO member nations.

This lose of state sovereignty to binding international agreements is exemplified by Massachusetts, which recently passed a law barring public agencies from doing business with any companies investing in Burma. …

Structuring European Community Law: How Tacit Knowledge Matters, Pierre Legrand

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reconstituted Consonants: The Reach Of A Common Ore Analogy In Human Rights, L. Amede Obiora

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comparative Study Of The Divorce Laws In California And The Mexican Federal District, Sharilyn R. Payne

UC Law SF International Law Review

This Note compares the no-fault divorce laws of California with the fault divorce laws of the Mexican Federal District. It looks at the laws themselves, their histories, how they take the family into account, the divorce rates of both areas, and new trends in divorce laws. This study then attempts to determine whether there is any correlation between divorce rates and the difficulty or ease with which a divorce can be obtained. It stresses the need to conduct this type of analysis before rushing to change the law.

Current Trends In European Comparative Law: The Common Core Approach, Mauro Bussani

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The New German Internet Law, Lothar Determann

UC Law SF International Law Review

The creation of the Internet and other technological innovations in communications makes the issues and regulations surrounding them of increasingly international proportions. This article discusses the recent German case of Germany v. Felix Somm, which provides an example of the application of the new German Internet law. The new federal and state statutes contain provisions on many of the same topics: the liability of online providers, data protection and protection against violent and pornographic materials. The state statute regulates services that resemble and might eventually replace traditional broadcasting ("Media Services"). The federal law regulates online services that supplement and replace …

Taking Mortgages Interests In Real Property Under The Guarantee Law Of The People's Republic Of China, Brain Y. Lee

UC Law SF International Law Review

In the fall of 1995, the PRC National People's Congress adopted the Guarantee Law, along with other banking legislation, to reform its troubled financial sector. As the first national secured transaction law in the PRC, the Guarantee Law standardizes the process of taking security and provides commercial banks with a legal tool to more effectively exercise credit allocation and debt recovery against defaulting debtors.

This Note focuses on how the newly-enacted Guarantee Law impacts the procedures and process of taking mortgage interests of real property in the PRC. In particular, it explores how the local mortgage laws in Beijing, Guangzhou, …

The Common Core For European Private Law: Presented At The Third General Meeting Of The Trento Project, Hein Kotz

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Everybody's Talking: The Future Of Comparative Law, P. G. Monateri

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Comparative Law: Public Legal Systems, Clifford Larsen

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comparative Law In The New European Community, George A. Bermann

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Issue Of European Civil Codification And Legal Scholarships: Biases, Strategies And Development, Ugo Mattei

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Let Me In, Immigration Man: An Overview Of Intercountry Adoption And The Role Of The Immigration And Nationality Act, Stephanie Zeppa

UC Law SF International Law Review

As the number of intercountry adoptions increases, it becomes important for countries like the United States to address the immigration needs of foreign children entering the country as the sons and daughters of its residents. This note provides an overview of the history of intercountry adoption in the United States. It gives examples of how the intercountry adoption process works, using China and Russia as examples of the complexity of the current process and the interplay between foreign and domestic law. The author also analyzes the impact of the Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry …

International Obligation To Prosecute Human Rights Violators: Spain's Jurisdiction Over Argentine Dirty War Participants, Julia K. Boyle

UC Law SF International Law Review

Many nations view the obligation of protecting human rights as worthy of relaxing the traditional deference to State sovereignty. They believe interference is necessary to prevent and punish human rights violators. In the 1970s and 8 b. Argentina was subject to an intense military rule. Disappearances, torture and extra-legal executions were the regime's tools of oppression, and despite Argentina's claim that those guilty of human rights violations were properly dealt with, the new democracy's measures were insufficient to conform to Argentina's legal obligations. Argentina's inaction constitutes a violation of Argentine and international law.

Hundreds of Spanish nationals were victims of …

Diplomacy In The Modern World: A Reconsideration Of The Bases For Diplomatic Immunity In The Era Of High-Tech Communications, James S. Parkhill

UC Law SF International Law Review

Diplomatic immunity has existed throughout history as a way to ensure that diplomatic visitors to foreign nations remained free to perform their essential duties. It arose for two reasons: diplomats we'e extremely important to the conduct of interstate affairs, and the difficulties of travel and communication in previous eras made it essential for ambassadors to remain at liberty to perform their diplomatic duties. Clearly, modern methods of travel and communications have done much to eliminate the second basis.

This Note will examine the extent to which they may also have impacted the first rationale as well. In other words, when …

Spain Returns To Trial By Jury, Stephen C. Thaman

UC Law SF International Law Review

In 1995, Spain promulgated legislation reintroducing trial by jury in criminal cases. In this Article, Professor Thaman sets forth the history of jury trial in Spain, the movement towards its revival, and a detailed survey of the new juries in practice.

This Article describes the participatory right behind the jury statute and the crimes subject to its jurisdiction. It sets forth the composition of the juries and the qualifications for jury service. After a detailed examination of pre-trial procedure in the jury system, it describes jury selection and then the presentation of evidence before Spanish juries and the modification of …

Extraterritoriality And Its Limits: The Iran And Libya Sactions Act Of 1996, Charles Tait Graves

UC Law SF International Law Review

The United States differs from much of the world in trade policy towards Iran and Libya. Through the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, it seeks to pressure other states to refrain from certain investments in the Libyan and Iranian economies. The statute's secondary boycott provisions threaten extraterritorial sanctions against wholly foreign corporations engaging in such trade.

This Note describes the legal history of U.S. attempts to enforce its policy preferences through extraterritorial trade controls. It then argues that the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 is likely invalid both under principles of general customary international law and …

Health Care Rationing In The Courts: A Comparative Study, Timothy Stoltzfus Jost

UC Law SF International Law Review

The role of the judiciary and government agencies in the allocation of health care resources differs across national boundaries. This Article describes how institutions in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States approach conflicts and protect rights in rationing health care. Professor Jost first describes the legal aspects of decisions on distribution and financing of health care decisions, and then examines the existing institutions in each of these countries.

In Germany, the health insurance program is an employment- based social insurance system. Under a quasi-public scheme, nonprofit health insurance funds administer the program. The German health system is overseen …