Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Bankruptcy For The Poor?, Stephanie Ben-Ishai, Saul Schwartz

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The conventional wisdom is that the poor are not heavy users of the insolvency system, because creditors are unwilling to take risks on the poor and because many of the poor are judgment-proof. However, credit is now widely available across the spectrum of income groups. In addition, poverty is often a temporary state for many Canadians; therefore, being judgment-proof is likewise temporary. Some of those who are poor at any point in time are in fact in need of bankruptcy protection. They have debts that they are unable to pay and little likelihood of being able to repay in the …

Torture And Islamic Law, Sadiq Reza

Faculty Scholarship

This article considers the relationship between Islamic law and the absence or practice of investigative torture in the countries of today's Muslim world. Torture is forbidden in the constitutions, statutes, and treaties of most Muslim-majority countries, but a number of these countries are regularly named among those in which torture is practiced with apparent impunity. Among these countries are several that profess a commitment to Islamic law as a source of national law, including some that identify Islamic law as the principal source of law and some that go so far as to declare themselves "Islamic states." The status of …

Powers Of Illegality: House Demolitions And Resistance In East Jerusalem, Irus Braverman

Journal Articles

This article examines how techniques of illegality based in planning laws and policy are utilized to dominate the Palestinian population of East Jerusalem. Although the demolition of homes is the most spectacular spatial mechanism of illegality exercised by Israel in East Jerusalem, my focus in the first part of the article is on more mundane techniques of illegality, such as mapping, filing, and arbitrariness. The second part of the article introduces the notion of resistance and explores the illegal building carried out by East Jerusalemite Palestinians as an act of spatial protest. In examining tactics of "everyday" resistance, I suggest …

In The Wake Of Sakhalin Ii: How Non-Governmental Administration Of Natural Resources Could Strengthn Russia's Enery Sector, Nowell David Beckett Bamberger

Washington International Law Journal

Russia’s economically vital oil and gas industry is at a crossroads. Although foreign investment favored European nations in the wake of the Soviet collapse, in recent years American and European oil and gas companies have invested billions of dollars in Russia’s energy development and export distribution sectors. However, the 2006 restructuring of the $20 billion Sakhalin II project demonstrates that Russia’s energy sector has still not stabilized from the turbulent privatization of the 1990s. This comment explores the legal structures and Government policies affecting Russia’s oil and gas industry for evidence of the causes of institutional instability. It argues that …

A Condom Versus The Philippine Aids Prevention And Control Act Of 1998: Which Has Holes Leaving Filipinos Unprotected?, David M. Iseminger

Washington International Law Journal

In 1998, the Philippine legislature passed pioneering HIV/AIDS legislation in Southeast Asia called the AIDS Prevention and Control Act (“APCA” or “Act”). This comprehensive legislation sought, in part, to ensure access to health care information and to stop the spread of diseases like HIV/AIDS. Regulations were promulgated by the Philippine National AIDS Council in 1999 to implement the Act. APCA effectively addresses several important HIV/AIDS issues, including prohibiting discrimination and mandatory HIV testing, while ensuring access to basic health care. However, both the regulations and the Act fail to ensure that all scientifically accurate information regarding HIV/AIDS prevention reaches Filipinos. …

Bortz V. Suzuki, Judgment Of October 12, 1999, Hamamatsu Branch, Shizuoka District Court, Timothy Webster

Washington International Law Journal

The Bortz case links a series of truly comparative moments. In the first, the unsuspecting foreigner crosses into another culture’s blind spot, and emerges a very different person. Ana Bortz was shopping for a necklace in a Japanese jewelry store when the owner asked her where she was from. A westerner in Japan, Bortz likely thought little of the question, having answered it many times. She answered first in Japanese, and then in English, “from Brazil.” Neither response pleased the storeowner. Foreigners, or perhaps just Brazilians, were not allowed in the store. Their ensuing argument revealed other comparative moments. Enraged …

The Nireco Poison Pill: The Impact Of A Court Injunction, Toshihiko Shimizu, Toshihiro Igi, Christopher J. Kodama

Washington International Law Journal

The emergence of a market for corporate control in Japan is a phenomenon that many commentators on Japan’s business and legal environs had been anticipating since the turn of the new millennium. A gradual decline in corporate crossshareholding and stable shareholding by financial institutions along with a concomitant increase in foreign and individual shareholders, a significant number of inefficient firms still being affected by Japan’s prolonged recession until recent years and trading at prices below their market value, and Commercial Code revisions making the legal environment more conducive to merger and acquisition activity and providing for more flexible restructuring mechanisms, …

The Applicability Of The Consumer Protection Law In Medical Malpractice Disputes In Taiwan, Ya-Ling Wu

Washington International Law Journal

The issue of whether or not no-fault liability under the Consumer Protection Law (“CPL”) applies in medical malpractice disputes has been a contentious battle in Taiwan. In Bo-Li Li v. Mackay Memorial Hospital, the Taipei District Court interpreted medical care as “services” under Article 7 of the CPL. Under this interpretation, patient services must meet “reasonably expected safety standards,” while health care providers are subject to no-fault liability. This interpretation was strenuously opposed by the medical profession and invoked much debate over its validity in the legal field. After the Bo-Li case, the lower courts expressed different views on …

Intellectual Property Rights And The Public Sector: Why Compulsory Licensing Of Protected Technologies Critical For Food Security Might Just Work In China, Gregory C. Ellis

Washington International Law Journal

The majority of people in the developed world have the luxury of never having to address food shortages and malnutrition. In developing countries, however, ensuring food security presents greater challenges. Agricultural biotechnology has the potential to alleviate many of the food crises occurring in developing countries. Unlike private sector corporations, public sector entities are creating genetically modified (“GM”) crops to ensure food security. However, the intellectual property rights (“IPRs”) to the many technologies required to create a single GM crop are often fragmented across the private and public sectors. Fragmentation of IPRs creates a “patent thicket” that increases the challenges …

Extending The Reach Of The Chinese Labor Law: How Does The Supreme People's Court's 2006 Interpretation Transform Labor Dispute Resolution, Jill E. Monnin

Washington International Law Journal

Chinese workers are taking advantage of the dispute resolution tools that legal reform has provided in the past decade, including mediation, arbitration, and litigation. Despite a history of resolving disputes through informal mediation, more and more workers are relying on the new pathways of arbitration and civil suits in local courts. The 1993 Regulations on the Resolution of Enterprise Labor Disputes and the 1994 Labor Law facilitated workers’ access to formal legal forums. Then, in 2006, a Supreme People’s Court (“SPC”) interpretation made a number of important changes to the application of the Labor Law and workers’ access to dispute …

No Refills: The Intellectual Property High Court Decision In Canon V. Recycle Assist Will Negatively Impact The Printer Ink Cartridge Recycling Industry In Japan, Scott M. Tobias

Washington International Law Journal

In its decision in Canon v. Recycle Assist, the Japanese Intellectual Property High Court held that Recycle Assist had infringed on Canon’s patent for a printer ink cartridge by importing used Canon cartridges that had been cleaned and refilled with ink by a third party. The court found that the third party had modified essential elements of Canon’s patented ink cartridge, and therefore the modifications constituted not permissible repair, but infringing and impermissible remanufacture. The court defined essential elements as those intended to solve the technical problems present in similar, prior inventions. Unfortunately, the court failed to define clearly …

The Antinomies Of The (Continued) Relevance Of Icsid To The Third World, Ibironke T. Odumosu

San Diego International Law Journal

The international law on foreign investment is commonly accepted as one of the most controversial areas of international law. Not only does international investment law lack clear rules on investment promotion and protection, this area of the law has always generated opposing rules, and implicates divergent interests in the process. In the face of unclear rules, and against the backdrop of the need to protect foreign investment through the internationalization of investment dispute settlement, and the position that this will facilitate investment flows to Third World states, the World Bank established the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes …

The United States Federal Judiciary May Not Be A Third, Co-Equal Branch Of Government - What Are The Implications For The Irish Debate On Judicial Activism, Lawrence Donnelly

San Diego International Law Journal

In support of this argument, this essay first examines the language of Article III of the United States Constitution and then briefly reviews the origins of the widely held perception that the federal judiciary is a "co-equal" branch of government. It next considers Borkian constitutionalism, opining that if one is to read the Constitution as Bork urges, this essay's tentative proposition can't be far off the mark. The focus then shifts to the express language of the Irish Constitution, which accords a far greater responsibility to the judiciary than its American counterpart. In this context, it reviews some pronouncements in …

Mexican Law And Personal Injury Cases: An Increasingly Prominent Area For U.S. Legal Practitioners And Judges, Jorge A. Vargas

San Diego International Law Journal

Since tort law cases are seldom filed in Mexico, and the number of judicial resolutions rendered by Mexican courts are few and relatively unimportant, is there a sufficient corpus of Mexican jurisprudence that may be tapped into by American judges to ascertain the rules of Mexican law that govern a case pending before an American trial judge or an appellate justice? Considering that American courts resolve a far larger number of personal injury cases governed by Mexican as compared to the nominal amount of cases decided in Mexico by Mexican courts, is there a risk that this rapidly growing number …

Regulatory Marketing Approval For Pharmaceuticals As A Non-Tariff Barrier To Trade: Analysis Under The Wto's Agreement On Technical Barriers To Trade, Mary Hess Eliason

San Diego International Law Journal

At a fundamental level, pharmaceuticals serve two roles: both as a cure for disease and as a product. As a cure for disease, a drug's value cannot be quantified because it saves lives. As a product, profit analysis shapes every step of a drug's progression to market. In least developed nations the barriers to drug access are not solely economic. National regulatory systems for market approval are being used to prevent external pharmaceutical manufacturers from participating in a national market. This article will address how the regulatory framework of pharmaceutical registration may serve as a barrier to trade in drugs, …

Retrying The Acquitted In England, Part I: The Exception To The Rule Against Double Jeopardy For New And Compelling Evidence, David S. Rudstein

San Diego International Law Journal

More than 240 years ago, Sir William Blackstone, perhaps the most important commentator on the English common law, wrote that when a man is once fairly found not guilty upon any indictment, or other prosecution, before any court having competent jurisdiction of the offence, he may plead such acquittal in bar of any subsequent accusation for the same crime. This plea of autrefois acquit (a former acquittal), Blackstone explained, is based upon the principle that no man is to be brought into jeopardy of his life, more than once for the same offence, which he called a universal maxim of …

Here There Be Pirates: How China Is Meeting Its Ip Enforcement Obligations Under Trips, Kate Colpitts Hunter

San Diego International Law Journal

This paper will examine whether China is meeting its obligations to protect IP rights under the TRIPS agreement, an international intellectual property trade agreement China acceded to upon joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). Moreover, it will address whether China's increased IP protection in law equals increased protection in fact. Part II will describe China's legal structure, its TRIPS obligations upon joining the WTO, and China's IP laws. Part III will discuss China's enforcement of these IP laws from the perspective of developed nations and from China's own perspective. Part IV includes suggestions on how China can improve its enforcement …

Twining's Complaint, Dennis Patterson

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Inter-American Convention Against Corruption, Giorleny D. Altamirano

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

General Jurisprudence, William Twining

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Prospects For General Jurisprudence, Brian Z. Tamanaha

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Negative Effect Of Pharmaceutical Patents On South African Industry, Chenxi Jiao

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note argues that the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has disproportionately favored developed economies, stifling the growth of local pharmaceutical industries in developing countries like South Africa. While TRIPS aimed to balance societal benefits with short-term costs, its strict patent protections have hindered the development of generic drug manufacturing and technology transfer in these regions. The analysis highlights that strong intellectual property rights alone do not drive foreign investment or industrial growth, as market size, infrastructure, and economic stability play more critical roles. The note advocates for a reformed approach to intellectual …

Beneath The Veil Of Mormonism: Uncovering The Truth About Polygamy In The United States And Canada, Jason D. Berkowitz

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Globalization And The Pan-American Highway: Converns For The Panama-Columbia Border Region Of Darién-Chocó And Its Peoples, Daniel Suman

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Minimum Contacts" Abroad: Using The International Shoe Test To Restrict The Extraterritorial Exercise Of United States Jurisdiction Under The Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, Stephanie M. Chaissan

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

La Contratación Comercial En El Derecho Comparado (Commercial Contracting In Comparative Law) By Boris Kozolchyk, Dale Furnish

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Five Years Later: The Cms Award Placed In The Context Of The Argentine Financial Crisis And The Icsid Arbitration Boom, Harout Samra

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

La Contratación Comercial En El Derecho Comparado (Commercial Contracting In Comparative Law) By Boris Kozolchyk, José Manuel Pallí

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Monopolists Without Borders: The Institutional Challenge Of International Antitrust In A Global Gilded Age, D. Daniel Sokol

UF Law Faculty Publications

Antitrust has entered a gilded age of increased international cooperation and enforcement at levels never before seen. Yet, increased globalization creates challenges to combat international anticompetitive conduct. Part I introduces the Article. Part II provides a brief overview of the history of international antitrust. This overview departs from previous historical analyses as it focuses on participation within each of the international antitrust institutions to explain these historical limitations. Part III identifies and explores three case studies which are generally representative of international antitrust. These case studies have been chosen because the issues they address have been at the top of …

Citizens As Legal Decision Makers: An International Perspective, Valerie P. Hans

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

On May 1, 2007, Korea's National Assembly approved a judicial reform bill that introduces a jury system for serious criminal cases in Korean courts. The jury system is limited: jurors will only participate in cases where the defendant agrees to a trial by jury, and the jury's verdicts are only advisory to the judge. Nonetheless, Korean citizens now have a remarkable new opportunity to make judgments about criminal trials.

With this law reform, Korea joins a growing list of countries whose legal systems employ citizens as legal decision makers. The United States, Great Britain, and many other common law countries …