Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

The Peace Palace The Hague, The Netherlands, The Republic Of Alicanto, The Commonwealth Of Ravisia

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The Commonwealth of Ravisia and the Republic of Alicanto have agreed to submit this dispute to the International Court of Justice pursuant to article 40(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice ('Statute') and in accordance with the Compromis notified to the Court on 15 September 2006. Pursuant to article 36(1) of the Statute, the Court has jurisdiction to decide all matters referred to it for decision.

Core Rules Of International Environmental Law, Andrea Laura Mackielo

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

International environmental law has been marked by two contradictory trends.

The Developing Equality Jurisprudence In South Africa, Karthy Govender

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

Apartheid was technically about separateness, but it was fundamentally about inequality. The founding premise of the ideology was to preserve the total hegemony of white South Africans. The liberation organizations opposing the apartheid regime sought to affirm that the country belonged to all those that lived in it. Thus, it is unsurprising that the commitment to equality is one of the founding values of the Constitution and an indelible thread woven throughout the fabric of the Bill of Rights. After some misstatements about certain rights being more important than others, courts have interpreted rights in the Bill of Rights to …

The Universal Declaration And South African Constitutional Law: A Response To Justice Arthur Chaskalson, Peter E. Quint

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

60 Years Of The Basic Law And Its Interpretation: An American Perspective, Peter E. Quint

Faculty Scholarship

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the German Basic Law (Constitution) , the author discusses certain aspects of the Basic Law, in comparison with the Constitution of the United States, and examines important developments in the jurisprudence if the German Constitutional Court interpreting the Basic Law.

Rethinking The Relationship Between The Wto And International Human Rights, Gao Pengcheng

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Teaching Law And The Reinforcement Of The Judiciary System In Haiti, Jomanas Eustache

UC Law SF International Law Review

This article is a reflection on the inseparable binome "Law and Justice." The concepts of Law and Justice are so intertwined that the absence or weakness of either can lead to impunity and finally to a lack of peace in society. Unfortunately, some behavior, misconduct, or practices, are mainly facilitated by the malfunction of the judicial system. This can be seen all too clearly in the situation in Haiti. This article highlights the urgency of the situation and the need for all interested sectors and individuals to act swiftly, legally, and with firmness to ensure and strengthen the basis of …

The Preliminary Reference Procedure Of The Court Of Justice Of The European Communities: A Model For The Icj, Alicia Farrell Miller

UC Law SF International Law Review

When nations fail to observe their international obligations it undermines both respect for and future compliance with international law. In the so-called vicious cycle, the more the law is flouted, the less legitimate it becomes and the less states and individuals feel bound by it. The United States Supreme Court in Medellin recently exemplified this vicious cycle by spurning the authority of the International Court of Justice ("ICJ") and holding that a decision of the ICJ is not self-executing and thus does not constitute binding federal law. In contrast, the Court of Justice of the European Communities (formerly known as …

An Agenda For The Obama Administration On Gender Equality: Lessons From Abroad, Adrien K. Wing, Samuel P. Nielson

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

President Barack Obama came into office with a wealth of good will after winning the historic 2008 presidential election to become the first African-American commander-in-chief. Among the many daunting issues we hope he will tackle is one that Abigail Adams mentioned to her husband John in 1776: remember the ladies. How should our President and his new administration affect social justice for women?

Global Issues In Freedom Of Speech And Religion: Cases And Materials, Leslie Gielow Jacobs, Alan Brownstein

McGeorge School of Law Teaching Materials

Brownstein and Jacobs's Global Issues in Freedom of Speech and Religion: Cases and Materials is a companion volume to existing materials. Designed to assist professors in introducing issues of international and comparative law, this title is ideal for use in educational courses that address:

• The First Amendment
• Law and religion
• Individual rights
• Other topics dealing with free speech and religious liberty

In order to make companion materials understandable and accessible to students as well as to professors who have not taught the materials before, this title:

• Includes case excerpts, helpful background materials, and notes
• Is set out in a structure …

Trade Sanctions, Human Rights And Multinational Corporations: The Eu-Acp Context, Olufemi Amao

UC Law SF International Law Review

This paper examines the human rights dimension of trade agreements between the European Union ("EU") and the African Caribbean and Pacific ("ACP") group of countries and their relevance to the control of multinational corporations ("MNCs"). It notes that even though MNCs are the major beneficiaries of the agreements, they have not been prominent in the discourse. The paper explores the foundation for the inclusion of human rights issues in trade agreements, and argues in favour of their legitimacy. The study contends that human rights clauses in the agreements should be triggered where there are human rights violations in the territory …

Consideration Of The Protection Of Persons In The Event Of Disasters By The International Law Commission, Arnold Pronto

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Recent disasters of epic proportions, such as the Asian Tsunami of 2004, and the accompanying response by the international community, have given rise to renewed interest in the legal aspects of disaster relief activities.

Political Institutions And Judicial Role: An Approach In Context, The Case Of The Colombian Constitutional Court, David Landau, Julián Daniel López-Murcia

Scholarly Publications

Comparative constitutional law scholarship has largely ignored political institutions. It has therefore failed to realize that radical differences in the configuration of political institutions should bear upon the way courts do their jobs. Parting from a case study of the Colombian Constitutional Court, this paper develops a theory of judicial role focused on political context, and particularly on party systems. Colombian parties are unstable and poorly tied to civil society, therefore Congress has difficulty initiating and monitoring the enforcement of policy, as well as checking presidential power. For that reason, the Constitutional Court has responded by taking many of these …

Divided By Common Language: 'Capture' Theories In Gatt/Wto And The Communicative Impasse, Dongsheng Zang

UC Law SF International Law Review

Since the 1999 ministerial conference in Seattle, the WTO has been plagued by a series of collapses in trade negotiations: 2001 in Doha, 2003 in Cancun, 2006 in Hong Kong, and most recently, July 30th, 2008 in Geneva. How to understand the stalemates? What is behind the communicative impasse between the developing countries and the developed countries? This article examines a key conceptual framework in the discourse on trade policy: "capture" theories. It tracks two groups of "capture" theories: first, "capture" theories during the 1980s GATT which set the foundation for the WTO, and second, "capture" theories espoused by developing …

Nation-Building In The Penumbra: Notes From A Liminal State, Monica Eppinger

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Critical Guide To The Iraqi High Tribunal's Anfal Judgement: Genocide Against The Kurds, Jennifer Trahan

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the Anfal trial, the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT or the Tribunal) in Baghdad convicted former Iraqi high officials of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Unlike its predecessor-the Dujail trial-the Anfal trial included the presentation of a high volume of documentary and eye-witness evidence. This evidence clearly revealed the existence of a genocidal campaign by the former Iraqi government and military that eliminated an estimated 182,000 Iraqi Kurds in 1988, as part of the eight-phased "Anfal campaign" (the Anfal). Relying on this and other evidence, judges in the Anfal Trial Chamber explained fairly persuasively how genocide, crimes against …

Writing The Law Of Latin America, Jorge L. Esquirol

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Chinese Regulatory Licensing Regime For Pharmaceutical Products: A Law And Economics Analysis, Qing Zhang

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

China's pharmaceutical market has expanded dramatically in the past twenty years and is expected to become the largest in the world by the year 2050. However, entry to the market remains difficult for many international pharmaceutical manufacturers due to the country's costly and complicated regulatory licensing requirements. This Article provides an overview of the regulatory licensing regime for pharmaceutical products in China. Then, the Article evaluates three key features of the regulatory licensing regime through a law and economics approach. These features include the use of licensing, as contrasted with alternative regulatory and non-regulatory mechanisms; the standards to be met …

Reflection On The Finality Of Panel's Decisions In Domain Name Dispute Resolution Process, With Reference To China's Practice, 26 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 395 (2009), Yun Zhao

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

The article notes the importance of looking into the position of Chinese federal courts to deal with cases brought by losing parties against the panel decisions in the administrative arbitration procedure. The author notes that federal courts do not give much consideration to panel decisions. Other problems also tend to arise as to the legal effect of panel decisions. The paper examines these problems, with reference to China’s current court practice. Part II of the paper offers an overview of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (“UDRP”) process, and its rules regarding possible court proceedings. Part III examines China’s …

Traditional Knowledge: Are We Closer To The Answer(S)? The Potential Role Of Geographical Indictions, Daniel Gervais

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The debate concerning the protection of, and access to, "traditional knowledge ' 2 has been going on for some time.

The Interaction Of Legal Systems In The Work Of The International Criminal Tribunal For The Former Yugoslavia, H.E. Judge Patrick Robinson

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (Tribunal) where I work is a court with a mandate to try individuals for the most serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the conflict that engulfed Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

Panel Iv - "Can The West Learn From The Rest?" - The Chinese Legal Order's Hybrid Modernity, Nicholas Calcina Howson

UC Law SF International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Changing The Current Policy Towards Spousal Abuse: A Proposal For A New Model Inspired By Jewish Law, Yuval Sinai, Benjamin Shmueli

UC Law SF International Law Review

Abuse in general, and within an ongoing, intimate relationship with a spouse in particular, is a scourge that the legal system must uproot. This paper examines two models that differ in their approach to the issue of spousal abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional): modern secular common law, as represented by two legal systems-American and Israeli law-and ancient, religious Jewish law. Thus, the paper offers an opportunity to see and analyze the dialogue between an ancient, religious legal system and its modern, secular counterparts, and the possible-perhaps surprising--contribution of the former to the latter.

The two models, secular common law and …

A Law Of No Gods, No Masters - Developing And Defending A Participatory Legal System, Matt Halling

UC Law SF International Law Review

This note develops and analyzes a new legal vision consistent with recent activist literature about a participatory society. A participatory society (in this note) consists of collectively owned property, a decentralized state, and attempts to maximize citizen participation in politics. Rather than nation states, society is structured as a federation of councils deliberating and coordinating with each other to solve political issues. Participatory society's structure demands a "participatory law" be developed to manage it, and this note attempts to develop the overarching features of such a system. Once the basic legal model is outlined, the article then looks for comparisons …

The End Of Peremptory Challenges: A Call For Change Through Comparative Analysis, Amy Wilson

UC Law SF International Law Review

Lawyers use peremptory challenges to create partial juries. United States Supreme Court precedent has shown the Court's willingness to limit some blatantly discriminatory uses of the right to peremptory challenges. However, the use of peremptory challenges in jury voir dire is inherently discriminatory. Merely limiting the use of peremptory challenges is not sufficient. This note discusses how jury selection is treated in the United Kingdom. The analysis is specifically focused on the abolition of peremptory challenges in the United Kingdom and uses the experience there to argue for an abolition of their use in the United States as well.

Addressing Judicial Activism In The Indian Supreme Court: Towards An Evolved Debate, Madhav Khosla

UC Law SF International Law Review

The Indian Supreme Court has invited a great deal of interest for its alleged activism and the role that it has begun to play in Indian governance. Recent years have been witness to substantial debate on the Court's functioning, with scholars positing views and raising concerns with considerable passion. This paper analyzes the judicial activism discourse in the Indian Supreme Court by focusing on the contributions of Professor Upendra Baxi. It argues that, despite the attention the Court has received on the question of judicial activism, the debate in this area has, for the most part, failed to engage with …

The Influences Of The West On The 1993 Russian Constitution, Victoria Schwartz

UC Law SF International Law Review

This article explores the influences of the West on the text of the 1993 Russian Constitution. Although previous scholarship has identified Western influences on the Russian Constitution, these works do not trace how or why the particular transplant occurred. This article has a descriptive and analytical, but not normative goal of filling that gap by explaining the transplants that occurred, and why and how they were made. Among its conclusions, the article finds that the choices made by the framers of the 1993 Russian Constitution can often be explained by the contemporaneous political situation within Russia. Part of the uniqueness …

Divine Judgment: Judicial Review Of Religious Legal Systems In India And Israel, Josh Goodman

UC Law SF International Law Review

This paper analyzes and compares how two democratic states, India and Israel, incorporate discrete areas of religious law into their secular legal systems. As religion has become an increasingly important political force in India and Israel, both countries have turned to constitutionalism and to civil courts to manage the role of religious law within the democratic system. This development represents the convergence of two global trends: an expansion in the power of courts and the growth of religious politics. This paper examines how the conflict of secular and religious legal norms has played out in the Israeli and Indian civil …

Reassessing The Dialogic Possibilities Of Weak-Form Bills Of Rights, Christine Bateup

UC Law SF International Law Review

In recent years, weak-form bills of rights have generated much excitement in contemporary constitutional scholarship because they are believed to create a new balance between parliamentary and judicial supremacy based on inter-branch "dialogue" between courts and legislatures. Few scholars, however, have examined the foundational question of whether judges and legislators can actually be expected to behave in a way that realizes the dialogic potential of weak-form instruments. This Article takes a new approach to this question, applying the insights of positive theory to engage in a comprehensive assessment of the behavior we can realistically expect of courts and legislatures in …

Mere Words: The Enemy Entity Designation Of The Gaza Strip, Carey James

UC Law SF International Law Review

Israel has occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip since June of 1967. Despite the withdrawal of Israeli military forces and the dismantling of Israeli settlements in 2005, Gaza is still generally considered occupied territory as a matter of international law. In September 2007, Israel declared the Gaza Strip a "hostile territory." This note examines the probable aims and legal effects of the hostile territory designation.