Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Changing The Paradigm Of Stock Ownership From Concentrated Towards Dispersed Ownership? Evidence From Brazil And Consequences For Emerging Countries, Érica Gorga

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This paper analyzes micro-level dynamics of changes in ownership structures. It investigates a unique event: changes in ownership patterns currently taking place in Brazil. It builds upon empirical evidence to advance the theoretical understanding of how and why concentrated ownership structures can change towards dispersed ownership.

Commentators argue that the Brazilian capital markets are finally taking off.

The number of listed companies and Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) has greatly increased. Firms are migrating to Bovespa's special listing segments, which require higher standards of corporate governance. Companies have sold control in the market, and …

The Use And Abuse Of Foreign Law In Constitutional Interpretation, Ganesh Sitaraman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This article provides an exhaustive typology of the uses of foreign law in order to provide insight into whether foreign law can be appropriately used in constitutional interpretation, when it can be used, and what the stakes and parameters are in each case. In doing so, the article addresses two significant problems in the debate on foreign law. First, much of the commentary has focused on the justifications for using foreign law and the principled or practical arguments against using foreign law. But the focus on the why of foreign law has obscured the more basic question about the ways …

Changes To The Czech Republic's Vat Act: The Use And Enjoyment Rules, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

On January 1, 2009 a minor change in the Czech Republic VAT became effective. A use and enjoyment standard was added to modify the sourcing of certain service transactions. Traditional proxy-based rules, derived from Articles 43 and 56(1) of the Recast VAT Directive (RVD), are set aside by this modification when the customer receiving the services has a permanent establishment (PE) in the Czech Republic. The modification is authorized by RVD 58.

This change is a limited adoption of RVD 58(b), and functions like a full force of attraction principle in direct taxation. If caught by these rules, transactions that …

Measuring State Compliance With The Right To Education Using Indicators: A Case Study Of Colombia’S Obligations Under The Icescr, Sital Kalantry, Jocelyn Getgen, Steven A. Koh

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

The right to education is often referred to as a “multiplier right” because its enjoyment enhances other human rights. It is enumerated in several international instruments, but it is codified in greatest detail in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Despite its importance, the right to education has received limited attention from scholars, practitioners, and international and regional human rights bodies as compared to other economic, social and cultural rights (ECSRs). In this Article, we propose a methodology that utilizes indicators to measure treaty compliance with the right to education. Indicators are essential to measuring compliance …

The Rule Of Law In Comparative Perspective, Mortimer N.S. Sellers, Tadeusz Tomaszewski

Books

This new volume on The Rule of Law in Comparative Perspective compares the different conceptions of the rule of law that have developed in different legal cultures. Lawyers and legal scholars from various legal systems describe the social purposes and practical applications of the rule of law, and how it might be improved in the varied circumstances of their own courts and politics.

This book will be of interest to lawyers, judges, public officials, and to all those wishing to improve the fundamental structures of their own legal systems, by bringing equal justice to every person subject to the power …

Between Fragmentation And Unity: The Uneasy Relationship Between Global Administrative Law And Global Constitutionalism, Ming-Sung Kuo

San Diego International Law Journal

This paper aims to critically examine the status of global administrative law within the already widely acknowledged notion of global constitutionalism. While global constitutionalism describes the processual "constitutionalization" of an increasingly globalized world through the values emerging from cross-border regulatory cooperation, the global regulatory process at the heart of global administrative law appears to take the place of "We the People" as the creative force behind global constitutionalism. Contrary to the domestic/national context, the identitarian relationship between global administrative law and global constitutional law suggests the unity of global legality, whether it be called administrative law or constitutionalism. The paper …

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Korea's Role In The War Against Online Piracy, Edward Choi

San Diego International Law Journal

South Korea is one of the most Internet-savvy countries in the world, with more than 34 million Koreans over the age of six—74.8% of the total population—regularly accessing the Internet. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as of June 2007, South Korea has the fourth largest number of broadband subscribers at over 14.4 million, behind only Japan, Germany, and the United States, all of which have much higher populations. Studies show the time Koreans spend online is primarily for entertainment purposes, as almost 80% of Korean Internet users report online consumption of audio and video, almost …

Development Of Ukrainian Real Property And Mortgage Law: The American Perspective, Zhanna Bulkina

San Diego International Law Journal

Modern Ukrainian commercial law started to develop following the break-up of the Soviet Union in August 1991 and the reemergence of Ukraine as an independent democratic state. As a result of the break-up, in 1991 the new state of Ukraine inherited the jurisprudence, institutions and government of the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. While Ukraine quickly shed its Soviet past by changing the communist names of streets and institutions, the transition was not as easy when it came to substantive changes in Ukrainian jurisprudence and legal thinking. Ukraine needed to develop its own system of law to establish an open …

The Political Economy Of Hong Kong's Open Skies Legal Regime: An Empirical And Theoretical Exploration, Miron Mushkat, Roda Mushkat

San Diego International Law Journal

Hong Kong has generally followed a libertarian path on the external economic front, maintaining a widely open trade and investment platform. Its policy regarding the now well-established "open skies" system qualifies as something of an aberration, albeit obviously not to the same extent as its far more inward-looking immigration strategies. This pattern can effectively be placed in the appropriate theoretical context and the territory’s experience in that respect may offer relevant analytical insights into the evolution of international legal regimes, particularly those with a distinct regulatory focus and essentially bilateral in nature.

Compensatory Discrimination In India Sixty Years After Independence: A Vehicle Of Progress Or A Tool Of Partisan Politics?, Karthik Nagarajan

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Efficiency Of Friendliness: Japanese Corporate Governance Succeeds Again Without Hostile Takeovers, Dan W. Puchniak

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

It is widely assumed that hostile takeovers are a prerequisite for an efficient system of corporate governance. This assumption is false. Since the new millennium, Japan has transformed itself from being on the brink of one of the largest economic meltdowns in modern economic history to currently being in the midst of its longest period of postwar economic expansion (2002-2007). This astounding recovery was achieved without a single successful hostile takeover of a major Japanese company. True to its postwar tradition, corporate Japan has successfully restructured through government intervention, bank-driven reallocation of capital, and orchestrated and friendly mergers — the …

Information Disclosure, Risk Trading And The Nature Of Derivative Instruments: From Common Law Perspective, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This paper explores issues of pre-contractual disclosure for derivative instruments, of which this paper describes as contracts to trade risks, in the UK and US. While there is no general duty of disclosure in common law, this paper focuses on whether there should be a duty of disclosure for derivative instruments by comparing with securities law and insurance law. This paper argues that mandatory disclosure in the securities market cannot be extended to exchange-traded futures contracts (save where securities are involved) because of the nature of securities. In addition, this paper argues that derivative instruments, though similar to insurance in …

The Sec's 2006 Soft Dollar Guidance: Law And Economics, D. Bruce Johnsen

Cardozo Law Review

After some two years of deliberations, in July 2006 the SEC released its long-awaited Guidance on the scope of the "soft dollar safe harbor." Passed as part of the Securities Acts Amendments in May, 1975, the safe harbor has protected fund advisers and other money managers for over 30 years from criminal actions and civil suits for breach of fiduciary duty when they use client assets to pay more than the lowest available brokerage commissions in exchange for "brokerage and research services." During this time, the SEC has interpreted and reinterpreted the safe harbor's scope, largely owing to the public …

Quebec's Module D'Enregistrement Des Ventes (Mev): Fighting The Zapper, Phantomware And Tax Fraud With Technology, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

On January 28, 2008 the Quebec Minister of Revenue, Jean-Marc Fournier, announced that by late 2009 the MRQ will begin testing a device, the module d'enregistrement des ventes (MEV) that is projected to substantially reduce tax fraud in the restaurant sector. By 2010 or 2011 MEVs will be mandatory in all Quebec restaurants, where they will assure accuracy and retention of business records within electronic cash registers (ECRs).

This paper moves beyond a discussion of the variety of sales suppression programs in use - zappers and phantom-ware. The concern here is on enforcement efforts, particularly the MEV. The intent is …

Competition Law And The Institutional Embeddedness Of Economics, David J. Gerber

All Faculty Scholarship

Transnational debates about the role of economics in competition law have paid relatively little systematic attention to the embeddedness of economics in institutions. They typically proceed as if embeddedness were not an issue. The assumption often appears to be that economics looks, acts and functions in the same way wherever it is applied. This assumption is frequently the basis for claims supporting increased use of economics in competition law systems around the world.

This article examines that assumption and argues that the institutional embeddedness of economics needs to be taken into account when we wish to evaluate and analyze the …

Of Labor Inspectors And Labors Judges: Chilean Labor Law Enforcement After Pinochet (And What The United States Can Do To Help) (Symposium), César F. Rosado Marzán

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Seiu's Failed Bid In Puerto Rico, César F. Rosado Marzán

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Future Relationship Between A New Adminstration And The International Court Of Justice, Thomas M. Franck

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

If the democrats recapture the White House and win half a dozen more seats in the Senate, it will be time to rethink and redevelop the U.S. relationship with international law.

Current And Future Issues In International Space Law, Professor Henry Hertzfeld

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Space law is a relatively new area of law and is based mainly on a set of United Nations (U.N.) Treaties negotiated during the 1960s and 1970s.

Transparency And Public Participation In Investor-State Arbitration, Daniel Barstow Magraw, Niranjali Manel Amerasinghe

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The roles of transparency and public participation have become important issues in investor-state arbitrations.

The European Magnet And The U.S. Centrifuge: Ten Selected Private International Law Developments Of 2008, Ronald A. Brand

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

This article began as a short presentation for the 2008 International Law Weekend in New York City.

The U.S. Approach To Regionalism: Recent Past And Future, C. O'Neal Taylor

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The "new regionalism"' of the last decade shows a turn away from regional groupings (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 2 the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) 3 and Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) 4 ) towards the negotiation and implementation of more bilateral arrangements.

The U.N. Human Rights Council: What Would Eleanor Roosevelt Say?, John Carey

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The prominent role played by Mrs. Roosevelt in the creation of the United Nations' (U.N.) human rights apparatus is described by William vanden Heuvel in the Fall issue of The InterDependent (Vol. 6 No. 3).' After quoting Henry Kissinger as styling her "one of the great human beings of our time," vanden Heuvel calls her "tough and resolute" as well as "fearless in speaking truth to power."

Historical American Erspectives On International Law, Harlan Grant Cohen

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The topic of this year's International Law Weekend, "The United States and International Law: Legal Traditions and Future Possibilities," cries out for additional historical perspective.

The U.N. Human Rights Council: Is Its Mandate Well-Designed?, Patrick J. Flood

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

This essay is about the design of the mandate of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which was hammered out after a year of negotiations within the General Assembly and then another year within the newly-created Council itself

Joint Study Panel On Transparency In International Commercial Arbitration, John R. Crook

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Thanks to Professor Louise Ellen Teitz, and to the ILA and ASIL for initiating this joint study panel. Our topic brings to mind the tale of the blind men and the elephant.

The Trade In Antiquities: Heritage For Sale?, Lucille A. Roussin

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

It was an automobile accident on Italy's Autostrada del Sole-the highway of the Sun-that led to the largest restitution, ever, of stolen antiquities from United States museums to the Republic of Italy.

National Security Courts: Star Chamber Or Specialized Justice?, Mark R. Shulman

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

In October 2008, the author moderated a panel discussion addressing the utility of establishing a new national security court system for administering the detention and trial of terrorist suspects.

National Security And The U.N. Convention On The Law Of The Sea: U.S. Coast Guard Perspectives, Dr. John T. Oliver

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

The world's oceans cover over seventy percent of the globe and contain ninety-seven percent of the world's water.

Accountability In Bretton Woods, Karen Hudes, Sabine Schlemmer-Schulte

ILSA Journal of International & Comparative Law

Under the Marshall Plan after World War H, the United States gave $13 billion to rebuild western Europe. But some historians argue that the United States' most important legacy was its role in establishing the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), named the Bretton Woods institutions, after the site of the conference in 1944 in New Hampshire.