Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Comparative Criminal Law And Enforcement: Russia, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This chapter assesses criminal law and enforcement in Russia. It addresses the history of the Russian criminal justice system and its reform, as well as Russia’s criminal procedure and substantive criminal law.

Questions Of Fact And Law In Russian Jury Trials: The Practice Of The Cassational Courts Under The Jury Laws Of 1864 And 1993, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the question of fact and law in Russian jury trials, specifically the practice of the Cassational Courts under the jury laws of 1864 and 1993. It discusses the general structure of the question lists, what the jury’s finding of guilt actually entails, if mental state and aggravating circumstances are questions of law or fact, and the question of jury nullification. It also provides an assessment of the jurisprudence of the Cassational Panel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

Three Nearly Sacred Books In Western Law, George P. Fletcher

Faculty Scholarship

We American lawyers pride ourselves on the secular nature of our legal system. We celebrate the separation of Church and State. We think that the moving spirit of the law is to be found not in eternal truths about the universe but in the contingent needs of social and economic policy. "The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience," said Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., in a sentence that since 1881 has broadcast to every new generation of lawyers the pragmatic foundations of their craft.

We assume that we have little in common with the great …

Do Norms Matter?: A Cross-Country Evaluation, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

This Article starts with the recognition that the average private benefits of control vary significantly across countries. But why? The simplest explanation ascribes this variation to differences in law between jurisdictions: for example, the law of jurisdiction X could privilege controlling shareholders by allowing them to extract benefits from their corporation in the form of above-market salaries or non-pro-rata payments in connection with self-dealing transactions. But, this explanation cannot fit all cases. To illustrate, if the substantive law is essentially similar between two jurisdictions while the private benefits of control appear to be significantly different, then some other explanation must …

The Art And Science Of Critical Scholarship: Postmodernism And International Style In The Legal Architecture Of Europe, Ugo Mattei

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Migration And The Bounds Of Comparative Analysis, Michel Rosenfeld

Articles

The article explores the complexities and challenges of comparative constitutional analysis, highlighting how constitutional ideas and norms migrate across nations. It emphasizes that while such analysis is necessary and can provide valuable insights, it must be approached with caution, considering the unique cultural, historical, and political contexts of each country. The author argues that foreign constitutional materials can influence domestic law both directly and indirectly, but their application must account for contextual differences to avoid misinterpretation or misuse.

Comparing Judicial Selection Systems, Lee Epstein, Jack Knight, Olga Shvetsova

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

What Is The New Russian Federalism?, Jeffrey D. Kahn

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

With the sudden rise of Vladimir Putin, Russian federalism made another volte-face. The ambiguous enforceability of Yeltsin's bilateral treaties with the Russian Federation’s non-Russian ethnic republics (formerly ASSRs) - never ratified by legislatures - was made clear by Putin's disregard for executive promises that no longer suited his interests. One of Putin's first presidential decrees, signed days after his inauguration, divided Russia into seven federal districts, each encompassing several republics, oblasts, and okrugs, and each headed by a presidential enforcer tasked to maintain the supremacy of federal law. Lists were rumoured to circulate in the Kremlin of regional leaders to …

Back To Basics? University Legal Education And 21st Century Professionalism, Annie Rochette, W. Wesley Pue

All Faculty Publications

This article probes the complexities surrounding trying to match law school curriculum with the needs of students intent on careers in the practice of law. It pursues the issue in three stages: 1) an assessment of a contemporary back to basics critique of legal education; 2)an empirical evaluation of actual student experiences and course selections at a major North American law school over the course of a decade; 3) an assessment of the 'fit' between existing legal education and the likely needs of future practitioners.

Globalization And Legal Education: Views From The Outside-In, W. Wesley Pue

All Faculty Publications

During the past two decades a new, global, legal professionalism has manifested itself in the field of legal education through a variety of programmes seeking to produce globally-aware or globally-connected lawyers. This paper explores the diverse meanings of globalization and legal education with particular attention to the differential effects of globalization and the varied experiences of it in different parts of the world. Taking its starting point from a Nigerian graduate student's insight that globalization means 'The White Man is Coming again'. What does he want this time?, he explores both American and international perspectives.

Adventures In Comparative Legal Studies: Studying Singapore, Carole Silver

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Rule Of Law And Commercial Litigation In Myanmar, Alec Christie

Washington International Law Journal

After nearly thirty years of self imposed isolation, Myanmar has reemerged as a significant potential destination for foreign investment. One of the key attractions of Myanmar as a destination for foreign investment is its legal system and historical commitment to the rule of law. With ASEAN membership and increasing levels of foreign investment in Myanmar, use of its legal system by foreign investors and their counsel has grown. The aim of this article is to outline, for both investors and legal professionals in other countries throughout the region, Myanmar's legal system and its practical operation in the area of commercial …

Korean Attitues Towards Law, Chan Jin Kim

Washington International Law Journal

Transformation is the key word to explain the Korean attitudes towards law. In the early 1950's, nation building gave impetus to economic growth and allowed Korea to quickly pass through the preliminary stages of development. Industrialization, urbanization and eventual emigration of the populace have, in many senses, displaced the traditional social value system based on Confucianism. However, a new value system has yet to take hold. The lack of such guidelines has left Koreans in a state of confusion in a world that continues to change. The Korean Constitution clearly mandates equal protection under the laws for all Koreans. However, …

One Country, Three Systems? Judicial Review In Macau After Ng Ka Lling, Judith R. Krebs

Washington International Law Journal

The Ng Ka Ling decision by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeals and its reversal by the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, raise serious concerns regarding the adequacy of judicial review and the protection of the rule of law in the new special administrative regions under China's "One Country, Two Systems" approach. Judicial review lies at the forefront of this controversy because it largely delineates the contours of local autonomy and the extent to which those who experience legal violations will have remedies. This Comment explores the roots of the conflict in Hong Kong and examines whether …

Law On Communications Interception During Criminal Investigations, Yohei Suda

Washington International Law Journal

Whereas organized crime severely damages the peace and health of society, and increasingly it is extremely difficult to clarify the truth in criminal investigations without intercepting the telephone communications or other telecommunications of criminals in serious crimes committed by conspiracy, such as organized murder and unlawful trade of drugs or firearms, the purpose of this law is to set forth the requirements, procedures, and other matters that are relevant to the invasive action of intercepting telecommunications, as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 131, 1948), and are essential for dealing appropriately with such crimes, in such a …

The Japanese Law On Communications Interception During Criminal Investigatons: Translator's Introduction, Yohei Suda

Washington International Law Journal

Japan enacted the Law on Communications Interception During Criminal Investigations last year to help control organized crime. The legislation is, in part, a reaction to domestic and international pressure that grew from recent, well-publicized crimes such as the Aur Shinrikyo attack on a Tokyo subway. The Interception Law is a powerful tool for Japanese law enforcement, however the question of whether the Interception Law violates Japan's constitutional rights to privacy and secrecy of communication has not yet been resolved.

Microfinance And Poverty Alleviation: Lessons From Indonesia's Village Banking System, Yoko Miyashita

Washington International Law Journal

Indonesia needs an aggressive poverty reduction strategy to counter the 1997 Asian financial crisis, which has propelled millions of its citizens into poverty. Microfinance is a proven method of reducing poverty and has been successfully used within Indonesia in government-supported programs. In addition to continuing its state-run microfinance programs, Indonesia should support increased non-governmental organization ("NGO") participation in microfinance programs by permitting NGOs to conduct the full range of activities of a state-run microfinance program. Such a move would help to ensure that microfinance services reach people with the least access to the formal financial sector.

Decolonising Restoration And Justice: Restoration In Transitional Cultures, Mark Findlay

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article is a strategy for the comparative analysis of justice in various contesting forms. To identify useful levels of the comparative project, the colonising potential of restorative justice is examined. In this context the influence of formalised justice mechanisms over the less formal is explored, with examples in transitional cultures in the South Pacific discussed. Local and global potentials (and dilemmas) are identified for analysis. The integration of justice forms, both in terms of structure and ideology, is argued for. Notions of collaborative rather than restorative justice are advanced, in order that the intersection between state-sponsored and customary justice …

Globalisation & Legal Theory By William Twining, Caroline Bradley

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Puerto Rico: Cultural Nation, American Colony, Pedro A. Malavet

UF Law Faculty Publications

As a matter of law, Puerto Rico has been a colony for an uninterrupted period of over five hundred years. In modern times, colonialism—the status of a polity with a definable territory that lacks sovereignty because legal/political authority is exercised by a peoples distinguishable from the inhabitants of the colonized region—is the only legal status that the isla (island) has known. This Article posits that Puerto Rico's colonial status—particularly its intrinsic legal and social constructs of second-class citizenship for Puerto Ricans—is incompatible with contemporary law or a sensible theory of justice and morality.

Puerto Ricans, as United States citizens by …

From Pirates To Partners: Protecting Intellectual Property In China In The Twenty-First Century, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United States repeatedly threatened China with a series of economic sanctions, trade wars, non-renewal of most-favored-nation status, and opposition to entry into the World Trade Organization. Such threats eventually led to compromises by the Chinese government and the signing of intellectual property agreements in 1992, 1995, and 1996. Despite these agreements, intellectual property piracy remains rampant in China.

Although China initially had serious concerns about the United States's threats of trade sanctions, the constant use of such threats by the U.S. government has led China to change its reaction and approach. By …

The Public Womb: Women Under China's One-Child Policy, Rachael Savanyu

Buffalo Women's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Karo Kari: Honor Killing, Wendy M. Gonzalez

Buffalo Women's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Access To Justice Bill And Human Rights Act Of 1998: Britain's Legislative Overhaul Leaves The System Scrambling To Mend The Safety Net, Margot Penfold Schoenborn

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Reform In China: New Regulations For A Lay Assessor System, Di Jiang

Washington International Law Journal

After a long history of the "rule of social rituals" and the "rule under man," China is reforming its legal structures, trying to achieve the rule of law. To realize this goal, China needs a more effective judicial deliberative body. To help define a system that is compatible with China's practical needs and promotes its social modernization, this Article examines the western jury and assessor systems and compares them to China's lay assessor system.

Primus Inter Pares: Is The Singapore Judiciary First Among Equals?, Karen Blőchlinger

Washington International Law Journal

Chief Justice Yong Pung How has implemented many changes in the Singapore judicial system since his appointment to the post in 1990. The reforms have concentrated on active case management, providing mediation as an alternative mechanism to resolve disputes, and implementing information technology in the courtroom. One of the results of these reforms is that the backlog of cases has been eliminated and the judicial system has become dramatically more efficient. However, an increased efficiency in judicial administration cannot be justified if it is attained at the expense of restricting access to justice. This Comment reviews the judicial reforms in …

Implementation Of 30-Year Land Use Rights For Farmers Under China's 1998 Land Management Law: An Analysis And Recommendations Based On A 17 Province Survey, Roy Prosterman, Brian Schwarzwalder, Ye Jianping

Washington International Law Journal

Recent legal and policy measures demonstrate the commitment of China's central leadership to the development and implementation of a legal framework providing long-term, secure land tenure to its nearly 800 million farmers. The results of a 17 province, 1,621 household survey conducted in August 1999 show that considerable progress has already been made toward this goal. However, a number of key issues related to both the implementation of existing legal rules and the development of additional legislation addressing rural land rights must be addressed for the process to be complete.

Choosing A Mechanism For Land Redistribution In The Philippines, Andre Sawchenko

Washington International Law Journal

The Philippines' Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program needs changes because it is not efficiently achieving social justice for the rural poor in the present, nor is it establishing a framework for equitable economic growth in the future. A land reform program in the Philippines can accomplish its objectives only to the extent that it redistributes land. Market assisted land reform, the recently developed land reform model being championed by the World Bank, provides little hope for the quick and extensive redistribution of land needed in the Philippines. The best way for the Philippine government to modify its land reform program is …

Domestic Technological Innovation: An Approach To Solving South Korea's Labor Problems, Jeffrey F. Dickerman

Washington International Law Journal

When Korea' became a democracy in 1987, Korea's militant labor movement erupted into a series of nationwide protests and explosive labor strikes. As a consequence, Korea's new democratic government enacted progressive labor laws aimed at increasing wages and improving working conditions for laborers. However, these new progressive labor laws lowered the productivity of businesses. Consequently, many Korean goods could no longer compete in the global market and Korean businesses faced bankruptcy. Tension now exists between Korean businesses and workers as each side attempts to regulate the Korean workweek. The competing interests between business and workers can be balanced by domestic …

The Battle Against Software Piracy: Software Copyright Protection In The Philippines, Grace P. Nerona

Washington International Law Journal

The Philippines enacted the Intellectual Property Code ("IPC") on June 6, 1997 to comply with its World Trade Organization ("WTO") treaty obligations and to respond to U.S. concerns regarding intellectual property protection in the Philippines. The IPC streamlines administrative procedures, increases criminal penalties for copyright infringement, and provides copyright protection for computer software. Despite the enactment of the IPC, the United States has kept the Philippines on its Special 301 "Watch List" of intellectual property rights violators. The United States maintains that the level of intellectual property protection in the Philippines is inadequate and ineffective, particularly in the areas of …