Government Contracts Commons^™

Mechanisms For Consultation And Free, Prior And Informed Consent In The Negotiation Of Investment Contracts, Sam Szoke-Burke, Kaitlin Cordes

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

Investor-state contracts are regularly used in low- and middle-income countries to grant concessions for land-based and natural resource investments, such as agricultural, extractive industry, forestry, or renewable energy projects. These contracts are rarely negotiated in the presence of, or with meaningful input from, the people who risk being adversely affected by the project. This practice will usually risk violating requirements for meaningful consultation, and, where applicable, free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and is particularly concerning when the investor-state contract gives the investor company rights to lands or resources over which local communities have legitimate claims.

This article explores how …

Bitcoin: Order Without Law In The Digital Age, John O. Mcginnis, Kyle Roche

Indiana Law Journal

Modern law makes currency a creature of the state and ultimately the value of its currency depends on the public’s trust in that state. While some nations are more capable than others at instilling public trust in the stability of their monetary institutions, it is nonetheless impossible for any legal system to make the pre-commitments necessary to completely isolate the governance of its money supply from political pressure. This proposition is true not only today, where nearly all government institutions manage their money supply in the form of central banking, but also true of past private banking regimes circulating their …

A Common-Sense Defense Of Janus: Forthcoming Changes In The Public Sector, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

Many scholars and others have, for some time now, been calling attention to the alarming growth in post-employment and other benefits for unionized employees in the public sector. ¹⁷ A fairly well-understood phenomenon is thought to explain the inability of state and local governments to resist outsized demands from their public unions. As ¹⁸ Is and others ¹⁹ have argued, the central problem with public sector unions is that they find it easy to capture their employers (taxpayers) in ways that private sector unions cannot. The role played by often eager and feckless elected officials in this process has also …

Solid V. Eighth Judicial Dist. Court, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 17 (Apr. 27, 2017), Hunter Davidson

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court interpreted Nevada Supreme Court Rules (“SCR” or the “Rules”) on Electronic Coverage of Court Proceedings: (1) My Entertainment TV (MET) is a “news reporter” under SCR 229(1)(c) because it collects, edits, and publishes footage concerning local events for public dissemination; (2) Clark County court proceedings footage has the educational or informational purpose required by SCR 241; (3) camera presence in the court room alone does not overcome the presumption permitting electronic recording of court proceedings under SCR 230; and (4) contract provisions must be read together, and the result should comport with the SCR on electronic coverage of …

Contract Theory And The Failures Of Public-Private Contracting, Wendy Netter Epstein

All Faculty Scholarship

The market for public-private contracting is huge and flawed. Public-private contracts for services such as prisons and welfare administration tend to result in cost savings at the sacrifice of quality service. For instance, to cut costs, private prisons skimp on security. Public law scholars have studied these problems for decades and have proposed various public law solutions. But the literature is incomplete because it does not approach the problem through a commercial lens. This Article fills that gap. It considers how economic analysis of contract law, in particular efficiency theory and agency theory, bear upon the unique problems of public-private …

Empirical Studies Of Contract, Zev J. Eigen

Faculty Working Papers

Since the mid 2000s, a cottage industry has slowly blossomed of empirical research dedicated to advancing accounts of contracts "on the books"--accounting for what contracts tend to purportedly obligate signers to do, and contracts "in action"--accounting for how contracting parties tend to behave. This article reviews this literature, which spans several disciplines, most notably law, economics, and management, identifying eight categories of empirical questions in common across all disciplines, highlighting key findings, points of consensus, and noting areas most pressingly in need of additional research.

Using Earned Value Data To Detect Potential Problems In Acquisition Contracts, C. Grant Keaton

Theses and Dissertations

Government contractors report earned value (EV) information to government agencies in monthly Contract Performance Reports (CPR). Though major differences may exist in the data between subsequent CPRs, we know of no government effort to detect these occurrences. The identification of major changes may locate and isolate problems and thus prevent million and billion dollar cost and schedule overruns. In this study, we develop an approach to identify changes in the Cost Performance Index (CPI) and the Schedule Performance Index (SPI) that may indicate problems with contract performance. We find the detection algorithm indentifies changes in the CPI and the SPI …

A Moral Contractual Approach To Labor Law Reform: A Template For Using Ethical Principles To Regulate Behavior Where Law Failed To Do So Effectively, Zev J. Eigen, David S. Sherwyn

Faculty Working Papers

If laws cease to work as they should or as intended, legislators and scholars propose new laws to replace or amend them. This paper posits an alternative—offering regulated parties the opportunity to contractually bind themselves to behave ethically. The perfect test-case for this proposal is labor law, because (1) labor law has not been amended for decades, (2) proposals to amend it have failed for political reasons, and are focused on union election win rates, and less on the election process itself, (3) it is an area of law already statutorily regulating parties' reciprocal contractual obligations, and (4) moral means …

Consumer Protection And Social Methods Of Continental And Anglo-American Contract Law And The Transnational Outlook, Andreas Maurer

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Debates over the content of recent EU directives and U.S. statutory amendments related to consumer protection highlight the importance of such regulation. Criticism calling for a return to freedom of contract in both regions reflects a tension between social ideals related to equality between private parties, and a deep distrust of state intervention and market regulation. With the rise of private sources for transnational commercial standards and practices, there is an opportunity for states to facilitate selfregulation in lieu of producing public substantive regulations. This approach seems to satisfy a well-established need for consumer protection without exacerbating government intervention in …

The Law Of Society: Governance Through Contract, Peter Zumbansen

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This paper focuses on contract law as a central field in contemporary regulatory practice. In recent years, "governance by contract" has emerged as the central concept in the context of privatization, domestic and transnational commercial relations, and law-and-development projects. Meanwhile, as a result of the neo-formalist attack on contract law, "governance of contract" through contract adjudication, consumer protection law, and judicial intervention into private law relations has come under severe pressure. Building on early historical critique of the formalist foundations of an allegedly private law of the market, the paper assesses the current justifications for contractual governance and posits that …

Introduction: Private Ordering In A Globalizing World: Still Searching For The Basics Of Contract, Peer Zumbansen

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Governing Contracts - Public and Private Perspectives, Symposium. Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, November 9-10, 2006

Changing Contract Lenses: Unexpected Supervening Events In English, New Zealand, U.S., Japanese, And International Sales Law And Practice, Luke Nottage

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This article compares differences in the reasoning underlying contractual relationships between English and New Zealand law and U.S. and Japanese law. It then builds upon an existing framework by adding the notion of didactic formality to identify another important contrast between the laws of these countries. It also discusses how CISG and UPICC fit in to this spectrum. The article concludes by questioning "strong convergence" theory in commercial law worldwide.

Governing Contracts – Public and Private Perspectives, Symposium. Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto, November 9-10, 2006

The Making Of Transnational Contract Law, Graf-Peter Calliess

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The definition and creation of contract law is entrenched in a common understanding of the strong role of the modern state in the administration of justice. This article argues that this understanding is currently subject to a fundamental transformation as a result of the increasing demand for legal certainty in cross-border transactions. Traditional concepts of private international law, mainly the law of conflicts and multilateral treaty harmonization, have proven unable to keep pace with globalization, allowing private actors to step in and gain a dominant position in providing legal services to international commerce. The resulting privatization of lawmaking leads to …

Finding Common Ground In The World Of Electronic Contracts: The Consistency Of Legal Reasoning In Clickwrap Cases, Robert L. Dickens

ExpressO

Electronic contractual arrangements have raised complex legal issues unprecedented in the law. Technology s impact on traditional contract law doctrines is readily apparent in the dilemmas generated by recent developments in computer software, hardware, and Internet transactions. In such transactions, sellers have increasingly begun utilizing “clickwrap” agreements, whereby standard terms and conditions are displayed on the computer screen when the user attempts to access the seller’s services. Not surprisingly, the enforceability of clickwrap terms, which are often not known to the user until after payment, has become a subject of much debate in the courts. Because many of the clickwrap …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Corporations And The Lateral Obligations Of The Social Contract, Benedict Sheehy

ExpressO

Social contract theorists suggest that society at some level is based on the idea that human people surrender freedom for the privilege of participating in society. That participation implicitly requires more than mere minimal compliance with law. Each human person’s contribution to society above the legal baseline, permits humans to create a society that is at least tolerable. Corporations as non-human act without regard for these supra-legal obligations which results in society suffering injustice. Corporate participation in society has become increasingly unjust and has done so to the extent that we may speak of living in a post-ethical world.

China-Australia Free Trade Agreement New Icing On An Old Cake-An Opportunity For Fair Trade?, Benedict Sheehy, Jackson N. Maogoto

ExpressO

The on-going challenge in economic development and globalization, particularly for developing countries, is the issue of development and equality in society. The issue becomes particularly problematic when confronted in matters of international trade. Often misnamed anti-globalization activists and pro-globalization activists fail to take note of the underlying assumptions that lead them to conflict—namely, the actual costs and benefits to society that result from their particular positions. In essence, both activists are searching for ways to improve the lives of people in the domestic context and to minimize the damage to their society and environment. China’s impressive economic record is threatened …

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

Use And Effectiveness Of Contract Schedule Incentives In Air Force Materiel Command, Rodrick A. Koch

Theses and Dissertations

Are contract schedule incentives utilized by our acquisition contracting workforce, and if so what are their effectiveness? This research shows there is not widespread use of these types of incentives. There is also disagreement on their perceived effectiveness. Surveying, via email, the population of contracting officers and buyers within Air Force Materiel Command yielded responses from every center and many large acquisition systems. Only 8.5% of responses showed that they use schedule incentives. These respondents claim that schedule incentives are somewhat effective, yet of the 91.5 % that have not used them, 2-to-l say they would not be effective. The …

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Losing Rights To Intellectual Property: The Perils Of Contracting With The Federal Government, Katherine White

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

A State's Power To Enter Into A Consent Decree That Violates State Law Provisions: What "Findings" Of A Federal Violation Are Sufficient To Justify A Consent Decree That Trumps State Law?, David W. Swift

ExpressO

In the last forty years federal courts have played a prominent role in reshaping our public institutions. And while some scholars question the efficacy of these structural injuctions, the authority of federal courts to order such relief is generally unquestioned. What is open to debate, however, is whether state officials can agree to a remedy they would not have had the authority to order themselves; and if so, to what extent must an underlying constitutional violation be proved so as to justify the remedy?

This article discusses the competing theories and concludes that a remedy that violates state law may …

Good Faith In The Cisg: Interpretation Problems In Article 7, Benedict C. Sheehy

ExpressO

ABSTRACT: This article examines the dispute concerning the meaning of Good Faith in the CISG. Although there are good reasons for arguing a more limited interpretation or more limited application of Good Faith, there are also good reasons for a broader approach. Regardless of the correct interpretation, however, practitioners and academics need to have a sense of where the actual jurisprudence is going. This article reviews every published case on Article 7 since its inception and concludes that while there is little to suggest a strong pattern is developing, a guided pattern while incorrect doctrinally is preferable to the current …

Dead Men Telling Tales - A Policy-Based Proposal For Survivability Of Qui Tam Actions Under The Civil False Claims Act, Vickie J. Williams

ExpressO

The civil False Claims Act is a powerful tool used by both the federal government and private citizens, under the statutes "qui tam" or "whistleblower" provisions, to fight fraud against the government. Use of the statute has continually risen in recent years, and recoveries under the statute are in the billions of dollars. The unique relationship between a private citizen whistleblower and the government who both have an interest in the case raises many interesting procedural and substantive issues of federal law. This article proposes an answer to one of these questions. The article proposes that a whistleblower suit survives …

Implied-In-Fact Contracts Under The Federal Acquisition Regulation: Why Pacord Got It Wrong, Arnie Bruce Mason

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Acquisition Reform And Political-Fiscal Variables On Air Force Gao-Protests Processed, Raymond M. Barben

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine whether the Air Force contract protest frequency rises or falls with reforms in the acquisition process, number of AF Contract Actions, number of AF Contract Dollars, AF-GAO Sustain Rate, and/or General Economic Conditions (represented by the U.S. unemployment rate). Specific management questions address the effectiveness of acquisition reform initiatives, a comparison to other external factors, and the identification of AF-GAO Protest trends between 1984 and 1998. The research problem was explored with a thorough literature review and formulation of a multiple regression model. The research identified the need to evaluate the impact …

Communist China's Foreign Trade Organization, Gene T. Hsiao

Vanderbilt Law Review

Although as of October 1966 Communist China has been diplomatically recognized by only fifty countries' and thus still remains outside the world legal community, it has trade relations with more than 120 countries and regions. The annual volume of Peking's foreign trade has been estimated at 2.96 billion dollars in 1963 and 4.5 billion dollars in 1966. The latest Western reports from Peking indicate that foreign buyers and sellers see in "China's 700 million people a market with dazzling prospects and a potential source "of supply of goods they can market profitably in their countries." The official organ of the …