International Law Commons^™

The Use Of International Human Rights Law To Interpret Canada's Charter Of Rights And Freedoms, John Claydon

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Five years ago, Canada adopted a constitutional bill of rights [Charter],' which is similar in many respects to the American Bill of Rights, - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and the American Convention on Human Rights. Human rights treaties played an extremely important role in the "constitutional" history of the Charter. In fact, they directly inspired amendments to early drafts of the Charter. Also, during these first five years litigators have frequently invoked, and judges have applied, international human rights law as an aid to interpret the Charter.

the Charter. 6 …

Somber Reflections On The Compulsory Jurisdiction Of The International Court, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

International Courts And The Efficacy Of International Law, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Interregional Codes Of Conduct For Transnational Corporations, T. M. Ocran

Connecticut Journal of International Law

In recent years, the international community has become increasingly aware of the benefits and potential dangers presented by transnational corporations [TNCs]. This awareness and concern, among United Nations organizations in particular, prompted interested states to initiate concrete measures aimed at regulating the activities of transnational corporations. Thus, in 1974, the United Nations Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC] established a Commission on Transnational Corporations.' In 1976, the Commission appointed an Intergovernmental Working Group' to develop and draft a regulatory code of conduct for TNCs.

The comprehensive draft code is currently in its final stages. After review in the special session of …

Criminal And Administrative Sanctions Under United States Export Laws, Stephen P. Mcnamara

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution' gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations. In its exercise of this power Congress has enacted many overlapping statutes regulating exports from the United States. Exporting is generally considered a privilege rather than a right, although there is a "strong presumption that citizens should be free to engage in international commerce except in instances where regulation is clearly needed to advance important public interests."' These public interests include the regulation of materials of war; the United States has long had a policy of controlling the export of arms, commodities …

Competing Equalities: Learning From Indian Compensatory Discrimination, Deborah A. Calloway

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Analyzing COMPETING EQUALITIES: LAW AND THE BACKWARD CLASSES IN INDIA. By Marc Galanter.** Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. 625 pp. $36.50.

The United States and India both are heterogeneous societies attempting to incorporate disadvantaged groups into the mainstream of the national economy. Although both countries have addressed the problem by prohibiting intentional discrimination against protected groups, each has taken a different approach toward encouraging integration. India grants preferential treatment to its underprivileged groups (compensatory discrimination). The United States instead prohibits employers from using employment criteria that arbitrarily bar qualified minorities from employment opportunities.

This article will briefly compare American …

Marc Galanter's "Competing Equalities": Two Perspectives -- Law, Society And Rights In India, Mark Weston Janis

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Reviewing COMPETING EQUALITIES: LAW AND THE BACKWARD CLASSES IN INDIA. By Marc Galanter.** Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. 625 pp. $36.50.

Some Observations On Representing Transnational Corporations In Africa, Laishley P. Wragg Jr., Kemal A. Sheikh

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Transnational corporations have been the object of increasing scrutiny and regulation by host governments in Africa South of Sahara.' Counsel to a transnational corporation operating there should anticipate problems posed by a myriad of currencies and exchange control regimes, by varying sources of law, and by constant government involvement in corporate affairs, including frequent government takeovers. In this commentary, we examine some of the important legal issues which face transnational corporations doing business in that region.

Nuclear Weapons And Self-Defence In International Law, Istvan Pogany

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The development of nuclear weapons has had a two-fold impact on the concept of self-defence as understood by international law. The unprecedented destructive power of such weapons has caused some lawyers to question whether states may lawfully use or deploy nuclear devices, even in self-defence.' In addition, the impossibility of adopting defensive measures after a strategic ballistic missile attack has been launched has prompted speculation as to whether preventive action is lawful. A number of scholars have concluded that anticipatory self-defence is essential so that a state confronted by an imminent nuclear attack may take steps immediately to ensure its …

The Dominant Role Of Administrative Law In The Soviet Legal System, Olimpiad S. Ioffe

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Soviet doctrine distinguishes between the system of legislation and the system of law. In Soviet legal terminology, "legislation" encompasses all normative acts, including those issued by administrative-executive agencies, while "laws" refers to normative acts adopted by the legislature. When the system of legislation is categorized according to legal importance, a hierarchy emerges with the Constitution at the top and normative acts of local executive committees at the bottom. Such a legal hierarchy assumes the subordination of normative acts of a lower level to normative acts of a higher level and, ultimately, to the Constitution as the normative act of the …

The Gray Market In The United States: Law, Policy, And Myth, John T. Mcdermott

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The importation of counterfeit goods bearing another's trademark is generally considered, at least in developed countries, a wrongful and illegal act properly prohibited by law. "Gray market" or "parallel" imports present a very different issue, for the product is genuine and the trademark was affixed legally. But are gray market imports themselves "legal," and do they "hurt consumers badly," as Ms. Furness maintains?

Trademark holders and their licensed distributors argue that gray market imports are, or should be, illegal" as they result in the improper appropriation of the good will of the trademark owners by the gray marketers and because …

The Recognition And Enforcement Of Foreign Law: The Antelope's Penal Law Exception, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

In 1825, Chief Justice Marshall held in The Antelope that (t)he courts of no country execute the penal laws of another. Since then, United States Courts have painstakingly crafted a variety of definitions of the word penal in order to help determine when and when not they should apply foreign laws or execute foreign judgments which conceivably might be characterized as penal. Much of their hairsplitting analysis might have been avoided if American judges and commentators had looked behind Marshall's phrase to see its foundations in law and policy. After reviewing the accepted wisdom about The Antelope's penal law exception, …

The Experience Of The Phillipines In Taxing Its Nonresident Citizens, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Open Markets Or Protectionism For International Ocean Shipping? - Developments In United States Law And Policy, Walter H. Lion

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The ocean shipping industry has experienced constant tension with respect to the issue of whether, and to what extent, the business of carrying goods on seagoing vessels should operate in an open market or in one that is protected.' Recently this dispute has taken on new intensity and importance as developing nations and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] have attempted to restrict carrier access to world shipping. At the same time, United States policy makers and portions of the shipping industry have renewed efforts to maintain and expand an open world shipping market.

This article will …

Recent Approaches To Situs Of Debt In Act Of State Decisions, Karen L. Goldthwaite

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The act of state doctrine, in its traditional formulation,' precludes inquiry by the courts of this country into the validity of the public acts committed by a recognized foreign sovereign power within its own territory. One of the situations in which the doctrine commonly is invoked by non-American litigants arises where a foreign sovereign purports to confiscate a debt or obligation owed to a national of the foreign country by an American bank or owed by some other party but held by an American bank. A related problem with respect to which the doctrine is also raised involves actions taken …

Baselines Configure The Atlantic Coastline Of The United States: United States V. Seward, Stephen W. Aronson

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The District Court for the District of Connecticut held in United States v. Seward' that the United States Coast Guard had authority to seize a British vessel, suspected of transporting illicit drugs into the United States, on the high seas. In reaching this decision, the district court construed the Agreement on Narcotic Drugs: Interdiction of Vessels to mean that Nantucket Island comprised part of the Atlantic coast of the United States.

This note first examines the methods of defining coastal boundaries under both international law and United States municipal law. Next, the district court's opinion is outlined. Lastly, the court's …

Significant Developments In The United States Law Governing International Commercial Arbitration, John T. Mcdermott

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Common law judges have long been suspicious of arbitration agreements. In England throughout the eighteenth century, there was a '"very great inclination in the courts . . . to throw obstacles in the way of arbitration." Judges in that period were prone to view arbitration agreements as attempts to oust the courts of jurisdiction, and thus as "contrary to the policy of the law." The result of this negative stance was that a party to a contract containing an arbitration agreement could circumvent arbitration simply by commencing a lawsuit. The courts' hostility remained evident well into the early years of …

Negotiating An International Technology Joint Venture, James A. Dobkin

Connecticut Journal of International Law

Consider a hypothetical United States corporation, BathyTech Industries,' that for three years has been involved in the research and development of bathymetric navigation technology.' BathyTech's research department has made significant advances toward developing a prototype system. However, it has expended very considerable sums and substantial additional risk capital is necessary to bring the product to the point of commercial application. BathyTech has not previously marketed navigational systems, and has little experience in marketing outside the United States. Nevertheless, there is substantial market demand for an effective bathymetric navigation system. The board of directors and management are reluctant to invest the …

Legal Considerations Affecting Foreign Bank Acquisitions Of United States Banks, Robert L. Tortoriello, Christopher K. Aidun

Connecticut Journal of International Law

This article discusses various legal considerations involved in the acquisition of a U.S. bank or bank holding company [a target] by a foreign bank or bank holding company [a foreign acquiror]. It summarizes a foreign acquiror's options in light of federal banking laws affecting the manner in which such a transaction might be consummated. This article also briefly addresses other important legal considerations - state banking law requirements, federal and state tax consequences, and disclosure requirements under federal and state securities laws affecting the acquisition of a U.S. bank or bank holding company.

The Seas And International Law: Rules And Rulers, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

The recent developments in the law of the sea form only one chapter of a larger story which deals with the development of international law in general. This larger story has to do with the ways in which the rules of international law are perceived and how it is believed the world should be governed. This Article examines the tale of the law of the sea in the 1970's and 1980's in an historical perspective. It is especially important for Americans to remember the record of history. This is so not only because the United States is one of the …

Tax Aspects Of Doing Business With The People’S Republic Of China, Richard Pomp, Timothy A. Gelatt

Faculty Articles and Papers

Before 1979, the People’s Republic of China did not have a logical system of taxing foreign business. That summer, a few selected American tax professors met with Chinese tax officials to explain the complexities of source rules, foreign tax credits, and tax treaties. That gave Chinese officials a detailed knowledge of intricate tax issues, and they have used this knowledge to develop China’s new tax system. Since 1979, China’s tax structure has conformed to generally accepted international structures with the adoption of three important taxes affecting foreign business activity. At first, China’s statutes and regulations did not clearly explain the …

Individuals As Subjects Of International Law, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

The Ambiguity Of Equity In International Law, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

The Tax Structure Of The People’S Republic Of China, Richard Pomp, Stanley Surrey

Faculty Articles and Papers

In the summer of 1979, a month-long seminar on taxation sponsored by Harvard Law School’s International Tax Program took place in the People’s Republic of China. Due to limited foreign investment, China was not required to consider the applicability of its domestic tax laws to foreigners. The expected increase in foreign investment after the passage of the 1979 Joint Venture Law will require changes to the existing tax structure. Currently, nine taxes exist in China. While an increase in foreign investment will lead to new taxes, some of the existing taxes may apply to foreigners.

This article examines the income …

Dispute Settlement In The Law Of The Sea Convention: The Military Activities Exception, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Report On The Internal Training Program Of Zambia’S Department Of Taxes, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

This report covers a review of the internal training program of Zambia’s Department of Taxes in 1975 and offers numerous suggestions for improvement. The report begins with a brief description of the courses of study in the training program, followed by a discussion of problem areas of the three main components of each course (field training, classroom instruction, and examinations) with recommendations for reform. After noting a general dissatisfaction with the quality of trainees the Tax Department attracts, the report suggests two main avenues for improvement. One avenue is establishing working conditions that attract and keep high-quality individuals. The other …

Naval Missions And The Law Of The Sea, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Economic Integration In East Africa: Distribution Of Gains, Robert Birmingham

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.