International Law Commons^™

Book Review, Ved P. Nanda

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Human Rights and World Public Order

Myres S. McDougal, Harold D. Lasswell, and Lung-chu Chen

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1980. Pp. 116.

Reviewed by Ved P. Nanda

Recent Development: Foreign Sovereign Immunity, Jere Geiger Thompson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 19761 (FSIA) grants an "agency or instrumentality" of a foreign state substantially the same immunities that are provided to the state itself under the Act. An agency or instrumentality of a foreign state is defined in section 1603(b) of the FSIA. Section 1603(b) lists the following three criteria that must be met by an entity in order to qualify as an agency or instrumentality for sovereign immunity purposes: (1) the entity must be a legally independent person3 under the laws of the foreign state in which it was created; (2) the entity must be …

Taiwan Relations Act: Legislative Re-Recognition, Carl I. Gable

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The surprise and drama of President Carter's recognition of the People's Republic of China as "the sole legal government of China" have overshadowed the unique legal concepts on which his policy rests. Those concepts impact directly on private trade and investment transactions with Taiwan. They may also sound the death knell for traditional definitions of the term "recognition" in international law and diplomacy.

The recognition of a government such as the People's Republic of China (and the related termination of recognition of the Republic of China government) is a unique hybrid: a political act of the executive branch which directly …

The Beagle Channel Affair: A Failure In Judicial Persuasion, David M. Himmelreich

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

It has been demonstrated that although the Argentine Declaration of Nullity does not contain valid legal arguments for rejection, it does indicate weaknesses in the Court's opinion that make it vulnerable to rejection for political reasons. Specifically, the Court's remarks about Chilean possession of disputed islands outside the hammer were especially ill-advised. In addition, the Court failed to clearly articulate the reason for dividing the small Channel islands by appurtenance while refusing to do so for PNL. Finally, the Court's refusal to apply an Oceanic principle, even in a narrow sense, was questionable in a case in which the legal …

Foreign Sovereign Immunity--The Status Of Legal Entities In Socialist Countries As Defendants Under The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Of 1976, Jere G. Thompson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) grants an "agency or instrumentality" of a foreign state substantially the same immunities that are provided to the state itself under the Act. An agency or instrumentality of a foreign state is defined in section 1603(b) of the FSIA. Section 1603(b) lists the following three criteria that must be met by an entity in order to qualify as an agency or instrumentality for sovereign immunity purposes: (1) the entity must be a legally independent person under the laws of the foreign state in which it was created; (2) the entity must be …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

1. ADMIRALTY-- An Owner Must Arbitrate a Claim that a Parent Company Assigned to its Subsidiary when the Owner Contemplated such Arbitration in a Contract with the Subsidiary

2. DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY-- United Nations Employees not Accorded Diplomatic Immunity in Cases of Espionage; Recapture of Stolen Classified Information Diplomat does not Violate Diplomatic Immunity

3. EXTRADITION-- United States Extradition Treaty Applicable to all Enumerated Crimes regardless of the Sentence Imposed

4. INTERNATIONAL PATENT REGULATION-- Motion Requesting Benefit of Foreign Patent in Patent Interference Action is Proper without Supporting Statement of Reasons when Opponent can Fairly Respond

5. JURISDICTION AND PROCEDURE-- Dismissal …

"Force" Under Article 2(4) Of The United Nations Charter: The Question Of Economic And Political Coercion, James A. Delanis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since the adoption of this article the meaning of the word force has been disputed by political leaders and delegates to the United Nations. Invariably these disputes have centered on whether the prohibition against "the threat or use of force" in article 2(4) applies only to the threat or use of military force or extends to the threat or use of political and economic force as well.

Prompted in some instances by the economic and political coercion of the Arab oil boycott, international scholars have begun to study the legal definition of the term force, as it is used in …

Books Received, C. C. S.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

APPLICABLE LAW IN INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION By Julian D. M. Lew. Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications,1978. Pp. 633.

COMPARATIVE LAW YEARBOOK Issued by The Center for International Legal Studies Germantown, Maryland: Sijthoff & Noordhoff, 1979. Pp. 300.

CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL LAW: A CONCISE INTRODUCTION By Werner Levi Boulder, Colorado: The Westview Press, 1979. Pp.391.

DIRECT INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S. By Raymond J. Waldman Washington, D.C.: Transnational Investments, 1979.Pp. 413.

ENHANCING GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS Edited by J. I. Dominguez and others New York: McGraw-Hill, 1979. Pp. 270.

THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF LAW By Laura Nader Menasha, Wisconsin: American Anthropological Association, …

The 1977 Soviet Constitution: A Historical Comparison, Igor L. Kavass, Gary I. Christian

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Throughout the Soviet Union's history, its four constitutions have been a reflection of the political climate of the particular period. The documents thus viewed provide a historical and political benchmark against which life and thought in the U.S.S.R. may be fairly accurately gauged. When Brezhnev addressed the USSR Supreme Soviet on October 4, 1977, to recommend the inevitable adoption of the 1977 Constitution, he again stressed the historical perspective in which the document must be viewed. He stated: "We will adopt the new Constitution on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. This is not …

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Problems Of Extraterritorial Application, Shelley O'Neill

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, an amendment to the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), criminalizes bribery of foreign officials and requires audit controls and accurate reporting of transactions by United States companies. By enacting the legislation, Congress condemned foreign bribery as distorting trade and investment, undermining public confidence in United States enterprise, and damaging foreign relations. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also opposed corporate bribery as a threat to managerial accountability to shareholders. President Carter, while signing the legislation, emphasized its basic policy considerations.

The Act responded to increasing revelations concerning the widespread practice …

Whither The Commission On Human Rights: A Report After The 35th Session, Gerson Smoger

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The statement that the Commission on Human Rights "functions as the focal point of the United Nation's concentration on the international observance of human rights" is fraught with definitional inconsistencies. Throughout its existence one of the main problems faced by the members of the Commission has been to agree upon the appropriate limits of the expression "human rights." The question arises whether the term includes the right of a retired school teacher to speak out against his country's employment practices or his entitlement to receive social security after his departure from the teaching force. If these are both considered to …

Books Received, C. C. S.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

BOOKS RECEIVED

THE EXTENSION OF CORPORATE PERSONALITY IN INTERNATIONAL LAW By David A. Ijalaye

Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, 1978. Pp. 354.

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HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN LEGAL ORDER

By John Dugard

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978. Pp. 470.

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INTERNATIONALE BANKEN: AUSLANDSAKTIVITXTEN VON BANKEN BE-DEUTENDER INDUSTRIELANDER

By Ursel Stueber

Hamburg: Verlag Weltarchiv, 1974 (1977 Supplement available). Pp. 204.

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INVESTMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAMS IN WESTERN EUROPE

By B. T.Mansbach and R. J. Waldman

Washington, D.C.: International Division, Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 1978.

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SECESSION: THE LEGITIMACY OF SELF-DETERMINATION

By Lee C. Buchheit

New Haven, …

In Search Of An International Solution To Bribery: The Impact Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Of 1977 On Corporate Behavior, Steven M. Morgan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since enactment, the FCPA has been criticized for its ambiguity, pitfalls, and underlying policy weakness. For instance, a payment of $10,000 to a customs official by X Corporation in order to speed a shipment of perishables through customs would be a legal facilitating payment under the FCPA. Under the same circumstances, however, a $100 payment to a Cabinet minister who has the discretionary power to clear the shipment will subject the X Corporation to a million dollar fine and expose the guilty company officer, director or employee to a jail term of up to five years for violating the FCPA. …

To Bring To An End The State Of War: The Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, John F. Murphy

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article will describe and evaluate the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, and set it in historical and contemporary perspective in order to highlight some of the primary problems facing decision-makers in their deliberations on approaches to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. The article will then consider alternative courses of action available to the world community in light of principles of the United Nations Charter and of other sources of public international law and justice, political feasibility and the perceived interests of all parties to the conflict. Lastly, it will suggest new approaches to the problem, with a view …

Unilateral Termination Of The 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty Between The United States And The Republic Of China Pursuant To The President's Foreign Relations Power, Ronald P. Cima

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The act of terminating a treaty may initiate an international embroglio or create international arrangements as effectively as the act of entering into a treaty. Although the ramifications of each act may be significant, recent United States commentary has expressed greater concern over the constitutional efficacy of the methods by which the United States has entered international agreements than over the methods by which the United States has removed itself from them. President Carter's unilateral termination of the 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty between the United States and the Republic of China has raised the issue of which branch ought to …

Book Review: How Nations Behave, Alfred P. Rubin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

he point of view of How Nations Behave is that of the experienced teacher and wise statesman. Henkin begins by pointing out that all statesmen assume the binding force of some fundamental rules such as: treaties must be obeyed, ambassadors protected, territorial integrity of others respected, and that failure to observe these rules has the most dire consequences. Those consequences rarely involve the use of force, but those who define "law" to include only coercive systems based on a monopoly of force cannot, in their analysis of international relations or in their practical decisions as statesmen, take account of one …

Warsaw From The French Perspective: A Comparative Study Of Liability Limits Under The Warsaw Convention, Elizabeth G. Browning

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The Warsaw Convention, now over 45 years old, was originally designed to aid the growth of a new, undeveloped, and somewhat perplexing commercial enterprise--the international air transportation industry. Unfortunately, the drafters of the Convention took a narrow, and perhaps ill-advised, view of regulation of liability. They limited the carriers' liability for damage to an amount that could easily have been foreseen to be unworkable and they defined the concept of fault in ambiguous terms. While this fledgling attempt to codify an area of private international law was meant to provide a uniformity of terms that would be workable in a …

The Jurisprudence Of Judge Hardy Cross Dillard, Charles E.M. Kolb

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The purpose of this article is to provide a critical assessment of Judge Dillard's performance during his tenure on the International Court of Justice. Much of this article will be "jurisprudential" in scope, endeavoring to examine developments in international legal theory and international organizations during the past two decades and to assess recent decisions written by the Court. The approach will in part be an institutional one, taking into consideration the ability of an individual member of the Court to shape decisional outcomes of an international body which must resolve contentious litigation and render advisory opinions within the structure of …

War Crimes Jurisdiction And Due Process: The Bangladesh Experience, Jordan J. Paust, Albert P. Blaustein

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Must any state that holds and controls prisoners either prosecute those accused of having committed serious violations of international law or extradite them to a state that will prosecute? Finally, would similar breaches of international law by India or Indian troops obviate any jurisdictional competence or duties of India or Bangladesh?

The questions seemed unusual, at least in view of the past practices of international tribunals of the United States in prosecutions of its nationals. Specific criminal applications of relevant international norms had been relatively sparse.' There were problems with the applicability of international norms to Bangladesh, especially during the …

Torture And Other Forms Of Cruel And Unusual Punishment In International Law, Steven Ackerman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Although historically legal interest in human rights has been the special province of scholars, recent worldwide economic realignment has educated the public to global interdependency, vindicating those who foresaw a nexus between human rights and the maintenance of world order. "[A]n interdependent global community cannot sustain itself. .if the coin of common exchange is genocide and discrimination." A pragmatic understanding of the relationship between the maintenance of world order and the protection of human rights suggests that tolerance and fulfillment of the world expectation of human rights may not be a goal that can be universally achieved. It is, however, …

Extraterritorial Application Of The Federal Securities Code: An Examination Of The Role Of International Law In American Courts, George M. Taylor Iii.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

When the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1933 were enacted, the international capital market was in its infancy, and the legion difficulties of regulating transnational securities transactions had not evidenced themselves. The adaptation of those laws to the international economy has been largely the work of courts. The Securities and Exchange Commission, whose single venture into the field has not proved fully successful, has gladly acquiesced in the case by case approach to extraterritorial securities jurisdiction. On the other hand, Congress has for the most part remained silent. Since extraterritorial application of the securities laws …

The Arab Economic Boycott Of Israel: The International Law Perspective, Preston L. Greene, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Most of the discussion about the Arab economic boycott of Israel has focused on its effect upon United States law. Even when the discussion centers on moral and ethical considerations, the focus remains on the United States. This limited perspective, however, merely reflects the vast global economic interests of the United States. Nonetheless, the extensive analysis of American law and practices has tended to obscure the importance of applicable international norms. This article examines the effects and implications of the Arab boycott upon existing and evolving norms of contemporary international law. To properly analyze the international legal norms, the operative …

United States Interests In A Convention On The Law Of The Sea: The Case For Continued Efforts, Jonathan I. Charney

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Over 150 nations have been engaged in the negotiation of a multilateral Convention on the Law of the Sea at the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea for more than five years. The negotiations have included virtually every possible issue involving relations between nations with respect to the oceans, such as fishing, national jurisdiction, navigation, environment, scientific research, seabed exploitation, and transfer of technology.' The current product of that negotiation is the Informal Composite Negotiating Text (ICNT), a 198-page document containing 303 treaty articles plus seven annexes. Although the participating nations agree on much of the …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

1. Admiralty A State has Standing to Sue to Recover the Cost of Replacing Natural Resources Destroyed by Pollution

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2. Aliens' Rights Executive Order Barring Lawfully Admitted Resident Aliens from Federal Civil Service is Valid

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3. Constitutional Law Scope of Lacey Act Limited to Foreign Laws Designed to Protect Wildlife

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4. European Economic Community Restrictive Resale Provisions, Discriminating Pricing Policies, and Refusals to Deal by Corporation with a Dominant Position in a Substantial Part of EEC Violates Article 86 of the EEC Treaty

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5. International Travel Statute Suspending Social Security Income Benefits for Recipient Temporarily Out …

Books Received, C. C. S.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS IN EUROPE

Edited by R. M. Goode and K. R. Simmons Published for the Faculty of Laws; Queen Mary College, University of London Boston: A. W. Sijthoff, 1978. Pp. 448.

COMPARATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

By Mauro Cappelletti and William Cohen Indianapolis, Indiana: Bobbs -Merrill, 1979. Pp. 628.

COMPARATIVE LAW: WESTERN EUROPEAN AND LATIN AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEMS

By John H. Merryman and David S. Clark Indianapolis, Indiana: Bobbs -Merrill, 1978. Pp. 1278.

THE DISCIPLINE OF LAW

By Lord Denning London: Butterworths,1979. Pp. 330.

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND THE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS BETWEEN STATES

By Guy S. Goodwin -Gill Oxford: Clarendon Press, …

Lawyers, Privileged Communications, And The Foreign Agents Registration Act Of 1938, Phyllis K. Fong

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Originally enacted to control the spread of subversive propaganda during World War I, the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (Act) now regulates the conduct of lobbyists, public relations counsellors, attorneys, and other agents acting on behalf of foreign entities. The Act no longer prohibits dissemination of political propaganda, but requires that foreign agents register and disclose the nature and extent of all activities conducted pursuant to the agency agreement, on the assumption that adequate disclosure and publicity of agents' activities will make it impossible for foreign agents to take advantage of an unwary public. Congress has imposed, moreover, penal …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

THE ARAB OIL WEAPON

By Jordan J. Paust & Albert P. Blaustein

Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, 1977. Pp. 370.$27.50.

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ARBITRATION IN SWEDEN

Stockholm: Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, 1977. Pp. 212. $25.00.

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THE DECLINE OF DEMOCRACY IN THE PHILIPPINES

A Report of Missions by William J. Butler, John P. Humphrey, & G.E. Bisson. Geneva: International Commission of Jurists, 1977. Pp. 97. $4.00.

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DE-RECOGNIZING TAIWAN: THE LEGAL PROBLEMS

By Victor H. Li

Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1977.Pp. 48. $1.50.

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EAST-WEST TRADE, A SOURCEBOOK ON THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS OF SOCIALIST COUNTRIES AND THEIR LEGAL …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A Practical Guide to U.S. Taxation of Overseas Americans

By Thomas E. Johnson

London: Raftwain Ltd., 1977. Pp. 311. $25.00.

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The Impact of International Organizations on Legal and Institutional Changes in the Developing Countries

New York: International Legal Center, 1977. Pp. 275.

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U.S. Customs Tariffs and Trade

By Eugene T. Rossides

Washington, D.C.: The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 1977. Pp. 826. $45.00.

Recent Development--Panama Canal Treaties, David M. Himmelreich

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Given its strategic interest in the Canal, it might well be asked why the United States would sign a Treaty which does not give an unambiguous right of intervention. Under the Treaty, the United States has at best only a weak legal justification for intervention, which will be useful in domestic politics should the popular opposition to "giving the Canal away" become critical, but which will be much less convincing elsewhere. World opinion is suspicious of the reliance of any great power on intervention, regardless of the legal rationale. The justification will be least persuasive in Latin America where there …

The Legal Status Of Foreign Investments In The East African Common Market, T. O. Elias

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

One noticeable development in the field of International Economic Law during the last decade since the United Nations ushered in the new era of an economic world order has been the growing literature on the law of investments, especially in respect to developing economies. International Economic Law itself is a recent specialist off-shoot of general public international law, having been nurtured and popularized as a subject of separate university discipline in its own right within the last 30 years or so by Schwarzenberger among others. Notable, generally, among the specialized studies on international investments law are Worthley's Expropriation in Public …