International Trade Law Commons^™

Addressing Climate Change Mitigation And Adaptation Through Insurance For Overseas Investments: The Example Of The U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In 2008, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimated that investments of between US$540–570 billion in physical assets and other financial flows will be needed to adequately reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to combat climate change; additionally, tens and possibly hundreds of billions of dollars may be necessary to enable countries to adapt to the phenomenon’s challenges. Through climate negotiations under the UNFCCC in Copenhagen and Cancun, developed country governments committed to provide developing countries roughly US$30 billion between 2010 and 2012 and to mobilize approximately US$100 billion per year by 2020 for climate change activities. …

Managing Expectations: Beyond Formal Adjudication, Susan Franck

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The international investment system has depended heavily on international arbitration to provide guidance and clarification on the standards contained in international investment agreements. In order to assess the system realistically, this commentary discusses unpacking stakeholder expectations by recognizing where expectations may have been overly optimistic and thinking systematically about the mechanisms through which to capture and manage regulatory discretion. This article evaluates ideas expressed by Anne van Aaken and Bart Legum, which consider different ways to achieve regulatory and commercial balance, and offers a lens for thinking systematically about managing stakeholder expectations in the international investment system. A critical issue …

European Union Food Law Update, Emilie Majster

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Nutrition is increasingly important in both the European Union (EU) and in global food-related policy making. Governments, which up until recently have focused on regulating food products based on a food safety perspective, are now turning to regulate from a nutritional aspect.

Canadian Food Law Update, Patricia L. Farnese

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Provided below is an overview of the developments in Canadian food law and policy in 2011. This update considers the regulatory and policy developments and litigation activities by the federal government. This focus reflects the significance of federal activities in the food policy realm.

Inward Fdi In Singapore And Its Policy Context, Locknie Hsu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Inward foreign direct investment (IFDI) has long been an important feature of the Singapore economy, and Singapore remains an attractive host to FDI. Apart from a brief decline in 2002, FDI inflows have generally been strong in the decade 2000-2010. They reached a peak in 2007 at US$ 37 billion, just before the global financial and economic crisis of 2008-2009. In 2008, inflows declined sharply to US$ 8.6 billion, before rapidly rebounding to reach US$ 38 billion in 2010. Singapore has moved from an economy primarily involved in manufacturing consumer goods in labor-intensive industries in the 1960s, to one producing …

Regulatory And Judicial Implementations Of Patent Law Flexibilities, Sarah R. Wasserman Rajec

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Jlia Editorial Board & Staff

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

A Blue Thai Affair: The Blue Diamond Affair's Illustration Of The Royal Thai Police Force's Standards Of Corruption, Meghan A. Mcclincy

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

The Blue Diamond Affair, an international jewelry heist, captivated the world’s attention because of its unresolved murders, its implication of law enforcement and public officials from two divergent countries, and the resulting diplomatic tensions between Thailand and Saudi Arabia. The crime also demonstrates the inadequacy of the policies that governed the conduct of the Royal Thai Police Force and how the policies allowed, if not perpetuated corruption within the Royal Thai Police Force. This comment provides an overview of the Blue Diamond Affair, analyzes the Thai criminal statutes and policies, and explores possible remedies for police corruption in Thailand and …

Stop The Money, Stop The Attacks: A Categorical Approach To Achieving An International Terrorist Financing Sanction Regime, Vietlong Nguyen

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

Money allows terrorist organizations to continue their day-to-day operations. Stopping the flow of financial support to terrorist organizations will diminish the intensity and frequency of the attacks and ideally lead to a cessation of such attacks. One country may be able to establish barriers to terrorist financing through government sanctions. These barriers will not stop terrorist financing; but rather, it will divert it to another country. The only way to effectively stop such financing is to implement international standards for terrorist financing sanctions. But as countries differ economically and politically, a solution must accommodate each countries’ unique situation. This comment …

China And The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement - Acta Faith, Or Act Futility?: An Exposition Of Intellectual Property Enforcement In The Age Of Shanzhai (山寨), Leroy J. Pelicci Jr.

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

This comment presents a snapshot of the current state of intellectual property (“IP”) enforcement in China in light of a controversial new treaty designed to address the illicit, yet by all accounts thriving, industry of trade in pirated and counterfeit goods. Beginning with an overview of IP-intensive industries, this comment highlights the significance and value of this unique form of property, both to individuals and to national economies. This comment then shifts in focus to the areas of commerce most affected by counterfeiting and piracy, discussing China’s prevalent role in the epidemic, and its copycat subculture known as “Shanzhai.” Thereafter, …

Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves: What Europe's Romanies Can Teach The United States About Crime-Motivated Immigration Reform, Allie Sievers

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

This comment proposes that the United States could learn a great deal about the dangers of extreme immigration policy-making by looking to the European states and their dealings with the Romani, specifically the French expulsions of the Romani in 2010. Through this lens, this comment analyzes flaws in the U.S.’ crime-motivated immigration enforcement programs, and argues that the U.S. needs to move quickly to remedy flaws in immigration enforcement before it repeats many of the mistakes that led to the current condition of Europe’s Romanies and creates its own class of un-integrated ethnic minorities.

Were "It" To Happen: Contract Continuity Under Euro Regime Change, Robert C. Hockett

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

One way or another, the European Monetary Union (EMU) is apt to endure. The prospect of continuation under the precise contours of the regime as we presently find it, however, is anything but certain. Hence many investors and other actual or prospective contract parties are likely to remain skittish until matters grow clearer. This skittishness, importantly, can itself hamper the prospect of expeditious European recovery. Addressing particular sources of ongoing uncertainty about EMU prospects can itself therefore aid in the project of recovery.

This Essay accordingly aims to impose structure upon one particular, and indeed particularly complex, source of uncertainty …

Technology, Vat Compliance, And ‘Black Swan’ Blindness, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

There is fundamentally no difference between a value added tax (VAT), and a retail sales tax (RST) when it comes to collecting the tax on cross-border sales. If (under a VAT) a seller is allowed to “zero-rate” cross-border sales, or if (under a RST) a seller is exempt from collecting the tax on cross-border sales, the critical enforcement question is exactly the same – how does the system assure that the buyer will self-assess (and pay) the tax?

The simple answer is that the tax administration audits. The more complicated answer notes that the effectiveness of the audit (by the …

The Dispute Settlement Understanding Of The Wto Agreement: An Inadequate Mechanism For The Resolution Of International Trade Disputes, Sean P. Feeney

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The 1994 signing of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement marked the initiation of the most far-reaching and comprehensive international agreement on trade in the history of the modern world. The creation of an actual trade organization was a marked improvement over the WTO's predecessor, the 1944 GATT, which never formed an organization per se. Among the many improvements to the GATT, the WTO Agreement substantially changed the mechanism for dispute settlement whenever conflict arose between member states. This change, codified as the Dispute Settlement Understanding ("DSU"), was initially hailed as a great improvement over the GATT dispute settlement provisions. …

Pre-Hearing Techniques To Promote Speed And Cost-Effectiveness--Some Thoughts Concerning Arbitral Process Design , Jack J. Coe Jr.

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

This essay considers factors and pre-hearing techniques that bear on international arbitration hearings by attempting to answer this question: "What can be done to promote speed and efficiency in the hearing process?" First, it offers general observations, including the goals and by-products of efficiency, issues related to defining terms and frames of reference, the flexibility of arbitration practice techniques, and the role of technology in arbitration proceedings. Then, it discusses specific factors that influence the expeditiousness of arbitration, especially the arbitration clause and its use to define critical elements of the proceedings, such as situs, number of arbitrators, and time …

Uncitral Model Law On International Commercial Conciliation: From A Topic Of Possible Discussion To Approval By The General Assembly , Robert N. Dobbins

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

By no means a Pulitzer Prize winner, for those interested enough to inquire, the story of the creation of the Model Law is remarkable. The purpose of this Note is to give a snapshot of how, what began in the shadow of Arbitration as a "possible work topic considered by the Commission . . . Conciliation," in the space of two and one-half years became the Model Law. As a secondary and intentional focus of this note, this author (conceding his own bias) hopes to allow the Secretariat of UNCITRAL to enjoy its well-deserved moment in the spotlight for its …

Rebalancing Trips, Molly Land

Michigan Journal of International Law

Application of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute resolution procedures to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement) has provoked a variety of reactions over time. At its inception, the decision to enforce the treaty through the WTO's dispute resolution process was widely viewed as a loss for developing countries. Many feared it would lead to an explosion of litigation against developing countries and cause distortions in domestic intellectual property (IP) policy making. More recent scholarship, however, has argued that these fears were unfounded. Few disputes before WTO panels have involved violations of the TRIPS Agreement, even …

U.S. And Canadian Federalism: Implications For International Trade Regulation, Gregory W. Bowman

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Pragmatic Approach To Intellectual Property And Development: A Case Study Of The Jordanian Copyright Law In The Internet Age, Rami Olwan

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

On October 4, 2004, Brazil and Argentina requested that WIPO adopt a development-oriented approach to IP and to reconsider its work in relation to developing countries. In October, 2007, WIPO member States adopted a historic decision for the benefit of developing countries, to establish a WIPO Development Agenda. Although there have been several studies related to IP and development that call for IP laws in developing countries to be development-friendly, there is little research that attempts to provide developing countries with practical measures to achieve that goal. This article takes the copyright law in Jordan as a case study and …

The Regulation Of Online Gaming Across Jurisdictions: Success, Standards And Stability, Peter Nelson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

In 2005 the gaming market was worth an estimated six billion dollars, half of that represented by online gambling revenues. However not all jurisdictions (countries) regulate the industry the same. Some jurisdictions allow the industry to flourish while some go as far as banning the industry all together. I gather data on all 75 global jurisdictions that have some form of online gaming. I analyze which regulations allow the industry to prosper while maintaining quality standards, and which regulations do not work. Preliminary analysis shows that the amount of years a country has allowed online gambling, as well as the …

Beyond The Unrealistic Solution For Development Provided By The Appendix Of The Berne Convention On Copyright, Alberto Cerda Silva

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The standards of copyright protection promoted by the Berne Convention are highly problematic for developing countries because these countries need to ensure a wide dissemination of works for teaching, scholarship, and research purposes. In order to accommodate these needs and to promote accession to this Convention, the 1971 Paris Act of the Berne Convention, included an Appendix that allowed developing countries to issue compulsory licenses for translating and/or reproducing foreign works into languages of general use in their territories. Unfortunately, the Appendix has not met the needs of developing countries, which, instead, have relied on idiosyncratic solutions. Additionally, the instrument …

Not In It For The Long Run: China's Solution For Compliance With Trips Requires More Than A Nine-Month Campaign, Devon Spencer

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Boundaries Of Most Favored Nation Treatment In International Investment Law, Tony Cole

Michigan Journal of International Law

Contemporary international investment law is characterized by fragmentation. Disputes are heard by a variety of tribunals, which often are constituted solely for the purpose of hearing a single claim. The law applicable in a dispute is usually found in a bilateral agreement, applicable only between the two states connected to the dispute, rather than in a multilateral treaty or customary international law. Moreover, the international investment community itself is profoundly divided on many issues of substantive law, meaning both that the interpretation given to international investment law by a tribunal will be determined largely by those who sit on it, …

The Interpretation Of Gats Disciplines On Economic Integration: Gats Commitments As A Threshold?, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The interpretation of GATS Article V, which deals with economic integration, is of crucial importance to the growing number of economic integration agreements (EIAs) in services, in terms of dispute settlement, services negotiations, the WTO review of EIAs, the coordination between multilateralism and EIAs, and best practices in drawing up EIAs. However, the Article has received insufficient study and remains vague.This paper takes China's eight EIAs as test cases for interpreting GATS Article V and argues that GATS commitments may be an appropriate threshold for interpreting the Article, in particular the substantial sectoral coverage and elimination of discrimination requirements, which …

The Middle Kingdom And The Intellectual Property World, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

Delivered as the keynote opening address at the Symposium on "China's Role in Regulating the Global Information Economy," this Article scrutinizes China's participation in the international intellectual property regime and its role in both the WTO and WIPO. It begins by discussing China's engagement with international intellectual property norms before its accession to the WTO in December 2001. It points out that China is not a "norm breaker" one typically infers from its disappointing record of intellectual property protection. Instead, the country should be viewed as a "norm taker," having accepted most of the WIPO-administered intellectual property treaties available for …

The Evolution Of Investment-State Dispute Resolution In Nafta And Cafta: Wild West To World Order, Jeffrey T. Cook

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Don't Get Bit: Addressing Icsid's Inconsistent Application Of Most-Favored-Nation Clauses To Dispute Resolution Provisions, Gabriel Egli

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

First The Context, Later The Challenge: Commercial Mediators Interface With The Volatile International Sector, William F. Lincoln

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Unless we talk of international commerce, the two respective sectors in which you and I each work appear to be very separate arenas that lack any commonality. But, if we permit, a common bond indeed yearns to be acknowledged and cultivated: You and I have willingly accepted the honorable mantle as stewards of integrity, competency, and credibility of the mediation process and the profession itself. Mediation - a process which is neither pure nor scientific; a process complete with bastardizations such as mandatory mediation provisions as well as creative variations including partnering and med-arb models; a process which we regard …

A Civil Matter For A Common Expert: How Should Parties And Tribunals Use Experts In International Commercial Arbitration?, Ruth Fenton

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

How should parties and tribunals use experts in international commercial arbitration? Are the common and civil law traditions blurred or blended, or should there be specific practices for international arbitration? To answer these questions, it is necessary to look at the common and civil law approaches to the use of experts in international commercial arbitration. This article will look at circumstances that may require an expert and arbitration laws and rules that assist parties and arbitrators in appointing an appropriate expert. The article highlights and discusses differences and similarities between civil and common law traditions and draws a conclusion as …

Mexico And The Settlement Of Investment Disputes: Icsid As The Recommended Option, Bernardo Sepúlveda

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

The changes that have taken place in arbitration conditions, the greater fairness in the arbitration process, and the increasingly stringent qualifications to be met by arbitrators, as well as contemporary economic realities, have been instrumental in causing Mexico's about-face on its approach to arbitration. Although in certain quarters doubts remain in Mexico as to the advantages of international arbitration, it would be ill advised to ignore a legal and political reality. In signing treaties that include an arbitration clause, Mexico has assumed rights and obligations. Politically speaking, a border has already been crossed. In the face of this indisputable fact, …