Transnational Law Commons^™

Sovereignty Migrates In U.S. And Mexican Law: Transnational Influences In Plenary Power And Non-Intervention, Ernesto Hernandez-Lopez

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Mexico and the United States exercise sovereignty that is increasingly transnational and less absolute with respect to migration. This is evident in changes to Mexico's norm of non-intervention and the United States' plenary power doctrine, two doctrines rooted in international sovereignty. Both have historically defined sovereign authority in absolute terms, avoiding any foreign influence or domestic limitation. The non-intervention norm prohibits Mexican foreign relations from interfering in another state's domestic affairs. Traditionally, it barred a foreign policy on migrants in the United States, which led to Mexico's "no policy" on migrants. The U.S. plenary power doctrine labels immigration law as …

Professor Harold G. Maier At Pepperdine, W H. Bigham

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A curious concatenation of events brought Hal Maier and me together, once again, in school year 2000-2001 at Malibu and Pepperdine. We had labored concurrently in the Vanderbilt vineyard for a decade and a half, where we were close friends and colleagues on the Vanderbilt Law School faculty--a time of thrilling growth and maturing in the law school. We went our separate ways at the end of the '70s, but on the invitation of a former Vanderbilt student of both of us, Pepperdine Dean Richard Lynn, whom I had recommended for a faculty position at Pepperdine years earlier, Hal Maier …

Four Decades Later, Robert Covington

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hal Maier and I have taught on the same faculty for four decades. I still like him and enjoy his company, and there are not many people of whom I can say that forty years later. We have agreed and differed with one another on a whole range of issues, from the shape of the first-year curriculum to politics and back again, but have managed to stay friends through it all. Perhaps this is because we could put our differences to one side in the interest of what we insisted was music back when Hal was the drummer and I …

Transnational Litigation: Is There A "Field"? A Tribute To Hal Maier, Linda Silberman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

I was pleased to be asked to offer a few words in honor of my friend, Professor Hal Maier, on the occasion of his retirement from Vanderbilt University Law School. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Hal, not only because he has been a wonderful friend and colleague over the years, but also because he sparked my interest in a field to which I had only recently turned when we first met and one that now absorbs much of my time and attention. The "field"--if it can be characterized as such--is "international litigation" or "transnational litigation," and that …

He Knew Why He Was Here, D. D. Welch

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Hal was passionate about his Transnational Legal Studies Program. He was brought to Vanderbilt in 1965 to build an international law program from scratch. In these days of globalization, it is difficult to remember how innovative his work was. In his first year, there were three international law courses at the Law School, all taught by him. There was a testy difference of opinion on campus about whether international law materials should be housed in the Law Library or remain in the University's Central Library...and there were not many materials in that collection. When Maier was named Director of the …

Constitutional Conversations And New Religious Movements: A Comparative Case Study, Leigh H. Greenhaw, Michael H. Koby

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Using the metaphor of a constitutional conversation to compare the treatment of a relatively new and unpopular religion by the legal systems of the United States, Russia, and Spain, this Article examines the methodology by which laws affecting religion are made and enforced. It uses as a case study the interaction of the Jehovah's Witnesses with the legal system of the United States, comparing it with more recent interactions in Russia and Spain. The Authors argue that while the experience in the United States was profoundly influenced by a common-law methodology, the experience in two civil-law countries, Russia and Spain, …

Human Rights And Bioethics: Formulating A Universal Right To Health, Health Care, Or Health Protection?, George P. Smith, Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Codifying, and then implementing, an international right to health, health care, or protection is beset with serious roadblocks--foremost among them being contentious issues of indeterminacy, justiciability, and progressive realization.

Although advanced--and to some degree recognized under the rubric of a social or cultural entitlement within the law of human rights and, more particularly, the U.S. Declaration on Human Rights, together with International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and presently UNESCO's Draft Declaration on Universal Norms on Bioethics--attainment of such a universal right to …

Toward A Comprehensive Response To The Transnational Migration Of Unaccompanied Minors In The United States, Carolyn J. Seugling

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The number of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum has dramatically increased in recent years. The international response has been both varied and at times opposed to the best interests of unaccompanied minors. The United States has chosen to respond through changing unaccompanied minors' care and custody without addressing the need for changes in their substantive rights. However, it is necessary to broaden the interpretation of asylum standards to secure unaccompanied minors' legal rights as children who suffer persecution because they lack primary caregivers.

The Black Market For Wildlife: Combating Transnational Organized Crime In The Illegal Wildlife Trade, Mara E. Zimmerman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Trade in endangered wildlife has been a concern in the global community since the dawn of international environmental law. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), one of the most successful international environmental treaties established, addresses the issue through regulation of international trade in certain wildlife species. However, the effectiveness of the treaty has been greatly undermined through illegal wildlife trading. Recently, the illegal wildlife trade has attracted the attention of organized criminal groups, whose participation in the trade have helped make the black market for wildlife the second largest in the world. …

Professor Jonathan I. Charney: Commitment Underpinned By Conviction, James R. Mchenry, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

When I was asked to speak on behalf of the students regarding Professor Charney's contributions to the Law School, I did initially wonder how closely my relationship with him mirrored the experiences of other students. I worked for him for almost two years as a research assistant for the American Journal of International Law; I spoke with him frequently, either in person or via e-mail, about various international legal issues; and he advised me on both my student note for the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law and on my PhD dissertation. Thus, I knew the image that I had of …

Category Iii Films And Vcds: The Failure Of Deterrence In The Copyright Ordinance Of Hong Kong, Allen Woods

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In 1997, the government of Hong Kong enacted the Copyright Ordinance. The goal of the Ordinance was to establish a strong deterrent against the illegal manufacture and sale of copyright infringing materials, especially pirated video and digital compact discs. Courts have interpreted the Ordinance to allow the Customs and Excise Department sweeping powers of search and seizure. As a result, the government has seized many thousands of copyright infringing video compact discs and courts have enforced lengthy custodial sentences against guilty parties.

Despite these efforts, though, film piracy continues to grow throughout Hong Kong and transnational film interests have begun …

Who Decides The Arbitrators' Jurisdiction? Separability And Competence--Competence In Transnational Perspective, John J. Barcelo, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Separability and competence-competence are two of the best known concepts in international commercial arbitration. They are different, but often linked, because they share a common goal: to prevent early judicial intervention from obstructing the arbitration process. Both concepts address the question, "Who decides arbitrability--courts or arbitrators?" but in different ways. I will discuss those differences later in this comment.

In his excellent paper delivered at this Symposium, "Everything You Really Need to Know About 'Separability' in Seventeen Simple Propositions, Professor Rau focuses principally on separability. His purpose is to defend separability in U.S. arbitration law from the surprisingly common and …

The Post-Sheinbein Israeli Extradition Law, Abraham Abramovsky, Jonathan I. Edelstein

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, the Authors examine Israel's stance on extradition. In Part II, the Article offers an historical timeline of the development of Israel's extradition policies, from common law to reciprocity. In Part III, the Article examines Israel's initial attempts to address the problems inherent in its operating extradition policy. This section also includes an analysis of the reform movement's effect on specific cases. In Part IV, the Article examines the most recent reform of Israel's extradition policy.

Corrections To Laurel S. Terry, Gats' Applicability To Transnational Lawyering, Laurel S. Terry

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In October 2001, the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law published an article I wrote entitled GATS' Applicability to Transnational Lawyering and its Potential Impact on U.S. State Regulation of Lawyers, 34 Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 989 (2001). (This article was part of an April 2001 Symposium on Lawyer Ethics in the 21st Century: Global Legal Practice.) After my article was published, I came to discover several mistakes in it. The pages that follow are my corrections to that October 2001 article. I am very grateful to the editors of the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law for the opportunity to publish …

Gats' Applicability To Transnational Lawyering And Its Potential Impact On U.S. State Regulation Of Lawyers, Laurel S. Terry

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the impact of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, or GATS, on legal services, and more specifically on the legal ethics rules in the United States. The Article begins by explaining background information about the global nature of legal services. Then, the Author details the structure and operation of the GATS, including its relevant exemptions, and its applicability to legal services. Next, the Article explores developments that have occurred since the signing of the GATS, including the possible significance to U.S. regulation of the legal profession. Subsequently, the Author identifies remaining questions about the effects of …

Foreword--A Symposium, L. Harold Levinson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

We all owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues, Professors Hal Maier and Jon Charney. Professor Maier founded the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law as part of the law school's transnational law program. The first volume of the Journal was published, under his careful supervision, thirty-four years ago. His efforts, along with those of Professor Charney, enabled the Journal and the program to flourish. Their success in developing a publication and a program of the highest quality is demonstrated by the outstanding qualifications of the speakers at this Symposium. Thanks are due also to the student editors who organized …

Palestinian Private Property Rights In Israel And The Occupied Territories, Stacy Howlett

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

As the birth pangs of an emerging Palestinian state rage on, one question bars settlement, reconciliation, and peace: who is entitled to the land? On a macrocosmic level, this question has and will be answered through diplomatic negotiations, political pressure, and violence. The microcosmic question of the disposition of private property, however, must be taken into consideration before any lasting peace agreement can be reached.

The rights and interests of Palestinian refugees and Israeli settlers with respect to the land they have an interest in must be balanced with national needs for territorial continuity and peace. By tracing the transfer …

Small World After All Or Ball Of Confusion? Some Thoughts On National Multijurisdictional Practice, Peter R. Jarvis

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In a prestigious journal devoted to transnational law, the intramural concerns of American lawyers cannot claim pride of place. Nonetheless, it is difficult to see how we can clear the way for lawyers to move from nation to nation if we cannot move from state to state. Charity, as they say, begins at home. Either we are insular and protectionist or we are not. We cannot have it both ways.

As Prince Bismark noted, however, "Politics is the art of the possible." Like it or not, American lawyers are stuck with a system of state-based regulation for the foreseeable future. …

Uni-State Lawyers And Multinational Practice: Dealing With International, Transnational, And Foreign Law, Ronald A. Brand

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article addresses how a lawyer may ethically engage in a transnational practice given the current structure of state-by-state bar admission. Part I examines the ethical pitfalls of a transnational practice, including an examination of applicable APA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This section also addresses different tests for determining whether a lawyer has committed the unauthorized practice of law. Part III makes use of examples to illustrate the legal framework for determining whether a lawyer has committed the unauthorized practice of law. In Part IV, the author concludes by making suggestions for how to better address the ethical dilemma …

Clinging To Democracy: Assessing The Russian Legislative-Executive Relationship Under Boris Yeltsin's Constitution, Ian R. Brown

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation has received harsh criticism as a document that confers strong powers upon the executive at the expense of a much weaker legislature. Such a disparity is understandable, as the Constitution was conceived out of the violent confrontation between President Boris Yeltsin and the rebellious communist-nationalist Duma in October 1993. Following the adoption of the Constitution in December 1993, many observers predicted a return to dictatorship in Russia.

Yet in practice, despite much heavy-handedness on the part of the president during the Yeltsin administration, the 1993 Constitution and the institutions it created have survived …

Europe And Overseas Commodity Traders V. Banque Paribas London: Zero Steps Forward And Two Steps Back, Paige K. Willison

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

While international securities transactions have become the norm in today's globalized economy, such transactions necessarily implicate the laws of more than one nation, thereby creating both conflict and confusion. Due to the depth and breadth of U.S. securities laws, plaintiffs often prefer to sue in the United States under U.S. law. Yet inappropriately applying U.S. law to transnational transactions may offend notions of comity. This Note discusses the different tools used to decide the following jurisdictional issues. First, under what circumstances do U.S. anti-fraud rules apply to securities transactions? Second, under what circumstances do U.S. registration laws apply? Over the …

Non-Immigration Visa Fraud: Proposals To End The Misuse Of The L Visa By Transnational Criminal Organizations As A Method Of Illegal Immigration, Amy Mccallen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note examines why the L visa is particularly vulnerable to multinational fraud and proposes both a domestic and an international solution to combat this abuse. Part II of this Note addresses the governmental policies behind the L visa. This section provides an overview of the origins of the transnational company and discusses the reasons why Congress created the L visa to meet the needs of this specialized segment of international business.

Part III analyzes the bifurcated approval process for an L visa. This section surveys the requirements for the L visa and discusses why Congress believed these requirements were …

The Globalizing State, Alfred C. Aman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

he primary purpose of this Article is to consider the relationship of globalization to domestic law, a topic that, for the most part, has been neglected by the legal literature to date. In so doing, this Article shall develop the concept of the globalizing state, a theory of the state based on states' new roles in furthering global competitiveness, as well as the transformative effects of these new roles on the state itself. This Article refers to globalization as an interpretive approach to issues no longer classifiable--or even understandable--in terms of classic dichotomies of domestic and global, public and private, …

Transnational Bribery Of Foreign Officials: A New Threat To The Future Of Democracy, Julie B. Nesbit

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Anti-corruption movements around the world have set the stage for a comprehensive attack on transnational bribery. The Organization of American States adopted the first convention to criminalize transnational bribery in 1996, and efforts by the OECD to address the issue culminated in the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, which was signed by the representative Ministers in November 1997, and is expected to enter into force by 1999. While these developments are promising, they offer only a partial solution to a complex problem. Transnational bribery will persist until a comprehensive anti-corruption strategy, based on …

Roundtable Discussion, Joseph W. Dellapenna, Laurelyn Douglas, Ted Hagelin, Edwin L.-C. Lai, Harold G. Maier, Yu Ping, John M. Rogers, Ying J. Rogers, Peter Wesley-Smith

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

What we are trying to do in this meeting is to predict what Hong Kong is going to become. One thing of which we can be fairly confident is that we can't know now what Hong Kong will become. Yet speculating is often worthwhile, and so this morning I've asked Peter [Wesley-Smith] and I gave him two minutes' warning--to continue what he had done at the outset of yesterday's sessions. You'll remember that he described a history of the relationship among Hong Kong, various treaties, and what is now the People's Republic of China (hereinafter P.R.C.). I've asked Peter if …

Conflicts On The Net: Choice Of Law In Transnational Cyberspace, Matthew R. Burnsteln

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No recent technological advance has captured the attention and imagination of the United States and the international community like the advent of global communications networks--the Internet, Cyberspace, the Information Superhighway. While the technology advances daily, a legal regime for ordering cyberspace has not yet evolved. Already, cases are reaching the courts in which plaintiffs complain of improper and unlawful activities by defendants in cyberspace. Both cyberspace's growing ubiquity and the anonymity found online will increase international use of the networks for interaction and commerce. This Note considers the conflict of laws implications of transnational cyberspace. The need to consider choice …

Worldwide Copyright Protection Under The Trips Agreement, Eric H. Smith

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The author begins by analyzing the purposes of the TRIPS Agreement. He then discusses piracy losses on a regional and global basis, emphasizing industry-based variations and the economic impact of these losses. Mr. Smith then examines several of the key implementation problems surrounding TRIPS, including the use of transition phase-in periods for developing countries, and the availability of civil and criminal sanctions. Finally, he highlights other specific portions of the TRIPS Agreement that may engender future controversy.

Prospects And Limits Of The Patent Provision In The Trips Agreement: The Case Of India, Martin J. Adelman, Sonia Baldia

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article analyzes the impact of TRIPS on the pharmaceutical industry in India, an industry that has traditionally taken a "free-ride" on the technological developments of other nations. The authors discuss the patent system in India prior to TRIPS and India's long-term refusal to join the Paris Convention regarding intellectual property.

In the past, India had limited protection for technology. Some areas--food, pharmaceuticals, and products made by processes--received no patent protection at all. TRIPS changed this system and also changed the compulsory licensing and license of right provisions that limited patent protection in India. The authors argue that all people--scientists …

Editors' Introduction, Journal Editor

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The following symposium contains articles based on papers presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law Schools, Section on Conflict of Laws, in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 6, 1995. The Section's program, Conflict of Laws in the Global Village: International Conflicts Issues for the General Course in Conflict of Laws, was organized by Professor Harold G. Maier of Vanderbilt University Law School, who was Chair of the Conflicts Section. The program was designed to identify and discuss current international conflict of laws issues that might fruitfully be explored in the general course on Conflict of Laws.

American Conflicts Scholarship And The New Law Merchant, Friedrich K. Juenger

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Juenger argues that both the unilateralist and the multilateralist schools of thought share a fixation on the idea that law must emanate from the power of a sovereign state. The author points out that such a view of law is a historic; that, in the past, merchants relied on a substantive body of supranational rules that transcended national borders. This Article discusses the contemporary significance of the law merchant for law professors, law students, and practitioners.

The author explains how the practices of contemporary transnational commercial enterprises, as well as the opinions of contemporary scholars , support the idea …