Civil Law Commons^™

The Principle Of Proportionality: The Challenges Of Human Rights, Juan Cianciardo

Journal of Civil Law Studies

The purpose of the present paper can be synthesized in the following points: a) to expose the concept of the principle of proportionality in its broadest sense and its different components or dimensions; b) to draw the attention to an approach which is usually not studied by authors, that is, the fact that the application of the principle is not enough to guarantee the supremacy of the human rights, at least in some cases; c) lastly, to point out those requirements that could protect proportionality from the risk mentioned in b).

The Shadow Of State Secrets, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The shadow of state secrets casts itself longer than previously acknowledged. Between 2001 and 2009 the government asserted state secrets in more than 100 cases, while in scores more litigants appealed to the doctrine in anticipation of government intervention. Contractor cases ranged from breach of contract, patent disputes, and trade secrets, to fraud and employment termination. Wrongful death, personal injury, and negligence suits kept pace, extending beyond product liability to include infrastructure and services, as well as conduct of war. In excess of fifty telecommunications suits linked to the NSA warrantless wiretapping program emerged 2006-2009, with the government acting, variously, …

Is That Really Me?: Social Networking And The Right Of Publicity, Rachel A. Purcell

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Social networking websites are ubiquitous in modern culture and popular with people of all ages and demographics. Operators of this kind of site, which consist largely of third party generated content, are immune from many types of civil liability for third party postings under the Communications Decency Act. However, the Act does not immunize these providers from intellectual property right infringements. Recent court decisions suggest that this immunity exception may extend not only to federal intellectual property rights, but state intellectual property rights like the right of publicity. This Note will evaluate the emerging circuit split regarding state intellectual property …

The Easy Case For Products Liability: A Response To Polinsky & Shavell, Benjamin C. Zipursky, John C.P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

In their article “The Uneasy Case for Product Liability,” Professors Polinsky and Shavell assert the extraordinary claim that there should be no tort liability - none at all - for injuries caused by widely-sold products. In particular, they claim to have found convincing evidence that the threat of tort liability creates no additional incentives to safety beyond those already provided by regulatory agencies and market forces, and that tort compensation adds little or no benefit to injury victims beyond the compensation already provided by various forms of insurance. In this response, we explain that, even on its own narrow terms, …

Foundations For A Revival Of The Case Method In Civil Law Education, Fernando M. Toller

Journal of Civil Law Studies

The article explores the origins, foundations, and present development of the case method in the Civil Law tradition. It supports the idea that, properly defined, this methodology is very suitable for law, and not only in Common Law jurisdictions, but also the Civil Law and is even more appropriate in Continental law schools. There are indeed some undisputable common roots between Common Law and Civil Law regarding this pedagogical tool.

The misunderstandings and skepticism about the usability of this method in Civil Law education are challenged and answered. The article proves that the case method is a serious and useful …

The Bankruptcy Hegemon: Section 524(A) And Its Effect On State And Federal Comity, Benjamin Margulis

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Saving Lives Through Punitive Damages, W. Kip Viscusi, Joni Hersch

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article proposes that the value of statistical life ("VSL ") be used to set the total damages amount needed for deterrence when punitive damages are warranted in wrongful death cases. The appropriate level of total damages should be achieved by adjusting the value of punitive damages. Compensatory damages should not be distorted to establish the total damages level needed for efficient deterrence. Attempts to introduce hedonic damages as a compensatory damages component, and proposals to use the VSL on a routine basis when setting compensatory damages awards, are misguided and will undermine the insurance and compensation functions of compensatory …

A Generation Of Racketeers? Eliminating Civil Rico Liability For Copyright Infringement, Julie L. Ross

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article addresses questions raised in recent years by the increasingly severe penalties for copyright infringement, focusing on potential civil RICO liability as illustrated by a hypothetical peer-to-peer file-sharing example. Because civil litigation has been, by a wide margin, the favored means for pursuing copyright violators, the criminal copyright infringement statute remains largely untested, and the few cases that address its provisions offer conflicting interpretations. Now that RICO penalties are available in civil copyright infringement cases, courts faced with resolving the ambiguities in the application of the criminal copyright infringement provisions will need to reconcile divergent policies. To effectuate its …

A Common Lawyer’S Perspective On The European Perspective On Punitive Damages, Michael Wells

Scholarly Works

Punitive damages are generally available in common law jurisdictions, but are disfavored in civil law systems. This paper argues that the main reasons for the difference are historical and cultural. Roman law and the French Revolution heavily influenced the civil law. Civilians were taught that legal development comes from the top down. They learned to treat law as a system of general principles and to resist anomalies. They found it relatively easy to reject the intrusion of criminal themes into private law. The common law developed one case at a time, with no particular emphasis on systematic coherence. It was …

Cover, Masthead & Contents

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Olivier Moréteau

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Don Saúl Litvinoff (1925-2010) , Agustín Parise, Julio Romañach Jr.

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

The Vienna Sales Convention (Cisg) Between Civil And Common Law – Best Of All Worlds?, Ulrich Magnus

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Legal Theory And The Variety Of Legal Cultures, Sheldon Leader

Journal of Civil Law Studies

This essay begins with a consideration of two anxieties about courts that are common to the civil and common law traditions: a worry about illegitimate judicial law making, and a worry about judicial bias. It will then move to the contribution legal theories might make in dealing with these shared anxieties, with a focus on a position that draws on the two largest contestants: natural law and legal positivism. It will end with an indication of the further distance that theory needs to take us before these worries about the judiciary can be effectively tackled.

The Reform Of Legal Education In China And Japan: Shifting From The Continental To The American Model, Xiangshun Ding

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Common Law, Civil Law, And The Challenge From Federalism, Santiago Legarre

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

An Introduction To Contamination, Olivier Moréteau

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Academic Legal Writings By Saúl Litvinoff

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Complete V.3

Journal of Civil Law Studies

No abstract provided.

Caveat Emptor, Venditor Et Praescribor: Legal Liability Associated With Methyplenidate Hydrochloride (Mph) Use By Postsecondary Students, Jocelyn Downie, Fiona Campbell, Simon Outram

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

For years, students have endured the physical and mental stress that comes as a result of the demands of post-secondary education. All -night cramming for exams and marathon paper writing sessions are considered, by many, to be a rite of passage, endured by generations of students. For many years, students have also turned to stimulants (from coffee to energy drinks and caffeine pills) to extend their physical and cognitive limits in order to better cope with the demands of school and life. In this sense, the use of stimulants as study-aids is not a new phenomenon nor has it been …