Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

The Truth About Truth Commissions: Why They Do Not Function Optimally In Post-Conflict Societies, Matiangai V.S. Sirleaf

Cardozo Law Review

Almost forty years after the first truth commission convened and more than sixty-seven others have been employed, there is little clarity on how they contribute to their stated objectives and in which transitional contexts they succeed or fail. This Article uses data gathered from my field research in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to develop a theoretical framework for understanding in which contexts truth commissions may be the most effective. Using insights from the legal transplant literature and applying it to the diffusion of truth commissions, this Article finds that truth commissions face greater challenges carrying out their mandates in …

The Controversy Of Trade In Tobacco And Protection Ofpublic Health, A Study Of Tobacco Control Measures Andimpacts On Trademark Practice: The Stricter, The Better?, Nattapong Suwan-In

Indonesian Journal of International Law

This paper investigates the anticipated trademark problems may result from tobacco control regulations, particularly the warning label requirements implemented in WTO members and the stricter regulation of plain packaging promulgated in Australia (“tobacco measures”). Following the adoption of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (“FCTC”) in May 2003 (enforce by February 2005), member countries tend to seek for possibilities to implement and use stricter approach to achieve their public health policy. As the core concept and main goal of WTO is trade liberalization, regardless of types of goods traded among members, whereas the stricter restriction on trademark use means the …

Hondurans Don’T Need Yet Another Neoliberal Boondoggle, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Norway’S Companies Act: A 10-Year Look At Gender Equality, Kristen Carroll

Pace International Law Review

This analysis assesses the amendment to Norway’s Companies Act, in light of the 10-year anniversary of the mandate of female representation on corporate boards. First, I discuss the implementation of the quota, Section 6-11a. Second, I compare three statistical studies that analyze the effects of the quota on corporate profitability, overall firm performance, and the changing dynamics of the managerial positions. Finally, I evaluate the various avenues to fully achieving diversity, such as the successes and failures of a quota-type system and possible initiatives that governments and companies can enact to achieve gender-balance in the workplace. While some hypothesize that …

Corporate Governance Sex Regimes: Peripheral Thoughts From Across The Atlantic, Horatia Muir Watt

Pace International Law Review

The very recent and highly mediatized “Declaration of the 343 Salauds”, where 343 (male) signatures in support of prostitution in a form designed to echo the highly significant declaration of as many women in 1971 in favor of the legalization of abortion, sheds particularly interesting light upon debate about sex regimes in connection with French law. France has recently introduced compulsory quotas for women in corporate boards after imposing la parité for public appointments. A comparative perspective, confronting this recent legislative development from across the Atlantic with policy views on affirmative action and philosophical conceptions of diversity in the United …

Gender Quotas For Corporate Boards: Options For Legal Design In The United States, Anne L. Alstott

Pace International Law Review

Recently, U.S. activists, scholars, and policy makers have turned their attention to one notable effort to address the gender gap in management: gender quotas for corporate boards of directors. Twelve European countries have pioneered quotas in this context. France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium now have mandatory quotas ranging from 30%-40%. Spain, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Austria, and Slovenia have voluntary quotas, and Germany and the EU are considering legislation to mandate quotas. Gender quotas for corporate boards represent an intriguing option, even if the case for quotas is not airtight. The argument for gender quotas rests on a …

Gender Diversity On Corporate Boards: How Racial Politics Impedes Progress In The United States, Cheryl L. Wade

Pace International Law Review

The excellent conference organized by Darren Rosenblum comparing global approaches to board diversity inspired me to think about how progress in this context has unfolded in the United States. Even though the issue of diversity on corporate boards has become a global issue, few U.S. boards have moved beyond mere tokenism when it comes to female directors. One reason for the lack of diversity among corporate directors is that board selection has been based on membership in a particular network. This essay, however, focuses on the persisting problem of discrimination—a more invidious explanation for the fact that very few corporate …

Diversity In The Boardroom: A Content Analysis Of Corporate Proxy Disclosures, Aaron A. Dhir

Pace International Law Review

My work in this field has focused on regulation by quota and regulation by disclosure. With regard to quotas, strikingly, the Norwegian law is not located in regulation that explicitly deals with human rights or equality issues; rather, it is found in the heart of the legal regime that gives life and personality to corporations – in Norwegian corporate law. I have conducted qualitative, interview-based research with Norwegian corporate directors, both men and women. It is only through understanding how the goals of the law have translated into the day-to-day existence of these individuals that we can begin to consider …

Comparative Sex Regimes And Corporate Governance: An Introduction, Darren Rosenblum

Pace International Law Review

In February 2013, on the day of the worst snowstorm in many years, Pace International Law Review conducted a symposium on “Comparative Sex Regimes and Corporate Governance.” Despite a total shutdown of all transport networks and the consequent absence of a few stranded scholars, we met to discuss the fraught questions posed by corporate board quotas and formulate answers.

Led by Norway in 2003, several nations have begun to mandate certain levels of women’s inclusion on corporate boards. In the face of widespread exclusion of women from corporate power that suggests structural biases, these quotas appear radical and compelling. The …

The Visible Effects Of An Invisible Constitution: The Contested State Of Transdniestria's Search For Recognition Through International Negotiations, Nadejda Mazur

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

Most scholars agree that modern states share several defining characteristics: a population, territory, government, and the capacity to enter into international relations. More recently, this list has expanded to include the criteria of democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. These traditional and contemporary criteria for statehood are likewise essential for settling the status of de facto states, entities that seek international recognition yet are rebuffed by the world community.

By examining the criteria for international recognition from the perspective of constitutional law, this dissertation reveals the existing but overlooked relationship between the recognition process and …

Unpopular Constitutionalism, Mila Versteeg

Indiana Law Journal

Constitutions are commonly thought to express nations’ highest values. They are often proclaimed in the name of “We the People” and are regarded—by scholars and the general public alike—as an expression of the people’s views and values. This Article shows empirically that this widely held image of constitutions does not correspond with the reality of constitution making around the world. The Article contrasts the constitutional-rights choices of ninety countries between 1981 and 2010 with data from nearly one-half million survey responses on cultural, religious, and social values conducted over the same period. It finds, surprisingly, that in this period, the …

The Mandatory Death Penalty In Ghana: A Comparative Constitutional Perspective On Dexter Johnson V. Republic, Andrew Novak

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article examines the Supreme Court of Ghana's decision to uphold the mandatory death penalty, contrasting it with the global trend towards abolition. It highlights the tension between the court's textual interpretation of the constitution and international human rights pressures, emphasizing the need for legislative reform to align with human rights standards.

A Trail To Modernity: Observations On The New Developments Of China's Evidence Legislation Movement In A Global Context, Jia Li, Zhuhao Wang

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

China, like most other civil law countries, does not have a discrete evidence code. Rather, Chinese evidence rules are currently scattered among various procedural codes. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Chinese scholars and practitioners have advocated for specialized evidence legislation. As part of this movement, China issued numerous judicial interpretations of evidence law, amendments to existing procedural law, and experimental drafts of evidence statutes. For example, new amendments to the Civil Procedure Law and to the Criminal Procedure Law became effective on January 1, 2013. More recently, the Supreme People's Court led the efforts to create two experimental …

Affirmative Action In Brazil: Its Recent Developments And The Argument For A Narrow Federalism Doctrine, Thomas W. Davis

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Federal Rules At 75: Dispute Resolution, Private Enforcement Or Decision According To Law?, James Maxeiner

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay is a critical response to the 2013 commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were introduced in 1938 to provide procedure to decide cases on their merits. The Rules were designed to replace decisions under the “sporting theory of justice” with decisions according to law. By 1976, at midlife, it was clear that they were not achieving their goal. America’s proceduralists split into two sides about what to do.

One side promotes rules that control and conclude litigation: e.g., plausibility pleading, case management, limited discovery, cost indemnity …

Structural Models Of Religion And State In Jewish And Democratic Political Thought: Inevitable Contradiction? The Challenge For Israel, Elazar Nachalon

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preventive Detention In Malaysia: Constitutional And Judicial Obstacles To Reform And Suggestions For The Future, Tyler James B. Jeffery

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Lausti And Salazar: Are Religious Symbols Legitimate In The Public Square?, Katie A. Croghan

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

A Cloudy Forecast: Divergence In The Cloud Computing Laws Of The United States, European Union, And China, Tina Cheng

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Cultural Dimensions Of Group Litigation: The Belgian Case, Stefaan Voet

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.