Comparative and Foreign Law Commons^™

Legal Origin Theory [Book Review], Dana Neacsu

Law Faculty Publications

In this volume, Simon Deakin, Professor of Law at the University of Cambridge and Katharina Pistor, the Michael I Sovem Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, considered the merits of Legal Origin Theory (LOT) in three fields of inquiry: the study of comparative law, the analysis of the relation between law and markets, and the understanding of the role of legal systems in social ordering. In their succinct and provocative introduction, Deakin and Pistor discuss the evolution of this legal theory without shying away from its controversial nature.

Comparative Criminal Law, Luis E. Chiesa

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 47 in The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law, Markus Dubber & Tatjana Hörnle, eds.

Criminal law is a parochial discipline. Courts and scholars in the English speaking world seldom take seriously the criminal statutes, cases and scholarly writings published in the non-English speaking world. The same is true the other way around. This is unfortunate. Much can be learned from comparing the way in which the world’s leading legal systems approach important questions of criminal theory.

This Chapter introduces the reader to comparative criminal law with the aim of demonstrating how comparative analysis can enrich both domestic …

Originalism At Home And Abroad, Yvonne Tew

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Originalism is typically thought to be a uniquely American preoccupation. This Article challenges the conventional view that originalism enjoys little support outside the United States by showing that the story of originalism-both at home and abroad-is more nuanced than has been appreciated. This Article examines how originalism has developed in two unexplored contexts-Malaysia and Singapore-to show that originalism not only thrives outside the United States but that it takes on distinct variations reflecting the cultural, historical, and political conditions of individual nations. The Article argues that whether originalism thrives, and the form that it takes, is context driven and culturally …

Neoliberalism And The Good Daddies And Bad Daddies Of Academic Freedom, Stewart Chang

Scholarly Works

In this micro symposium article, Professor Stewart Chang joins his colleagues in addressing the questions posed by Stanley Fish, in his article, "Versions of Academic Freedom: From Professionalism to Revolution." Professor Chang specifically seeks to answer "What is the relationship between academic freedom and democracy?" as applied to Singapore.

The Postcolonial Problem For Global Gay Rights, Stewart Chang

Scholarly Works

As the United States and Europe have progressed to the issue of same-sex marriage, countries that are still working through antecedent issues, such as the decriminalization of anti-sodomy laws, are regarded by international gay rights advocates as lagging behind the times. This often leads to pressures from the Western-dominated international community for reform. Through this Article, Professor Stewart Chang contributes to the ongoing scholarly debate between international human rights activists who desire to advance gay rights by utilizing the same rights-based models that prevail in the United States and Europe and critics of this approach who deem the universal imposition …

Corruption, Corporations, And The New Human Right, Andrew B. Spalding

Law Faculty Publications

We should no longer expect the Alien Tort Statute to be the principal federal statute that deters overseas corporate rights violations. That distinction rightly belongs to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an antibribery statute that rests on undisputed principles of corporate liability, contains a clear congressional statement of extraterritorial application, and routinely collects penalties from multinational corporate defendants. Scholars have not associated the FCPA with human rights, owing principally to a thin understanding of rights theory. But freedom from corruption can and should be understood as a human right, one that is as old as social contract theory but new …

New Affirmative Defense To The Fcpa For Countries Exiting Major Internal Strife, Chris Rohde

Law Student Publications

This paper examines whether the current exception to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), or the affirmative defenses provided by the FCPA, allow American companies to be this positive influence. Part I examines the background of the FCPA, the current exception and affirmative defenses, and the recent increase in enforcement. Part II examines the issue of whether the current exceptions and affirmative defenses permit US companies to invest in countries currently exiting major internal strife. 4 Unfortunately, neither the exception nor the affirmative defenses provide companies the leeway necessary to enter these markets without serious risk of running afoul of …

From Villa Grimaldi To Guantánamo Bay: Remedying Human Rights Abuses In Chile And The United States, Nadia Shamsi

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the effectiveness of transitional justice mechanisms in addressing human rights abuses, using Chile's experience under Augusto Pinochet as a model. It critiques the U.S. for failing to adopt similar approaches to accountability, particularly in addressing abuses at Guantanamo Bay and other detention centers. The analysis highlights the importance of combining truth commissions, criminal prosecutions, and reparations to achieve justice and promote democratic transition. It argues that the U.S. must align its domestic practices with the international human rights standards it promotes.

Bulk Metadata Collection: Statutory And Constitutional Considerations, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The National Security Agency’s bulk collection of telephony metadata runs contrary to Congress’s intent in enacting the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The program also violates the statute in three ways: the requirement that records sought be “relevant to an authorized investigation;” the requirement that information could be obtained via subpoena duces tecum; and the steps required for use of pen registers and trap and trace devices. Additionally, the program gives rise to serious constitutional concerns. Efforts by the government to save the program on grounds of third party doctrine are unpersuasive in light of the unique circumstances of …

Charitable Giving, Tax Expenditures, And Direct Spending In The United States And The European Union, Lilian V. Faulhaber

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This Article compares the ways in which the United States and the European Union limit the ability of state-level entities to subsidize their own residents, whether through direct subsidies or through tax expenditures. It uses four recent charitable giving cases decided by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to illustrate the ECJ’s evolving tax expenditure jurisprudence and argues that, while this jurisprudence may suggest a new and promising model for fiscal federalism, it may also have negative social policy implications. It also points out that the court analyzes direct spending and tax expenditures under different rubrics despite their economic equivalence …

The Exclusion Of Improperly Obtained Evidence At The International Criminal Court: A Principled Approach To Interpreting Article 69(7) Of The Rome Statute, Michael Madden

LLM Theses

This thesis examines article 69(7) of the Rome Statute, which creates an exclusionary rule for improperly obtained evidence at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ultimately, the thesis proposes how the ICC should interpret its exclusionary rule. The thesis discusses the theory underlying exclusionary rules, the evidence law and remedial law contexts within which exclusionary rules operate, and numerous comparative examples of exclusionary doctrine from within national criminal justice systems. Finally, some unique aspects of international criminal procedure are described in order to demonstrate how an international exclusionary rule might need to differ from a domestic rule, and previous jurisprudence relating …

Interstate Conflict And Cooperation In Criminal Cases: An American Perspective, Jenia I. Turner

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Over the last decade, the European Union has adopted legislation that calls for the mutual recognition of arrest warrants, investigation orders, and penal judgments. These laws have aimed to strengthen the Union’s response to transnational crime, and EU policymakers are currently considering legislation to further harmonize the Union's law enforcement efforts. This Article compares these developments within the EU to the U.S. legal framework on mutual recognition in criminal matters. It examines the individual, state and systemic interests that U.S. state courts have considered in deciding whether to recognize other states' judgments, warrants, or investigative actions. These competing interests have …

Taking The Bloody Linen Out Of The Closet: Menstrual Hygiene As A Priority For Achieving Gender Equality, Inga T. Winkler, Virginia Roaf

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Regular menstruation signals a woman's health and fertility. menstruation is surrounded by shame, secrecy, embarrassment, fear, humiliation, silence, taboo, and stigma. Linked to this taboo, many cultural and religious norms-often grounded in patriarchal assumptions-seek to prevent contact with menstruating women and girls in order to avoid 'contamination' or 'becoming impure'. To some extent, this perception of menstruation is a paradox, given that motherhood is glorified. However, menstruation is not perceived as feminine', and it does not conform to the stereotypical role and behavior of women. Such stereotypes require women to be beautiful and beautified, deodorized and fresh, not bloody and …

The President And Congress: Separation Of Powers In The United States Of America, Harold H. Bruff

Publications

Although the framers of the Australian Constitution adopted many features of the United States Constitution, they rejected the separation of legislative and executive power in favour of responsible government in a parliamentary system like that of the United Kingdom. In doing so, Australians depended on existing conventions about the nature of responsible government instead of specification of its attributes in constitutional text. The United States Constitution contains detailed provisions about separation of powers, but unwritten conventions have produced some central features of American government. This article reviews conventions developed by Congress that constrain Presidents in the domestic sphere with regard …

Managing Conflicts Of Interest In China's Public Sector: Fighting Corruption At The Early Stage, Hao (Victor) Wu, Xiaoqi (Claudia) Sun

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

The Genealogy Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Latin America: A Comparative And Historical Analysis Of The Adversarial Reforms In The Region, Daniel Pulecio-Boek

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

Fisa Reform, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Congress and the Executive Branch are poised to take up the issue of FISA reform in 2014. What has been missing from the discussion is a comprehensive view of ways in which reform could be given effect—i.e., a taxonomy of potential options. This article seeks to fill the gap. The aim is to deepen the conversation about abeyant approaches to foreign intelligence gathering, to allow fuller discussion of what a comprehensive package could contain, and to place initiatives that are currently under consideration within a broader, over-arching framework. The article begins by considering the legal underpinnings and challenges to the …

Household Regulation And European Integration: The Family Portrait Of A Crisis, Philomila Tsoukala

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the regulation of the household and its effects on the economy. Incorporating insights from family economics, comparative family law, legal realism, political economy and feminism, it describes the array of different legal regimes that can affect household composition and function. The article then analyzes the case of Greece using this framework. It argues that the role of households organized as families was a central element in the Greek debt crisis, overlooked by scholars and policymakers alike. It identifies the host of legal regimes that helped consolidate families as the main providers of …

Systematic Government Access To Private-Sector Data Redux, Fred H. Cate, Christopher Kuner, Christopher Millard, Dan Jerker B. Svantesson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Unconstitutionality Of Religious Vilification Laws In Australia: Why Religious Vilification Laws Are Contrary To The Implied Freedom Of Political Communication Affirmed In The Australian Constitution, Augusto Zimmerman Dr.

BYU Law Review

This article explains the weakness of the argument that religious vilification laws promote harmony and tolerance among religious groups. Rather, they are based on a form of postmodern theory that denies the existence of truth and could be used as a weapon by certain individuals to silence any criticism of their beliefs. These laws have become an invitation to people with extreme views to avoid debate by claiming that they, rather than their beliefs, have been attacked. The author then explains the philosophical underpinnings of religious vilification laws and argues that there is no a priori reason why religious speech …