Transnational Law Commons^™

Natural Resource Contracts As A Tool For Managing The Mining Sector, David Kienzler, Perrine Toledano, Sophie Thomashausen, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In this report commissioned by the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), CCSI examined the different types of legal regimes governing mining projects in 18 countries to gain a better understanding of mining deals granted and negotiated under different minerals regimes. CCSI compared the provisions of 30 mining contracts from 13 countries, analyzed a selection of mining-related legislative texts from 18 countries, and surveyed the experiences of mining contract negotiations through dozens of interviews with experts, government officials, company representatives, and members of civil society organizations.

The report …

The Accession Of Greece To The European Communities, Bernhard Schloh

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Andean Court In Consolidating Regional Integration Efforts, Edwin P. Lochridge

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Transportation, Cooperation And Harmonization: Gats As A Gateway To Integrating The Un Seaborne Cargo Regimes Into The Wto, Lijun Zhao

Pace International Law Review

This paper seeks to analyze how the World Trade Organization (WTO) may cooperate with the United Nations (UN) to unify sea-borne cargo regimes. Beginning with the current dilemma of uni-form maritime transport regime, the paper explores the relation-ship between the UN and the WTO. In light of the successful precedent of the incorporation of the UN intellectual property re-gime into the WTO, this paper probes into the feasibility that the UN and the WTO may interactively unify a maritime transport regime by reference to selected previous treaties, which include UN-administrated treaties. This paper argues the WTO-based sea transport negotiations do …

The Globalization Of Crime Control: The Use Of Non-Criminal Justice Responses For Countering Organized Crime, Bjarni Halldor Sigursteinsson

LLM Theses

This thesis examines domestic authorities’ use of non-criminal justice responses to counter organized crime. Examples of responses used to counter outlaw motorcycle gangs in Canada, Germany, and Iceland are provided. These responses are significantly different from most international efforts focusing on criminal norms and cooperation in criminal matters.

As harmonization of legislation, policies and practices in this field become an international focus, I examine the role currently played by the European Union in promoting these non-criminal justice 'alternative' enforcement strategies for the purpose of furthering the development of international and domestic efforts to counter organized crime.

This study concludes that …

Same-Sex Couples - Comparative Insights On Marriage And Cohabitation, Macarena Sáez

Books

This book shows six different realities of same-sex families. They range from full recognition of same-sex marriage to full invisibility of gay and lesbian individuals and their families. The broad spectrum of experiences presented in this book share some commonalities: in all of them legal scholars and civil society are moving legal boundaries or thinking of spaces within rigid legal systems for same-sex families to function. In all of them there have been legal claims to recognize the existence of same-sex families. The difference between them lies in the response of courts. Regardless of the type of legal system, when …

Investor-State Dispute Settlement, Public Interest And U.S. Domestic Law, Lise Johnson, Lisa E. Sachs, Jeffrey D. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

As negotiations are ongoing in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP), CCSI staff and Jeffrey Sachs discuss the implications of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) for domestic law and policy, focusing on effects within the US. The paper concludes that the risks ISDS poses for domestic law are significant and unjustified, and that there are preferable policy alternatives to pursue as a means of protecting the rights of investors operating overseas.

Not So Fast, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

President Barack Obama and the Republican leadership in Congress are trying to pass "fast track" legislation in order to push through major economic agreements with eleven countries of the Pacific region (the Trans-Pacific Partnership) and Europe (the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) without the possibility for Congressional amendments. Both are being sold generally as "trade agreements," yet they involve key areas of business law and regulation far beyond trade. Before Congress approves fast track, these agreements need to be made public and exposed to thorough public scrutiny.

Two Cheers For Universalism: Nortel's Nifty Novelty, John A. E. Pottow

Book Chapters

Individuals in the cross-border bankruptcy community hiding under rocks may not have heard about the monumental decisions in the co-trials in the Canadian-United States Nortel bankruptcy proceedings, In re Nortel Networks, Inc and Re Nortel Networks Corp. The decisions are thoughtful, innovative, practical, and important. They warrant a detailed case comment or two in their own right. This brief article, however, will not provide such worthy treatment. Those hungering for in-depth reports of the cases and their holdings may stop reading now and devote their labours elsewhere. What this article will be is an appreciation of Nortel, explaining …

The Liability Of Foreign Governments Under United States Antitrust Laws, James F. Ponsoldt, Jesse Stone

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Customs Valuation In The European Economic Community, William M. Snyder

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The European Economic Community: The Right Of Member State Withdrawal, John A. Hill

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Foreign Direct Investment In The United States: Disclosure Regulations, Diane E. Mcnamara

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Impairment Of The Operation Of The Warsaw Convention By Recent Legislative And Judicial Action, Alan N. Sutin

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Problems With The Application Of Norms Governing Interstate Armed Conflict To Non-International Armed Conflict, Waldemar A. Solf

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Ripe For Refinement: The State’S Role In Interpretation Of Fet, Mfn, And Shareholder Rights, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Over recent years, many states have taken steps to refine and modernize their investment treaties. These reforms, however, are typically only included in newer treaties or model agreements. States continue to be exposed to claims, litigation, and potential damages under older “old-style” agreements. These risks are particularly acute given that tribunals have often permitted investors to “treaty shop” to obtain more favorable protections, and have also permitted investors to use the most-favored nation (MFN) provision to “import” more investor-friendly (or at least less clear) provisions from other treaties.

This working paper discusses one strategy states can use to try to …

Eyes Wide Shut On Isds, Lisa E. Sachs, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Recent agreement among congressional leaders on a “fast-track” bill may have been a victory for the Obama administration’s trade agenda. However, members of congress should take a look at the recent Bilcon case, decided by a NAFTA tribunal, to understand what they are signing up for.

Why Should We Not Protest For Consumption Tax Reduction? Consumption Tax Rate As A Partial Mechanism For Increasing Consumer Wealth, Limor Riza, Noam Sher

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

If you are an activist protesting against the high costs of living, we would like to offer you one suggestion: do not demand that the government reduce consumption tax. Social activists tend to believe that a government policy reducing consumption tax can, by itself, benefit the general population. This paper explains our suggestion to the contrary.

The tax field alone is insufficient for consumption tax reduction to be effective in increasing consumer wealth over benefiting suppliers. Due to cognitive biases, or heuristics, when the government changes consumption tax rates in order to increase consumers’ well-being, suppliers are able to …

The Responsibility To Protect: Emerging Norm Or Failed Doctrine?, Camila Pupparo

Global Tides

This paper seeks to investigate the current shift from the non-intervention norm towards the “Responsibility to Protect,” commonly abbreviated as “RtoP,” which actually mandates intervention in cases of humanitarian intervention disasters. I will look at the May 2011 application of the R2P doctrine to the humanitarian crisis in Libya and assess whether it was a success or a failure. Many critics of the “Responsibility to Protect” norm consider it to be yet another imperial tool used by the West to pursue national interests, so this paper analyzes this argument in detail, referring to case study examples, particularly in the Middle …

Extraterritorial Jurisdiction - Antitrust - The Impact Of The British Protection Of Trading Interests Act On The United States Antitrust Suit Brought By Laker Airways Against British Airways And British Caledonian., Ward S. Bondurant

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.