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The Battle over Sunrise Rock: Examining the Constitutionality of Government Land Transfers to Private Entities
Get PDFAmong the 1.6 million acres of southern California’s Mojave National Preserve stands a small cross, erected nearly a century ago as a memorial to veterans who died in World War I. Located in a remote site in the desert atop an outcropping known as Sunrise Rock, the cross, standing between five and eight feet tall,may appear to be of little significance to the average passerby. However, this seemingly inconsequential monument may have substantial implications for the federal government’s ability to transfer land to private entities. The location of the cross in the federally-owned Preserve has sparked widespread debate over whether it violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, which guarantees that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”The Establishment Clause is generally interpreted to guarantee citizens the right to be free from the government’s endorsement of a particular religion.Opponents of the cross have sought its removal for more than a decade, arguing that its location on the Preserve constitutes governmental endorsement of Christianity
Rome I Regulation a—Mostly—Unified Private International Law of Contractual Relationships within—Most—of the European Union
Get PDFThe year 2009 was an important year in the development of unified private international law in the European Union. At the beginning of the year, Regulation (EC) No. 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II) entered into force. And at the end of the year Regulation (EC) 593/2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I) followed suit. Hence, within one year significant parts of the private international law relevant to international business transactions have been unified within most of the Member States of the European Union. Further segments are to follow up on these developments
When Bullets Penetrate Bullet-Proof Vests: Conformity of the Bullet-Proof Material to the Contract of Sale and Concurrent Remedies (a Note on the Judgment of the Multi-Member Court of First Instance of Athens 4505/2009)
Get PDFThe Vienna Convention of 1980 for the International Sale of Goods (the “Vienna Convention” or “CISG”) was entered into force in Greece on1.2.1999 by virtue of law no. 2532/1997 (Gov. Gazette A 227/11.11.1997) and has since then been applied and interpreted by fourteen Greek judgments. The judgment of the Multi-Member Court of First Instance of Athens 4505/2009 (“Judgment 4505/2009”) is, if not the most important, one of the most important cases. Its importance is based not only on the CISG legal issues on which it expressed an opinion, but also on the particularities (and complexities) of its facts (its original text exceeds 100 pages and is still unpublished in Greece). On this basis the author believes that the full understanding of the legal issues of Judgment 4505/2009 requires systematic and, to the extent possible, detailed presentation of its complicated facts. It is noted that Judgment 4505/2009 also deals with important legal issues relating to international jurisdiction and Greek domestic civil law. However, this note will only concentrate, with few exceptions, on legal issues relating to the CISG
Remarks on Trade Usages And Business Practices In International Sales Law
Get PDFTrade usages and business practices are key elements of international commerce. In their day-to-day activities, traders and business people around the world constantly rely upon trade usages and business practices across a variety of industries. Usages and practices tend to be dignified by the business community with a status equivalent to that of actual law. As a matter of fact, many business persons often tend to regard trade usages and business practices as very powerful tools to ensure the stability of their bargain and, at times, transact business solely based on such usages and practices, withoutany written contract. Due to the importance of this subject, distinguished international legal commentators have often attempted to define trade usages and business practices and, in doing so, they have indeed succeeded at providing a substantial amount of theoretical ammunition for the benefit of the interpreter. What is more challenging, in my opinion, is to understand the interplay (and the related legal and commercial consequences) arising from the application of trade usages and business practices alongside the black letter rules of international conventions and model law instruments, which often refer to usages and practices without defining them
Not Running Wild With the CISG
Get PDFIn determining the boundaries of supranational legislation some courts adopt an expansionist (dynamic) line. To take a well-known regional example, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has long been engaged in an exercise in expansionist interpretation, thus broadening the scope of European Union legislation at the expense of the political discretion of EU Member States. Though surely seeking to advance what it sees as the Union’s best interests, the ECJ sometimes “runs amok,” actively extending regional rules in ways that constrain national sovereignty beyond what the Members had originally intended. Or, as one of my Copenhagen colleagues once put it: the ECJ is “running wild.&rdquo
Protecting a Client’s Confidences: Recent Developments in Privileged Communication Between Attorneys and Accountants
Get PDFoai:jlc.law-dev.library.pitt.edu:article/1The attorney-client privilege is one of the foundations of ourjurisprudence. Originally, designed to prevent attorneys from testifying against their clients, the privilege eventually evolved to reflect legal, societal, and financial complexities. This privilege depends on full disclosure and open communication between attorney and the client in order to provide competent and adequate representation. Today, attorneys often require and rely on expert guidance of accountants for various issues pertaining to litigation and transactional work.This article illustrates how the recent cases of Commissioner v. Comcast Corp. and United States v. Textron affect privileged communications in complex tax and transactional matters between attorneys and accountants retained for the purposes of client representation. The article also offers guidance on how to preserve privilege in communication between attorneys and accountants as waiver of such privilege may have significant and costly implications. At conclusion, unresolved issues pertaining to privileged communication are discussed and solutions are offered
The Eight Principles of the Microeconomic and Regulatory Future of Ticket Scalping, Ticket Brokers, and Secondary Ticket Markets
Get PDF“Ticket scalping” is a term akin to “loan sharking.” Both practices fill a market need, but both practices also bring the disdain of the consumer, the wrath of primary market competitors, and the microscopic attention of regulators. From the time of Shakespearean England, those who resell tickets have carried images of greedy speculators forcing innocents to pay unjust sums for event tickets, being fleeced of their hard-earned shekels in the process
Uniform Application of the International Sales Law/Understanding Uniformity, the Global Jurisconsultorium and Examination and Notification Provisions of the CISG
Get PDFAs a student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, my favorite courses were International Sales and International Business Transactions. The former I appreciated for nourishing my academic interest in the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), while the latter I appreciated for instilling in me the tools to be a responsible transactions attorney. Learning from professors like Professor Harry Flechtner and Professor Ronald Brand, my profound interest in the CISG grew, and I realized a deep appreciation for scholarly commentary on the CISG. Herein, I discuss a book about the uniform application of the CISG, including obstacles to uniform application of the CISG
Is 35 U.S.C. § 271(F) Keeping Pace With The Times?: The Law After the Federal Circuit’s Cardiac Pacemakers Decision
Get PDFIn a common business arrangement, an American software company designs software in the United States, then sends the software code abroad where copies are mass-produced and distributed. Prior to the Federal Circuit’s ruling in Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. v. St. Jude Medical, Inc., the American company could have been found liable for patent infringement under Section 271(f) of the Patent Act if the software mass-produced abroad infringed a United States patent.Cardiac Pacemakers, however, leaves United States patent owners defenseless when the allegedly infringed patent claims are method claims. The background of Cardiac Pacemakers, the Court’s rationales, and the implications of the decision are the subject of this Note
Every Seafarer Has a Primary Duty That May Provide the Basis of a Defense in a Personal Injury Action
Get PDFA seafarer injured while in the service of a merchant ocean vessel is accorded three causes of action against his or her employer: 1) Jones Act negligence, 2) the warranty of seaworthiness, and 3) maintenance and cure. The latter two causes of action arise under general maritime law, the first is statutory. This article deals with a defense to a seafarer’s claims for Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness. This defense, commonly known as the “Primary Duty Rule,” has been restated in numerous variations since its inception. This article examines the history and evolution of the Rule and suggests a restatement of the Rule for continued application in the defense of seafarer personal injury cases