The State of Paris: How the Climate Agreement is Faring After U.S. Withdrawal
Lucas Minich Vol. 39 Associate Editor On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced with great fanfare that he would unilaterally, as is arguably his right, withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement.[1] This landmark agreement calls upon its signatory nations to aggressively strive to fight climate change through cooperative efforts. More specifically, it […]
The Paris Agreement: Industrialized Powers’ Responsibility to Island Nations
Hyun Lee Vol. 39 Associate Editor A few months after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the United States’ future withdrawal from the Paris Agreement,[1] small Pacific island nations called for the implementation of the Paris Agreement in the United Nations General Assembly that took place on September 23, 2017.[2]
China’s Military Drills Over Okinawa
Virginia Koeppl Vol. 37 Associate Editor Vol. 38 Article Editor On December 26, 2015, China sent three armed vessels, one of them designed to carry four cannons, into Japan’s territorial waters surrounding the Senkaku Islands in the southern part of the East China Sea.[1] This is the first time that the People’s Republic of China has […]
Legal Framework for Retaliation against North Korea’s Rocket Launch
Ashley Harshaw, Vol. 37 Associate Editor Following North Korea’s long-range rocket launch on February 7, 2016, South Korea and the United States are urging for strong sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime. But, it is unclear what kinds of sanctions will be effective in influencing North Korea’s behavior. The successful functioning of the rule of international […]
The E.U. – U.S. Privacy Shield
Corina McIntyre, Vol. 37 Associate Editor In October 2015, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) struck down the U.S.-E.U. transatlantic “Safe Harbor” pact used by thousands of companies to transfer European citizens’ data to the U.S. For 15 years the Safe Harbor pact had “allowed more than 4,000 companies to avoid cumbersome E.U. data transfer […]
Governors and the Global Market: A Michigan Example
Cole Lussier, Vol. 37 Associate Editor In American foreign affairs law, it is long established that the “external powers of the United States are to be exercised without regard to state laws or policies.”[i] Yet this does not mean that governors are required to ignore the effects of an increasingly connected global community and the […]
Exercises in Futility: Can Military Exercises Constitute Provocation for an Attack in Anticipatory Self-Defense?
Cody Marden, Vol. 37 Associate Editor In November 1983 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conducted a ten day military exercise known as Able Archer 83. This exercise was arguably the closest the world has ever come to WWIII. The realistic nature of the exercises, combined with the deteriorating relations with the U.S., led many […]
Common Reporting Standard (CRS): Development and Limitations
Sihang Zhang, Vol. 37 Associate Editor In recent years, the ease of establishing accounts at foreign financial institutions, combined with financial advisors who routinely establish foreign structures to hide income, create a unique risk of tax evasion for governmental authority, especially in a self-assessed tax system, where taxpayers may choose not to comply with their […]
Shifts in Policies of War on Drugs in the Americas
Ashley Harshaw, Vol. 37 Associate Editor The Supreme Court of Mexico, in a 4 to 1 vote, has declared that four plaintiffs – members of a cannabis club – are allowed to grow, transport and use marijuana for recreational purposes. This marks the latest in a series of shifts in the Americas away from past […]
To Adjudicate or Not to Adjudicate? Issues of Jurisdiction and Comity in the U.S. Volkswagen Litigation
Emily Golding, Vol. 37 Associate Editor In September, news that over 11 million Volkswagen diesel vehicles worldwide had been equipped with software used to defeat emissions tests rocked the international community. In the days following the publication of the scandal, Volkswagen stock dropped nearly 30%.[1] The deception by the world’s top-selling car maker continues to […]
The Safe Harbor Principles: What They Were and What Their Invalidation Means
Silvia Raithel, Vol. 37 Associate Editor In 1995, the European Parliament and Council passed the Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC) (the “Directive”).[1] The Directive requires that the transfer of personal data out of the European Economic Area to another country only take place if the other country ensures an adequate level of protection for the […]
The Investor-State Dispute Settlement Provision in the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Not the Death Knell Critics Are Looking For
Michael Pucci, Vol. 37 Associate Editor A little over a year before handing over the keys to the White House to his successor, President Obama finds himself in a peculiar position: he may have to rely primarily on Republican support for one of his last major legislative initiatives. After years of negotiations, the United States […]
International E-Discovery: EU Privacy Protection vs. US Broad Disclosure
Katherine McGuigan, Vol. 37 Associate Editor On September 18, 2015, the world discovered that Volkswagen had been cheating on its emission tests for its diesel-fueled cars.[1] Volkswagen admitted that over 11 million cars worldwide might contain “defeat devices” which can “make cars appear cleaner than they are during regulatory tests and disable emissions controls during […]
Economic Shifts in Michigan and China Dictate Need for Socially Responsible Businesses
Amy K. Bergstraesser, Vol. 36 Associate Editor Introduction The experience of large economic shifts often sparks the need for more than some governments can or are willing to deal with. Social welfare systems deteriorate and the gap between the rich and the poor grows, causing concern and strife. Recently, businesses have been called on to […]
The Long Arm of Justice: America’s Place in China’s Anti-Corruption Campaign
Derek Turnbull, Vol. 36 Associate Editor As President Xi Jinping’s burgeoning anti-corruption campaign takes root in China, forcing government officials at the top of diverse ministries from the energy sector to the military to sit up and take notice, China’s anticorruption officials have set their sights on a new area: the United States. Increasingly, China’s […]
The 1970 UNESCO Convention, as Implemented by Canada and the U.S.: Articulating Policy Norms
Elizabeth A. Beitler Vol. 37 Articles Editor Vol. 36 Associate Editor The law of cultural property and its repatriation is becoming a more and more salient topic in the realm of international law for several reasons. First, cultural property encompasses a vast array of objects, including, but not limited to, art, archaeological artifacts, antiquities, and […]
Self-Determination and Puerto Rico
Javier J. Rivera-Alvarado, Vol. 36 Associate Editor The existence of the right to self-determination in international law is well established, but its precise meaning is still up for debate.[1] It has been defined as the right of all peoples “to determine their future, whether in the form of independence, integration in the administering state or […]
FATCA, GATCA and the Controversial Withholding Provision
Abigail Zeitlin, Vol. 36 Associate Editor For many years, there have been large discrepancies between different countries’ tax reporting standards. This has allowed for certain countries, like the United Kingdom or Switzerland,[i] to become tax shelters and for other governments to lose out on millions of dollars in tax revenue. [ii] In the United States alone, […]
Piketty v. Merkel
David Stute, Vol. 36 Associate Editor Earlier this month, Der Spiegel interviewed French economist Thomas Piketty,[i] who first rose to international fame with his 2013 study of wealth inequality over the past 250 years.[ii] In the interview, Piketty laid his finger on the stark divide in economic outcomes between the United States and the European […]
International Efforts to Facilitate the Abolition of Capital Punishment in the US
Nehal Khorraminejad, Vol. 36 Associate Editor On January 27, 2015, the State of Georgia executed Warren Lee Hill, a 54-year-old man convicted of murdering another inmate while serving time for killing his girlfriend in 1985.[1] In his appeals, Mr. Hill’s attorneys argued that his mental disability (he had an IQ of 70) exempted him from capital […]