Litigating Corporate Human Rights Information

This article analyzes trends in litigation brought against corporate actors regarding human rights information. Such information includes, but is not limited to, statements on packaging claiming that products are “ethically sourced” and investor-facing disclosures representing that an issuer's operations are environmentally friendly. It proceeds by outlining the sources of human rights-related disclosures as they arise under both legal and voluntary regimes. The article then addresses the case law. Recent years have seen an increase in lawsuits involving human rights information, or lack thereof, imparted by companies. Consumer protection or consumer fraud cases are being filed, alleging that companies have either provided false and misleading information or omitted information about corporate human rights impacts and mitigation efforts. Investors are filing similar claims. The article examines the trend and considers the role of this litigation both in holding companies to their word and in providing corporate accountability for the underlying human rights abuses that false or misleading human rights information may mask. It ultimately argues that, although success at trial in such cases remains elusive, litigation is a useful and potentially growing tool for holding companies to their word regarding human rights claims. It contextualizes this litigation, arguing that other means by which companies can be held to their word should be strengthened, including public enforcement and—potentially—new disclosure and due diligence laws.     

Litigating the science of breast cancer treatment

Beginning in the late 1980s, many health insurers refused to cover high-dose chemotherapy with autologous bone marrow transplant (HDC/ABMT) for high-risk and metastatic breast cancer patients. Insurers denied coverage because there was no persuasive evidence of clinical effectiveness. In response, many women sued to compel coverage. After years of litigation and the expenditure of approximately $3 billion, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) showed that the procedure was no more effective and possibly more harmful than conventional therapy. To understand whether and how litigation contributed to the diffusion of the procedure, we conducted a series of case studies that examine the litigation tactics and strategies used by defense and plaintiffs' counsel. Despite the fact that HDC/ABMT lacked proven scientific effectiveness, insurance defense attorneys were unable to stop the procedure's diffusion. Plaintiffs' attorneys had a much easier and more sympathetic story to tell and were able to exploit vulnerabilities facing the defense.     

我国票据付款诉讼制度的研究

一旦因遗失、灭失等原因失去票据的时候,失票人就无法行使票据权利。为了使失票人免受这种利益损失,我国票据法规定了挂失止付、公示催告以及请求付款诉讼三种补救措施。其中,请求付款诉讼这一制度是从英美法体系中移植我国的。可是,目前该制度在我国并没有得到很好的普及,原因何在?它与挂失止付、公示催告制度之间的关系如何?等等,将以请求付款诉讼制度为中心展开各种讨论。     

论精神病人强制医疗诉讼程序的构建

我国刑法规定的精神病人强制医疗制度存在性质不清、适用对象单一、适用条件模糊、决定主体不明以及适用程序缺失等问题,致使这一制度的现实运行缺乏程序保障。构建科学、完备的强制医疗诉讼程序,既符合正当程序和人权保障的要求,也有利于发挥医疗救助和社会防卫之功能。我国刑事诉讼法应对强制医疗的适用对象、条件、程序的启动、法庭审理以及裁判和救济等基本程序作出规定,以实现强制医疗制度的司法化和诉讼化。     

Office politics

The main focus of the IP student is on the substantive law:what can you patent, which acts infringe a trade mark, whenwill freedom of speech arguments trump a copyright-based actionfor an injunction, and so on. Once in practice, this focus broadensto take in wider interests, for example how to advise and guidea client without misappropriating its decision-making capacityor how to work within a team     

Litigating Scientific Creationism, or "Scopes" II, III,…

This paper is concerned with the institutional role of courts in dealing with long term political conflict. Such conflict is likely to involve group mobilization on both sides; the analysis therefore utilizes a judicial interest group approach, presenting evidence from the on-going policy debate surrounding presentation of the Darwinian theory of evolution in public schools. The findings demonstrate the importance of courts in developing public policies, not only by articulating policy, but also by affecting subsequent moves by interest groups to promote their agendas elsewhere in the system. Many extended conflicts may not be resolved in institutional settings, but they may be repetitively reformulated and translated to engage the decisionmaking process of specific forums in on-going activities. In successive moves, each adversary attempts to shift the balance of power to its respective advantage, where, paradoxically, the parties may change sides as the debate travels full circle. The analysis also illustrates the advancement of the creation science advocates' game plan, beginning with a publicity-oriented strategy, which is a hallmark of the relatively "amateurish" litigant, and eventually moving to a result-oriented position, a more "professional" approach to the courts.