A previously well 19-year-old man presented to hospital with weakness and sensory disturbance. He had developed central back pain the previous evening. After a few hours, he developed weakness in his right hand. Within 30 min his legs were weak and he could no longer bear his weight. His symptoms persisted into the next morning and he also became aware of an altered sensation down his left leg and thorax and urinary frequency. On examination, there was a right-sided Horner's syndrome, distal weakness in the right arm and …

Significant disparities in legal regimes will inevitably lead to an allocation of economic resources at least partially based on the identification of the least restrictive regulatory environment.1KeywordsSupra NoteDispute ResolutionIntellectual Property RightNorth American Free Trade AgreementDispute Resolution MechanismThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

In 2008, the field of international trade experienced considerable activity in some areas and virtual stagnation in others. The World Trade Organization (WTO) welcomed two new members in 2008: Ukraine and Cape Verde. Progress on Russia’s accession suffered a setback in 2008 due to the Russian-Georgian War in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and other bilateral issues. Additionally, the expiration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in 2007 and the U.S. presidential and congressional elections created uncertainty as to whether the next administration would honor U.S.-negotiated agreements and whether the new Congress would approve them. Thus, despite optimism that a conclusion to the Doha Development Round was possible in 2008, world financial problems and continued disagreement on key issues between developed and developing countries forestalled a global trade deal this year. Negotiations on agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) modalities also collapsed at the Ministerial meeting in July 2008.

This paper to addresses the protectionist actions of the United States in the early 21st century, analyzes their effect on Canadian investors, and reviews the available remedies. It asserts that U.S. protectionism is in direct contravention to the spirit and intent of NAFTA, and that protectionist action should be considered tantamount to expropriation, thereby justifying the use by Canadian investors of NAFTA Chapter 11, as found and as amended, as a method of recourse. To do this, this paper establishes the need for qualified free trade and identifies the importance of a fresh discussion of Canada-U.S. trade. It then highlights recent cases of U.S. protectionist actions with a focus on the U.S. withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol. Finally, it argues for a more aggressive use of NAFTA Chapter 11 in its present form and with a proposed amendment to include domestic investors. By providing domestic investors the opportunity for compensation for the protectionist action of a NAFTA partner, this amendment will act not only as a mechanism for recourse, protecting those adversely-affected investors, but ultimately, as a deterrent to NAFTA partners from protectionist conduct.

As China's economy grows and government controls liberalize, Chinese investors are realizing the value and opportunities associated with investment in post-conflict regions. Given this trend, and the volatility associated with the political and economic environments in post-conflict regions, this article illustrates several mechanisms - bilateral investment treaties, domestic laws regulating foreign direct investment, tax treaties and tax incentive zones, and international investment organizations - Chinese investors may wish to employ when investing in post-conflict states. Such mechanisms serve to incentivize foreign direct investment by providing lower market entry and operating costs and protecting investments with transparent and robust controls. While none on their own guarantees protection, together, they provide a substantial safety net should the investment environment deteriorate.

Since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003, countless experts have opined on Iraq's future, prognosticating (dare we say even pontificating), in an attempt to set forth with great precision the way forward in Iraq. With the five year anniversary of the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in sight, the American University International Law Review, and the Public International Law and Policy Group ("PILPG") hosted Rethinking the Future: The Next Five Years in Iraq, a symposium that moved beyond the current rhetoric, and openly debated Iraq's future. The organizers designed a program to question the current direction of Iraq and challenge the participants to rethink the future of Iraq. This volume contains several submissions by symposium participants. This brief introduction is designed to highlight the discussions that occurred over the two day event and act as a primer for the articles that follow. Each subsection below describes an element of the symposium. These elements focused both on the headline grabbing issues of today (war crimes, partition, etc.) as well as those issues lurking on the horizon (water rights, displaced persons, etc.). All summaries below are the interpretation of the authors and are not intended to impute a position upon any panelist or speaker.

INTRODUCTION 192 I. ETHNO-SECTARIAN DIVISION 194 II. CALLS FOR THE ETHNO-SECTARIAN DIVISION OF IRAQ 196 III. THE CASE AGAINST THE ETHNO-SECTARIAN DIVISION OF IRAQ 201 A. IRAQIS OPPOSE ETHNO-SECTARIAN DIVISION 201 B. A CARTOGRAPHIC CONUNDRUM 203 1. Complex Identities 204

The Public International Law & Policy Group's (PILPG) Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur is a comprehensive peace agreement drafting handbook tailored to the upcoming Darfur peace negotiations. The drafting guide presents core elements of relevant topics, outlines the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) provisions related to those topics, and provides sample language parties may wish to consider when drafting future provisions. The Darfur Peace Agreement is divided into six chapters: Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing, Ceasefire and Final Security Arrangements, Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and Consultation, General Provisions, and Implementation Modalities and Timelines. The Darfur Peace Agreement also includes six annextures detailing previous agreements reached by the parties, including those negotiated in N'JDjamena, Chad; Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia; and Abuja, Nigeria. PILPG's Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur draws on the subject matter addressed in the DPA chapters and annextures and identifies 24 topics covered by the DPA. Each of the 24 chapters of this drafting guide is dedicated to one of those topics. These topics include power sharing, wealth sharing, human rights protections, ceasefire and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration, among others. Each chapter is divided into four sections including: an introduction, analysis of the core elements of each topic, a summary of the DPA language related to the topic, and sample language the parties may wish to consider when drafting provisions related to the topic. While the DPA is organized by subject matter, the 24 chapters of the Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur are organized alphabetically for ease of use. The Core Elements section of each chapter presents comparative state practice regarding the various mechanisms parties may use to address the topic covered in each chapter. The section headings within each core elements chapter correspond to the Sample Language provisions included later in each chapter. For example, the Core Elements section of the Displaced Persons chapter identifies the issues encountered by states with displaced persons and outlines the mechanisms states have used to facilitate the return of displaced persons. The Darfur Peace Agreement section of each chapter then outlines the provisions of the DPA that address the topic covered in each chapter. For example, the Darfur Peace Agreement section of the Displaced Persons chapter outlines how the DPA defines displaced persons, provides guarantees by all parties regarding the return of displaced persons, defines the rights of the displaced persons, and creates implementation and enforcement mechanisms to facilitate the return of displaced persons. Finally, the Sample Language section of each chapter provides language parties may wish to consider when drafting provisions of a peace agreement that address the topic covered in each chapter. This sample language is drawn from related provisions used by other states in peace negotiations, post-conflict constitutions, and various legislation. The Sample Language is organized to correspond to the section headings presented in the Core Elements section. For example, the Sample Language of the Displaced Persons section provides possible definitions of displaced persons, mechanisms states have used to guarantee safety to displaced persons returning to their places of origin, various provisions states have used to grant rights to displaced persons, and institutional mechanisms states have created to enforce the rights of displaced persons.Please see the Table of Contents of the Peace Agreement Drafting Guide: Darfur for a full list of topics covered in this peace agreement drafting handbook.

In 2005, the Iraqi Constitutional Committee drafted the Iraqi constitution, replacing the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period (TAL), the first governing law in Iraq since the Coalition Provisional Authority took control in 2003. Recognizing the 2005 constitution as a temporary document, the first parliament formed the Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) in September of 2006 to determine whether and how to amend the constitution. In light of the CRC's efforts, this article reviews state practice for the sourcing of high court authority, synthesizes the results to identify patterns where possible, and assesses the Iraqi constitution's consistency with state practice. Specifically, this article examines whether states use constitutional provisions or domestic legislation to provide for their high court's powers and functions, independence, authority, structure and administration, and identifies for the CRC those provisions that may be inconsistent.

On September 12, 2006, the governments of Canada and the United States signed the Softwood Lumber Agreement 2006 (SLA 2006), hoping to end the longstanding dispute between the two countries on the issue of softwood lumber. Fearing liability for measures taken to give effect to the agreement, the Parties included a provision in Article XI(2) of the SLA 2006, limiting the availability of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Chapter 11 dispute resolution. This comment argues that in limiting the availability of NAFTA Chapter 11 dispute resolution, Article XI(2) of SLA 2006 effects the application of NAFTA Chapter 11 in a way that is inconsistent with customary international law. Specifically, Article XI(2) impermissibly affects the applicability of NAFTA Chapter 11 in one of two ways: (a) it separates provisions of Chapter 11 that are inseparable, were critical to the consent of Canada and the United States in signing NAFTA, and renders the continued performance of NAFTA unjust; or (b) it modifies Chapter 11 in a prohibited manner that limits the effective execution of the object and purpose of NAFTA. Regardless of which interpretation of the SLA 2006's effect on NAFTA is more accurate, both are inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna Convention). In recognition of these inconsistencies, this comment recommends a litigation strategy for Canadian and American lumber producers that challenges the validity of SLA 2006 Article XI(2). This comment also recommends a series of measures for the Canadian and U.S. governments designed to bring the SLA 2006 in line with customary international law, while still insulating them from liability for measures taken to implement the SLA 2006.

In the interest of sketching the parameters of a North American Law that defines the way in which firms do business in North America and possibly becomes a framework for harmonizing other sets of laws - from transactions and corporate law through human resources, human rights, and environmental laws - this review of literature will begin with a discussion of those factors that encourage progress toward that goal as well as those factors that impede progress. Part Two will begin with a definition of the term harmonization as it is to be used in this context. Part Three discusses historical attempts to harmonize legal regimes in the western hemisphere. Following this, the review in Part Four turns to those factors that act as impediments to the development of North American law, including the civil/common law dichotomy present in the member nations legal traditions, and the role federalism plays in shaping those institutions. Next, Part Five will review those factors that encourage progression towards a North American Law, including the relative success of other regional blocs such as the African Economic Community and the European Union, the role the North American Free Trade Agreement plays in the harmonization of laws amongst the three countries, and finally the role of technology and the rise of transnational legal mobility in elevating international legal awareness and transnational communication. Part Six will then consider several areas of potential legal harmonization in North America and any efforts to achieve such harmonization already in force. Finally literature directly touching on the issue of North American Legal harmonization will be reviewed highlighting any specific North American institutions that are called for in Part Seven. Part Eight will conclude with a centering of the work on North American legal harmonization in the greater context of a movement toward a North American Community, and emphasize the imports of legal harmonization to that end.

Fifty-eight consecutive post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients undergoing surgery for left ventricular (LV) aneurysm were studied retrospectively to assess the frequency, characteristics, and complications of mural thrombi found at surgery, and to determine what effect chronic anticoagulation might have had upon the clinical course of these patients. Mural thrombi at surgery were found in 66 percent (38/58). Of these, only 10 (26 percent) were prospectively identified by LV angiography; conversely, LV angiography misidentified the presence of mural thrombi in 10 percent (2/20) who had no thrombus at surgery. Patients with mural thrombi were not different from those without thrombi in terms of time elapsed since their MI (28 ± 7 vs 24 ± 10 mos), LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (18 2 vs 18 ± 2 mm Hg), ejection fraction (22 ± 1 vs 25 ± 2%), or angiographic scar size (33 ± 2 vs 29 ± 3%). Of 17 patients receiving long-term therapy with warfarin sodium preoperatively for anticoagulation, nine had mural thrombi, whereas eight did not (NS). There were only two patients in the total group (2/58=3 percent) with a preoperative event compatible with systemic arterial embolization—one of these was anticoagulated. Thus, in postmyocardial patients having LV aneurysmectomy; (1) the prevalence of mural thrombus is high but cannot be reliably identified prospectively by LV angiography or predicted by time since their MI, angiographic scar size, ejection fraction, or LVEDP; (2) the occurrence of preoperative systemic arterial embolization is very low; and (3) chronic anticoagulation has no apparent effect on the frequency of preoperative systemic arterial embolization or the prevalence of LV mural thrombus at surgery. Fifty-eight consecutive post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients undergoing surgery for left ventricular (LV) aneurysm were studied retrospectively to assess the frequency, characteristics, and complications of mural thrombi found at surgery, and to determine what effect chronic anticoagulation might have had upon the clinical course of these patients. Mural thrombi at surgery were found in 66 percent (38/58). Of these, only 10 (26 percent) were prospectively identified by LV angiography; conversely, LV angiography misidentified the presence of mural thrombi in 10 percent (2/20) who had no thrombus at surgery. Patients with mural thrombi were not different from those without thrombi in terms of time elapsed since their MI (28 ± 7 vs 24 ± 10 mos), LV end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (18 2 vs 18 ± 2 mm Hg), ejection fraction (22 ± 1 vs 25 ± 2%), or angiographic scar size (33 ± 2 vs 29 ± 3%). Of 17 patients receiving long-term therapy with warfarin sodium preoperatively for anticoagulation, nine had mural thrombi, whereas eight did not (NS). There were only two patients in the total group (2/58=3 percent) with a preoperative event compatible with systemic arterial embolization—one of these was anticoagulated. Thus, in postmyocardial patients having LV aneurysmectomy; (1) the prevalence of mural thrombus is high but cannot be reliably identified prospectively by LV angiography or predicted by time since their MI, angiographic scar size, ejection fraction, or LVEDP; (2) the occurrence of preoperative systemic arterial embolization is very low; and (3) chronic anticoagulation has no apparent effect on the frequency of preoperative systemic arterial embolization or the prevalence of LV mural thrombus at surgery.