musings from a new legal apparatus.
The Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) was originally passed as anti-piracy statute back in the 1800s. However, it came back to prominence in the 1980s. The -act states that if you are a non-US citizen your claim can be heard in a federal court, but your claim has to vis either a violation of treaty or a violation of custom.
Continue reading “Customary International Law in US litigation under the Alien Tort Claims Act”
1. Regional Custom
Asylum case – court examines if there was a customary rule that allowed asylum to be sought in this fashion. First court determined that regional custom had to comprise the dual contents of state practice and opinion juris. Important, however, that Silence CANNOT Constitute State Practice in regional custom. One must create regional customs actively, not passively.
2. Persistent Objection
If one objects persistently, then one is not subject to custom. For example, the USA has persistently objected to Canada’s claim that northwest passage is part of internal waters.
Some are curious what the law has to say when it comes to making a decision about the care of someone who’s incapacitated. When it comes to the critically ill, when family members and health care providers disagree on the plan of the care, what is the appropriate role of the courts to intervene? Some thoughts.
You could: a) Do what the families say.
– the law is also obsessed with the autonomy of the individual. The needs of the family is largely irrelevant within the legal model.
Another scenario b) Do what the doctors say.
Continue reading “Pulling the Plug When Family and Health Care Providers Disagree on Care”
Fundamental issues
Division of Powers.
Impacts how health system is structured. Recent decision in QB CA summarizes federal and provincial responsibilities regarding health care. At issue is whether assisted human reproduction should be federally or provincially regulated. The federal government has traditionally placed this matter under the criminal law head of power. If defeated, they may try to classify it under POGG power. However, that would be a difficult argument as POGG is not used very often, and it would be difficult to argue that this is a matter of national concern.
Federal heads of power: criminal law. POGG, spending power (i.e. collection and distribution of taxes), quarantine and border control, patent, defence, penitentiaries, immigration. As we can see, the federal role is indirect, supervisory.
Provincial heads of power: hospitals (92.7); medical profession and the practice of medicine (92.13 – property and civil rights; 92.16 – matters of a local and private nature); education (s93) – includes professional regulation.
At issue here, reproduction is held to be under provincial regulation. Human reproduction is not an ‘evil’, hence cannot be regulated by federal criminal law power. On the other hand, true prohibitions, such as stem cell research can rightly be under the federal criminal head of power.
Canada Health Act. Central piece of federal legislation for health care. Canada Health Act does not prohibit anything explicitly, but rather relies on conditional funding. If programs meet criteria then they are funded. If programs do not meet the criteria then they are not funded. The act lists five program criteria and conditions that provinces must follow in order to receieve their federal transfer payments: public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, and accessibility. There are two additional conditions which must be met: first, feds are entitled to specific information ; and second, the province must “give recognition” to the federal government in all health documents.
Continue reading “Legal Framework of Health Care System in Canada”
An oral security agreement is valid. But that agreement is only enforceable as between the parties. If you want to have priority rights against third parties then there has to be a security agreement in writing.
“Enforceability” against third parties:
A security interest is enforceable against a third party only where… a description of the collateral by item or kind or by reference to one or more of the following: “crops”, “goods”, “chattel paper”, etc. etc.”
“by kind” – i.e. a generic description of the item. So you can refer to the item as “a car” rather than “a black on black 2008 BMW M3 with six speed manual transmission” or whatever. That being said, while this generic description may satisfy s10, in real life it may not be specific enough for the world of evidence or contracts if things ever went to litigation.
Continue reading “More Info and Details on the Development of Security Agreements”
A treaty has signed participants who pass legislation pursuant to it. A declaration is just the UN declaring something. You can determine which one equates to quicker application.
There is a Doctrine of state continuity which means if a state signs a treaty, even if there is a major change of government, the state is still bound by its prior treaty obligations.
Continue reading “The difference between a treaty and declaration.”
Pleadings function to include written statements of the parties to an action, served by each party in turn on the
other, and filed in court, which set forth in a summary form the material facts on which each party relies in support of the claim or defence, as the case may be.
By the time the pleadings are closed, there will be a precise definition of the issues between the parties.
There are 3 fundamental principles of pleading:
Continue reading “Pleading in Civil Action in Canada”
Generally one has to go through a checklist of issue identification to verify that your legal problem is something capable of starting in Queen’s Bench. that checklist would inclue:
Conditions Precedent (will depend on who you are suing)
Limitations on Right of Action
Suspension of Right of Action
Extinction of Right of Action
All whilst considering: Choice of Venue & Change of Venue
Service of Process – SERVING A DOCUMENT MEANS GIVING IT TO THE OTHER PARTY INFORMING THEM THAT YOU ARE GOING TO SUE THEM.
Or even once. One of the huge downfalls of the privatized healthcare system in the USA is how a litigious society impacts healthcare. Doctors themselves, and nurses, have to take out insurance policies to protect themselves from impending lawsuits (that in the course of a career can happen multiple times due to legitimate reasons like gross negligence to frivolous lawsuits). THe former of course will face more lawsuits in his or her career.
Rising legal costs and the cost of insurance push up healthcare costs, then those rising costs are passed on to the patient or the state (thus the patient thru taxes).
Is there anyway to reduce the number of lawsuits if you’re a doctor? Turns out there is.
Continue reading “Poor and Nice – Doctors Who’re Never Sued Twice”
US News Law school rankings are out: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools
Grad schools always jockey for position in the ranking scheme, after all, prestigious spots covet the best teachers and students, and then the cycle continues. But what else do the rankings induce? Continue reading “Law School Rankings Ruffle Feathers”