A New Generation of International Adjudication

This Article challenges the conventional view of contemporary international adjudication. It identifies a new generation of international tribunals, which has been largely ignored by commentators, and argues that these tribunals offer a highly successful, alternative model to traditional public-international-law adjudicatory bodies. The proliferation of international tribunals is widely regarded as one of the most significant developments in international law over the past century. The subject has given rise to an extensive and robust body of academic commentary. Although commentators reach widely divergent conclusions about many aspects of international law and adjudication, they all agree that international tribunals differ fundamentally from national courts. In particular, according to the commentary, international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice lack the power to render enforceable decisions or to exercise compulsory jurisdiction. This Article argues that commentators have proceeded from a flawed and incomplete understanding of contemporary international adjudication. Virtually all commentary on the subject ignores the development of a second generation of international tribunals, best represented by international commercial and investment tribunals, World Trade Organization panels, and claims-settlement mechanisms. Contrary to the conventional wisdom about international adjudication, this new generation of international tribunals has the power to exercise what is effectively compulsory jurisdiction and to render enforceable decisions that can often be coercively executed against states and their commercial assets. These second-generation tribunals have been the most frequently used and, in many respects, the most successful form of international adjudication in recent decades. The caseloads of these tribunals have grown rapidly over the past forty years and now substantially exceed those of traditional public-international-law tribunals. Moreover, an analysis of state treatymaking practice over recent decades shows that states have virtually never concluded treaties accepting the jurisdiction of traditional first-generation tribunals—concluding less than one treaty per year—whereas they have frequently accepted the jurisdiction of second-generation tribunals capable of rendering enforceable decisions—accepting some fifty treaties per year. More fundamentally, second-generation tribunals have played an essential role in facilitating international trade, finance, and investment; have contributed to the development of important fields of international law; and have provided leading contemporary examples of international law working in practice. Although largely ignored by the commentary, the success and frequent use of second-generation tribunals have important implications for conventional analysis of international adjudication. The success of these tribunals flatly contradicts the claims, advanced by a number of academic commentators, that international adjudication is unimportant in contemporary international affairs and that states do not use international tribunals—particularly tribunals that would be effective. In reality, second-generation tribunals have been frequently and successfully used in vitally important fields, in part because they issue effective and enforceable decisions. At the same time, the success of second-generation tribunals also contradicts prescriptions, offered by a number of commentators, that future international tribunals be modeled on “independent” first-generation tribunals or, alternatively, on entirely “dependent” adjudicative mechanisms. Successful second-generation tribunals exhibit a blend of structural characteristics that defy blanket prescriptions for either “independence” or “dependence” and that counsel for more tailored, nuanced institutional designs

SL(2,R) Invariance of Non-Linear Electrodynamics Coupled to An Axion and a Dilaton

The most general Lagrangian for non-linear electrodynamics coupled to an axion $a$ and a dilaton $\phi$ with SL(2,\mbox{\elevenmsb R}) invariant equations of motion is -\half\left(\nabla\phi\right)^2 - \half e^{2\phi}\left(\nabla a\right)^2 + \fraction{1}{4}aF_{\mu\nu}\star F^{\mu\nu} + L_{\rm inv}(g_{\mu\nu},e^{-\frac{1}{2}\phi}F_{\rho\sigma}) where $L_{\rm inv}(g_{\mu\nu},F_{\rho\sigma})$ is a Lagrangian whose equations of motion are invariant under electric-magnetic duality rotations. In particular there is a unique generalization of Born-Infeld theory admitting SL(2,\mbox{\elevenmsb R}) invariant equations of motion.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe

The Hausdorff moments in statistical mechanics

A new method for solving the Hausdorff moment problem is presented which makes use of Pollaczek polynomials. This problem is severely ill posed; a regularized solution is obtained without any use of prior knowledge. When the problem is treated in the L 2 space and the moments are finite in number and affected by noise or round‐off errors, the approximation converges asymptotically in the L 2 norm. The method is applied to various questions of statistical mechanics and in particular to the determination of the density of states. Concerning this latter problem the method is extended to include distribution valued densities. Computing the Laplace transform of the expansion a new series representation of the partition function Z(β) (β=1/k BT ) is obtained which coincides with a Watson resummation of the high‐temperature series for Z(β)

Radiating black hole solutions in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity

In this paper, we find some new exact solutions to the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet equations. First, we prove a theorem which allows us to find a large family of solutions to the Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet gravity in $n$-dimensions. This family of solutions represents dynamic black holes and contains, as particular cases, not only the recently found Vaidya-Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black hole, but also other physical solutions that we think are new, such as, the Gauss-Bonnet versions of the Bonnor-Vaidya(de Sitter/anti-de Sitter) solution, a global monopole and the Husain black holes. We also present a more general version of this theorem in which less restrictive conditions on the energy-momentum tensor are imposed. As an application of this theorem, we present the exact solution describing a black hole radiating a charged null fluid in a Born-Infeld nonlinear electrodynamics

The Hague Evidence Convention Revisited: Reflections on Its Role in U.S. Civil Procedure

A reworking of the basic terms of the Hague Evidence Convention is proposed. Under current law, US courts typically do not employ the Convention\u27s evidence-taking mechanisms when ordering discovery from either a litigant or a witness subject to the court\u27s subpoena power

“Truly they died that we might be free”: Remembering the Westlake Brothers

This article examines Canada’s Second World War memory through the experiences of the Westlake family of Toronto. George, Albert and Thomas Westlake were killed in action in Normandy, within a period of four days. Their story is fascinating in terms of the representation of Canadian war casualties of the Second World War. In addition, the article sheds light on one family and how it remembers and has acted to prevent the fading of memory. The Westlake family has ensured that George, Albert and Thomas are honoured and will be remembered. Examining this family provides a new perspective on the Second World War and its lasting impact

Self-Interacting Electromagnetic Fields and a Classical Discussion on the Stability of the Electric Charge

The present work proposes a discussion on the self-energy of charged particles in the framework of nonlinear electrodynamics. We seek magnet- ically stable solutions generated by purely electric charges whose electric and magnetic fields are computed as solutions to the Born-Infeld equa- tions. The approach yields rich internal structures that can be described in terms of the physical fields with explicit analytic solutions. This suggests that the anomalous field probably originates from a magnetic excitation in the vacuum due to the presence of the very intense electric field. In addition, the magnetic contribution has been found to exert a negative pressure on the charge. This, in turn, balances the electric repulsion, in such a way that the self-interaction of the field appears as a simple and natural classical mechanism that is able to account for the stability of the electron charge.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur