Declaratory Judgment a Needed Procedural Reform

It is now our purpose to undertake an analysis of numerous declaratory actions and judgments, with a view to determine the scope of and the limitations upon this useful form of procedure. An examination of declaratory judgments in the various jurisdictions in which the institution has been adopted reveals a remarkable similarity of fundamental principles characterizing the practice of making judicial declarations. As our interest is confined to the practice, emphasis will be laid not upon the- decision itself as a matter of substantive law, but rather upon the type of question submitted for declaratory judgment, the cases in which such judgments are rendered, and the limitations placed by the courts upon the exercise of the power to make declarations of rights and of other jural relations

Book Review: History of Germanic Private Law

The opinion expressed some years ago on the appearance of the first volume of this notable series, namely, that the horizon of the lawyer trained in the common law would be vastly broadened by these English translations of fundamental works on continental legal history, is amply fortified by the volume under review

Recent Developments in International and Municipal Law

The charge has frequently been heard in the last few years that international law is in a state of suspended animation and paralytic desuetude. Those who have embraced the view that it is not law at all find in the experiences of the last three years what they consider unanswerable support. To the uninformed, these criticisms of international law as a system make a striking appeal. Yet, when exam­ined in the light of fact and history it will be discovered that the criticism, even in its widest application, can extend only to a very limited portion of the rules governing the conduct of war, and that the great body of the so-called law of nations is constantly enforced in international practice and in courts of law

Book Review: The Doctrine of Continuous Voyage

This is an excellent monograph, well organized and balanced, on a so-called doctrine of international law which enables a belligerent to seize neutral ships or goods for violation of (a) trades for­ bidden to neutrals, (b) restrictions on the carriage of contraband, or (c) blockade, even though the ship or cargo is not directly destined for a belligerent port. It is a comparatively modern doctrine, not known before the eighteenth century. So important is it, that the legal system involved in the compromise between belligerent and neutral rights, known as international maritime law, may be destroyed if the doctrine is not strictly limited to its historical and consensual scope

Book Review: Neutrality, Its History, Economics and Law

In this useful series the authors and editor undertake to present the development of the law and practice of neutrality since about the sixteenth century, as exemplified in treaties and the practice of nations and prize courts. The first volume, dealing mainly with the seventeenth century but to some extent with the sixteenth and eighteenth, has brought together the contributions of treaties, court decisions and the views of early writers on contraband, blockade, enemy property, procedure and prize court practice and neutral duties.It is important for it shows that the historic struggle between belligerent and neutral claims-the belligerent to prevent trade with his enemy, the neutral to continue and trade-eventuated in a compromise by which the neutral forgoes distinctly military aid to the enemy and the belligerent must permit non-military trade. Around this principle rules have been worked out, set forth succinctly by Mr. Jessup in the Preface to volume 3

Housing Availability and Homelessness in Nevada

Housing availability is a crucial issue for most citizens, and it serves as a basic indicator of quality of life in a region. The United States has a long history of programs encouraging access to housing. The Homesteading Act of 1862 helped develop the Western United States, and it continues today. The act originally allowed 160 acres of land to be given to a citizen through a lottery, provided that he or she make improvements to the property, including clearing a portion of the land, building a house, and paying land tax. The G.I. Bill of Rights, signed in 1944, also helped many families afford a home after World War II. However, housing has not always been available for all citizens in search of the American dream

Case Study: Australia's Computer Games Audience and Restrictive Ratings System

Computer and video games are big business in Australia, just as they are in many other developed economies. However, Australia is unique among developed states because there is no R18+ or "Adult" rating for computer game content in Australia. The present case study represents a snapshot of a larger national audience study of 1614 homes and 4852 individuals within those homes. The research presents demographic, behavioural and attitudinal data by which the largely functioning ratings system may be judged. The data show that the typical gamer is 30 years of age, often a parent and actively engaged in content selection and exposure. By presenting these data in the context of the unique regulatory regime in Australia, this report seeks to demonstrate that consumer power exceeds the control of the state and such control may function to enhance rather than stifle the health of the computer games industry.Computer Games, Ratings, Audience, Australia.

Government Liability In Tort

Probably no function of a municipal corporation is more “governmental in character than the care of its highways, streets and bridges. In theory, therefore, the city should be immune from responsibility for negligence in such matters; and such was the common law. Precisely the opposite result, however, constitutes the weight of judicial authority in this country, even in the absence of statue, on the commonly advanced ground that the duty of taking care of the public highways is ministerial in character. The conclusion deserves approval, though not necessarily the ground on which it is based. More difficult to support is the common-law immunity extended to towns and countries in several parts of the country in respect of like defects in public highways. Mention has already been made of the way in which the courts, first in New England, worked out the immunity of the country, on the authority of Russell v. Men of Devon. Most of these cases involved acti.ons for injuries arising out of defective highways or bridges