The chiral condensate in a constant electromagnetic field

We study the shift of the chiral condensate in a constant electromagnetic field in the context of chiral perturbation theory. Using the Schwinger proper-time formalism, we derive a one-loop expression correct to all orders in $m_{\pi}^2 / eH$. Our result correctly reproduces a previously derived ``low-energy theorem'' for $m_\pi = 0$. We show that it is essential to include corrections due to non-vanishing $m_\pi$ in order for a low energy theorem to have any approximate regime of validity in the physical universe. We generalize these results to systems containing electric fields, and discuss the regime of validity for the results. In particular, we discuss the circumstances in which the method formally breaks down due to pair creation in an electric field.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, LaTeX; removed extraneous section + minor revision

Can It Really Be Unconstitutional to Regulate Product Safety Information?

In this paper, I examine the impact of two Supreme Court decisions on information-based product safety regulation which, in a variety of guises in Canada, can be said to restrict manufacturers\u27, distributors\u27 and marketers\u27 ability to express themselves. In the end, I conclude that, if one appreciates the justification for and the processes by which this kind of product safety regulation is instituted, there is only a small risk that the current regulatory activity will be held unconstitutional. When one takes into account the degree of co-operation between business and government in establishing the content of most regulatory activity and the benign nature of most of Canada\u27s packaging and labelling requirements, one is led to the almost inescapable conclusion that the Charter challenges do not pose a serious threat to the existence of these laws

Law, Order and Democracy: An Analysis of the Judiciary in a Progressive State--The Saskatchewan Experience

Current legal debates on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Canada have focused on the apparent shift in the location of power from elected representatives to the judiciary since 1982. In this paper, I take an historical perspective on that issue. I will explore the relationship of political power, as exercised by the judiciary through the interpretation of legislation, with concepts of parliamentary supremacy in Saskatchewan during the fist half of this century. The paper first describes the political character of the judiciary in Saskatchewan from 1905 until 1941, and then describes the political movements which gave rise to the enactment of progressive legislation in Saskatchewan during the same era. The relationship between the judiciary and the legislative branches of government is developed through an analysis of several pieces of legislation introduced during this period, and of several hundred cases in which that legislation was applied by the judiciary. The results of the analysis indicate a significant difference in the number of cases decided in favour of creditors as compared to debtors in this period. In the final section of the paper, I explore several possible explanations for this difference and suggest that identification with the economic interests of creditors may be the most persuasive explanation for the data

Judicial Choice and Disparities Between Measures of Economic Values

An important idea, which characterizes law in society, is a reluctance to move from the status quo. In general, one can argue that legal institutions and legal doctrine are not engaged in the redistribution of wealth from one party to another. This paper explores a possible explanation for that principle. The authors\u27 research suggests that, across a wide range of entitlements and in a variety of contexts, individuals value losses more than foregone gains. The paper argues, as a matter of efficiency, that law and social policy might have developed in a manner consistent with this valuation disparity. Furthermore, this valuation disparity can be transformed into conceptions of fairness, and, as a matter of fairness, legal decisions might have developed in a manner consistent with this fairness norm. In the first part of the paper, the economic and psychological research on the valuation disparity is described in detail. The paper then examines a series of legal doctrines, all of which can be explained by the valuation disparity phenomenon revealed in the experimental data. Cohen and Knetsch conclude that the behaviour of legal institutions and actors can be explained by the valuation disparity

Regulating Regulators: The Legal Environment of the State

In this paper I focus on the ability of tort law to reduce primary costs, or losses associated with the number and seriousness of accidents. In one sense I will be analysing the state as if it were a private firm in which losses suffered by private individuals and firms are externalities. Several years ago Mark Spitzer wrote a paper on this topic in which he posited several models of state activity and analysed the incentive effects of liability rules in each case. In my view Spitzer\u27s general conclusion - the rule which may be synthesized from all of the models is that the government should be suable in tort-- is supportable, if at all, only under very constrained assumptions about state activity and the operations of the review institution. If one looks only at the incentive effects of tort law on public bureaucracies, one must conclude that the optimal liability rule applicable to state action is a \u27no liability\u27 rule

Government Liability for Economic Losses: The Case of Regulatory Failure

Compensation claims against provincial and federal governments are largely a product of the second half of the 20th century. The initial surge of cases after the enactment of the federal Crown Liability Act in 1953--mirrored also in developments at the provincial level-- were typically private tort claims. Indeed a significant percentage of claims against the federal government continue to be nothing more than automobile accident, occupier liability claims and lawsuits arising out of similar relatively minor bureaucratic error. Recently, however, as a result of both the imagination of litigators and the growth of the regulatory state, claims against governments have extended to claims for recovery of economic losses related to the negligent enforcement of building regulation, the negligent failure to resolve labour disputes in the federal civil service, the negligent regulation of financial institutions, and the failure to enact regulations establishing oil and gas royalties payable to Indian bands

Suing the State

As one examines the ways in which we have chosen to respond to claims of individuals and firms to compensation from the federal administration, one is immediately struck by the rapid rate of growth in the number of claims and the magnitude of the compensation that has been sought in recent years. What is even more dramatic, however, is the shift in the focus of our attention away from low-level bureaucratic activity, and towards alleged administrative failures to ensure air traffic safety, combat international terrorism, regulate financial institutions, protect the interests of businesses in international trade negotiations, privatize the delivery of goods and services, and design mass transit systems. It has become obvious that regulatory activity and especially regulatory change almost always costs us; compensation claims represent one response to regulatory change, and the way we choose to respond to those claims reflects our attitudes to private property, individual rights, individual welfare, and collective action

The Internal Trade Agreement: Furthering the Canadian Economic Disunion?

The premise of this article on the current status of the Canadian economic union and the meaning of the Internal Trade Agreement (the Agreement ) on that union, is that the union describes the economic relations among individual Canadians. The union is not comprised of the interconnections among political jurisdictions. The Canadian economic union, when conceived as the product of the relations between individual Canadians, is the market. We have decided that our material well-being as individuals and as a community is best served by decentralizing economic power and thereby permitting individuals, whether alone or in groups, to act relatively autonomously in deciding when, with whom and how they should arrange their affairs in an effort to achieve self-defined goals. The essential nature of the Canadian economic union is one of untold millions of privately arranged economic market relations - subject to regulation, of course, but nonetheless defined by private firms and individuals

Consumer Redress Through Alternative Dispute Resolution and Small Claims Court: Theory and Practice

There are significant difficulties in providing consumers with redress because dispute resolution costs are high relative to the sums being sought. Consumers also manifest a reluctance to enter legal processes for other reasons. This prompted the creation of user-friendly small claims courts and encouraged the discussion and sometimes the use of non-judicial, alternative dispute resolution forums for addressing consumer redress. This paper explores the theoretical and practical distinction between these two types of dispute resolution forums. The practical differences are examined on the basis of observation of both types of forums and discussions with practitioners of alternative dispute resolution. The paper concludes that while there are significant theoretical differences between the two forums, few of these are inherent. In fact, there is evidence that small claims courts have begun to adopt a number of alternative dispute resolution techniques and could adopt more. Nonetheless, some alternative dispute resolution techniques which are not susceptible to adoption by courts are, based on evidence generated through field research for this paper, clearly more efficient for resolving particular types of disputes than analagous techniques used in courts. It is probable as well, though the evidence collected in field observation is not conclusive, that some types of disputes are better resolved by small claims courts. A more effective consumer redress system might be achieved if the forum and techniques were more appropriately fitted to the particular fuss. The paper offers guidance on how this might be achieved, and the benefits and costs to governments, business and consumers associated with obtaining more effective consumer redress