40,264 research outputs found
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 tribunalsâconcluding less than one treaty per yearâwhereas they have frequently accepted the jurisdiction of second-generation tribunals capable of rendering enforceable decisionsâaccepting 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 tribunalsâparticularly 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 âindependentâ first-generation tribunals or, alternatively, on entirely âdependentâ adjudicative mechanisms. Successful second-generation tribunals exhibit a blend of structural characteristics that defy blanket prescriptions for either âindependenceâ or âdependenceâ 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 and a dilaton 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 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 roundâoff 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 highâtemperature 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 -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
âTruly they died that we might be freeâ: Remembering the Westlake Brothers
This article examines Canadaâs 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
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