I decided to observe International Women’s Day (today, March 8) by highlighting several Australian women, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, who had key roles in bringing about a constitutional referendum held in Australia on May 27, 1967, and in campaigning for the “yes” vote. The referendum contained questions related to two provisions in the Australian Constitution that discriminated against …
China’s population and family planning law, known as the “one child law” recently changed to “two child law,” has always been a topic of interest to our patrons who have submitted many questions to the Law Library. Our Foreign Law Intern, Emma Wei, has prepared a bibliography with highlights of our collections and publications on …
On the first weekend of February, in each year dating back to the 1600s, Sami traders gather at the Jokkmokk Market in Jokkmokk to trade their goods internationally. This year marked the 412th hosting of the annual market. Although I have yet to attend, its history fascinates me and I wanted to share it with you. Trade with …
Today’s interview is with Alexander Janvelian, a foreign law intern. A graduate of the Whittier Law School J.D. program, Alexander is currently working toward earning an LL.M. degree from Georgetown University Law Center, specializing in International Business and Economic Law. Describe your background. An Armenian by heritage, I was born in Tbilisi, Georgia into a …
In the summer of 2016, a little known provision of the German criminal code received international attention when it was invoked by the Turkish government on behalf of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who felt insulted by a poem written by the German satirist Jan Böhmermann. According to section 103 of the German Criminal Code, …
Today, January 26, is Australia Day, a national public holiday in Australia that commemorates the arrival of the “First Fleet” of convict ships that resulted in the establishment of the first British penal colony on the continent. It is considered Australia’s national day. On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip raised the British flag at Sydney Cove, a …
During a recent vacation in Scotland I took several treks along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh’s Old Town. On one such walk, in the darkness of the late afternoon, I snapped a picture of Advocate’s Close and the plaque that provides brief information about it. All along the Royal Mile there are narrow alleyways called “closes,” …
On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom (UK) held a referendum on whether to leave or to remain in the European Union (so called “Brexit”) with 51.9% of the people voting in favor of leaving. The withdrawal procedure from the European Union (EU) is governed by article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), …
On my recent visit to Düsseldorf, Germany, I could not stop my nerdy lawyer self from visiting the Administrative Court of Düsseldorf (Verwaltungsgericht Düsseldorf). The Administrative Court in Düsseldorf is the court of first instance in administrative matters and handles all kinds of non-constitutional public law matters. Examples include disputes over building permits, access to public institutions and …
