Where is the trash?

I asked myself this question as I wondered the streets of Seoul. This is a city with a population of over 25 million and I have yet to see neither trash nor debris along the streets or any trash cans. Where does the waste go? I was irritated by the fact as I walked the streets I could not throw my bottle in the trash nor was I comfortable throwing my gum wrapper on the floor. I observed that trash cans in local eateries had individual containers labeled for certain types of trash, but even those trash cans were small. I began to ponder is it a cultural thing.

Maybe it is.

Think about the trash that is along the freeway and the parking lots of our favorite stores that we shop. Consider the trash that we individually throw out of our car windows or just leave behind when we are finished with the use of that item. The overflowing trash cans at almost every bin. Jackson’s population of less than a half-million people produce more trash then I have see all of Seoul.

Niecey Napier

So far away . . .

And yet so close.

Blog Post by MCSOL's Professor Bowman in Seoul

Greetings from Seoul!

From June 11 to July 5 eleven Mississippi College School of Law students and I are in Seoul, Korea for the school's annual summer study abroad program. During the program, which is hosted by Sookmyung Women's University in downtown Seoul, the students take (and I teach) courses in International Business Transactions and Global Issues in Corporate Law. It's a lot of fun, and there are few countries in the world as important to the United States as South Korea: it's one of the United States' biggest trading partners; the two countries are trying to implement a free trade agreement; and there's always the issue of North Korea and national security.

Over the next several weeks the students and I are going to blog about our experiences here. We hope you enjoy our posts and follow along with us as we learn about international business-something all lawyers need to know something about these days-and about this beautiful land, Korea.

One final point: North Korea is in the news a lot lately, and with good reason. On the ground here in Seoul, however, things remain very much "business as usual." South Koreans are used to North Korean threats, and they see much of it, quite rightly, as strategic, political maneuvering. It's interesting to compare the reactions here with news coverage elsewhere.

Stay tuned for more posts soon!

Gregory W. Bowman
Associate Professor &Director, International Law Center
Mississippi College School of Law
151 East Griffith Street
Jackson, MS 39201
phone: (601) 906-4422
e-mail: bowman@mc.edu
ssrn: http://ssrn.com/author=400520

Ginsburg Shares Views on Influence of Foreign Law on Her Court, and Vice Versa

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In wide-ranging remarks here, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg defended the use of foreign law by American judges, suggested that torture should not be used even when it might yield important information and reflected on her role as the Supreme Court’s only female justice. The occasion was a symposium at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University honoring her 15 years on the court.

Kiichiro Sato/Associated Press

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday at Ohio State University, where she talked freely about her work, past and present.

Related

Times Topics: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“I frankly don’t understand all the brouhaha lately from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law,” Justice Ginsburg said in her comments on Friday.

The court’s more conservative members — Chief JusticeJohn G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr.,Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — oppose the citation of foreign law in constitutional cases.

“If we’re relying on a decision from a German judge about what our Constitution means, no president accountable to the people appointed that judge and no Senate accountable to the people confirmed that judge,” Chief Justice Roberts said at his confirmation hearing. “And yet he’s playing a role in shaping the law that binds the people in this country.”

Justice Ginsburg said the controversy was based on the misunderstanding that citing a foreign precedent means the court considers itself bound by foreign law as opposed to merely being influenced by such power as its reasoning holds.

“Why shouldn’t we look to the wisdom of a judge from abroad with at least as much ease as we would read a law review article written by a professor?” she asked.

She added that the failure to engage foreign decisions had resulted in diminished influence for the United States Supreme Court.

The Canadian Supreme Court, she said, is “probably cited more widely abroad than the U.S. Supreme Court.” There is one reason for that, she said: “You will not be listened to if you don’t listen to others.”

She also offered a theory about why after World War II nations around the world started to create constitutional courts with the power to strike down legislation as the United States Supreme Court has.

“What happened in Europe was the Holocaust,” she said, “and people came to see that popularly elected representatives could not always be trusted to preserve the system’s most basic values.”

American hostility to the consideration of foreign law, she said, “is a passing phase.” She predicted that “we will go back to where we were in the early 19th century when there was no question that it was appropriate to refer to decisions of other courts.”

Justice Ginsburg turned 76 last month and underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in February. Here on Friday, she was energetic, enthusiastic and characteristically precise in her answers to questions from two law professors in a 90-minute conversation. She spoke mostly about her career as a litigator specializing in women’s rights and her years on the court.

In a videotaped tribute, Chief Justice Roberts described Justice Ginsburg’s work habits — including her “total disregard for the normal day-night work schedule adhered to by everyone else since the beginning of recorded history” — and congratulated her for reaching what he said was the midpoint of her career on the court.

In her remarks, Justice Ginsburg discussed a decision by the Israeli Supreme Court concerning the use of torture to obtain information from people suspected of terrorism.

“The police think that a suspect they have apprehended knows where and when a bomb is going to go off,” she said, describing the question presented in the case. “Can the police use torture to extract that information? And in an eloquent decision by Aharon Barak, then the chief justice of Israel, the court said: ‘Torture? Never.’ ”

The message of the decision, Justice Ginsburg said, was “that we could hand our enemies no greater victory than to come to look like that enemy in our disregard for human dignity.” Then she asked, “Now why should I not read that opinion and be affected by its tremendous persuasive value?”

Justice Ginsburg also discussed her career as an advocate, one that included six Supreme Court arguments and a role in shaping the language of the law. She helped introduce the term “gender discrimination” as a synonym for “sex discrimination,” she said, explaining that her secretary had proposed the idea while typing a brief to be submitted to male judges.

“ ‘The first association of those men with the word “sex” is not what you’re talking about,’ ” the secretary said, Justice Ginsburg recalled. “ ‘Why don’t you use a grammar-book term? Use gender. It has a neutral sound, and it will ward off distracting associations.’ ”

Justice Ginsburg expressed dismay at being the only woman on the Supreme Court. “There I am all alone,” she said, “and it doesn’t look right.”

In this area, too, the Canadian Supreme Court provides a model, Justice Ginsburg said. That nine-member court has four women, including its chief justice.

Justice Ginsburg concluded her remarks with advice to the students in the audience about one of her great passions.

“For a first opera, I would say, pick ‘Butterfly’ or ‘Bohème,’ ” she said. For her part, she added, she was looking forward a little warily to a six-hour production of Wagner’s “Siegfried.”

“Wagner is a great, great composer,” she said, “but he needed a good editor.”

MCSOL Moot Court Team Makes First Showing at Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition

MC Law sent its first team ever to compete at the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition this past week.  The team had four members including Abby von Fischer Benzon, Amanda Woodruff, Joey Comley, and Andy Thomas.  The coaches were Professor Gregory Bowman and Bob Anderson.  They competed in the Southeast Super-Regional with 22 other teams from across the Southeast.  Although the MC Law team did not advance to the International Competition in Washington D.C., they made a great showing.  Abby Von Fischer Benzon was awarded the 16th Best Oralist Award at the competition out of 88 oralists.  Also, in the head-to-head match-ups, the MC team did have the best memorial scores against the University of Virginia and Florida State.  It is also necessary to mention that the two teams that MC lost to, the University of Georgia and the University of Virginia, were the two of the four regional finalists.

So, even though the teams did not advance, they made a very respectable showing and the ILS is very proud of all of the team members and coaches.  A special thanks goes to Professor Bowman and Bob Anderson in particular for their help, and also to Professor Debbie Challener and Rusty Comley for their help in volunteering to judge practice rounds.  

Mississippi College to host second annual study abroad trip to Seoul, Korea

MCSOL is planning its second annual study abroad trip to Seoul, South Korea for the summer of 2009.  Recently, an article was published in The Legal Eye, MCSOLs newspaper about the program.

"If you haven't considered studying abroad, now is the time!  MC Law's Korea study abroad program offers a dynamic combination of classroom instruction and cultural exploration.  The four-week summer study will journey to Seoul, Korea, where the students and faculty will stay at Sookmyung University in downtown Seoul.  Led by Professor Gregory Bowman, Director of MC's International Law Center, and Professor Cecile Edwards, the Korea study abroad program offers 3 hours worth of credit.  Professor Bowman will teach International Business Transactions and Professor Edwards will conduct the Global Issues in Corporate Law class.  Both courses are intended to serve as introductions to the subjects.

If you're asking yourself "Why Korea?", Professor Bowman challenges you to ask "Why not?"  Korea is an economic powerhouse.  Not only does the U.S. carry on extensive trade with Korea, the country is a military ally.  We also share a rich history with the country.  Aside from these reasons, Seoul is a beautiful, safe, and affordable city.  Although there are about 24 million people in Seoul, students will find the housing, food and transportation satisfying and enjoyable.

Everyone can benefit from participating in a study abroad program, not just those students interested in international law.  Every lawyer will likely face an international matter at some point in their career that requires both cultural sensitivity and a basic understanding of international law, so it is critical that all students expose themselves to the international dimensions of the law.  This is especially true as our world becomes increasingly interconnected.  Domestic lawyers will likely come across an international adoption; labor lawyers will encounter more companies and businesses expanding into the global market; intellectual property lawyers must know about IP and trademark issues; even the fast food industry is quickly expanding into the global market with franchising.  So it is easy to see how international exposure can benefit everyone.

As one of only three law schools that travel to Korea, MC Law's Korea program is designed to encourage daily exploration of Seoul and weekend travel to surrounding areas, with classes held three days a week.   Several organized excursions are planned, including a optional weekend trip to China and to the de-militarized zone (DMZ), as well as to the Korean Constitutional Court and a Korean law firm.

Andy Thomas, a 3L who participated in the program last summer stated that "For me, the trip was an awesome experience.  It was my second chance to visit Asia and I found that Seoul was a great city to lear about Asian/Korean culture and really immerse oneself and have a great cultural experience, while also having some of the amenities we enjoy in the U.S.  The city has a great transportation structure with metro lines that will take you anywhere you want to go.  It also boasts an abundance of shopping and unique Asian markets that sell anything and everything you could want.  Also, the location of the university is excellent and provides a great starting point in the center of Seoul for any daily excursions.  The nearest metro station is only 5 minutes away by foot.  So, to conclude, if someone wants to have an exciting and exhilarating experience abroad, and be introduced to the Asian/Korean culture, Seoul is definitely a great place to visit."

As the lawyers of tomorrow, students should sincerely consider participating in this unique opportunity to expand our learning of the law beyond the classroom and prepare ourselves for practicing in a global world.  The program can accommodate up to 30 students and all those interested will be invited to apply for the program in February.  Informational flyers and pamphlets will be published soon.  Students are welcome to contact Professor Bowman with any questions." 

The article was written by Lindsey K. Eadler.

Richard J. Dodson, International Maritime and Admiralty attorney to speak at MCSOL

On Thursday, Nov. 6, Richard Dodson, an International Maritime and Admiralty attorney will be speaking to the ILS about his experiences practicing maritime and admiralty law.  Mr. Dodson is a partner at Dodson, Hook, and Frederick in Baton Rouge, LA and also teaches in Tulane's summer study abroad program in Greece.  Mr. Dodson has published extensively in the area of foreign seaman claims, international admiralty law, international jurisdictional issues and most recently has authored the United States Legal Chapter for the International Transport Workers Federation's newest publication entitled Seafarer's Rights.

The meeting will begin at 11:30 in room 25o.  We look forward to seeing you there.