International Business Transactions

On September 16, 2007, security guards employed by Blackwater USA (Blackwater) fired on a crowd in Baghdad's Nisour square, killing 17 people. At the time of this incident, Blackwater was under contract with the U.S. Department of State to provide security for U.S. diplomats in Iraq. This incident triggered controversy in Iraq, the United States, and the international community concerning what law applied to Blackwater's actions and to the actions of other private security contractors (PSCs) hired by the United States to provide services in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Introduction

On July 17, 2007, Rwanda notified the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that it plans to import the HIV-drug TriAvir from the Canadian company Apotex and will not enforce any patents granted in that respect in Rwanda.[1] Two months later, Canada issued a compulsory license allowing Apotex to use nine patented inventions for manufacturing and exporting TriAvir to Rwanda.

Update: The Mercosur Exemption Reversed – Conflict between WTO and Mercosur Rulings and Its Implications for Environmental Values (December 31, 2008)

On May 8, 2007, the German Constitutional Court (the "Bundesverfassungsgericht") handed down a decision on the question of whether Argentina could invoke necessity under general international law as an affirmative defense against claims brought in German courts by private individuals for the country's default on sovereign bonds in early 2002.[1] While the Court accepted that necessity was recognized as precluding the wrongfulness of a breach of internation

Introduction

In September 2005, the UN Independent Inquiry Committee ('IIC' or 'Volcker Inquiry

On September 12, 2006, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) sanctioned the decision of the European Community (EC) and member states to bring actions for damages against certain cigarette manufacturers in United States courts. The decision grew out of the companies' unsuccessful attempt to have the European Court of First Instance preclude any such lawsuits.

Background

Introduction