International Legal Research

I. Introduction

Google’s recent decision to stop censoring its search results in China reflects the challenging position in which providers of information and communication technologies find themselves today. This Insight provides an overview of the debate about Google’s provision of search services in China and describes the framework of corporate social responsibility that applies to Internet providers operating in countries that restrict expression online.

II. Internet Regulation in China

Introduction

The past several months have given rise to a number of high-level judicial resignations. While the media has been saturated with commentary regarding the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens from the United States Supreme Court, of equally profound interest to international legal observers is the retirement of two judges from the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands (“the ICJ” or “the Court”) – Judge Thomas Buergenthal of the United States and Judge Shi Jiuyong of China.

On December 1, 2009, after a struggle of almost a decade, the Lisbon Treaty, aimed at improving the functioning of the European Union (EU), has entered into force.

The European Odyssey

On March 5, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its opinion in Sinochem International Co. Ltd. v. Malaysia International Shipping Corporation,[1] one of only a few Supreme Court decisions to deal squarely with the doctrine of forum non conveniens. The Court held that federal district courts need not establish jurisdiction prior to dismissing transnational litigation on the basis of forum non conveniens.

On February 20, 2007, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an important decision in long-running litigation brought by detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military facility.[1] Disposing of a score of consolidated appeals involving 63 foreign nationals, the two-judge majority in Boumediene v.

On June 28, 2006, the U.S.

An Associated Press news release dated October 18, 2005, begins with the headline, "Gonzales Weighs in on International Law." The news release, with the headline, was picked up by several newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. The body of the article discussed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' view, expressed in a speech at George Mason University, that the U.S. Supreme Court should not consider foreign law in making its decisions.