Florida International University College of Law

Abstract: A social enterprise operates a business in a manner intended to increase social welfare more than conventional businesses in the same sector. This notion of “social enterprise” was pioneered by nonprofit organizations seeking to advance their charitable missions through revenue-generating commercial activity, instead of relying on charitable donations. With increasing frequency the term is applied to for-profit business ventures whose founders seek to both address social problems while also generating acceptable returns for owner-investors. The article examines the notion of for-profit social enterprise, and explains how such entities may better achieve social goals than nonprofits engaged in revenue-generating commercial activity, most notably by expanding a business’s access to capital and talent. The article also addresses what some have described as the “legacy problem” – the concern that for-profit social enterprises will not sustain their social missions after the founding social entrepreneur’s exit or loss of enthusiasm. Such concerns, the authors argue, reflect a “nonprofit lite” perspective, which sees the main challenge of social enterprise law as increasing the resources available to what are essentially nonprofit organizations, i.e., entities that are explicitly committed to generating social value in perpetuity. The authors favor an approach that is grounded in the broader ambitions of social entrepreneurship, which is to increase social welfare by transforming markets and preferences in a way that goes well beyond a particular enterprise’s activities. The for-profit social enterprise itself may be transitional and need not survive in order to achieve large-scale social change.

Abstract: A review of Joan Wallach Scott's "Politics of the Veil" is presented.

Abstract: Earning an income in our time often involves ownership of or control over creative assets. Employing the law and philosophy of economics, this illuminating book explores the legal controversies that emerge when authors, singers, filmmakers, and social media barons leverage their rights into major paydays. It explores how players in the entertainment and technology sectors articulate claims to an ever-increasing amount of copyright-protected media. It then analyzes efforts to reform copyright law, in the contexts of 1) increasing the rights of creators and sellers, and 2) allocating these rights after employment and labor disputes, constitutional challenges to intellectual property law, efforts to legalize online mashups and remixes, and changes to the amount of streaming royalties paid to actors and musicians. This work should be read by anyone interested in how copyright law - and its potential reform - shapes the ownership of ideas in the social media age.

Abstract: Th is article examines the initially cooperative but increasingly tense relationship between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Africa. It assesses the various legal and political reasons for the mounting criticisms of the ICC by African governments, especially within the African Union (AU), following the indictment of incumbent Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir. Th e author situates the ICC within broader African eff orts to establish more peaceful societies through the continent-wide AU. He submits that the ICC, by prosecuting architects of serious international crimes in Africa’s numerous confl icts, could contribute signifi cantly to the continent’s fl edgling peace and security architecture which aims to prevent, manage and resolve confl icts and to anticipate and avert crimes against humanity. On the other hand, the author suggests that the ICC also has much to gain from Africa, especially in these early years when it is seeking to become a functional court of law with global legitimacy. By undertaking independent, fair and credible prosecutions without alienating States Parties, the world criminal court is more likely to fulfi ll its mandate and to win over powerful hold outs, such as the United States, China, and India. Th is will help it co-opt the support necessary for its universal reach and future success. However, he cautions that given Africa’s sensitive historical experience with foreign interventions, including the slave trade and colonialism, the international criminal justice regime anchored on the ICC may be undermined, or perhaps even falter, if it is perceived as having a biased, politicized or insensitive application to a single region of the world.

Abstract: This paper addresses significant misconceptions regarding the etiology of fractures in infants and young children in cases of suspected child abuse. This consensus statement, supported by the Child Abuse Committee and endorsed by the Board of Directors of the Society for Pediatric Radiology, synthesizes the relevant scientific data distinguishing clinical, radiologic and laboratory findings of metabolic disease from findings in abusive injury. This paper discusses medically established epidemiology and etiologies of childhood fractures in infants and young children. The authors also review the body of evidence on the role of vitamin D in bone health and the relationship between vitamin D and fractures. Finally, the authors discuss how courts should properly assess, use, and limit medical evidence and medical opinion testimony in criminal and civil child abuse cases to accomplish optimal care and protection of the children in these cases.