Showing papers on "Settlement (litigation) published in 2009"

Conflicts of Interest and Stock Recommendations: The Effects of the Global Settlement and Related Regulations

Abstract: We study the effect of the Global Analyst Research Settlement and related regulations on sell-side research. These regulations attempted to mitigate the interdependence between research and investment banking. We document that following the regulations many brokerage houses have migrated from the traditional five-tier rating system to a three-tier system. Optimistic recommendations have become less frequent and more informative, whereas neutral and pessimistic recommendations have become more frequent and less informative. Importantly, the overall informativeness of recommendations has declined. The likelihood of issuing optimistic recommendations no longer depends on affiliation with the covered firm, although affiliated analysts are still reluctant to issue pessimistic recommendations. The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court : a commentary

Abstract: 1. FROM NUREMBURG TO ROME: FROM AD HOC INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT 4. THE COURT 11. JURISDICTION RATIONE MATERIAE (SUBJECT-MATTER JURISDICTION) 19. NULLUM CRIMEN, NULLA POENA SINE LEGE IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW 25. APPLICABLE LAW 28. THE RULES OF PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE - AN OVERVIEW 39. GENERAL PROBLEMS 43. PRELIMINARY REMARKS 46. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES 49. THE ROME STATUTE: A TENTATIVE ASSESSMENT THE TEXT OF THE ROME STATUTE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Securing the Peace: The Durable Settlement of Civil Wars

Abstract: List of Tables and Illustrations ix Preface xi Chapter 1. Introduction: Civil War Termination in Historical and Theoretical Context 1 Chapter 2. Civil War Termination in Perspective 19 Chapter 3. Securing the Peace: Mutual Benefi t, Mutual Harm 39 Chapter 4. Statistical Analysis of War Recurrence and Longer- Term Outcomes 53 Chapter 5. El Salvador: A Successful Negotiated Settlement 70 Chapter 6. Uganda: Rebel Victory Begets Stability 96 Chapter 7. The Republic of Sudan: A Collapsed Negotiated Settlement 116 Chapter 8. The Republic of Sudan: Prospects for Peace 130 Chapter 9. Conclusion 150 Appendix 163 Notes 175 Bibliography 207 Index 223

Getting it for free: Using Google earth™ and IL WIS to map squatter settlements in Johannesburg

Abstract: The mapping of squatter settlements has been a difficult task for geographers [2]. This is due to the dynamic nature of the settlement and the organic growth that these types of settlements take on [1]. It has proven extremely difficult to accurately map individual households m these settlements and even boundary discernment can be difficult. These issues of mapping informal settlements are exacerbated when we look at the socio-economic context of cities where informal settlements flourish (Jenkins, 2000). Often poor and technologically challenged, urban governments need mapping settlements needs to be done cheaply. Using Google earth as the base image. cartographers can begin to map the organic informal settlements that are the cause and symptom of many of the problems m developing cities.

Political Settlements: Issues paper

Abstract: Why do similar sets of formal institutions often have such divergent outcomes? An analysis of political settlements goes some way to answering this question by bringing into focus the contending interests that exist within any state, which constrain and facilitate institutional and developmental change. It provides a framework to analyse how the state is linked to society and what lies behind the formal representation of politics in a state. The political settlement and the elite bargains from which it emerges are central to patterns of state fragility and resilience. The role of political organisation within the political settlement is crucial to both the stability of the settlement and the direction in which it evolves over time. The elite bargains that may lead to the establishment of what might be considered a resilient political settlement may also act as a barrier to progressive developmental change. Analysis of political settlements suggests that state-building is far from a set of technical formulas, but is a highly political process. Creating capacity within a state to consolidate and expand taxation is fundamentally determined by the shape of the political settlement underlying the state. This is true as well for the development of service delivery or any other function of the state. This analytical framework provides a window for donors to grasp the politics of a place in order to design more effective interventions.

Complex Power-sharing and the Centrality of Territorial Self-governance in Contemporary Conflict Settlements

Abstract: This article contends that three key characteristics in the context of self-determination conflicts are crucial in determining the institutional design of their settlement: the compactness of groups' settlement patterns in a given state; the degree of ethnic heterogeneity in the territorial entities to which powers and competences of self-governance are to be assigned; and their significance relative to the rest of the state, leading to three core elements of institutional design that are variably present—territorial self-governance, and local and central power-sharing are variably part of conflict settlements. Examining 18 individual cases of post-Cold War conflict settlements across 13 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, the article finds these assumptions to be largely correct and concludes with a number of suggestions for further theoretical and empirical investigation.

The struggle for in situ upgrading of informal settlements: a reflection on cases in Gauteng

Abstract: The Department of Housing released a new Informal Settlement Upgrading Programme in 2004 that makes in situ upgrading of informal settlements possible with minimal disruption to residents' lives. To date, the new programme is not necessarily the municipalities' choice when intervening in an informal settlement. This paper reflects on the treatment of informal settlements in current urban discourse and practice in South Africa. It presents the case of three informal settlement communities in Gauteng Province that have struggled for recognition of basic principles of the informal settlement upgrading programme. Their requests have been met with great reluctance by local government. Through these cases, the paper points to some of the critical re-skilling and capacity-building areas that are needed before local government can roll out the informal settlement upgrading programme at scale.

Good Starts for recently arrived youth with refugee backgrounds : promoting wellbeing in the first three years of settlement in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract: This report describes the key findings of a longitudinal study (2004—2008) investigating the experiences of settlement among a group of 120 recently arrived young people with refugee backgrounds settling in Melbourne, Australia. Each year, less than one per cent of the world’s refugees are offered resettlement in one of 18 countries participating in The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) resettlement programme. Australia offers places to around 13,500 people per year, of whom about 26 per cent are between the ages of 10 and 19. What are the experiences of these young people in their early settlement years? How do they negotiate the transition from childhood to adulthood given the traumas of their past and the challenges of their present and future in Australia? What are the key social determinants of wellbeing and good settlement and what can we learn from these young people about what social policies and services will most effectively support them to make successful lives in their new home? This study explores these questions, the overall aim being to identify the key social determinants of wellbeing and settlement and to describe the lived experiences of these young people as they shape their lives in Australia.

Upgrading Informal Settlements in South Africa: Policy, Rhetoric and what Residents really Value

Abstract: A billion persons live in slums worldwide, and 2 million households live in informal housing in South Africa. The stated goal of the South African government is to overcome this housing backlog by 2014; but doubling the budget will achieve this by only 2030. Current policy is to deliver a choice of housing alternatives; but in practice ‘a house on a fully serviced property with freehold title’ is seen as the only alternative. This paper describes a model that estimates the value that residents of an informal settlement place on aspects such as level of municipal engineering services, location and type of upgrade, and the size of the dwelling. The model was applied to three issues in the current debate on informal settlement upgrading in South Africa; namely: whether to upgrade by relocating all residents to a ‘greenfield’ site or upgrading ‘in situ’? Whether to upgrade incrementally across many settlements or upgrade fully one settlement at a time? Whether to offer residents more than one upgrade alternat...

Madagascar: A Short History

Abstract: ContentsIntroduction1 Settlement (400-1099)2 Transforming the Island(1100-1599)3 Royalty and the Rise of Kingdoms(1600-1699)4 The Slave-Trader Kings(1700-1816)5 The Kingdom of Madagascar(1817-1895)6 The Colonial Period(1896-1959)7 Sovereign Republics(1960-2006)Conclusion

The Google Book Search Settlement: A New Orphan-Works Monopoly?

Abstract: This paper considers the proposed settlement agreement between Google and the Authors Guild relating to Google Book Search. Google boldly launched Google Book Search in pursuing its goal of organizing the world’s information. Even though Google was sensitive to copyright values, the service relied on mass copying and thus Google undertook a substantial legal risk in setting up the service. That risk was realized with the lawsuits by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. The October, 2008 settlement agreement for those suits will create an important new copyright collective and will legitimate broad-scale online access to United States books registered before early January, 2009.The settlement agreement is exceeding complex but I have focused on three issues that raise antitrust and competition policy concerns. First, the agreement calls for Google to act as agent for rights holders in setting the price of online access to consumers. Google is tasked with developing a pricing algorithm that will maximize revenues for each of those works. Direct competition among rights holders would push prices towards some measure of costs and would not be designed to maximize revenues. As I think that that level of direct coordination of prices is unlikely to mimic what would result in competition, I have real doubts about whether the consumer access pricing provision would survive a challenge under Section 1 of the Sherman Act.Second, and much more centrally to the settlement agreement, the opt out class action will make it possible for Google to include orphan works in its book search service. Orphan works are works as to which the rightsholder can’t be identified or found. That means that a firm like Google can’t contract with an orphan holder directly to include his or her work in the service and that would result in large numbers of missing works. The opt out mechanism - which shifts the default from copyright’s usual out to the class action’s in - brings these works into the settlement.But the settlement agreement also creates market power through this mechanism. Absent the lawsuit and the settlement, active rights holders could contract directly with Google, but it is hard to get large-scale contracting to take place and there is, again, no way to contract with orphan holders. The opt out class action then is the vehicle for large-scale collective action by active rights holders. Active rights holders have little incentive to compete with themselves by granting multiple licenses of their works or of the orphan works. Plus under the terms of the settlement agreement, active rights holders benefit directly from the revenues attributable to orphan works used in GBS.We can mitigate the market power that will otherwise arise through the settlement by expanding the number of rights licenses available under the settlement agreement. Qualified firms should have the power to embrace the going-forward provisions of the settlement agreement. We typically find it hard to control prices directly and instead look to foster competition to control prices. Non-profits are unlikely to match up well with the overall terms of the settlement agreement, which is a share-the-revenues deal. But we should take the additional step of unbundling the orphan works deal from the overall settlement agreement and create a separate license to use those works. All of that will undoubtedly add more complexity to what is already a large piece of work, and it may make sense to push out the new licenses to the future. That would mean ensuring now that the court retains jurisdiction to do that and/or giving the new Registry created in the settlement the power to do this sort of licensing.Third, there is a risk that approval by the court of the settlement could cause antitrust immunities to attach to the arrangements created by the settlement agreement. As it is highly unlikely that the fairness hearing will undertake a meaningful antitrust analysis of those arrangements, if the district court approves the settlement, the court should include a clause - call this a no Noerr clause - in the order approving the settlement providing that no antitrust immunities attach from the court’s approval.

What is the Settlement Rate and Why Should We Care

Abstract: After establishing the importance of knowledge of settlement rates, this article first shows that different research questions can yield different settlement rates. Using data gathered from about 3,300 federal cases in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA) and the Northern District of Georgia (NDGA), differing measures of settlement emerge depending on whether one is interested in (1) settlement as a proxy for plaintiffs' litigation success, or (2) settlement as a measure of litigated disputes resolved without final adjudication. Using settlement as a proxy for plaintiff success, we estimate the aggregate settlement rate across case categories in the two districts to have been 66.9 percent in 2001–2002. Regardless of the method of computing settlement rates, no reasonable estimate of settlement rates supports an aggregate rate of over 90 percent of filed cases, despite frequent references to 90 percent or higher settlement rates. The aggregate rate for the EDPA alone was 71.6 percent and for the NDGA alone was 57.8 percent, suggesting significant interdistrict variation, which persists even within case categories. We report separate settlement rates for employment discrimination, constitutional tort, contract, and tort cases in the two districts. The highest settlement rate was 87.2 percent for tort cases in the EDPA and the lowest was 27.3 percent for constitutional tort cases in the NDGA. Our results suggest a hierarchy of settlement rates. Of major case categories, tort cases tend to have the highest settlement rates, then contract cases, then employment discrimination cases, followed by constitutional tort cases. Attorney fee structure and the nature of the parties may explain settlement rate variation. Our findings provide no evidence of a material change in aggregate settlement rates over time.

The History of an Idea

Abstract: This paper is based on the speech given by the author at the Symposium at Fordham Law School on "Against Settlement, 25 Years Later."

“Tell Me What I Need to Know”: South Asian Women, Social Capital and Settlement

Abstract: This paper reports on the findings of in-depth interviews with 50 South Asian immigrant women in Toronto regarding their settlement needs and the role of social capital in meeting these needs. The main findings discussed in this paper relate to the emergence of information as the most important settlement need and the ways in which information and orientation were obtained. Participants were found to rely on informal networks of friends and relatives as the most exhaustive and specific source of information and orientation.

Open Doorway to Truth: Legacy of the Minnesota Tobacco Trial

Abstract: More than a decade has passed since the conclusion of the Minnesota tobacco trial and the signing of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) by 46 US State Attorneys General and the US tobacco industry. The Minnesota settlement exposed the tobacco industry's long history of deceptive marketing, advertising, and research and ultimately forced the industry to change its business practices. The provisions for public document disclosure that were included in the Minnesota settlement and the MSA have resulted in the release of approximately 70 million pages of documents and nearly 20,000 other media materials. No comparable dynamic, voluminous, and contemporaneous document archive exists. Only a few single events in the history of public health have had as dramatic an effect on tobacco control as the public release of the tobacco industry's previously secret internal documents. This review highlights the genesis of the release of these documents, the history of the document depositories created by the Minnesota settlement, the scientific and policy output based on the documents, and the use of the documents in furthering global public health strategies.

The Oxford handbook of international trade law

Abstract: INTRODUCTION PART I: THE ECONOMIC AND INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT OF THE WORLD TRADING SYSTEM PART II: SUBSTANTIVE LAW PART III: SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES PART IV: TRADE AND EL THE NEW AGENDA AND LINKAGE ISSUES PART V: THE WIDER FRAMEWORK CONCLUSION

The Xiongnu settlements of Egiin Gol, Mongolia

Abstract: The Xiongnu people have long been considered an archetypical nomadic group, characterised archaeologically mainly from their tombs - which have reinforced the stereotype. Thanks to a sophisticated survey project, the authors are able to reveal the Xiongnu's economic complexity. Although primarily pastorialists they practiced cultivation and their ceramics reveal a settlement hierarchy which chimes with the broader social and settlement system of the region.

'The Golden Country': Ex-Yugoslav and African Refugee Experiences of Settlement and 'Depression'

Abstract: Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are frequent diagnoses made of refugee clients by health professionals attempting to deal with patients having settlement difficulties However, this focus on psychological diagnosis and intervention tends to ignore political, economic, cultural and racial aspects of the settlement experience which affect well-being This paper reports the findings of two studies of ex-Yugoslav and Horn of Africa refugee settlement experiences in Perth, Western Australia, which demonstrate the links, in the perceptions of refugees at least, between well-being and two closely related factors: employment and ‘culture shock’ It reports data from questionnaires, interviews and focus groups with over 200 people from refugee backgrounds—including Bosnians, Croatians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese and Somalis—which indicate their perception that post-migration experiences are more important in undermining well-being than pre-migration physical and psychological trauma

Rivers and Resilience: Aboriginal People on Sydney's Georges River

Abstract: Rivers and Resilience traces the history of Aboriginal people along Sydney's Georges River from the early periods of British and Irish settlement to the present. It offers a dramatically new approach to Aboriginal history in an urban setting in Australia. Leading historians investigate the continuities and changes experienced by Aboriginal communities in this densely settled suburban area where the continued presence of Aboriginal people, including traditional owners, is largely - and wrongly - ignored.

Assessing Competition Issues in the Amended Google Book Search Settlement

Abstract: Google takes products out of beta status slowly, even while it is making substantial improvements in the product. Objectors will see the amended settlement agreement as a mixed bag, with some finding almost nothing in the changes (privacy advocates and those who fear high prices for institutional subscriptions), while others will find their concerns addressed (foreign governments acting, one hopes, with the correct sense of the interests of foreign authors).The amended settlement agreement clearly responds to the concerns raised by the Department of Justice. In waiving the benefits of possible doctrines of antitrust immunity, the ASA solves a timing problem for DOJ. DOJ faced an all-or-nothing quandary: challenge the agreement now or risk the possibility losing the right to challenge it later. The Noerr waiver solves that problem. There may be real benefits to seeing how the pricing provisions play out in actual operating conditions. Don’t shadow box now but fight later if necessary. I could easily see DOJ or Judge Chin reaching that conclusion and choosing to defer consideration of the pricing issues to another day.The orphan works licensing is differently situated. The revised agreement creates a new unclaimed works fiduciary but does so in incomplete fashion. The UWF takes over some of the registry’s responsibilities rather than acting as a true fiduciary for orphan works holders. Such a fiduciary would be situated to license the orphan works to third parties on a going forward basis. That would have been an elegant solution to the competitive issues raised by the current plan to grant a license to the orphan works to Google and only to Google. The revised settlement makes real progress on these issues only to stop short of a visible and attainable real solution.

Hofstaðir : Excavations of a Viking Age Feasting Hall in North-Eastern Iceland

Abstract: This is the first output from a multi national collaborative project based in Iceland. The site is a substantial settlement or skali, which has been variously interepreted as a pagan temple or a ritualistic centre. It is clear it is a primary farmstead which played a major local and national role. The material culture (Batey) demonstrates the use of both the primary tool kit from Scandinavia and the modifications needed though life in a new country with different resources.

How the Merits Matter: Directors' and Officers' Insurance and Securities Settlements

Abstract: This Article seeks what may be the holy grail of securities law scholarship— the role of the “merits” in securities class actions—by investigating the relationship between settlements and directors’ and officers’ (D&O) liability insurance. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with plaintiffs’ and defense lawyers, D&O insurance claims managers, monitoring counsel, brokers, mediators, and testifying experts, we elucidate the key factors influencing settlement and examine the relationship between these factors and notions of merit in civil litigation. We find that, although securities settlements are influenced by some factors that are arguably merit related, such as the “sex appeal” of a claim’s liability elements, they are also influenced by many that are not, including, most obviously, the amount and structure of D&O insurance. The virtual absence of adjudication results in payment to the plaintiffs’ class for every claim surviving the motions stage and, as importantly, a lack of authoritative guidance about merit at settlement. Without such adjudication, the weight of various factual patterns is untested, and the validity of competing damages models remains

Capacity building lessons from a decade of transitional settlement and shelter

Abstract: This paper examines 23 recent case studies of post‐disaster settlement and shelter across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to provide examples of implementing transitional settlement and shelter as a process and how to build more capacity for such programmes. The case studies are examined by using a four‐part framework: (i) Safety, security, and livelihoods; (ii) the question “Transition to what?” in order to understand better how to connect post‐disaster programmes to permanent communities and housing; (iii) fairness and equity; and (iv) connecting relief and development, which also explores root causes of vulnerability. The main lessons identify six specific activities that should be highlighted for capacity building in transitional settlement and shelter: site selection, good governance, participatory and consultative processes, land ownership, logistics, and monitoring and evaluation. Santruka Siame darbe analizuojami 23 neseniai atliktu nelaimes istiktu žmoniu apgyvendinimo ir prieglaudu jiems suteikimo Afrikoje, Azijoje ir Lotynu Amerikoje tyrimu rezultatai, pateikiami efektyvaus aprūpinimo laikinosiomis gyvenamosiomis vietomis ir prieglaudomis programu igyvendinimo pavyzdžiai, patariama, kaip didinti siu programu potenciala. Tyrimu rezultatai nagrinejami remiantis keturiu daliu struktūra: 1) saugumas, apsauga ir pragyvenimo saltinis; 2) klausimas “Jei laikinas, tai kas po to?”, siekis istikus nelaimei vykdomas apgyvendinimo programas susieti su pastoviomis bendruomenemis ir nuolatiniu būstu; 3) teisingumas ir lygybe; 4) paramos ir pletros sasaja, pagrindines pažeidžiamumo priežastys. Isskiriamos sesios konkrecios veiklos rūsys, kurias reiketu akcentuoti didinat aprūpinimo laikinosiomis gyvenamosiomis vietomis ir prieglaudu suteikimo potenciala: vietos parinkimas, geras valdymas, dalyvavimo ir konsultavimo procesai, žemes nuosavybe, logistika, stebejimas bei vertinimas. First Publish Online: 18 Oct 2010

Escaping the Self-Determination Trap

Abstract: Preface Acknowledgements I. Introduction II. A Concept with Multiple Meanings III. The Classical Right to Self-determination IV. Constitutional Self-determination V. Remedial Self-determination VI. Effective Entities VII. Trading Self-determination for Autonomy or Enhanced Self-governance VIII. Regionalisation, Federalisation, or Union with Confirmation of Territorial Unity IX. Deferring a Substantive Settlement while Agreeing to a Settlement Mechanism X. Balancing Self-determination Claims XI. Conditional Self-determination XII. Agreeing on Self-determination but Deferring Implementation XIII. Establishing a De Facto State through an International Process XIV. Supervised Independence XV. Conclusion: New Approaches to Self-determination Settlements Annex I: Levels of Legal Privileges of Entities Annex II: Settlements and Steps towards Settlement Bibliography.

Walk with Us and Listen: Political Reconciliation in Africa

Abstract: Foreword, by Desmond Mpilo Tutu Introduction: Where Past and Present Meet Prologue: Affinities and Tensions in Debate 1. An African Journey 2. Shared Peace 3. From Encounter to Settlement 4. National Conversation in South Africa 5. Ubuntu 6. Traditional African Reconciliation Practices 7. Why Reconciliation is Important 8. Seeking Consensus NotesBibliographyIndex

Aboriginal Settlement during the LGM at Brockman, Pilbara Region, Western Australia

Abstract: This paper describes the results and implications of recent excavations on the Hamersley Iron Brockman 4 tenement, near Tom Price, Western Australia. Results concentrate on two rock shelters with Aboriginal occupation starting at least 32,000 years ago and extending throughout the Last Glacial period. Preliminary observations are proposed concerning the nature of Aboriginal foraging patterns as displayed in the flaked stone and faunal records for the Brockman region.

Settlement Patterns of African Refugee Communities in Southeast Queensland

Abstract: Over 4000 African refugees have resettled in Queensland through the Australian government's Humanitarian Program. Research on the settlement geography of this immigrant group is, however, limited. The present study is set within the context of research and debates concerning the residential concentration and/or dispersion patterns of immigrant settlement in Australia. The paper investigates the settlement and secondary migration geography of eight African refugee communities in Southeast Queensland. Discrepancies are identified between the official data and the actual distribution according to community members’ views obtained via focus group surveys and interviews. Preliminary results indicate that there is a relatively high rate of secondary migration in the African communities. The paper also discusses the two key factors underpinning this secondary migration: housing and social networks. These findings have implications for settlement service providers, particularly in the area of housing.