Overlawyered » Europe http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:28:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 European roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:05:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27274
  • Overseas press excoriates new FATCA tax-Americans’-foreign-earnings law; some foreign banks now turn away American customers [Dan Mitchell, Cato, Reason] “The Fatca story is really kind of insane.” [Caplin & Drysdale's H. David Rosenbloom, NYT via TaxProf] Will Congress back down? [Peter Spiro/OJ, more]
  • Important new book from James Maxeiner (University of Baltimore) and co-authors Gyooho Lee and Armin Weber on what the U.S. can learn from legal procedure overseas: “Failures of American Civil Justice in International Perspective” [TortsProf]
  • Don’t do it: British administration mulls further move away from loser-pays rule in search of — what exactly, a yet more Americanized litigation culture? [Guardian, Law Society]
  • Apparently in Norway it’s possible to lose one’s kids by feeding them by hand [Shikha Dalmia, Reason]
  • Financial transaction tax? Ask the Swedes how that worked out [Mike "Mish" Shedlock, Business Insider]
  • Notes from conference on globalization of class actions [Karlsgodt] Related: Adam Zimmerman;
  • “Another conviction in Europe for insulting religion” [Volokh; Polish pop star] Campus secularists’ speech under fire in the U.K. as “Jesus and Mo” controversy spreads to LSE [Popehat] British speech prosecution of soccer star [Suneal Bedi and William Marra, NRO]
    • Tags: , , , , , , , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/feed/ 0     Posited “right to be forgotten online” http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/posited-right-to-be-forgotten-online/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/posited-right-to-be-forgotten-online/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:02:16 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27215 This idea, gaining some currency in Europe, would require government to get deeply into the control of privately published information content [Adam Thierer, Scott Greenfield]

    Tags: , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/posited-right-to-be-forgotten-online/feed/ 2     International law roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/international-law-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/international-law-roundup/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:13:07 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26443
  • More on John Fonte’s new book Sovereignty or Submission [FrontPage interview, W. James Antle III/Washington Times, Clifford May via Israpundit, earlier here and here] U.N. Human Rights Council finds much to criticize about U.S. rights record, including inadequate attention to rights of clean water and sanitation; State Department response to “universal periodic review”;
  • “The President Can’t Increase Congress’s Power Simply by Signing a Treaty” [Ilya Shapiro, Cato, on Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Bond]
  • Another “international norms vs. American sentencing practices” showdown headed to SCOTUS? [Hans Bader]
  • France, Turkey restrict talk of Armenian genocide in opposite ways, and both are wrong [Walter Russell Mead]
  • Transnational prosecutions on an inexorable upward arc? Depends on how you count them [Jeremy Rabkin, TAI]
  • International law pressed into use to remake family law and gender customs [Stephen Baskerville]
  • “Time to Fix the European Court of Human Rights?” [Julian Ku, Opinio Juris]
  • “We are fighting the caste system with capitalism”: open market in India helps Dalits [NY Times]
    • Tags: , , , , , , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/international-law-roundup/feed/ 2     “Austrian Court Upholds Conviction for ‘Denigrating Religious Beliefs’” http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/austrian-court-upholds-conviction-for-denigrating-religious-beliefs/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/austrian-court-upholds-conviction-for-denigrating-religious-beliefs/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:45:25 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26541 “An Austrian appellate court has upheld the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife and anti-Jihad activist, for ‘denigrating religious beliefs’ after giving a series of seminars about the dangers of radical Islam.” [Soeren Kern, Hudson New York via Volokh]

    Tags: ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/austrian-court-upholds-conviction-for-denigrating-religious-beliefs/feed/ 6     Baroque performers glum as Europe bans gut strings http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/baroque-performers-glum-as-europe-bans-gut-strings/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/baroque-performers-glum-as-europe-bans-gut-strings/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:00:50 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26060 Violin and cello strings made of animal intestine might transmit Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, if you ate enough of them. [Telegraph via Tim Cavanaugh, Reason]

    Tags: , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/12/baroque-performers-glum-as-europe-bans-gut-strings/feed/ 9     November 26 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/november-26-roundup-4/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/november-26-roundup-4/#comments Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:21:39 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25340
  • “Ohio Attorney Sues Over Misleading Emails, Even Though He Wasn’t Misled” [Chris Danzig, Above the Law]
  • Feds say new EPA-ordered fuel economy standards could add $2000 to price of new car [C.J. Ciamarella, Daily Caller] More: WSJ.
  • Las Vegas considers following Chicago’s lenders-must-cut-grass folly [Kevin Funnell, earlier] “The Fed actually does impose, via legal risk, a de facto ceiling on mortgage rates.” [Mark Calabria, Cato]
  • 2nd Circuit: Prison Litigation Reform Act curbs attorney fee shift at 150% of cash won, and yes, that applies to a $1 award [PoL] Panel on attorneys’ fees in class actions at Federalist Society convention [video, PoL]
  • John McClaughry reviews Reckless Endangerment, Morgenson/Rosner book on financial crisis [Reason]
  • Daniel Hannan on John Fonte’s new book on transnational law, Sovereignty or Submission [Telegraph, and see chapters 11-12 of Schools for Misrule] International human rights activism pushes into “economic rights” [James P. Kelly III, Federalist Society "Engage"] NGOs exercise oft-envied combination of power without responsibility [Anderson] UK attorney general Dominic Grieve takes on the European court of human rights [Joshua Rozenberg, Guardian] UN battle plan on non-communicable diseases aims to save us from ourselves;
  • Sans statutory authority, EPA wanders into “environmental justice” [PowerLine]
    • Tags: , , , , , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/november-26-roundup-4/feed/ 0     “EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration” http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/eu-bans-claim-that-water-can-prevent-dehydration/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/eu-bans-claim-that-water-can-prevent-dehydration/#comments Sun, 20 Nov 2011 05:06:53 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25756 Beyond satire: “Producers of bottled water are now forbidden by law from making the claim and will face a two-year jail sentence if they defy the edict, which comes into force in the UK next month. …NHS health guidelines state clearly that drinking water helps avoid dehydration, and that Britons should drink at least 1.2 litres per day.” [Telegraph] A writer in the Guardian defends the ban.

    Tags: , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/eu-bans-claim-that-water-can-prevent-dehydration/feed/ 8     EU directive on kids, balloons and other toys http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/children-to-be-banned-from-blowing-up-balloons-under-eu-safety-rules/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/children-to-be-banned-from-blowing-up-balloons-under-eu-safety-rules/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:37:54 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25102 “Whistle blowers, that scroll out into a long coloured paper tongue when sounded – a party favourite at family Christmas meals – are now classed as unsafe for all children under 14. … the EU legislation will impose restrictions on how noisy toys, including rattles or musical instruments, are allowed to be.” Unsupervised children under 8 should not be allowed to blow up balloons, according to the European Union directive, which has just taken effect. [Telegraph; headline changed after objection that the Telegraph's headline was misleading]

    In related news, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, addressing a United Nations conference on “the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases,” has said that “mak[ing] healthy solutions the default social option” on matters such as diet is “ultimately government’s highest duty.” [Sullum]

    Tags: , , , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/children-to-be-banned-from-blowing-up-balloons-under-eu-safety-rules/feed/ 8     Europe’s unwelcoming tech hatchery http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/europes-unwelcoming-tech-hatchery/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/europes-unwelcoming-tech-hatchery/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:40:34 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23610 Why does Europe generate so few star high-tech firms? Bad labor law is one reason [Brian Palmer, Slate]

    Tags: , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/06/europes-unwelcoming-tech-hatchery/feed/ 3     Swiss sledders, skiers seldom sue http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/swiss-sledders-skiers-seldom-sue/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/swiss-sledders-skiers-seldom-sue/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:33:51 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=21860 “The tree trunks, exposed banks and other hazards whizzing past represent a cornucopia of potential tort suits under U.S. law, yet somehow the Swiss manage to operate these runs without being sued into oblivion.” Dan Fisher at Forbes has a go at explaining why. More: Bill Childs, TortsProf (many U.S. states relatively protective of winter sports providers).

    Tags: , , , , ,

    Related posts

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/swiss-sledders-skiers-seldom-sue/feed/ 5