Cuba, the United States, and the World Trade Organization

Relic of the Cold War in a New Age of Trade

By Peter M. Stecker
Peter Stecker, a third-year law student at Albany Law School, did his undergraduate work at Fordham University where majored in History and spent a summer studying at Heythrop College in London. While in law school, he worked for a year as an intern in the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic,  and he has held several positions with state and local governmental entities, including his current clerkship with Judge Rachel Kretser of the City of Albany Criminal Court. This past winter, he competed in the Jessup International Moot Court Competition in New York City.
This paper, prepared for Professor Harrington’s Fall 2012 International Organizations class, was a journey of self-discovery for Peter. He is half-Cuban, and a descendant of the Menendez family who founded the world-renowned Montecristo cigar brand.

The following is a story of revolution, retribution, and rum.

The World Trade Organization’s (“WTO”) General Council meeting on July 25, 2012 was relatively unremarkable.  Like so many other WTO meetings the topics of discussion were activities of States that required WTO action, progress reports on organizational initiatives, and other assorted proposed internal policy changes.

After the planned portion of the WTO’s July 25th gathering, however, the unremarkable turned fascinating in the “other business” phase of the meeting.  At this point, a representative from the Cuban government addressed the General Council and reiterated that the United States (“U.S.”) was still not in compliance with a Dispute Settlement Body (“DSB”) order from 2002 to change a 1998 U.S. law designed to prevent trademark protection for items seized by the Cuban government after the Communist Revolution of the late 1950s.

After shortly recapping this situation, the Cuban representative posed a complex question to the General Council: “what guarantee of industrial property rights does the [U.S.] offer in their territory to the Members of this Organization and, in particular, to Cuba?”

This paper focuses on the history of the Cuba-U.S. trademark dispute, how it has been handled by the WTO, and its current status.  Also, this paper addresses the issue of the WTO’s lack of power, the questionable validity of Cold War legislation, and the nebulous treatment of international intellectual property protection.

Finally, this paper examines the impact that this dispute will have on the most potent of all Cold War relics, the U.S.-Cuba trade embargo.

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To read the paper, open HERE.

Sovereignty

By Ben Casolaro
Benjamin Casolaro graduated this spring from Albany Law School.  He studied political science as an undergraduate at American University. While at Albany Law, he was a summer intern with the New York State Law Revision Commission.  He has also interned for the Judge Robert Littlefield of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of New York, and for Judge Lawrence E. Kahn of the Northern District of New York. A member of the Law Review, he served in his 3rd year as an Executive Editor for Notes and Comments.
He wrote this paper for the International Law of War and Crime Seminar, Fall 2011.  

The concept of sovereignty is an integral part of international law. It plays a role in almost every issue debated today. This paper aims to give a primer on the concept of sovereignty, and how it impacts international relations today.

This paper will provide a definition of sovereignty, as well as of several types of sovereignty. It will discuss how various schools of thought in international relations view sovereignty.

The Paper will also discuss the importance of legitimacy, and will examine the theoretical underpinnings of legitimacy in international relations today. Finally, it will discuss some of the important treaties that touch upon sovereignty, and will give an example that demonstrates the complexity and necessity of sovereignty in today’s world.*
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* To read the entire paper, open HERE.

Indicia of Civilization

A Foundational Principle in International Law

By Nicole Nielson

Nicole Nielson, a third year student at Albany Law School, is a member of the Albany Law Review, the student Executive Editor of the Law Review's annual State Constitutional Commentary issue, and a Senior Editor of the Center for Judicial Process.

She originally prepared this paper on the concept of "civilization" for the International Law of War and Crime Seminar, Fall 2011.

The term “Civilization” is imbued with deeply subjective meaning. Individuals define the term anecdotally, in relation to and with respect to their own experiences and perspectives, not at all unlike the way that countries, political and geographical entities give the term meaning. As such, given the multitude of perspectives and numerous cultures on our planet, absent substantial consideration and study, civilization is a term ill-suited to a single definition and thus frequently misunderstood. At the core of what civilization means is its application, particularly with respect to notions of sovereignty of a country or political or geographical entity. Classification as a civilized entity carries the benefit of the presumption of sovereignty. This presumption accords deference with respect to the sovereign’s decisions and actions inside its borders.

The tension of civilization and sovereignty are pervasive in the establishment and enforcement of international laws because voluntary and collective agreement through treaty, legislation or agreement otherwise, about what is just and what is permissible are what comprise international law. Thus, international law rests on the relationships built through recognition of sovereignty; recognition predicated on having met a standard of civilization.

The issue with civilization as the foundational principle for international law is that its definition and application are heavily weighted in favor of the lens of western culture, which does not often afford legitimacy to inevitably divergent lenses of multiple civilizations. The inability to accommodate cultural pluralism in international law, and the persistence of the western perspective, is a barrier to the effectiveness of international law and the establishment and maintenance of international relationships.*

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* Citations to references in this introduction are available in the paper.

To read the entire paper, open HERE.