Topic 1

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) provides that foreign states shall be immune from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts unless the suit falls within a specified statutory exception to immunity. There is currently a conflict among the federal circuit courts over whether suits against individual foreign officials are covered by the FSIA. If such suits are not covered by the FSIA, additional questions are raised concerning a possible common law immunity for foreign officials. This Insight describes both the conflict and the additional questions.

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A new swine influenza virus is causing outbreaks in humans in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and the virus has possibly spread to other countries. This outbreak has alarmed public health officials because of its epidemiological characteristics, which indicate that the virus may be able to cause a pandemic.

On March 20, 2009, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body adopted the report of the dispute settlement panel in China – Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (China – IPR).[1] The report addressed three claims brought by the United States alleging that certain Chinese measures are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

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On August 28, 2008, the United Kingdom’s National Contact Point (UK-NCP) issued its decision in Global Witness v. Afrimex Ltd.[1] In this case, Global Witness, a non-governmental organization,[2] alleged that Afrimex Ltd.

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