University of Georgia Assistant Professor of Law & Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center, Desirée LeClercq, presented at the 2nd annual Trade and Public Policy Network Conference in Oxford, England. LeClercq’s work was entitled: “Enforcement of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Rapid Response Mechanism.”
Desirée LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law as an assistant professor in summer 2024 and currently teaches International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, International Law, and U.S. Labor Law. She serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law.
University of Georgia School of Law assistant professor Assaf Harpaz has been selected as a laureate to present his paper titled “Global Tax Wars and the Shift to Source-Based Taxation” at the Journal of International Economic Law Junior Faculty Forum (JIEL JFF).
Below is an abstract of the paper:
Current debates in international taxation often focus on how to fairly allocate taxing rights between jurisdictions. When an enterprise earns income abroad, both the country of residence (where the taxpayer resides) and the country of source (where income is generated) have legitimate, competing claims to tax that income. The issue is further complicated in a digital economy where tax avoidance and profit shifting practices are abundant.
Income tax treaties have traditionally favored residence-based taxation. Now, the international tax framework is at a crossroads with intergovernmental organizations battling to redefine the principles of cross-border taxation. The regime has been dominated by the Global North through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has drawn backlash due to its undemocratic procedure and unfavorable outcomes for developing countries. The United Nations has held a relatively peripheral role in global tax governance, yet this could change with an upcoming UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation – an initiative overwhelmingly supported by developing countries. This article conceptualizes the international tax discourse as “tax wars,” contrasting the taxing powers and interests of the OECD-led Global North with those of the UN-backed Global South. It highlights the distributive effects of tax treaties and argues for a shift toward source-based taxation. To do so, it proposes revisiting the permanent establishment standard in model treaty language, creating an opportunity for broader taxation of business profits in the source country. This transition will address longstanding disparities and is increasingly warranted in a digital economy that does not rely on physical presence
Assaf Harpaz joined University of Georgia School of Law as an assistant professor in summer 2024 and will teach classes in federal income tax and business taxation. Harpaz’s scholarly focus lies in international taxation, with an emphasis on the intersection of taxation and digitalization. He explores the tax challenges of the digital economy and the ways to adapt 20th-century tax laws to modern business practices.
University of Georgia School of Law Master of Laws (LL.M.) student Michael Faleye was selected as a recipient of the Personal Travel Allowance Scholarship from Education African Scholars Global Connect. This organization is dedicated to supporting African students pursuing higher education abroad and to impact their home and host communities. They provide resources and support to help students secure admission and scholarships, and they encourage students to use their education and skills to contribute to the development and nation-building efforts of their home countries.
Below is Education African Scholars Global Connect’s vision statement:
Our vision is to become the leading resource for African youths seeking higher education abroad and to inspire a new generation of leaders and change-makers in Africa. We believe that investing in the education and development of African youths is the key to a brighter future for the continent, and we are dedicated to helping students achieve their full potential and make a lasting impact on their communities and nations.
Michael, who is from Nigeria, earned his law degree with honors at the University of Lagos and completed his legal training at the Nigerian Law School. As a student, he was actively involved in student parliamentary politics as senate president of the Law Students Society. After being called to the Nigerian bar in 2019, he began his legal career in Lagos at Wole Olanipekun & Co., a leading litigation law firm, and then practiced at Fides and Fiducia LP, a full-service law firm, from which he was placed on secondment to Eroton Exploration and Production Company Ltd/Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Ltd. In 2022, he transitioned to an in-house position with one of Africa’s premier financial institutions, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc. Michael’s expertise encompasses commercial law, corporate governance and regulatory compliance. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) and holds certifications in EU privacy law (GDPR) compliance and Intellectual Property “Copyright X” from Harvard Law School’s Berkman Klein Center. His goal is to work in the areas of business law that revolve around mergers & acquisitions, venture capital, and privacy law.
The Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at the University of Georgia School of Law offers foreign law graduates opportunities to learn about the U.S. legal system, deepen knowledge of an area of specialization, and explore new legal interests at one of the nation’s top law schools. The ten-month program provides individualized support through the Dean Rusk International Law Center and prepares international students for a globalized legal market. Applications are open now for the class of 2026. More information about applying to the program can be found here.
University of Georgia School of Law professor Christopher M. Bruner published an article titled “National Identity and Economic Development in Market-Dominant Small Jurisdictions” in UC Berkeley’s peer-reviewed Journal of Law and Political Economy.
A working paper version of the article was previously presented at the symposium on “Law, Identity, and Economic Development in the Post-Colonial Era: The Case of the Northern Atlantic and Larger Caribbean Regions,” hosted by the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. For more information, please see our previous post.
Below is an abstract of the article:
Small jurisdictions that are globally competitive in providing cross-border financial services—market-dominant small jurisdictions (MDSJs)—occupy fascinating and unique positions in global markets, reflecting the complexity of their linkages with major economies. This article explores how the distinctive features of MDSJs highlight important dimensions of the relationship between national identity and economic development. I review literatures that aim to explain how jurisdictions behave in the economic context, focusing on concepts of nationalism, national identity, and nation branding, and how such phenomena might impact one another. I then assess their application to the relationship between national identity and economic development in MDSJs, where realities of size and geography prompt substantial outward orientation and incentivize innovations in law and finance to service economic activity largely occurring elsewhere. The article culminates with a vivid case study—the role of national identity in developing, marketing, and maintaining Bermuda’s outsized role in global insurance markets.
Christopher M. Bruner is the Stembler Family Distinguished Professor in Business Law at the University of Georgia School of Law and serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center.
The faculty sponsor for Amann’s visit is Professor Dapo Akande. Oxford’s Chichele Professor of Public International Law and a member of the U.N. International Law Commission, he has just been nominated as the UK candidate for election to the International Court of Justice.
Amann, who is Regents’ Professor, Emily & Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law, and Faculty Co-Director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center here at the University of Georgia School of Law, held the same Oxford post during another research-intensive semester, Spring 2018.
She plans to pursue her scholarship related to women professionals who played roles in international criminal trials after World War II and also her work on child rights, especially as they relate to armed conflict and similar violence.
As a Research Visitor, she also will have the opportunity to take part in Bonavero Institute activities, and will benefit from Oxford’s libraries, seminars and lectures, and other offerings.
The Bonavero Institute was founded in 2016 as a unit of the Oxford Faculty of Law, under the direction of Professor Kate O’Regan, a former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa.
Since the WTO’s inception in 1995, global trade has rapidly expanded and become increasingly interconnected. The international trading system has helped lift 1.5 billion people out of absolute poverty and unlocked new opportunities for businesses, workers and consumers. At the same time, the gains from trade have not always been shared equally. This needs to change.
As the WTO celebrates its 30th anniversary, the 2024 Public Forum will look to the future, exploring how re-globalization can help make trade more inclusive and ensuring that its benefits reach more people.
LeClercq will present research under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement’s dispute settlement provisions and their effects on vulnerable workers in Mexico.
The WTO 2024 Public Forum also discussed the TradeExperettes’ report: Ten “Quick Wins” for Re-globalization and Resilience in Trade. LeClercq authored “Quick Win No. 3: Empower all workers to ensure a fair, equitable and sustainable trade policy,” which urges greater inclusion of non-union workers at the trade bargaining table.
Desirée LeClercq joined the University of Georgia School of Law as an assistant professor in summer 2024 and currently teaches International Trade and Workers Rights, International Labor Law, International Law, and U.S. Labor Law. LeClercq’s scholarly focus lies in international and labor law. She also serves as a faculty co-director of the Dean Rusk International Law Center and as the faculty adviser for the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law.
University of Georgia School of Law alumnus and adjunct professor Kannan Rajarathinam (LL.M. ’88) recently published a book, The DMK Years: Ascent, Descent, Survival (India Viking, 2024). The ‘DMK Years’ tells the story of how India’s democracy has accommodated the cultural nationalist aspirations of the Tamils. It also tells the seventy-five-year story of the DMK and the state of Tamil Nadu, once separatist but now India’s second-most prosperous state.
Below is a full description of the book:
India has twenty states and eight union (federal territories). In April 2023, it became the world’s most populated country. It has 22 official languages, numerous ethnicities and people of all faiths.
Uniting a country as vast and diverse as India is a herculean task. However, India’s democracy, which was adopted after the 1947 Partition, has shown remarkable resilience. The country’s quasi-federal constitution was designed with unity in mind, recognizing and valuing the diverse population as a key component of its unity.
Yet, India’s unity has not been without its challenges. The restive border states of Kashmir and Punjab are well known. However, there have been other less well-known challenges to the Indian Union. One such was from Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state where the sub-nationalist Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) or Dravidian Progressive Federation espoused separation since its founding in 1949.
As the DMK grew into a significant political force, the Indian Centre brought forward the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1962, banning any secessionist advocacy—even by peaceful means. The DMK dropped its demand and, in five years, became the ruling party in the state of Tamil Nadu. Since then, it has alternated in power there with its breakaway party, the All India Anna DMK, and has been part of the federal coalition for eighteen years.
The ‘DMK Years’ tells the story of how India’s democracy has accommodated the cultural nationalist aspirations of the Tamils. It also tells the seventy-five-year story of the DMK and the state of Tamil Nadu, once separatist but now India’s second-most prosperous state.
Kannan Rajarathinam is an adjunct professor at the University of Georgia School of Law teaching a course on International Organizations. Between 1993 and 2022, he served the United Nations in various capacities, including senior political affairs officer, head of office, senior planning and coordination officer, chief civil affairs officer, and legal officer from Afghanistan to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before joining the UN, he briefly taught at the University of Madras in India as a guest faculty member and junior professor and practised law. Presently, he serves on the Dean Rusk International Law Center Advisory Council.
University of Georgia Associate Professor of Legal Studies Greg Day recently presented research at the 19thAmerican Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) Annual Conference in Würzburg, Germany. The conference brings together about 120 scholars doing research in competition law, economics or policy from all over the world.
Greg Day is an Associate Professor of Legal Studies at the Terry College of Business and holds a courtesy appointment in the School of Law. He is also an Affiliated Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project as well as the University of North Carolina’s Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life. His research has primarily focused on the intersection of competition, technology, innovation, and privacy as well as the disparate impact of anticompetitive conduct.
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