VOLUME 5, NUMBER 2

Article

Legal Protection of Trade Secrets in the People’s Republic of China  

                                                                                                            Yuan Cheng              261

Translation

An Explanation of Japan’s Product Liability Law

                                                                                                            Thomas Leo Madden            299

Comments

Suburban Sprawl of Suburban Villages?  Defining Planning Principles for New Land Development in Indonesia                                                                      Stephen Day               331

Why Japan’s New Product Liability Law Isn’t                            

Andrews Marcuse            365

Russian Dumping of Radioactive Wastes in the Sea of Japan: An Opportunity to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the London Convention 1972                            James R. McCullagh            399

Deforestation in Cambodia and Malaysia: The Case for an International Legal Solution

                                                                                                            Heather A. Wolf            429

Legal Protection of Trade Secrets in the People’s Republic of China 

Yuan Cheng   

Abstract:          The increasing need for an adequate legal framework for the protection of trade secrets in the People's Republic of China led to the 1993 promulgation of the Law for Countering Unfair Competition ("LCUC"). The LCUC has removed some of the barriers to obtaining effective remedies. Under the LCUC, the injured party can rely on a legal definition of "trade secrets," sue third parties, and expect that authorities will investigate violations. Nevertheless, barriers to adequate protection for trade secrets remain. In discussing the legal framework for trade secrets protection, this Article illustrates how the ambiguity of the LCUC's relationship with other remedies - especially in the employer-employee context - tends to undermine the LCUC's effectiveness in offering injured parties a sufficient choice of remedies.

An Explanation of Japan’s Product Liability Law

Thomas Leo Madden         

Translator's Introduction:             Japan has been contemplating the implementation of a product liability system since 1972. After much discussion, the Product Liability Law (Law No. 85 (1994)) was finally promulgated on July 1, 1994. It came into force one year later on July 1, 1995. In Japanese the law is called Seizôbutsu Sekinin Hô.  The original article explains the law's historical significance and practical impact. It is commentary in style and is meant to serve as a basic guideline to help both consumers and businesses understand their respective rights and obligations under this new law.

Suburban Sprawl of Suburban Villages?  Defining Planning Principles for New Land Development in Indonesia                                                               

Stephen Day

Abstract:             Indonesian land use regulations are increasingly designating areas where urban growth is either targeted or excluded, echoing a similar trend in other Pacific Rim nations. Yet as with growth planning in the United States, there is a near total lack of regulatory direction guiding the form or pattern of urban development within the target areas. Sprawling suburban development, essentially patterned after mid-century-style American models, is rapidly consuming the most desirable developable land. Although significant policy goals and legislation are emerging that may provide the basis for suburban land planning principles, neither the central nor provincial governments have consistently articulated such principles. This Comment suggests that statutes should incorporate not only planning goals, but also specific town-building principles to guide local planning authorities. Growth management policy goals that are at the forefront of planning law in the United States are compared with evolving Indonesian policies and with what is actually being built in response to those policies. Historical shortcomings in U.S. suburban planning suggest that alternatives to automobile-dependent suburban development should be considered in the formation of Indonesian land use law and policy. The Comment describes specific alternative models of development that have been built or are being projected.

Why Japan’s New Product Liability Law Isn’t                           

Andrews Marcuse

Abstract:          The statutory language of Japan's 1994 Products Liability Act envisions a strict liability regime that would replace the previous negligence-based regime. This Comment reviews the development of the previous products liability regime, then analyzes the 1994 Products Liability Act in relation to Civil Code articles 415, 570, and 709 as well as EC Directive 85/374, and the 1975 Draft Model Law on Products Liability. The Comment concludes that because the 1994 Products Liability Act incorporates the Civil Code articles and their judicial interpretations, without addressing any of several structural and procedural barriers to suit, the 1994 Products Liability Act cannot and will not impose strict liability on manufacturers.

Russian Dumping of Radioactive Wastes in the Sea of Japan: An Opportunity to Evaluate the Effectiveness of the London Convention 1972                           

James R. McCullagh

Abstract:          By dumping 900 tons of radioactive waste into the Sea of Japan on October, 13, 1993, the Russian navy violated the moratorium on low-level radioactive waste dumping of the London Convention (the international treaty controlling ocean dumping). However, legal liability under the London Convention, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and international customary law arguably does not attach to this activity. Indeed, even though the London Convention was amended in November of 1993 to prohibit all ocean dumping of radioactive waste, Russia remains legally entitled to use the ocean as a disposal site for low-level wastes as a result of its formal objection to the amendment. Further, it is suggested that activity and ecosystem-specific regulations merely transfer the risks associated with the activity and may actually result in greater environmental harm. For this reason, the London Convention and indeed all international agreements should consider the global impacts of environmental regulations prior to prohibiting an activity.

Deforestation in Cambodia and Malaysia: The Case for an International Legal Solution

Heather A. Wolf

Abstract:          The logging of tropical timber for the export market is the primary cause of deforestation in Southeast Asia. The problem of controlling the tropical timber trade has been addressed on both the national and international level. The existing legal mechanisms, however, have proven to be inadequate. A new multilateral agreement based on the import and export permit system of the Basel Agreement is necessary to control the timber trade and to aid in halting deforestation.