THE RECORD OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK Fall 2002 Vol. 57, No. 4 THE LEGALITY AND CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE PRESIDENT’S AUTHORITY TO INITIATE AN INVASION OF IRAQ F A L L 2 0 0 2 ▼ V O L. 5 7, N O. 4 371 THE RECORD Fall 2002 Vol. 57, No. 4 Contents OF NOTE 373 THE LEGALITY AND CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE PRESIDENT’S 378 AUTHORITY TO INITIATE AN INVASION OF IRAQ by The Committee on International Security Affairs INTERIM REPORT ON THE RULE OF LAW, DEMOCRACY AND THE 397 PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN HONG KONG by The Committee on International Human Rights NEW YORK CITY AND THE UNITED NATIONS: 431 TOWARD A RENEWED RELATIONSHIP by The Special Committee on the United Nations THE VIENNA CONVENTION ON THE ASSIGNMENT OF RECEIVABLES 454 IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE by The Committee on Foreign and Comparative Law ON THE PATH TO INCLUSION 469 by John D. Feerick REPORT ON THE BUENOS AIRES CONFERENCE ON PRO BONO 479 AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE by The Committee on Inter-American Affairs A SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY: LEGAL DICTIONARIES IN ENGLISH 489 AND ONE OR MORE OTHER LANGUAGES by The Committee on Foreign and Comparative Law INDEX 511 THE RECORD OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK is published four times a year , Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, by The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036-6689. Available by subscription for $60 per volume. For information call (212) 382-6695. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY and additional mailing offices. USPS number: 012-432/ISSN: 0004-5837. Post master: Send address changes to THE RECORD OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036-6689. THE RECORD is printed on paper which meets the specifications of American National Standard ANSI Z39.49-1984, Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Copyright © 2002 TheT H AssociationE R E C ofO Rthe D Bar of the City of New York. All rights reserved. 372 EDITORIAL BOARD E. LEO MILONAS ALAN ROTHSTEIN President General Counsel BARBARA BERGER OPOTOWSKY ANDREW J. MARTIN Executive Director Director, Communications LAURIE BERKE-WEISS MARK WOLKENFELD Chair, Executive Committee Editor HOW TO REACH THE ASSOCIATION MAIN PHONE NUMBER: COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP (212) 382-6600 Stephanie Glazer (212) 382-6664 WORLD WIDE WEB ADDRESS: [email protected] http://www.abcny.org COMMUNICATIONS PRESIDENT Andrew J. Martin E. Leo Milonas (212) 382-6713 (212) 382-6700 [email protected] [email protected] CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Michelle Schwartz-Clement (212) 382-6606 Barbara Berger Opotowsky [email protected] (212) 382-6620 [email protected] LAWYER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Eileen Travis GENERAL COUNSEL (212) 382-5787 Alan Rothstein [email protected] (212) 382-6623 [email protected] LEGAL REFERRAL SERVICE Allen J. Charne ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES (212) 626-7373 Robin Gorsline [email protected] (212) 382-6689 LIBRARY [email protected] Richard Tuske ADVERTISING (212) 382-6742 Sharon MacNair [email protected] (212) 382-6630 Copy Services: (212) 382-6711 [email protected] Reference Desk: (212) 382-6666 MEMBERSHIP AND BENEFITS MEETING SERVICES Melissa Halili Nick Marricco (212) 382-6767 (212) 382-6637 [email protected] [email protected] CITY BAR FUND SMALL LAW FIRM CENTER Maria Imperial (212) 382-4751 (212) 382-6678 [email protected] [email protected] F A L L 2 0 0 2 ▼ V O L. 5 7, N O. 4 373 Of Note THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NA- tional Legal Aid and Defender Association, has selected the Association of the Bar of the City of New York as the recipient of the 2002 Harrison Tweed Award. The award is presented each year to bar associations that have made extraordinary efforts to improve legal services availability to poor persons in their communities. The Association was nominated by the Bar Association of San Fran- cisco for its outstanding work in providing free legal services to victims, their families and small businesses affected by the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center. “We are pleased to accept this award on behalf of the entire New York City legal community, including the thousands of attorneys, law firms and private corporations who gave generously of their time and resources to assist people affected by the tragedy,” said Maria L. Imperial, Executive Director of the City Bar Fund. “We would not have been able to under- take this Herculean effort without their support and the support of the many legal services organizations throughout the City.” ❊ THE FOLLOWING NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRS HAVE RECENTLY BEEN AP- pointed for terms begun September 1, 2002. Donald G. Kempf (Enhance Diversity in the Profession); Edward Labaton (Senior Lawyers); Leslie A. Rubin (Sex and Law); David P. Stoelting (Afri- can Affairs); Louis H. Tuchman (Taxation of Business Entities); and Mark S. Wojciechowski (Corporation Law). T H E R E C O R D 374 Recent Committee Reports Construction Law Letter to the Counsel to the Governor re: A. 09672 Act to amend the Lien Law to simplify the process by which a bond is posted to discharge a mechanics lien on a public or private improvement Cooperative & Condominium Law The Application Process for Cooperatives Domestic Violence Task Force Report on Legislation S.7769/A.11870, an act that creates the “peace at home” distinctive license plate program and the domestic violence aware- ness fund Task Force on Downtown Redevelopment Report on Principles for Environmentally Sustainable Development Election Law Report on Legislation S.4913 A/A.8463: an act that amends provisions relating to the canvass of results at polling places with respect to canvass- ing write-in votes Report on Legislation S.7599/A.9654: An act to extend for one year the provisions of chapter 92 of the laws of 2001 relating to the election ballot and canvassing write-in votes Energy Amicus Brief: Commonwealth Edison Company v. United States Family Court & Family Law Report on Legislation S.3430A: An act to establish pretrial dispositional and violation procedures in persons in need of supervision cases Federal Courts Letter to Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules re: Proposed Amend- ment to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Concerning the Citation of Unpublished Opinions F A L L 2 0 0 2 ▼ V O L. 5 7, N O. 4 375 R E C E N T C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T S Federal Legislation Letter to Congress endorsing the enactment of election reform legislation based on the House and Senate versions of H.R. 3295, with comments on voting standards and enforcement Foreign & Comparative Law Selective Bibliography of Legal Dictionaries in English and One or More Other Languages Immigration and Nationality Law Letter to INS Re: Release of Information Regarding Immigration and Natu- ralization Service Detainees in Non-Federal Facilities Insurance Law Federal Role in Terrorism Insurance International Environmental Law Letter to Vicente Fox, President of Mexico re: Murder of Digna Ochoa y Placido International Human Rights Interim Report on the Rule of Law, Democracy and the Protection of Fun- damental Rights in Hong Kong, June 1999 to July 2002 International Security Affairs The Legality and Constitutionality of the President’s Authority to Initiate an Invasion of Iraq Investment Management Regulation Letter to SEC re: File no. S7-17-02, Proposed Amendments to Investment Company Advertising Rules Letter to SEC re: File No. S7-21-02, Certification of Disclosure in Compa- nies’ Quarterly and Annual Reports Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals Letter to Commissioner Mills of New York State Education Dept. Regard- ing Humane Education Report on Legislation S.0402/A.01374: An act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to prohibiting insurers from canceling, refusing to issue or renew, or charging higher premiums for homeowner’s insurance based on the breed of dog owned Report on Legislation S.4730A/A.9599A: An act to amend the Environ- T H E R E C O R D 376 R E C E N T C O M M I T T E E R E P O R T S mental Conservation Law and the State Finance Law, in relation to nui- sance wildlife control operators New York City Affairs Letter to Mayor Bloomberg re: Intro 238 (Changes in the Term Limits Law) Memorandum to the 2002 New York City Charter Commission Securities Regulation Letter to SEC re: File No.S7-22-02; Release Nos. 33-8106, 34-46084, Pro- posed Rule on Additional Form 8-K Disclosure Requirements and Accelera- tion of Filing Date Letter to SEC Regarding Release No. 33-8098, Disclosure in Management’s Dis- cussion and Analysis About the Application of Critical Accounting Policies Sex and Law Column in the National Law Journal: Same Sex Marriage—Law Needs to Catch Up Social Welfare Law Amicus Brief: Wittlinger v. Wing, a brief to the New York State Court of Appeals regarding awarding reasonable attorney’s fees under the New York Equal Access to Justice Act Letter to Michael A. Cardozo, NYC Corporation Counsel, re: New York City’s litigation position concerning WEP workers and civil rights protections Letter to House Representatives re: H.R. 786, a bill to restore eligibility for federal financial aid to students convicted of drug offenses Taxation of Business Entities Letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti with comments on step-trans- action issues in acquisition transactions Trusts, Estates and Surrogate’s Courts Report on Legislation A.10660/S.2397-A: an act to amend the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law, in relation to permitting the grantor of a trust to confer upon trustees the power to make discretionary distributions to themselves as beneficiaries Report on Legislation S.02938/A.10737: an act to amend the Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act, in relation to compensation of attorneys F A L L 2 0 0 2 ▼ V O L.