Oral Statement at the January 31, 2010 GSP Hearing
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If I were state the single largest flaw in the IIPA compliant it would be this:
A failure to state a rule upon which relief can be granted.
As a law professor, I teach my students that legal analysis requires the explanation of all the rules and sub-rules – the guides to interpretation – that support the conclusion. Papers that merely quote the statute and then state the facts and conclusion are given low marks. Where you are suggesting a new rule of interpretation that is necessary for your outcome – you must explain and justify that rule.
Here, you are presented with quite a conundrum. The IIPA accepts that the US complies with international law with a fair use clause in addition to many specific exceptions, but argues that these same factors render the South Africa bill a violation of international law.
It would receive a low mark in my class because it fails to state a rule of interpretation that can lead you that result and be applied even handedly to other cases.
