Carter International Symposium (3rd Intl Symp on Laws & their Applications for Sustainable Development)

Judicial systems around the world may be divided in two major groups: common and civil law system. Common Law systems are mainly used in UK, USA, Canada and the civil law systems are used in Europe and other countries. There are also countries or states/provinces that have mix systems like Quebec where criminal matters use mainly common law system and civil matters use civil law systems and in manty cases both methods of both systems are used interchangeably. A somewhat indirect product of the systems is the way that the judges are appointed or elected. In this paper a comparative analysis of both systems and their elected or appointed judges is carried out with all his advantaged and disadvantages.

The concept of sustainability has been somehow politized in terms of unilaterally extracting it from its core basis. Following the definition of FLOGEN Sustainability Framework the 3 criteria of sustainability that must be reached simultaneously are economic growth, environmental protection, and social development. As per this definition there are 3 factors that can help or hinder sustainability: Science and Technology, Governance and Management and education of civil society. In this paper a depoliticized sensible approach to a balance in environment and energy considerations of sustainability will be presented, depoliticizing its concept.

Drawback is characterized as a special regime, whose scope is to allow the suspension, exemption and refund of some taxes levied on the acquisition of inputs and intermediate products incorporated in the manufacturing process and industrialization of products intended to increase our foreign exchange with their exports.

Companies have long taken environmental and social and governance (ESG) factors into account when managing businesses as a way to reduce risk, address mission and respond to stakeholder priorities.  However, in recent years what has been a rather loose, subjective set of principles has morphed into something different.  Touting good ESG practices can be an important marketing strategy, but critics can point to examples when the marketing hype fell short of reality, so-called “green-washing”.  Other critics question whether non-monetary considerations should be used when considering business decisions or argue that ESG is purely a political tool with no commercial merit.   Many businesses now are believed to be “green-hushing”, meaning that they continue to use the ESG metrics to operate their businesses but are speaking about it less openly.  At the same time, investment mandates for “green” are not going away.  Regulators are taking greater notice of ESG-related disclosures, and the consequences for misstatements are increasing.  Accordingly, for companies managing their ESG compliance, they will need to consider business operations, communications, marketing, strategy and legal issues.  The speaker intends to lead a spirited discussion of the appropriate uses of ESG in business decision-making, risk mitigation and the roles of lawyers in advising clients about these issues.

Human sustainability requires freedom of movement.  Freedom to choose where to live your life and put down roots.  That freedom is restricted by immigration laws and requirements.  Businesses are desperate to find the most talented human resources and most lucrative markets, and individuals are desperate to find the most rewarding employment and environments for themselves and their families.  Both of these needs must be met for human sustainability.  Satisfying these needs often crosses borders, implicating the local immigration systems and authorities.

To better human sustainability, immigration systems must be scrutinized to see what avenues can be enabled to ease freedom of movement.  Foreign entrepreneurs and international businesses must have routes to establish and operate businesses in new global markets, generating revenue and offering employment opportunities locally and globally.  Individuals need feasible ways to obtain visas in a timely manner to accept global employment assignments and to establish themselves in new settings.  More transparency is needed in the visa adjudication process so that all involved understand more clearly the criteria and reasoning used in adjudications.  This will allow applicants to better prepare their visa petitions, which will increase efficiency and effectiveness all around, and will increase the feeling that there is fairness and trust in the immigration system.  Improving immigration systems will improve human sustainability and happiness.

Modern corporate compliance systems have considerably affected the way the modern multinational business corporations work. These systems have replaced the culture of existing corruption and have become significant tools to prevent transnational crime and political corruption, including the replacement of corrupt governments practices that result on the theft of resources from their people and worsen the economic and social development by channelling the money for the enrichment of a few numbers of people. Various examples on the above will be given and proper conclusions will be drawn. 

A PUNISHING and challenging climate change is here. With the global temperature rising - from the melting of the arctic zones to the frequent flooding in the tropics, and cyclical droughts in the deserts of Africa, to the worst desertification in India and China and the sea-level rise in lowland states --- the reality is pervasive and destructive to both poor and rich citizens of the world. Both Developed and Developing countries experiences these destructive weather patterns. No one country is spared from scorching heat and raging waters.

In fact, the global corona virus pandemic and these on-going climate crises has prompted Inger Andersen, the United Nations Environment Chief to say that “Nature is sending us a message” and that “humanity, was placing too many pressures on the natural world with damaging consequences”, and she warned that “failing to take care of the planet meant not taking care of ourselves”.

It has been established that human activities, particularly massive development and infrastructure works caused the temperature rise in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gas emissions from pollutive industries and extensive corporate agricultural activities , as well as motor vehicles pollution indexes have increased for the last five decades. A question maybe asked, What have we, the humanity, done, so far, to address these problems and introduce counter-measures in order to cushion the impact of environmental destruction?

A review and evaluation of the legal frameworks are necessarily important, in order to determine that these dynamic and fast moving changes in nature are effectively addressed, properly or distinctively. Climate control, climate resiliency, disaster preparedness become the byword. Do we really have to live with these cyclical weather patterns or do we make concrete actions to preserve mother earth, including precious lives.

Thus, the following legal frameworks must be identified, clustered and reviewed to pinpoint whether the whole of humanity have instituted reforms and established proper and corrective climate control mechanisms to manage and limit these environmental destruction. These frameworks are as follows: a. International Treaties or Conventions; b. Regional Treaties or Agreements; and c. Domestic or National Laws.

New technology development can easily push borders of existing habit and understanding of the world. With it frequently new previously unthought borders are openly or hiddenly or unconsciously push and this can adversely affect the human rights. In this presentation the author vast experience in human rights protections is used through different examples to make the point that science and technology in their new inventions and discoveries do not go against human rights. A particular case mind reading devises and the landmark ruling of the Chilean Supreme court against a mind-reading device that will have significant repercussions in regulating such devices and protecting “neural rights.” Analysis is carried out and conclusions are drawn.

Twitter, Microsoft, Target, Ebay, Equifax, JPMorgan Chase, Home Depot, First American Financial Corp., Facebook, eBay, Equifax, Heartland Payment Systems, LinkedIn, Marriott International, Yahoo and countless more have all been victims of major cybercrime [1]. Ransomware has become a well-known household term.  How did cyber criminals become so effective so quickly?  How do you protect your mission critical data and intellectual properties?  How much are cyber criminals costing the world and is this problem going to get even worse [2]?

The advanced techniques covered in this lecture can be understood by everyone and applied universally.  You do not need to be an IT guru or data specialist or a security administrator to understand and appreciate these concepts, but once you do have this knowledge you can better identify your weaknesses including the people you hire to protect your most valuable assets [3].  You cannot hire and fire security administrators effectively without knowing the right questions to ask and have an understanding of their mission.

Data Science focuses on the mathematics and statistical relationships to help filter the data and make accurate analysis as raw data can prove deceptive not by design, but by the methods of collection, processing and interpretation.  Analyzing data is its own science for many inherent reasons such as understanding of how to normalize the data using Relational Algebra [1].  The importance of creating precise data structures when handling, processing and manipulating mass amounts of data cannot be understated and can only be achieved accurately using Relational Algebra for a host of reasons.  You must also master how to query the data using standard query language and how to analyze the data using advanced statistical methods such as regression testing, etc.

In this lecture you will see a major universal world-wide problem [2] analyzed from a different prospective.  We will also look at other objective related data [3] [4] to see if the raw data may prove to be misleading prior to initializing our studies. This data you have all seen in raw form and now you will see how a data scientist brakes down and analyzes the underlying data to give new insights and even point to new studies and research.

A sustainably developing world that strives to simultaneously achieve environmental protection, economic development and social development will depend upon more effective and responsive systems for protecting human rights. The author will review his experience in a pair of significant human rights cases in the InterAmerican system and will focus on problems of justice delayed, as a lack of respect of human rights. One case involves the torture of Chilean Air Force officials by leaders of the coup against President Salvador Allende and the other involves marriage equality that also rises from Chile. A detailed analysis will be carried out and proper conclusions will be drawn.

Background:

Amy Antoniolli will speak about the policy success stories from the Illinois Clean Enegy Jobs Act ("CEJA"), which was legislation based on sustainability. CEJA, passed in 2021, includes a first-in-the-nation fleet transformation under the Illinois Coal to Solar program and Energy Transition Act. This framework allows the fleet to develop solar and energy storage at nine existing plant sites in a way that supports equitable clean energy jobs and transitions communities dependent on a legacy coal fleet to renewable energy.  CEJA also created additional incentives to develop renewable energy facilities on brownfields, including former ash ponds at coal-fired power plants, to further support a just transition for communities dependent on revenue from a legacy coal fleet.

Learning Objectives: 

Learn about one of the most equitable clean energy jobs bills in history from a firm that participated in its drafting.  Effective September 15, 2021, the Climate & Equitable Jobs Act sets an ambitious decarbonization goal, requiring Illinois to be reliant on 100% renewable energy by 2050 and is currently in the height of the implementation process. The legislation also created the Illinois Coal to Solar program to transition communities reliant on Illinois’ coal fleet to carbon-free sources of energy.

Methodology: 

The CEJA created a pathway for Illinois to build a diverse clean energy workforce; build wealth, capacity and employment opportunities in minority and women-owned businesses; and ensure that the benefits of energy efficiency and clean energy programs reach environmental justice communities and communities that have experienced historic disinvestment.  The presenter will prepare Powerpoint slides to illustrate and describe case studies, summarize the statewide incentives for transitioning impacted communities and increasing diversity in clean jobs, and explain how Illinois has been a leader in equitable energy policy.