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LEGAL
PRACTITIONER ON THREE CONTINENTS ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ JURISDICTIONS
NORTH AMERICA: All
New York City and State Courts, US Federal Courts, and Organization of American States' Tribunals.
EUROPE: All Courts and Tribunals of the European Union; Council of Europe Tribunals.
AFRICA: All Courts of the Republic of South Africa (including Township Courts).
SOME
DECISIONS OF NOTE
1) AFRICA - South Africa
Several
important reported decisions in South African Criminal and Civil Laws, including first impression cases of:
State
v. Kharnyapa 1979(1)SA 824, before the Chief Justice of South Africa – Established the application of English Law of
Evidence principles in South African murder trials.
Ex Parte Jones: In re Jones v. Jones 1984(4)SA 725(WLD);
Private International Law – Concerned a South African spouse married abroad under a regime allowing her to retain her
separate domicile and the jurisdiction of South African Courts to hear her divorce action.
2)
EUROPE - France (International)
L.C.B. v. UK 1998 - 111 R.J.D. No. 76; 1390 (European
Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg) – Regarding the genetic effects of parental exposure to ionizing radiation on children
as violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.
McGinley & Egan v. UK 1998 - 111 R.J.D. No.76;1334(European
Court of Human Rights, Strasbourg) – Regarding the long-term health effects of ionizing radiation exposure on former
troops as violations of the European Convention on Human Rights.
3)
EUROPE - Britain
Lord Advocate's Reference No. 1 of 2000: 2001 SLT 507 (High Court
of Justiciary) – Regarding the extent to which an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the illegality
of nuclear weapons constitutes a defence in Scottish Criminal Law.
4) EUROPE - Belgium (International)
Carswell v. Denmark 2007 -Petition 720/2002
(European Parliament, Brussels) - Parliament in plenary session overwhelmingly voted in favour of a Petition requiring
Denmark to comply with an EU Directive for medical monitoring of former Danish workers exposed to radiation in Greenland during
a radiological emergency. Only third time in the Parliament's history that plenary voting procedure adopted to determine
a petition.
5) EUROPE - Luxembourg
(International) Lind
v. EU Commission Case T- 5/09 (European Court of Justice)- an autonomous action for wrongful death in which the court failed
to find that the Commission's refusal to enforce member state compliance with an EU Directive for precautionary uniform health
requirements, was "unlawful", in an area of human welfare in which the Commission did not possess unlimited
discretion to refuse enforcement of EU law. 6) NORTH AMERICA - United States (New York)
Hochberg
v. Davis 171 AD 2nd.192; 179
AD 2nd. 372; 575 NYS 2nd. 311 – Affirmed protections for procedural rights of litigants by asserting limitations on
powers of State Supreme Court Judges.
Barclays Bank v. M & M Electronic Associates,
Inc. 185 AD 2nd. 580; 586 NYS 2nd. 384 – Regarding modifications of a security agreement for corporate financing by
subsequent actions of the parties.
7) NORTH AMERICA - United States (Federal)
Osuna v. GEICO, No 14-1844 cv, (US
Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, New York), in an unpublished August 3rd. 2015 decision the court declined
to find a New York State law which automatically excludes spousal injury- liability from all home and auto insurance
policies, violated Art. 1, sec. 9 of the US Constitution as a legislative Bill of Attainder, though the State's law is based
on an indiscriminate finding that all married persons have a propensity to commit fraud. Spierer, et al. v. Federated Department
Stores, Inc., et al. 328 F 3rd. 829; (US Federal Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Cincinnati); Regarding the scope
of Constitutional limitations on US Bankruptcy Courts’ jurisdiction over state claims. Carswell et al v E.Pihl & Son et al 595 US 5: Order List; (US Supreme Court; Docket No 21-675;
2022). In a further marginalization of injured workers' rights, the US Supreme Court refused to resolve conflicting decisions
of nine US Federal Appeal Courts over which Federal court has jurisdiction to review denials of workers' wage loss claims,
and left standing a lower court decision, (Carswell 999 F 3rd. 18), allowing US Labor Department Directors to oppose such
claims as co- defendants with employers, requiring injured workers to fight both the Federal Government and their employers
for wage- losses. BAR ADMISSIONS
Europe: 1973, Scottish Bar, UK - Advocate (Barrister). Member of the Scottish
College of Justice (est. 1532).
Africa: 1976, Johannesburg Bar - Advocate (Barrister).
North America:
1983, New York State Bar: 1988, United States Federal Bar: 1995, United States Supreme Court Bar.
LAW DEGREES
1970 LL.B. (Honors), Aberdeen University School of Law (est. 1496), UK.
1975 LL.M., University of Cape Town School of Law, South Africa
(Original Thesis on Volenti Tort Defence).
1976 LL.B., University of South Africa (UNISA) Law School,
South Africa.
LEGAL BARS AND ASSOCIATIONS;
Faculty of Advocates, Edinburgh,
Scotland; South African Bar, (Johannesburg); US Federal Bar; New York State Bar; Former Member, New York County
Lawyers Association (US Federal Courts and Foreign & International Law Committees); New York City Bar Association, European
Affairs Committee; Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, New York (Board Member). International Dispute Resolution Panel of
American Arbitration Association (Former Member). Justice, UK.
REPORTS
American
Bar Association Committee on Human Rights: "1985 Riots, Damage and Suffering in South Africa." New York County Lawyers
Association: "US Federal Diversity Jurisdiction", "War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia", "International
law and US House Resolution 568", "Legality of North Korea's October 2006 Underground Nuclear Detonation."
UN Report on "Silent Genocide; The Continuing Plutonium Threat to Inuit Mothers and Their Foetuses."
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