GBurch1@aol.com wrote:
> Anders wrote:
> > Maybe it could be improved if there was a better way of accumulating
> > and learning from such decisions on a global scale (a bit like how I
> > think politicians might have use for a database showing the results of
> > decisions similar to ones they are considering). This is of course the
> > job of the historians.
>
> One idea behind having a tiered system of appellate courts is that "global"
> issues become refined into fundamental questions and then that their
> resolution can be applied across the whole system back at the lower levels.
> One idea that Jim Bennett and I have discussed is the need for an
> international level of operation for the Anglo common law system. Of course,
> divorcing the notion of "law" from that of "sovereignty" would be necessary
> to do this - a step most extropians have taken long ago, but which most of
> the world seems amazingly ill-prepared to consider.
Actually, not necessarily. This is an area where private law is leading
the way. The ICBO (International Congress of Building Officials) is a
international body of building and fire inspectors who convene to
compile, based on science research, real disasters, etc. revisions to
the ICBO model building, mechanical, electrical, and fire codes. This
code is not in itself law, but it is used as a model by which states and
countries around the world revise and improve their own building codes
(or institute them in places that did not formerly have them. The ICBO
has no sovereign authority, but it has acquired such a reputation in its
field that most states, counties and cities I've come in contact with
will typically adopt their recommendations outright, or modify them
slightly depending on local conditions.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:40 MDT