Preface

We take great pleasure in presenting this supplemental volume to the American Journal of Comparative Law (AJCL) containing the United States national reports to the Twentieth International Congress of Comparative Law, to be held in Fukuoka, Japan, from July 22 to 28, 2018, under the auspices of the International Academy of Comparative Law. The national reports have been prepared on the topics selected by the International Academy and respond to questionnaires promulgated by the general reporters appointed for each specific topic by the International Academy. We trust that these reports provide an interesting snapshot of U.S. law at the current time and a sound basis for comparison with other legal orders with respect to the important subjects the International Academy has chosen for study. Topics covered range from issues, such as climate change liability and data protection on the Internet, of particular twenty-first-century relevance, to classic concerns of property law and the commons. Other reports look at fundamental questions of governance, specifically, constitutional amendment and judicial deference to administrative agencies. Other reports address important matters of procedure—anti-suit injunctions and choice-of-court agreements—while yet other reports address significant regulatory concerns with corporate groups and the cruise-line industry. Yet another report examines a topic (the civil status of transsexual and transgender people) reflective of significant cultural change. Finally, as appropriate to a comparative law congress, other reports examine important examples of the globalization of law (reference to the UNIDROIT principles) and legal culture (bilingual legal education). In recognition of the fact that, for better or worse, electronic delivery of these reports is far more important than hard-copy print for most of those who read and use them, this supplemental issue of the AJCL is being delivered only in electronic format, not in a hard-copy version. Regular subscribers to the AJCL will already be used to accessing the reports in this fashion, and for the convenience of all those attending the Fukuoka Congress, it is expected that the reports will also be available during the Congress on the website for the American Society of Comparative Law. A collection of articles like this Supplement is the product of many hands, and we have a large number of people to thank. First and foremost, we thank the authors of these national reports for their hard work in producing the reports and for their cheerful patience in the face of our occasional hectoring with respect to deadlines, word limitations, and form requirements. Second, we thank the Articles Editor of the AJCL, Amber Lynch. Finally, we thank the Editors-in-Chief with whom we have worked, Professor Helge Dedek at McGill and Professor Franz H.G. Werro at Georgetown.

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