"Takings International" Panel Report

My ABA State & Local Government Law colleague Andy Gowder has posted on his blog Grounded, a report and summary of the recent Miami panel discussion of Takings International: A Comparative Perspective on Land Use Regulations and Compensation Rights (Mar. 2010; $95 regular price; $75 for SLG members). 

Takings International is a comparative study of how 13 jurisdictions worldwide treat what we in the U.S. call "regulatory takings." Visit this page for the Table of Contents and a pdf of Chapter I (scroll to the bottom of the page). Our book review is here.

I concur with Andy's assessment that it was a fascinating and informative session (and I disclaim any bias resulting from the fact I served as moderator).

The panelists highlighted the issues discussed in the book, and Andy reports:

Professor Alterman began her remarks by pointing out that though no other country comes close to the United States in the amount of litigation, academic writing and public media generated on the issue of takings, it does not have the broadest compensation rights. In fact, the US is generally in the middle of the pack, with Poland, Germany, Sweden, Israel, and the Netherlands offering significantly more to the landowner in compensation for taking of property by the government, with the Netherlands, interestingly, having the highest rate of compensation.

Read the entirety of Andy's report here.

Along with me and Professor Alterman, the panel included Professor Russell Brown (University of Alberta) and Professor Bryan Schwartz (University of Manitoba) who gave details and criticisms of Canada's approach, Professor David Callies (University of Hawaii) discussing the Asia and Pacific approaches, and Professor Tom Roberts (Wake Forest University) comparing our homegrown system.

Professor Brown has promised a blog post with further thoughts upon his return home. We will link to it when it goes up. Update: here's a link to Professor Brown's post on the Faculty Blog (U. Alberta). See also Professor Brown's comment to this post, which I have copied here:

Thanks for this post. In fact, I blogged (very quickly) the Takings International session later that same day. See http://ualbertalaw.typepad.com/faculty/2010/04/takings-international.html

As you will see, it prompted an exchange. The commentator is the co-editor of a leading Canadian text on Government Liability, to which I contribute the chapter on "Takings".

I would like to do something more substantial, but am scrambling to get some stuff done before heading out of the country again in 2 weeks.

Love your blog, by the way. And thanks, Andy, for a great post. The one little correction I'd make is that the international law obligations are applicable as such, and not by virtue of Canada's membership in the OAS, which is just one of the sources of those various obligations.

With best wishes to all,
Russ

PS - think kindly of me - it has snowed 6" here since I got back from Miami.