The freehold buying and selling of residential real estate became legal in Cuba on November 10, 2011, marking a major milestone on the island’s road to economic liberalization. In addition, the Cuban government is encouraging the creation of small businesses and private farming. More than 180,000 “self- employment” licenses have been issued since 2010, and […]
Rights and Remedies Concerning Cuban Residential Property
On my first visit to Cuba, a government taxi drove me to Havana’s Miramar district and dropped me off at the elegant Belgian embassy where I was to interview an official for a law school research project. The receptionist told me to wait outside the door on what looked like a porch or circular veranda. […]
A Survey of Significant Legal Changes During Cuba’s Special Period: Setting Parameters for Change
When Cuba lost the former Soviet Union’s economic support, the island entered what is commonly called the Special Period. Stretching now for over a decade, the Special Period has been marked by material deprivation, ongoing legal and illegal emigration, societal malaise, and government efforts to prop up revolutionary fervor. But the Special Period has also […]
Havana Club: A Case Summary and an Analysis of Selected Legal Issues
In 1996, Havana Club Holding, S.A, and Havana Club International, S.A. (“Plaintiffs”), two corporations jointly owned by Cubaexport1 and the French firm Pernod Ricard, sued Galleon, S.A., Bacardi- Martini USA, Inc., Gallo Wine Distributors, Inc., G.W.D. Holdings, Inc., and Premier Wine and Spirits (“Defendants”) in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District claiming trademark […]
The United States Embargo Against Cuba: Legal Aspects of the Restrictions on Sales of Pharmaceutical Products, as Set Forth in the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992
Notes1 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA The Cuban Democracy Act of 19922 (hereinafter “the CDA”) is but one of several measures adopted over the last three decades that exert economic pressure to effect political change in Cuba. Economic sanctions against the island were adopted in 1962 and, other than the ebb and […]