News Scrapbook 1985

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune (Cir. D. 127,454)

NOV 191985

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San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Dally rranacrlpt (Cir. O. 7,415) ov

9 1985

Robert Walden and Connie Stevens at Crime Stoppers Gala

George Saadeh and Judith Ross with Crime Stoppers Gala host Steve Garvey

Deans' Ball guests Sheldon Krantz and wife, Carol

USD President Author Hallstrom Hughes at Deans' Ball

Mexican AttorneyCites Good Graces OfJudges

Photcs by Howard IJpm

Eileen Vander Laan, Laura Lee W. Woods, and Paa! and Lucy Whittier at Whittier Institute din- ner

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Jan Vaine and Roger Norm

Leonor Craig, left, chats with Dian Peet at Salva- tion Army reception

Tribune photos by Jim Baird Dave Slccardi, Bill Romero ilnd John Gibbins

Kathryn lacocca at Whittier din11er

Symphony Hall

San Diego, CA {San Diego Co.) Evening Tribune {Cir. D. 127,454)

to get that far, the attorney must get the written approval from sev• era! layers of bureaucracy. One way, Siqueiros said, is to go through diplomatic channels for th Mexican consul's authentica- tion of a state Judge's signature granting approval That, he noted, 1s ery slow because of the lack of civil law treaties between the two countries A second way - that takes only four er five mon hs - 1s to send the request to the Secretariat of Foniign Relations, who forward it to the federal or state supreme court, which in turn ends it on to the proper local judge. "Another possibility." Siqueiros mused, "would perhaps expedite the process in the future " That would be if the United States were to sign certain treaties focusing on civil judgments and arbitration. The two nations signed a Treaty on Enforcement of Penal Judg- ments in 1977, he noted, but that doesn't cover civil cases. And both are part of a 1958 United Nations treaty to recognize and enforce ar- bitrat10n awards among nearly 70 participating countries. But the Interamerican Conven- tion on International Arbitration - the "Panama Treaty" among Western Hemisphere nations - bears only Mexico's signature, not the United States'. A waiting Action It has been awaiting Congres- sional action for two years, Si- queiros said, and has the support of the American Bar Association and private enterprise. The Hague Convention, he add- ed, would require a finding that a judge h d proper jurisdiction over the ma ter to be enforced in a foreign court. He said the U.S. now has a "long arm" policy that, if a defendant lives or owns property m one state, jurisdiction may rest ..-! there. Germany has an even broader policy, Siqueiros said. He recalled that champion French skier Jean-Claude Kiley was once held to answer in a German court for a debt claim, simply because he'd left a pair of short in German gym- nasium locker. "That is what we call exborbi- tant jurisdiction," Siqueiro com- mented wryly. "That judgment would not be enforced m other countries." He predicted that closer U.S.- Mexico treaties would not become a reality through the end of this cen- tury, based on past performance by both nations. But he said he was more optimistic that more and more disputes will be resolved through arbitration.

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But judgment in a case seen as in conflict with the public interest or laws of Mexico would not be en- forced, Siqu<>iros added. Example: a Las Vegas casino might wm a law. uit for payment of a player's gambling debt. But a Mexican judge wouldn"t require payment, even though gambling was legal in Nevada. "It would he against the Mexican public policy to enforce Judgment on a debt from gambling," Si- queiros explained. "Other areas of law might not be so black and whitf>. Then, the court has to decide what is public policy, and those rulings can be variable from place to place, and from time to time." Professor Bratton noted that "public policy" law is out of favor in California, which would enforce a Nevada gambling debt judgment. "Our courts would only refuse in a ca~e that was gro sly unfair or immoral," Bratton said, "such as the judgment of a country with racial, religious or sexual bias in its justice system. These are fertile areas for an American lawyer to attack." A second step in gaining en- forcement of a judgment in Mexico, Siqueiros went on, is making sure the original complaint was brought "in personam" - again.t person rather than propert} . Third, he said, is that the defen- dant must have been properly served with the complaint under Mexican standards. That is, a court official must serve the defendant in person, not by mail as permitted in the United States. A fourth requirement is that jud~ent he final, with no appeal pending. Siqueiroq noted that, while Mex- ican judges do not review the merits of the original case, they must make sure the judgment is authentic and properly translated into Spanish. 'Official Translator'

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rHRb Lat·n American food scientists seek piec~of biotech pie, conference told By ~ii?ocke fornia at San Diego campus. The in- transfer technology (from rich to Tribune Science Editor stitute celebrated its first birthday poor nations), but to develop technol- The booming biotechnology busi- yesterday. ogy for the benefit of everybody." ness promises sweeping changes in Workshop speakers generally ar- Jorge Vargas, director of the Mex- farming, and Latin America wants to gued that Central and South Ameri- ico-United States Law Institute at make sure it gets a piece of the ac- can nations are intellectually capa- the u.o·versity of San Diego.._howev- tion in research and development as ble of contributing to the worldwide er, objected to "this rosy picture that well as application of the new tech- research aimed at tapping genetic is totally detached from Third World niques. engineering and related technologies reality." "We don't want to get left behind for food production. Faced with widespread hunger, m developing these new technolo- They said the region is thinly seed- malnutrition and illiteracy and gies," said Oscar Grau of the Univer- ed with world-class scientists and a drowning in foreign debts, few coun- sity of La Plata in Argentina. "We few top-notch research centers, but tries can give much priority to re- don't want to have lo buy them total- they are chronically short of money search that offers only long-range re- ly. We want to share in the develop- to keep pioneering research going. suits, he said. ment and the use of these technolo- "We have a lot of very good sci- gies." ence struggling with not very good He proposed formal cooperation or financing," said Daniel Goldstein of "networking" of the best laboratories Argentina's National University of throughout Latin America and urged Buenos Aires. "seed money" support from interna- For American business ''to finance tional agencies. molecular biology in Latin Ameri- "Latin America can get involved ca," he said, "could be very good in these technologies and help to de- business. It's a huge present and po- velop them so we can get a share of tential market." the benefits," he told the concluding Goldstein also noted that volatile session of a two-day workshop on politics have greatly damaged the Biotechnology and Food Systems in scientific effort of some nations, in- Latin America yesterday. eluding bis own, which only recently The conference was sponsored by emerged from a long military dicta- the independent Institute of the torship. Americas on the University of Cali- Peter Salk, executive vice presi- .r,

lnfiation Rate Gunzcrodt pointed out that a foreign country's inflation rate is an important con iderat1on in fi!. ing suits. H noted that damag eought when a complaint is filed could be of quite a different value by the timethee11 1s won "In Cahforma, the currency 1~ (Continued on Pa A) (Continued from Page lAJ.2,q/?~ convt>rted on the day judgment is recognized by the local court," he • aid "You could lo e 20 25 percent of th value ov r two yea if the judgment w hand d down m G rm ny.'' iqu iros ind1c tcd that if Amer• ican lawyers carefully follow the requirements of Mexican law, they can expect enforc m nt of n judg- ment agamst Mex1c n r ident. But fulfilling thos requirements can be tricky . The first t p, he said, ,s to d termine which M x1c11n law ap- plies to the ituntlon That answer may be found m the Federal Code of Cavil Procedure· the Code of Civil Procedun, of the FedPral Dis- trict; or the civil code of each of Mexico's 31 t11tes All demand that whatever foreign 1 w 1s to be enforced in M xico must comply with Mexico's tatutes. Some states may also grant recogmtion of n Judgment where federal I w is ,lent, Si- queiro 11aid The plai 11tiff then has a choice of bi;ingmg Bllll for recogmtion of a judgment 1n ither federal or tale court. He noted that the Mexican Supreme Court t n precedent on tatc•s' rights in ruling that a Sonora court cou Id r(•cognize the divorce decree of Wilham C. Gret•ne, wher no federal 1 w ex- i t d.

, dent of Westbridge Agricultural Products Inc., a biotech company in San Diego, said the infant field "is one area in which these countries can be at the forefront." He said Brazilian researchers are looking for the active ingredients in a plant that's been cultivated along- side crops as a living insecticide by generations of Peruvian farmers. "And then there's the other side of things, not the high tech but the low tech," he said. Other researchers in Brazil devised a simple strategy that combines blue plastic and brown mulch to protect strawberries from pests. "The combination of brown, blue and green (leaves) repels aphids," he said. Mexican businessman-en- trepreneur Jacobo Zaidenweber said his nation considers high technology an integral part of the industrializa- tion that is seen as an escape from disastrous economic problems. "In biotechnology we believe we have a role to play," he said. "There is a definite place for a joint venture with foreign investment, especially from North America, not just to

"That can be a source of delay, if the defendant objects to the plain- tiff's translation." he stated. "The court may then designate an of- ficial translator." He also explained what channels an American attorney must go through in petitioning Mexican courts. For instance, a lawyer may want a Mexican citizen's deposition to uHe in a trial here. A judge in Mex- ico would do the questioning. But