Sula Costa Daily NYC

THE WHITE HOUSE

What you need to know about the Supreme Court vacancy: With the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, there is now a vacancy that must be filled on the Supreme Court -- and President Obama has a Constitutional responsibility to nominate someone to take his place. The Supreme Court is a vital institution of American democracy and, since the founding of our country, the President of the United States has had the responsibility to appoint a Justice to the Supreme Court every time -- and any time -- there is a vacancy on the bench. It then falls to the United States Senate to confirm that nominee before he or she can take her seat on our nation's highest court. As President Obama said, "The Constitution is pretty clear about what's supposed to happen now." Watch his remarks: The confirmation of a Supreme Court Justice is a solemn responsibility that the President and the Senate share under the U.S. Constitution. It is not a political opportunity that reflects "left" or "right," Democrat or Republican. It's a serious obligation to make sure that an indisputably qualified person of integrity is nominated and confirmed to sit on the highest court in the land. The President plans to offer his nominee for the Supreme Court to the Senate -- and the Senate has more than enough time to confirm that nominee. Here are the facts: FACT: Six Justices have been confirmed in a presidential election year since 1900. For more than two centuries, it has been standard practice for Congress to confirm a president’s Supreme Court nominee, whether in a presidential election year or not. Of the six justices confirmed since 1900, three have been Republicans. The most recent Justice to be confirmed in an election year was Justice Kennedy -- appointed by President Reagan -- who was confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Congress in February of 1988. FACT: Every nominee has received a vote within 125 days of nomination. Since 1975, the average time from nomination to confirmation is 67 days. In fact, since 1875, every nominee has received a hearing or a vote. The longest time before confirmation in the past three decades was 99 days, for Justice Thomas, and the last four Justices, spanning two Administrations, were confirmed in an average of 75 days. The Senate has almost a full year -- more than 300 days -- to consider and confirm a nominee. FACT: It will be harmful and create unsustainable uncertainty if Congress fails to act on the President's nominee. The Supreme Court could go the better part of two Terms with a vacancy if the Senate rejects its Constitutional responsibility. It'd be unprecedented for the Court to go that long with an empty seat. Here's why it's harmful: The Court’s 4-4 decisions have no value in establishing precedent on which future decisions can rely. They also cannot establish uniform nationwide rules. That means if multiple courts ruled differently on an issue before it arose at the Supreme Court, a 4-4 ruling would leave those different rules in place in different states. The result is an unsustainable uncertainty -- for the law, for individual liberties, and for our economy. Learn more and stay up to date at wh.gov/SCOTUS.

https://my.barackobama.com/Stand-For-A-Fair-Nomination-Process  Hunton & Williams LLP Record Year For Investor-State Arbitrations Stresses Call For International Investors to Proactively Assess Their Dispute Resolution Options The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes landed a record 52 new registrations in 2015, cementing its status as a preferred forum for the resolution of disputes between international investors and host States. It also signals a larger continuing trend by international investors to look to bilateral or multilateral investment protection mechanisms in order to resolve disputes. Moreover, the expansion of both bilateral investment treaties (“BITs”) and multilateral protections, such as the Energy Charter Treaty and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, provide investors with greater opportunities to structure their investments, both at the planning stages as well as through strategic restructuring, through a number of subsidiary entities to take advantage of the different treaties available. Read more... Read the full alert Gustavo J. Membiela John Jay Range Román Ortega-Cowan International Arbitration and Transnational Litigation Business Litigation Latin America Hunton & Williams LLP 1111 Brickell Avenue, Suite 2500 Miami, FL 33131Visit Hunton.com Atlanta | Austin | Bangkok | Beijing | Brussels | Charlotte | Dallas | Houston | London | Los Angeles McLean | Miami | New York | Norfolk | Raleigh | Richmond | San Francisco | Tokyo | Washington      James S. Rosenstein - Executive Director - Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce and Carlos Costa,coordinator of Getulio Vargas Fundation projects that promote the economic and social development of Brazil /NYC/  Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce.       LIDE Event/Harvard Hotel/NYC/