General Principles of Commercial Law is a concise compendium written specifically for non-law students. Written by experienced commercial law lecturers in the Department of Mercantile Law at the University of South Africa, it has been a prescribed text for undergraduate non-law students at various South African tertiary institutions for the past 28 years.

General Principles of Commercial Law provides students with a succinct exposition of the general principles of commercial law. It covers a wide range of topics influenced by the registration requirements of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors.

The ninth edition has been updated to reflect recent statutory and other developments in commercial law and includes:

• A revised chapter on credit agreements to reflect recent amendments to the National Credit Act 34 of 2005.
• A new chapter 24 that deals with various aspects of banking law, including a discussion of selected aspects of both the Banks Act 94 of 1990 and the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017; an introduction to the principles of indigenous banking law; and the important aspect of financial inclusion.
• An expanded chapter on methods of payment, which includes a discussion of selected modern types of digital payment and other developments in the sphere of payments, including cryptocurrencies.

This book contains the most detailed multi-jurisdictional analysis of directors' conflicts available drawing together relevant case law, codes and statutory regulation from the law applying to directors of companies incorporated under the UK Companies Acts, with extensive reference to the law in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand. The book provides comprehensive analysis of the conflicts faced by directors and includes the important areas of conflicts of interest, conflicts of duties, unauthorised profits, corporate opportunities, multiple directorships, nominee directorships, and conflicts involving stakeholders' interests. Difficult aspects of these topics are analysed with reference to the laws of a range of common law jurisdictions. The extensive multi-jurisdictional analysis allows solutions to be presented in relation to difficult legal issues and enables clarification of the legal approach. In addition to detailed coverage and analysis of general law duties, the specific statutory duties are outlined and analysed including those concerning related party transactions. The UK Corporate Governance Code, and Guidance on Board Effectiveness, issued by the FRC in July 2018 are covered extensively. The book provides detail on fiduciary theory, the reach of the term 'director', consequences of a breach, remedies, authorisation and the role of disclosure. It also contains a detailed table of key cases concerning corporate opportunities which includes the pertinent facts, whether there was a breach of directors' duties, and a summary of the important factors in the decision made. The cases are featured in order from instances representing clear breach to those in which no breach was found. The book is significant in its thorough coverage of general law and statutory duties relating to conflicts, and its clarification of the scope and application of currently complex and uncertain duties. It provides clear guidance to academics, practitioners, directors and regulators in each of the jurisdictions on the regulation of conflicts of interest and the implementation of good regulatory practice. This is a key reference work on this important and dynamic area of company law which provides careful analysis of the law set in a practical context.

This book explores current developments in transnational commercial and consumer law. It features essays written by leading experts, many of who have taken part in the negotiation and formulation of the international instruments they discuss here. The contributors look at issues arising from the profound changes that globalization is having on the legal norms governing commercial and consumer transactions, both domestic and transnational. They consider how relations between private actors, state regulators, and national courts are being completely reconfigured. This, in turn, generates pressures for legal harmonization and creates opportunities for new national and transnational legal norms and procedures to develop. The contributions address both the dynamics and the substance of these developments. Topics included are the UNCITRAL Model Law on secured transactions and on cross-border insolvency, the ICC Uniform Customs and Practices of Documentary Credits (UCP 600), and the dispute resolution mechanism and practices of the World Trade Organization. The content was formerly presented as papers at the 18th Biennial Meeting of the International Academy of Commercial and Consumer Law (the International Academy) at Kyushu University, Japan. Overall, this book provides readers with a solid theoretical foundation and strong familiarity with the practice of law and international commerce, offering realistic and practical conclusions.

Secured transactions law has been subjected to a close scrutiny over the last two decades. One of the main reasons for this is the importance of availability of credit and the consequent need to reform collateral laws in order to improve access to finance. The ability to give security effectively influences not only the cost of credit but also, in some cases, whether credit will be available at all. This requires rules that are transparent and readily accessible to non-lawyers as well as rules that recognise the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. This book critically engages with the challenges posed by inefficient secured credit laws. It offers a comparative analysis of the reasons and the needs for a secured transactions law reform, as well as discussion of the steps taken in many common law, civil law and mixed law jurisdictions. The book, written under the auspices of the Secured Transactions Law Reform Project, informs the debate about reform and advances novel arguments written by world renowned experts that will build upon the existing literature, and as such will be of interest to academics, legal practitioners and the judiciary involved in secured transactions law around the world. The text considers reform initiatives that have taken place up to the end of April 2016. It has not been possible to incorporate events since then into the discussion. However, notable developments include the banks decree passed by the Italian Government on 29th June 2016, and the adoption of the Model Law on Secured Transactions by UNCITRAL on 1st July 2016.

This fourth edition of Sir Peter Coulson's highly regarded work on construction adjudication, widely considered to be the leading authority in the field, continues to provide comprehensive analysis of the law and practice of adjudication in construction and engineering disputes. Thoroughly revised with reference to over 80 new adjudication cases, the new edition of this popular title also provides an analysis of the increase in 'smash and grab' payment claims brought by contractors based on the procedural omissions of the employer. The book has also expanded to cover developments in the Technology and Construction Court's (TCC) practice and procedure for dealing with 'smash and grab' claims, and includes practical guidance from the TCC and Commercial Court as to the necessary ethical principles to be adopted by adjudicators. This work is the definitive guide to the law and practice of construction adjudication, making it an essential reference work for all those involved with construction law.

Franchising: The Key to Rapid Business Growth is essential reading for anyone hoping to expand a business through business format franchising, or to inject life into an existing franchise. Regardless of your level of experience, this book will help you with every aspect of franchising: calculating costs, finding franchisees, addressing legal issues, avoiding pitfalls, expanding overseas and more. The inclusion of some template franchise agreements is an added bonus. Franchising demands forethought and hard work, but the rewards, if the franchisor is prepared and determined, can be phenomenal.

This book explores the potential benefits and disadvantages of geographical indication (GIs) registration schemes, analyzing the utility of GI registrations for the development and promotion of regional economies, both in national and international markets. The book draws on the van Caenegem, Cleary & Drahos Australian Provenance Report, along with the valuable empirical data collected in connection with it. The book situates the rural development question in an international context, presenting several case studies from Italy, France and Morocco, New Zealand and Australia. The book contains various chapters focused on comparing regulatory structures in various relevant jurisdictions and drawing on other countries' experiences. It contains significant contributions from industry actors with extensive experience in regional branding initiatives and GI-related policy issues. Progressive in structure, the book starts from the 'big picture' level before moving down to the local and concrete scale. Geographical indications of Australian products are vital both in domestic and overseas markets by accurately representing the origin and quality of niche agricultural products. Thus, with a particular focus on Australia, the book promotes the assessment of geographical indications as potential regional assets that will help producers develop local quality indicators that will serve as public goods for successive generations of producers.

This edited volume looks at supreme courts in China and the West. It examines the differences and similarities between the Supreme People's Court of Mainland China and those that follow Western models. It also offers a comparative study of a selection of supreme courts in Europe and Latin America. The contributors argue that the Supreme Courts should give guidance to the development of the law and provide legal unity. For China, the Chinese author argues, that therefore there should be more emphasis on the procedure for reopening cases. The chapters on Western-style supreme courts argue that there should be adequate access filters; the procedure of reopening cases is considered to be problematic from the perspective of the finality of the administration of justice. In addition, the authors discuss measures that allow supreme courts in both regions to deal with their existing caseload, to reduce this caseload, and to avoid divergences in the case law of the supreme court. This volume offers ideas that will help supreme courts in both the East and the West to remove unmanageable caseloads. As a result, these courts will be better able to assist in the interpretation and clarification of the law, to provide for legal unity, and to give guidance to the development of the law.

Capital Markets Union in Europe analyses the legal and economic implications of the European Commission's plans to form a Capital Markets Union (CMU) in Europe, which will have a major impact on financial markets and institutions both in the region and beyond. A detailed introductory chapter provides a broad overview of the various aspects and challenges of the CMU proposals, whilst thematically grouped chapters cover the following areas: (i) general aspects, (ii) Brexit, (iii) financing innovation, (iv) raising capital on the capital markets, (v) fostering retail and institutional investment, (vi) leveraging banking capacity to support the wider economy, (vii) facilitating cross-border investing, and (viii) comparative aspects of capital market integration. Written by world renowned experts in the fields of banking and capital markets, including respected academics, with broad practical experience, and leading practitioners, Capital Markets Union in Europe provides high-quality analysis of the legal and economic issues in a practical context.

In this new book, Hayk Kupelyants examines sovereign debt litigation before the English and New York courts. The book sets out parties' litigation choices at various stages of proceedings and provides the legal background against which parties to a sovereign bond may wish to negotiate. The book offers an exhaustive account of litigation tactics available to bondholders and sovereign debtors alike. The book is unique in the breadth of its coverage. It examines issues of jurisdiction and choice of law at the preliminary stages of litigation, substantive challenges of various sorts to sovereign debt restructurings and to the repayment of bonds on merits, and enforcement of final judgments against the state and its assets in the post-judgment phase. This is a systematic explanation and critical evaluation of a difficult area of law, with regard to the current state of the law and key provisions of sovereign bond documents.

This volume explores how societies are addressing challenging questions about the relationship between expression, traditional and societal values, and the transformations introduced by new information communications technologies. It seeks to identify alternative approaches to the role of speech and expression in the organization of societies as well as efforts to shape the broader global information society. How have different societies or communities drawn on the ideas of philosophers, religious leaders or politicians, both historical and contemporary, that addressed questions of speech, government, order or freedoms and applied them, with particular attention to applications in the digital age? The essays include a wide variety of cultural and geographic contexts to identify different modes of thinking. The goal is to both unpack the 'normative' internet and free expression debate and to deepen understanding about why certain internet policies and models are being pursued in very different local or national contexts as well as on a global level.

Das essential stellt auf kompakte und ubersichtliche Weise die Grundzuge des Staatsorganisationsrechts der Bundesrepublik Deutschland dar. Mike Wienbracke erlautert neben grundlegenden Begriffen wie "Staat" und "Verfassung" die Staatsstrukturprinzipien des Grundgesetzes, die obersten Staatsorgane des Bundes sowie die Staatsfunktionen. Der Leser erhalt damit einen Einblick u.a. in folgende Themen: (indirekte und direkte) Demokratie, Republik, Rechtsstaat, Bundesstaat und Sozialstaat; Bundestag, Bundesrat, Bundesregierung, Bundesprasident und Bundesverfassungsgericht; Gesetzgebung, vollziehende Gewalt und Rechtsprechung; Verfassungsanderung, Ruckwirkung, Verhaltnismassigkeitsgrundsatz, soziale Sicherheit und Gerechtigkeit, Wahlrechtsgrundsatze, 5%-Klausel, Grundmandatsklausel, UEberhang- und Ausgleichsmandate, Immunitat und Indemnitat, konstruktives Misstrauensvotum, Vertrauensfrage, Gewaltenteilung, Gesetzgebungskompetenz, Gesetzgebungsverfahren, Einspruchs- und Zustimmungsgesetze.

The book offers a theoretically justified and pragmatic concept of the so-called 'lex mercatoria' contributing to the debate concerning the existence of this law as an autonomous, a-national and universal legal system established by trade practice.
This new work equips commercial arbitrators and counsel with a formula to 'recognize' and apply a rule of the lex mercatoria in practice. It argues that a rule of the lex mercatoria is established if there is a majority congruent behaviour within the business community followed out of fear of criticism and a willingness to criticise others in case of deviation. This two element test increases legal certainty and potentially reduces the time and costs of proving the rule.
Case studies are included to illustrate the practical implications of the analysis and more difficult issues such as burden of proof, admissible evidence and the role of written harmonisation measures are also considered. The approach adopted in the book reduces the elusiveness of the concept and offers an analysis which makes the lex mercatoria clearer for scholars and more attractive for practitioners.