This book examines the greening of civil codes from a comparative perspective. It takes into account the increasing requirements of supranational rules, which favour measures to reduce global warming and its negative environmental impacts; it discusses the necessity to expand distributive justice given the current ecological emergency; and it reflects on which private law legal tools potentially may be employed to defend nature’s interests. The work fills a gap in the growing literature on developing rights of nature and ecosystem in transnational law. While the focus is on the environmental issues pertaining to the new civil codes and new projects of civil codes, the book promotes interdisciplinary research applicable to a range of environmental and natural resources–focused courses across the social sciences, especially those related to comparative law systems, legal anthropology, legal traditions in the world, political science and international relations.

This book offers a comparative analysis of the domain name registration systems utililsed in Australia and the United Kingdom. Taking an international perspective, the author analyses the global trends and dynamics of the domain name registration systems and explores the advantages and disadvantages of restrictive and less restrictive systems by addressing issues of consumer protection. The book examines the regulatory frameworks in the restrictive and unrestrictive registration systems and considers recent developments in this area. Jenny Ng also examines the legal and economic implications of these regulatory frameworks, drawing upon economic theory, regulatory and systems theory as well as applying rigorous legal analysis. In doing so, this work proposes ways in which such systems could be better designed to reflect the needs of the specific circumstances in individual jurisdictions. The Domain Name Registration System will be of particular interest to academics and students of IT law and e-commerce.

This book reflects on constitutional balancing from the perspective of fundamental labour rights. It draws on neo-constitutional theories and builds on the assumption that fundamental labour rights, understood as rights aimed at protecting workers during their working life or after retirement, are the normative expression of founding values and can be balanced against equally axiological constitutional principles. The balancing of constitutional labour rights can be conducted by various institutional actors and by applying different techniques. This volume reviews the theoretical debates on judicial balancing and the approaches adopted by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights, to proceed with a closer assessment of Italian and Spanish judicial traditions. In particular, it addresses the main profiles of the case law of the Italian and Spanish Constitutional Courts on labour and social law reforms adopted in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, where balancing takes place between labour rights and economic principles. The analysis is focused on four main aspects: the fundamental labour rights in the balance; the role of the Courts; the technique applied by the Judges; and the constitutional interests subject to the balancing. It ultimately reveals that the axiological nature of fundamental labour rights is preserved and the economic and financial contingencies confirm their factual character, although they are occasionally recognised a prominent role in the ratio decidendi. The book will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers working in the areas of labour law, social security law, legal theory and constitutional law.

When the initiative of Andrea Ott to write a Handbook on the legal aspects of the next enlargement of the European Union was f ir s t brought to my attention, I must confe ss my initial reluctance and even scepticism at its feasibility. Of course, I did s e e the great merits of the concept of such a venture. A handbook implies precision, simplicity and a great deal of mental discipline in order to cover the full breadth of the topic and thus facilitate the readers' understanding, especially by providing the necessary source material for further research. The European Union had already declared its read iness to embark upon a massive enlargement eastwards and this will be the largest ever. It is the EU's official position that enlargement, after all, is vital to achieving the ideals of prosperity, peace and security in Europe as a whole . If all goes according to plan, in 2004 the EU anticipates extending its borders to take in eight Central and East Eu- pean countries as well as Cyprus and Malta. Moreover, the Union's enlargement policy reaches even further afield to include the Balkan countries . Seen in this context, the enlargement process is a complex and ever changing one and any attempt to demystify it, such as that involved in putting together a handbook on the subject, is most welcome. But the pitfalls of enlargement cannot be ignored .

This book provides a detailed examination of anti-money laundering policies and legislative frameworks in a number of jurisdictions and considers how successful these jurisdictions have been in implementing international measures to combat money laundering. Looking at the instruments and proposals put in place by a number of institutions including the United Nations (UN), the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Union, the book begins by reclassifying and expanding the traditional global anti-laundering policy to include aspects such as having a national money laundering strategy in place, the implementation of international instruments and the role of government and regulatory agencies. Ryder then offers a comparative analytical review of the anti-money laundering policies adopted in the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia and considers to what extent they have followed and implemented the identified global anti-money laundering policy. Money Laundering - An Endless Cycle? will be of particular interest to academics and students in the fields of Law, Finance, Banking and Criminology.

With a special place among the world's important trading countries, Taiwan presents the international practitioner with its own particular legal issues and problems. Among the world's most many-sourced legal systems, the law of Taiwan sustains major elements from Chinese and Japanese sources as well as its own indigenous and traditional rules and strong influences from both civil and common law traditions. This convenient guide, written by a scholar-practitioner who is both Dean of Law at the National Taiwan University and a panelist in the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body, is an ideal introduction and practical handbook for anyone involved in a transaction that raises issues in Taiwanese law. After detailed summaries of Taiwan's system of government, its court system, sources of law, and administrative law and procedure, the author covers practice and procedure in such fields of legal activity as the following: contracts; torts; consumer protection; property rights; family law; law of succession; alternative dispute resolution; intellectual property law; trade; government procurement; labor law; and criminal law and procedure. International lawyers will find all the legal situations most likely to arise in the course of transactions connected to Taiwan covered expertly and knowledgeably in this very useful book. It is also valuable to students and scholars for its special insights into issues of comparative law.

This book employs an innovative approach to explore the topic of flexicurity and related changes in the working world, the importance of which for the overall economic and social development is gradually being recognised. It focuses on the changing nature of work and its impact on EU law and national labour and social security laws. Though the transformation of regulatory and institutional frameworks of labour relations follows different patterns in different EU Member States, it is nevertheless a common phenomenon that offers an excellent opportunity for mutual learning experiences and comparing notes on best practices. Taking these ideas as a starting point, the book presents a collection of research on various aspects and implications of changing labour relations in the EU Member States. The opening chapters address the internal market dimension of the transformation of employment relations by investigating how social dumping, integration of migrant workers, and cross-border mergers influence national labour policies and laws. The book further analyses linguistic and terminological challenges in the field of labour law in the EU's multi-lingual legal environment. Subsequent chapters cover various theoretical and practical issues, such as the impact of chain-liability regulatory models on the legal situation of workers in subcontracting networks, and modern work arrangements in the collaborative or 'gig' economy. Other chapters are dedicated to issues of jurisdiction and law applicable to individual employment contracts, as well as alternative resolution mechanisms in labour disputes. The next section offers fresh insights on and a critical overview of the well-known Danish and Dutch models of flexicurity, often cited as role models for reforms of labour markets in other EU Member States. Three individual chapters investigate specific aspects of flexicurity in Croatia, in terms of individual dismissals, life-long learning and the impact of non-standard employment on future pension entitlements. One paper explores temporary agency work in Germany as an important instrument of flexicurity, while another discusses various forms of work used in Slovenia in the context of flexibilization of work relations. Many challenges still lie ahead, and the primary aim of this book is to provide a solid basis for informed future discussions.

This open access book presents twelve unique studies on mediation from researchers in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, respectively. Each study highlights important aspects of mediation, including the role of children in family mediation, the evolution and ambivalent application of restorative justice in the Nordic countries, the confusion of roles in court-connected mediation, and the challenges in dispute systems. Over the past 20-30 years, mediation has gained in popularity in many countries around the world and is often heralded as a suitable and cost-effective mode of conflict resolution. However, as the studies in this volumes show, mediation also has a number of potential drawbacks. Parties' self-determination may be jeopardized, affected third parties are involved in an inadequate way, and the legal regulations may be flawed. The publication can inspire research, help professionals and policymakers in the field and be used as a textbook.

Michael Taggart was the Alexander Turner Professor of Law in the University of Auckland, New Zealand until his retirement in 2008. He has worked extensively on public law, in particular administrative law, privatisation and the public/private law divide as well as on legal history. He has visited and taught at the Universities of Melbourne, New South Wales, Toronto, Cambridge, Paris II, Victoria at Wellington, Saskatchewan, Western Ontario, Queen's University at Kingston and Osgoode Hall Law School. This book of essays, dedicated to him by a group of his friends including academic colleagues, practitioners and judges, marks his enormous contribution to the common law.

The degree of development reached by cooperatives of different sectors throughout the world, which among others led to the UN declaring 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, needs to be accompanied by a similar development of corresponding legislation. To this end, a better knowledge of cooperative law from the comparative point of view, as has already been established for other types of enterprises, becomes of great importance. This book strives to fill this gap, and is divided into four parts. The first part offers an analytic and conceptual framework with which to understand, study and assess cooperative law from a transnational and comparative perspective. The second part includes several chapters dealing with attempts to harmonize cooperative laws. The third part contains an overview of more than 30 national cooperative laws, while the last part summarizes and compares these national cooperative laws, thus laying the foundation for a comparative cooperative law doctrine.

This book explores the regulations, goals and functioning of preparatory proceedings in four Nordic countries and eight former communist countries. The contributions discuss whether, and how the regulation and practice of preparatory proceedings enhance swift civil justice that is both inexpensive and has quality outcomes. A central question is whether the main hearing model of civil justice, in which preclusion of new evidence and claims occur at the end of the preparatory stage, results in greater efficiency, or whether the functioning of civil proceedings largely depends on other factors. It also examines regulation and use of court-connected mediation and judicial settlement efforts. This book offers comparative insights into the functioning of the preparatory civil proceedings in the countries covered. Preparatory proceedings are considered a key tool for achieving efficient civil proceedings. The claims and factual background of the case are clarified at an early stage, and the main hearing is focused. Judicial settlement efforts and court-connected mediation contribute to early resolution of cases, and are important elements of Nordic civil procedure The Nordic countries have used the main hearing model of civil proceedings for some decades, and recent reforms have further enhanced the role of the preparatory stage. Former communist countries are reforming their earlier piecemeal- format civil proceedings by introducing and strengthening written and oral preparation, as well as court-connected mediation.

As in all periods of swift economic development and political upheaval, our era of globalization has brought corruption and conflicts of interest into the spotlight. This comprehensive study highlights the difficulties of devising global legislative and judicial responses to these issues.The papers gathered in this volume demonstrate how global regulations tend to meet strong cultural resistance, in particular when dealing with the more subtle patterns of conflicts of interest. It is a notion that is far from successfully regulated in every country or addressed in compatible ways. In fact, the comparisons offered demonstrate that even international organizations such as the European Union have failed to fully consolidate their systems for mitigating their own risks of corruption and conflicts of interest. Providing a comprehensive study of the phenomenon of corruption and conflicts of interest from a comparative perspective, this book will prove vital for academics, NGOs and practitioners. Contributors: S.A. Aaronson, M.R. Abouharb, J.-B. Auby, M. Benedetti, E. Breen, E. Chiti, E. D'Alterio, H. Delzangles, L. Folliot-Lalliot, D. Gordon, G. Houillon, P. Lascoumes, Y. Marique, B.G. Mattarella, R.E. Messick, C. Moser, T. Paris, T. Perroud, C. Rose, S. Rose-Ackerman, P. Szarek Mason, C. Tansug, S. White

There are investment aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which considerably enhance the opportunities for foreign investment among the signatories, while at the same time improving the security of such investment. NAFTA reflects the Parties' recognition that liberalization of host country investment restrictions is as important as the elimination of trade barriers. With the assistance of such high-calibre contributors as Roberto Mayorga, Kent S. Foster, Preston Brown and Dr. Jorge Witker, this book analyzes both the advantages and disadvantages of this policy upon the investment climate within the countries of the various signatories. This book is the second volume in Kluwer's "NAFTA Law and Policy Series", publishing studies on different aspects of NAFTA, including legal analysis and commentary on the Agreement. Among the numerous areas that are to be covered in the series are topics as diverse as agriculture, dispute settlement, environment, intellectual property rights, investment and labour.

This book examines the far-reaching changes made to the constitution in the United Kingdom in recent decades. It considers the way these reforms have fragmented power, once held centrally through the Crown-in-Parliament, by means of devolution, referendums, and judicial reform. It examines the reshaping of the balance of power between the executive, legislature, and the way that prerogative powers have been curtailed by statute and judicial ruling. It focuses on the Human Rights Act and the creation of the UK Supreme Court, which emboldened the judiciary to limit executive action and even to challenge Parliament, and argues that many of these symbolised an attempt to shift the 'political' constitution to a 'legal' one. Many virtues have been ascribed to these reforms. To the extent that criticism exists, it is often to argue that these reforms do not go far enough. An elected upper chamber, regional English parliaments, further electoral reform, and a codified constitution are common tonics prescribed by commentators from this point of view. This volume adopts a different approach. It provides a critical evaluation of these far-reaching reforms, drawing from the expertise of highly respected academics and experienced political figures from both the left and right. The book is an invaluable source of academic expertise and practical insights for the interested public, students, policymakers, and journalists, who too often are only exposed to the 'further reform' position.

This book reviews and analyzes the innovative measures introduced, lessons learned and problems encountered by selected and representative provinces, cities and counties with regard to the openness of local government affairs. To do so, it focuses on fields that are closely related to economic and social development and to the vital interests of the people, and which have thus aroused great social concerns, such as the pre-disclosure of major decision-making, policy interpretation, optimization of the business environment, and education. In turn, the book addresses standardization concerning the openness of government affairs; in this regard, numerous departments under the State Council and local governments at various levels have already engaged in pilot work, so as to provide a basis for pursuing the openness of government affairs throughout the country. The book subsequently analyzes current problems in this regard, considers the future prospects, and puts forward suitable solutions.

It is becoming ever more apparent that the enforcement of environmental law is a key problem of environmental law and policy. While the number of legal instruments at international, European and national level continue to increase, the actual enforcement of the relevant law remains insufficient, seriously impairing the effectiveness of environmental law.Based on the assumption that nothing undermines the credibility of public authorities more than law that is not applied, this research review analyses the most important articles on the enforcement of international, EU and national environmental law that approach the issue from multiple angles and endeavour to provide solutions for improvement. The review will be a valuable tool for scholars and practitioners as it provides acute insight into existing concerns and intends to stimulate discussion on possible ways to reform and bolster environmental law enforcement.

The only comparison of EU and US protection against trade mark dilution, this book provides a complete overview of the dilution action, enabling practitioners to better protect trade marks against dilution or to combat dilution claims. Through clear and practical tests for the different types of dilution, this book demonstrates how to prove that a mark is famous, how to prove blurring, tarnishing and unfair advantage and how to prove lack of due cause. It gives clear guidance on the meaning of association and the role of similarity of goods, as well as the US dilution defenses, the level of proof required and the 'actual versus likely' dilution question.
By examining the justifications offered for dilution, the book places the dilution action in the wider context of the trade mark system, allowing readers to understand the issues behind the law and to consider whether the law appropriately meets these justifications. It considers the fundamental questions raised about trade marks, including whether the main aim of trade marks is to protect the public from being confused, or the investment of trade mark owners in building up their reputations. The book also considers how well the EU and the US take these questions into account in balancing the interests of trade mark owners, their competitors and the public through the dilution action.
Dilution is at the cutting edge of trade mark law, extending its protection beyond traditional boundaries to situations where defendants using trade marks are not causing confusion. This book provides practitioners with all the information they need both to protect trade marks against dilution and to prevent them being the subject of dilution claims.

The question of to what extent, manifestations of religious beliefs should be permitted in the European public sphere has become a salient and controversial topic in recent years. Despite the increasing interest however, debates have rarely questioned the conventional wisdom that an increase in the range of security measures employed by a government inevitably leads to a decrease in the human rights enjoyed by individuals.

This book analyses the relationship between state security regime changes and the right to religious freedom in the EU. It presents a comparative analysis of the impact these regime changes have had on the politics, policies and protections of religious freedom across the EU member states in the post-2001 environment. The book provides a timely investigation into the role of national legislation, the European Court of Human Rights, and societal trends in the protection of religious freedom, and in so doing demonstrates why the relationship between state security and religious freedom is one of the most socially significant challenges facing policymakers and jurists in Europe at the present time.

This book addresses the issue of privacy and confidentiality in the broader context of the Egyptian legal system. The volume opens with an overview of the major approaches to confidentiality adopted in various jurisdictions. It goes on to examine the duties of confidentiality and privacy in arbitration law and practice on the basis of interviews with 30 law professors and practitioners who often act as arbitrators or counsel for parties in arbitral disputes together with the relevant Egyptian arbitration law provisions. The book takes into account the relevant provisions in the arbitration laws of Syria, Saudia Arabia and Yemen. It moves on to explore the relation between arbitration and the judicial system, and the extent to which the former should borrow its rules from the latter with regard to publicity and the rule of public trial. Finally, this book looks at the right to privacy as (a) a constitutional right, as a potential basis for a legal duty of confidentiality in arbitration, and the duties stemming from this constitutional right in the various laws of Egypt, as well as (b) the constraints imposed on the right to privacy, in particular those stemming from the constitutional principles of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. The main conclusion is that confidentiality does indeed exist in arbitration. However, its legal basis is not the law on arbitration or the arbitration agreement. It is in fact a corollary of the fundamental right to privacy granted in the Egyptian legal system to both natural and legal persons.

This revised and updated casebook comprehensively compares the U.S. legal approach to problems of inequality and discrimination with the approaches of a variety of other legal systems around the world, including those in Europe, South Africa, China, Colombia, India and Brazil. This book provides an introduction to theories of equality and sources of equality law, and examines inequality and discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identity, religion and disability. Key features: Extensive chapter notes add critical context to areas of developing law Analysis of a range of sources: each chapter includes case law, treaty law, statutory law, regulatory law and legal scholarship A comparative problem-based approach, using concrete issues of inequality and discrimination to help students focus on real world concerns Examination of key contested topics such as marriage inequality, the rights of persons with disabilities, affirmative action, reproductive rights, employment discrimination and hate speech A supplementary online course with additional content and guidance for both students and instructors is available through Stanford Law School. Written in a thorough yet accessible style and with contributions from leading international legal scholars, this casebook is ideal for lecture courses, seminars and summer programs in equality and anti-discrimination in law schools, as well as undergraduate courses in law, political science and sociology. Contributors include: D. Allen, P.L. Cherian, D. Collier, J. Damamme, T. Degener, R. Ford, S. Foster, S. Han, K. Loper, S. Misra, D.B. Oppenheimer, M.-C. Pauwels, S. Robin-Olivier, B. Wang, W. Zhou

'Disruptive innovation', 'the fourth industrial revolution', 'one of the ten ideas that will change the world'; the collaborative/sharing economy is shaking existing norms. It poses unprecedented challenges in terms of both material policies and governance in almost all aspects of EU law. This book explores the application - or indeed inadequacy - of existing EU rules in the context of the collaborative economy. It analyses the novelties introduced by the collaborative economy and discusses the specific regulatory needs and instruments employed therein, most notably self-regulation. Further, it aims to elucidate the legal status of the parties involved (traders, consumers, prosumers) in these multi-sided economies, and their respective roles in the provision of services, especially with regard to liability issues. Moreover, it delves into a sector-specific examination of the relevant EU rules, especially on data protection, competition, consumer protection and labour law, and comments on the uncertainties and lacunae produced therein. It concludes with the acute question of whether fresh EU regulation would be necessary to avoid fragmentation or, on the contrary, if such regulation would create unnecessary burdens and stifle innovation. Taking a broad perspective and pragmatic view, the book provides a comprehensive overview of the collaborative economy in the context of the EU legal landscape.

This book offers a comparative analysis of the domain name registration systems utililsed in Australia and the United Kingdom. Taking an international perspective, the author analyses the global trends and dynamics of the domain name registration systems and explores the advantages and disadvantages of restrictive and less restrictive systems by addressing issues of consumer protection. The book examines the regulatory frameworks in the restrictive and unrestrictive registration systems and considers recent developments in this area. Jenny Ng also examines the legal and economic implications of these regulatory frameworks, drawing upon economic theory, regulatory and systems theory as well as applying rigorous legal analysis. In doing so, this work proposes ways in which such systems could be better designed to reflect the needs of the specific circumstances in individual jurisdictions. The Domain Name Registration System will be of particular interest to academics and students of IT law and e-commerce.

With a Foreword by Judge Keba Mbaye, President of the International Council for the Arbitration of Sport and the Court of Arbitration for Sport This is the first book to explore extra-judicial settlement of sports disputes through mediation. It reflects the growing interest in and importance of alternative dispute resolution methods for settling sports-related disputes, at national and international levels. As sport has developed in recent years into a global business, the number of disputes has risen exponentially and the need for alternative forms of dispute resolution has grown significantly too. Mediation can be used successfully in a wide range of sports disputes, including an increasing number of commercial and financial ones. But its effectiveness depends on the willingness of the parties in dispute to compromise and reach creative and amicable solutions in their own interests and also those of sport. This book adopts an essentially practical approach, but also provides an explanation of the theoretical background to the subject and contains a wide-ranging set of relevant and useful texts and documentation. A useful tool for all those concerned with the effective and amicable resolution of sports disputes, including sports governing bodies and administrators, marketeers, event managers, sponsors, merchandisers, hospitality providers, sports advertising agencies, broadcasters, and legal advisers.

Plea bargaining avoids a lengthy and costly criminal trial and thus enables courts to deal with a large number of cases very quickly. While it has often been argued that modern criminal justice systems cannot afford to abolish plea bargaining, academics long have criticised it for undermining the rule of law by avoiding procedural safe-guards. This book analyses plea bargain in different families of law, and drawing on these findings ask to what extent this practice should be developed in international criminal law. The book analyses the relationship between values and practice in modern criminal justice systems through the example of plea bargaining comparing the development and practice of plea bargaining in different systems. The book sets out in-depth studies of consensual case dispositions in the UK, setting out how plea bargaining has developed and spread in England and Wales. It discusses in detail the problems that this practice poses for the rule of law as well as well as the principles of adversarial litigation. The book considers plea-bargaining in the USA as well as in the civil law German justice system. The book also draws on empirical research looking at the absence of informal settlements in the former GDR, offering a unique insight into criminal procedure in a socialist legal system that has been little studied. The book then goes on to look at international criminal law and examine the use of informal negotiations in the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the possible use in future cases of the International Criminal Court.