Like all industrialized countries, China is experiencing increased land contamination in recent years. Abandoned mining and manufacture sites and obsolete industrial complexes, while also creating new polluting industrial enterprises, are presenting impending environmental threats. More importantly, a number of social and economic problems have developed and must be dealt with, in some cases, as a matter of urgency in China. Contaminated land laws and regulations have been established and have evolved in the US and UK and many other jurisdictions over the past decades. Those regimes have substantially influenced the relevant legislation in the context of numerous Asian and European countries and will inevitably benefit the similar legislative efforts of China. This book is the first monograph which focuses on how China can learn from the US and UK with respect to the contaminated land legislation and demonstrates the whole picture of how contaminated land law would be created in China. It will be of interest to academics and practitioners in environmental law in China, as well as the US and UK.

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the developmental history and structural framework of Chinese competition law from a law and economics perspective. It examines the philosophical foundations, the substantive law, and enforcement issues concerning competition law and policy in China by pursuing an economic and comparative approach. Further, the book presents and analyzes competition cases involving monopolistic agreements, abuse of dominant position, and concentration. The book will help professionals and business practitioners to understand the distinct features of competition law and policy in China, and how the substance and enforcement of the law can be compared with competition regulations in the US and EU from an economic perspective. Given its scope, it offers a valuable guide for academic, public sector and professional audiences alike, and will appeal to researchers, students and anyone with an interest in economic law and policy in China. The book can also be used as reading material to accompany courses such as China's Competition Law and Policy, Comparative Competition Law, and Market Regulation in China for foreign students studying Chinese law and policy at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels.

This book offers a comparative introduction, by the editor and native authors, to the most important aspects of administrative law in various EU Member States (France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom), at the level of the EU and in the United States of America.It aspires to contribute to the 'transboundary' understanding of different regimes related to actions and decisions of the administration.For the purpose of the use of this book in education, research and legal practice, the contributions to the book are all based on one and the same format, thus making it more accessible for its readers. The main items of the format, worked out in the introduction by the editor, are:1. What is administrative law?2. Who is administrating?3. Which instruments are available for the administration?4. Which (formal) rules/principles (written or unwritten) govern administrative actions?5. Access to (administrative) courts against administrative actions/decisions.6. Enforcement by the administration.7. Financial liability of the administration for (un)lawful actions.8. Recent and future developments and conclusions.The final chapter offers comparative remarks by the editor.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. 'This is a must-have first book for anyone interested in global/transnational law, law and globalisation or legal globalisation, all complex concepts so fascinatingly expounded by the book. One great advantage of this book is that it concisely and comprehensively analyses the pluralist phenomenon of law and globalisation and provides a coherent theoretical/conceptual web connecting major interdependent, interrelated disciplines, theories, methodologies, and dimensions utilised in existing studies of the above phenomenon. The book takes a laudable fresh approach embracing not only the orthodoxies but also a novel and forward-looking perspective fitting for new powers such as China.' - Qiao Liu, The University of Queensland, Australia This Advanced Introduction offers a fresh critical analysis of various dimensions of law and globalisation, drawing on historical, normative, theoretical, and linguistic methodologies. Its comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach spans the fields of global legal pluralism, comparative legal studies, and international law. Key features include: Comprehensive treatment of main themes and approaches in law and globalisation discussions Provides a theoretical basis for evaluating legal globalisation Includes contemporary developments Examples from many jurisdictions offer a genuinely global perspective. An ideal concise companion for students and scholars alike, this book sets out an alternative view to law and globalisation that will interest anyone concerned with the future of legal globalisation.

Private Law in the International Arena contains fifty-seven original contributions authored by renowned lawyers from all over the World. It analyzes a wide variety of effects that cross-border activities have on the operation of private law, ranging from corporate and insolvency law to labor law, property law, the law of obligations, family law, European law and lex mercatoria. Civil procedure aspects, in national courts and arbitration proceedings, are also explored. This book provides a unique source of insights into the problems encountered and their possible solutions. It will be of interest to scholars and practitioners alike. All contributions have been written in honor of an eminent Private International Law scholar, Prof. Dr. Kurt Siehr of the University of Zurich.

The Routledge Handbook of Comparative Territorial Autonomies affords a comprehensive, pioneering and interdisciplinary survey of this emerging field. Moving beyond traditionally narrower engagements with the subject, it combines approaches to comparative law and comparative politics to provide an authoritative guide to the principal theoretical and empirical topics in the area. Bringing together a team of cutting-edge scholars from different disciplines and continents, the volume illuminates the latest thinking and scholarship on comparative territorial autonomies. This Handbook is an authoritative, essential reference text for students, academics and researchers in its field. It will also be of key interest to those in the fields of comparative politics, comparative law, local/regional government, federalism, decentralisation and nationalism, as well as practitioners in think tanks, NGOs and international governmental organisations.

This edited volume analyzes the function and role of international law in a framework of increased global governance by focusing on how 'community interests' are articulated and protected and how global public goods are provided in various domains. The chapters analyze the concept of 'community interests' and the adequacy and effectiveness of the institutional framework and mechanisms established under international law to protect and safeguard them. The volume is divided into four parts and begins with a preface by Judge Bruno Simma, who has pioneered work in this area. The first part of the book addresses some general issues, such as defining community interests, examining various forms of governance at the juncture of public and private international law, and whether international law and international courts are effective in providing so-called 'public goods'. Part II shifts the focus onto global commons and concerns, such as the accommodation and balancing of community interests under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the potential for international organisations to protect said interests through countermeasures in responses to violations of erga omnes obligations, the prevention and punishment of corruption by large corporations, and the importance of good governance of natural resources in conflict-affected regions. Some key human rights and security-related issues are analyzed in Part III, such as the right to self-determination and prolonged occupation of Palestinian territory, foreign terrorist fighters and their return to their countries of origin, and the peasant rights movement and its exposition of diverging interests as protected under human rights law. Part IV concludes, outlining three potential research agendas concerning collective human security, collective natural resources, and world cultural heritage. The comprehensive impact of community interests visible today reveals a fundamental tension in contemporary international law - between the need to make international law adequately express and support what are assumed to be universally held moral beliefs and the need to make it firmly reflect its political context. This book demonstrates that international law research on the formulation and protection of community interests, combined with multi- or inter-disciplinary approaches, can provide useful insights and answers to important questions for the future of humankind.

The topic is of particular interest for insurers as compensation for loss of housekeeping capacity is one of the main heads of damages awarded for personal injury. Naturally it also has considerable importance for accident victims. Yet it has received relatively little scholarly attention, at least from a comparative perspective. The aim of this study is to examine national approaches to the award of damages under the head of loss of housekeeping capacity, and to compare the levels of damages so awarded. The research will therefore address both the concepts employed in different national systems and, by means of practical case studies, the compensation actually paid in individual cases. The results of the research comprise ten country reports (Austria, England and Wales, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Switzerland) based on a Questionnaire (Part I: General Part and Doctrine, Part II: Concrete Assessment Examples) and a concluding Comparative Report. This project, "Loss of Housekeeping Capacity", was undertaken at the request of the Swiss Insurance Association.

Using an interdisciplinary approach involving economics, sociology, and law, Regulating Contracts explores fundamental questions about contracts and legal regulation. What kind of social relation do contracts create, or, more precisely, how do contracts cover social interaction? How are contractual relations or more generally markets constructed? Does the law play a significant role in contractual practices, and in particular what do lawyers, courts, and legal sanctions contribute to the contractual social order? For what distributive purposes does the law attempt regulation? The controversial conclusions of this study suggest that the law plays an insignificant role in the construction of markets, and that law and lawyers could provide better assistance by using indeterminate regulation that permits the recontextualization of legal reasoning. Legal regulation of contracts concerned with redistributive tasks, such as redress of unfairness, countering unjust power relations, and access to justice, is evaluated both with respect to the objectives of regulation and the search for the most efficient and efficacious form of regulation.

Corporate rescue laws have long been recognized as a necessary alternative to liquidation. However, it is only in recent years that governments and virtually all major international economic interest groups have realised the important role that corporate rescue can play - not only in supporting businesses that are viable but experiencing temporary difficulties, but also in forestalling financial difficulties by requiring effective corporate governance processes, in resolving systemic financial crises, and in bolstering the economy. It is primarily to corporate rescue procedures and reforms adopted at the domestic level that this book is devoted. Individual chapters - each written by an expert or team of experts from the country under scrutiny - consider recent developments and prospects for the future in China, Cyprus, England and Wales, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. These countries were chosen because they reflect different stages of development in corporate rescue laws. Some have mature systems in their second or third stages of revision; some have relatively antiquated systems that have been inherited from, or modelled on, the laws of another jurisdiction; and some are transitional economies where the concept of corporate rescue is comparatively new. A final chapter covers important issues stemming from conflict of laws and supranational models and guidelines. It emerges clearly from these reform processes that, while no single optimal set of corporate rescue laws can be devised, there is a clearly discemible global movement under way toward reform in the service of preserving economic value at the company level. In the meantime, however, it is also clear that insolvency practitioners and the courts will need to take the initiative in applying and testing new laws to ensure their ultimate effectiveness. For this reason - in addition to the book's great practical and legal academic value - "Corporate Rescue" is sure to be widely read and used as a basic text for many years to come.

Maybe not surprisingly, public law has always been seen as the vehicle for driving polity building in Europe. But what role might private law play? This collection argues that it plays a crucial one, as interactions in civil society, which it governs, are the bedrock of any shared identity. It take a four part approach when doing so; firstly, it explores the theoretical questions at play before moving onto a discussion of judicial activity in European private law. Next, it offers case studies to further support its position. Finally, it offers a mosaic where expert practitioners articulate the role that European private law judges see for themselves in building common ground. This important book will be read with interest by all scholars of European law, both public and private.

This book adopts an international perspective to examine how the online sale of insurance challenges the insurance regulation and the insurance contract, with a focus on insurance sales, consumer protection, cyber risks and privacy, as well as dispute resolution. Today insurers, policyholders, intermediaries and regulators interact in an increasingly online world with profound implications for what has up to now been a traditionally operating industry. While the growing threats to consumer and business data from cyber attacks constitute major sources of risk for insurers, at the same time cyber insurance has become the fastest growing commercial insurance product in many jurisdictions. Scholars and practitioners from Europe, the United States and Asia review these topics from the viewpoints of insurers, policyholders and insurance intermediaries. In some cases, existing insurance regulations appear readily adaptable to the online world, such as prohibitions on deceptive marketing of insurance products and unfair commercial practices, which can be applied to advertising through social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as to traditional written material. In other areas, current regulatory and business practices are proving to be inadequate to the task and new ones are emerging. For example, the insurance industry and insurance supervisors are exploring how to review, utilize, profit from and regulate the explosive growth of data mining and predictive analytics ("big data"), which threaten long-standing privacy protection and insurance risk classification laws. This book's ambitious international scope matches its topics. The online insurance market is cross-territorial and cross-jurisdictional with insurers often operating internationally and as part of larger financial-services holding companies. The authors' exploration of these issues from the vantage points of some of the world's largest insurance markets - the U.S., Europe and Japan - provides a comparative framework, which is necessary for the understanding of online insurance.

As Britain's leading comparative Family Law scholar, Jens Scherpe demonstrates his considerable knowledge and expertise in this, the final book, in the series on European Family Law. Drawing on the three earlier works in the series (of which he is the editor) Scherpe starts by convincingly arguing that there is such a thing as European Family Law and then examines the concept from different perspectives, namely, institutional and organic, and horizontal, vertical and individual European Family Law. He ends by speculating about future developments. Written in an easy-to-read yet not unchallenging style The Present and Future of European Family Law is a 'must read' for all those interested in Family Law particularly as the subject can no longer be sensibly studied purely from a domestic angle.' - N.V. Lowe, Cardiff University, UKThe Present and Future of European Family Law explores the essence of European family law - and what its future may be. It compares and analyzes existing laws and court decisions, identifies trends in legislation and jurisprudence, and also forecasts (and in some cases proposes) future developments. It establishes that while there is, at present, no comprehensive European family law, elements of an 'institutional European family law' have been created through decisions by the European Court on Human Rights and by the Court of Justice of the European Union as well as other EU instruments. At the same time an 'organic European family law' is beginning to emerge. The laws in many European jurisdictions have developed similarly and have 'grown together', not only as a result of the aforementioned institutional pressures, but also as a result of societal developments, and comparable reactions to medical and societal advances and changes. Hence there already is a body of institutional and organic European family law, and it will continue to grow. This book, and the others in the set, will serve as an invaluable resource for anyone interested in family law. It will be of particular use to students and scholars of comparative and international family law, as well as family law practitioners.

This volume contains detailed information on the law on 'informal relationships' in 28 European jurisdictions. An informal relationship refers to a relationship that is not formalised as a marriage or as a registered partnership/civil union between a couple. The expert members of the CEFL have drafted national reports on the basis of a detailed questionnaire. This book integrates all the responses in order to provide an overview and a straightforward simultaneous comparison of the different solutions chosen within national systems. On the basis of this reliable and comprehensive comparative material the CEFL will be able to draft Principles of European Family Law on Informal Relationships.

The book"Regional Approaches to the Energy Transition", discusses the key challenges the energy transition is facing at the European and International level. It is an edited collection gathering contributions from the experts in the field bringing together internationally renowned scholars, researchers, EU officials to address the current trends in the energy transition and its dilemmas. The book places the energy transition in a wide interdisciplinary context. It looks at energy policies, legal framework, regional strategies and the difficulties in their implementation. It argues for a regional approach to the energy transition, questioning at the same time the strategies and measures put forward for its realisation. The subject matter is topical, considering recent themes that occupy global and European political agendas. In a nutshell, the volume offers insights into regional regulations, public policies and local practices on the use of clean energy. It looks first at the EU commitment and its initiatives providing some examples from the Member States. Furthermore, it offers a comparative perspective and discusses the different approaches to the energy transition from Latin America, China, Africa and Australia. It covers a wide range of topics such as the EU renewable energy policies, Green Deal and regionalisation, energy auctions in the EU, environment in contemporary constitutionalism, Human Rights considerations, the Scandinavian perspective, practical examples from Italy and Spain. Moreover, it also considers the global context, looking at State and Market in China's coal-to-gas transition, tendencies of legal regulation in the sphere of renewable energy in Russia, the energy transition in Latin-American countries, regional approach to the energy transition and electricity access initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa, and transnationalism and the regional approach to the energy transition in Australia. The systematisation that this book offers and the exchange of good practices and experiences are useful tools for the key players to seriously engage with a just and sustainable energy transition. The proposed book is a reference and study material for academics and students, but also for the policy makers, officials and practitioners dealing with the energy transition. It provides some answers, potential solutions and alternatives to the main problems that the energy sector is facing worldwide.

This book argues that law has a vital role in shaping the electricity system to enable a more active role for consumers in liberalizsed electricity industries. To do that, this book offers a unique legal perspective of the Netherlands, New Zealand and Colombia to help understand some of the current legal approaches to prosumers and therefore the legal challenges and opportunities facing. Law and regulation have the role of creating a level playing field for emerging participants, such as prosumers, to participate and compete in the market together with traditional actors, bringing not only more competition but also representing a more sustainable, environmental and democratic way to supply energy. Furthermore, law and regulation have the role of responding to innovation and creating space for technological advances to procure the changes in the industry without delay. This book examines some of the legal barriers for the raise of energy prosumers. The traditional role of the distributor when responding to increasing distributed generation in the network; prosumers unable to decide to whom they can sell their electricity to; the price of the energy or even whether to participate more actively in demand response programs. A further issue is the lack of clarity about whether small prosumers are entitled to consumer protection rights and legal challenges regarding configuration, access to the network, access to markets and strict unbundling rules for community energy projects. This book provides a clear, analytical, and informed approach to understanding the regulatory framework around energy prosumers. It will appeal to policy makers, lawyers, individuals, business entrepreneurs or communities wanting to engage in energy projects, as well as academics, researchers and students

Food is produced not only to be consumed in the country of its origin, but also to be exported to various locations worldwide. As such, manufacturers and suppliers need to know the market conditions and regulations of their customers in export markets. Filling a distinct need in the globalized food economy, this introductory reference distils the key facts and regulations from the food laws of 10 countries and the European Union across four continents. The result is a truly global survey of the world's most important food markets in terms of regulatory standards, principles and the authorities involved. To enable comparison between each country portrait, each chapter is structured in the same way, and includes information on the legal framework, the competent authorities, explanations of the basic principles of food law, introductions to the main areas of regulation (particularly, labeling and advertising; food hygiene and safety; additives and flavorings; food supplements; genetically modified organisms; import and export regulations), accountability regulations, and information on Internet resources. The publication therefore provides key facts for food producers active on the international market, who often lack the time and resources to refer to the primary laws and legal commentaries. Markets discussed: * Argentina * Brazil * Canada * China * European Union * Japan * USA * Republic of Korea * Russian Federation * Switzerland * Turkey

The book provides an analysis of the emergence, evolution, and transformation of transnational securities regulation and of the influences from and the interactions between global regulatory powers in the field. Combining insights from law and political science, the work employs a two-tier complementary "on-the-books" and "in-action" approach. The more classical "on-the-books" approach draws on scholarship in United States and European Union securities regulation; transnational regulation and global administrative law; regime complexity; global governance studies; and the regulatory production of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The law in-action approach leverages the author's experience as Compliance senior professional in a multinational financial institution as well as research interviews with senior IOSCO staff. The author's findings enable the reader to develop an original understanding of IOSCO, its standards, and its unique place in the transnational regulatory arena. They also challenge the doxa that the US are the only driving regulatory power in the securities area when in fact, other regulatory powers are emerging - for the time being, the EU. The balance has shifted and regulatory compromises are achieved at different points in the rule making process.

This research review provides thought-provoking discussion of the most influential papers in the field of comparative property law. These articles have played an essential role in shaping property law discourse on both a national and global level. The review carefully examines different concepts and aspects of property, including theoretical approaches and comparative perspectives, followed by a series of key constitutional questions. This structure offers the reader the opportunity to trace the evolution of comparative property law through the global legal community. Students, teachers and practitioners will find this analysis both a fascinating read and a helpful tool in thoroughly understanding the central, yet profoundly puzzling topic of comparative property law.

The book focuses the openness of Chinese copyright law and patent law, namely the right limitation and exception rules (as the IP-internal balancing mechanism) and the right enforcement and protection (as the IP-external balancing mechanism). It examines the highlights of the 3rd and 4th amendments to the Chinese copyright law, patent law and the trademark law, addressing the most debated questions during these amendments. This book also takes a comparative approach to study the legislations and case laws in the USA, EU and China. The comparison covers the legislation, case decisions, which could offer useful clues for legislators to revise the current law, for judges to decide the cases about relevant topics and lay down their market plans. Moreover, this study also provides several recommendations for the right holders who are currently operating or planning to operate in China, regarding the de facto protection levels of their IP rights, the risks of right infringement and litigation costs as well as the trend of the goalsetting in their intellectual property strategy.

This book points out the legal roots of the alignment of Cross-Strait political relations and the issues of Taiwan's participation in international space, and the Treaty of San Francisco and the "Undetermined Status of Taiwan". Based on an academic standpoint, the book studies the legal theories related to the alignment of Cross-Strait political relations and the issues of Taiwan's participation in international space from the Mainland Chinese perspective. It focuses on the different descriptions and regulations of the alignment of Cross-Strait political relations between the Mainland of China and Taiwan and discusses the status, forms, problems, and prospects of the coexistence of the two sides in the international space. Compared with the policy oaths used in current studies, the book systematically discusses the alignment of Cross-Strait political relations and the issues of Taiwan's participation in international space with a theoretical interpretation. It uses detailed historical materials, especially valuable policy documents and excerpts of speeches cited of the Mainland of China. This book puts forward a series of important propositions, such as the construction of a mechanism for Taiwan's orderly participation in the international space and means of existence of the Taiwan region in the international space.

This book addresses the impact of EU law beyond its own borders, the use of law as a powerful instrument of EU external action, and some of the normative challenges this poses. The phenomenon of EU law operating beyond its borders, which may be termed its 'global reach', includes the extraterritorial application of EU law, territorial extension, and the so-called 'Brussels Effect' resulting from unilateral legislative and regulatory action, but also includes the impact of the EU's bilateral relationships, and its engagement with multilateral fora and the negotiation of international legal instruments. The book maps this phenomenon across a range of policy fields, including the environment, the internet and data protection, banking and financial markets, competition policy, and migration. It argues that in looking beyond the undoubtedly important instrumental function of law we can start to identify the ways in which law shapes the EU's external identity and its relations with other legal regimes, both enabling and constraining the EU's external action.

This book describes the constitutions of six major federations and how they have been interpreted by their highest courts, compares the interpretive methods and underlying principles that have guided the courts, and explores the reasons for major differences between these methods and principles. Among the interpretive methods discussed are textualism, purposivism, structuralism and originalism. Each of the six federations is the subject of a separate chapter written by a leading authority in the field: Jeffrey Goldsworthy (Australia), Peter Hogg (Canada), Donald Kommers (Germany), S.P. Sathe (India), Heinz Klug (South Africa), and Mark Tushnet (United States). Each chapter describes not only the interpretive methodology currently used by the courts, but the evolution of that methodology since the constitution was first enacted. The book also includes a concluding chapter which compares these methodologies, and attempts to explain variations by reference to different social, historical, institutional and political circumstances.

This book brings together thought leadership from academia and leading figures in asset management in key global jurisdictions, to pool together insights regarding the transformative visions and challenges for modern investment management, as well as best practices that realise the policy objectives in regulation and soft law. The world of investment management is being challenged by new legal, regulatory and soft law developments to demonstrate that their practices cohere with the long-term needs of the saving population as well as public interest needs in financing global sustainability and social development. The chapters in this book uniquely bring together the views of academia and practice on the key developments that can transform the law and practice of investment management, including the EU's new sustainable finance reform package, the UK Stewardship Code 2020, and developments in the US regarding the fit between fiduciary law for investment management and modern sustainability concerns. The book brings together the best of both worlds-critical thoughtful perspectives from academia and qualitative insight from the investment management industry. It will be of interest to researchers in law, investment management, business and management, practitioners in the investment management industry and their legal advisers, and policy-makers in the EU, UK and beyond who are grappling with the appropriate governance paradigms for bringing about more sustainable outcomes globally.