This book addresses the questions of discrimination, vulnerable consumers, and financial inclusion in the light of the emerging legal, socioeconomic, and technological challenges. New technologies - such as artificial intelligence-driven consumer credit risk assessment and Fintech platforms, the changing nature of vulnerability due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the sophistication of digital technologies, which help circumvent legal barriers and protections - necessitate the continuous study of the existing legal frameworks and measures that are capable of tackling these challenges. Organized in two major parts, the first addresses, from multiple national angles, the idea of a human rights approach to consumer law, in order to replace the mantra of economic efficiency that characterizes financial services with those of human dignity and freedom from discrimination and from debt-induced servitude. The second tackles the challenges posed by increased usage of technology in connection with financial services, which tends to solve, but also creates, additional issues for consumers in general, and for vulnerable groups in particular.

Islam encourages business and financial transactions as a way of securing the basic needs for all human beings, but these need to be conducted in accordance with the principles contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah. However, these legal concepts are not classified subject-wise, and the verses on commercial law, like all other topics, are scattered throughout the Qur'an, making it difficult for readers to gain a full understanding of the topic. This, therefore, is the first comprehensive book to demystify Islamic contract law and specifically Islamic financial contracts, and to examine its roots and history. The book is written in a clear style to allow for a greater understanding of the more challenging and misunderstood areas pertaining to Islamic business and financial contracts. It also contributes a series of chapters which address the market niche and need, concerning Shariah compliance for Islamic financial products and services. The book is divided into 16 chapters in order to provide a holistic and thorough overview of Islamic law of contract. It covers the objections and misconceptions surrounding Islamic business and financial contracts. It also includes the key features and guiding principles of Islamic law of contract and offers technical know-how, illustrating the concept of formation of a contract, as well as the essential elements of a valid contract. The authors also offer a discussion on the system of options under Islamic business and financial contracts and potential solutions to breach of contracts. The book will serve as a handy reference for scholars and students of Islamic business and finance and Islamic commercial law and will also be beneficial for practitioners as well as legal and judicial officers. It will open new doors for further research in the field of Islamic financial contracts.

The Supreme Court ruling in Global Process System Inc. v Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad (The Cendor MOPU) created a shock wave in the London marine insurance market, as the Supreme Court decision changed the boundaries of doctrine with respect to the meaning of 'perils of the sea' and 'inherent vice'. Both phrases play an important role in the insurance market, affecting both assureds and insurers and their respective interests under all classes of marine insurance policies. This book reviews the origin of the clauses 'perils of the sea' and 'inherent vice' by tracing back through the early cases in order to understand the origin and noting how and why the changes occurred. It will examine how the law has been developed in the recent cases and discuss whether the Supreme Court case The Cendor MOPU has overruled the previous cases in terms of the clauses 'inherent vice' and 'perils of the sea'. Considering the impact of The Cendor MOPU decision with respect to the Marine Insurance Act 1906, as well as the standard Institute Cargo Clauses, it evaluates whether the decision is consistent with these things and discusses the effect of the decision on recent cases and on the insurance market.

The steadily rising number of investor-State arbitration proceedings within the EU has triggered an extensive backlash and an increased questioning of the international investment law regime by different Member States as well as the EU Commission. This has resulted in the EU's assertion of control over the intra-EU investment regime by promoting the termination of bilateral intra-EU investment treaties (intra-EU BITs) and by opposing the jurisdiction of arbitral tribunals in intra-EU investor-State arbitration proceedings. Against the backdrop of the landmark Achmea decision of the European Court of Justice, the book offers an in-depth analysis of the interplay of international investment law and the law of the European Union with regard to intra-EU investments, i.e. investments undertaken by an investor from one EU Member State within the territory of another EU Member State. It specifically analyses the conflict between the two investment protection regimes applicable within the EU with a particular emphasis on the compatibility of the international legal instruments with the law of the European Union. The book thereby addresses the more general question of the relationship between EU law and international law and offers a conceptual framework of intra-European investment protection based on the analysis of all intra-EU BITs, the Energy Charter Treaty and EU law, as well as the arbitral practice in over 180 intra-EU investor-State arbitration proceedings. Finally, the book develops possible solutions to reconcile the international legal standards of protection with the regionalized transnational law of the European Union.

In excess of loss reinsurance, the reinsurer covers the amount of a loss exceeding the policy's deductible but not piercing its cover limit. Accordingly, a policy's quantitative scope of cover is significantly affected by the parties' agreement of a deductible and a cover limit. Yet, the examination of whether a loss has exceeded deductible or cover limit necessitates an educated understanding of what constitutes one loss. In so-called aggregation clauses, the parties to (re-)insurance contracts regularly provide that multiple individual losses are to be added together for presenting one loss to the reinsurer when they arise from the same event, occurrence, catastrophe, cause or accident. Aggregation mechanisms are one of the core instruments for structuring reinsurance contracts. This book systematically examines each element of an aggregation mechanism, tracing the inconsistent usage of aggregation language in the markets and scrutinizing the tests developed by courts and arbitral tribunals. In doing so, it seeks to support insurers, reinsurers, brokers and lawyers in drafting aggregation clauses and in settling claims. Focusing on an analysis of primary sources, particularly judicial decisions, the book interprets each judicial decision to describe a system of inter-related rules, collating, organising and describing the English law of aggregation as applied by the courts and arbitral tribunals. It further draws a comparison between the English position and the corresponding rules in the Principles of Reinsurance Contract Law (PRICL).

This book tracks the phenomenon of international corporate personhood (ICP) in international law and explores many legal issues raised in its wake. It sketches a theory of the ICP and encourages engagement with its amorphous legal nature through reimagination of international law beyond the State, in service to humanity. The book offers two primary contributions, one descriptive and one normative. The descriptive section of the book sketches a history of the emergence of the ICP and discusses existing analogical approaches to theorizing the corporation in international law. It then turns to an analysis of the primary judicial decisions and international legal instruments that animate internationally a concept that began in U.S. domestic law. The descriptive section concludes with a list of twenty-two judge-made and text-made rights and privileges presently available to the ICP that are not available to other international legal personalities; these are later categorized into 'active' and 'passive' rights. The normative section of the book begins the shift from what is to what ought to be by sketching a theory of the ICP that - unlike existing attempts to place the corporation in international legal theory - does not rely on analogical reasoning. Rather, it adopts the Jessupian emphasis on 'human problems' and encourages pragmatic, solution-oriented legal analysis and interpretation, especially in arbitral tribunals and international courts where legal reasoning is frequently borrowed from domestic law and international treaty regimes. It suggests that ICPs should have 'passive' or procedural rights that cater to problems that can be characterized as 'universal' but that international law should avoid universalizing 'active' or substantive rights which ICPs can shape through agency. The book concludes by identifying new trajectories in law relevant to the future and evolution of the ICP. This book will be most useful to students and practitioners of international law but provides riveting material for anyone interested in understanding the phenomenon of international corporate personhood or the international law surrounding corporations more generally.

The subject of bank stability has been under a great amount of political and legislative scrutiny since the mid-2007 to late-2009 global financial crisis. However, these efforts have centred on developed economies. Little coverage is given to strategies adopted by many developing economies. While there is a global discourse on the subject of insolvency generally, there is ample scope to contribute to the growing body of work on the narrow subject of bank insolvencies. This book provides a unique perspective on an emerging theme in at least two respects. First is the focus on selected developing economies and selected developed economies in the EMEA region alongside cross-border developments, with the objective of deciphering the regulatory approach to bank insolvencies. The second is the analytical consideration of methods that may be implemented to preclude or resolve bank insolvencies in developing economies. This book explores the nexus between developing economies and their banking institutions. Developing economies are acutely dependent on their banks for the functioning of their cash-based economies. Recent events, however, suggest a weakness in the long-term viability of some of their banks and a mixed-bag regulatory approach to redress this weakness. This book evaluates the effectiveness of regulatory frameworks in selected developing economies that are designed to prevent or resolve the insolvency of banks. At a time of global economic uncertainty, this book will prove to be a valuable resource to the discourse on the viability of banks, businesses, and economies in developing States.

This collection of essays provides a rich and contemporary discussion of the principle of pacta sunt servanda. This principle, which requires that valid agreements are to be honoured, is a cornerstone of contract law. Focusing on contributions from Asia, this book shows that, despite its natural and universal appeal, the pacta sunt servanda principle is neither absolute nor immutable. Exceptions to the binding force of contract must be available in limited circumstances to avoid hardship and unfairness. This book offers readers new comparative perspectives on the appropriate balance between contractual certainty and flexibility in an era of social instability. Expert authors, mostly from East and Southeast Asia, explore when their domestic legal systems allow exceptions from the binding force of contracts. Doctrines discussed include impossibility, frustration, change of circumstance, force majeure, illegality as well as rights of withdrawal. Other chapters consider the importance of the pacta principle in international law. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic feature strongly in the majority of contributions.

Bringing together the most important articles from leading authors in the field, Professor Geoffrey Miller's new collection, Economics of Securities Law, is an essential resource for students, policymakers and those interested in the history and current status of the subject. The papers included represent fundamental contributions that shaped later thinking, illustrate approaches that have proven durably influential or represent important challenges to conventional views. The collection also explores new approaches, such as behavioural economics, alongside 'Chicago School' papers, comparative analyses and influential works by people involved in the creation of laws governing modern securities markets.

This book analyzes China's new foreign investment law which came into force in January 2020. The new law implemented sweeping changes and overhauled China's foreign investment law regime of the last four decades. The foreign investment law aims to make the business environment more investor-friendly and address some of the contentious issues between US and China in the ongoing trade war. The book explains how the law enhances regulatory transparency. It also outlines the new approval process, that is the pre-establishment negative list system which has replaced the former approval system for foreign investment projects. The book also analyzes China's series of anti-sanction laws. This book will help give readers a better understanding of major changes and benefits under the new law and will be the first of its kind looking at the implications of this important law.

FinTech transformations have brought changes to the global financial markets and merit the attention of financial regulators across jurisdictions. This book is one of the first ones of its kind to look at open banking (OB). It examines regulatory approaches to OB by taking a broad view of comparative legal systems and through perspectives of transaction costs, public choice, and institutional design. The book looks at the legal implications by engaging in a two-tiered comparative analysis: comparing between compulsory and voluntary approaches to OB policies and comparing the legal systems between the West (i.e., the EU and the UK) and an Asian economy (i.e., Taiwan).

Due to the absence of due process and other procedural guarantees generally offered by judicial enforcement, informal debt collection practices (IDCPs) can become abusive, harming both consumers and the economy by threatening consumers' physical, psychological, and economic wellbeing; exposing lawabiding debt collectors to unfair competition; undermining the financial system; and negatively impacting social peace by resorting to criminal activity. The need to control and harmonize IDCPs surfaced in connection with the European Commission's Action Plan to tackle the high level of non-performing loans caused by the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic -specifically the Proposal for a Directive on Credit Servicers, Credit Purchasers, and the Recovery of Collateral (CSD). Harmonizing the regulation of abusive IDCPs is vital for several reasons. First, IDCPs have a cross-border dimension due to the freedom of movement, enabling debt collection operations across the internal market. Second, the internal market's size amounts to over 450 million citizens potentially exposed to abusive IDCPs. The regulatory frameworks addressing IDCPs in the E.U. display divergent characteristics that may be difficult to navigate and require creating a level-playing field for consumers and debt collectors, especially when approaches vary at Member State level. This book addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive guide to regulating informal debt collection practices in eight Member States of the E.U. and the United Kingdom (U.K.). It serves as a comparative law instrument for implementing the recently adopted CSD. It will be important reading for students, academics, and stakeholders with an interest in debt collection practices and the law.

Set against the origins and consequences of the global financial crisis, this timely book offers an enriching and revealing narrative of the role that the state plays in regulating markets. Focusing on core areas of private law such as corporate, labour and banking law, the contributors offer a conceptual framework in which to examine the central tenets of the role of private law in today's global economy. In the current climate of ever increasing economic inequality and austerity measures, the authors highlight the urgent need for a comprehensive analysis of the continuing tension between ideas of market liberalism and theories of society. With a focus on both the domestic and transnational dimensions of market governance, the authors offer a crucial insight into the co-existence and interaction between state and market-based economic governance.

Global systemically important banks (G-SIBs) are the largest, most complex and, in the event of their potential failure, most threatening banking institutions in the world. The Global Financial Crisis (GFC) was a turning point for G-SIBs, many of which contributed to the outbreak and severity of this downturn. The unfolding of the GFC also revealed flaws and omissions in the legal framework applying to financial entities. In the context of G-SIBs, it clearly demonstrated that the legal regimes, both in the USA and in the EU, grossly ignored the specific character of these institutions and their systemic importance, complexity, and individualism. As a result of this omission, these megabanks were long treated like any other smaller banking institutions. Since the GFC, legal systems have changed a lot on both sides of the Atlantic, and global and national lawmakers have adopted new rules applying specifically to G-SIBs to reduce their threat to financial stability. This book explores whether the G-SIB-specific regulatory frameworks are adequately tailored to their individualism in order to prevent them from exploiting overly general rules, as they did during the GFC. Analyzing the specific character and individualism of G-SIBs, in relation to their history, normal functioning, as well as their operations during the GFC, this book discusses transformation of banking systems and the challenges and opportunities G-SIBs face, such as Big Tech competitors, climate-related requirements, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking a multidisciplinary approach which combines financial aspects of operations of G- SIBs and legal analysis, the book describes G-SIB-oriented legal frameworks of the EU and the USA and assesses whether G-SIB individualism is adequately reflected, analyzing trends in supervisory action when it comes to discretion in the G-SIB context, all in order to contribute to the ongoing discussions about international banking law, its problems, and potential remedies to such persistent flaws.

In 2020, the G20 proposed a solution for the debt-related issues affecting the world's poorest countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, their initiatives have failed to meet their objectives. The author argues that the reason for this failure is the inability to bring sovereign countries to the table to re-negotiate their debt agreements with private creditors as they fear credit rating agencies and the prospect of a downgrade. The author refers to this as the 'credit rating impasse'. This book proposes a novel solution. The author asserts that there is a need in the literature to unpick the dynamic that exists and creates that impasse, namely the pressures that exist between sovereign states, private creditors, credit rating agencies, and the geo-political backdrop that is massively influential in the dynamic, that is, the adversarial relationship between China and the US. This book addresses the recent history of debt treatment for poorer countries and related successes and failures: COVID-19-related issues and the development of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative and the Common Framework for Debt Treatment. This book examines the reasons for their failure by analysing the positions of the sovereign states, the division between private and official creditors and between multilateral institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, credit rating agencies, and the competing political entities of China and the US. It presents a wider picture of the systemic underpinnings to such debt-related issues and, when examined through a geo-political perspective, the subsequent chances of future debt treatment-related successes. Licence line: The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Virtual currencies, particularly crypt-currencies, have been identified as potential money laundering and terrorism financing instruments due to their ability to transfer money anonymously and instantaneously over the globe. Governments and regulators have also recognized the need to more closely monitor and track virtual currency purchases and accounts to avoid the industry being exploited for money laundering or terrorism financing purposes, as explained in this book. The broad overview of various international legal approaches attempting to address this issue would be a great resource for legal and anti-money laundering or counter terrorism financing graduate students, scholars and practitioners interested in virtual currencies research.' - Raymond Choo, University of South Australia'This book is a comprehensive, highly detailed review of cybercrime and the issues raised by gambling in virtual environments. It makes an excellent contribution to the evolving discussion about the risks and controls relating to these activities. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in financial crime and virtual environments from an international perspective.' - Liz Falconer, University of the West of England, UK In this unique book, the authors examine the relationship between real world legislation and new advancements in technology, showing how this can lead to loopholes in legislative protection. They draw on empirical research to highlight the jurisprudential issues relating to economic internet crime and digital currencies. Advancements in technology have seen gambling behavior transverse a new path. The law has not kept pace with such advances, leaving grey areas of concern undiscussed and unregulated.The authors provide a critical discussion on laws relating to gambling in virtual worlds, commenting that terms such as 'virtual' or fantasy are unhelpful in promoting effective legislation. The discussion reveals how virtual world gambling can lead on to other criminal acts within virtual worlds, and specifically examines the notion of cybercrime, economic internet crime and the problems associated with digital currencies. The book concludes by presenting the case for joined up national and international legislation to tackle virtual world crimes effectively. This distinctive study will appeal to researchers and advanced students with an interest in cybercrime, economic internet crime and virtual economies. Practitioners, policy-makers and law enforcement officers will find this book informative in promoting suitable legislation to encompass new technologies in economic crime. Contents: 1. Introduction to Virtual Worlds and Gambling 2. Cybercrime Critical Literature Review 3. Global and Virtual Gambling Legislation 4. International Measures Regulating Online Gambling 5. Global Regulation on Financial Crime 6. Digital Currencies and Financial Crime Conclusion and Recommendations Index

This book is a comprehensive commentary on the EIR in light of recent decisions of the ECJ and decisions of the judicatures of the various Member States of the EU. It contains a commentary on Article 102, Sections 1 to 11 of the German EGInsO (The Act Introducing the Insolvency Act), as well as country reports on the international insolvency laws of France, Great Britain, and Hungary. This book also deals with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency together with detailed references to the international insolvency laws of the U.S.A., and it also includes a discussion of protocols. The appendix to the commentary on Article 3 of the EIR contains an extensive Table of Cases, which sets out over 100 cases from the various Member States, including decisions and literature references. While thus being tailored to the needs of the European insolvency practitioner, this commentary also serves as a knowledge-base from which further exploration of the material can begin. The contributing authors are all well-respected academics and practitioners in Germany, England, France, Hungary, and the U.S.A.

The distribution of profits between corporations resident in different jurisdictions gives rise to significant tax planning opportunities for multinational enterprises. As cross-border transactions between corporations grow in number and complexity, the question of how a profit distribution is classified for corporate income tax purposes becomes increasingly important, particularly in the context of issues such as double taxation, non-taxation and tax neutrality. This unique and practical work covers the rules determining which transactions may be classified and therefore taxed as dividend income and how classification conflicts may be resolved. The author examines the classification of various inter-corporate transactions, including: * Payments made under dividend-stripping arrangements. * Fictitious profit distributions. * Economic benefits in the context of transfer pricing. * Returns on debt-equity hybrids. * Interest payments in thin capitalization situations and distributions following liquidation. The analysis of each transaction refers to international tax law. Most weight is given to tax treaties and EU tax law. The approaches adopted in different states' national tax law are covered by a more general analysis. The comprehensive coverage and practical nature of The International Tax Law Concept of Dividend make it an essential acquisition for tax practitioners, researchers and tax libraries worldwide.

This book explores the various considerations for achieving an effective regulatory strategy to improve financial access and usage in Nigeria and beyond. Gaps in the legal and institutional framework for digital financial services (DFS) as well as the barriers that contribute to financial exclusion are identified as are the policy changes needed to provide more extensive, accessible and sustainable financial inclusion value. In addition, the book covers divergent themes around the use of and insights for regulating industry financial services providers and challenger entities that herald industry disruption. The book adopts three research methods. The doctrinal research method is used to buttress the law and development analysis and the themes around regulation, adoption and usage of financial services. To elucidate the application of financial innovations, comparative case studies are drawn from selected jurisdictions including Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, The Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, Uganda, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Lastly, using the empirical research method, the author reports the burden experienced by the residents of a community without banks in accessing finance. Included in this discussion are the barriers to finance as well as the coping strategies adopted by the community residents to access formal and informal finance.

Fiduciary duties are widely viewed as essential to myriad private relationships, including guardianships, employment relationships, trusts, business organizations, and professional relationships. Recently, legal scholars and courts have devoted increasing attention to the application of fiduciary principles to public officials and public institutions. Some have argued that fiduciary relationships are unified by a common structure, but courts and commentators typically treat each fiduciary relationship as distinct. As a result, fiduciary law is often viewed as fragmented. The Research Handbook on Fiduciary Law shows that fiduciary law can be a distinctive field of study in its own right. This timely work presents important accounts of fiduciary relationships and new ideas on how fiduciary law can be explained. Coverage includes discussion of fiduciary obligations, fiduciary remedies, the role of equity and trusts, and public fiduciary law. A number of comparative perspectives are introduced to highlight similarities and differences between leading jurisdictions. The chapters in this Research Handbook help to show why this subject has drawn so many distinctive points of view, and sheds new light on a multi-faceted and rapidly growing field of study. This Research Handbook will be of interest to readers concerned with both the theory and practice of fiduciary law, as it incorporates significant new insights and developments in the field. It will also act as a starting point of new inquiry for those looking to contribute to the field themselves. Contributors include: S.M. Bainbridge, S.L. Bray, C.M. Bruner, M. Conaglen, E.J. Criddle, D.A. DeMott, E. Fox-Decent, S. Galoob, M. Gelter, A.S. Gold, M. Harding, G. Helleringer, C. Hill, J. Hill, L.P.Q. Johnson, S.H. Kim, A. Laby, E. Leib, A. Licht, B. McDonnell, P. Miller, D.T. Rave, D.G. Smith, A. Tuch, J. Velasco

Blockchains and cryptocurrencies, open banking, virtual assets, and artificial intelligence have become the buzzword of this decade. This book focuses on these 'disruptive' financial technologies that provide alternatives to the traditional financial services typically offered by regulated financial institutions. Financial technologies are characterized by the innovative ways in which they initiate, support or extend traditional financial services or offer alternative financial pathways and products. However, these financial technologies also pose money laundering and terrorist and proliferation financing as well as cyber security risks that require mitigation. This edited volume addresses a range of regulatory and enforcement challenges related to financial technology and financial crime. The book responds to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, in particular in relation to economic development, employment, national security, law enforcement and social well-being. Fostering responsible financial innovation promotes long-term economic growth, inclusion, and improved living standards. This book explores how to promote financial innovation while mitigating risks in a way that ensures financial prosperity and social inclusion.

This newest volume in Praeger's National Tax Association series examines the taxation of business property. Experts from the corporate and academic world address the crucial matters of: the changing business property tax base and its impact on local government economic health; the emerging legal issues in business property taxation; uniformity as a tax policy objective; the enforcement of uniformity; issues concerning the valuation of business property; and the appropriate role of business property taxation. This volume will be of interest to tax specialists in business and government.