This is a much-needed work in the financial literature, and it is the first book ever to analyse the use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) from a theoretical and practical perspective. By the end of 2020, more than 240 SPACs were listed in the US (on NASDAQ or the NYSE), raising a record $83 billion. The SPAC craze has been shaking the US for months, mainly because of its simplicity: a bunch of investors decides to buy shares at a fixed price in a company that initially has no assets. In this way, a SPAC, also known as a "blank check company", is created as an empty shell with lots of money to spend on a corporate shopping spree. Could the trend be here to stay? Are SPACs the new legitimate path to traditional IPO? This book tackles those questions and more. The author provides a thorough analysis of SPACs including their legal framework and how they are used as a risk mitigation tool to structure transactions. The main objectives of the book are focused on finding a working definition for SPACs and theorising on their origins, definition, and evolution; identifying the objectives of financial regulation within the context of the recent financial crisis (2007-2010) and the one that is currently unfolding (Covid-19); and also describing practical examples of SPACs through a comparative study that, for the first time, outlines every major capital market on which SPACs are listed, in order to identify a possible international standard of regulation. The book is relevant to academics as well as policymakers, international financial regulators, corporate finance lawyers as well as to the financial industry tout court.

Small jurisdictions have become significant players in cross-border corporate and financial services. Their nature, legal status, and market roles, however, remain under-theorized. Lacking a sufficiently nuanced framework to describe their functions in cross-border finance - and the peculiar strengths of those achieving global dominance in the marketplace - it remains impossible to evaluate their impacts in a comprehensive manner. This book advances a new conceptual framework to refine the analysis and direct it toward more productive inquiries. Bruner canvasses extant theoretical frameworks used to describe and evaluate the roles of small jurisdictions in cross-border finance. He then proposes a new concept that better captures the characteristics, competitive strategies, and market roles of those achieving global dominance in the marketplace - the "market-dominant small jurisdiction" (MDSJ). Bruner identifies the central features giving rise to such jurisdictions' competitive strengths - some reflect historical, cultural, and geographic circumstances, while others reflect development strategies pursued in light of those circumstances. Through this lens, he evaluates a range of small jurisdictions that have achieved global dominance in specialized areas of cross-border finance, including Bermuda, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Delaware. Bruner further tests the MDSJ concept's explanatory power through a broader comparative analysis, and he concludes that the MDSJs' significance will likely continue to grow - as will the need for a more effective means of theorizing their roles in cross-border finance and the global dynamics generated by their ascendance.

As a social process that places great stock in its stability and predictability, law does not deal easily or well with change. In a modern world that is in a constant and rapid state of flux, law is being placed under considerable stress in its efforts to fulfill its task as a primary regulator of social and economic behaviour. This challenge is particularly acute in the realm of technology and its profound ramifications for social and economic behaviour. The innovative Techno-Age not only offers fresh ways of handling old problems, but also throws up entirely new problems; traditional ways of thinking about and responding to these old and new problems and their optimal resolution are no longer as tenable as many once thought. One such example is the burgeoning world of cryptocurrencies - this peer-to-peer digital network presents a profound challenge to the status quo of the financial services sector, to the established modes of state-backed fiat currency, and to the regulatory authority and reach of law. Taken together, these related challenges demand the urgent attention of jurists, lawyers and law reformers. It is the future and relevance of legal regulation as much as cryptocurrency that is at stake. This book proposes an approach to regulating cryptocurrency that recognises and retains its innovative and transformative potential, but also identifies and deals with some of its less appealing qualities and implications.

Dedicated to the work of John Tiley, the premier tax academic in the UK for more than two decades, this volume of essays focuses on two themes that, among others, inspire the writings of Tiley. The first of these themes, tax avoidance, involves using tax law in a manner that is contrary to legislative intent. The second of these themes, taxation of the family, involves proper identification of the tax subject and is therefore one of the fundamental structural features of income tax. Drawing on historical precedent, academic excellence and personal experience, the importance of Tiley's contribution to the tax field is identified through contributions by some of the world's most influential tax writers.

This volume is a collection of scholarly and practical chapters prepared by experts in the field of banking law. Important changes are taking place in the financial sectors of the Pacific Rim, with vital roles being played by Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei. The volume deals with the relevant legal questions regarding the changing international financial practices. Designed as a broad foundation for comparative analysis of changes and reforms occurring worldwide in international banking regulation and practice, it should be helpful for understanding both policies and practicalities reflected by these rapid changes and reforms. A separate but related companion volume on international banking regulation and supervision, entitled "International Banking Regulation and Supervision: Change and Transformation in the 1990s" is also available, ISBN 1-85333-989-9, dealing with the broad policy issues entailed in the liberalization and deregulation of the banking industry.

This book presents problems that often arise in the context of international/cross-border insolvencies; analyzes and compares national legislations and jurisprudence; elucidates the solutions offered by international/regional instruments; and explores the differences in the implementation of these instruments by various countries and the consequences of these differences. It examines in detail a number of famous and less famous cases tried by national courts, in which it became readily apparent that insolvency law remains one of the bastions of national law. In addition, the book discusses the notion of transplanting foreign [international] insolvency rules and especially the influence that US insolvency law has exerted on other countries' insolvency [and international insolvency] law. Far from adopting an unrealistically optimistic stance, it soberly examines the complications of cross-border insolvencies, while also presenting potential solutions.

In this unique study Marek Dubovec examines contemporary commercial relationships between investors and their intermediaries - relationships based on accounts that hold intangible rights to securities, funds, and commodity contracts. Such accounts have replaced the traditional physical possession and delivery of tangible objects, such as security certificates, coins, and commodities that were previously used in commercial relationships. The author identifies and explains the critical components and functions of the systems for the holding of rights in accounts with intermediaries, identifying underlying principles that should be embodied in modern legislation underpinning the law of accounts. He not only compares the three major account-based systems, but does so from a comparative law perspective. He looks particularly at the differences between developed economies, which have established efficiently functioning accounts-based systems, and the majority of developing economies, which have yet to implement or modernize their accounts-holding systems. Contents: Preface Background P art I: Securities Accounts Relationships 1. Introduction to Part I 2. Securities Account Relationships 3. Transfers of Intermediated Securities, Finality and Security Interests 4. Summary of Part I Part II: Bank Account Relationships 5. Introduction to Part II 6. Bank Account Relationships 7. Funds Transfers, Finality and Security Interests 8. Summary of Part II Part III: Commodity Accounts Relationships 9. Introduction to Part III 10. Commodity Account Relationships 11. Commodity Transfers, Finality and Security Interests 12. Summary of Part III Conclusion Index

Global Finance in the 21st Century: Stability and Sustainability in a Fragmenting World explains finance and its regulation after the global financial crisis. The book introduces non-finance scholars into the wider debate regarding the conduct and regulation of finance to encourage broader discussion on important societal issues that relate to finance. The book also explores the ineffectiveness of the current approach to global prudential governance and places this discussion within the more expansive context of global governance and nationalism in the twenty-first century. The book argues that fragmentation and the growing trend of promoting informality and voluntarism has facilitated a return to nationalism as a primary form of global governance that acts contrary to post-crisis reforms that seek to promote stability and sustainability in the conduct of finance. As a remedy, Kourabas suggests that we need more, not less, of what we have traditionally conceived as international law - treaties and treaty-based international organisations. In the field of finance, this means not only pursuing financial liberalisation through free trade and investment treaties, but also the inclusion of provisions in these treaties that promotes systemic financial stability and sustainable development objectives. Of interest to legal and non-legal academics and students, legal professionals and policy-makers, this book offers a nuanced defence of international law as an approach to global governance in finance and beyond, as well as reform of international law to meet the needs of twenty-first century society.

Globalisation has opened new avenues to corruption. Corrupt practices are proliferating not only within national borders but across different countries. Despite many national and international anti-corruption bodies and strategies, corruption far from being eradicated. There is an urgent global demand for a better understanding of corruption as a phenomenon and a thorough assessment of the existing regulatory remedies, towards the establishment of more effective (and possibly uniform) anti-corruption measures. Our previous collection, Corruption in the Global Era (Routledge, 2019), analysed the causes, the sources, and the forms of manifestation of global corruption. An ideal continuation of that volume, this book moves from the analysis of the phenomenon of corruption to that of the regulatory remedies against corruption and for the promotion of integrity. Corruption, Integrity and the Law provides a unique interdisciplinary assessment of the global anti-corruption legal framework. The collection gathers top experts in different fields of both the academic and the professional world - including criminal law, EU law, international law, competition law, corporate law and ethics. It analyses legal instruments adopted not only at a supranational level but also by different countries, in the attempt of establishing an interdisciplinary and comparative dialogue between theory and practice and between different legal systems towards a better global promotion of integrity. This book will be of value to researchers, academics and students in the fields of law, criminology, sociology, economics, ethics as well as professionals - especially solicitors, barristers, businessmen and public servants.

Business Negotiations and the Law: The Protection of Weak Professional Parties in Standard Form Contracting aims to explore the issues surrounding contract negotiations between entrepreneurs and other professionals when one of the parties does not have the same level of bargaining power as the other. The need to protect weaker parties from unfair contract terms exists not only in relationships between businesses and consumers, but in business to business contracts also. This book focuses on the problem of small enterprises, independent contractors and other professional weak parties and examines these from a European point of view. There are significant differences between Member States as to decisions regarding regulatory context on the protection of weaker professional parties in asymmetrical contractual situations. However, European businesses are overwhelmingly smaller in size, so protecting weaker parties becomes key in facilitating successful and efficient negotiations. The book provides a critical and comparative overview of the area and recent regulatory developments, both to clarify the direction that European legislation is heading, and to explore the tools needed to assure the effectiveness of the common market. This text will be of interest to policy makers, researchers of European legislation, and students of commercial and business law.

The Law of Compulsory Motor Vehicle Insurance covers motor vehicle compulsory liability insurance in a broad context by putting emphasis on the fundamental principles unique to this type of insurance, their operation together with the general principles of law, and the interventions of the relevant EU Directives and CJEU decisions. The law regarding motor vehicle liability insurance is ever-evolving, fast-developing and offering more intellectual challenges as the disputes vary every day. This book examines the principles applicable in this area of law by studying the grounds where the rules derive from and their continuing developments over decades at both domestic and EU levels. Whilst doing so it also discusses whether the sources of the current applicable law, in several different motor vehicle compulsory insurance related issues, are in line with each other. The book also presents careful analyses of the interplay between the different sources of law, detailed discussions on what the law should be in order to provide consistency amongst the rules and principles identified, and how solutions to newly emerging issues can be found. The regime applicable in this area is overcomplex. This book will be valuable reading for any lawyer, whether academic, practitioner or student who would like to understand the insurance cover required for compulsory motor vehicle third party liability insurance together with the rationale for adopting such rules and their interpretation by the Courts.

Currency fluctuation, currency wars and even potential currency collapse (the Euro, the Bitcoin) are all risks that commercial parties must consider and guard against. This book gathers together in one volume all the information and advice practitioners are likely to need when advising on, advancing or defending claims involving a foreign currency element. The determination of the proper currency (or currencies) of a claim often has a dramatic effect on the level of a court judgment or arbitration award that is ultimately obtained. It is, therefore, vital for practitioners to accurately assess claims which involve a foreign currency element. The authors guide the reader through the legal principles governing how foreign currency claims are treated in English law. The book covers both the treatment of foreign currency in substantive law as well as such procedural matters as how to claim interest correctly on a foreign currency claim and how to plead, prove or disprove the applicability of a particular currency. This book is an invaluable and essential resource for all lawyers involved in international commerce, but will be of particular interest to those engaged in international finance, commodity transactions, international shipping and transport, and the insurance of assets and liabilities abroad. "Those who practise in this country need guidance in navigating the tricky waters that The Despina R unleashed. This excellent book provides that guidance." The authors "have been uniquely well placed to meet the challenge of analysing what is a perplexing body of jurisprudence, and to suggest principled answers to currency issues that have not yet been the subject of judicial decision. They consider not merely claims in contract and tort, but every type of claim that might raise an issue in relation to a foreign currency." The Rt Hon. The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG, PC, President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, 2009-2012

This book examines the coherent international tax regime that is embodied in both the tax treaty network and in domestic laws, and the way it forms a significant part of international law, both treaty based and customary. The practical implication is that countries are not free to adopt any international tax rules they please, but rather operate in the context of the regime, which changes in the same ways international law changes over time. Thus, unilateral action is possible, but is also restricted, and countries are generally reluctant to take unilateral actions that violate the basic norms that underlie the regime. The book explains the structure of the international tax regime and analyzes in detail how US tax law embodies the underlying norms of the regime.

The contributions in this book cover a wide range of topics within modern disputeresolution, which can be summarised as follows: harmonisation, enforcement andalternative dispute resolution. In particular, it looks into the impact of harmonisedEU law on national rules of civil procedure and addresses the lack of harmonisationin the US regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. Furthermore,the law on enforcement is examined, not only by focusing on US law, but also onhow to attach assets in order to enforce a judgment. Finally, it addresses certain typesof alternative dispute resolution. In addition, the book looks into the systems andcultures of dispute resolution in several regions of the world, such as the EU, the US andChina, that have a high impact on globalisation. Hence, the book is diverse in the senseof dealing with multiple issues in the field of modern dispute resolution. The book offers explorations of the impact of international rules and EU law on domesticcivil procedure, through case studies from, among others, the US, China, Belgium andthe Netherlands. The relevance of EU law for the national debate and its impact on theregulation of civil procedure is also considered. Furthermore, several contributions discussthe necessity and possibility of harmonisation in the emergency arbitrator mechanisms inthe EU. The harmonisation of private international law rules within the EU, particularlythose of a procedural nature, is juxtaposed to the lack thereof in the US. Also, the bookoffers an overview of the current dispute settlement mechanisms in China. The publication is primarily meant for legal academics in private international law andcivil procedure. It will also prove useful to practitioners regularly engaged in cross-borderdispute resolution and will be of added value to advanced students, as well as to those withan interest in international litigation and more generally in the area of dispute resolution. Vesna Lazic is Senior Researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Institute, Associate Professor ofPrivate Law at Utrecht University and Professor of European Civil Procedure at theUniversity of Rijeka. Steven Stuij is an expert in Private International Law and a PhD Candidate/GuestResearcher at the Erasmus School of Law, Rotterdam. Ton Jongbloed is Guest Editor on this volume.

The purpose of this book is to compare different solutions adopted by nine industrialized countries to common problems of income tax design. As in other legal domains, comparative study of income taxation can provide fresh perspectives from which to examine a particular national system. Increasing economic globalization also makes understanding foreign tax systems relevant to a growing set of transnational business transactions. Comparative study is, however, notoriously difficult. Full understanding of a foreign tax system may require mastery not only of a foreign language, but also of foreign business and legal cultures. It would be the work of a lifetime for a single individual to achieve that level of understanding of the nine income taxes compared in this volume. Suppose, however, that an international group of tax law professors, each expert in his own national system, were asked to describe how that system resolved specific problems of income tax design with respect to individuals, business organizations, and international transactions. Suppose further that the leaders of the group wove the resulting answers into a single continuous exposition, which was then reviewed and critiqued by a wider group of tax teachers. The resulting text would provide a convenient an comprehensive introduction to foreign approaches to income taxation for teachers, students, policy-makers and practitioners. That is the path followed by Hugh Ault and Brian Arnold and their collaborators in the development of this fascinating book. Henceforth, a reader interested in how other developed countries resolve such structural issues as the taxation of fringe benefits, the effect of unrealized appreciation at death, the classification of business entities, expatriation to avoid taxes, and so on, can turn to this volume for an initial answer. This book should greatly facilitate comparative analysis in teaching and writing about taxation in the US and elsewhere.

The 2018 Edition of this best-seller is updated and expanded to help you master both the most basic and complicated aspects of the subject by translating the complex issues of arbitrage into concise, practical language. This book will help you gain a clearer understanding of the rules of arbitrage, the relevant IRS code sections and the regulations and technical terms used in this practice. In addition, this book includes valuable appendices including arbitrage sections of the Internal Revenue Code, arbitrage regulations, and proposed regulations.

The Netherlands is one of a handful of countries in which bank enterprise and national financial law give rise to a large number of international financial transactions. It is important then for practitioners in other countries to gain more than a notional understanding of the specific features of Dutch financial law, as well as a clear working knowledge of how Dutch financial law interacts with supranational regulatory and policy regimes affecting financial transactions. Toward this end, this very useful book provides a practical but nevertheless thorough survey of Dutch financial law, with lucid explanations of such topics as the following: * specific rules applicable to investment institutions; * specific rules applicable to debt instruments; * offering securities in both primary and secondary markets; * set-off and calculation of obligations of market participants (netting); * structures for custody and book-entry transfer of securities; * obtaining and terminating listings; * mandatory bids, competing bids, friendly and unfriendly bids under public offering regulations; * alternative investment funds and fund governance; * meaning, jargon and function of derivatives, forwards, futures, options, swaps, etc.; * securities repurchase and lending transactions; * covered bond regulations; * caretaking duties in private and public law; * structure of legal proceedings of a prospectus liability claim; * unfair commercial practices rules; * case law in insider trading and market manipulation; and * securities litigation in Dutch private, criminal, and administrative law. Written in clear, easy-to-follow English, this book makes Dutch financial law accessible to lawyers, business persons, and others whose work entails financial transactions in the Netherlands. It also serves as an admirable text for students and academics in the field of financial law.

The European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Breaking the Vicious Circle between Sovereigns and Banks explains why the euro area's progress towards reining in the risks arising from the well-documented bi-directional financial contagion transmission mechanism that links sovereigns to commercial banks has been more prominent compared to the channel of contagion moving from banks to sovereigns. Providing an analysis of the legal and regulatory measures that Europe and the euro area have taken to mitigate the exposure of sovereigns to financial crises generated by commercial banks, this book draws attention to areas where improvements to the arsenal of tools hitherto introduced are either desirable or necessary. Chapters further explain - with recourse to economic and legal arguments - why the channel of contagion moving from sovereigns to commercial banks has proven harder to close, and explores ways in which progress could be made in the direction of closing it so as to avert the risk of future banking sector crises. This work provides essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in sovereign debt crises and the euro-area banking system.

The European Union has long sought to create a single financial area across Europe where consumers in one country benefit from financial markets and activities in other countries. With the emergence of the Internet as a platform for the provision of online banking services, the creation of a pan-European market for banking services appeared a realistic proposition. In practice, however, this has not happened. This book asks why and argues that the creation of banking markets via the Internet relies on both available technologies and appropriate laws and regulations. The institutional and legal framework for online banking services in the single European market are examined, as is the level of legal harmonization achieved in the UK, France and Germany under the influence of the EU Directives pertaining to online banking activities.

Drone Law and Policy describes the drone industry and its evolution, describing the benefits and risks of its exponential growth. It outlines the current and proposed regulatory framework in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe, taking into consideration the current and evolving technological and insurance landscape. This book makes recommendations as to additional regulatory and insurance initiatives which the authors believe are necessary to achieve an effective balance between the various competing interests. The 23 chapters are written by global specialists on crucial topics, such as terrorism and security, airport and aircraft safety, maritime deployment, cyber-risks, regulatory oversight, licensing, standards and insurance. This book will provide authoritative reference and expert guidance for regulators and government agencies, legal practitioners, insurance companies and brokers globally, as well as for major organisations utilising drones in industrial applications.

Foundations of International Commercial Law provides a fresh analysis of both the contextual features of International Commercial Law and a range of different International Commercial Law instruments. This text covers the various elements which comprise International Commercial Law, the academic debates about the lex mercatoria and harmonisation, as well as a discussion of selected conventions and other instruments. International Commercial Law is concerned with commercial transactions which have an international dimension, for example contracts between parties from multiple jurisdictions. As an area of study, it is characterised by the interaction of a wide range of national and international legal sources which all shape the overall context within which international commercial contracts are made and performed. This book focuses on the international legal sources in particular. It first explores all the different elements which together comprise the context of international commercial transactions, before examining the process of making International Commercial Law. Specific instruments of International Commercial Law discussed in the book include the conventions on the international sale of goods, agency, financial leasing, factoring, receivables financing and secured interests in mobile equipment, together with the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts and documentary credits. There are separate chapters on private international law and international commercial arbitration, and a final chapter exploring the existing and potential impact of the digital economy on International Commercial Law. Offering a detailed overview of the main themes and key aspects of International Commercial Law, this book is for readers who are new to the subject, whether undergraduate or postgraduate students, legal scholars, practitioners or policymakers.

Minimize your taxes and maximize your refund with this expert guide to your small business tax return Taxes remain one of the biggest headaches and costs for small businesses around the United States. J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2021 delivers an approachable but expert guide in legally limiting your tax liabilities while maximizing your deductions and credits. You'll be in great hands as Barbara Weltman - attorney, expert, and author - shows you what tax relief is available to you and how to claim it. You'll discover how to: Make tax-savvy business decisions Take advantage of COVID-19-related tax breaks Pick the right forms to claim available deductions and credits Use legal and effective tax strategies to minimize your taxes payable Use sample forms and checklists to get organized Keep the right records in case the IRS comes calling Whether you're filing your small business' taxes or you work with a tax professional, J.K. Lasser's Small Business Taxes 2021 will walk you through the tax process for 2020 returns and tax planning for 2021 to optimize your tax savings and minimize your audit exposure.

This topical book is the first publication that focuses on the impact of the CCCTB project on relations between the European Union and third countries. Although the CCCTB system will only be applicable within the European Union, it will also have wide-ranging impacts for non-resident companies.The book considers the impact of the CCCTB from the perspective of non-EU-based enterprises that are carrying on business in the EU through the operation of branches or subsidiaries in member states. It incorporates the perspectives of leading scholars from all over Europe as well as from third countries such as the United States, and provides in-depth analysis of the key aspects which would affect third countries, such as: withholding taxation, taxation of transparent entities, and transfer of assets to third countries. Corporate Income Taxation in Europe will provide essential insights to academics, practitioners and policymakers in the field of taxation. It will also interest those looking ahead to future tax reforms in the EU, or considering how a similar model may be applied elsewhere. Contributors: K. Andersson, K. Becker, Y. Brauner, J. Englisch, D. Gutmann, C.-A. Helleputte, W. Hellerstein, C. HJI Panayi, C. Kaeser, M.A. Kane, T. Keijzer, E.C.C.M. Kemmeren, R. Lyal, G. Maisto, P. Pistone, R. Seer, D.S. Smit, C. Spengel, J. van de Streek, E. Traversa, D. Weber

"Read this book. It explains so much about the moment...Beautiful, heartbreaking work." -Ta-Nehisi Coates "A deep accounting of how America got to a point where a median white family has 13 times more wealth than the median black family." -The Atlantic "Extraordinary...Baradaran focuses on a part of the American story that's often ignored: the way African Americans were locked out of the financial engines that create wealth in America." -Ezra Klein When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, the black community owned less than 1 percent of the total wealth in America. More than 150 years later, that number has barely budged. The Color of Money seeks to explain the stubborn persistence of this racial wealth gap by focusing on the generators of wealth in the black community: black banks. With the civil rights movement in full swing, President Nixon promoted "black capitalism," a plan to support black banks and minority-owned businesses. But the catch-22 of black banking is that the very institutions needed to help communities escape the deep poverty caused by discrimination and segregation inevitably became victims of that same poverty. In this timely and eye-opening account, Baradaran challenges the long-standing belief that black communities could ever really hope to accumulate wealth in a segregated economy. "Black capitalism has not improved the economic lives of black people, and Baradaran deftly explains the reasons why." -Los Angeles Review of Books "A must read for anyone interested in closing America's racial wealth gap." -Black Perspectives