The current theory of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is developing along three interwoven lines - oral, social, and environmental. Although everybody recognizes that although CSR is of growing concern in a globalized economy, it being at the top of the board of director's agenda and also good for business, there is no sign of consensus on its rules, structures, or procedures. Now, this collection of essays by leading jurists, businesspeople, and academics takes a giant step toward a more cohesive and durable set of principles that can contribute to a cleaner environment and a better society while respecting and protecting the interests of all stakeholders. The authors approach this complex but critical subject from a variety of perspectives, including the following: * the role of CSR in corporate governance; * the legal enforceability of CSR rules; * the impact of international human rights standards; * CSR as part of 'corporate DNA'; * choice of CSR strategy - defensive or offensive; * the need for fair competition between developing country exporters; * the prospects for international social protection for workers; * enforcement of minimal standards in remote locations; * the active search for eco-efficient solutions; * corporate assumption of human rights responsibilities; * the legal weight of codes of conduct; and * the role of the lawyer in CSR. In a world where the annual income of the five largest business corporations is more than double the combined GNPs of the fifty poorest countries, the need for meaningful standards of corporate social responsibility should be obvious. The well-informed and considered analyses in this remarkable volume provide an excellent starting point for those anxious to move the agenda forward in this area that, despite the efforts of many companies, often seems so intractable. The book will be of immeasurable value to all professionals and academics in relevant fields of law, policy, and business.

National practice, law, and jurisprudence on state aid are developing rapidly in the present context of EU decentralization. Although the EU rules governing state aid are widely discussed, there has been until now a dearth of practice-oriented material on the actual implementation of these rules at the national level. This important contribution to the ongoing debate on the reform of the state aid system addresses for the first time the full scale of procedural questions arising in the implementation of EU state aid law. It covers all issues, ranging from the intention to grant an aid via judicial protection for competitors right through to recovery of aid and judicial protection of the beneficiary.The book presents the documentation on state aid which was made available to the participants of the 22nd World Congress of the Federation Internationale de Droit Europeenne (FIDE) at Cyprus in November 2006. Detailed reports by well-known practitioners or professors of law discuss and analyze the implementation of EU State aid law in 17 EU Member States, as well as Norway, Switzerland, and Croatia. The national reports, based on a standard questionnaire, are preceded by an analytical general report, comparing and assessing results of the analysis of Member States' law in the light of Community law, and an EU report on state aid procedures.Issues addressed include the following: transparency obligations; ensuring compliance with the notification obligation; ensuring the compatibility of aid and the application of block exemptions; recovery of aid; limitation of judicial review; and the position of state aid debt in bankruptcy proceedings. No serious academic contribution to the present debate on the reform of state aid law can afford to ignore this book. As a unique and thorough overview of state-of-the-art knowledge on national law and practice on EU State aid matters, this compendium will be of inestimable value to practitioners involved in representing interests of beneficiaries and competitors before national authorities or national courts, or before the European Commission or European Courts. The analyses will also be welcomed by authorities granting state aid, including public enterprises.

The practice of consultation between senior managers and employee representatives has a long history in British employment relations yet has often been overshadowed by discussions on collective bargaining. In the last few decades, the importance of consultation has been elevated by two main trends: the decline in trade union membership and the retreat from collective bargaining in the private sector on the one hand, with the result that consultation may be the only form of collective employee voice available; and the programme of legislative support for consultation by the European Union since the 1970s on the other. The book charts the meaning and development of consultation in the twentieth century and explores the justifications for the practice. It shows how EU intervention to promote consultation evolved and changed, paying particular attention to the adoption of the Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations, which became fully operational in enterprises with 50 or more employees in 2008. Analysing the half-hearted response to EU consultation initiatives by the social partners in Britain, it provides a critical assessment of successive UK governments' handling of the issue. Drawing on the authors' empirical research in twenty-five organizations, the book closely examines the take-up and impact of consultation regulations, and explores the processes involved in effective consultation. Consultation at Work looks at the dynamics of consultation and draws a contrast between 'active' consultation of the type envisaged by the EU, and more limited consultation used as a means of communication. Discussing the UK experience in comparative perspectives, it asks what has to happen for the take-up of consultation to improve and suggests the changes that should be made to the EU Directive and UK ICE Regulations.

This study deals with issues of particular importance in the EMU perspective. State measures may occur in the sense that they exclude market access for opt-out state economic operators and preventing them from competing with domestic economic operators, that is, restrictions on free movement. After the removal of such barriers there might still be state measures that may negatively affect competition within the common market. Such distortions of competition may occur due to differences between national legislation or other forms of state intervention on the market. They affect the prerequisites for the carrying out of economic activities, and may often result in the fact that out-of-state economic operators have to work in a market where a domestic competitor has notable advantages due to support by authorities, legislation or economic support. This may threaten the efficiency and proper functioning of the EMU. The remaining question is how such distortions can be dealt with. Which distortions are to be regarded as serious threats against the market integration and must be removed? Which priorities have to be made? The study aims at giving possible solutions to the above-mentioned issues, thus contributing to a field which, at the beginning of the 21st century, has only been examined by legal scholars to a minor extent.

This volume contains sections on company law, dispute resolution, employment law, insolvency law, intellectual property law, taxation and finance and other general commercial issues. There are a number of chapters which tackle cross-border issues, such as taxation, jurisdiction and arbitration, while others concentrate on specific geographical areas, such as the Asia-Pacific region. Some authors explore problems in the workplace, including the reduction of the workforce and incidents of racial discrimination within it, issues of which all employers need to be aware. Also examined are those subjects which are ever-present in the life of a business, among them bankruptcy and insolvency, procurement, intellectual property, investment, contracts and other matters of company law. Other chapters comprise an in-depth look at the Vienna Convention on the "International Sale of Goods", a specialized discussion of patent second medical use claims, an explanation of how criminal sanctions are being applied to crimes against the environment, a report of the devaluation and dollarization of an economy and an interesting insight into the effects of a nation's culture and traditions upon its legal system. This volume of the yearbook contains chapters on a wide variety of issues which arise regularly in the commercial world, but it also contains discussions on more specialized topics. These will not only be of use to the practitioners and business people involved in those areas, but should be useful reading for those who are not and provide an introduction to subjects which they may find useful in the future.

This timely book focuses on achieving a sustainable future through the reform of green fiscal policy. Green fiscal policies help not only provide the needed financing but may also serve the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015. In this volume environmental tax experts review the development of fiscal carbon policy, consider the impact of green taxation on trade and competition, analyze the lessons learned from national experiences with fuel and energy pricing, and evaluate a variety of green economic instruments. A comprehensive range of green economic instruments is evaluated, covering emissions trading schemes, energy tax systems, global natural resource consumption taxes and fiscal intervention. The contributions from leading environmental taxation scholars consider thought-provoking innovations in policy and law to deal with climate change and explore a range of fiscal strategies designed to mitigate the negative and maximise the positive effects of a carbon economy. This is a vital reference work for students and academics in environmental law, economics and sustainability, and will serve as an excellent guide for policy makers and those involved in fiscal reform. Contributors include: C. Brandimarte, J. Bruha, H. Bruhova-Foltynova, L. del Federico, A. Gerbeti, S. Giorgi, E. Guglyuvatyy, S.-A. Joseph, C. Kettner, D. Kletzan-Slamanig, D. Leary, Y. Motoki, A. Naito, P. Pearce, V. Pisa, N.P. Stoianoff, S.L. Tan, X. Wang, S. Wright, J. Wu, Z. Yang

The fields of insurance law and insurance economics have long and distinguished scholarly histories, but participants in the two disciplines have not always communicated well across academic silos. This Handbook encourages more policy-relevant insurance economics scholarship and more economically sophisticated legal scholarship by bringing together original contributions from leading scholars in both fields. The benefits of this inter-disciplinary approach are introduced and illustrated in four comprehensive sections: - Why and how do individuals purchase insurance? - The role of the state in insurance markets - The regulation of insurance - Insurance law in the courts. Overall, this Handbook synthesizes the insights of insurance economics with the flourishing body of economically oriented research in insurance law. As well as providing a new approach for scholars, the Handbook will prove a useful reference for insurance lawyers and insurance regulators owing to its policy relevant, practical approach. Contributors: K.S. Abraham, D. Asmat, R. Avraham, T. Baker, E.F. Brown, P.-A. Chiappori, M.F. Grace, S.E. Harrington, D. Jaffee, R.W. Klein, H.C. Kunreuther, J. Kwak, K.D. Logue, J.A. Nyman, M.V. Pauly, D. Schwarcz, P. Siegelman, C. Silver, R. Squire, S. Tennyson

Focusing on the perspectives of policy-makers, the book's purpose is to closely examine the factors that make for successful/unsuccessful labor market related policy reforms. The aim is to reveal the political aspects, namely the chances, challenges and impediments to designing labor market reforms and to establish the conditions under which successful labor market reforms can be advocated, adopted and implemented (process). The work includes exclusive interviews with twelve former European prime ministers about the labour market reforms they initiated in their respective countries: Wolfgang Schussel Anders Fogh Rasmussen Andrus Ansip Francois Fillon Gerhard Schroeder Georgios Papandreou Mario Monti Jan Peter Balkenende Jerzy Buzek Iveta Radicova Luis Rodriguez Zapatero Tony Blair

This country-by-country guide to merger control law gives business people and their counsel helpful information needed to proceed confidently toward a successful transnational merger. For each of twenty major jurisdictions - including the USA, EU, China, India, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Vietnam and most EU countries - this book describes: procedure for antitrust clearance, if necessary; rules and criteria for approval; restrictions on merger dimensions; relevant market definition criteria; and ancillary restrictions. Whenever possible, actual national notification forms are reproduced so they may be prepared in advance. The authors, each an expert in the business law of his or her own country, offer practical advice on managing the transaction and avoiding pitfalls. A detailed general introduction highlights shared patterns, as well as distinctions, among the merger control regimes of the various jurisdictions.

In this fully revised and updated edition, Christopher Bovis provides a detailed, critical, concise and accessible overview of the public procurement legal framework and its interaction with policies within the European Union and the Member States. Public procurement represents an essential part of the Single Market project, launched by European Institutions in 2011. Its regulation will insert competition and transparency in the market and be a safeguard to the attainment of fundamental principles of the Treaties. This book demonstrates the impact of the relevant Directives on Member States through the development of the case law of the European Court of Justice and assesses the judicial review of public contracts at national level. It positions public procurement at the centre of the legal and policy debate surrounding the delivery of public services and the advancement of competitiveness and industrial policy in the EU. The book highlights the pivotal role of public procurement for the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy. Demonstrating the concepts and principles of public procurement, this comprehensive book will have a strong appeal to academic researchers, lawyers, judges, practitioners, and policymakers at the European, international and national levels as well as students of law, policy and management.

In the past twenty years action in respect of the profits of crime has moved rapidly up the criminal justice agenda. Not only may confiscation orders be made,but there are also now serious substantive criminal offences of laundering the proceeds of crime. Moreover, the consequences of the regulatory regimes put in place by the Money Laundering Regulations 1993 and the Financial Services Authority are very significant. This book examines critically the history, theory and practice of all these developments, culminating in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which marks another step in the move towards greater concentration both on the financial aspects of crime and on the internationalisation of criminal law. The Act puts in place the Assets Recovery Agency, which will be central to the strategy of targeting criminal monies and will have power to bring forfeiture proceedings without a prior criminal conviction and to raise assessments to taxation. The author subjects the law of laundering, especially the novel aspects of the Proceeds of Crime Act itself, to thorough analysis and a human rights' audit. Contents: Introduction; The Economics of Money Laundering; Theory: Justifications for Forfeiture, Confiscation, and Criminalisation; History of Forfeiture and Confiscation Provisions; The International Dimension; Forfeiture Provisions; Statutory Confiscation Provisions; Investigatory Powers; Beyond Confiscation - Criminalisation; Acquisition and Deployment of Money for Terrorism; Confiscation without Conviction - 'Civil Recovery'; Money Laundering and the Professions

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the scope of European Merger Control Regulations. It follows a practical approach, which is aimed at fulfilling the need for a straightforward, user-friendly introduction to the workings of merger control at European level. It is designed to provide the reader with the framework provisions, as opposed to a case-by-case analysis, thereby enabling those involved with mergers to understand more comprehensively how the regulations and the decisions of the Merger Task Force affect specific mergers, organizations and business. The scope and functions of the Merger Regulations are set out fully and step-by-step guides to the various procedures are provided. Information sources include the full text of the Regulations as amended, relevant Commission Notices, and details of the national authorities dealing with mergers. As the EU moves further towards the accomplishment of the internal market and as mergers of ever-increasing value take place, the Merger Regulations and the work of the Merger Task Force has become of heightened importance.

This book focuses on the restructuring of distressed businesses, emphasizing the need for new financing during the restructuring process as well as during relaunch, and examines the role of law in encouraging creditor confidence and incentivizing lending. It describes two broad approaches to encouraging new finance during restructuring: a prescriptive one that seeks to attract credit using expressly defined statutory incentives, and a market-based one that relies on the business judgment of lenders against the backdrop of transaction avoidance rules. Securing new financing for a distressed business is a critical part of successful restructuring. Without such financing, the business may be unable to meet interim liquidity constraints, or to implement its restructuring plans. This book addresses related questions concerning the place of new financing as an essential component of restructuring. In general terms, the book explores how statutory interventions and the courts can provide support with contentious issues that arise from the provision of new financing, whether through new financing agreements or through distressed debt investors, who are increasingly gaining prominence as sources of new financing for distressed businesses. It argues that courts play a key part in preventing or correcting the imbalances that can arise from the participation of distressed debt investors. In this context, it critically examines the distressed debt market in emerging markets like Nigeria and the opportunity presented by non-performing loans, arguing that the regulatory pattern of market entry may dis-incentivize distress debt investing in a market that is in dire need of financing. The book offers a fresh and comparative perspective on restructuring new financing for distressed businesses by comparing various approaches (primarily from the US, UK and Germany) and drawing lessons for frontier markets, with particular reference to Nigeria. It fills an important gap in international comparative scholarship and discusses a living problem with both empirical and policy aspects.

The laws of the Member States of the European Union and the tax treaties concluded by them - being part of their national laws - must be consistent with European Community law. Apart from EC Directives and Regulations, the EC Treaty itself contains rules directly applicable to matters of international taxation. In this context the decisions of the European Court of Justice on the fundamental freedoms laid down in the EC treaty are of primary importance. If a provision of a tax treaty is in conflict with the EC Treaty, it is superseded by the Treaty provisions. The EC Treaty may therefore have the effect of changing the content of tax treaties, a matter of crucial importance to international tax planning techniques. This collection of essays examines the effects of primary European Community law, in particular the fundamental freedom provisions in the EC Treaty, on tax treaties concluded by the Member States. Using the method of examination employed by the European Court of Justice, the contributors to this volume present a systematic analysis of the effects of the interaction of national tax law, tax treaty law and the EC Treaty.

How has the legal system used its traditional body of copyright and patent law to protect rights in computer software? The last 15 years have changed the entire landscape with regard to the creation and protection of software as intellectual property. Written by a computer expert with extensive participation in some of the most important software trials of the period, this book invites you to think critically about significant software issues and learn about the legal pitfalls surrounding software development in the industry today. The book is organized around various legal issues raised by both plaintiffs and defendants in copyright litigation, and the problems of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office in dealing with the rapid proliferation of applications for software-related patents. The author explains important terms and concepts in software litigation such as infringement, substantial similarity, reverse engineering, the merger defense, and "look and feel". Galler's book is a succinct, readable survey for computer professionals, nonlegal academics, and lawyers who need a fast summary of the critical issues and cases in software and intellectual property matters.

In the twentieth century the application of national taxes to income from international business has created complex yet fascinating issues. The co-ordination of national jurisdiction to tax international income has rested formally on a network of bilateral treaties, but its practical administration has relied on a community of specialists; business advisers on the one hand and national officials on the other. The rapid growth of transnational corporations has put great pressure on the international tax system, especially due to the increasing difficulty of ensuring that the internal transfer prices between related firms in different countries reflect a fair and acceptable allocation of costs and profits. Furthermore, the widespread use of intermediary companies formed in tax havens has led to complex counter-measures and a constant process of treaty renegotiation and interaction with national law. The increasingly close administrative co-operation of tax authorities has been criticized as secretive and often arbitrary. Yet proposals for a more comprehensive framework and clearer legitimizing principles and procedures have conflicted with both the vested interests of international firms and with sensitivities about national sovereignity. But major reforms are necessary, even if implemented piecemeal.

Using perspectives from law, economics and social science, this book provides a systematic introduction to the major problems of international taxation of business income. In doing so, it retrieves important policy issues that have become buried in technical intricacies of the international taxation system.

Freedman focuses on investigation of employees by their companies and organizations, delineating the rights and obligations of the employer and the rights and privileges of the employee in the employment relationship. Internal company investigations have in recent years become widespread as companies and corporations seek to ferret out internal problems. Officers and directors as well as employees have been subjected to the internal investigative process. But the content of these internal investigations and the precise procedures utilized by the company or corporation are simply unknown for the obvious reason that no company or corporation wants to publicize the fact of investigation, or wash its dirty linens in public Unless such inside secrets are disclosed in the course of litigation, the author of any text on internal investigations cannot detail the pragmatic substance of the internal investigation. The point is simply that the internal investigation process generally remains confidential until disclosed by the participants.

There are, however, guidelines to the internal investigation that are available, and the author has utilized every known facet of the investigative process to spotlight what the internal investigation is all about. Factors such as the right to privacy; whistleblowing; discrimination based on age, sex, race, national origin, religion, etc.; drug-testing and alcohol-testing; as well as prime causes of discharge or termination of employment are all relevant, and are delineated hereinafter. In most instances, these factors are evidenced by decided cases, thereby establishing precedents and background for the author's conclusions. In view of the increasing amount of litigation in this field, Freedman's treatise will be valuable to bench and bar, and as a guide will be useful to executives in corporations and organizations throughout the private and public sectors.

How to plan and implement tax-efficient investment strategies, incorporating all the latest budget amendments

In March 2015, the Institute for Law and Finance in Frankfurt am Main held a full-day symposium which brought together leading representatives of the public and private sectors to deliver the first high level response to the questions posed by the Commission's Green Paper on Building a Capital Markets Union. These responses are collected in this volume.

Despite a clear distinction in law between equity and debt, the results of such a categorization can be misleading. The growth of financial innovation in recent decades necessitates the allocation of control and cash-flow rights in a way that diverges from the classic understanding. Some of the financial instruments issued by companies, so-called hybrid instruments, fall into a grey area between debt and equity, forcing regulators to look beyond the legal form of an instrument to its practical substance. This innovative study, by emphasizing the agency relations and the property law claims embedded in the use of such unconventional instruments, analyses and discusses the governance regulation of hybrids in a way that is primarily functional, departing from more common approaches that focus on tax advantages and internal corporate control. The author assesses the role of hybrid instruments in the modern company, unveiling the costs and benefits of issuing these securities, recognizing and categorizing the different problem fields in which hybrids play an important role, and identifying legal and contracting solutions to governance and finance problems. The full-scale analysis compares the U.K. law dealing with hybrid instruments with the corresponding law of the the most relevant U.S. jurisdictions in relation to company law. The following issues, among many others, are raised: A { decisions under uncertainty when the risks of opportunism of the parties is very high; A { contract incompleteness and ex post conflicts; A { protection of convertible bondholders in mergers and acquisitions and in assets disposal; A { use of convertible bonds to reorganise and restructure a firm; A { timing of the conversion and the issuer A|s call option; A { majority-minority conflict in venture capital financing; A { duty of loyalty; A { fiduciary duties to preference shareholders; and A { financial contract design for controlling the board A|s power in exit events. Throughout, the analysis includes discussion, comparison, and evaluation of statutory provisions, existing legal standards, and strategies for protection. It is unlikely that a more thorough or informative account exists of the complex regulatory problems created by hybrid financial instruments and of the different ways in which regulatory regimes have responded to the problems they raise. Because business parties in these jurisdictions have a lot of scope and a strong incentive to contract for their rights, this book will also be of uncommon practical value to corporate counsel and financial regulators as well as to interested academics.

In the last twenty years the biofuels industry has developed rapidly in many regions of the world. This timely book provides an in-depth and critical study of the law and policies in many of the key biofuels producing countries, such as Brazil, China and the US, as well as the EU, and a number of other countries where this industry is quickly developing. Drawing on a range of disciplines, the contributors examine the roles of the public and private sectors in the governance of biofuels. They discuss topics such as sustainability and biofuels, and provide a critical review of regulatory regimes for biofuels. They conclude by proposing recommendations for more effective and efficient biofuel policies. Academics working in the area of renewable energy and students in environmental law will find this book to be of interest. It will also be of use to policy makers around the world looking to learn from various existing regimes. Contributors: G. Berndes, M. Brandao, A. Cowie, A. Cowie, K.S. Dahmann, J. De Beer, O. Englund, L.B. Fowler, A. Genest, L. Guo, M.-H. Labrie, Y. Le Bouthillier, E. Le Gal, O.J. Lim Tung, W.E. Mabee, F. Maes, L.D. Malo, M. Mansoor, P. Martin, H. Mcleod-Kilmurray, M.J.F. Montefrio, B.E. Olsen, R.O. Owino, P. Pereira De Andrade, M. Powers, A. Ronne, P.M. Smith, T. Smith, S. Soimakallio, I. Stupak, V.M. Tafur, A.R. Taylor

Adding a second volume to the peerless country-by-country guide first published in February 2009, this book brings lessors, financiers, and operators valuable assistance in the management of aircraft during default periods and repossession proceedings in an additional 14 jurisdictions, bringing the total jurisdictions covered to 46. The two-volume set is also of great value as a preventive guide on issues arising in aircraft finance or lease transactions, especially in the drafting of associated contracts. Defaults, workouts, and repossessions of aircraft are still on the rise globally, and the situations that can lead to, or arise after, an event of default remain literally endless. This is the best way to be prepared for virtually any contingency. Local aviation law experts from each jurisdiction provide in-depth responses, country by country, to an extremely detailed questionnaire that includes eighty A real-life A| questions covering such categories as the following: A { self-help procedures; A { court proceedings; A { arbitration and other non-court proceedings; A { money claims; A { bankruptcy; A { non-consensual liens; A { rights and security interests in aircraft; A { deregistration powers of attorney; and A { export permit issues. Fees, time periods, costs of all kinds, remedies, immunities, required documentation, recognition of foreign judgements, interim measures and other court proceedings A- all these and many other crucial considerations are fully explained for each jurisdiction. Loaded with precise, up-to-date information and expert practical guidance, this two-volume set will be of enormous value to aviation lawyers, inhouse counsel of aircraft owners and operators, receivers, export credit agencies, banks, lessors, lenders and investors with an interest in the aviation industry.