In the wake of the legality crisis that has affected a number of prominent companies in the last decade, studies have reinforced the growing conviction that the board of directors, as legally constituted in leading jurisdictions, is not able to balance the power of controlling shareholders and that of the company's executives. The perennial issue of the dynamic between corporate ownership and management has thus taken a far-reaching new turn that tends to favour larger and more effective participation and involvement of shareholders in corporate governance. Proceeding from the shareholder's perspective, this book examines the law of public companies in Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. Law professors from each of the five jurisdictions analyse the role of the shareholder as a member of the corporate organization and as an investor, with attention to the listing process, the size and relevance of the securities market, the ownership structure of public companies, the division of powers within the company, the role of the general meeting of shareholders, minority rights, remedies, public authorities, and takeovers. As might be expected, the debate is quite heated, covering such topics as the following: * how institutional investors are changing the terms of the collective action problem; * ever-increasing political and public demands for more disclosure and transparency; * conflicts of interest among controlling shareholders; * convergence of the traditional 'insider' and 'outsider' financial systems; * internal agreements protecting the position of minority shareholders; and * directors' remuneration. The authors describe a number of possible mechanisms designed both to balance directors' and managers' powers and promote efficiency - proposals that also represent a means to offer legitimacy for the modern company towards society as a whole. This is a book that will be warmly welcomed by everyone engaged in the important debate under way on corporate responsibility and governance.

The global financial crisis that started in 2007 sparked several academic debates about the role that financial sector regulators played in the crisis and prompted policy reforms in the financial supervision architectures of several countries. This book focuses on the question of what accountability, independence, transparency and, more generally, governance mechanisms applicable to financial regulators can better contribute to building responsive, responsible and effective regulatory and supervisory frameworks that tackle the weaknesses of the pre-crisis regimes. It re-visits the concepts of accountability and independence of financial regulators as well as the main economic theories underlying financial services policy-making, in light of the crisis experience. In addition, it critically examines the post-crisis institutional frameworks of financial regulation and supervision in the EU, the US and Canada with a view to assessing whether the financial regulators of the post-global financial crisis era are well suited to effectively address the challenges and threats that global financial markets pose to the stability, integrity and good functioning of financial systems as well as to the protection of consumers, investors and society at large.

Since the EC Block Exemption Regulation (BER) went into force in June 2000, companies are required to undertake a self-assessment of the possible consequences of their vertical agreements that is, of agreements that arise in a channel of distribution between firms at different levels of trade or industry, i.e., between a manufacturer and wholesaler, between a supplier and customer, or between a licensor of technology and his licensee. Such an assessment can be extremely complex. Although the European Commission has issued regulatory guidelines to facilitate the self-assessment process, there can be little doubt that the in-depth analysis and guidance provided in this book will be greatly welcomed by business people and their counsel. "Economic Analyses of Vertical Agreements" clarifies the steps, tests, determinations, and evaluations entailed in assessing vertical agreements, especially when an individual examination under Article 81 EC Treaty is required (as it is for all companies with more than a 30 per cent market share in a relevant market). Among the terms and factors thoroughly explained, from the various pertinent points of view, are the following: vertical restraints and their components; exclusive and selective distribution agreements; channel strategies; single branding; free rider rationale; and, the European structured rule of reason in Article 81 EC Treaty. The presentation is particularly notable for its wide-ranging discussion of types of vertical restraints and combinations of vertical restraints and how each is impacted by the new vertical agreement rules. The author also discusses the relevant case law of the EC Courts. Companies doing business in Europe and their legal and economic advisers will find here an absorbingly detailed overview of requirements and procedures, a clear analysis against which to measure strategic choices, and an enormously useful handbook to consult at every turn for expert guidance through the assessment of their vertical agreements.

During the past decade, the use of private enforcement within competition law has gradually increased throughout Europe but major differences still exist among Member States. By harmonizing a number of procedural rules, the implementation of the Damages Directive has established a level playing field among EU Member States. This book represents the first assessment of the implementation of the Damages Directive at the national level. The contributors explore the topic from a cross-cutting perspective as well as via a set of country case studies. Each chapter focuses on a number of procedural aspects harmonized by the Directive, and analyses the impact of the Directive by taking into consideration the national jurisprudence and the existing legal framework at the national level. By using a comparative lens, this timely book thus provides an up-to-date account of the emerging trends in private enforcement of competition law in Europe. Perceptive and engaging, this book will appeal to students and researchers in EU competition law and policy. Practitioners and national competition authorities will also find it informative and beneficial. Contributors include: M. Botta, P. Burke, J. M. Gonzalez, C. Kruger, J. Maillo, P.L. Parcu, S. Peyer, A.R. Pisarkiewicz, M.A. Rossi, T. Schreiber, S. Solidoro, S.V. Walle

The primary aim of this book is to help readers understand the development of the theory and practice of labor law in China, and to familiarize them with major advances and remaining challenges in this field. The author also puts forward suggestions on how to improve labor law in China on the basis of an analysis of key problems and comparative study. The book can also serve as a useful guide, allowing HR experts at companies with Chinese employees or doing business in China to better understand Chinese labor law and regulations. It covers a broad range of labor law issues, including the meaning of labor relations, definition of the employee and employer, the duties of employers and employees, anti-discrimination, labor dispatch, minimum wage, termination of labor contracts, work injury insurance, labor inspections and labor dispute resolution.

From the start of the financial crisis in 2007, which turned into an economic crisis soon afterwards, it was obvious that public law could not prevent the genesis of this crisis although it has adequate instruments to make a reoccurrence of such a crisis unlikely. Financial law, tax law and even aspects of criminal law are designed to regulate the behaviour of financial institutions and other corporations. Since public law was unable to avoid the 2007 crisis, there can only be one conclusion: its instruments did not work properly or, worse, were badly designed or applied. Since 2007, a lot has been done from a financial, tax or criminal law point of view, confirming this finding. Regulation has thus been at the centre of the financial and legal debate, but a real understanding of the lessons of the crisis also requires account to be taken of private law. Is there a possible connection between private law and the outbreak of a financial and economic crisis? And did private law institutions, mechanisms or instruments in their current design contribute to the crisis? Does private law provide institutions, mechanisms and/or instruments which might have prevented the genesis of a financial or economic crisis? If so, why did these institutions, mechanisms and instruments fail to do so? And is there a need for new or modified instruments to improve the impact of private law on events that may lead to a new crisis? This thought-provoking book makes it clear that private law and the possibility of a financial and economic crisis are strongly intertwined. It shows that private law provides as many useful institutions, mechanisms and instruments against the emergence of such a crisis as public law does. Few other books bring together so many leading legal scholars on private law and its effects and implications. This book is rigorous, thoughtful, enlightening and thought-provoking - a must-read.

The classification of services in the digital economy proves critical for doing business, but it appears to be a particularly complex regulatory matter that is based upon a manifold set of issues. In the context of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), when the services classification scheme was drafted in the early 1990s, convergence processes had not unfolded yet and the internet was still in its infancy and not a reality in daily life. Therefore, policy makers are now struggling with the problem of regulating trade in electronic services and are in search of a future-oriented solution for classifying them in multilateral and preferential trade agreements. In late fall 2011, the authors of this study were mandated by the European Union, Delegation to Vietnam, in the context of the Multilateral Trade Assistance Project 3 (MUTRAP 3), to work out a report clarifying the classification of services in the information/digital economy and to assess the impact of any decision regarding the classifications on the domestic and external relations policy of Vietnam, as well as to discuss the relevant issues with local experts during three on-site visits.

This work describes how the rules of accounting are developed. It provides a new perspective on European accounting, showing how laws, standards, decrees and other regulations evolve, discussing and comparing the institutional settings and the legislative processes within each country. Each chapter has been written by a leading expert on financial accounting in the established countries of the European Union.

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

When buying goods or services on behalf of a public authority, procurement officers must translate the buyer's needs into tender documents that are clear, lawful, and well-designed. This guide helps them in this task. Rich in practical examples, it is written for procurement practitioners at all levels of government - from the local to the international - including drafters of calls for tenders, controllers, tender evaluators, managers who authorize public expenditure, risk managers and auditors, as well as for students of public procurement law and public administration. The questions addressed in the book are, among others: How do I design a procurement process that is simple, fair and inviting? How do I choose appropriate selection criteria? How do I draw up a realistic price schedule? How do I weight my award criteria so that I get best value for money? This guide integrates rules and lessons from the EU Public Procurement Directive of 2014 and procurement case-law of the European Court of Justice. Its fundamental recommendations on how to improve the economic efficiency of procurement design however apply in any national system. About the authors Philipp Kiiver was born in 1979 in Leningrad. He obtained his law degree and his PhD from Maastricht University. From 2003 to 2013 he taught European and comparative public law and published academic research at the Maastricht law faculty, receiving an appointment as associate professor and serving for two years as associate dean. In 2013 he joined the European Parliament as a public procurement lawyer. Jakub Kodym was born in 1978 in Prague. After studies in political science and in economics at Charles University in Prague (M.A.), management studies at Nantes University (MBA), and private sector experience, he joined the EU institutions in 2007 and worked as a CGAP certified internal auditor for the European Commission and, since 2011, as a procurement officer in the European Parliament.

In declaring the war against terrorism President George W. Bush also declared war on the financing of terrorism. The call to arms has been complemented by a concerted effort world-wide to track down and freeze the assets of suspected terrorists and financial institutions have risen to these challenges over the last year contributing their expertise gathered mostly through techniques to combat money laundering. In this book bankers, regulators and academics pose a variety of questions from their individual perspectives: To what extent are new laws really new? What can financial institutions realistically contribute to the suppression of terrorist financing? Can individual rights be protected in these circumstances? These questions are analysed by experts who come up with some thought provoking answers.

This book explores the role of law and regulation in sustaining financial markets in both developed and developing countries, particularly the European Union, United States and China. The central argument of this book is that law matters for the operation of financial markets, which, in turn, significantly influences the performance of firms, industries, and economies.

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The Role of Law and Regulation in Sustaining Financial Markets" is divided into four parts. Part one addresses the connection between law, financial development, and economic growth. Part two deals with the role of financial regulation, which can be used to correct market failures, such as negative externalities, information asymmetries, and monopolies. Part three focuses on the design, functioning, and performance of different financial instruments. Part four examines the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility. This book contributes to the law and finance literature by studying certain conventional issues, such as the relationship between finance and economic growth, and the effects of regulatory quality on financial development, from new perspectives and/or with new evidence, data, and cases. It also explores novel topics, such as project finance contracts, insurance and climate change, the shadow banking system, that have been overlooked in current literature.

This book is meaningful not only for the EU and the US, which have suffered considerably from the financial crisis of 2008, but also for China, which is struggling to build a sound institutional infrastructure to govern its increasingly complicated financial system. By comparing the regulatory philosophies and practices of the EU, the US and China, this book will help the reader to understand the diverse nature of the global law and finance nexus and avoid succumbing to the myth of "one size fits all.""

Providing comparative analysis that examines both Western and non-Western legal systems, this wide-ranging Handbook expands and enriches the existing privacy and defamation law literature and addresses the fundamental issues facing today's scholars and practitioners. Comparative Privacy and Defamation provides insightful commentary on issues of theory and doctrine, including the challenges of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and the impact of new technologies on the law. Chapters explore the origins and development of the right to privacy, privacy rights of photographic subjects and defamation by photo-manipulation, and the right to be forgotten. Containing contributions from expert international scholars, this comprehensive Handbook investigates the liability of internet intermediaries in cases of defamation and the emerging problem of global injunctions before concluding with eight country focussed studies. Engaging and accessible, this Handbook will be a key resource for students and scholars researching in the fields of privacy and defamation law, internet and technological law and information and media law. Contributors include: T.D.C. Bennett, S. Bretthauer, J. Campbell, P. Coe, M. Cornils, S.C. Ekaratne, A. Gajda, G. Gil, A. Koltay, R. Krotoszynski, J. Kulesza, D. Mangan, D. Milo, R. Moosavian, J. Oster, K.S. Park, M. Pearson, J. Reichel, D. Rolph, J. Shimizu, D.N. Staiger, R.L. Weaver, R.H. Weber, P. Wragg, M.N. Yan, V. Zeno-Zencovich

Spam, unsolicited, unwanted commercial communication, especially in bulk form is increasingly included in the areas of concern and regulation of governments worldwide. Unfortunately, this recognized and exponentially growing menace has not yet met its regulatory match. Piecemeal controls, lack of international cooperation, and the absence of an overall policy on combating patently intrusive and unwanted messages in all channels of communication hamper the struggle. The present volume contains eleven national reports, together with a general report, on this major problem that is presently burdening and distorting communications through the Internet.Most of the reports were presented at the XVIIth Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law held at Utrecht, the Netherlands on July 19, 2006. The authors have had the opportunity to revise and update their texts before they were submitted here for publication. The national reports are from Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Starting from some common assumptions; including respect for freedom of expression; emphasis on unsolicited, bulk, automated; messages to strangers; and non-interference with the normal use of the Internet; the contributors set out to tackle spammer elusiveness and the difficulties of cross-border coordination that plague this field.Among the broadly conceived legal responses they consider are the following: making spam illegal; empowering the user to avoid and repel spam; laws governing confidentiality of personal data; application of unfair competition; laws; and conscripting the service providers to block spam in its tracks through a variety of controls. The reports provide documentation and analysis of the various ways in which these approaches have been used, or can be used, in legislation and case law in a variety of national and international fora. Workers in all fields of communications, from technologists to legal practitioners and academics to administrative policymakers, will benefit enormously from these syntheses and insights.

Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior takes and interdisciplinary approach toward systems design in the online environment by providing an understanding of how consumers behave while shopping online and how certain system design elements may impact consumers' perceptions, attitude, intentions, and actual behavior. This book contains theoretical and empirical research from expert scholars in a number of areas including communications, psychology, marketing and advertising, and information systems. This book provides an integrated look at the subject area as described above to further our understanding of the linkage among various disciplines inherently connected with one another in electronic commerce.

Local Government Tax and Land Use Policies in the United States is an accessible, non-technical evaluation of the most recent economic thinking on the nexus between local land use and tax policies. In Part I, Helen Ladd provides a comprehensive summary of the extensive literature on the interaction of local land use and tax policies. She explores the theoretical controversies and clarifies issues such as the use of land use regulation as a fiscal tool, the effects of taxes on economic activity and the success of tax policies to promote economic development. In Parts II and III, a group of experts presents new research on important issues such as the impact of growth on tax burdens, metropolitan tax base sharing, the incidence of impact fees and the shift to land value taxation in urban areas. This book raises provocative questions concerning the conventional wisdom in fiscal policy. It will be indispensable for economists and students interested in urban issues and local public finance as well as planners and policymakers.

This book presents various perspectives on the environmental aspects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), including the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). Among the issues discussed are the environmental regulations of the NAFTA nations and Chile, as well as the environmental implications of conducting cross-border business. These topics are addressed in an interdisciplinary manner, focusing on legal, economic, social, political and scientific issues, with contributions from American, Canadian, Mexican and Chilean authors. The book is invaluable as it provides a broad outlook on multifaceted environmental issues in a single volume.

This book is the third volume in our NAFTA Law and Policy series, which offers high-quality studies on different aspects of NAFTA, including legal analysis and commentary on the Agreement. The numerous areas covered by the series include NAFTA topics as diverse as agriculture, dispute settlement, intellectual property rights, investment and labour.

Food and nutrition security - identified via availability, access, utilization, and stability - and transitions to sustainable food systems are major discourses in the agro-food arena, as many countries today experience different forms of malnutrition simultaneously, such as child undernutrition, anemia among women, and adult obesity. Meanwhile, the triple burden of malnutrition (undernutrition, overnutrition, and micronutrient deficiency) is still widespread. Food Security and Nutrition explores integrated, context-specific approaches to food security challenges, emphasizing nutrition security as an integral component and addressing the implications of food content to food and nutrition security policies. Providing insight into these challenges through agricultural, policy, nutritional, geographic and sustainability lenses, Food Security and Nutrition is a valuable reference for food scientists and nutrition researchers working in food supply, food security, and nutrition security, and policy makers, investors, and other decision-makers seeking to address food insecurity around the world.

It is a sine qua non of legal practice that lawyers should not allow themselves to act for two clients whose interests may,potentially, conflict. However, this principle is being placed under increasing pressure, the main reasons for this being increased demand for specialist legal services, the globalisation of commerce, a dramatic growth in the size of leading law firms, and significantly greater mobility within the legal profession. As a result, there is a growing trend, especially within the commercial legal environment, for solicitors to face conflicts of interest which have no easy solution. Increasingly, conflicts are being 'managed', rather than avoided altogether. This is a field within which the Law Society's own rules are flouted on a daily basis, and in which these rules appear increasingly at odds with the common law. Based on extensive interviews with lawyers and their clients, this book provides the first thorough consideration of how conflicts of interest are handled within law firms. It will be essential reading to all those who have an interest in professional legal ethics, including law students, legal scholars, practitioners, and regulators.

Natural disasters such as large-scale flooding are on the increase. Climate change directly affects our basis of existence. This includes residential buildings, and commercial and industrial properties. The author highlights the requirements that will have to be met by a protection system for buildings in the future. Insurance against natural hazards lies at the heart of such a system. The insurance systems of Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and the USA are presented. The author explains what type of insurance system is best suited to meet the challenge of climate change. The starting point of the legal section is statutory insurance with a monopoly. The question of whether such insurance is compatible with Swiss and EU law is examined. Keywords in this respect are economic freedom, competition, services of general interest and universal service.

There is unrelenting pressure, particularly on taxation authorities in developing and transition countries, to design tax incentives to attract foreign investment. Although experience shows that justification for the use of such incentives can be found only in limited circumstances, policy makers everywhere continue to confer tax benefits on investors in the hopes of achieving various economic objectives. In this widely-researched volume, a leading consultant and academic in the field of international taxation surveys the major forms of FDI tax incentives in theory and in practice. Although it is not intended as a design guide for national taxation authorities, the books scope and depth make it an indispensable source of comparative analysis, showing where efficiency and cost-effectiveness are most likely to lie in a wide range of economic situations. It is particularly valuable in its discussion of the following issues: Avoiding the race to the bottom that comes from excessive tax competition;The elusive distinction in many countries between standard and special tax rates;The perceived benefits of FDI for the various stakeholders;Locational determinants;Risk factors;Distortionary effects;Sectoral competition; andAdministrative monitoring of compliance. Professor Easson draws on numerous actual patterns that arise in various national, supranational, and sectoral contexts, in each instance shedding light on real conflicts and constraints, and clarifying the choices required of investors, taxation authorities, and target enterprises. Tax Incentives for Direct Investment will clearly be of great use to government policymakers, students of international taxation and international business, and those who determine and advise on the policies of multinational corporations and other international investors.

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