Global finance is in the middle of a radical transformation fueled by innovative financial technologies. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digitization of retail financial services in Europe. Institutional interest and digital asset markets are also growing blurring the boundaries between the token economy and traditional finance. Blockchain, AI, quantum computing and decentralised finance (DeFI) are setting the stage for a global battle of business models and philosophies. The post-Brexit EU cannot afford to ignore the promise of digital finance. But the Union is struggling to keep pace with global innovation hubs, particularly when it comes to experimenting with new digital forms of capital raising. Calibrating the EU digital finance strategy is a balancing act that requires a deep understanding of the factors driving the transformation, be they legal, cultural, political or economic, as well as their many implications. The same FinTech inventions that use AI, machine learning and big data to facilitate access to credit may also establish invisible barriers that further social, racial and religious exclusion. The way digital finance actors source, use, and record information presents countless consumer protection concerns. The EU's strategic response has been years in the making and, finally, in September 2020 the Commission released a Digital Finance Package. This special issue collects contributions from leading scholars who scrutinize the challenges digital finance presents for the EU internal market and financial market regulation from multiple public policy perspectives. Author contributions adopt a critical yet constructive and solutions-oriented approach. They aim to provide policy-relevant research and ideas shedding light on the complexities of the digital finance promise. They also offer solid proposals for reform of EU financial services law.

"Most VAT systems exclude public bodies from the scope of value added tax (VAT) systems. However, a movement to include public sector bodies within the GST system to some extent or even fully (as in New Zealand) is gaining momentum, and underlies the European Commission's 2011 study on the treatment and economic impact of exemptions in the public interest. Whether the present EU treatment really is as bad as some of its critics suggest, and whether the New Zealand model really is so perfect that jurisdictions with exclusion models ought simply to replace these existing systems with a New Zealand style system: these are the questions which triggered this research and which form the basis for the critical analysis contained in this book."

The arm's length principle serves as the domestic and international standard toevaluate transfer prices between members of multinational enterprises for taxpurposes. The OECD has adopted the arm's length principle in Article 9 of itsModel Income Tax Convention in order to ensure that transfer prices betweenmembers of multinational enterprises correspond to those that would have beenagreed between independent enterprises under comparable circumstances. Thearm's length principle provides the legal framework for governments to have theirfair share of taxes, and for enterprises to avoid double taxation on their profits.

Ever since Korea succumbed to the East Asian economic crisis in 1997, its financial sector has been restructuring itself in accordance with the terms of an IMF bail-out package, in addition to meeting urgent domestic banking needs. All this is taking place in the context of an international convergence of supervisory standards in the banking industry, spearheaded by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the "Core Principles" of the Basel Committee for Bank Supervision. This nexus of events makes the current reform of Korean banking laws of special significance as an example - and a test - of the "new international financial architecture" as it can be observed at work in a developing industrial economy. This text provides an in-depth analysis of Korea's banking law reform programme - its complex sources, its particular rules, the effect of international commitments as well as "soft law", the extent of economic recovery to date, and the trends and developments in banking practice and regulation likely to occur in the near future. In the process the author examines such pervasive issues as the following: the need for both short-term and long-term banking sector infrastructures and the tension this creates; the clear necessity to satisfy deep-seated societal predispositions; the role of foreign banks; ensuring the transparency of bank management; the role of banking regulatory institutions; and the importance of domestic financial stability in the global free market system. By revealing the implications for Korea of the international banking and financial standards and principles that are coming into effect throughout the trading world, the text lays bare the underpinnings of a domestic financial system geared to work efficiently in international financial markets, yet designed to protect its own "safety and soundness".

While forces of globalization have created a genuine global marketplace, global rules safeguarding the competitive process in this marketplace have not emerged. International cooperation among national regulators and enforcers is therefore needed to create a competitive global business-environment. The Future of International Competition Law Enforcement, using the variety of legal instruments available to the EU as a point of departure, undertakes an original assessment of the EU's cooperation agreements in the field of competition law The work's focus is on the bilateral sphere, often labelled as a mere 'interim-solution' awaiting a global agreement; further attention is given to competition provisions in free trade agreements as well as the main multilateral initiatives in this field, in order to determine their relative value.

In the last two decades, multinational companies (MNCs) and global union federations (GUFs) have started to negotiate so-called global framework agreements (GFAs) which define minimum standards for labor conditions across their locations. This book focuses on the question why companies conclude GFAs, and identifies four groups of incentives: reduction and privatization of conflicts; public relations; promotion of equal competitive conditions; exogenous requirements and avoidance of public regulation. Based on an in-depth analysis of incentives considered to play a dominant role in the decision of companies to conclude GFAs, the book attempts to predict under which conditions GFAs can be expected to proliferate in the future.

In sharp contrast to the globally expressed concern regarding the emission of CO2 stemming from the burning and combustion of fossil fuels, and the ongoing efforts to establish a new global Climate Agreement with binding commitments towards curbing such emissions, the demand for petroleum, next to coal making up the fossil fuels, is strong and as far as foreseeable will remain strong in the coming decades. Clearly, it is not expected that Government climate change policies following from the intended Climate Agreement will have much impact on the demand for both oil and natural gas in the coming years. There are good reasons for this at first sight surprising situation (and likewise for the fact that in any country the discovery of a new oil or gas field still may count on a warm welcome by the government concerned and the general public). In the first place there are no realistic, practical or cost-effective alternatives for the many sectors in the economy for which oil products and natural gas presently supply in varying degrees either the energy or the feedstock. In the second place, natural gas itself may serve as an alternative: in this case serving as an alternative for coal in the power sector due to the fact that natural gas scores much better than coal on the CO2-emission table, and that there are no realistic and practical non-fossil alternatives for this sector available, at least as long there is a strong public opposition against the use of nuclear energy. The latest statistics and projections about the total of remaining recoverable reserves, including proven reserves, make clear that the petroleum industry by further exploration and application of sophisticated production techniques, many times in extreme areas and/or under extreme conditions, must be expected to be able to satisfy any reasonable demand as currently projected. This third edition has been fully updated not only as far as statistics go but also with respect to petroleum legislation. But legislation, treaties, etc. that have lost their relevance have been deleted. Furthermore, the separation between licence-based petroleum legislation (Western countries) and contract-based petroleum legislation (non-Western countries) has been brought out more clearly and sharply in line with recent developments.

"This book offers the ideal way for foreign lawyers, business executives, accountants, and professional advisors, to get a solid understanding of Dutch corporate law. This book represents a unique publication in the English language, and an indispensable tool for anybody who is involved in corporate matters in the Netherlands. Many international companies are or use Dutch holding companies. Therefore, the book addresses a wide audience. The book incorporates recent substantial changes in corporate law in the Netherlands."

China's company and commercial law is still in formation, but its emerging patterns contain many practical elements that can be of immediate use to business people and their counsel. This guide presents not only the current disposition of such elements, but also an analysis, by two outstanding Chinese legal scholars with US, UK, and Canadian experience, of likely developments in the future. As well as providing an understanding of the legal issues affecting transactions in China, this book offers systematic treatment of such business factors as: procedural aspects of setting up a business in China; business incentives and restrictions; contracts; competition; taxation; property rights; protection of creditors; regulation of foreign trade and investment; regulation of financial markets; insolvency; and intellectual property rights.

This book explores the transnational legal infrastructure for dispute resolution in transnational securities transactions. It discusses the role of law and dispute resolution in securities transactions, the types of disputes arising from them, and the institutional and legal aspects of dispute resolution, both generally and regarding aggregate litigation. It illustrates different dispute resolution systems and aggregate litigation methods, and examines the legal issues of dispute resolution arising from transnational securities transactions. In addition, the book proposes two systems of dispute resolution for transnational securities transactions depending on the type of dispute: collective redress through arbitration and a network of alternative dispute resolution systems.

"International Finance in Korea is a practical guide for foreigners about the Korean financial system and the Korean law on international finance. The author, former General Counsel of Asian Development Bank and now serving as senior advisor for Kim & Chang, has extensive experience in international finance and legal writing. The book is written in a very concise and informative manner concentrating on matters of particular interest to foreigners. The first chapter of the book reviews the Korean legal system and the Korean governmental structures. The second and third chapters of the book examine relevant provisions in the Civil Code and the Commercial Code of Korea, the two primary basic laws on civil and commercial matters. The fourth chapter of the book takes up the Korean financial system and elaborates on the business scopes and functions of different financial institutions in Korea and their interrelationships. The fifth chapter of the book addresses major international finance-related transactions in relation to Korean law including participation, financial derivatives transactions, infrastructure financing, aircraft financing, foreign investment, disclosure of securities ownership, public offering of securities, tender offer, securities lending, marketing and sale of foreign securities to Korean residents, prohibited securities trading activities, bills of exchange and promissory notes. The remaining chapters discuss other subject matters of relevance to international finance such as foreign exchange regulations, insolvency proceedings, enforcement of rights, conflict of laws, taxation, and legal opinions. The foreign exchange regulations of Korea affect all cross-bordertransactions and, therefore, must be dealt with adequately in any transactions between foreign parties and Korean parties. Insolvency laws have become increasingly important for the sufficient protection of credit-providing institutions. The chapters on enforcement of rights and conflict of laws are concerned with legal remedies available to foreign parties for defaults of Korean counterparties. The taxation chapter provides essential information about the Korean tax laws applicable to international finance-related transactions. The final chapter on legal opinions discusses essential points to look after in obtaining legal opinions from Korea on finance-related transactions. A detailed index by subject matter has been included at the end of the book. The book, thus, provides the answers to all questions frequently encountered by foreigners regarding the Korean law on international finance. "International Finance in Korea is of great interest to not only those engaged in finance-related businesses involving Korea but also lawyers assisting these businessmen and academics in the field of international finance or comparative law. The book is unique in introducing Korean law to the international community since there has been no general publication in English about Korean law.

This book seeks to fill a gap in the existing literature by describing the formulation, interpretation and enforcement of the rules on consumer contracts in China and the EU, and by mapping key similarities and differences. The study addresses selected issues regarding consumer contracts: sources of law in the two jurisdictions are first discussed to set the scene. Afterwards, one preliminary issue - how to define the concept of a consumer contract - and two substantive topics - unfair terms and withdrawal rights - are dealt with. Apart from the descriptive analysis, the book also provides possible explanations for these comparative findings, and argues that the differences in consumer contract rules can be primarily attributed to a disparity of markets. The book offers a valuable resource, particularly for researchers and practitioners in the fields of private law and comparative law.

This second volume focuses on the quest for a legal form for small businesses. The debate as to whether the traditional registered company, perhaps with some modification, is an appropriate vehicle for small enterprises has continued in Britain, and to a lesser extent in Europe, for well over 30 years. The imperative behind reform in this area of the law in many cases will be political and this is perhaps most dramatically illustrated in the case of South Africa. The British heritage of South African law renders South Africa's approach to developing appropriate legal forms for small enterprises of considerable interest to Europe. Consequently, the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in collaboration with the Centre for Business Law of the University of the Orange Free State organized a conference in London in the Autumn of 1997 on the search for an ideal form for small businesses. The discussions were chaired by Professor A.J. Boyle and Professor Johan Henning and ranged across a broad spectrum of issues.

Based on theoretical foundations and evidence-based case studies, this book identifies the fundamental motivations underpinning corporate fraud in both developing and developed countries. The book offers practical solutions in terms of monitoring and potentially preventing future corporate fraud activity. It is expected that uncovered corporate fraud negatively affects the public reputation, and financial performance of fraudulent firms. However, what is of more importance for fraudulent firms is how to regain the trust of customers, investors, and other stakeholders, as this impacts the long-term sustainability of businesses. Operational strategies, including reform, provide an effective channel for a fraudulent firm's business sustainability yet this notion remains unexplored in the literature. This authored research book argues that the choice of appropriate operational strategies is critical as they serve as an effective channel for fraudulent firms to re-gain the trust from customers and markets, re-establish their reputation, and enhance the firm's long-term value. The authors posit that there is no 'one-size fits-all' approach because the choice of effective operational strategies is needed to acknowledge the significance of context such as industry type, economic conditions, legal frameworks as well as the firm's fraudulent characteristics.

Cooperation, Comity, and Competition Policy, edited by Andrew T. Guzman, illustrates how domestic competition law policies intersect with the realities of international business. It offers a discussion of what might be done to improve the way in which cross-border business is handled by competition policy.
The first part of the book provides country reports written by local experts explaining the extraterritorial reach of national laws. Each country report summarizes existing domestic law and examines the conditions under which each country applies its substantive competition laws to conduct that takes place abroad. These chapters also address the question of comity, meaning the circumstances in which a country would decline to exercise jurisdiction on the grounds that another state is the more appropriate jurisdiction. Finally, the extent of cooperation between the local government and other states is examined. In conducting cross-border business activity, these reports provide the reader with a sense of the multiple jurisdictions that a business must consider within the scope of how laws from various states interact and overlap. The countries covered include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EC, Israel, Japan, Singapore and the United States.
The second part of the book offers several proposals for effectively managing these overlapping competition policy regimes. Written by top academics and practitioners, the proposals render some of the most important current thinking on the topic.
The country reports and the expert policy proposals together provide a unique perspective on international competition policy and the challenges of the international competition policy regime.

From modest beginnings in the early 1990's, a reform movement in the regulation of public procurement has mushroomed into a global imperative. Two fundamental values of international free trade policy--value for money and the deterrence of corruption--have brought intense scrutiny to bear on public procurement practices in nearly every country. Now international standards (notably those of the WTO and the EU) must be met if a trading nation is to take its place in the global markets. This collection of essays offers fifteen distinct views on the current status and trends in public procurement and its various aspects. From general discussion of setup, overcoming obstacles, ensuring transparency, and compliance with international rules to specific issues raised in economies as diverse as Kosovo, China, and the United States, "Public Procurement: The Continuing Revolution provides a great wealth of insight and information. Although the emphasis throughout is on legal issues, the contributors include not only lawyers but also economists and specialists in purchasing practice. In addition, this is the first book to note the relatively recent trend, in developed countries, toward a less prescriptive, more flexible approach to regulation in which a degree of transparency is sacrificed. The question of how this trend will affect international procurement regimes is perhaps the most viral and interesting aspect of current theory and practice in the field. "Public Procurement: The Continuing Revolution is of inestimable value not only to public procurement specialists, whatever their profession, but to a much wider audience who will recognise the decisive influence of this important economicactivity on the entire area embracing trade and even international relations. Most of these essays were originally presented as papers at an international conference hosted by the Public Procurement Research Group at the University of Nottingham in September 2001.

This book addresses the question of how competition authorities assess mergers in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector so as to promote competition in innovation. A closer look at the question reveals that it is far more complex and difficult to answer for the ICT, telecommunications and multi-sided platform (MSP) economy than for more traditional sectors of the economy. This has led many scholars to re-think and question whether the current merger control framework is suitable for the ICT sector, which is often also referred to as the new economy. The book pursues an interdisciplinary approach combining insights from law, economics and corporate strategy. Further, it has a comparative dimension, as it discusses the practices of the US, the EU and, wherever relevant, of other competition authorities from around the globe. Considering that the research was conducted in the EU, the practices of the European Commission remain a key aspect of the content.Considering its normative dimension, the book concentrates on the substantive aspects of merger control. To facilitate a better understanding of the most important points, the book also offers a brief overview of the procedural aspects of merger control in the EU, the US and the UK, and discusses recent amendments to Austrian and German law regarding the notification threshold. Given its scope, the book offers an invaluable guide for competition law scholars, practitioners in the field, and competition authorities worldwide.

The incidence of international tax evasion and tax avoidance is growing rapidly, due in great part to the enormous increase in electronic trading. Although international tax harmonization - particularly in the European Community legal system - has made great strides, it has failed to keep pace with the even more rapid and vigorous manoeuvres of tax evaders (unlawful) and tax avoiders (lawful) as they engender ever more massive losses of revenue. What is required, Professor Amparo Grau proclaims in this book, is adequate regulation of mutual assistance for the recovery of tax claims. It is essential to "internationalize" the link between the power to levy taxes and the power to actually enforce them. In international relations as currently established, the most promising way to achieve effective enforcement in the recovery of tax claims is through the mechanism of mutual assistance - an administrative function that tends to become mired in highly complex webs of procedure. "Mutual Assistance for the Recovery of Tax Claims" offers an in-depth analysis of the potential powers and necessary limits of the mutual assistance function at the national administrative level. This entails close examination of the issues that so often turn out to be the most problematic, such as whether or not claims enforced through mutual assistance merit priority and the validity of the foreign authority's right to enforce.

The eleven papers reprinted here were originally presented at the 16th Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, held in Brisbane in July 2002. Each paper is organized around the following considerations for the particular country in question:
- factors determining the role of collective agreements;
- factors determining the regulatory power of collective agreements toward the employment contract;
- factors limiting the regulatory power of collective agreements;
- degree of freedom of the parties to shape the employment contract; and
- future prospects for collective agreements as a means of regulating the employment contract.

The essentials of mergers and acquisitions (M & A) practice can best be examined from a buyer's perspective. In a corporate transaction, it is the buyer who typically faces the more substantial risks. In many instances, legal problems exist of which the buyer must be aware before deciding to purchase the target company. The book features a collection of reports by experienced young practitioners from seventeen different jurisdictions, along with a general report for a working session organised by the Corporate Acquisitions and Joint Ventures and Tax Law Commissions of l' Association international des jeunes avocats (AIJA) for the AIJA Annual Congress in Lisbon in August 2002. Each national report follows the same structure as the general report, but from a local perspective.

This book addresses the theme of collective bargaining in different legal systems and explores legal framework of collective bargaining as well as the role of different bargaining models in domestic labour law systems in altogether twenty-one jurisdictions throughout the world. Recent development of collective bargaining regimes can be viewed as part of a larger development of labour law models that face increasing challenges caused by globalization and transition of work and workplaces. The book places particular emphasis on identifying and examining most important development trends affecting domestic labour law regimes and collective bargaining and regulatory responses thereto. The analysis offered extents to transnational dimension of collective bargaining. As the chapters analyse the influence of the legal frameworks of collective bargaining in different countries they provide unique comparative insight into the topic which is central to understanding the function of labour law.

The energy law and energy policy of the EU and Euratom have become more and more complex in recent years. Today these areas feature a multitude of layers concerning not only regulation of the power industry, but also security of energy supply, climate change, consumer needs and technical innovation. This Textbook serves as a much-needed introduction to this distinctive field. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, with a clear pedagogical structure, the book concentrates on providing an overview of EU energy law, and provides pointers for further reading on each of the component parts. Stimulating end-of-chapter questions facilitate discussion and classroom use, whilst for readers with little experience of the EU, the book provides a separate chapter outlining the institutional structure and functioning of the European Union and Euratom in the field of energy policy. Key Features: - Summaries of treaty rules, case law and legislation give the reader a clear understanding of the complex legal framework of this policy area. - Review questions and further reading lists make it the ideal starting point for those coming to the subject for the first time, and for those with some prior expertise. - COverview chapters provide the reader with a solid grounding in the functioning of the EU and Euratom. Each of these features ultimately helps readers to familiarise themselves with one of the most vibrant fields of European law and policy. This introductory textbook will be the first port of call for all those, both students and practitioners, who need to understand EU and Euratom energy law.

'Stefan Weishaar brought an excellent group of authors together in this book, reflecting on key developments for the green market transition! Happy to read so many refreshing contributions on carbon taxes, energy subsidies and smart instrument mixes.' - Kurt Deketelaere, University of Leuven, Belgium The Paris Agreement on climate change constitutes an important milestone in international climate negotiations. Its key objective is the strengthening of the global response to climate change by transitioning the world to an increasingly green economy. In this book, environmental tax and climate law experts address the various issues surrounding green market transitions. Key chapters examine carbon taxes and systems of implementation, energy subsidies, and support schemes for carbon and energy policies. Using a multitude of international case studies, several contributing authors reflect on the underlying policy dynamics and the constraints of various fiscal measures. In addition, this timely work considers the important issue of smart instrument mixes, going beyond instrument choice to examine how they can work in harmony together. Astute and engaging, this book is a vital companion for students and scholars in environmental law, economics and sustainability. Its practical approach also renders it an excellent guide for policy makers and those involved in fiscal reform and green market transition. Contributors include: M. Alsina Pujols, B. Bahn-Walkowiak, P. Castro, M. Distelkamp, N. Droste, E. Fonseca Capdevila, C. Fruhmann, S. Giorgi, A. Grossmann, M. Hasenheit, A. Illes, T. Kawakatsu, C. Kettner, M. Kettunen, D. Kletzan-Slamanig, N. Kreibich, L. Kreiser, V. Kulmer, A. Lerch, C. Lutz, M. Machingambi, M. Meyer, J.E. Milne, I. Ring, S. Rudolph, R. Santos, S. Seebauer, H. Sprohge, L.-A. Steenkamp, C. Stroia, I. Taranic, P. ten Brink, A. Tuerk, S. Van Outryve d'Ydewalle, R. Vasileios, M. Villar Ezcurra, H. Wang-Helmreich, H. Wilts, S. Wolff, G. Woltjer, M. Zahno

This year, the "Yearbook Commercial Arbitration" has reached the milestone of thirty years of documenting the law and practice of international commercial arbitration. The Yearbook provides up-to-date and informative material to arbitration scholars and practitioners in the form of arbitral awards and court decisions, as well as newly adopted or amended arbitration rules. An indispensable feature of the Yearbook is the reporting on the 1958 New York Convention, which in this volume includes the greatest number of cases yet - 79 court decisions from 12 countries throughout the world. These cases are indexed and linked to the General Editor's earlier-published Commentaries on the New York Convention, facilitating research on any aspect of the Convention. The Yearbook also contains recent court decisions applying the 1961 European Convention, the 1975 Inter-American Arbitration Convention and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, as well as leading cases on topical issues from a variety of jurisdictions. Austrian, French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish decisions are translated into English, giving the reader access to material which might otherwise be inaccessible. Arbitral awards made under the auspices of the Iran-US Claims Tribunal, the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, the German Maritime Arbitration Association and the Hamburg Friendly Arbitration deal with procedural and substantive issues of general interest to the business and legal communities. New and amended rules adopted by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) are reproduced and information is provided on arbitration legislation recently enacted in Chile, Denmark, Norway, Philippines and Poland. A Bibliography and List of Journals keep the reader up-to-date on relevant literature. The worldwide scope and variety of the materials of the Yearbook assure the reader of a comprehensive annual overview of international commercial arbitration.