This book provides a highly accessible yet practical guide to all aspects of arbitration, from the drafting of an arbitration agreement through to the award, including enforcement and appeals. Being comprehensive in its approach, every stage of the arbitral process under the Arbitration Act 1996 is covered including a separate chapter covering special types of arbitration such as consumer schemes and arbitrations under statute. Written in simple non-legalistic language and intentionally general in its coverage, it should be of relevance to arbitration matters whatever trade or profession practised.

This book includes detailed coverage of intellectual property, contract, encryption and liability issues, including allocation of domain names, use of metatags and other forms of search engine optimization, digital signatures and the position of ISPs and other intermediaries. There are case studies on electronic conveyancing and e-taxation. Though the book is written from a UK perspective, comparative material is included from other jurisdictions, including America and Singapore in particular.

As usage of the NEC (formerly the New Engineering Contract) family of contracts continues to grow worldwide, so does the importance of understanding its clauses and nuances to everyone working in the built environment. This set of contracts, currently in the third edition, is different to others in concept as well as format, so users may well find themselves needing a helping hand along the way. Understanding the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Short Contract uses plain English to lead the reader through the contract's key features, including: the use of early warnings programme provisions payment compensation events preparing and assessing tenders Common problems are signalled to the reader throughout, and the correct way of reading each clause explained. In addition, the things to consider when deciding between the ECSC and the longer Engineering and Construction Contract are discussed in detail. Written for professionals without legal backgrounds, by a practicing construction contract consultant, this handbook is the most straightforward, balanced and practical guide to the NEC3 ECSC available. An ideal companion for Employers, Contractors, Project Managers, Supervisors, Engineers, Architects, Quantity Surveyors, Subcontractors, and anyone else interested in working successfully with the NEC3 ECSC.

Regulation of insider trading has changed dramatically in the past few years. In reaction to highly publicized insider trading scandals and the internationalization of securities markets, all European countries have recently either strengthened their existing rules (France and the United Kingdom) or implemented new rules (Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and Italy). The United States continues to refine its insider trading regulations, and Japan has recently enacted legislation in this field. A a result of the increasingly international nature of insider trading, supervisory authorities throughout the world now closely co-ordinate their efforts. Drawing from the experience of law professors, governmental officials and practising lawyers, this book explores the regulations of 18 countries in Europe, the United States and Japan, as well as the EC Directive Co-ordinating Regulations on Insider Dealing and the Council of Europe's Convention on Insider Trading. The book is aimed at practising lawyers, legislators, academics and international business and finance professionals. Combining legal doctrine and practical information, it analyzes for each legal system how insider trading is defined and controlled. It also addresses other stock-related infractions and international law issues such as jurisdiction and international co-operation.

Approaching the theme from an antitrust perspective and focusing on telecommunications and television broadcasting, this volume examines how traditional European competition law doctrines and principles can be applied to this converging sector. The application of antitrust rules to the communications sector is often one of the most controversial areas of law and policy. The shift towards a more competition law oriented form of regulation is one of the main principles inspiring the recent reform of European sectorial regulation enshrined in the 2002 Electronic Communication Package. The Package was adopted in 2002 and is in the process of being implemented throughout the Union. This monograph provides a detailed description of the new regulatory package and highlights the interplay between regulatory provisions and EC competition law. It then follows the pattern of a typical antitrust analysis containing chapters on the definition of relevant market in the sector and various forms of abuses of market power. The book also critically examines the Commission's practice and policy in the field of merger control and considers its relationship with wider regulatory policies. Finally it analyses the sector from the perspective of the "European" public interest and the changed nature of communications as a public service.

Twenty years of experience have inevitably brought to light challenges and tensions in the enforcement of the European merger control system. Some of these challenges have been faced, some have been solved and some remain latent. This very valuable study starts from the proposition that the EU has never fully acknowledged those fundamental challenges which relate to the rationale behind merger control in Europe. The author shows how the Commission's focus on adapting the rules of merger control to the economic realities of the future business environment, although designed with a view to facilitating European integration, has compromised attainment of legal certainty, transparency and welfare enhancement. In its detailed evaluation of the 'future market structure prediction process' embedded in European merger control policy, this book approaches two rock-bottom, far-reaching questions: * In what ways does merger control promote consumer and societal welfare? * Is the Commission able to correctly predict the outcome of any given concentration transaction? These considerations take the reader through a deep and searching analysis that calls into question the very credibility and transparency of the system, leading to alternatives which promise a new clarity of purpose and procedure. The author describes how these recommendations can be integrated into the functioning framework of the European project. Taken fully into account along the way is a wide spectrum of relevant source material, including the following: * applicable articles and chapters of the founding and subsequent European Treaties; * secondary European legislation concerning competition and merger activity; * domestic competition laws; * guidelines, notices and action plans; * competition law reviews, statements of intentions; * draft legislative attempts; * speeches on the enactment and purpose of merger control; * Member States' views concerning European merger control as expressed during Council negotiations; * officially available concentration-related statistics; and * a wide-ranging literature review covering both the legal and economic sides of merger control. Throughout, the author substantiates theoretical assertions with case law examples, clearly exposing doctrines arising from such cases as Continental Can, Phillip Morris/Rothmans and the Airtours, Schneider and Tetra Laval trilogy. A unique feature of the analysis draws on the author's personal experience while working for a Brussels competition law firm. This book is a remarkable compound of academic guide to the roots and rationales of the European Merger Control System, practical guide to the day-to-day intricacies of merger control enforcement, and 'raw' guide for decision makers and merger control law enforcers. It will be of immense value in all three contexts.

The term e-commerce - the use of computer networks to facilitate transactions involving the production, distribution, sale, and delivery of goods and services in the marketplace - has grown from merely streamlining relations between consumer and business to a much more robust phenomenon embracing efficient business processes within a firm and between firms. Inevitably, the related taxation issues have grown too. This latest edition of the preeminent text on the taxation of electronic transactions - formerly titled Electronic Commerce and International Taxation (1999) and Electronic Commerce and Multijurisdictional Taxation (2001) - revises, updates, and expands the book's coverage, reorganizes its presentation, and adds several new chapters. It includes a detailed and up-to-date analysis of VAT developments regarding e-commerce, and explores the implications of e-commerce for the US state and local sales and use tax regime. It discusses developments in Europe and the United States while enlarging its focus to include the tax treatment of e-commerce in China, India, Canada, Australia, and throughout the world. Analysing the practical tax consequences of e-commerce from a multijurisdictional and multitax perspective, the book offers in-depth treatment of such topics as the following:; how tax rules governing cross-border e-commerce are increasingly applied to all cross-border activities; how tax rules and processes developed to confront challenges posed by e-commerce provoke optimal tax policy; how technology enhances tax and cross-border information exchanges; how technology lowers both compliance and enforcement costs; consumption tax issues raised by cloud computing; and different approaches to the legal design of VAT place of taxation rules, with examples.

NAFTA has initiated a procedure for addressing transborder economic problems in a more adequate and predictable fashion, potentially encouraging policy convergence between three disparate political cultures. Rather than addressing economic, social and environmental policy issues separately, trade policy now serves as a vehicle for negotiating policy convergence. Consequently trade officials are being forced to deal with an expanded array of domestic policy isues. This text presents a detailed examination of the initial NAFTA experience and evaluates its long-term implications beyond those of ending trade and tarriff barriers. In particular, it examines the cultural implications of this international arrangement. In addition, environmental protection and conservation issues are increasingly at the forefront of the international political agenda. NAFTA's environmental side agreement has created a way of addressing environmental concerns whilke protecting local standards, illustrating the attempt to achieve policy convergence by means of a trade apparatus. NAFTA now represents the continuing tension between integration and the maintenance of national autonomy.

Barack Obama's famous Blueprint for Change,A" part and parcel of the campaign that culminated in his historic election as U.S. president in November 2008, openly announced his support for the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 1409) suggesting that major change was imminent in U.S. labor and employment law. Although promised legislative change has yet to materialize, there appears to be a growing consensus that the current system for addressing employment disputes in union-represented and non-union workplaces deserves renewed attention and needs significant restructuring. Thus, the issues taken up by this prominent U.S. conference remain relevant to policy debates which will likely continue to rage in the United States for years to come. Based on papers delivered at the 2009 conference of the New York University School of Law's Center on Labor and Employment Law - the 62nd in this venerable and highly influential series - the book presents articles updated by the authors to reflect more recent developments, as well as new papers to ensure a comprehensive and current analysis of both what has actually changed and which trends seem to be gaining momentum. Twenty-two outstanding scholars and practitioners in U.S. labor law and practice pay special attention to such issues as the following: * mandatory arbitration of employment disputes in non-union sector; * call for improved administration of the National Labor Relations Act in expediting elections and reinstating discriminatees; * more privatized forms of dispute resolution such as arbitration and mediation; * card-check and neutrality agreements bypassing government processes; * proposed reform of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; * evaluating market-based defenses to pay equity claims; * EEOC initiatives in public enforcement of equality law; and * challenges to labor relations in state and local governments. . As always, this important annual publication offers definitive current scholarship in its theme area of labor and employment law. As such, it will be of inestimable value to practitioners, government officials, academics, and others interested in developments in U.S. employment and labor relations law and practice.

A merger or acquisition is one of the most significant events in the life of a firm and the consequences thereof are multi-faceted: Directors' fiduciary duties, shareholders' rights, valuation methods, structuring, and financing of the deal, to cite a few. Moreover, it requires an army of savvy professionals (accountants and investment banks, etc.) throughout the process; those understanding the technicalities of M&A guarantees and preventing costly missteps. This book explains the steps, distilling the process of both the legal and financial aspects of M&A, for both students and practitioners.

This handbook provides a comprehensive treatise of the concepts and nature of technology-facilitated gendered violence and abuse, as well as legal, community and activist responses to these harms. It offers an inclusive and intersectional treatment of gendered violence including that experienced by gender, sexuality and racially diverse victim-survivors. It examines the types of gendered violence facilitated by technologies but also responses to these harms from the perspectives of victim advocates, legal analyses, organisational and community responses, as well as activism within civil society. It is unique in its recognition of the intersecting drivers of inequality and marginalisation including misogyny, racism, colonialism and homophobia. It draws together the expertise of a range of established and globally renowned scholars in the field, as well as survivor-advocate-scholars and emerging scholars, lending a combination of credibility, rigor, currency, and innovation throughout. This handbook further provides recommendations for policy and practice and will appeal to academics and students in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law, Socio-Legal Studies, Politics, as well as Women's and/or Gender Studies.

The clear objective of European law in relation to redundancy-defined in the consolidated Collective Redundancies Directive (98/59) as 'dismissals effected by an employer for one or more reasons not related to the individual workers concerned'-is to promote industrial democracy. Thus, employees enjoy a consultative role in the decision making process, and a level of protection is provided to employees who are displaced. However, specific legal criteria vary when it comes to restructuring companies in different countries. This book provides an overview of the relevant legislation regarding redundancy schemes in each of the 27 EU Member States, as well as Russia and Switzerland. Following an introductory chapter describing the European directive regarding mass redundancies, 29 country reports written by one or more experienced employment lawyers from the respective country offer overviews of relevant national legislation and case law regarding timing, information and consultation, risks, and costs, as well as practical legal guidance.The individual reports cover how each jurisdiction deals with such practical matters as the following:A* freedom of management to organise and to reorganise businesses; A* enhancement of employee rights;A* voluntary redundancy and voluntary early retirement programmes; A* circumstances where an employer is proposing to effect a change of terms and conditions of employment; A* the 'ten percent rule' model (comparing the number of redundancies proposed to the total workforce) versus the 'aggregate' model (which focuses on the total number of redundancies to be declared);A* definition of 'establishment' for the purpose of applying the consultation threshold; A* exceptions (e. g., fixed term contracts, contracts which are task related and where the task has been completed, public administrative bodies, establishments governed by public law, and the crews of sea-going vessels);A* details of local law provisions concerning employee representatives-local Works Councils, Comites d'Entreprise, trade unions, or groups specifically elected for the purpose;A* what must be covered in the consultation agenda; A* obligation on the part of the employer to make all relevant information available-e.g., reasons, number of categories of workers to be made redundant, number and categories of workers normally employed, period over which redundancies are to be effected, selection criteria, and payment; andA* notification to the relevant 'competent public authority' of the impending redundancies.This book will be enormously helpful to all who deal professionally with employment law in one or more countries in Europe. Legal counsel as well as HR directors will find it of great value in numerous situations that arise constantly in the day-to-day conduct of business.

Antitrust laws and proceedings in Europe, both at the Community and national levels, shape the European and international business landscape profoundly. It is therefore essential that business leaders and legal practitioners remain informed of the most important antitrust law developments and their effect on the business world. "Antitrust Developments in Europe, 2005" provides a comprehensive and practical commentary on the past year's major developments in EC and national antitrust law. Topics covered include: vertical restraints; horizontal agreements; abuse of market power; mergers & acquisitions; joint ventures; state aid; and policy and procedures. The insightful and concise analysis of major antitrust actions contained in this yearbook will be invaluable to antitrust legal practitioners, in-house counsel, businesspeople and others with an interest in the field. Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, with one of the most sophisticated and highly-respected European antitrust law practices, has systematically and meticulously monitored antitrust developments in Europe since the early 1970s. This volume represents the combined efforts and expertise of Cleary Gottlieb's antitrust practitioners in this rapidly-changing field.

The purpose of this book is to show that the access to plant genetic resources and the compliance to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity can only be realised in this biotechnological era the world is facing, through the balance of rights and duties of States and stakeholders. Specifically, this book suggests that the global partnership as professed in the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, in 1992, has so far not been reached. It examines the possibility of achieving the global partnership through clear, fair, ethical, and equitable biopartnerships in, between, and among States. For this purpose, the author analyses international instruments and national laws dealing with patents, plant breeders' rights, farmers' rights, and sui generis protection and shows how they affect developing countries rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge, such as Brazil. She raises awareness to problems derived from the patenting of genetic resources, plants, and traditional knowledge and presents sui generis alternatives proposed by different sectors of society in several countries. The book critically examines five biopartnerships of countries in four different continents. The author proposes measures to protect traditional knowledge and innovations and suggests in which indigenous peoples, traditional farmers, and developing countries may achieve an equitable share of benefits for their contribution in the development of new medicines, foods, etc.

In recent years, there has been a decentralisation of the enforcement of the EU competition law provisions, Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Consequently, the national application of these provisions has become increasingly more common across the European Union. This national application poses various challenges for those concerned about the consistent application of EU competition law. This edited collection provides an in-depth analysis of the most important limitations of, and the challenges concerning, the applicability of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU at national level. Divided into five parts, the book starts out by examining how the consistent enforcement of Articles 101 and 102 TFEU operates as a general EU competition policy. It then discusses several recent landmark cases of the European Court of Justice on Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, before proceeding to analyse certain additional, unique jurisdictional challenges to the uniform application of the EU competition law provisions. Subsequently, it focuses on one of the most important instruments that can help to achieve the uniform application of EU competition law in cases handled by the national courts: preliminary rulings. Finally, it provides selective examples of how Articles 101 and 102 TFEU are effectively applied at national level, thereby providing additional input into how problematic the issue of consistent application of EU competition law is in practice.

This work presents a critical analysis and evaluation of the Korean banking regulatory and supervisory system. It identifies the continuing structural weaknesses of the system, which were thrown into sharp relief by the 1997 financial crisis, and focuses on the need for reform in order to achieve financial stability. The study centres around three central questions: who should be the regulator; what substantive standards of supervision should be applied; and administratively, in what manner should these standards be applied? The author argues that the Korean banking system, characterized as a "governmental control system" for credit allocation, should be released from undue governmental and political interference, thus allowing the involvement of banks in commercially oriented practices without exposure to the significant risks incurred by governmental policy directed lending. The author calls for a high degree of transparency and accountability, for a clear, realistic timetable for restructuring, and for an effective exit policy for troubled commercial banks. This text should be of value to practitioners, researchers and academics working in the field of banking law, particularly those with a special interest in the Asia-Pacific region.

This book focuses on anti-discrimination law in order to identify commonalities and best practices across nations. Almost every nation in the world embraces the principle of equality and non-discrimination, in theory if not in practice. As the authors' expert contributions establish, the sources of the principle vary considerably, from international treaties to religious law, traditions and more. There are many approaches to methods of enforcement and other variables, but the principle is nearly universal. What does a comparison of the laws and approaches across different lands reveal? Readers may explore the enforcement and effectiveness of anti-discrimination law from 25 nations, across six continents. Esteemed authors examine national, regional and international systems looking for common and best practices, identifying innovative approaches to long-standing problems. The many ways that anti-discrimination law is enforced are brought to light, from criminal or civil prosecution through to community resolution processes, amongst others. Through comparing the approaches of different lands, the authors consider which methods of enforcement are effective. These enriching national and international perspectives highlight the need for more creative, concrete and coordinated means of enforcement to ensure the effectiveness of anti-discrimination law, regardless of the legal tradition concerned, but in light of these traditions. Readers will find each nation remarkable, and learn something new and interesting from each report.

On 1 December 2009 the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force. Although often described as primarily technical, it significantly amended the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and the old EC Treaty (now the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, TFEU). The authors' aim in this book is to explore what the Treaty means for social law and social policy at the European level. The first part of the book on the general framework looks - at a time of financial crisis - for new foundations for Europe's Social market economy, questions the balance between fundamental social rights and economic freedoms, analyses the role of the now binding Charter of Fundamental Rights, maps the potential impact of the horizontal clauses on social policy and addresses the possibilities for social partners to enlarge their role in labour law and industrial relations. The second part, on the social framework of the Treaty, focuses on the development of the Union's competences. In it the authors evaluate the consequences of the new general framework on social competences, analyse the evolution of the principle of subsidiarity and its impact in the new Treaty, look at the coordination of economic policies in the light of fundamental rights, and analyse the adoption in the Treaty of a new architecture for services of general interest.

This book examines the effect of the adoption of the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in five common law jurisdictions, namely Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. It examines how each of those states has adopted, interpreted and applied the provisions of the Model Law, and highlights the effects of inconsistencies by examining jurisprudence in each of these countries, specifically how the Model Law affects existing principles of recognition of insolvency proceedings. The book examines how the UNCITRAL Guide to enactment of the Model Law has affected the interpretation of each of its articles and, in turn, the courts' ability to interpret and hence give effect to the purposes of the Model Law. It also considers the ability of courts to refer to amendments made to the Guide after enactment of the Model Law in a state, thereby questioning whether the current inconsistencies in interpretation can be overcome by UNCITRAL amending the Guide.

One of the major objectives of tax treaties has been the avoidance of international double taxation. This is generally accomplished through the agreement of each country to limit, in specified situations set out in double tax treaties, its right to tax income earned from its territory by residents of another country. The OECD Model Tax Treaty, other model conventions, and the bilateral treaties drafted in accordance with these models, allocate the taxing rights between the state of source and the state of residence. The source rules for income taxation are determined by Articles 6 through 21 of the OECD Model Convention. These rules are the product of a rather long history and it seems difficult to justify the scope of some in today's world. Courts, tax administrators, and practitioners are confronted with a growing number of interpretation and application problems. In a globalized world with ever-increasing cross-border streams of income such problems command more and more attention. This book is designed to analyze the allocation rules of the OECD Model Tax Convention and its equivalents in bilateral tax treaties. The distinguished contributors to the work examine the justification for these rules - as well as their scope - and highlight the most relevant interpretation and attendant application problems. In addition they'll suggest how such rules should be modified and examine possible alternatives.

Third countries are not bound by European law; however, saying that EU Member States are not bound by European law in their relations with third countries would be incorrect. The judicial developments of European tax law based on the application of fundamental freedoms by the European Court of Justice has turned relations with third countries into one of the most controversial areas of European tax law, giving rise to a significant degree of legal uncertainty. The first waves of direct tax cases decided by the ECJ on the relations with third countries have not entirely solved the main critical issues arising in such context, including the ones involving the external scope of fundamental freedoms. Consequently, the expert analysis contained in this book will be of significant interest to many international tax practitioners and academics throughout the world.
Among the vitally important areas this book addresses...
- The external scope of Article 56 EC Treaty and its impact on the relations with third countries
- The indirect impact of other fundamental freedoms on the relations with third countries
- The scope of fundamental freedoms in relations to EEA States under the EEA Agreement
- The relations with other third countries in the field of direct taxes (including, among other, EPAs countries)
- The impact of the EU agreements on the direct tax relations between Switzerland and the EU Member States
- The impact of secondary EC law on the relations with third countries in the field of direct taxes
- The scope of Article 307 EC Treaty and its application in the field of direct taxes
- The external treaty making powers of the European Union in the field ofdirect taxes.

The case of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) illustrated the many existing gaps in the international rules and standards governing bank supervision. This book deals with these rules and advocates how they should develop. It is based on the thesis that the rules essentially "percolate" from the national, regional and international levels and that these areas have become integrally interconnected. The book concludes with proposals suggesting ways of better interconnecting the national, regional and international levels through more formal, legalistic and transparent structures. The work is aimed at the financial institutions community, legal practitioners and academics. This is the third volume of a series which has been designed to provide a broad foundation for comparative analysis of changes and reforms occurring worldwide in international banking regulation and practice. It should prove a valuable tool in the comprehension of both policies and practicalities reflected by these rapid changes and reforms.

This book examines the domestic and international dimensions of European Union (EU) competition policy, particularly mergers, anti-competitive practices and state aids. The authors argue that important changes in EU competition policy are having profound effects on the global political economy, and these changes are best understood as European Commission responses to new domestic and international pressures. Using a two-level game analytical framework that is both intra-EU and global in scope, Damro and Guay investigate a wide variety of domestic and foreign public and private actors that interact in crucial ways to determine the development and implementation of EU competition policy. They address this broad question: In what ways do changing external and internal factors affect the evolution of the EU's competition policy and the role that the Commission plays in it? Among the conclusions is that the EU - and particularly the European Commission - has become a leading global regulator.