This comprehensive and comparative study examines the landscape of contemporary shareholder activism in the UK, focusing on minority shareholder activism in publicly listed companies. It argues that contemporary shareholder activism in the UK is dominated by two groups: the institutional shareholders whose shareholder activism is largely seen as a driving force for good corporate governance, and the hedge funds whose shareholder activism is based on value extraction and exit. The book provides a detailed examination of both types of shareholder activism, and critically discusses the nature of, motivations for, and consequences of following both types of shareholder activism. The book then locates both types of shareholder activism in the theory of the company and the fabric of company law, and argues that institutional shareholder activism based on exercising a voice at general meetings is well supported in theory and law. The call for institutions to engage in more informal forms of activism in the name of 'stewardship' may bring about challenges to the current patterns of activism that institutions engage in. The book argues, however, that a more cautious view of hedge fund activism and the pattern of value extraction and exit should be taken. More empirical evidence is likely to be necessary, however, to weigh up the long terms benefits and costs of hedge fund activism. It will be of interest to policy-makers, academics, and post-graduate students studying corporate governance and corporate law.

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.

This book consists of contributions exploring from different perspectives the 'images' of the consumer in EU law. The images of the consumer form the foundation for various EU policies, more or less directly oriented towards the goal of consumer protection. The purpose of the volume is to establish what visions of the consumer there are in different contexts of EU law, whether they are consistent, and whether EU law's engagement with consumer-related considerations is sincere or merely instrumental to the achievement of other goals. The chapters discuss how consumers should be protected in EU contract, competition, free movement and trade mark law. They reflect on the limits of the consumer empowerment rationale as the basis for EU consumer policy. The chapters look also at the variety of concerns consumers might have, including the cost of goods and services, access to credit, ethical questions of consumption, the challenges of excessive choice and the possibility to influence the content of regulatory measures, and explore the significance of these issues for the EU's legislative and judicial process.

The crisis of distribution is one of the longest standing and complicated issues facing human society. Imbued with social, political, historic, and cultural elements, it varies significantly across different countries as a result of all these factors. As an emerging economy which transferred from a planned to a market economy, China has experienced large distribution gaps since it implemented the Reform and Opening-up Policy in the early 1980s, requiring stronger economic law to mitigate and regulate the crisis of distribution. The two volumes examine the crisis of distribution that China faces and proposes policy and economic law methods that can be used to overcome the distribution dilemma. The author discusses the four main concepts and focus points of the crisis of distribution - distribution itself, the crises it faces, the rule of law and development before proposing a theoretical framework of "system-distribution-development" to resolve distribution problems that China faces. The book should be of keen interest to researchers and students of law, economics, and political science.

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.

In their book Interactive Corporate Compliance, Jay Sigler and Joseph Murphy proposed a system in which government scrutiny of business is reduced in return for self-regulatory vigilance. In this follow-up collection of essays, Sigler and Murphy seek to meet the challenge of putting such a policy into practice. A series of essays detail a variety of suggestions for implementing such a system, as well as some forms of interactive compliance already in use.

A brief foreword by John Braithwaite is followed by a chapter in which the editors fully explain the compliance approach to business-government relationships. Subsequent contributions include Attorney General Robert Abrams' three-part strategy for corporate compliance, a proposed legal standard to reward corporate due diligence in implementing codes of conduct, accounts of different experiments with interactive compliance in the United States, and a case study using interactive compliance to regulate restaurant health standards. Among the other topics discussed are programs that confront middle managers with corporate criminals, the educational failings of law and business schools, and insights into why negotiated compliance delivers better outcomes at lower costs. The volume concludes with predictions for corporate conduct in the 1990s. With its innovative approach to government-business relations, this work will be an important resource for professionals in all types of business, government, and legal positions.

This book provides an insight into commercial relations between large economies and Small States, the benefits of regional integration, the role of Small States as financial centres as well as B2B and State to State dispute resolution involving Small States. Several contributions allow the reader to familiarise themselves with the general subject matter; others scrutinise the particular issues Small States face when confronted with an international dispute and discuss new and innovative solutions. These solutions range from inventive ideas to help economic growth to appropriate mechanisms of dispute resolution including inter-State dispute resolution and specific areas of arbitration such as tax arbitration. Researchers, policy advisors and practitioners will find a wealth of insights, information and practical ideas in this book.

This book, about international contracting and contract management, is written from the angle of the contractor and discussed from an international perspective. It comments on real-life cases, taken from various kinds of projects: infrastructural works (roads, bridges, tunnels, rail roads), wind- and sunfarms, oil and gas installations, such as platforms, pipe lines, power generating works, and large buildings. The book is structured around the contracting cycle. Chapters include dealing with the role of the contractor in international contracting, the tender process, landing and negotiating the contract, types of contract, problems that may occur during project execution, project delivery, and handling guarantee claims. Written primarily for business practitioners operating in the international contracting industry, the title assumes that the reader will have a basic understanding and knowledge of theories related to project management, construction engineering, business law and economics. Though not an academic book, due to its unique blend of practitioners' insight and academic theory, it can be taught in courses at institutes at the master level.As most engineers are going to deal with contracts, this book is specifically recommended for engineering programs both at the graduate and postgraduate level. Lawyers will find the book useful to understand the business context in which their customers and/or colleagues work.

The ICC Rules of Arbitration constitute one of the world's oldest and most widely used sets of rules for the resolution of international commercial disputes. In 1998, shortly after the entry into force of the current version of the Rules, the First Edition of this book appeared and quickly became an indispensable resource for all those involved or interested in ICC arbitrations, including arbitrators, counsel, and parties. In this updated and revised edition, the authors two of the world's leading experts on ICC arbitration have revised the Guide in order to take stock not only of the evolution in ICC practice over the last seven years, but of new arbitral and judicial decisions bearing on the interpretation and application of the Rules and of developments in international arbitration practice generally. The Guide s notable features include: article-by-article commentary on the ICC Rules, enriched by the authors personal involvement in their drafting and years of experience as arbitrators, counsel, and former Secretaries General of the ICC International Court of Arbitration; ample and greatly expanded references, in respect of the Rules individual provisions, to relevant national court judgments and arbitral awards, together with extensive bibliographical sources; and up-to-date statistics on ICC arbitration and copies of all ICC rules on dispute resolution mechanisms in addition to arbitration. A truly comprehensive reference work on ICC arbitration practice, the Second Edition of the Guide will be of immeasurable value to corporate counsel, international lawyers, and business people, as well as to all those interested in the international arbitration process.

On 20 November 2019 the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child celebrates its 30th anniversary. In 1989, when the Convention was adopted, children came across advertising on television, on billboards in the street, in shops and through leaflets in their mailbox. Over the past 30 years, the way in which children are targeted by advertisers and the formats that are used have changed significantly. Think of advergames, influencer marketing, and behavioural targeted advertising. The specific features of these formats, such as their immersive, interactive and personalised nature, make it difficult for children to understand the commercial and persuasive intent of the commercial messages directed at them. This book presents an original and timely fundamental rethinking of the regulatory framework of commercial communication from a children's rights perspective. Offering a carefully considered, well-documented overview and in-depth evaluation of several legislative frameworks, policy documents, self- and co-regulatory initiatives and literature from a variety of disciplines, it works towards the development of children's rights-inspired recommendations for an empowering regulatory framework for online commercial communication aimed at children. It is a subject with great societal relevance which contributes to the further realisation of children's rights in the digital environment.

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.

With the development of new and more complex forms of business organization, such as multinationals or corporate groups, the question arose as to whether they could still be regarded as a single legal entity. How should the issue of company liability, for instance, be regarded when dealing with the different subsidiary groups of one large enterprise? The question of company liability with regard to multinationals and corporate groups forms one of the central themes of this work, and one which should interest all those active in today's business world.

This is the thirteenth in a series on EU Competition Law and Policy produced under the auspices of the Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute in Florence. The volume contains the written contributions of numerous competition policy experts, together with the transcripts of a roundtable debate which examined the subject of "settlements" between enforcers of competition law and defendant companies in cartel cases and in other types of antitrust cases. The Workshop participants included: -- senior judges from major jurisdictions (the European Union, Germany and the United States); -- senior enforcement officials and policy makers from the European Commission, from the national competition authorities of certain EU Member States and from the US Department of Justice and the US Federal Trade Commission; and -- renowned international international academics, legal practitioners and professional economists. In an intense, intimate environment, this group of experts debated a number of legal and economic issues pertaining to two broad lines of discussion: 1) settlements and plea agreements in cartel cases, including their links with leniency programs and with private enforcement; and 2) settlements in "commitment" cases decided under Article 9 of Regulation 1/2003 and under comparable procedures of national law.

Eleonora Poli analyses how ideas and material interests have come to determine the evolution of antitrust policies in the USA, EU, Japan and BRICS. She argues that three major economic crises together with market globalisation have changed governments' perceptions of market competition, giving rise to a neo-liberal global phase.

Conventional wisdom holds that robust enforcement of intellectual property (IP) right suppress competition and innovation by shielding incumbents against the entry threats posed by smaller innovators. That assumption has driven mostly successful efforts to weaken US patent protections for over a decade. This book challenges that assumption. In Innovators, Firms, and Markets, Jonathan M. Barnett confronts the reigning policy consensus by analyzing the relationship between IP rights, firm organization, and market structure. Integrating tools and concepts from IP and antitrust law, institutional economics, and political science, real-world understandings of technology markets, and empirical insights from the economic history of the US patent system, Barnett provides a novel framework for IP policy analysis. His cohesive framework explains how robust enforcement of IP rights enables entrepreneurial firms, which are rich in ideas but poor in capital, to secure outside investment and form the cooperative relationships needed to transform a breakthrough innovation into a marketable product. The history of the US patent system and firms' lobbying tendencies show that weakening patent protections removes a critical tool for entrants to challenge incumbents that enjoy difficult-to-match commercialization and financing capacities. Counterintuitively, the book demonstrates that weak IP rights are often the best entry barrier the state can provide to protect entrenched incumbents against disruptive innovators. By challenging common assumptions and offering a powerful integrated framework for understanding how innovation happens and the law's role in that process, Barnett's Innovators, Firms, and Markets provides important insights into how IP law shapes our economy.

Applying the emergent Business and Human Rights (BHR) regime as a case, this book analyses regulatory strategies, communicative approaches and public-private processes to develop new sustainability-related norms, particularly for business, for maintaining and promoting public policy objectives and societal needs. Karin Buhmann sets out the concerns of public regulators and businesses that both inform debates and create power struggles in the construction of sustainability norms between public policy interests and the market. The author focuses on three trends in argumentative strategies applied in the BHR context and considers the use, impact and complementarity of these for sustainability regulation. Through analysis of selected transnational regulatory processes, the book identifies argumentative and negotiation strategies that led to agreement on BHR despite conflicting interests across public, private and not-for-profit (NGO) stakeholders, and develops insights for future multi-stakeholder sustainability regulation, focusing both on the regulatory process and the outcome. Changing Sustainability Norms through Communication Processes will be a valuable read for NGOs, regulators, managers and academics with a concern for sustainability regulation by helping to enhance their understanding of how to influence normative change in organisations, in support of sustainability and responsible business conduct.

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.

'Ruhmkorf's thought-provoking book has a powerful message: that we cannot rely on the discretion of business to promote CSR voluntarily. Through the devastating example of the Rana Plaza disaster, Ruhmkorf shows that we must get beyond business rhetoric and develop a multidimensional approach to the regulation of global supply chains. Whilst recognising the existing limitations of private law, his book highlights the potential contribution of private law to the development and promotion of CSR. The task is not an easy one, but by adopting a pluralistic approach to corporate law and by employing contract law, consumer law and tort law more dynamically, English private law could fill many of the regulatory gaps. The message is urgent and strong. This is a must read book for anyone concerned with CSR, supply chains and the law.' - Charlotte Villiers, University of Bristol, UK 'This book fills an important gap in discussions of international CSR standards. It is all very well to say that states must protect and companies should respect human rights, but when breaches of human rights do occur, it is remedies that matter. Ruhmkorf explores the limits of private law avenues for seeking such remedies. In so doing, he provides a valuable understanding of obstacles to fuller realization of the three-pillared ''Protect, Respect and Remed'' Framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. - Alice de Jonge, Monash University, Australia Current debate surrounding social responsibility has neglected to fully comprehend the important role of national private law in achieving socially responsible conduct in business. This insightful book demonstrates how private law makes a significant contribution to the promotion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and how it could be improved. Based on the analysis of four substantive areas (company law/corporate governance, contract law, consumer law and tort law), this inclusive book covers a full range of issues that are important for CSR. These include directors duties, corporate reporting, the incorporation of CSR policies into the supply chain, consumer rights and the tortious liabilities of companies. The book discerns how national private law in the home state of multinational enterprises can legally affect their socially responsible conduct worldwide. Andreas Ruhmkorf demonstrates that private law already promotes and, with certain amendments, could better promote CSR in the regulation of global supply chains. The book's findings are applied to the collapse of the Rana Plaza Building in Bangladesh, which offers a supportive empirical insight. As an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of CSR and global supply chains, this work will benefit researchers and practitioners interested in the fields of CSR, private law, international law, political economy, international labor standards and sustainable supply chains.

This volume describes how various types of taxes such as VATs, corporate income taxes, retail sales taxes, and excise taxes are being modified to achieve environmental goals. The author gives particular focus to situations in which taxes are imposed on imports and where rebates are granted when domestic products are exported. These taxes are evaluated with respect to exceptions to GATT and how these exceptions can be used to create powerful tax initiatives even though they might be considered "GATT-illegal". The book shows how to integrate economically effective environmental taxes and tax subsidies with the major international trade treaties. Tax initiatives can be an important tool to improve the free trade system while at the same time combating environmental depredation. Manufacturers, exporters, tax and environmental policy makers, international trade and tax attorneys, and academics working in the fields of environmental regulation, trade policy, and taxation should find this work a provocative treatise on this topic.

It has been clear for some time that commercial law has been undergoing a "transnationalization" process, with various sets of rules (often referred to collectively as Lex mercatoria or the New Law Merchant) supplanting national and local laws governing the mechanisms by which cross-border agreements are entered into and disputes settled. In order to clarify the nature and extent of this process, a scientific survey, sponsored by the Volkswagen Foundation and using empirical methodology, was designed by a Research Team from the Centre for Transnational Law (CENTRAL) of Munster University, Germany. A questionnaire was sent out to more than 2,700 practitioners from major companies and international law firms in 78 countries asking for the addressees' experience with transnational law in international contract negotiations, contract drafting, and international commercial arbitration. The results of this enquiry, along with analysis and commentary from several well-known authorities in the fields of international commercial arbitration and private international law, were presented at a conference in Munster on May 4 and 5, 2000. This book is a record of that conference. "The Practice of Transnational Law" provides a comprehensive and realistic evaluation of how transnational commercial law is used in international legal practice today. The contributions of the speakers - including Yves Derains on the CC Arbitration Rules and Michael Joachim Bonell on the UNIDROIT Principles, as well as commentary by Emmanuel Gaillard, Friedrich K. Juenger, Norbert Horn, and Klaus Peter Berger - add an insightful and lively dimension to the empirical data presented in the annexes. Commercial law practitioners and business people all over the world should appreciate the new level of discussion initiated by this book.

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.