The Form of the Firm unveils the nature of the corporation as it exists in modern liberal societies. What are we to make of the power that corporations wield over people in modern society? Is such power legitimate? Many think so. To many businessmen and economists, as well as the general public, firms are purely private and economic entities, justified in using all legal means to maximize profit. In The Form of the Firm, Abraham Singer contends that such a view rests on a theoretical foundation that, while quite subtle, is deeply flawed. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, corporations are not natural outgrowths of the free market. Instead, Singer invites us to see corporations as political institutions that correct market inefficiencies through mechanisms normally associated with government -hierarchy, power, and state-sanctioned authority. Corporations exist primarily to increase economic efficiency, but they do this in ways that distinguish them from the markets in which they operate. Corporations serve economic ends, but through political means. Because of this, Singer argues that they also must be structured and obliged to uphold the social and political values that enable their existence and smooth-running in the first place: individual autonomy, moral and social equality, and democratic norms and institutions. A profound and timely rethinking of what a corporation actually is and how power within it ought to be structured and exercised, The Form of the Firm will reshape our understanding of political theory, corporate governance, corporate law, and business ethics.

Since a reform in 2010, foreign investors can establish a Foreign-Invested Limited Partnership Enterprise (FILPE) in China together with Chinese or foreign investors. The FILPE can be combined with a domestic or foreign corporate general partner, thus allowing for a structure that offers the flexibility and taxation conditions of a partnership while protecting its investors against personal liability like a company. The book explores from the perspective of a foreign investor if the FILPE is an attractive investment vehicle by analysing whether it provides the characteristics that are internationally recognized as constituting a standard corporate form. Among these characteristics, the three that are most strongly interconnected and interdependent form the core of the analysis: legal personality, limited liability and transferable ownership interest. These are analyzed in context of China's restrictive framework of foreign investment regulations and enterprise organization law.

Adjudication has been the main means of settling construction disputes since it was first introduced by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, and a substantial body of case law has now built up.

This book established itself as the key authority on adjudication when it was first published. It has now been revised to reflect the authors' experience of adjudication in practice and to cover the large number of court decisions. It features useful appendices on adjudication materials.

Modern corporations contribute to a wide range of contemporary problems, including income inequality, global warming, and the influence of money in politics. Their relentless pursuit of profits, though, is the natural outcome of the doctrine of shareholder primacy. As the consensus around this doctrine crumbles, it has become increasingly clear that the prerogatives of corporate governance have been improperly limited to shareholders. It is time to examine shareholder primacy and its attendant governance features anew, and reorient the literature around the basic purpose of corporations. This book critically examines the current state of corporate governance law and provides decisive rebuttals to longstanding arguments for the exclusive shareholder franchise. Reconstructing the Corporation presents a new model of corporate governance - one that builds on the theory of the firm as well as a novel theory of democratic participation - to support the extension of the corporate franchise to employees.

Historically, the Christian tradition has played an influential role in Western economic thought concerning the regulation of markets, but, with the fracturing of the Christian tradition following the Reformation, the decline of Christian influence in academia, and the increasing specialization of economic analysis, that influence has become increasingly opaque. This volume brings together an interdisciplinary team of prominent academic experts on market regulation from four different continents and various faith traditions to reconsider the impact of Christianity on market regulation. Drawing on law, economics, history, theology, philosophy, and political theory, the authors consider both general questions of market regulation and particular regulatory fields such as bankruptcy, corporate law, and antitrust from a Christian perspective.

Taking German public basic research as an example, this book explores how the ongoing implementation of knowledge and technology transfer as the Third Mission of academic science creates not only new incentives for academic patenting, but also triggers new patenting motives and strategies of researchers and organizations. Analyzing these motives and strategies, the book highlights how the complex regulatory interplay of the patent system, research policy and self-governed academic communities creates a situation in which new patent functions emerge: beyond their intended function as a protection for upstream inventions, patents become a signaling device for scientists to communicate their commitment and competence in the Third Mission. As an exploratory study, this book combines qualitative empirical research with concepts and insights from multiple fields such as economics, law, political sciences and regulation. In consequence, the book addresses anyone interested in patenting incentives and motives and their impact on the functional change and regulatory effectiveness of patents in polycentric regulatory environments.

This book is a compilation of the best papers presented at the APEF 2019 conference which was held on 25th and 26th July 2019 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront in Singapore. With a great number of submissions, it presents the latest research findings in economics and finance and discusses relevant issues in today's world. The book is a useful resource for readers who want access to economics, finance and business research focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the interaction between Services of General Economic Interest (SGEI) and EU competition law, covering in particular Article 106 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and state aid rules. It also takes the telecommunications, postal service and transport sectors as case studies, taking into account the technological, economic and political backgrounds to these sectors. The area of SGEI has undergone fundamental developments over the past three decades and the most recent changes in the Lisbon Treaty, recognizing SGEI as a shared value and granting explicit competence to the EU, mark its constitutional significance. The key issue is how to balance economic values underlying competitive markets and non-economic public service values such as universal access to essential services. The essence of the question is the relationship between the market and the state. This controversial issue is addressed through a critical analysis of a number of landmark EU Court judgments and Commission decisions over the decades. Offering a clear appreciation of the evolution of the EU regulatory framework on SGEI that lays out the limits and boundaries within which the Member States define, organize and fund SGEI, the book is particularly aimed at academics with a research interest in the interaction between public services and EU competition law, but as it also demonstrates clearly how the application of EU competition law has transformed the public utilities sectors, it will be of interest to law makers, legal professionals and policy makers as well. Dr. Lei Zhu is a Research Associate at the Institute of International Law at Wuhan University in Wuhan, China. He studied at the Institute for Competition & Procurement Studies of the Bangor University Law School in Wales, United Kingdom, where he obtained his PhD in law in 2015.

This book assesses the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE) regarding agricultural activities by comparing how specific questions arising in this context must be dealt with under the Italian and Austrian legal systems. In this regard, Council Regulation (EC) No. 1435/2003, of 22 July 2003, on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE), is used as a tool for the structured analysis of various aspects of agricultural cooperatives. However, a comparison is only meaningful if the results are made comparable on the basis of a previously defined standard. Accordingly, the study uses, on one hand, a cooperative model developed by European legal scholars that defines general guidelines on how cooperatives should function (PECOL). On the other, the results are presented in connection with economic considerations to discuss how efficient rules can be developed.

China's venture capital market is not just the world's largest and fastest developing market, it also has the unique distinction of being engineered through heavy governmental intervention. This book breaks new ground by examining and testing established legal theories regarding the law of venture capital through the lens of the Chinese venture capital market. Using a hand-collected dataset of venture capital agreements, interviews with practitioners, and Chinese court judgements, it provides a comprehensive and insightful analysis of the Chinese venture capital market from the legal perspective. Topics covered include the roles of law and governmental intervention in developing the market, the state of investor protection, unique contractual developments and exits of venture capital investments. By providing an in-depth comparative analysis against the American venture capital market, it provides critical context and makes the Chinese venture market accessible. It is an invaluable resource for venture capital scholars, policymakers and practitioners.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the remedies practice the European Commission has adopted on the basis of articles 7 and 9 of regulation 1/03. Using article 7 as a normative benchmark, it shows that most of the criticism levelled at the Commission's article 9 decisions and the Alrosa judgment of the CJEU is not justified, since critics tend to over-state both the rigour of article 7 and the laxness of article 9. Remaining inconsistencies between the commitment practice and the standards for infringement decisions can, it is submitted, be justified by the consensual nature of commitment decisions and their underlying goal of procedural economy. Moreover, it is suggested that too little importance is generally assigned to the beneficial effect which commitments bring about by providing for precise and enforceable obligations without sacrificing the concerned undertakings' freedom to choose how to put the infringement to an end. Adopting a case-oriented approach, this study provides valuable insights for academics and practitioners alike.

Looking at discrimination, education, environment, health and crime, this volume analyses United States Supreme Court rulings on several legal issues and proposed libertarian solutions to each problem. Setting their own liberal theory of law, each chapter discusses the law at hand, what it should be, and what it would be if their political economic philosophy were the justification of the legal practice. Covering issues such as sexual harassment, religion, markets in human organs, drug prohibition and abortion, this book is a timely contribution to classical liberal debate on law and economics.

Der Leitfaden zum Filmrecht erlautert in klarer Sprache und anhand zahlreicher Beispiele Rechtsfragen, die im Rahmen der Entwicklung, Herstellung und Auswertung von Film- und Fernsehproduktionen auftreten konnen. Die 3. Auflage berucksichtigt die Fulle der Rechtsprechung und Literatur, die seit der Vorauflage im Oktober 2003 erschienen ist. Der Autor geht auf samtliche Anderungen und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Rechts- und Vertragspraxis im Filmgeschaft ein, um Praktikern den gewohnt aktuellen Leitfaden zum Filmrecht an die Hand zu geben."

The legal system affects behavior not just directly, by imposing sanctions, but also indirectly, by producing information on how people behave. For example, internal company documents exposed during litigation will help third parties assess whether they trust a company and want to keep doing business with it. The law therefore affects behavior by shaping reputations. Drawing on economics, communications, and a nascent multidisciplinary literature on reputation, Roy Shapira highlights how reputation works, and how information from the courtroom affects the court of public opinion, with a particular emphasis on the role of the media. By fleshing out interactions between law and reputation, Shapira corrects common misperceptions about the ability of market forces to discipline corporate behavior and adds to timely, ongoing debates such as the desirability of heightened pleading standards or mandatory arbitration clauses. Law and Reputation should interest any scholar who invokes notions of market discipline in their work.

This book contends that, with regard to the likelihood of confusion standard, European trademark law applies the average consumer incoherently and inconsistently. To test this proposal, it presents an analysis of the horizontal and vertical level of harmonization of the average consumer. The horizontal part focuses on similar fictions in areas of law adjacent to European trademark law (and in economics), and the average consumer in unfair competition law. The vertical part focuses on European trademark law, represented mainly by EU trademark law, and the trademark laws of the UK, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The book provides readers with a better understanding of key aspects of European trademark law (the average consumer applied as part of the likelihood of confusion standard) and combines relevant law and practices with theoretical content and other related areas of law (and economics). Accordingly, it is an asset for policymakers and practitioners, as well as general readers with an interest in intellectual property law and theory.

Following the success of the first edition, this is the fully updated second edition of A Restatement of the English Law of Contract. Designed to enhance the accessibility of the common law, the Restatement comprises a number of clear and succinct rules, fully explained by a supporting commentary, which set out the general law of contract in England and Wales. Written by one of the leading authorities in this area, in collaboration with an advisory group of senior judges, academics, and legal practitioners, the Restatement offers a novel and powerfully persuasive statement of the law in this central area of English law. All lawyers dealing with the English law of contract, whether as practitioners, judges, academics, or law students, will benefit from this Restatement. The English law of contract is one of the most respected systems of contract law in the world and, by the device of a 'choice of law' clause, is often chosen by foreign commercial parties as the applicable law to govern their contract. One of the aims of the Restatement is for the reader, including those from civil law jurisdictions, to see quickly and easily how the different elements of the English law of contract fit together.

The NEC3 Adjudicator's Contract (AC) should be used for the appointment of an Adjudicator to decide disputes under the NEC family of contracts. It may also be used for the appointment of an Adjudicator under other forms of contract. This document contains the clauses, form of agreement and contract data.

This document contains guidance notes on the NEC3 Supply Contract, which explain how to complete the SSC when it is used for a simple, low risk contract. The accompanying flow charts depict the procedures followed when using the contract. Construction Clients' Board endorsement of NEC3 The Construction Clients' Board (formerly Public Sector Clients' Forum) recommends that public sector organisations use the NEC3 contracts when procuring construction. Standardising use of this comprehensive suite of contracts should help to deliver efficiencies across the public sector and promote behaviours in line with the principles of Achieving Excellence in Construction.

The Professional Services Contract is intended for use in the appointment of a supplier to provide professional services. It can be used for appointing project managers, supervisors, designers, consultants or other suppliers under NEC contracts and can also be used for appointing suppliers on non-NEC construction projects or for non-construction projects. This document contains the core clauses, the relevant main option clauses, the secondary option clauses and the contract data. The Guidance Notes explain the structure of the Professional Services Contract and the reasons for its provisions. They explain the "shell" of the contract and the need to provide important additional information such as the scope. The main options, dispute resolution options and the secondary options are all explained together with the basis of appointing a consultant. Explanatory notes on individual clauses and worked examples of contract data are also provided. The Flow Charts clearly set out the procedural logic of the 28 clauses. Construction Clients' Board endorsement of NEC3 The Construction Clients' Board (formerly Public Sector Clients' Forum) recommends that public sector organisations use the NEC3 contracts when procuring construction. Standardising use of this comprehensive suite of contracts should help to deliver efficiencies across the public sector and promote behaviours in line with the principles of Achieving Excellence in Construction.

This edited volume focuses on specific, crucially important structural measures that foster corporate change, namely cross-border mergers. Such cross-border transactions play a key role in business reality, economic theory and corporate, financial and capital markets law. Since the adoption of the Cross-border Mergers Directive, these mergers have been regulated by specific legal provisions in EU member states. This book analyzes various aspects of the directive, closely examining this harmonized area of EU company law and critically evaluating cross-border mergers as a method of corporate restructuring in order to gain insights into their fundamental mechanisms. It comprehensively discusses the practicalities of EU harmonization of cross-border mergers, linking it to corporate restructuring in general, while also taking the transposition of the directive into account. Exploring specific angles of the Cross-border Mergers Directive in the light of European and national company law, the book is divided into three sections: the first section focuses on EU and comparative aspects of the Cross-border Mergers Directive, while the second examines the interaction of the directive with other areas of law (capital markets law, competition law, employment law, tax law, civil procedure). Lastly, the third section describes the various member states' experiences of implementing the Cross-border Mergers Directive.

Die genauen Konturen des Begriffs der Vergnugungsstatte sind trotz ihrer grossen praktischen Bedeutung bereits seit Jahrzehnten ungeklart. Das vorliegende Werk beleuchtet die Problematik naher. Dabei nimmt der Autor zunachst eine Analyse der historischen Entwicklung und der bestehenden Definitionsansatze vor. Aus dem Spannungsfeld allgemeinsprachlicher und stadtebaulicher Elemente entwickelt er sodann eine konsequente Auslegung des Begriffs. Darauf aufbauend erfolgt eine detaillierte Untersuchung der einzelnen konkreten Erscheinungsformen von Vergnugungsstatten und ihrer Abgrenzung zu anderen Nutzungsbegriffen der BauNVO, wobei uberkommene Einordnungen, etwa der Spielhallen, kritisch reflektiert und zum Teil neu bewertet werden.

NEC Managing Reality: A Practical Guide to Applying NEC3 is a series of books written by NEC experts well versed in using the NEC `at the coal face' that explain how the NEC can be used to optimum benefit in everyday environments. The second edition includes full updates to each of the five books: Introduction to the engineering and construction contract; Procuring an engineering and construction contract; Managing the contract; Managing change; Managing procedures. This new edition focuses solely on NEC3, with new practical examples from across the world. Sections on disallowable cost, defects, roles/responsibilities and schedule of cost components have been expanded and enhanced.

As usage of the NEC family of contracts continues to grow worldwide, so does the importance of understanding its clauses and nuances to everyone working in the built environment. Understanding the NEC4 ECC Contract uses plain English to lead the reader through the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract's key features. Chapters cover: The Contractor's main responsibilities the use of early warnings Contractor's design Tendering Quality management Payment Liabilities and insurance Termination Avoiding and resolving disputes and much more. Common problems experienced when using the Engineering and Construction Contract are signaled to the reader throughout, and the correct way of reading each clause explained. The way the contract effects procurement processes, dispute resolution, project management, and risk management are all addressed in order to direct the user to best practice. Written for construction professionals, by a practicing international construction contract consultant, this handbook is the most straightforward, balanced and practical guide to the NEC4 ECC available. An ideal companion for employers, contractors, project managers, supervisors, engineers, architects, quantity surveyors, subcontractors, and anyone else interested in working successfully with the NEC4 ECC.