With a foreword by Peter Van den Bossche and Ellen Vos The Codex Alimentarius Commission was established by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1963, as subsidiary organ of both organizations. Since its establishment, the Commission has been charged with the creation of the Codex Alimentarius: a collection of uniformly-defined food standards. Examples of food standards adopted by the Commission are the Standard for Natural Mineral Waters, the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) for hormone growth promoters in cattle, and the Standard for Sardines and Sardine-Type Products. The authority of the Commission is restricted by its position as a subsidiary body of the FAO and the WHO. However, with regard to its normative powers, the Commission operates independently from its parent organizations. This book examines the legal aspects of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its standards, and describes more precisely the actual status of the standards, both within the framework of the WTO agreements as well as within the context of the EC legal order. In addition, it defines the consequences of the new status of the Codex standards for the legitimacy of the institutional framework of the Commission, its standard-setting procedure, and the Codex standards themselves. The book is geared at scholars of international law and WTO law. It will also be an important reference for specialists at national governments and international organizations (FAO, UNCTAD, WTO, WHO, World Bank, EC Commission, World Organisation for Animal Health, etc.), working with Codex standards and food safety, and equally of interest to food scientists and consumer organizations.

The book examines the rights of defendants in infringement procedures and those of the notifying parties in merger proceedings before the European Commission and the Chinese competition authorities. The initial chapters offer a general introduction to EU and Chinese competition law respectively, paying particular attention to the substantive rules of competition law. Subsequent chapters present an overview of the procedural rights of the notifying parties in merger cases in both legal systems surveyed, address the procedural rights of defendants in infringement cases, and provide an international perspective on differences in the notification and enforcement procedures between legal systems. The final chapter draws comparative conclusions and includes a number of suggestions for improvement.

As we move further into the 21st century, it is incumbent upon lawyers and law students to understand and manage the complexities of sustainable development. International Development Law: Rule of Law, Human Rights, and Global Finance offers a coherent and systematic overview of the many issues and underlying trends that affect 'international development law' and the underlying legal architecture between developing countries and advanced nations. Professor Sarkar describes how international development works, its shortcomings, its theoretical and practical foundations, along with the prescriptions for the future. The text is structured into two basic parts: the first part deals with the theoretical and philosophic foundations of the subject, and the second part sets forth issues relating to the international financial architecture, namely, international borrowing practices, privatization, and emerging economies. International Development Law provides the reader with new perspectives on the origins of global poverty, identifies legal impediments to sustainable economic growth, and provides a better understanding of the challenges faced by the international community in resolving global policy issues.

This volume examines the property transformations in post-communist Central Eastern Europe (CEE) and focuses on the role of restitution and privatisation in such transformations. It argues that the theorisation of 'restitution' in post-communist CEE is incomplete in the transitional justice scholarship and in the literature on correction of historical wrongs. The book also argues that, for a more complete theorisation of (post-communist) restitution, the transformations of property in post-communist societies ought to be studied in a more holistic way. The main legal vehicles used for such transformations, privatisation and restitution, should not be studied separately and in abstract, but in their reciprocal relationship, and in connection to the dimension of justice which each could achieve. Finally, the book integrates 'privatisation' in a theory of post-communist transformation of property.

This book attempts to reconcile the concept of free trade with a key non-trade social value - cultural diversity - in an era of economic globalisation. It first shows how we can look at culture in many different ways, and explains why we should care about cultural diversity. The book then examines the challenges that policymakers are faced with in formulating cultural measures in the new media environment, and analyses UNESCO's theories and approaches to cultural diversity. This is followed by a comprehensive examination of the treatment of 'culture' in global and regional trade agreements, including the framework of the GATT/WTO system, the WTO's judicial practice involving cultural products, and the treatment of culture under the EC/EU and NAFTA. This identifies the challenges trade norms encounter in dealing with cultural products. The author seeks to formulate a balanced view of the challenge of protecting and promoting cultural diversity while also recognising the important goal of trade liberalisation. To this end Professor Shi proposes a dual method through which the norms found in WTO agreements and in UNESCO cultural instruments may be brought into alignment: the first highlighting the compatibility of cultural policy measures with trade obligations on a domestic level, the second suggesting potential linkages between the WTO rules and the UNESCO Convention from the perspectives of treaty interpretation.

Professor Fischer presents a comprehensive overview of global trade at the start of a new century, from a national, regional, and international viewpoint. He looks closely at the four dominant and competing economic systems--the United States, the European Union, Japan, and China--and argues that the traditional we-win/you-lose national trade paradigm has been replaced by one that is more collaborative, one that is leaning toward de facto world governance. He compares foreigners' attitudes toward trade and markets with our own, using four economic models that typify world trade today. He examines the interface between national, regional, and international trading systems and between business and government, then at the prospect of global trade management in different trade sectors under the GATT/WTO and other organizations. The result is a provocative discussion of global trade today.

Professor Fischer makes it clear that the United States needs allies. Though its influence in the world trade arena will continue, America's hegemony has ended. The European Union is America's most obvious ally, but it has many problems and ambitions of its own. The North American Free Trade Agreement has solidified the North American market but it may isolate and lose South America, while Japan, China, Russia, and others are left to develop alliances of their own. All these factors raise important global questions, among them: Can American capitalism prevail? Should the United States proceed unilaterally, as it has so often? Or are regional and multinational arrangements preferable? If there is further globalization, as seems inevitable, and if American influence is on the wane, what group or organization will lead? To explore these questions and provide the beginnings of answers, Professor Fischer uses his four competing economic systems and handicaps the process country by country, sector by sector, with particular attention to transatlantic relations.

'Governance' describes the legal framework for international managers and supervisory board members in 23 countries. This comprises legal duties in terms of decision-making, corporate crisis, accounting, mergers and acquisitions, as well as equity and debt raisings.

The fight between North and South over intellectual property (IP) reached new heights in the 1990s. In one corner, large multinational companies and developed countries sought to protect their investments. Opposing them, developing countries argued for the time and scope to pursue development strategies unshackled by rules forged to bolster the competitiveness of richer countries. The result was the WTO's deeply contested Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Widely resented by developing countries, TRIPS nonetheless permits them some hard-won flexibility. Puzzling, however, is why some developing countries have used that flexibility and others have not. Even more curious is that many of the poorest countries have made least use of the room for manouevre, despite securing some extra concessions. For developing countries, TRIPS did not end the pro-IP offensive. At the urging of industry lobbyists, powerful countries backtracked on the flexibilities in TRIPS and pursued even stronger global IP rules. To prevent precedents for weaker IP standards in poorer countries, they issued threats to market access, aid, investment, and political alliances. Further, they used new trade deals and, more subtly, capacity building (assisted by the World Intellectual Property Organization, among others) to leverage faster compliance and higher standards than TRIPS requires. Meanwhile, 'pro-development' advocates from civil society, other UN agencies, and developing countries worked to counter 'compliance-plus' pressures and defend the use of TRIPS flexibilities, sometimes with success. Within developing countries, most governments had little experience of IP laws and deferred TRIPS implementation to IP offices cut-off from trade politics and national policymaking, making them more vulnerable to the TRIPS-plus agenda. In many of the poorest African countries, regional IP arrangements magnified this effect. For scholars of international political economy and law, this book is the first detailed exploration of the links between global IP politics and the implementation of IP reforms. It exposes how power politics occur not just within global trade talks but afterwards when countries implement agreements. The Implementation Game will be of interest to all those engaged in debates on the global governance of trade and IP

This unique work examines the highly topical national and international legal issues of economic cooperation between North and South Korea under the current divided situation. In recent years, the relationship between the two Koreas has been generating more concern than in earlier times. This new interest has been followed by two epoch-making developments over the past decade: the conclusion of the Basic Agreement of 1991 and the Declaration of the North-South Summit of 2000. These events have caused remarkable changes in political, as well as economic, relations between the north and the south.
This book reviews the current legal regime and the setting up of a positive legal framework for inter-Korean economic cooperation, beginning to be regulated by international law. This research provides two ultimate outcomes. One is to resolve the legal problems for transnational economic cooperation relating to North and South Korea; the other is to develop a juridical model of south-north cooperation as a new world economic framework for the 21st century.
Three interrelated areas are involved in this work. The first part describes the external environmental factors regarding inter-Korean economic cooperation from an international legal perspective. The second part deals with the legal framework of inter-Korean economic cooperation, examining concrete issues arising from practical economic exchanges and cooperation between the two Koreas. The last part discusses the legal foundations for inter-Korean economic integration beyond economic cooperation.
This book clarifies the significance of the legal environment as an indispensable servant for the parts of a divided country to recovertheir relationship, offering both a normative and practical framework.

The major themes of financial regulation in the U.S., the EEC, and Japan are discussed in four interwoven, but independent, essays. The central focus is the protection of the financial system by insuring prudential rules against systemic risks, particularly through promoting capital adequacy by international and national agreement and with due consideration to the distinction between the banking and securities business. The work concludes with the assertion that international harmonization of regulation is necessary for the long-run efficiency of financial markets.

This book focuses on the influence of food safety and quality requirements on international trade in food. Drawing on the case of Benin and other fishery products exporting countries in West and East Africa, the book explores the consequences of EU requirements on market access and food safety regulation in exporting developing countries. Moreover, it examines the processes through which UEMOA Member States intend to overcome their food safety challenges thanks to regional cooperation. In this regard, the book dwells on the conditions and mechanisms of regulatory convergence within the UEMOA.In addition to exploring the differences in approaches to food safety regulation (proactive or reactive approaches) between the EU and most West African developing countries, the book further analyses the case of Benin shrimp exports to the EU in the light of the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Essentially, the book assesses whether WTO rules provide sufficient leverage to enable weaker countries to press for reforms in other WTO Members' food safety laws so as to avoid protectionism and unnecessary obstacles to trade.

This book identifies institutional mechanisms that can be used to promote consumer confidence in direct online sales with businesses (B2C e-commerce). It argues that enhancing the access to justice in a multidimensional sense can potentially offer an effective means of boosting consumer confidence. It introduces a conceptual framework for a multidimensional approach to access to justice in the context of consumer protection, describing the various reasonable criteria needed to satisfy consumer demands in B2C e-commerce. The framework, which reflects all essential aspects of consumers' expectations when they engage in online transactions, provides a benchmark for the evaluation of various consumer protection mechanisms. Based on an analysis of different mechanisms and using the framework's criteria, the practice of private ordering, which does not rely on the creation of rules of law but rather on the use of technology as a solution, appears to offer a meaningful way to enhance access to justice in B2C e-commerce. However, though private ordering holds considerable potential, certain weaknesses still need to be eliminated. This book demonstrates how private ordering can be successfully implemented with the help of an intermediary, a neutral third party that plays an integral part in the collaborative task of facilitating various aspects of private ordering, thus helping to limit the risks of failure and ensuring a fairer market setting. In order to move forward, it argues that the state, with its wealth of material resources and incentive options, is the institution best suited to acting as an intermediary in facilitating private ordering. This promising proposal can improve consumer protection, which will in turn boost consumer confidence.

This book places international trade law within an economic,political and sociological context, contending that globalisation is characterised by both homogeneity and diversity. However, while implying changes within contracting parties, globalisation only results in a 'thin' homogeneity. Furthermore, globalisation is the result of the interaction, negotiations and policies between states. From this perspective, the book attempts to explain trade policy as resulting from domestic factors. Thus, if globalisation is characterised by diversity, how do such differences affect the trade policy of states in an era where nearly everything is subject to commerce? The book focuses on the US and the EC, analysing different institutional and substantive aspects of unfair trade instruments, such as anti-dumping and countervailing measures and market access instruments. Domestically, it focuses on both constitutional and socio-economic constraints. The book considers political action prescribed by formal constitutions in a wider socio-economic context, rejecting the a-historical and structurally blind normative idea of free trade.

According to the WTO, over a fifth of world trade consists of transactions in services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was created to extend the multilateral trading system to services, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for trade in goods. Given its reach, the treaty's significance continues to grow. This academically rigorous yet highly accessible book guides the reader through an ocean of literature and interpretative possibilities embodied in GATS. In doing so, it provides a road map of the various interpretative possibilities and dilemmas posed by the treaty. The work advances a legal analysis of GATS, based on its historical and institutional roots, while at the same time taking into account its objectives and prospects, as well as the balance of interests involved. In total, this timely book presents a thorough legal analysis of GATS that will serve as a comprehensive yet highly useful guide to the agreement.

This book is the first book-length analysis of investor accountability under general and customary international law, international human rights law, international environmental law, international humanitarian law, as well as international investment law. International investment law is currently facing growing criticisms for its failure to address corruption, abuse, environmental damage, and other forms of investor misconduct. Reform initiatives range from the rejection of international law as a governing regime for investors, to the dramatic overhaul of investment treaties that supposedly enable investor overprotection, to the creation of a multilateral international instrument that would enable the litigation of claims against errant businesses before an international tribunal. Whether these initiatives succeed in disciplining investors remains to be seen. What these initiatives undeniably show however, is that change is warranted to counteract this lopsided investors' international law. Each chapter in the book addresses a different and underexplored dimension of investor accountability, thus offering a novel and consolidated study of international law. The book will be of immense assistance to legal practitioners, academics and policy makers involved in the design, drafting, application and reform of various international instruments addressing investor accountability.

This book investigates how human rights law can be applied to corporate entities. To date there have been insufficient international legal mechanisms to bring corporations to justice for their misconduct abroad. The book argues that rather than trying to solve the problem locally, an international approach to corporate human rights compliance needs to be sought to prevent future corporate human rights abuses. Implementing effective and enforceable human rights compliance policies at corporate level allows businesses to prevent negative human rights impacts such as loss of revenue, high litigation costs and damage to reputation. By considering human rights to be an inherent part of their business strategy, corporations will be well equipped to meet national and regional business and human rights standards, which will inevitably be implemented in the next few years. This approach, in turn, also furthers the fundamental aim of international human rights law.

This book seeks to answer the questions: how do the rules of international treaties on trade and investment apply to the new laws and policies relating to energy-related trade, and do the rules of the multilateral system contribute to or detract from sustainable development? An emerging set of new problems in the law of international trade is how to reconcile the rules of the multilateral trading system with shortages of certain natural resources and the necessity to develop renewable energy resources. The chapters in this book provide a comprehensive analysis of the international trade issues presented by national trade laws and policies with regard to natural resources and energy. This book is about the extent to which we are interpreting existing rules to cover emerging problems and how the rules of the multilateral trading system can be adapted to achieve sustainable development in natural resources and energy. The book begins with a survey of selected national laws relating to recent restrictions on the export of natural resources, both resources used to produce energy as well as natural resources essential for industrial production. After examining the range of such laws in selected important countries, we turn to the application of the rules of the multilateral trading system to such export restrictions. We discuss the major rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as well as the natural resources rules in selected regional preferential free trade agreements. While there is not a comprehensive global legal regime on competition law, we believe it is also important to examine how selected national competition laws impact export restrictions on natural resources. This book will be a major contribution to the international dialogue on international economic law issues with respect to trade in natural resources and energy.

This book explores the central problems underlying the insurance of aviation war and terrorism risks and associated perils. It critically analyses the reasons why conventional insurance markets are unwilling or unable to provide sustainable insurance coverage for aviation war and terrorism risks in the aftermath of catastrophic events such as the terrorist events of September 11, 2001. It also examines some of the prominent concepts proposed and/or implemented after 9/11 to determine whether and to what extent these concepts avoid identified pitfalls. Like many of life s essentials, the importance of insurance is most evident when it is not available. The sheer scale and magnitude of the insurance losses that followed 9/11 caused conventional insurance markets (which hitherto had been offering generous insurance coverage for aviation war and terrorism risks to air transport operators for little or no premium) to withdraw coverage forthwith. The ensuing absence or insufficiency of commercial insurance coverage for aviation war and terrorism risks has sparked a global search for viable and sustainable alternatives. Ten years have since elapsed, and despite numerous efforts, the fundamental problems remain unresolved. The book proceeds on the premise that the underlying issues are not entirely legal in nature; they have immense economic, psychological and policy implications that cannot be underestimated. A multidisciplinary approach is therefore used in examining the issues, drawing heavily upon analytical principles adapted from law and economics and behavioural law and economics. It is hoped that the resulting study will be beneficial not only to lawyers and those interested in aviation insurance but also to economists, air transport insurance program managers, capital market investors and governmental policymakers, both at the national and international levels.

Is a State free to adopt measures to protect the public health of its citizens? If so, what are the limits, if any, to such regulatory powers? This book addresses these questions by focusing on the clash between the regulatory autonomy of the state and international investment governance. As a wide variety of state regulations allegedly aimed at protecting public health may interfere with foreign investments, a tension exists between the public health policies of the host state and investment treaty provisions. Under most investment treaties, States have waived their sovereign immunity, and have agreed to give arbitrators a comprehensive jurisdiction over what are essentially regulatory disputes. Some scholars and practitioners have expressed concern regarding the magnitude of decision-making power allocated to investment treaty tribunals. This book contributes to the current understanding of international investment law and arbitration, addressing the fundamental question of whether public health has and/or should have any relevance in contemporary international investment law and policy. With a focus on the 'clash of cultures' between international investment law and public health, the author critically analyses the emerging case law of investment treaty arbitration and considers the theoretical interplay between public health and investor rights in international investment law. The book also explores the interplay between investment law and public health in practice, focusing on specific sectors such as pharmaceutical patents, tobacco regulation and environmental health. It then goes on to analyze the available means for promoting consideration of public health in international investment law and suggests new methods and approaches to better reconcile public health and investor rights.

The degree of development reached by cooperatives of different sectors throughout the world, which among others led to the UN declaring 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, needs to be accompanied by a similar development of corresponding legislation. To this end, a better knowledge of cooperative law from the comparative point of view, as has already been established for other types of enterprises, becomes of great importance. This book strives to fill this gap, and is divided into four parts. The first part offers an analytic and conceptual framework with which to understand, study and assess cooperative law from a transnational and comparative perspective. The second part includes several chapters dealing with attempts to harmonize cooperative laws. The third part contains an overview of more than 30 national cooperative laws, while the last part summarizes and compares these national cooperative laws, thus laying the foundation for a comparative cooperative law doctrine.

This is the third book in the series Legal Issues of Services of General Interest. The book focuses upon a set of research questions on the recent developments in the emergence of services of general interest (SGIs) as a distinct EU concept. This includes, inter alia, the emergence of universal service obligations and the way they are regulated in the EU in primary and secondary law, the range of soft law communications adopted by the Commission to create a distinctive EU concept of SGIs, the residual role of hard law in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the special problems created by Social Services of General Economic Interest and the interaction of procurement and state aid law with SGIs. A new perspective is offered in this book: some of the issues faced by the EU in accommodating SGIs into a regulatory framework are found also in the policy of the WTO and in least developed countries (LDCs).

This new edition of International Trade Law Statutes and Conventions presents all the key legislation for International Trade Law in one student-friendly volume. Developed in response to feedback from lecturers and students, this book is: Up-to-date with the law: this book provides a fully current and comprehensive collection of legislation Tailored Content: content has been curated to align with international trade law courses Exam Friendly: conforming to regulations, this is an un-annotated text that is suitable for exam use Easy to Use Format: a clear and attractive text design, detailed table of contents and multiple indices provides ease of reference and navigation With easily accessible coverage of course-relevant material, International Trade Law Statutes and Conventions is ideal for course and exam use, as well as for reference. This book is a perfect companion resource to student learning and exam success.

This new edition of International Trade Law Statutes and Conventions presents all the key legislation for International Trade Law in one student-friendly volume. Developed in response to feedback from lecturers and students, this book is: Up-to-date with the law: this book provides a fully current and comprehensive collection of legislation Tailored Content: content has been curated to align with international trade law courses Exam Friendly: conforming to regulations, this is an un-annotated text that is suitable for exam use Easy to Use Format: a clear and attractive text design, detailed table of contents and multiple indices provides ease of reference and navigation With easily accessible coverage of course-relevant material, International Trade Law Statutes and Conventions is ideal for course and exam use, as well as for reference. This book is a perfect companion resource to student learning and exam success.

Presenting a wealth of highly original and innovative analyses and case studies, this book examines the strategic ties between various emerging economies, their different approaches to finding mutual trade solutions, and new trends in the use of contingent protection. The research methodology can also be applied to the study of specific Latin American countries or other developed or developing states in comparison to China. The book presents new theories and offers a valuable template for further studies in this area. Further, the application of the New Haven approach can further develop the studies' potential to offer guidance in a broader context.

This book explores the challenges and opportunities presented by the formulation of a global code of conduct for transnational corporations. It assesses the current state of research on global regulations intended to enhance the social responsibility of transnational corporations, and provides a platform for future research. In particular the book examines frameworks and instruments for regulating social responsibility, reviews recent developments concerning the proposed UN Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations, and provides insights into international civil society groups' movements in pursuit of a code of conduct. In a separate chapter the book discusses theoretical issues in regulating transnational corporations, and investigates their legitimacy and behavioral dynamics. In closing, the book discusses alternatives to a global code of conduct, the impact of sovereign power in the era of globalization, "soft regulations," and the feasibility and normative efficacy of enforcing regulations.