The laws of the Member States of the European Union and the tax treaties concluded by them - being part of their national laws - must be consistent with European Community law. Apart from EC Directives and Regulations, the EC Treaty itself contains rules directly applicable to matters of international taxation. In this context the decisions of the European Court of Justice on the fundamental freedoms laid down in the EC treaty are of primary importance. If a provision of a tax treaty is in conflict with the EC Treaty, it is superseded by the Treaty provisions. The EC Treaty may therefore have the effect of changing the content of tax treaties, a matter of crucial importance to international tax planning techniques. This collection of essays examines the effects of primary European Community law, in particular the fundamental freedom provisions in the EC Treaty, on tax treaties concluded by the Member States. Using the method of examination employed by the European Court of Justice, the contributors to this volume present a systematic analysis of the effects of the interaction of national tax law, tax treaty law and the EC Treaty.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the scope of European Merger Control Regulations. It follows a practical approach, which is aimed at fulfilling the need for a straightforward, user-friendly introduction to the workings of merger control at European level. It is designed to provide the reader with the framework provisions, as opposed to a case-by-case analysis, thereby enabling those involved with mergers to understand more comprehensively how the regulations and the decisions of the Merger Task Force affect specific mergers, organizations and business. The scope and functions of the Merger Regulations are set out fully and step-by-step guides to the various procedures are provided. Information sources include the full text of the Regulations as amended, relevant Commission Notices, and details of the national authorities dealing with mergers. As the EU moves further towards the accomplishment of the internal market and as mergers of ever-increasing value take place, the Merger Regulations and the work of the Merger Task Force has become of heightened importance.

The book examines how the absence of insurance in the past led to some special maritime liability law principles such as 'general average' (i.e., losses or expenses shared by all the parties to a maritime adventure) and the limitation of shipowners' liability. In the absence of insurance, these principles served the function of insurance mostly for shipowners. As commercial marine insurance is now widely available, these principles have lost their justification and may in fact interfere with the most important goal of liability law i.e., deterrence from negligence. The work thus recommends their abolition. It further argues that when insurance is easily available and affordable to the both parties to a liability claim, the main goal of liability law should be deterrence as opposed to compensation. This is exactly the case with the maritime cargo liability claims where both cargo owners and shipowners are invariably insured. As a result, the sole focus of cargo liability law should be and to a great extent, is deterrence. On the other hand in the vessel-source oil pollution liability setting, pollution victims are not usually insured. Therefore oil pollution liability law has to cater both for compensation and deterrence, the two traditional goals of liability law. The final question the work addresses is whether the deterrent effect of liability law is affected by the availability of liability insurance. Contrary to the popular belief the work attempts to prove that the presence of liability insurance is not necessarily a hindrance but can be a complementary force towards the realization of deterrent goal of liability law.

This book presents an analysis of the concept of the administrative act and its classification as 'foreign', and studies the administrative procedure for adopting administrative acts in a range of countries in and outside Europe. While focusing on the recognition and execution of foreign administrative acts, the book examines the validity, efficacy and enforceability of foreign administrative acts at national level. The book starts with a general analysis of the issue, offering general conclusions about the experiences in different countries. It then analyses the aforementioned themes from the perspective of the domestic law of different European nations and a number of international organisations (European Union, MERCOSUR, and Andean Community). In addition, the book studies the role of the European Union in the progress towards the recognition and execution of foreign administrative acts, where the principle of mutual recognition plays a vital part. Finally, the book analyses the international conventions on the recognition and execution of administrative acts and on the legalisation of public documents.

The law of tracing is a complex subject which has struggled to find a home in works on property, equity, commercial law and restitution. Broadly speaking, it addresses the question of when rights held in an asset can be asserted in another asset despite changes in form or attempts to 'launder' the initial asset. Properly understood this area of study is composed of several distinct topics. This book explores all the areas covered by the law of tracing in a degree of detail not previously reached in more general works.

In the law of contracts, the term "internationalization" has come to mean the removal of transactions from any nation's legal standards, system of dispute resolution, or commercial practices. The benefits include avoidance of choice-of-law and venue deadlocks, use of clearly defined terms (sometimes specialized for a particular industry) that have attained general international usage, and escape from the jurisdiction of unacceptable laws, legal systems and courts. The trend has picked up speed in recent years, to the point where many business people want their contracts "internationalized" as a matter of course. This volume focuses on the elements that make a contract "international" in the new sense, and the interrelationships between those elements, rather than on the constantly changing mass of attendant detail. It provides an understanding of the principles that underlie the structure of a sound international commercial contract, and aims to give the practitioner the insight necessary to negotiate such a contract successfully, whatever the particular circumstances. To clarify such an understanding of "internationalization", the author describes and analyzes aspects of the following international contract law regimes: the United Nations convention on contracts for the international sale of goods (CISG); the UNIDROIT principles; CISG and UNIDROIT jurisprudence; the "lex mercatoria" and other international, regional, and national contract law principles; privately established rules, standards and certifications; model contracts, provisions, and standards; and international commercial arbitration regimes and other non-national dispute resolution fora. A final chapter deals exclusively with practical applications - when to and when not to "internationalize" a contract, how to plan for effectiveness and the best advantage, and selecting appropriate and consistent devices for "internationalization".

This reference work examines the procedure and practice relating to commercial agreements and trade association practices under UK and EC competition laws. It first covers procedure in both the UK and EC, and then provides a detailed comparative analysis of all the major types of commercial agreements and trade association practices in both UK and EC law. Since much of competition law is, in practice, administered by administrative rather than judicial bodies, full treatment is given to the informal administrative solutions applied by the authorities. However, as an increasing amount of competition law is subject to litigation, there is also in-depth analysis of all the major cases. There is also a full discussion of the EC block exemptions and recent developments in UK competition law.

This work, perhaps for the first time, provides a description of the great variety of proposals at EEC level for the reform and harmonisation of intellectual property law. It addresses patents, copyright and neighbouring rights, trade marks, biotechnology, semiconductor chips, topography right, industrial designs and plant breeders' rights. Save as required for the purpose of shedding light on the EEC proposals, it does not attempt to examine member states' national laws. In the case of industrial designs, where no harmonisation has yet been proposed, a very brief survey of national jurisdictions is presented. There is a useful appendix of documents, a bibliography and index. This practical handbook will prove invaluable to practitioners, both in the IP field and non-specialists, seeking up-to-date information on European developments, including solicitors, barristers, patent agents and trade mark agents in private practice, commerce and industry throughout the EEC and in Member States' major trading partners.

Providing a desk reference for lawyers and others involved from time to time in the issuance or sale of securities outside their own national jurisdiction, this handbook presents briefly, in uniform summary form, the key elements of securities law and regulations in 20 national jurisdictions and seven US state jurisdictions. It aims to enable a foreign lawyer to gain a general understanding of the legal environment affecting securities, to perceive the types of questions which need to be addressed, to talk intelligently with his or her clients concerning these questions and the need for foreign legal advice and assistance, and to interact effectively with foreign counsel.

The book presents contributions from Brazilian experts on the regulation of different energy sources. Focusing on describing and discussing the fundamental issues related to the legal regulation of each of the sources that compose Brazil's energy matrix, it also analyzes economic and strategic aspects and identifies the main current problems related to the exploration for and production of each energy source. The book offers a clear and detailed overview of energy law and regulation for policymakers, foreign investors and legal professionals dealing with energy projects in Brazil.

The 2008 UNCITRAL Convention commonly known as the Rotterdam Rules promises to achieve the hitherto elusive goal of a legal unification of international transport contracts. Its innovative set of rules accommodates such modern trade practices as those treating the carriage of goods by sea as part of wider door-to-door commercial transport operations and those relying on electronic commerce. It closes many gaps in the existing international transport regime, thoroughly specifying the relation of transport documents to the rights and obligations between exporters and importers of goods, and clarifying the interests of credit and insurance in contracts of carriage. This remarkable book, which will examine the Rotterdam Rules in depth, is edited and written by international lawyers intimately familiar with the negotiations leading to the Convention in finished form. It proceeds by a detailed analysis of each of the Convention's 18 chapters in turn, in a clause-by-clause manner, drawing attention to interlinking implications throughout the document. The book's lucid insights and guidance are especially valuable in showing exactly how the Rules improve the existing international transport regime through its clearer and more complete regulation of such elements as the following: allocation of burden of proof; evidentiary value of transport documents and electronic records, including non-negotiable documents and records; freedom of contract in respect of volume contracts; continuous character of the obligation of seaworthiness; limits of liability; rights during transit; recovery of loss of and damage to goods caused by accidents of navigation; and, jurisdiction and arbitration. It also includes: role of subcontracted carriers both on sea and inland; role of warehouses, transport terminals and stevedoring companies; risks and contract practices of lenders; interests of freight forwarders, cargo insurers and liability insurers; and, prevention of maritime fraud. The authors provide a crystal-clear picture that allows the reader to appreciate the balanced way in which the interests of the various stakeholders are addressed by the Rules - the greater legal certainty for each party's legal position, the freedom to extend the Rules by contract to the whole transport operation, the clear legal basis for the use of electronic transport records, and the flexibility with which the Rules have left room for evolving trade practices. It will be of immeasurable value to practitioners and all parties interested in understanding how the new Convention operates and how the provisions are intended to be applied after the Convention comes into force.

This book provides practical solutions for addressing energy efficiency as a clause term within a charter party contract. For this, upon a reflection of the regulatory craft, it analyzes key concepts of case law, and discusses them together with commercial and economic principles. In this way, the book aims at offering a comprehensive, interdisciplinary view of the chartering process, together with a new approach for safeguarding energy efficiency investments. A special emphasis is given to the maritime industry. Here, the newly developed framework, based on game theory, has been successfully applied to demonstrate the importance of including a clause term in contract negotiation to achieve protection against both an uncertain market and an even more challenging shipping environment. The book not only fills a gap in the literature, covering a topic that has been largely neglected to date, yet it offers researchers and practitioners extensive information to change the chartering process radically.

Assessing the extent to which armed conflict impacts the obligations that states have towards foreign investors and their investments under international investment treaties requires considering a wide range of issues, many of which are systemic in nature. These include substantive and procedural topics, not only with regard to international investment law, but also concerning the law on the use of force, international humanitarian law and human rights law, the law of treaties, the law of state responsibility and the law of state succession.This volume provides an in-depth assessment of the overlap between international investment law and the law of armed conflict by charting the terrain of the multifaceted and complex relationship between these two fields of public international law, fostering debate and offering novel perspectives on the matter.

The technical, economic, and social development of the last 100 years has created a new type of long-term contract which one may call "Complex International Contract". Typical examples include complex civil engineering and constructions contracts as well as joint venture, shareholders, project finance, franchising, co-operation and management agreements. The dispute resolution mechanism, which normally deals with such contracts, is commercial arbitration, which has been deeply affected in recent decades by attempts to improve its capabilities. Most importantly, there is the trend towards further denationalization of arbitration with respect to the applicable substantive law. In this regard, a new generation of conflict rules no longer imposes on the arbitrators a particular method to be applied for the purpose of determining the applicable rules of law. Moreover, arbitration more frequently took on the task of adapting Complex International Contracts to changed circumstances. Also, special rules have been developed for so-called multi-party arbitration and fast track arbitration facilitating efficient dispute resolution. The author describes these trends both from a practical as well as a theoretical perspective, evaluating not only the advantages, but also the risks involved with the new developments in arbitration. Relevant issues with respect to the drafting and renegotiation of such contracts are also discussed.

This text is the result of an initiative by the International Trade Law Committee of the International Law Committee of the International Law Association to promote the progressive development of GATT/WTO law, and especially of its dispute settlement system, by making a comparative legal study of international and regional law and dispute settlement practice. Until recently there has been little discussion of the problems of GATT/WTO law and GATT dispute settlement practice. Part I of the book introduces the basic principles, procedures and historical evolution of the GATT/WTO dispute settlement system. It analyses the first experience and current legal problems with the new WTO dispute settlement system, such as the application of the Dispute Settlement Understanding to trade in services, intellectual property rights and restrictive business practices, the scope for "non-violation complaints", the standards of review, intervention by third parties, and the appellate review procedures and case-law. Part II examines the evolution of international trade law, and the application of the GATT/WTO dispute settlement procedures, in specific areas of international economic law, such as anti-dumping law, agricultural and textiles trade, restrictive business practices, trade-related environmental measures, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and the Agreement on Government Procurement. Part III describes procedures for the settlement of international trade disputes in domestic courts and regional trade agreements, such as the EC, the South American Common Market and NAFTA and examines their interrelationships with the GATT/WTO dispute rules and procedures. The Annexes include tables of past GATT/TWO dispute settlement proceedings, as well as the texts of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding and of the Working Procedures adopted by the Appellate Body of the WTO.

This book examines the relationship between regulation and market integration, with a special focus on China. It pursues a Law and Economics and Comparative Law approach (China and EU) to analyze the current obstacles to market integration and domestic economic growth in China. Topics covered at the national level include competition law, public procurement rules and financial regulation. At the regional and local level, this book addresses questions related to administrative monopolies, self-regulation, legal services markets, and environmental law.

Vast amounts of money are said to be laundered through financial intermediaries in the United Kingdom, thereby potentially affecting the integrity of the financial markets. This work offers a critical examination of the criminal anti-money laundering provisions and their impact on financial intermediaries, which may play a facilitating role in the money laundering process. It further considers the efficacy of the criminal law in reducing the incidence of money laundering when used in conjunction with civil liability and financial market regulation. The crucial issues relating to financial intermediaries concern the interaction between procedural norms and equitable or criminal liability, the conflicts between disclosure and client confidentiality, the privilege against self-incrimination, and the procedural aspects of imposing corporate criminal liability. The author analyzes these in detail and considers to what extent the present provisions may need modification, particularly in light of the demands of procedural fairness laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights. Finally, the book considers the impact of the international nature of money laundering on United Kingdom financial intermediaries, in terms of enforcement and the extra-territorial application of laws and disclosure orders.

This compelling research review discusses the major literary contributions to the economic analysis of the consequences of trade liberalization on growth, productivity, labor market outcomes and economic inequality. Examining the classical theories that stress gains from trade stemming from comparative advantage, the review also analyses more recent theories of imperfect competition, where any potential gains from trade can stem from competitive effects or the international transmission of knowledge. Empirical contributions provide evidence regarding the explanatory power of these various theories, including work on the effects of trade openness on economic growth, wages, and income inequality, as well as evidence on the effects of trade on firm productivity, entry and exit. This review will be an invaluable research resource for academics, practitioners and those drawn to this fascinating topic.

The purpose of this work is to assess the current regulation of international trade in gambling services. Departing from different national definitions, gamblingA"represents, in this study, all services which involve wagering a stake with monetary value in uncertain events driven (at least partially) by chance, including lotteries, casino and betting transactions. International tradeA" of such services implies that the provider, the beneficiary or the service itself must cross a national border. Therefore, notwithstanding a brief evocation of selected national legal frameworks on five continents, this research has striven to focus on international regulations governing - principally or incidentally -provision of such services. In this context, Internet-provided gambling services were granted special attention. To this purpose, this work has been constructed in an Introduction and two main parts. The Introduction lays the basic frame by exposing the historical, economic and legal background surrounding games of chance in numerous countries on the five continents, which are essentially divided into gambling - restrictiveA" or gambling - liberalA" jurisdictions. It also gives a definition of gamblingA" services in this study, and it endeavors to classify such services in different categories (lotteries, betting, casino-type gambling, other types including media gambling and sales promotion services, examined from a land-basedA" or remoteA" perspective). The First Part (Global Trade in Gambling Services) is dedicated to international instruments regulating trade in services with a global reach. It is further divided in two main subparts, as unequal in importance as the instruments they analyze. The first relates to the prominent General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), signed by 153 countries under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. The second, more modest, examines the services liberalization framework established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for its 30 member countries. The Second Part (Regional Trade in Gambling Services) scrutinizes gambling trade with a regional vocation. To this purpose, it analyzes the framework of the most successful preferential trade agreements to date, which have created a closer cooperation with respect to services between regional partners. This part is thus further divided in subparts dedicated to the following integrated trade areas: the European Union (EU), the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), the Mercado Comun del Sur (MERCOSUR), and the Association of South East Asian Nations Free Trade Area (ASEAN).

The controversial nature of seeking globalised justice through national courts has become starkly apparent in the wake of the Pinochet case in which the Spanish legal system sought to bring to account under international criminal law the former President of Chile,for violations in Chile of human rights of non-Spaniards. Some have reacted to the involvement of Spanish and British judges in sanctioning a former head of state as nothing more than legal imperialism while others have termed it positive globalisation. While the international legal and associated statutory bases for such criminal prosecutions are firm, the same cannot be said of the enterprise of imposing civil liability for the same human-rights-violating conduct that gives rise to criminal responsibility. In this work leading scholars from around the world address the host of complex issues raised by transnational human rights litigation. There has been, to date, little treatment, let alone a comprehensive assessment, of the merits and demerits of US-style transnational human rights litigation by non-American legal scholars and practitioners. The book seeks not so much to fill this gap as to start the process of doing so, with a view to stimulating debate amongst scholars and policy-makers. The book's doctrinal coverage and analytical inquiries will also be extremely relevant to the world of transnational legal practice beyond the specific question of human rights litigation.

The International Corporate Law Series is dedicated to the publication of scholarly writing on issues in the area of international and comparative corporate law. This volume includes contributions from the following: Dr Adedeji Adekunle of the University of Lagos writing on Nigerian corporate regulation; Professor Stephen Bottomley of the Australian National University writing on corporate governance; Professor John Braithwaite of the Australian National University and Dr Peter Drahos of the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute writing on the globalisation of corporate regulation; Professor Yves Chaput of the Universite de Paris I writing on developments in French corporate law; Rasiah Gengatharen of the University of Western Australia writing on corporate law reform and futures regulation in Australia; Dr John Gillespie of Deakin University writing on the transplantation of company law in Vietnam; Desmond Guobadia writing on developments in Nigerian corporate law; Jean-Phillipe Robe writing on the globalised enterprise within the world economy; Richard Tudway writing on the juridical nature of the corporation; and Professor Junko Ueda writing on recent developments in Japanese corporate law.

This work analyzes the commercial, legal and financial aspects of the complex process of developing an international energy project for the production and marketing of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The authors describe the essential chains in the commercialization of natural gas as LNG: entrepreneurial aspects; functional LNG facilities; and a linked series of contracts and contractual relationships. The expert contributions show the import and significance of the crucial dependent factors that appear and reappear in all stages of a successful LNG project. Each activity, each facility, each contract must be understood in the context of the overall project development process. By providing an understanding of the whole, this book aims to inform the performance of those who have personal responsibility for only a small part in the development and implementation of an LNG project.