The book systematically describes the theory and practice of ICSID annulment proceedings by thoroughly analyzing this mechanism in light of the annulment decisions rendered so far as well as the publications on the issue.
Organized to suit the needs of the practitioner, it outlines the recent trends in the area, providing the most up to date analysis of the subject. It also addresses key topics involving ICSID annulment such as the procedural issues which frequently arise in this type of proceedings, for example admissability of new evidence and arguments in annulment proceedings, res judicata in resubmitted cases.
The sections on each ground for annulment include an analysis of the applicable standard as well as a detailed description and study of each annulment decision that addressed the respective ground, creating an authoritative and complete resource.

This concise and practical guide to the most important economic techniques and evidence employed in modern merger control draws on the authors' extensive experience in advising on European merger cases. It offers an introduction to the relevant economic concepts and analytical tools, and stand-alone chapters provide an in-depth overview of the theoretical and practical issues related to market definition, unilateral effects, coordinated effects and non-horizontal mergers. Each form of economic evidence and analysis is illustrated with practical examples and an overview of key merger decisions.

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the function of certification in general and of certification systems in a range of different sectors. The authors examine certification from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint and from the perspectives of different disciplines, including law, economics, management, and the social sciences. They also discuss instruments that help ensure the quality of certification, which can range from public law measures such as accreditation, to private law incentives, to deterrents, such as liability towards victims. Further, they assess the role of competition between certification bodies. Readers will learn the commonalities as well as the necessary distinctions between certification bodies in various fields, which may stem from the different functions they serve. These similarities and differences may also be the result of different types of damage that the certified producer or service provider could potentially cause to individuals or to the public at large. Often, companies use certification bodies as an argument to assure the general public, e.g. regarding the safety of medical products. Closer inspection reveals, however, that sometimes certification bodies themselves lack credibility. The book offers essential information on the benefits and pitfalls associated with certification.

Trade between the United States and the eighteen countries of the Middle East and North Africa continues to grow at a steady pace, particularly with those countries that have signed free trade agreements with the US. This insightful and timely book examines US bilateral free trade agreements with a cross section of Middle Eastern countries. Economists discuss this topic generally, but few published works focus on the consistency of US bilateral free trade agreements with the relevant legal norms in the Middle East, other regional agreements and the multilateral trading system. Four central questions are at the heart of this book's illuminating analysis: 1. Are US bilateral free trade agreements consistent with international legal norms? 2. Are these agreements consistent with Middle Eastern norms on regional integration? 3. Are the agreements consistent with Islamic norms on trade liberalization? 4. Are the agreements consistent with local norms on intellectual property, environmental protection and labour standards?

Non-discrimination requirements, such as most-favored nation and national treatment obligations, are central to both international trade law and international investment law. Significant inconsistencies between the fields are evident, however, in the way adjudicators have treated key elements of the test for discrimination. This book surveys and criticizes the manner in which tribunals have employed the concept of regulatory purpose in determining whether discrimination has occurred. The authors of this book propose a new definition of regulatory purpose that assists in framing the test for unlawful discrimination in both fields of law. It provides a systematic and structured analysis of how regulatory purpose should - and should not - be used in applying non-discrimination norms. Throughout, the book compares and contrasts trade and investment law, drawing out several parallels and suggesting areas in which one legal system might answer or shed light on questions arising in the other. With its comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of trade and investment jurisprudence, this book will appeal to practitioners and academics in the fields of trade and investment law. Lawyers and adjudicators will find it a useful source of ideas and proposals to inform their arguments and decisions. For government officials, it will be informative when considering the optimal way to structure measures that may affect the interests of foreign traders or investors. It will also provide a useful survey of the literature for academics, as well as a springboard for further comparison of international trade and investment law.

The book focuses on the interactions between international legal regimes related to biodiversity governance. It addresses the systemic challenges by analyzing the legal interactions between international biodiversity law and related international law applicable to economic activities, as well as issues related to the governance of biodiversity based on functional, normative, and geographic dimensions, in order to present a crosscutting, holistic approach. The global COVID-19 pandemic, the imminent revision of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and the Aichi Targets have created the momentum to focus on the interactions between the Convention on Biological Diversity and other international environmental regimes. Firstly, it discusses the principles that inspire biodiversity-related conventional law, the soft law that conveys targets for enforcement of the Biodiversity Convention, their structural, regulatory and implementation gaps, the systemic relations arising from national interests, and the role of scientific advisory bodies in biodiversity-related agreements. The second part then addresses interactions in specific conventional frameworks, such as the law of multilateral trade and global public health, and the participation of communities in the management of genetic resources. Lastly, the third part illustrates these issues using four case studies focusing on the challenges for sustainability and marine biodiversity in small islands, the Arctic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, as a way to strengthen a horizontal and joint approach. The book is primarily intended for academics, researchers, and students interested in international environmental law and policy and in interactions for creating conditions for fair, sustainable, and resilient environmental development. By offering an analysis of instruments and criteria for systemic relations in those areas, it will also appeal to public and private actors at the domestic and international level.

The unfair trade practice of dumping has been regulated for many years. Dumping distorts competition by selling exports at exceedingly low prices in foreign markets. Over the years, anti-dumping measures designed to counter dumping through the imposition of duties have become the most effective and popular way employed to protect domestic industries under threat.
The 1980s, however, ushered in a counter measure: circumvention. As a means of avoiding anti-dumping duties, circumvention threatens the effectiveness of the anti-dumping system by undermining the protection provided for domestic industries. In response, anti-circumvention measures have been designed and implemented to combat those activities. This is the first book to offer a detailed analysis of this significant issue in anti-dumping practice.
Among the issues and topics addressed:
- What is the definition of 'circumvention' in anti-dumping law? What are the characteristics and types of circumvention? Should circumvention in anti-dumping practice be distinguished as an acceptable or unacceptable transaction? If so, what is the line between them?
- What are anti-circumvention measures in major jurisdictions? Are these anti-circumvention measures compatible with the current WTO rules? Can these anti-circumvention measures be seen as an abuse of trade protectionism? In domestic anti-circumvention legislation, how can one keep a balance between adopting anti-dumping measures effectively and protecting the interests of all participants in the game through anti-circumvention measures?
- What are the different arguments of the parties who are involved in an anti-circumvention investigation? What are the factsbehind those arguments?
- Should developing countries amend anti-circumvention provisions to their anti-dumping legislation for the purpose of protection as some developed countries did?
- What is the relationship between anti-circumvention measures and foreign direct investment?
- What steps should be taken against the abuse of anti-circumvention measures? What anti-circumvention measures should be designed in the context of the international legal framework so as not to conflict with the principles of the WTO? And how should they be implemented?

This greatly revised edition of an influential 1999 book consolidates its authoritative advocacy of the New Lex Mercatoria (NLM). Since the publication of the first edition, self-regulation and private governance in international business have gained world-wide recognition. Three dynamic commercial law initiatives in particular demonstrate that, in spite of the long-lasting dispute about the nature and dogmatic underpinnings of NLM, legal theory and international practice have accepted that transnational business law is open to the 'codification' of its contents. The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, the Principles of European Contract Law, and (most recently and dramatically) the TransLex Principles at www.trans-lex.org all draw their legal conclusions from observing the real-life phenomena surrounding regional and global integration of markets and foreign direct investment. This new edition presents an advanced elaboration of the author's 'Creeping Codification' thesis based on the TransLex Principles, an Internet-based method using an ongoing, spontaneous, and dynamic codification process which is never completed. The TransLex Principles contain black-letter texts of 128 principles and rules of the NLM with comprehensive, constantly updated comparative law references from domestic statutes, court decisions, doctrine, arbitral awards, and uniform laws. An annex to this book contains a synopsis of the wealth of materials available on the TransLex web site as well as a rare personal account of one of the fathersA"of the NLM, Philippe Kahn. International legal practitioners and academics alike have long complained about the inadequate legal framework for international trade and commerce. This book, with its far-reaching theoretical and methodological analysis of the doctrine of an autonomous transnational economic law, clearly opens the way to an independent and workable third legal system alongside domestic law and public international law. It offers international practitioners (contract negotiators, arbitrators, attorneys and other representatives of the parties in international arbitration proceedings) with a powerful and reliable instrument to apply transnational commercial law in daily legal practice.

Against the backdrop of enormous technological strides, this book argues that the air transport industry must be constantly vigilant in its efforts to employ a legal regime that is applicable to the aeronautical and human aspects of the carriage by air of persons and goods. In this regard, safety and security are of the utmost importance, both in terms of safe air navigation and the preservation of human life. Although the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) addresses legal issues through its Legal Committee, many emerging issues that urgently require attention lie outside the Committee's purview. This book analyzes in detail the items being considered by ICAO's Legal Committee, considers the legal nature of ICAO, and discusses whether or not ICAO's scope should be extended. Since the limited issues currently addressed by ICAO do not reflect the rapidly changing realities of air transport, the book also covers a broad range of key issues outside the parameters set by ICAO, such as: the need to teach air law to a new generation of aviation professionals; combating cyber-crime and cyber-terrorism; the regulation of artificial intelligence; traveller identification; interference with air navigation; human trafficking; unruly passengers; climate change; air carrier liability for passenger death or injury; Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (drones); and the cabin crew and their legal implications.

The globalisation of markets has pushed static, territorially-bounded legal structures towards a more rapid and efficient adaptation to the globalised and regionalised reality. In addition, substantial modifications in the structure and activities of financial institutions have increased risks and the need for new regulatory responses. Efforts to harmonise commercial law within the global order have resulted in a fragmented and ad hoc process, constructed according to multiple different interests and in order to preserve public policies in the face of transnational challenges. This book is the first to systematically analyse the current state of commercial law from a global perspective. The author seeks to both identify the reasons that are fostering the harmonisation process and to explain the ways in which it is developing. Among the relevant elements examined in this thorough analysis are the following: how emerging countries are absorbing international standards (with a special case study of Brazil); the impact of corporate activities on legal systems; the role of the corporation in promoting the standardisation of laws; issues of social responsibility and corporate accountability; justifications for the regulation of the corporate world; free trade vs. "fair trade"; the impact of treaty reservations and different forms of treaty incorporation into national legal systems; interaction between regional trade agreements and the WTO system; how movements of capital are reflected in international initiatives as well as in regional legislation and regulation; co-operation among national financial authorities; the emerging new lex mercatoria; and, the role of professional associations such as the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The perceived impact of WTO law on the domestic regulatory autonomy of WTO Members is increasingly becoming the subject of controversy and debate. This book brings together in an integrated analytical framework the main WTO parameters defining the interface between the WTO and domestic legal orders, and examines how WTO adjudicators, i.e. panels and the Appellate Body, have construed those rules. A critical analysis identifies the flaws or weaknesses of these quasi-judicial solutions and their potential consequences for Members' regulatory autonomy. In an attempt to identify a more proper balance between WTO law and regulatory autonomy, it develops an innovative interpretation of the National Treatment obligations in GATT and GATS, drawing upon compelling arguments from legal, logic and economic theory.

Among the important elements of the problem (and its potential solutions) discussed in this book are the following:
- the strong influence of legal culture in the different Asian countries;
- the limits of IP harmonisation in Europe;
- the importance of understanding the political and cultural perceptions that prevail in the various Asian countries;
- the non-uniform approach of different Asian countries due in part to bilateral free trade agreements; and
- the experience of patent office cooperation and its potential as a model for smaller countries.

This book examines the development of the Spanish patent system in the years 1826 to 1902, providing a fundamental reassessment of its evolution in an international context. The Spanish case is particularly interesting because of this country's location on the so-called European periphery and also because of the centrality of its colonial dimension. Pretel gauges the political regulation and organisation of the system, showing how it was established and how it evolved following international patterns of technological globalisation and the emergence of the 'international patent system' during the late nineteenth century. Crucially, he highlights the construction and evolution of the patent system in response to the needs of Spain's technologically dependent economy. The degree of industrial backwardness in mid-nineteenth-century Spain set the stage for the institutionalisation of its modern patent system. This institutionalisation process also entailed the introduction of a new technological culture, social infrastructure and narrative that supported intellectual property rights. This book is important reading to all those interested in the history of patents and their role in globalisation.

Volume 10 of the EYIEL focusses on the relationship between transnational labour law and international economic law on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). As one of the oldest UN Agencies, the ILO has achieved considerable progress with respect to labour rights and conditions. The contributions to EYIEL Volume 10 assess these achievements in light of current and future challenges. The ILO's core instruments and legal documents are analysed and similarly the impact labour standards have on trade and investment agreements. In its regional section, EYIEL 10 addresses recent developments in the US and the EU, including the US' trade policy strategy towards China as well as the reform of the NAFTA. In its part on institutions, EYIEL 10 focusses inter alia on the role of the rule of law in relation to current practices of the International Monetary Fund and of the WTO's Appellate Body as an international court. Furthermore, it provides an overview of current cases before the WTO. Finally, the volume entails a section with review essays on recently published books in the field of international economic law and international investment law.

This new work provides a timely and in-depth examination of the interface between the recast Brussels I Regulation and international commercial arbitration. The nature of the exclusion of arbitration from the original Brussels I Regulation on the recognition and enforcement of judgments, and subsequent decisions of the CJEU in cases such as West Tankers, resulted in the use of delaying tactics by parties wishing to avoid arbitration agreements. The recast Brussels I Regulation sought to remedy the situation by clarifying the extent of the arbitration exclusion and providing further detail on the relationship between arbitration and the Regulation, with the aim of promoting the efficient resolution of international disputes within the European Union. While the recast Brussels I Regulation has gone some way to remedy the situation, problems remain for those engaged in international disputes in EU member states. Key features of this book include: Comprehensive analysis of the interface between the recast Brussels I Regulation and international commercial arbitration Examination of the dilatory tactics which may be employed to avoid arbitration such as forum shopping, commencing parallel proceedings and obtaining conflicting decisions Guidance on how these tactics are addressed in national and international law Assessment of the EU, international and national laws that apply to these tactics. Practitioners working within the fields of international commercial arbitration, civil litigation and private international law will find this work a valuable resource, providing a unique and detailed treatment of this important and technical subject.

This book presents a comprehensive and systematic study of the principal aspects of the modern law of international commercial transactions. Based on diverse sources, including legislative texts, case law, international conventions, and a variety of soft-law instruments, it highlights key topics such as the international sale of goods, international transport, marine insurance, international finance and payments, electronic commerce, international commercial arbitration, standard trade terms, and international harmonization of trade laws. In focusing on the private law aspects of international trade, the book closely analyzes the relevant statutes, case law and the European Union (EU) and international uniform law instruments like the Rome I Regulation, the UN Convention on the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), UNCITRAL Model Laws; non-legislative instruments including restatements such as the UNIDROIT Principles on International Commercial Contracts, and rules of business practices codified by the ICC such as the Arbitration Rules, UCP 600 and different versions of the INCOTERMS. The book clearly explains the key concepts and nuances of the subject, offering incisive and vivid analyses of the major issues and developments. It also traces the evolution of the law of international trade and explores the connection between the lex mercatoria and the modern law. Comprehensively examining the issue of international harmonization of trade laws from a variety of perspectives, it provides a detailed account of the work of major players in the field, including UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, ICC, and the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Adopting the comparative law method, this book offers a critical analysis of the laws of two key jurisdictions-India and England-in the context of export trade. In order to stimulate discussion on law reform, it explains the similarities and differences not only between laws of the two countries, but also between the laws of India and England on the one hand, and the uniform law instruments on the other. Given its breadth of coverage, this book is a valuable reference resource not only for students in the fields of law, international trade, and commercial law, but also for researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

In the early 21st-century, companies pursue their goals with little regard for national borders. However, it remains true that business activity is regulated to a significant extent by each national jurisdiction. This is particularly true of mergers; as anyone knows who has ever been involved in a transnational merger in multiple jurisdictions, the knottiest problems and issues arise from variations in national competition and merger laws. This text offers an in-depth proposal for an international merger control regime that is firmly grounded in and supported by a framework of economic and legal theory. It arrives at its conclusions along three major avenues: a study of the concepts of global public good and consumer welfare that underlie the progress of globalization; detailed analyses of the two most important and highly developed merger law systems, those of the European Union and the United States; and a systematic and comprehensive review of the major existing proposals, both institutional and scholarly, for an international merger control regime. A special chapter is devoted to the complex custodial role of the World Trade Organization, both in its present activity and as it is envisioned in the various proposals.

Economic globalization and Compliance with International Environmental Agreements is an innovative and in depth consideration of the challenges economic globalization poses for the effective application of multilateral environmental accords. The introductory part of the book examines particular challenges of economic globalization. Part II tackles the interrelationship of global and regional environmental agreements and free trade regimes. It first looks at trade and other economic measures mandated by various environmental agreements, then at environmental measures in economic agreements. The third part of the book turns to compliance, analyzing the potential positive and negative impact of multilateral institutions, states, and transnational corporate activity. The last chapter considers the impact on compliance of modern dispute avoidance and dispute settlement mechanisms.

This work examines trade and development from the point of view of developing countries, it provides a rare opportunity to understand - and benefit from - the perspectives of the developing world. Developing nations comprise two-thirds of the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) so a work produced by an array of experts from those countries provides an important window on the intersection of trade and development.
This timely and useful resource will examine each of the following topics:
Part I. The WTO, Multilateral and Regional Frameworks for Trade. 1. Development and the World Trade Organization: Proposal for the Agreement on Development Facilitation and the Council for Trade and Development in the WTO, Yong-Shik Lee. 2. A Reflection on the South-South Coalition in the Last Half Century from the Perspective of International Economic Law-making, An Chen. 3. The WTO, Democracy, and Development: A View from the South Bhupinder Chimni. 4. Liberalization of Trade in Services and Trade Negotiations, Alejandro Jara and M del. Carmen Dominguez. 5. One Year Since the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference: Developing Countries Re-claim the Development Content of the WTO Doha Round, Faizel Ismail. 6. Trade Diplomacy and Development Clubs: The Interaction in the Americas, Diana Tussie. Part II Trade and Development: Cases of Seven Developing Countries. 7. Export Promotion and Economic Development: Korea's Experience, Jai S. Mah and Jae-hee Kang. 8. The Evolution of China's International Trade Policy: Development Through Protection and Liberalization, Jiangyu Wang. 9. Liberalizing Border Trade: Implications for Domestic Agricultural Markets in India, Rajesh Chadha, DevenderPratap, and Anjali Tandon. 10. Legal Reforms and International Economic Development: Iran's Economic Development from a Global Perspective, Ali Z. Marossi. 11. EU Maritime Rules and Transport Sector Policy Reform in Turkey, Subidey Togan. 12. Trade Liberalization for the Second Largest Country in Europe: Going East, West, Or Can It Be Both?. Oleg Riabokon. 13. How Far Can LDCs Benefit from Duty Free and Quota Free Market Access?: The Case of Uganda, Francis Mangeni.

This book presents the very first, interdisciplinarily grounded, comprehensive appraisal of a future "Common European Law on Investment Screening". Thereby, it provides a foundation for a European administrative law framework for investment screening by setting out viable solutions and evaluating their pros and cons. Daimler, the harbour terminal in Zeebrugge, or Saxo Bank are only three recent examples of controversially discussed company takeovers in Europe. The "elephant in the room" is China and its "Belt and Road Initiative". The political will in Europe is growing to more actively control investments flowing into the EU. The current regulatory initiatives raise several fundamental, constitutional and regulatory issues. Surprisingly, they have not been addressed in any depth so far. The book takes stock of the current rather fragmented regulatory approaches and combines contributions from leading international academics, practitioners, and policy makers in their respective fields. Due to the volume's comprehensive approach, it is expected to influence the broader debate on the EU's upcoming regulation of this matter. The book is addressed to participants from academia as well as to representatives from government, business, and civil society.

This book provides a broad understanding of whether law plays a role in influencing patterns of sustainable consumption and, if so, how. Bringing together legal scholars from the Global South and the Global North, it examines these questions in the context of national, transnational and international law, within single and plural legal systems, and across a range of sector-specific issue areas. The chapters identify how traditional legal disciplines (e.g. constitutional law, consumer law, public procurement, international public law), sector-related regulation (e.g. energy, water, waste), and legal rules in specific areas (e.g. eco-labelling and packing) engage with the concept of sustainable consumption. A number of the contributions describe this relationship by isolating a national legal system, while others approach it from the vantage point of legal pluralism, exploring the conflicts and convergences of rules between multiple international treaties (or guidelines) and those between the rules of international and transnational law (or both) vis-a-vis national legal systems. While sustainable consumption is recognised as an important field of interdisciplinary research linking virtually all social science disciplines, legal scholarship, in contrast, has neglected the importance of the field of sustainable consumption to the law. This book fills the gap.

This book is a pivotal publication that seeks to improve food security in the conditions of escalating protectionism in global agricultural trade. The authors argue that global trade systems have been increasingly distorted by emerging trade tensions between major actors such as the US, China, the EU, and Russia, as well as trade policies in many other countries. In view of the most recent disruption of global food supply chains due to the outbreak of the COVID-19, the book examines the effects of administrative restrictions, tariff escalations, and other forms of protectionism on food security. Over the decades, food security concerns have been emerging, along with the growth of the world population. More than two billion most impoverished people in the world spent up to 70% of their disposable income on food. In 2020, the running pandemic has unraveled accumulated problems. As many countries rely on agricultural imports, lockdowns and disrupted food production and supply chains tremendously threaten food security of those nations. Agricultural trade was already slowing in 2019 before the virus struck, weighed down by trade tensions, and decelerating economic growth. The spread of the virus and strict quarantine measures trigger economic decline that results in food prices rises and volatilities. Due to the pandemic, nearly all regions will suffer double-digit decline in trade volumes 2020. The virus will be defeated, but the effects of the protectionism outbreak would have a much longer-lasting impact on agricultural production, international supply chains, and food security worldwide. In this publication, the authors probe into many of the choices that link national, regional, and global policies extensively with the provision of food security for all in the new era of post-virus global trade. Since studying global agricultural trade has a multinational application, its outcomes might be shared with a broad international network of stakeholders, including research institutions, universities, and individual researches. The book is appropriate for government officials, policymakers, and businesses of many countries. Adaptation of research outcomes and solutions to the situation in particular countries and various collaboration formats will let to increase the visibility of the publication and to elaborate new practices and solutions in the sphere of establishing sustainable food security.

This book analyzes empirical data from three specific Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) designed to establish rules for the conservation and management of fish stocks in the ocean, in order to assess their effectiveness in converting science into policy for the recovery and maintenance of fishery populations. The three RFMOs discussed are the CCAMLR (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources), the ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) and the CCSBT (Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna). The book seeks to understand when governments choose to listen to science, and establishes a framework to examine the institutional designs currently in place to accommodate RFMO policy suggestions and the conditions under which they are implemented successfully. The study will be of interest to academics and professionals broadly interested in global environmental governance and international relations, and will specifically appeal to policymakers, conservationists, and environmental researchers interested in fishery management and policy at the global and regional scale. Goncalves provides an accessible and comprehensive analysis of RMFOs. She offers valuable insights into the role of science and politics in shaping sustainable fisheries policies for the open oceans. ---Peter M Haas, Professor Department of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst As envisaged by the UN Decade of Ocean proclamation, this book is an important and sincere effort, hopefully to be accompanied by many others to come during this promising decade, that will help to build a common framework to ensure that ocean science can support countries and the international community in creating improved conditions for the sustainable development of our cherished Ocean. ---Fabio H. Hazin - Professor at Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Brazil

There is a wide-spread consensus that UTPs occur throughout the food supply chain. Unfair trading practices (UTPs) can be defined as practices which grossly deviate from good commercial conduct, are contrary to good faith and fair dealing and are unilaterally imposed by one trading partner on its counterparty. Some Member States, such as France, Belgium and the UK, have already adopted legislation specifically prohibiting such practices (in the food and/or non-food supply chain). In addition, various self-regulatory initiatives exist. In April 2019, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain. A Commission Proposal of April 2018 (COM(2018) 173 final) was substantially amended. To improve farmers' and small and medium sized businesses' position in the food supply chain, the Directive bans certain unfair trading practices including late payments for perishable food products; last minute order cancellations; unilateral changes to contracts; refusal to enter into a written contract; returning unsold or wasted products; payment for buyer's marketing. Each Member State has to designate a competent authority to enforce these rules and these authorities must have the power to both launch investigations and fine operators who break the rules. The Member States now have two years to implement the Directive.

This text makes detailed analyses and comments on the MAI from the perspective of a Chinese scholar. The author believes that the "behind closed doors" process of MAI negotiations is unacceptable for developing countries, NGOs, and civil societies, and is inadvisable for any future negotiations on investment rules. The substantive contents of the MAI which include the definition of investor and investment, treatment of foreign investors and investments, treatment for investment protection, and the dispute settlement mechanism are of high standards that render them unreachable and unacceptable for developing countries. The nine chapters of the book include: an introduction; An analysis of the background of the MAI negotiations which briefly reviews the process and results of the negotiations and makes the author's comments on the negotiations; an analysis and evaluation of the main features of MAI provisions and the approaches adopted by the MAI; An exploration of the scope of application of the MAI through the analysis of the respective definition of investor and investment in the MAI, and points out that the purpose of broad definition is to broaden the MAI's scope of application; An analysis and comment on the MAI's general principles of treatment accorded to foreign investors and their investments, and points out that the MAI's provisions in this regard have negative impacts on developing countries; An introduction to the MAI's specific rules of treatment accorded to foreign investors and their investments in such new areas of international investment as performance requirements, investment incentives, key personnel, privatization, as well as monopoly, state enterprises and concessions. There is also: an analysis and commentary on the MAI's treatment provisions on investment protection, that is, the fair and equitable treatment and full and constant protection and security treatment as the general treatment, and the specific treatment with regard to expropriation and compensation, protection from strife and transfers; an introduction to and evaluation of the MAI's dispute settlement mechanism: the state-state procedure and the investor-state procedure, and; a conclusion.