National debts incurred by illegitimate regimes against the best interests of the citizens is a serious problem of international economics and politics. These sovereign debts, often referred to as odious debts, deplete the public purse and create an ongoing financial liability that serves to constrain investment and economic growth, and conspires to keep millions in poverty. This important and timely book explains the legal principles and politics involved in the issue of odious debts, and sovereign debt arrangements more generally. The author goes beyond abstract arguments and proposes legal rules and international regulation that should be put in place to create the right incentives to stop the transmission of odious debts. Her proposal is for a registration scheme for sovereign debt, and the imposition of positive duties on financiers who provide loans to sovereign borrowers. Sovereign Finance and the Poverty of Nations will appeal to students, academics, debt activists, policymakers, international finance practitioners and anyone with a general interest in sovereign finance affairs.

This book provides a magisterial account of the history, conceptualization, and institutionalization of the concept of sustainable development in international law and policy-making. It provides helpful and insightful illumination of these issues, both at a general level and specifically through an extended case study of the evolution of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture - a particularly appropriate choice of case study given that agriculture implicates a wide range of divergent values, including the economic benefits of free trade; promoting access to affordable food; protecting small subsistence farmers, especially in developing countries; and minimizing environmental degradation through over-exploitation of natural resources such as fisheries, soil depletion or contamination. An overarching and constructive theme of the book is the need for greater legal coherence in international law making across these various domains which are often fragmented in institutional silos that lack effective integrating mechanisms.' - Michael Trebilcock, University of Toronto, Canada'Sustainable development, now made fully operational thanks to the contribution of Elisabeth Burgi Bonanomi, can support policy reforms that will improve global governance, thus ensuring that the trade regime is shaped to support the policy objectives that it is meant to serve. The area of food and agriculture is in many ways a case study of a lack of consistency across policy areas. It is now high time to overcome this failure. I have no doubt that this volume represents a major contribution towards this end.' - Olivier De Schutter, Member of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights The concept of sustainable development has become a fundamental discourse in international decision making. To enable pragmatic sustainable development governance, legally coherent, mutually supportive multilateral treaties are both necessary and important. This timely book provides an accessible insight into how the concept of sustainable development can be made operational for coherent law making through its translation into legal terms. The book is split into two informative points of inquiry. The first part of the book explores the origins of the sustainable development debate and sheds light on how the international community has inadequately operationalized the concept to utilize its full potential. In this view, Elisabeth Burgi Bonanomi illustrates how sustainable development can facilitate coherent international law making when it is understood as a multidimensional legal principle and methodical norm. The second part of the book adopts this notion as an analytical lens on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, placing the focus specifically on food security and food sustainability. The overarching discussion contributes to one of the most intricate debates of international food governance and investigates the unresolved question of what a sustainable and coherent agricultural trade agreement could look like. Providing a comprehensive overview of sustainable development law, its origins, and its current theories, scholars and students with a background in international public law, trade, and investment law, development and human rights law, international relations, and environmental policy will find this book a valuable reference tool. Practitioners and policy-makers will benefit from the insight into the search for politically coherent and sustainable legal agreements.

This textbook examines the legal and regulatory approaches to digital assets and related technology taken by United States regulators. As cryptoassets and other blockchain applications mature, and regulatory authorities work hard to keep pace, Daniel Stabile, Kimberly Prior and Andrew Hinkes invite students to consider the legal approaches, challenges and tension points inherent in regulating these new products and systems. The authors explore the attempts to apply securities laws and money transmission regulation, the growth of smart contracts, the taxation of digital assets, and the intersection of digital assets and criminal law. This innovative and unique textbook features: Commentary and analysis by three leading attorneys engaged with the regulation of digital assets and blockchain technology, offering practical, real-world acumen A comprehensive overview of the origins, key features and mechanisms of blockchain technology, as well as a broad intimation of the divisive debates that will shape the future of digital assets, to guarantee a thorough introduction to the topic for students Excerpts of authorities and other materials from key regulators, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trade Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service, to add insight and nuance to classroom discussions. In this, the first textbook of its kind, students of law, business, or technology will find crucial insights into the law and regulation of blockchain and a comprehensive overview of significant public debates on the topic.

The birth of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its related agreements at the close of the Uruguay Round marked a profound change in the framework of principles governing world trade. The author argues that the establishment of the WTO as a unique transnational legislature in fact produced a fully integrated trade constitution capable of constructing, universalising and enforcing substantive norms of law. The changes in the world trading system amounted to a significant shift in power from the national to the supranational level, with the result that member states are now disposed to exercise their sovereignty collectively in those areas of commercial law that require global co-ordination. The author further argues that a significant factor in the institutional reform of the international trading system was the advent of the information economy, and the resulting imperative to protect intellectual property. In this respect the work lays the foundation for an empirical understanding of the WTO constitution as a response to the logic of intellectual property law. From a social perspective, the book explains how the collective exercise of sovereignty in the new world order reflects the emergence of a new transnational civil society in which corporations, non-governmental organisations and voluntary associations are demanding a voice in global lawmaking. In examining the limits of the emerging trade constitution and the challenges it is likely to face, the analysis concludes that to find true legitimacy, the WTO and its institutions must find ways of conforming to the democratic principles of accountability, transparency and representation.

How ought scholars and students to approach the rapidly expanding and highly multidisciplinary study of international economic law? Academics in the field of international political economy used to take for granted that they worked with the overarching concepts of rules and governance, while legal scholars analyzed treaties and doctrines. However, over the past twenty years formerly disparate fields of study have converged in a complex terrain, where academic researchers and governmental policy analysts use a pluralistic set of theoretical and methodological tools to study the ongoing development of international economic law. This volume argues that the extensive development of international economic law makes it impossible to discuss international political economy and international law as if they were mutually exclusive processes, or even as if they were separate and mutually reinforcing. Rather, we must think of them as a deeply interconnected set of rapidly evolving activities. This is a paradigm shift in which we cease to think about an international system in which politics and law interact, and begin to think about an international system in which politics take place in a legal frame. Froese terms this a shift from politics and law, to the politics of international economic law. This book does for political economy what others have already done for law - introduces political scientists, economists, and other practitioners of IPE, to the potential of engaging with legal theory and method; it will be of great interest to scholars in a range of areas including IPE, global governance, IR and international law.

Amid the ongoing crisis surrounding the WTO, China's role and behaviour in the multilateral trading system has attracted overwhelming attention. This timely monograph provides the first comprehensive and systemic analysis of China's compliance with the rulings of the WTO's dispute settlement mechanism (DSM). It covers all the disputes in which China has been a respondent during its 17-year WTO membership and offers a detailed discussion of China's implementation of adverse WTO rulings, its approaches to settling WTO disputes, the possible explanations for such approaches, and post-compliance issues. The book shows how China has utilised the limitations and flexibilities of WTO rulings to ensure that its implementation of the rulings not only delivers adequate compliance but also maintains its own interests. Overall, this book argues that the issues relating to the quality of China's compliance and post-compliance practices concern the loopholes within the DSM itself which may be utilised by all WTO Members. However, despite the loopholes, China's record of compliance suggests that the DSM has been largely effective in inducing compliance and influencing domestic policy-making. It is therefore in the interest of all WTO Members and other stakeholders to protect the DSM as the 'crown jewel' of the multilateral trading system.

This comprehensive book provides a complete overview of the international legal system of foreign investment protection. Proposing a simple, practical approach, it examines the problems one might face when studying or practising international investment law, including those arising from contemporary changes and controversies. In this incisive book, Arnaud de Nanteuil synthesises material from treaties, general international law, contracts and case law to demonstrate a coherent system of investment protection, rather than simply describing the law as it currently stands. Through this systematic approach, the book considers all aspects of the discipline, examining its history, the content of the law, investment arbitration, and its relationship with other areas of international law such as human rights, the environment and EU law. It also discusses answers to questions that remain open in current case law. Providing a thorough and accessible analysis, this book will be invaluable to both students and academics working in the field of international investment law, as well as practitioners who will appreciate its pragmatic style. Government officials and those working for international organisations in this area will also find its discussion of the possible future evolution of the law insightful.

Investment treaties grant special international protection to foreign investors, and give them a means to enforce those rights against States in which they have invested. This book systematically examines the law of international investment treaties, particularly with respect to its origins, structure, content, and effects. Although the precise provisions of investment treaties are not uniform, virtually all investment treaties address the same issues. This book examines those issues in detail, including the scope of application, conditions for the entry of foreign investment, and general standards of treatment of foreign investments. Investment treaty law has continued to evolve rapidly and dramatically since publication of the second edition of this work in 2015. The field has seen considerable growth in the number and scope of investment treaties, now estimated at 3300, and investor-state arbitrations cases, which reached over 1000 in 2020. The field has also experienced significant changes and reforms. In 2018, eleven Pacific Basin Countries, despite the withdrawal of the United States, forged ahead to conclude the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP), a potentially far reaching regional trade and investment agreement. The next year, the three north American nations replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). And in 2020, European Union member states terminated over 100 intra-EU BITs, leaving intra-EU investors to rely on EU law and legal processes alone for protection from unfavourable government acts. This edition of The Law of Investment Treaties incorporates a consideration of all of these and other reforms into its analysis of the body of law created by investment treaties since World War II.

Why, and how, do states obey international law? This engaging book tackles this very question head on via its examination of the conflicting and conciliating processes of the Chinese approach to litigation and the Western approach to legal orientation in the field of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.The authors examine the normative framework of WTO rule implementation in a globalised international economic order. They further explore the notion of the rule of law in China's Confucian system, and how it interacts with a rule-based world trading system. Topics discussed include theorising the WTO implementation regime, the Chinese approach to law, China and the WTO dispute settlement system, and Chinese Confucianism and compliance. With its focus on international economic law and political science, this book will be accessible to students, policy makers, practitioners and academics looking to understand China and the rule of law in a global context

Die Beitrage in diesem Sammelband befassen sich mit den rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen fur Wettbewerb und Markt in China und Europa. Dies umfasst die gesellschafts-, arbeits- und wettbewerbs- bzw. kartellrechtlichen Bedingungen, das Wirtschaftsstrafrecht sowie die Ausgestaltung des Rechts des geistigen Eigentums sowie des Verbraucherschutzes. In- und auslandische Marktteilnehmer mussen sich dabei nicht nur auf stabile rechtliche Verhaltnisse verlassen koennen, sondern haben groesstes Interesse an einem funktionierenden und verlasslichen Gerichtssystem bzw. aussergerichtlichen Mechanismen der Konflikt- und Streitbeilegung. Die Beitrage analysieren Unterschiede und Entwicklungstendenzen in rechtsvergleichender Perspektive.

Intellectual Property at the Crossroads of Trade focuses on the elements of intellectual property that impact on trade and competition.The book comprises thoughtful contributions on varying commercial aspects of IP, from parallel imports of pharmaceuticals to exhaustion of rights, and from trade in goods of cultural heritage to regulation of goods in transit. There is detailed discussion of licensing, including cross-border elements, online licensing, and the potential for harmonization in Europe. This precedes a multi-layered analysis of the Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement. This stimulating collection of work will have strong appeal to academics and researchers interested in some of the most pressing issues in intellectual property law, as well as all those with an interest in the intersection of trade and IP. Contributors include: M. Barczewski, D. Beldiman, I. Calboli, J. de Werra, J. Drexl, C. Geiger, G. Mazziotti, C.R. McManis, J. Pelletier, I. Stamatoudi, S. Sykuna, P. Torremans, G. Westkamp

Cross-border business transactions often entail the transfer of assets, which requires some basic knowledge of diverse legal systems; consultants working on such transactions need to have an overview of the procedural particularities of these jurisdictions, and practical knowledge that will enable them to approach the transaction from an informed perspective. This handbook provides essential information relating to the transfer of assets or entire business units in thirty-two of the most important jurisdictions in the world. Each chapter is dedicated to a separate jurisdiction, and discusses, among other practical topics of interest, form requirements, registration obligations, regulatory compliance, real property, intellectual property, taxes, insolvency law, costs and timing issues as well as the transfer of employees. The purpose of this book is to create a better understanding of the legal and practical concerns associated with asset transfers in the relevant jurisdictions. Through it the reader will be able to identify potential legal issues, assess whether or not local advisors have to be consulted and make informed judgments about timing and costs associated with a prospective transaction. This compendium should serve as a useful guide for all professionals involved in international M&A transactions, including lawyers, investment bankers, tax advisors and other consultants. The chapters were prepared by experienced lawyers practicing in established international and local law firms and legal scholars from preeminent universities around the world.

The first volume of the new Yearbook tries to catch the broadness of contemporary International Economic Law. In part I, it brings together articles on a variety of subjects, reaching from exchange rate manipulation and financial market supervision over international investment law including the growing investment protectionism to recent developments of the external economic constitution of the European Union and the relationship between climate change and International Economic Law. Part II covers the major regional economic integration developments around the globe, analysed in different articles covering the different regions. Part III informs about recent activities in some of the major global economic institutions.

While liberal democracies are the best systems of self-governance for societies, they rarely invoke great enthusiasm. On the one hand, democracies have been known to fail in achieving efficient or fair allocations. On the other hand, many citizens take the democratic system for granted as they have yet to experience an alternative. In this book the vision we propose is that the potential of democ racies has not yet been exhausted, and that optimal democracies are both the Utopia for societies and the aim that scientists should be committed to. We present a number of ideas for drawing up new rules to im prove the functioning of democracies. The book falls into two parts. The first part examines ways of combining incentive contracts with democratic elections. We suggest that a judicious combina tion of these two elements as a dual mechanism can alleviate a wide range of political failures, while at the same time adhering to the founding principles of democracies. The second part presents new rules for decision-making and agenda setting. Together with modern communication devices, these rules can sometimes transcend the limitations of liberal VI Preface democracies in achieving desirable outcomes. Examples of such rules include the flexible majority rule where the size of the ma jority required depends on the proposal, or the rule that only those belonging to the winning majority can be taxed."

Fossil fuel consumption is an increasingly volatile issue, and its subsidisation continues to be challenged by lobbyists and activists. This timely book provides an empirically-grounded and theoretically-informed account of international law sources, mechanisms, initiatives and institutions relevant to the practice of subsidising fossil fuel consumption and production. This book offers a wide-ranging analysis and critique of polycentric international responses to environmentally harmful fossil fuel subsidies. Drawing on interviews with officers and representatives of a wide range of institutions involved in subsidy reform, as well a broad range of cabinet papers and diplomatic correspondence, Vernon Rive dissects and maps the activities of the international legal and governance framework relevant to fossil fuel subsidy reform. Featuring sustained and comprehensive analysis throughout, the book considers the existing WTO framework's potential to legally challenge fossil fuel subsidy practices. This engaging book will be indispensable to researchers in law with a particular interest in the frameworks that underpin and challenge fossil fuel subsidies. Furthermore, it will provide critical insight for legal practitioners and policymakers operating in international trade and environment policy, as well as wider global climate change networks.

With changes to the international investment law landscape and Asian countries now actively developing their network of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs), this volume studies issues relating to Asian perspectives on international investment law and forecasts the future of Asian contribution to its science and practice. The book discusses the major factors that have been driving Asian countries to new directions in international investment rule-making and dispute settlement. It also looks at whether Asian countries are crafting a new model of international investment law to reflect their specific socio-cultural values. Finally, the book examines whether there are any 'Asian' styles of international investment rule-making and dispute settlement, or if individual Asian countries are seeking specific national 'models' based on economic structure and geopolitical interests. This unique collection is exceptionally useful to students, scholars and practitioners of international investment law, international trade law and public international law.

This monograph is the first to bring together and critically assess the extensive scholarship and practice on the burning topic of whether domestic climate change legislation can also be imposed on imports. No explicit WTO ruling exists on the matter. Yet, this book shows the way to implement WTO-consistent carbon-related border adjustment. It also uniquely assesses possible negotiated solutions especially in the context of preferential trade agreements. An excellent reference work for students, scholars and legislators concerned about effectively fighting climate change in line with international trade commitments.' - Professor Joost Pauwelyn, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland'Holzer has authored a fine study of how world trade law supervises important actual and potential climate measures. The book skillfully examines the relevant WTO rules and then applies them to various carbon-related border adjustments. The author concludes that some carbon measures may be in conflict with trade rules and makes recommendations for how to head off such conflicts. Her innovative suggestions include recourse to preferential trade agreements.' - Professor Steve Charnovitz, The George Washington University Law School, US By expounding the legal foundations of border tax adjustments in international trade regulation, this book lays out the scope and limitations within which border carbon adjustments need to operate. The author examines the extent to which countries can lawfully impose border adjustment measures in relation to the carbon footprint of products on importation and exportation. In doing so, she provides a thorough analysis of the provisions of the WTO Agreement applicable to border carbon adjustments, offers a comprehensive review of relevant case law and engages with the extensive literature on the subject. Given the probability of conflict with non-discrimination rules of the GATT and uncertainty over justification of different designs of carbon-related border adjustment schemes under the exceptions of GATT Article XX, the book argues for a negotiated solution and discusses the possibility of the use of border carbon adjustments under preferential trade agreements. Carbon-Related Border Adjustment and WTO Law will be of great benefit to policymakers and practitioners working in the area of climate policy and trade regulation. Researchers and advanced students in international economic law and international environmental law will also find much to interest them in this work. Contents: 1. Introduction Part I: Carbon-related Border Adjustment: Putting the Issue into Context 2. Human-induced Climate Change and Global Action 3. Border Adjustment as it Relates to Climate Policy 4. Border Adjustment Practices in International Trade Part II: WTO Legal Issues Concerning Carbon-related Border Adjustment 5. PPM-based Border Adjustment Under WTO Law 6. The Possibility of Defense Under General Exceptions of GATT Article XX 7. Testing WTO Compliance of Various Forms of Carbon-related BAMs 8. Legal Issues Arising from the Implementation of Carbon-related BAMs Part III: Solutions to the WTO-Inconsistency of Carbon-related Border Adjustment 9. The Potential of and Limits to a Multilateral Approach 10. A Bilateral Approach to Imposing Carbon-related Border Adjustments 11. Summary of Main Findings Index

This book provides a definition and classification for Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) and discusses its phenomenon within the law context. It identifies the rules applicable to SWFs and to states hosting SWFs' investments. In eight extensive chapters, Fabio Bassan considers whether SWFs may enjoy immunity with respect to host state measures, and whether SWFs can use alternative forms of protection in Bilateral Investment Treaties. Written from an international law perspective, The Law of Sovereign Wealth Funds will appeal to students of international business, international organisations, banks and governments.

The increase in the complexity and length of international arbitration procedures has resulted in a growing demand for both provisional and emergency measures to facilitate the preservation of the parties’ rights until a final award is rendered. In Provisional and Emergency Measures in International Arbitration, Julien Fouret has brought together many of the leading international arbitration practitioners to examine this highly topical subject. It considers complex issues surrounding the powers of arbitrators to grant provisional relief, categories and examples of such measures, procedural and substantive requirements for ordering an interim measure, the burden and standard of proof as well as issues of enforceability. Each chapter offers a thorough analysis both in commercial and investment arbitration. This important new publication will be beneficial to legal practitioners, academics a as well as arbitrators who want to gain a deeper understanding of both the principles and specific rules on provisional and emergency remedies established under the major arbitral rules and tribunals.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Written from a public international lawyer's perspective, this short but significant book gives a broad overview of international investment law (IIL), explaining core concepts of investment protection, their evolution, and how investment tribunals have interpreted them. It examines the main features of the prevailing investment dispute settlement system and takes into account historic antecedents and possible future developments. August Reinisch facilitates easy access to the field by putting international investment law into its broader historical, political and legal context. Key features include: a combination of academic and practical perspectives a broad-based contextual introduction a nuanced, integrated overview of the links and connections between different areas of international investment law. This Advanced Introduction is an indispensable guide for students of law, political science, international relations and economics. Comprehensive and accessible, it is essential reading for lawyers, scholars and policy advisors seeking to further their understanding of international investment law.

This book provides a detailed analysis of the legal framework in which the energy trade between the European Union and the Russian Federation has been conducted. Using case studies of eight member states, it critically examines the EU's ability and the duty of its Member States to conduct their external energy trade in accordance with the principle of solidarity. Providing a comprehensive analysis of the principle of solidarity as provided in the acquis communautaire of the EU, the book critically analyses the legal framework pertaining to EU-Russia energy trade to ascertain whether, and to what extent, it satisfies the requirements of the rule of law.

The main aim of this book is to assess the importance of international rules for foreign direct investment and the major challenges to international harmonization of those rules. Particular attention is paid to the most controversial and contentious issues with the view of appraising the prospects for establishing global rules. The book is divided into three parts; the first part includes papers assessing the role of national and international legislation with further distinction being made between bilateral, regional and multilateral legal frameworks. The second part addresses regulatory issues of technology transfer, labor, environment, subsidies and investment incentives, national security, public services and sovereign wealth funds. The final part looks at the experience of some international fora in addressing these issues and at some theoretical and conceptual problems of rule harmonization. The papers have been written by legal and economic scholars from leading universities.

? The Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG This splendid book performs the heroic task of introducing readers to the large canvas of the commercial law of the European Union (EU). The EU began as an economic community of six nations but has grown into 27 member states, sharing a signi?cant political, social and legal cohesion and serving almost 500 million citizens. It generates approximately 30% of the nominal gross world product. The EU is a remarkable achievement of trans-national co-operation, given the history (including recent history) of national, racial, ethnic and religious hatred and con?ict preceding its creation. Although, as the book recounts, the institutions of the EU grew directly out of those of the European Economic Community, created in 1957 [1.20], the genesis of the EU can be traced to the sufferings of the Second World War and to the disclosure of the barbarous atrocities of the Holocaust. Out of the chaos and ruins of historical enmities and the shattered cities and peoples that survived those terrible events, arose an astonishing pan- European Movement.

Does the WTO leave appropriate policy space to its Members to pursue legitimate objectives, such as the economic development of developing countries, the conversion to a greener economy, or recovery in times of a global economic downturn? This legal and normative analysis of the WTO rules on subsidies and countervailing measures sheds light on why governments resort to subsidization and, by tracing the historical origins of the SCM Agreement and the Agreement on Agriculture, on why they have been willing to gradually confine their policy space. This sets the stage for a systematic and comprehensive legal analysis of both agreements, which integrates the vast amount of case law and proposals tabled in the Doha round. A separate case study explores the complex rules on export credit support, and the book closes with an in-depth normative assessment of these WTO rules on subsidies and countervailing measures.

This publication provides an unparalleled comparative analysis of two "hot topics" in the field of antitrust and unfair competition laws with regard to a number of key countries.

The first part of the book examines whether small and middle-sized businesses could or should be subject to specific competition rules. These businesses account for 99% of the enterprises in Europe and the United States, making this a particularly important topic. The papers consider both the public and private enforcement rules across a range of jurisdictions and a detailed international report, prepared by Michele Carpagnano, identifies general trends and highlights differences and the most interesting features of national regulations.

The second part of the book gathers contributions from various jurisdictions on the unfair competition question of whether a company could or should be protected against the use of their trademark, distinctive signs and other components of their image and identity on the part of non-competing companies. The papers focus on the fundamental issue of the competitive relationship as a condition of protection under unfair competition acts and the connection to intellectual property protection. The comprehensive and insightful international report, prepared by Martine Karsenty-Ricard, brings together these reflections by comparing various national positions.

The book also includes the resolutions passed by the General Assembly of the LIDC following a debate on each of these topics, which include proposed solutions and recommendations. The International League of Competition Law (LIDC) is a long-standing international association that focuses on the interface between competition law and intellectual property law, including unfair competition issues.