Gordon Brown was a past-master at sneaking in new taxes by stealth, but his efforts as Chancellor and then Prime Minister were merely the latest in a long line of party leaders desperate to extract more money from reluctant taxpayers. This book challenges the need for government to resort to such underhand practices which undermine the economy, killing the goose which lays the golden eggs, and the integrity of the political process. The author argues that not only does taxation flout the principle of private property, but it 'is a primal cause of both inflation and unemployment. Regardless of this, the freely elected governments of contemporary trading economies - with the acquiescence of their electorates - persist in raising the major part, if not all, of their revenues by means of taxation. The immediate cause of such action by governments...is ignorance of any acceptable alternative method of raising sufficient public revenue.' Burgess shows how the development of Keynes' general theory of employment 'leads to the conclusion that an open trading economy is likely to be most competitive, and therefore most prosperous, only when taxation is abolished' - but government must be funded. How can this be done without taxation? To provide an answer he refines Alfred Marshall's distinction between the public and private value of property to reveal an alternative, peculiarly public source of revenue. Unlike a tax, defined by a former Labour Chancellor, Hugh Dalton, as 'a compulsory contribution imposed by a public authority, irrespective of the exact amount of service rendered to the taxpayer in return', the 'public value' identified by Marshall would deliver an exact equivalence between the benefits enjoyed and the amount paid. On the basis of this widely accepted definition, therefore, it is not a tax but the price for services rendered like any other transaction - the price fixed by the market. The author shows how reform may be introduced with a minimum of disruption, so that politicians with an eye to re-election can achieve measurable results during the lifetime of a parliament.

This thought-provoking book investigates the increasingly important subject of constitutional idolatry and its effects on democracy. Focused around whether the UK should draft a single written constitution, it suggests that constitutions have been drastically and persistently over-sold throughout the years, and that their wider importance and effects are not nearly as significant as constitutional advocates maintain. Analysing a number of issues in relation to constitutional performance, including whether these documents can educate the citizenry, invigorate voter turnout, or deliver 'We the People' sovereignty, the author finds written constitutions consistently failing to meet expectations. This innovative book also examines how constitutional idolatry may frustrate and distort constitutional change, and can lead to strong forms of constitutional paternalism emerging within the state. Ultimately, the book argues that idolising written constitutions is a hollow endeavour that will fail to produce better democratic outcomes or help solve increasingly complicated societal problems. Engaging and accessible, Constitutional Idolatry and Democracy will be a key resource for both new and established scholars interested in comparative constitutional law, constitutional theory, law and democracy and written vs. unwritten constitutions.

The exploitation of natural resources in Africa represents a major challenge. The African continent, which remains largely unexplored, contains a large part of the world's natural resources. The current context, characterised by a fluctuation of commodity prices, does not reduce the growing interest in Africa and its extractive sector. Oil, Gas and Mining Law in Africa analyses the mining and petroleum laws in African countries and includes an assessment of contractual aspects applicable to oil, gas and mining operations. The innovative interest of this book is to provide a detailed and up-to-date analysis of mining and petroleum laws applicable to the upstream sector in Africa. It focuses on all the mining and petroleum laws and especially those recently enacted in a constantly changing environment.

As part of the European integration, an ambitious programme of harmonisation of European private law is taking place. This new edition in the Swedish Studies in European Law series, the work of both legal scholars and politicians, aims to create a modern codification in the tradition of the great continental codifications such as the BGB and the Code Civil. A significant step towards this development was taken in 2009 with the creation of the Draft Common Frame of Reference which contains model rules for a large part of central private law. The process raises a number of questions. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an intensive process of harmonisation? Are there lessons to be learnt from the Europeanisation of private law through history? Are there any further steps which have been taken in order to create a European private law? What is the future of European private law? These crucial questions were discussed at a conference in Stockholm, sponsored by the Swedish Network of European Legal Studies. This important volume includes the answers offered by leading scholars in the field.

As business becomes more globalized and developed within the era of the internet, marketing activities are affected by evolving technologies. Challenges arise in addressing the issues of cross-policy and cross-border business in the digital age. Internet Taxation and E-Retailing Law in the Global Context provides emerging research on the methods and approaches to determining the appropriate tax policies for e-retailers within the global framework. While highlighting topics such as cross-border taxation, digital economy, and online management, this publication explores the developing avenues of online financial analysis and taxation. This book is an important resource for business leaders, financial managers, investors, consumers, researchers, and professionals seeking current research on the different issues surrounding online business and e-commerce from an international standpoint.

The 2008 financial crisis brought increased scrutiny to the ways in which the directors of the world's major financial institutions handle their duties and how they impact investors, shareholders and consumers. In this comprehensive Handbook, leading scholars from around the world explore the nature of the relationship between a company and its directors, assessing issues such as how duties are discharged, what liabilities may arise and whose interests directors should consider before embarking on commercial ventures.The Handbook begins with chapters that explore the range of company law developments in several common law countries, with further chapters examining the law in several civil law jurisdictions. The Handbook then looks beyond company law to issues such as the role of directors in fostering corporate social responsibility and directors' duties to consumers. The final chapters consider directors' duties in times of financial turmoil. A comprehensive and ground-breaking book of original scholarly research, the Handbook will be a valuable contribution to the libraries of company law scholars and students, as well as to business people with a professional interest in the topic. Contributors: C. Amatucci, A. Anand, V. Brand, T.A. Gabaldon, M.M. Harner, J.G. Hill, S.H. Goo, M. Jaramillo, D. Klingler, A. Lista, J. MacIntosh, A. Paolini, P. Pais de Vanconcelos, S. Watson

Scientific experiments and medical improvements in recent years have augmented our bodies, made them manipulable; our personal data have been downloaded, stored, sold, analyzed; and the pandemic has given new meaning to the idea of 'virtual presence'. Such phenomena are often thought to belong to the era of the 'posthuman', an era that both promises and threatens to redefine the notion of the human: what does it mean to be human? Can technological advances impact the way we define ourselves as a species? What will the future of humankind look like? These questions have gained urgency in recent years, and continue to preoccupy cultural and legal practitioners alike. How can the law respond and adapt to a world shaped by technology and AI? How can it ensure that technological developments remain inclusive, while simultaneously enforcing ethical limits to its reach? The volume explores how fictional texts, whether on the page or on screen, negotiate the legal dilemmas posed by the increasing infiltration of technology into modern life.

This provocative book investigates the relationship between law and artificial intelligence (AI) governance, and the need for new and innovative approaches to regulating AI and big data in ways that go beyond market concerns alone and look to sustainability and social good. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the contributors demonstrate the interplay between various research methods, and policy motivations, to show that law-based regulation and governance of AI is vital to efforts at ensuring justice, trust in administrative and contractual processes, and inclusive social cohesion in our increasingly technologically-driven societies. The book provides valuable insights on the new challenges posed by a rapid reliance on AI and big data, from data protection regimes around sensitive personal data, to blockchain and smart contracts, platform data reuse, IP rights and limitations, and many other crucial concerns for law's interventions. The book also engages with concerns about the 'surveillance society', for example regarding contact tracing technology used during the Covid-19 pandemic. The analytical approach provided will make this an excellent resource for scholars and educators, legal practitioners (from constitutional law to contract law) and policy makers within regulation and governance. The empirical case studies will also be of great interest to scholars of technology law and public policy. The regulatory community will find this collection offers an influential case for law's relevance in giving institutional enforceability to ethics and principled design.