This book covers the pressing issues of cross-border cases involving admiralty and bankruptcy law. For example, what should happen when a shipowner files an insolvency proceeding in one country, while at the same time facing an in rem action against its vessel in another country? Should the in rem action arising in one country be stayed or dismissed because of the existence of insolvency proceedings in another country? The book discusses the relevant issues regarding the treatment of maritime creditors throughout insolvency proceedings, the determination of the 'centre of main interest' of an offshore shipping company, and the scope of a debtor's assets. The author uses a comparative law analysis, selecting four leading shipping countries - Australia, the UK, the US, and Singapore - and examines their approaches to the above three problems when applying the UNCITRAL Model Law regime. The book also proposes a solution to help eliminate the ambiguity arising from maritime cross-border insolvency cases under the UNCITRAL Model Law regime, with a view to enhancing the development of the shipping industry.

Notwithstanding increases in the scope for interaction between European and national courts, little research has been undertaken into the potential impact of institutional cooperation and dialogue in European private law making. This coherent collection of original chapters provides unique insights into these developments - with a particular focus on consumer law, and changes in national civil procedure via substantive law enforcement - from a broad range of stakeholders, including academics and judges from the EU and the US. Dialogue of both a vertical (between national and European courts) and horizontal (between national courts) nature is visible in the growing number of preliminary references to the CJEU in European private law. Combined with activism on the part of national courts and the growing importance of regulators, this dialogue brings about new forms of development of European private law. This book offers a case-based analysis of these processes, highlighting the need to focus on the instruments of dialogue and cooperation, and pressing beyond the prevailing focus on constitutional dialogue to reveal a new perspective on the private law sphere. Judicial Cooperation in European Private Law will appeal to scholars, students, practising lawyers and judges interested in the creation and development of European private law at both national and EU levels. Contributors include: F. Cafaggi, A.C. Ciacchi, F. Gomez Pomar, M. Jozon, S. Law, K. Lyczkowska, M. Safjan, A.J. Scirica, C. Timmermans

Freedom of establishment is one of the four fundamental freedoms of the European Union. The principle is that natural persons who are European Union Citizens, and legal entities formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and having its registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the EU, may take up economic activity in any Member State in a stable and continuous form regardless of nationality or mode of incorporation. This book examines the way in which EU law has influenced how national courts in Europe assert jurisdiction in cross-border corporate disputes and insolvencies, and the mechanism which allows them to decide which national law should apply to the substance of the dispute. The book also considers the potential for EU Member States to compete for devising national corporate and insolvency legislation that will attract incorporations or insolvencies.
Central to the book is the concept of national choice of law. In considering the impact of freedom of establishment on private international law for corporations, the book uniquely analyses both corporate and insolvency law together, presenting the topic in the broadest possible sense.
Importantly, the doctrine of abuse in corporate and insolvency law is covered, raising the question of 'forum shopping' and regulatory competition which underpins the intersection between freedom of establishment and private international law. Through examination of the most recent and leading judgments of the European Court of Justice in Centros and Cadbury Schweppes, the book derives certain conclusions as to the operation of the doctrine of abuse and the limits thereof in the context of freedom of establishment.
Being the first in the field to examine the leading ECJ cases of Inspire Art, Sevic and Cartesio regarding the real seat doctrine, the book makes the judgment that there is no incompatibility as such between the doctrine and the freedom of establishment.
Ultimately, the book analyses to what extent diversity in the corporate and insolvency laws of the Member States should be preserved, so as to encourage competition between jurisdictions in Europe.

This exciting new research review brings together and discusses seminal articles on the subject of transfer of property and private international law, ranging from the early twentieth century to present day. The first part focuses on classic principles concerning the lex situs rule, as well as on specialities regarding immovable property, tangible movable property and intangible property, conditional sale and securities transactions, goods in transit and confiscation of property. The second part is devoted to an in-depth and insightful examination of cultural property and private international law. Thoughtfully composed by the editor, this review provides a valuable source of information for researchers, academics and scholars alike.

Trusts cross borders. When they do,real difficulties may arise. Will the understanding of what a trust is be different in a foreign state? Will the rights, powers and duties of the trustee and settlor be the same? What rights will the beneficiary be able to assert? To what extent will the trust assets be safe from the claims of creditors, forced heirs, or third parties? Which legal system will be applied to the trust? Within what limits? What if the trust needs to be recognised in a state which does not have the institution of the trust in its domestic law? The Hague Trusts Convention, enacted into English law by the Recognition of Trusts Act 1987, seeks to ameliorate the situation by providing harmonised choice of law rules for "trusts created voluntarily and evidenced in writing." It also provides for the recognition of trusts in Contracting States. Those Contracting States should recognise the trust, even if they do not have the institution in their domestic law. This book is the first published in England to devote itself to a detailed analysis of the Convention. It is aimed at academics and practitioners; at private international lawyers and at trust lawyers. Frequent reference is made to the position in civil law states (especially in the Contracting States of Italy and the Netherlands) and in other trust states, both offshore and onshore. The Hague Trusts Convention deals with the operation of the trust itself. It does not deal with the preliminary steps needed to create a trust. These preliminary matters raise highly complex and uncharted choice of law issues. Detailed discussion of these matters is also provided, and appropriate solutions suggested.

Polar law describes the normative frameworks that govern the relationships between humans, States, Peoples, institutions, land and resources in the Arctic and the Antarctic. These two regions are superficially similar in terms of natural environmental conditions but the overarching frameworks that apply are fundamentally different. The Routledge Handbook of Polar Law explores the legal orders in the Arctic and Antarctic in a comparative perspective, identifying similarities as well as differences. It points to a distinct discipline of "Polar law" as the body of rules governing actors, spaces and institutions at the Poles. Four main features define the collection: the Arctic-Antarctic interface; the interaction between global, regional and domestic legal regimes; the rights of Indigenous Peoples; and the increasing importance of private law. While these broad themes have been addressed to varying extents elsewhere, the editors believe that this Handbook brings them together to create a comprehensive (if never exhaustive) account of what constitutes Polar law today. Leading scholars in public international and private law as well as experts in related fields come together to offer unique insights into polar law as a burgeoning discipline.

This book explores the application of foreign law in civil proceedings in the British and German courts. It focuses on how domestic procedural law impacts on the application of choice of law rules in domestic courts. It engages with questions involved in the investigation and determination of foreign law as they affect the law of England and Wales, Scotland, and Germany. Although the relevant jurisdictions are the focus, the comparative analysis extends to explore examples from other jurisdictions, including relevant international and European conventions. Ambitious in scope, it expertly tracks the development of the law and looks at possible future reforms.

This book examines the establishment of trust funds by States and international organizations in respect of international development, environmental protection, fiscal stabilization, democracy-building and others. It traces their foundational legal attributes, their investment potential and legal status as investors and the legal means by which they are set up, particularly treaties, resolutions of international organizations, informal agreement, memoranda of understanding, unilateral acts and others. The book examines the various decision-making and management models adopted in contemporary trusts, the fiduciary and other duties of the trustee, as well as the status and rights of beneficiaries. Moreover, it examines the personality of trusts funds, whether as mere accounts, informal associations, foundations under domestic law or even international organizations. Finally, the book discusses the potential of trust funds in enhancing participatory democracy, budgeting and governance, revenue sharing and fiscal management, as well as the role of environmental trust funds. A useful resource for international lawyers, academics and international organisations.

This book focuses on how public and private international law address civil liability for transboundary pollution. In public international law, civil liability treaties promote the implementation of minimum procedural standards in domestic tort law. This approach implicitly relies on private international law to facilitate civil litigation against transboundary polluters. Yet this connection remains poorly understood. Filling the gap, this book engages in a meaningful dialogue between the two areas and explores how domestic private international law can reflect the policies developed in international environmental law. It begins with an investigation of civil liability in international environmental law. It then identifies preferable rules of civil jurisdiction, foreign judgments and choice of law for environmental damage, using Canadian private international law as a case study and making extensive references to European law. Liability for transboundary pollution is a contentious issue of the law, both in scholarship and practice: international lawyers both private and public as well as environmental lawyers will welcome this important work.

Globalization is an extraordinary phenomenon affecting virtually everything in our lives. And it is imperative that we understand the operation of economic power in a globalized world if we are to address the most challenging issues our world is facing today, from climate change to world hunger and poverty. This revolutionary work rethinks globalization as a power system feeding from, and in competition with, the state system. Cutting across disciplines of law, politics and economics, it explores how multinational enterprises morphed into world political organisations with global reach and power, but without the corresponding responsibilities. In illuminating how the concentration of property rights within corporations has led to the rejection of democracy as an ineffective system of government and to the rise in inequality, Robe offers a clear pathway to a fairer and more sustainable power system.

This edited volume explores the question of the lawfulness under international law of economic activities in occupied territories from the perspectives of international law, EU law, and business and human rights. Providing a multi-level overview of relevant practices, policies and cases, the book is divided in three parts, each dealing with how different legal fields have come to grips with the challenges brought about by the question of the lawfulness under international law of economic activities in occupied territories. The first part includes contributions pertaining to the international law dimension of the question. It contains chapters on the conjunction between jus in bello, jus ad bellum and international human rights law in the context of exploitation of natural resources in territories under belligerent occupation; on third party obligations flowing from the application of occupation law in relation to natural resources exploitation; and on State practice with regards to trading with occupied territories. The second part focuses on EU law and contains contributions that assess the EU's approach to occupied territories and the extent to which this approach comports with the EU's obligations under international law; contributions providing an in-depth assessment of the case-law of the CJEU on occupied territories; as well as contributions pertaining to the political considerations that may influence the legal framing of questions pertaining to occupied territories. The final part focuses on the business and human rights perspective, with chapters on investment arbitration as a means for holding the occupant accountable for its conduct towards foreign investments and investors; on the role and impact of the soft law framework governing corporate activity (such as the UN Guiding Principles) on business involvement with occupied territories; as well as a final case study on the dispute involving Israeli football activity in settlements located in the OPT and the legal responsibility of FIFA in this regard. The book will appeal to academics, practitioners and policy-makers alike.

Through further technological development and increased globalization, conducting busines abroad has become easier, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). However, the legal issues associated with international commerce have not lessened in complexity, including the role of non-state rules. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of non-state rules in international commercial contracts. Non-state rules have legal authority in the national and international sphere, but the key question is how this legal authority can be understood and established. To answer this question this book examines first what non-state rules are and how their legal authority can be measured, it then analyses how non-state rules are applied in different scenarios, including as the applicable law, as a source of law, or to interpret either the law or the contract. Throughout this analysis three other important questions are also answered: when can non-state rules be applied? when are they applied? and how are they applied? The book concludes with a framework and classification that leads to a deeper understanding of the legal authority of non-state rules. Providing a transnational perspective on this important topic, this book will appeal to anyone researching international commercial law. It will also be a valuable resource for arbitrators and anyone working in international commercial litigation.

For this important collection, Professor O'Hara has selected some cutting-edge previously-published work on the application of economic analysis to the conflict of laws. This authoritative two-volume set offers theoretical and empirical insights into existing approaches to choice of law and the effects of conflicting choice-of-law approaches on judicial decision-making. It investigates several competing proposals for more efficient choice-of-law systems, including a special section on torts. Further topics include evaluations of contract clauses (including choice-of-law and choice-of-forum provisions), and the effects of party choice on jurisdictional competition by states to provide more desirable laws, with examples relating to securities regulation, bankruptcy rules, law firm rules of ethics, same-sex marriage laws and asset protection trust law. A game theoretic analysis of interstate judgment recognition is also included. These two volumes will be an extremely useful resource for students and for scholars wishing to contribute to the next generation of the economics of conflict of laws.

The growth of national economic regulation and the process of globalization increasingly expose international transactions to an array of regulations from different jurisdictions. These developments often contribute to widespread international contractual failures when parties claim the incompatibility of their contractual obligations with regulatory laws. International disputes of such a nature inevitably involve both public and private law and raise questions about jurisdiction, applicable contract law, economic regulations and their legitimate international application. The author challenges conventional means of dispute resolution and argues for an interdisciplinary approach whereby disciplines such as international economic law, conflict of laws, contract law and economic regulations are functionally united to resolve international and multifaceted regulatory disputes. He identifies the normative foundation of contract law as an important determinant in this process, contending that contract law is essentially neutral and underpinned by the concept of corrective justice, while economic regulations are mainly prompted by distributive justice. Applying this corrective/distributive justice dichotomy to international contracts, the author critically assesses major conflict of laws approaches such as "proper law", "the Rome Convention" and "governmental interest analysis", which could disregard either public interest or private rights. The author, taking these theories into account, proposes an alternative two-dimensional interest analysis approach. He tests the viability of this approach with reference to arbitral awards and court decisions in various jurisdictions and concludes that it uniquely fits into the structure of international commercial arbitration. In adopting this approach arbitrators would take into account both corrective and distributive justice, and to the extent that corrective justice prevails, would be able to avert a total failure of the contract.

Commentators and courts disagree on such fundamental issues as the definition of forum shopping and whether it is an 'unsung virtue' or an untrammelled vice. Disagreements persist on how to deal with 'virtuous' forum shopping or how best to proscribe "evil" forum shopping, if such a distinction can at all be made. This research review illuminates, explores and contest these questions. The text identifies articles that analyse the definitions and purpose of forum shopping, the right and duty to practise it and how it relates to private international law. Other topics covered include the link between forum shopping and uniform substantive law and jurisdictional issues and arbitration. This research review provides a comprehensive overview of the topic and will prove useful to academics, students and practitioners alike.

avoiding gaps and provide a claimant with limited forum shopping possibilities. In that same vein, the paradigm proposed by Ms. Van Lith ought to shift to special grounds of jurisdiction based on sufficient connection between the defendant and the forum state. In that respect, she proposes jurisdiction at the place where the defendant has a fixed place of business from which he carries out business activities directly related to the claimant's contractual claim. Absent such a place of business, jurisdiction is to be vested in the courts of the country where the defendant is engaged in substantial business activities in relation to the contract with a limited forum shopping for a claimant in favour of the court of the defendant's home country. Other general or special grounds for jurisdiction (such as claimant-related connections or property-based connections) are rejected because they do not meet the proposed paradigm of sufficient connection. As to exceptions to international jurisdiction rules as proposed, Ms. Van Lith comes to the conclusion that a general escape provision is to be avoided except for the 'tra- acting business' rule where - in accordance with the paradigm proposed - international jurisdiction can be avoided in favour of the defendant's home court when the dispute is insufficiently connected with the forum making it unfair under the circumstances to expect the defendant to be subjected to the jurisdiction of that court. In this respect, a balanced approach to predictability and flexibility is being proposed.

This book discusses the international right to water and the liberalization of water services. It is concerned with the harmonization of the right to water with the legal systems under which liberalization of water services has taken or may take place. It assesses paths of harmonization between international human rights law and international economic law in this specific field. The issue of the compatibility between the fulfilment of the right to water and the liberalization of water services has been at the heart of a passionate public debate between opponents and advocates of the privatization of the utility. The book provides an unbiased analysis of different international legal regimes under which the liberalization of water services has occurred or is likely to occur, notably international investment law, international trade law and European Union law, in order to assess whether the main features of the right to water can be guaranteed under each of these systems of law and whether there is space for prospective harmonization. The work will be an invaluable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the areas of International Human Rights Law, International Economic Law, International Water Law, International Trade Law and EU Law.

Global Private International Law is a groundbreaking casebook, combining the expertise of over sixty international and interdisciplinary contributors who analyze key legal proceedings in order to provide a comprehensive study of the impact of globalisation on the law. Providing a unique and clearly structured tool, this book presents an authoritative collection of carefully selected global case studies. Some of these are considered global due to their internationally relevant subject matter, whilst others demonstrate the blurring of traditional legal categories in an age of accelerated cross-border movement. The study of the selected cases in their political, cultural, social and economic contexts sheds light on the contemporary transformation of law through its encounter with conflicting forms of normativity and the multiplication of potential fora. Key Features: the specific global scope allows the reader to gain a contextualised understanding of legal transformation each case has two commentaries from different viewpoints, ensuring a nuanced perspective on the implications of the global turn in private international law and its importance for adjudication an astute combination of theory and practice ensures readers gain an understanding of the relevance of innovative legal theories in interpreting concrete cases in a changing world comparative material and ground-breaking analysis make this book eminently suitable for use with students and a useful tool for researchers and courts confronted with novel topics or issues.

The insolvency of multinational corporate groups creates a compelling challenge to the commercial world. As many medium and large-sized companies are multinational companies with operations in different countries, it is important to provide appropriate solutions for the insolvency of these key market players. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the cross-border insolvency theories, practical solutions and regulatory solutions for the insolvency of multinational corporate groups. Whilst the book recognises certain merits of these solutions, it also reveals the limitations and uncertainty caused by them. An analysis of the provisions and tools relating to cross-border insolvency of multinational corporate groups in the new EU Regulation on insolvency proceedings 2015, the UNCITRAL Model Law on cross-border insolvency, the Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks and the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive 2014, along with a study of directors' duties, are included in this book. This book focuses on the insolvency and rescue of non-financial corporate groups. However, it is also important to recognise the similarities and differences between corporate insolvency regimes and bank resolution regimes. In particular, lessons learnt from bank resolution practices may be useful for non-financial corporate groups. This book aims to provide an in-depth examination of the existing solutions for the insolvency of multinational corporate groups. It also aims to view cross-border insolvency of corporate groups within a broad context where all relevant regimes and theories interact with each other. Therefore, directors' duties in the vicinity of insolvency, preventive insolvency proceedings, procedural consolidation, international cooperative frameworks and bank resolution regimes are considered together. This book may appeal to academics, students and practitioners within the areas of corporate law, cross-border insolvency law and financial law.

In recent years, China, the US, and the EU and its Member States have either promulgated new national laws and regulations or drastically revised existing ones to exert more rigorous government control over inward foreign direct investment (FDI). Such government control pertains to the establishment of an ex-ante review regime of FDI in the host state in sectors that are considered as 'sensitive' or 'strategic', with an aim to mitigate the security-related implications. This book conducts a systematic and up-to-date comparative study of the national security review regimes of China, the US, and the EU, using Germany as an exampling Member State. It answers a central research question of how domestic law should be formulated to adequately protect national security of the host state whilst posing minimum negative impacts to the free flow of cross-border investment. In addition to analyzing the latest development of the national security review regimes in aforementioned jurisdictions and identifying their commonalities and disparities, this book establishes a normative framework regarding the design of a national security review regime in general and proposes specific legislative recommendations to further clarify the law. This book will be of interest to scholars in the field of international and comparative investment law, investors who seek better compliance programs in the host state, and policymakers who aim for high-quality regulation on foreign investment.

Digital Technologies and the Law of Obligations critically examines the emergence of new digital technologies and the challenges they pose to the traditional law of obligations, and discusses the extent to which existing contract and tort law rules and doctrines are equipped to meet these new challenges. This book covers various contract and tort law issues raised by emerging technologies - including distributed ledger technology, blockchain-based smart contracts, and artificial intelligence - as well as by the evolution of the internet into a participative web fuelled by user-generated content, and by the rise of the modern-day collaborative economy facilitated by digital technologies. Chapters address these topics from the perspective of both the common law and the civil law tradition. While mostly focused on the current state of affairs and recent debates and initiatives within the European Union regulatory framework, contributors also discuss the central themes from the perspective of the national law of obligations, examining the adaptability of existing legal doctrines to contemporary challenges, addressing the occasional legislative attempts to deal with the private law aspects of these challenges, and pointing to issues where legislative interventions would be most welcomed. Case studies are drawn from the United States, Singapore, and other parts of the common law world. Digital Technologies and the Law of Obligations will be of interest to legal scholars and researchers in the fields of contract law, tort law, and digital law, as well as to legal practitioners and members of law reform bodies.

This research review examines leading English language journal articles in the area of private international law. It focuses on a range of procedural issues that have particular salience for international litigation including the location of process and discovery, class actions and the aggregation of class, and the professional responsibility challenges of lawyers practicing in multiple jurisdictions. It provides valuable context and insight for the issues addressed. This research review is an essential tool for university and academic institution libraries and International law scholars.

Through further technological development and increased globalization, conducting busines abroad has become easier, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). However, the legal issues associated with international commerce have not lessened in complexity, including the role of non-state rules. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of non-state rules in international commercial contracts. Non-state rules have legal authority in the national and international sphere, but the key question is how this legal authority can be understood and established. To answer this question this book examines first what non-state rules are and how their legal authority can be measured, it then analyses how non-state rules are applied in different scenarios, including as the applicable law, as a source of law, or to interpret either the law or the contract. Throughout this analysis three other important questions are also answered: when can non-state rules be applied? when are they applied? and how are they applied? The book concludes with a framework and classification that leads to a deeper understanding of the legal authority of non-state rules. Providing a transnational perspective on this important topic, this book will appeal to anyone researching international commercial law. It will also be a valuable resource for arbitrators and anyone working in international commercial litigation.