Although cross-border industrial sub-contracting is the main tool of industrial organisation in the global economy, practitioners in this important field are significantly hampered by a lack of uniform rules. This book offers a first step in discerning and formulating a framework for such rules, based on the experience of counsel for both contractors and sub-contractors in over twenty countries worldwide. It consists of the final papers, subsequently revised by the presenters, delivered at a conference held in Florence, in February 2000, under the auspices of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) and the Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats (AIJA). Other essays present the basic legal issues from a comparative perspective and clarify the fundamental distinctions in the points of view of the contractor and the sub-contractor. Individual contributions from practitioners in twenty countries (encompassing EU countries, the United States, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region) detail applicable domestic laws so that the user can determine points of difference, common aspects, and potential pitfalls in most of the world's major industrial sub-contracting jurisdictions. "Handbook on Cross-Border Industrial Sub-Contracting will be of great value of lawyers and business people everywhere engaged in this all-important area of today's legal practice.