Lex mercatoria or Law Merchant (‘LM’) is said to be the self-made law of international commerce. According to its proponents, LM is an autonomous legal order that not only supplements state commercial law, but works as a substitute for it. The ‘ancient’ LM, which accompanied the...

The World Trade Organization's law is a potentially powerful instrument for improving the labor rights of Chinese working women, if it is complemented by a broad global and multilateral approach. In contrast to much of the writing on core labor standards, this contribution is based on legal...

This chapter provides a detailed analysis of the economic, legal and public policy rationales for the application of taxes and other fiscal measures on health-related commodities. The motivation for such taxes has been more often linked to the fiscal revenues generated than to their potential...

CO2 emission certificates internalise effects of fossil fuel consumption on global climate and sea levels. If they are only implemented in some countries, then their effectiveness is limited; Consumption, production and investment decisions do not reach the optimal allocation, production with...

The paper deals with with one possible Utopian model, according to which law is an important part of the speculative Utopian Myth. This model is illustrated by using two narratives, created centuries apart. Both stories, from Hebrew sources, refer, in some detail to imaginary societies. Both...

This paper examines the relation between legal risk - defined as the strength and enforcement of creditors' rights - and debt ownership concentration to understand the various governance roles played by banks as large creditors. Using a sample of 495 project finance loan tranches (worth $151...

For the poor, finance is always about much more than economics. In practical as well as philosophical terms it is a matter of basic human rights. As the dust begins to settle on the global financial crisis it is certain that all economies will suffer, but it is in the poorest, least developed...

We examine a sample of 254 related party and arms' length acquisitions and sales of assets in Hong Kong during 1998-2000. Our analysis shows that publicly listed firms enter deals with related parties at unfavorable prices compared to similar arms' length deals. Firms acquire assets from related...

Are we witnessing the gradual globalization of national land laws, which have traditionally been considered to be the paradigm of legal idiosyncrasy, by virtue of their reflecting place-specific society, culture, and politics? This Article offers an innovative analysis of the conflicting forces...

International law has traditionally been above all a law aimed at reinforcing sovereignty and, secondarily, of taming it via the emergence of an international community. What is typically excluded from this encounter is a whole series of efforts undertaken by civil society, individuals, or...