Law Commons^™

Devil In The Bidding Detail, Lisa E. Sachs, Jacky Mandelbaum, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In light of the recent boom in natural resource prices, India is one of them many countries facing heightened scrutiny of the allocation and terms of their resource deals. In India, that scrutiny has uncovered a multi-billion dollar controversy over coal block allocations that has gridlocked Parliament. More generally, citizens in resource-producing countries around the world are asking whether the public is getting a fair value for their countries resources, or whether investors and politicians are walking away with the prize. Finally, the important questions are being asked: how should resources be managed to ensure that they benefit the citizenry, …

Background Paper For Second Workshop On Contract Negotiation Support For Developing Host Countries, Vale Columbia Center On Sustainable International Investment, Humboldt-Viadrina School Of Governance

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) and the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance (HSVG) have initiated a process to discuss the desirability and feasibility of mechanisms to provide negotiation support for developing host countries in their negotiations with major investors.

At a first workshop held in October 2011, participants agreed on the need for an expansion of support for developing countries in their contract negotiations.

A second workshop was held at Columbia University in July 2012 that undertook a gap analysis between the existing sources of support for developing countries in relation to complex contracts and the countries’ needs for …

'Leveling The Playing Field' With Contract Principles, Stephen A. Gerst

Stephen A Gerst

No abstract provided.

Paper On The Business Case For Transparency, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

CCSI strongly supports the transparency of contracts and tax flows. CCSI shares the belief of many stakeholders that transparency is essential to leverage extractive industries for sustainable development and is in the mutual interest of all stakeholders. However, some industry players continue to voice the concern that increased transparency would be harmful for their business. Therefore, CCSI is working to also establish the business case for transparency.

In one such case, some industry players have been lobbying against the regulations developed by the Security and Exchange Commission to implement the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform …

Cross-Cultural Readings Of Intent: Form, Fiction, And Reasonable Expectations, Deborah Waire Post

Deborah W. Post

No abstract provided.

It's Time For A Good Hard Look In The Mirror: The Corporate Law Example, John A. Barrett, Jr.

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

This Article asserts that the move from the industrial age to the

information age represents a fundamental change to our society on

such a widespread basis that the legal order must reexamine the

premises about how our society functions, assessing whether

foundational elements of U.S. Common Law remain valid. This

Article first confronts briefly the continuing acceptance of certain

foundational premises in contract and intellectual property law,

illustrating that such premises are no longer supported by the

realities of modern society. With fundamental change challenging

multiple areas of law in the information age, this problem is worthy

of widespread inquiry …