Law Commons^™

The Ties That Bind? Regionalism, Commercial Treaties, And The Future Of Global Economic Integration, Chris Brummer

Vanderbilt Law Review

A revolutionary shift in international cooperation is underway. Many governments, frustrated with dissension hampering multilateral trade reform at the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), are now turning to bilateral and regional treaties to forward their commercial interests.1 Under these agreements, which rocketed from fewer than 390 in 1989 to more than 2,400 today,2 states have relinquished key aspects of their economic sovereignty to participate in two-party pacts and regional trade clubs like the North American Free Trade Agreement ("NAFTA") and the European Union ("EU"). As a result of such cooperation, most countries no longer may levy tariffs easily, subsidize their domestic …

Nafta's Investment Chapter: Initial Thoughts About Second-Generation Rights, Charles H. Brower Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article Professor Brower argues that most observers of NAFTA's investment chapter have missed an important and surprising development: Although the treaty's text shares a philosophical affinity with civil and political rights, its application has revealed an astonishing level of support for economic and social rights (ESCRs) in North America. Professor Brower examines the practical implications of this development both for the presentation of claims in investor-state arbitration and for the better integration of ESCRs into the mainstream of international law.

Shareholder Oppression In Close Corporations: The Unanswered Question Of Perspective, Douglas K. Moll

Vanderbilt Law Review

The doctrine of shareholder oppression protects the close corporation minority stockholder from the improper exercise of majority control.! Nevertheless, when a close corporation minority shareholder asserts that the majority shareholder has acted "oppressively" towards him, the minority's chance of success may very well depend on the perspective from which shareholder oppression is viewed. Consider the following two decisions:

In Priebe v. O'Malley, the controlling shareholders of a close corporation terminated the employment of Myron Priebe, a minority shareholder, for "unsatisfactory" work performance.! Priebe sued, asserting that the termination amounted to oppressive conduct! The trial court noted that "Priebe was not …

Privatization In Eastern Germany: A Comprehensive Study, Rainer Frank

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

One of the greater problems arising from the reunification of Germany has been the privatization of land in eastern Germany. Initially, the principle that shaped the privatization policies was restitution, the idea that land unlawfully taken by the former East German government should be returned to its rightful owner. A second goal of the privatization program was to stimulate investment in the economy of eastern Germany. These two goals, however, have conflicted. The result has been a policy that has created confusion with regard to the ownership of property and clear title. This Article examines two series of amendments, in …

The European Community's Ucits Directive, Patrick J. Paul

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

As the twenty-first century approaches, the world is undergoing massive change. Social, political, and economic barriers are being torn down; new alliances are forming, as are new barriers. Economic stability and supremacy have replaced military supremacy in the hierarchy of a nation's policy objectives. The European Community's move toward a single market exemplifies this policy shift.

This Note focuses on one element of these global changes--internationalization of the securities market. The Note begins with an overview of the international securities market and the reasons for its increased globalization. The Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) that, in part, …

A Theoretic Analysis Of Corporate Auctioneers Liability Regimes, Randall Thomas, Robert G. Hansen

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In Schneider v. Lazard Freres & Co. a New York appellate court greatly expanded the liability of investment advisers working as corporate auctioneers. Under this new legal regime, auctioneer/advisers accused of simple negligence are exposed to billions of dollars of potential legal liabilities. This article first reviews the existing law covering auctioneer/advisers and shows that the Schneider decision conflicts with the law governing general auctioneers and with the law governing the role of advisers and directors during the sale of the corporate control. Next, using an auction-theoretic framework, this Article shows that Schneider will likely result in: (1) increased indemnification …

Aspects Of Soviet Law On Joint Ventures, Foreign Trade, And Investment: A Bibliographic Survey Of Current Literature In English, Igor L. Kavass

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The following is a compilation of works from widely dispersed sources in legal, economic, and business literature, including significant pronouncements made by professors, practicing lawyers, business people, and students. Journal articles are the predominant genre, and we have found it expedient to organize the gamut of views represented therein into several sections. With the growing consolidation and maturity of joint venture practices, the trend in publication is moving towards monographs, legislative compilations, practice manuals, and lengthy theoretical works. They appear to be phasing out articles from their place at the forefront of research.

All the same, the reader eventually will …

Book Reviews, Edward C. Brewer, Iii., W. Paul Gormley, Allaire U. Karzon.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

DIRECT INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE U.S.: A GUIDE TO INCENTIVE PROGRAMS, LAWS AND RESTRICTIONS 1980-1981

Raymond Waldmann

Washington D.C.: Transnational Investments, Ltd.; London: Kluwer Publishing, 1980. Pp. viii, 443. $75.00, London £45 plus £1 surface mail.

Reviewed by Edward C. Brewer, III.

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NUCLEAR ENERGY AND NUCLEAR WEAPON PROLIFERATION

Frank Barnaby, Jozef Goldblat, Bhupendra Jasani, and Joseph Rotblat,eds. Published for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. London: Taylor & Francis, 1979. Pp. xxiv, 462.

Reviewed by W. Paul Gormley

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INTERNATIONAL ASPECTS OF U.S. INCOME TAXATION Vois. I and III

Elisabeth Owens Boston, Mass.: Harvard Law School, 1980. Pp.305. …

Changes In The Investment Climate In Developing Nations, Jack Baranson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The changes of the 1960's point to two important trends in the 1970's--the continuing erosion of the foreign investment base and an expanding drive toward technological self-reliance. These tendencies have important implications for future operational modes of multinational corporations and for further adjustments in the world economy. First, developing countries will continue their efforts to eliminate foreign ownership and control of their industries and their preference for licensing arrangements and management services will continue to erode the foreign investment base. Secondly, developing countries will not be satisfied with the transfer of manufacturing techniques and related management systems. They will want …

The Problems: An Overview, Mark S. Massel

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Securities regulation -- domestic and foreign -- has a technical fascination for the lawyer, whether he be a practicing attorney, corporate counsel, government regulator, or legal scholar. The intricate detail of the primary regulations and of their subsidiary byways provide opportunities for stimulating mental gymnastics. The piecing together of the various phases provides interesting occasions for experimentation, speculation, and analyzation.

Yet, a preoccupation with securities regulation which overlooks the setting can produce mere academic exercise. The need for an appreciation of the setting is all-important in examining foreign securities regulation. In considering United States securities regulation we do not need …

Fifteen-Year Survey Of Corporate Developments, 1944-1959, Miguel A. De Capriles

Vanderbilt Law Review

The foregoing survey, it is believed, amply demonstrates the kaleidoscopic variety of the corporate developments of the past fifteen years, even though for obvious reasons much of the detail has had to be omitted. General conclusions are difficult to draw. It seems likely that the success of capitalist enterprise in this, period and the self-imposed improvement in standards of corporate. Fanchon & Marco, Inc. v. Paramount Pictures, 202 F.2d 731 (2d Cir. management have retarded the underlying trend toward expansion of the role of government in the regulation of economic affairs. There has been no occasion for new dramatic statutory …

American Business And Risk Capital, Emil Schram

Vanderbilt Law Review

In the midst of a nation-wide business surge--in building, in steel, in automobiles and petroleum production and farming--our capital markets stand alone as the one "depressed area" in the national economy.

It is due to the failure of many of those who call the tune on our country's fiscal and credit policies to realize that they are sluicing off the top soil from a resource as definite and tangible as our farms; they are eroding something as measurable as our grazing lands; they are pumping off onto barren ground something as exhaustible as our oil wells.

I am speaking of …

The Sec And The Broker-Dealer, Louis Loss

Vanderbilt Law Review

A couple of weeks ago the Commission handed down an opinion in a broker-dealer revocation proceeding which is the latest in a series of cases over the past few years that have gradually blocked out the duties of a broker-dealer to his customer. That case gives me my theme today.

It happens that most of what I am about to say relates primarily to the over-the-counter market. I was a little disturbed about the propriety of talking about over-the-counter problems under the auspices of this organization. However, we are all interested, I take it, in the problems of the securities …

The Investment Advisers Act Of 1940, W.T. Mallison Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

There were many questionable business methods which could be used by advisers prior to the passage of the Act. In 1939, it was not uncommon for an adviser to arrange that one client buy a certain security and that another sell the same one. Where the adviser operated on the then commonly accepted basis of receiving a proportion of profits made by his clients, he could not lose by using this technique. The adviser's sole concern was to seek new clients to replace those whose assets or credulity were exhausted. Adviser custody of clients' funds was the basis of most …