Commercial Law Commons^™

Attribution Of A Multinational Corporation's Net Income: The Position Of Unitary States Regarding Combined Reporting, William D. Dexter

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A complex and controversial aspect of state taxation of business income involves the attribution of a multinational corporation's (MNC's) net income. This Article examines the nature and scope of the controversy that stems from the conflicting views of states that promote a unitary taxation system, and MNCs as well as the Department of Treasury (Treasury) that oppose this position. Section IV illustrates why the unitary business principle is currently the only viable, fair, and feasible method available to the states for the geographical assignment of an MNC's net income. Section V analyzes the MNCs' arguments both against worldwide combined reporting …

Irish Tax Law And The Foreign Investor, Conor Crowley, Paul Mcgowan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

For over twenty-five years, successive Irish Governments have actively sought and encouraged foreign investment in Ireland. With the exception of the insurance industry, Irish statutes grant foreigners the same rights as citizens of Ireland to establish whatever type of business they desire. A minimum native Irish interest in any business is required only for the issue or transfer of shares to, or the establishment of, a business branch operation by nonresidents. Although these transactions require Exchange Control approval, that approval is usually a formality for investments expected to bring an economic benefit to Ireland.

State Taxation Of Foreign Source Income Through Worldwide Combined Reporting, Thomas C. Pearson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The primary alternative to worldwide combined reporting is the method used by the United States Government--the arm's length method of taxing foreign source income. Following the explanation of the arm's length method, this Note will outline briefly the due process and commerce clause limitations on a state's jurisdiction to tax and will describe the methods states have chosen to apportion the business income of a unitary business in order to comply with the commerce clause. The impact of worldwide combined reporting depends upon the apportionment formula adopted by the state and the state's definition of the terms "unitary business" and …

Letters Of Credit In East-West Trade: Soviet Reception Of Capitalist Custom, George M. Armstrong, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article examines the Soviet system for financing the purchase and sale of goods by a Soviet enterprise from a Western merchant. This Article is organized chronologically, commencing with the initial contact between a Western merchant and an FTO, the merchant's liaison with Soviet industrial enterprises.

The Article examines the role of the FTO in mediating relations between Soviet enterprises and their Western contracting partners. It then examines the procedures employed by the Bank for Foreign Trade to establish the credit, to handle the documentary transaction, and to determine whether to honor the seller's demand for payment. The Article finally …

Special Project -- Legal Issues Arising From The Mexican Economic Crisis, Robert L. Morgan --, J. Robert Paulson, Jr., Fred A. Frost, Terrence L. Dugan, Cynthia L. Wells, G. Wilson Horde, Iii, Judith B. Anderson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The economic crisis in Mexico, which profoundly altered the financial and political course of that nation, has also had a significant impact on persons and corporations having business ties to Mexico. Foreign investors and businesses now are required to follow new Mexican rules that often differ dramatically from those previously in effect. The impact of the crisis has not been confined to changes in Mexican law. A substantial number of issues have arisen that will have significant bearing on United States and international law.

The Special Project discusses the changes in the legal environment following the crisis, with its focus …

The European Community, The United States, And Ireland: An Intermesh Of Statutory Provisions, Finbarr Murphy

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article will outline the effects that Ireland's membership in the European Community has had on direct investment by United States corporations in Ireland. The Article begins with a survey of the diplomatic, commercial, and economic links between the United States and Ireland, and then examines the relationship between the United States and the European Community. The third section reviews the legal and constitutional aspects of Irish membership in the European Community and outlines the new legal and economic order of which Ireland has become a member. Last, the Article examines the effect that Ireland's membership in the European Community …

Book Review: The Winding-Up Of Insolvent Companies In England And France, Keith M. Lundin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Livadas provides an especially adept analysis and comparison of the treatment of employees of insolvent companies in the two countries. The author convincingly demonstrates that a French "liquidation des biens" protects employee wages, benefits, and claims more extensively than an English winding-up proceeding. The French requirement of compulsory insurance to protect the wages of employees and the special privilege afforded employees against the immovable assets of a French company are without analogy in English winding-up law. Livadas punctuates the chapters on the liabilities of officers and directors, which are generally more strict in France than in England, and the priorities …

Recent Decisions, Jonathan F. Mack, Jesse T. Wilkins, Joseph A. Dijulio

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Constitutional Law--Grandfather Clause in International Emergency Economic Powers Act Permits the President to Ban Travel to Cuba without Declaring an Emergency Regan v. Wald, 104 S. Ct. 3026 (1984)

Jurisdiction--Bank may not Assert Act of State Doctrine as Defense in Action on Certificate of Deposit Garcia v. Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., 735 F.2d 645 (2d Cir. 1984).

Jurisdiction--Commercial Activity as Applied to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Act of State Doctrine Braka v. Bancomer, S.A., 589 F. Supp. 1465 (S.D.N.Y. 1984)

The Pitfalls Of International Commercial Arbitration, James M. Rhodes, Lisa Sloan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The purpose of this Article is to examine the pitfalls of international arbitration on a broad scale. These pitfalls can be roughly grouped into two categories: (1) those endemic to the process of dispute resolution by a "private extra-judicial tribunal which derives its power from the agreement of the parties,"2 including difficulties unforeseen in the drafting of the agreement that add delay, complications, and expense to the proceedings; and (2) those related to using the rules of a particular institution. Ideally, planning and skillful drafting can eliminate both types of pitfalls and preserve the advantages of arbitration over other available …

Constitutional Limitations On State Taxation Of Corporate Income From Multinational Corporations, Paul J. Hartman

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article explores the Supreme Court's treatment, leading up to and including the Container decision, of state taxation of corporate income from multinational operations. Part II highlights the Court's development, prior to 1982, of the basic principles of federal limitations on the states' taxing powers that guided its decision in Container. Part III takes a more detailed look at two 1982 Supreme Court cases, ASARCO, Inc. v. Idaho State Tax Commission and F.W. Woolworth Co. v. Taxation and Revenue Department, in which the states suffered a setback in their efforts to extend the reach of their taxing powers over income …

The Recent Decline And Fall Of Freedom Of The Press In English Law, Vaughan T. Bevan

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A television company broadcasts a program criticizing a nationalized corporation and disclosing documents passed to it secretly by one of the corporation's employees. The corporation asks the television company to reveal the identity of the employee. The television company refuses and eight of nine judges ultimately decide that the refusal is unjustified.

That, in essence, is the story of British Steel Corp. v. Granada Television, Ltd. If this situation had arisen in the United States, legal consequences probably would be unremarkable in view of the law's considerable experience with such matters. The novelty posed for English law, however, and the …

Extraterritorial Effects Of United States Commercial And Antitrust Legislation: A View From "Down Under", Warren Pengilley

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

British Commonwealth lawyers, in general, and Australian lawyers, in particular, traditionally maintain a conservative view of the extraterritorial reach of commercial legislation. As a result of the Alcoa decision in 1945, if not earlier decisions, the United States courts have espoused fairly grand ideas on the stretch of their judicial writ. In fact, the "effects" doctrine was first proclaimed in 1909 by the United States Supreme Court in American Banana Co. v. United Fruit Co. In this case, the Court proclaimed that the United States has the power to punish "acts done outside [the] jurisdiction but intended to produce and …

Defensive Responses To Tender Offers And The Williams Act's Prohibition Against Manipulation, Elliott J. Weiss

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article discusses whether arrangements designed to ensure the success of a favored bidder or simply to defeat an unwanted tender offer are "manipulative acts or practices" barred by section 14(e).' It argues that the critical issue is whether an arrangement significantly obstructs the operation of a fair auction market for a target company's shares. The Article maintains that recent Supreme Court decisions interpreting section 14(e) and other antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws provide substantial support for this approach to interpreting section 14(e). The Article first discusses the definition of section 14(e) manipulation. The recent Marathon decision provides …

Foreign Exchange Sales And The Law Of Contracts: A Case For Analogy To The Uniform Commercial Code, Michael L. Manire

Vanderbilt Law Review

The purpose of this Note is not only to benefit lawyers and judges who must confront these problems in litigation, but also to provide participants in the foreign exchange market with both an understanding of the legal significance of their procedures for making foreign exchange contracts and an appreciation of the possible legal consequences of the mistakes that inevitably result from fol-lowing these procedures.

Recent Development: Procedure--Right To A Jury Trial In Actions Against Corporations Owned By Foreign Governments, William A. Zan Blue

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Three federal circuit courts of appeals recently have held that United States citizens are not entitled to a jury trial in an action against a commercial corporation owned by a foreign government. The Second, Third, and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeals agree that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), the sole basis for federal subject matter jurisdiction, provides only for nonjury trials in legal actions against commercial corporations owned by a foreign government. These courts also agree that this statutory denial of a jury trial does not abridge a citizen's seventh amendment right. These decisions are important because of the …

The Economics Of Corporation Law And Securities Regulation, Larry E. Ribstein, C. Paul Rogers

Vanderbilt Law Review

To evaluate this book as a teaching tool one must consider several questions. First, of what value is an economic analysis of law? Second, should one consider economics in a corporations or securities law course? Third, does this book offer a worthwhile approach to bringing economics into the corporate law curriculum? Last, how well has this approach been executed in the book? It may be a bit late to ponder the value of an economic analysis of the law. Economic legal theorists are both extending and deepening the thinking about economics' role in facilitating an understanding of law. This new …

Comparative Analysis Of Systems Of Domestic Taxation Of Controlled Foreign Corporations, Jamie S. Martin, A. Dale Wilson

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note outlines the existing law and practice of the domestic taxation of CFC's in the United States, United Kingdom, France, West Germany, and Japan, each of which exhibits a high level of economic and industrial advancement. United States developments are important because the statutory provisions of Subpart F have been adopted, with modifications, by other nations, including West Germany and Japan. The United Kingdom and France, on the other hand, have not yet adopted an integrated statutory scheme providing for domestic taxation of CFC's. These countries attack tax evasion schemes utilizing foreign controlled companies primarily through general laws, exchange …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Case Digest--

Spouse of Injured Seaman May Recover Damages for Loss of Society under Maritime Common Law

Federal District Court Lacks Jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1350 over Fraud Action Brought by Alien when Claim Fails to Implicate a Treaty or Body of Rules Governing Relations between Foreign States

Jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Requires at Least a Finding of International Shoe "Minimum Contacts"

Appellate Court will not Review the Post-Settlement Appeal of a Pre-Settlement Provisional Remedy without District Court Consideration of the Intervening Events

Foreign States are Subject to Liability for Non-Commercial Torts arising from the Commercial …

Negotiation Techniques For Warranty And Enforcement Clauses In International Licensing Agreements, Brian G. Brunsvold

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The pre-negotiation planning procedure shows that information for the planning steps is needed from marketing and production personnel, lawyers, researchers, engineers, management, and a licensing specialist. A licensor usually cannot afford to have all of these personnel present at the negotiating sessions. A licensing negotiation proceeds most efficiently when the negotiating team includes people who are familiar with marketing the licensed product and experienced in the technical details of the subject matter to be licensed. A lawyer is also necessary to provide legal advice during negotiations and draft or review the negotiated agreement. There are some situations in which an …

Domestic International Sales Corporations (Discs): How They Provide A Tax Incentive For Exports, Garrison R. Cox

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note examines the logical and empirical validity of the reasons for the passage of the DISC legislation. Basically, the DISC legislation was prompted by the negative trade balance in 1971, a novel phenomenon in post-World War II United States. Providing a tax break on producers' export income was viewed as a way of reducing trade deficits by stimulating exports. On its surface, using "tax expenditures" to reach this goal seems logical, or at least benign. But when one considers that the primary thrust of the legislation was to encourage small producers to enter the export market, the logic of …

The Uniform Product Liability Act--A Brief Overview, Victor E. Schwartz

Vanderbilt Law Review

There are many important aspects of the Uniform Act that have not been discussed herein including provisions on assumption of risk, punitive damages," and contribution among joint tort feasors. Nevertheless, the examples that have been given show that it is a law that attempts to balance the interests of product users and sellers. It is the Department's hope that state legislatures will give it serious consideration and that it will help bring about uniformity in the key areas of product liability law. As long as courts can retroactively create new and unprecedented product liability law, the specter of future product …

Book Reviews, Robert Belton, Dr. Nasrollah S. Fatemi, Ann L. Hollick

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Book Reviews ================

Equal Employment Policy for Women: Strategies for Implementation in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe

Ronnie Steinberg Ratner, ed.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. Pp. xxii, 520

Reviewed by Robert Belton

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The Host State of Transnational Corporations

Juha Kuusi

England: Saxon House. 1978. Pp. 117. $25.25

Reviewed by Dr. Nasrollah S. Fatemi

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The Enclosure of Ocean Resources: Economics and the Law of the Sea

Ross D. Eckert

Stanford: Hoover Institution. 1979.Pp. xvi, 390. $16.95

Reviewed by Ann L. Hollick

Commercial Hardship And The Discharge Of Contractual Obligations Under American And British Law, John J. Gorman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

There are several doctrines under which contractual obligations have been judicially discharged. This Note will examine the United States doctrine of commercial impracticability or commercial impossibility and the English doctrine of frustration of contract or frustration of the commercial objective. The focus of this Note therefore is on those situations in which discharge from contractual obligations is sought because of supervening economic hardship. Part II provides a brief historical account of the development of the English common law doctrine of impossibility. Part III traces the development of the United States concept of commercial impossibility and commercial impracticability from the early …

Books Received, C. A. P.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Books Received ================

Documents on Prisoners of War Edited by Howard S. Levie Newport, Rhode Island: Naval War College Press, 1979. Pp. 841.

Chinese Family Law and Social Change in Historical and Comparative Perspective Edited by David C. Buxbaum Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press, 1978. Pp. 553. Bibliography and Chinese-English Glossary

The Definition of Law By Herman Kantorowicz Edited by A. H. Campbell New York: Octagon Books, 1980. Pp. 89. $13.50

The Legal Regime of Islands in International Law By Derek W. Bowett Dobbs Ferry, New York: Oceana Publications, Inc.,1978. Pp. 337. Diagrams and Maps.

International Norms and National …

Duty Of Directors With Respect To Potential Violations Of U.S. Law By Foreign Subsidiaries, Stephanie M. Phillips

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This article considers whether the directors of a parent corporation breach their fiduciary duty to the shareholders and the corporation when they fail to obtain information concerning the business affairs and activities of a foreign subsidiary or to investigate fully the activities of a subsidiary, when those directors have information that the subsidiary may be violating United States law. These issues were originally raised in connection with alleged violations of the Rhodesian Sanctions Regulations and United States restrictions concerning sales to South Africa and Namibia by the wholly owned foreign subsidiaries of United States corporations. In response to allegations that …

The Troublesome Workings Of The Judgments Convention Of The European Economic Community, Errol P. Mendes

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The problems involved in the jurisdiction by consent provisions in article seventeen and the special rules for insurance claims in articles seven through fifteen have to some extent been dealt with by the provisions of the Judgments Accession Convention as have the problems arising under the hire purchase and credit sale transactions. Nevertheless, a comprehensive definition of the term "consumer sale" is needed from the European Court.

There can be little doubt that both lawyers and litigants who are affected by the Convention, would prefer to operate under the conflict of laws rules of their own nations which, although complex, …

A Comparison Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act And The Draft International Agreement On Illicit Payments, Margaret H. Young

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Congress advocates the position that foreign bribery in a commercial context contributes to foreign relations problems, a perception of corporate immorality, and erosion of the free market system. By enacting the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (FCPA), the United States initiated a unilateral attack on the problem of commercial bribery abroad. Commentators frequently criticize the FCPA's unilateral approach, noting that it places United States companies at a competitive disadvantage overseas.

It is generally recognized that multilateral support is necessary before significant progress can be made in halting the prevalent practice of payments to foreign officials for business advantages. In …

The Establishment Of Foreign Bank Agencies And Branches In New York, Clifford D. Harmon

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent years foreign banking associations have played an increasingly important role in the United States money market. While foreign banks have been operating in the United States since the 1870's, no substantial foreign banking existed in this country until the early 1970's. Since that time, however, there has been rapid expansion, and by 1978 there were 210 foreign bank facilities controlling $66 billion in assets in the United States. Most of this activity is confined to New York, Illinois, and California.

New York alone accounts for three quarters of all foreign bank assets in this country. Although this concentration …

"Doing Business": Defining State Control Over Foreign Corporations, William A. Holby

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Note will attempt to analyze the present status of the term "doing business" or the substitute terminology used to define that level of activity sufficient to subject a foreign corporation to state control in a particular context.' After defining the degree of activity necessary to permit the state to exercise control in each context, this Note will analyze the accuracy and utility of using terminology such as "doing business" in describing whether corporate activity within a state is sufficient to permit state exercise of legislative or judicial jurisdiction. This Note concludes by pro-posing that use of such ambiguous language …

Appealability Of District Court Orders Disapproving Proposed Settlements In Shareholder Derivative Suits, Harold N. Falls, Jr.

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Recent Development will trace briefly the history of the collateral order doctrine, focusing on recent treatment by the Supreme Court. After an examination of the elements of a district court's decision to approve or disapprove a derivative suit settlement, the Recent Development will analyze the conflicting results reached by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Ninth Circuits in light of the Supreme Court's apparent retrenchment. Although finding that the Second Circuit's decision to reject appeal ability is most consistent with recent Supreme Court pronouncements, this Recent Development submits that the Supreme Court has adopted an …