Privatizing International Governance,
2023
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
Privatizing International Governance, Melissa (M.J.) Durkee
Scholarship@WashULaw
Public-private partnerships of all kinds are increasingly common in the international system. Since United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s launch of the Global Compact in 2000, the United Nations has increasingly opened up to business entities. Now, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Compact, and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights all encourage engaging with business entities as partners in developing and executing global governance agendas. These partnerships are seen by some as indispensable to sustainable development, international business regulation, climate change mitigation, and other global governance agendas. At the same time, UN climate change bodies have been criticized …
Incomplete Contracts And Future Data Usage,
2023
Washington University in St. Louis School of Law
Incomplete Contracts And Future Data Usage, Jens Frankenreiter, Talia B. Gillis, Dan Svirsky
Scholarship@WashULaw
Most major jurisdictions require websites to provide customers with privacy policies. For consumers, a privacy policy's most important function is to provide them with a description of the online service provider's current privacy practices. We argue that these policies also serve a second, often-overlooked function: they allocate residual data usage rights to online services or consumers, including the power to decide whether a service can modify its privacy practices and use consumer data in novel ways. We further argue that a central feature of the E.U.'s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching privacy regulatory …
Enforcing Soft Law In International Investment Arbitration,
2023
University of Akron
Enforcing Soft Law In International Investment Arbitration, Vera Korzun
Akron Law Faculty Publications
Drawing examples from international environmental law, sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility, this Article examines the evolving role of international investment arbitration in the enforcement of non-binding soft law rules of international law. In doing so, the Article explains how investment tribunals can, and have been called upon to, interpret and, paradoxically, enforce soft law instruments. The Article calls for reevaluation of the nature of soft law and the role of investor-state dispute settlement in international rulemaking and enforcement. It also argues that for international environmental law and law on sustainable development, where the lack of an enforcement mechanism has …
Reforming Shareholder Claims In Isds,
2023
University of Michigan Law School
Reforming Shareholder Claims In Isds, Julian Arato, Kathleen Claussen, Jaemin Lee, Giovanni Zarra
Articles
ISDS stands alone in empowering shareholders to bring claims for reflective loss (SRL) – meaning claims over harms allegedly inflicted upon the company, but which somehow affect share value. National systems of corporate law and public international law regimes generally bar SRL claims for strong policy reasons bearing on the efficiency and fairness of the corporate form. Though not necessitated by treaty text, nor beneficial in policy terms, ISDS tribunals nevertheless allow shareholders broad and regular access to seek relief for reflective loss. The availability of SRL claims in ISDS ultimately harms States and investors alike, imposing surprise ex post …
International Investment Law And Climate Justice: The Search For A Just Green Investment Order,
2023
Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law
International Investment Law And Climate Justice: The Search For A Just Green Investment Order, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe, Adebayo Majekolagbe
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
Efforts are underway to craft responses to the climate crisis within the international investment order. This Article highlights international investment law (“IIL”) and international climate law (“ICL”) as two basic governance contexts within which investment- related responses to climate change are being designed. There is, however, a multilevel—normative and institutional—dissonance between both regimes that makes for an asymmetric integration of the regimes at best, or worse still, the escalation of the injustices which have characterized both. While similar in their recognition of international investment as an important tool for responding to climate change, assumptions and approaches under both regimes are …
Race & International Investment Law: On The Possibility Of Reform And Non-Retrenchment,
2023
Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law
Race & International Investment Law: On The Possibility Of Reform And Non-Retrenchment, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe
Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press
The international investment regime is in flux. The mainstream practice of investment law and arbitration works on the basis of the regime’s foundations in contract and property law. However, critical scholarship in the field has unearthed the coloniality of power that permeates both the practice of international investment law and the current reform exercise led by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III. These critical scholars warn of the imminent reproduction and entrenchment of the systemic inequities, power asymmetries, and investment law’s investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime which is skewed against post-colonial host states. The …
Covid-19 And Investor-State Disputes: Have The Stars Aligned For Mediation?,
2023
Singapore Management University
Covid-19 And Investor-State Disputes: Have The Stars Aligned For Mediation?, Mark Mclaughlin
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In response to the global pandemic, governments have compelled the production of ventilators, limited service provision to “essential” goods, suspended bills for electricity, gas and water, and implemented price and export controls. Regulatory measures have consciously inhibited economic activity and disrupted investment interests. Inevitably, foreign investors are among those adversely affected by measures directed towards the containment of COVID-19. Since the first bilateral investment treaty (“BIT”) was concluded in 1959, international investment agreements (“IIAs”) have served as derogations to the general international law principle that States have absolute discretion to restrict and regulate foreign investors within their territories.2 As such, …
What Role For The Wto In Disciplining China’S State-Dominated Economy?,
2023
Georgetown University Law Center
What Role For The Wto In Disciplining China’S State-Dominated Economy?, Jennifer A. Hillman
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Is the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its rules-based system capable of addressing the distortions in trade caused by the explosive growth of China’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)? If it is, why hasn’t it been put to use? If the WTO rules are not up to task, where and how do they need to be changed? Those are the questions that Henry Gao and Weihuan Zhou answer in their thorough and compelling assessment of the current state of China’s SOEs, the commitments China made when it joined the WTO and the relevance of the applicable WTO rules, Between Market Economy and …
International Investment Law In The Shadow Of Populism: Between Redomestication And Liberalism Re‐Embedded,
2023
Georgetown University Law Center
International Investment Law In The Shadow Of Populism: Between Redomestication And Liberalism Re‐Embedded, Alvaro Santos
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The international investment regime is in crisis, nowhere more so than in regard to the investor–state dispute settlement system. While several developing countries have been critical of the system for some time, rich countries like the US and EU states—once the principal promoters of this regime—are now acknowledging problems and advancing reforms. This change of position has been fueled by the mobilization of civil society and the emergence of domestic populist movements on both the right and the left, reflecting widespread discontent with the past three decades of neoliberal globalization and its effects on job losses, lower wages, and increasing …
Gender Mainstreaming In Trade Agreements: "A Potemkin Façade"?,
2023
Georgetown University Law Center
Gender Mainstreaming In Trade Agreements: "A Potemkin Façade"?, Katrin Kuhlmann, Amrita Bahri
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The distributional outcomes of trade agreements have historically been uneven, creating both “losers” as well as “winners” and benefitting certain stakeholders while leaving others without benefits or even with negative repercussions. In particular, distributional outcomes can vary between women and men, since they play different roles in society, markets, and economies, and they enjoy different opportunities as well. At times, and sometimes by their very nature, trade agreements can restrict opportunities for women and further increase the gender divide. But in recent years, there has been a drastic upsurge in the number of countries that are incorporating commitments on gender …
Privacy Peg, Trade Hole: Why We (Still) Shouldn’T Put Data Privacy In Trade Law,
2023
University of Colorado Law School
Privacy Peg, Trade Hole: Why We (Still) Shouldn’T Put Data Privacy In Trade Law, Margot E. Kaminski, Kristina Irion, Svetlana Yakovleva
Publications
No abstract provided.
Noneconomic Objectives, Global Value Chains And International Cooperation,
2023
European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS)
Noneconomic Objectives, Global Value Chains And International Cooperation, Bernard M. Hoekman, Petros C. Mavroidis, Douglas R. Nelson
Faculty Scholarship
Systemic conflicts increasingly affect the global value chains (GVCs) underpinning globalization by creating policy uncertainty and politicizing trade and investment decisions. Unilateral policies to attain competitiveness and noneconomic objectives (NEOs), including national security, create incentives for international cooperation to attenuate policy spillovers. Recent initiatives seeking to do so are organized around supply chain governance and need not be anchored in trade agreements. Whether such cooperation is feasible and can be designed to be effective in realizing NEOs is unclear. Plurilateral GVC-centered cooperation offers a potential path for states to pursue NEOs and reduce policy uncertainty for international business. Research offers …
China In The Wto Twenty Years On: How To Mend A Broken Relationship?,
2023
Columbia Law School
China In The Wto Twenty Years On: How To Mend A Broken Relationship?, Petros C. Mavroidis, André Sapir
Faculty Scholarship
China’s participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been a rollercoaster of milestones and frictions. China has emerged as a leading trading nation, which has contributed to the expansion of world trade. Some of its trading partners, however, and most vocally the United States, complain that China has reached its new status by eluding its WTO commitments. Under President Trump, the United States reacted strongly against China, almost bringing the WTO(but not China!) to its knees. These actions have been criticized in different ways: Some underline their unilateral character (and the ensuing legal issues they raise), whereas others focus …
A New Era At The Court Of International Trade: Endemic, Executive Orders, And Enforcement,
2023
Duke Law School
A New Era At The Court Of International Trade: Endemic, Executive Orders, And Enforcement, Timothy Meyer
Faculty Scholarship
No abstract provided.
Dangers Of Protectionism In Free Trade,
2022
University of Washington School of Law
Dangers Of Protectionism In Free Trade, Jacob Walker
Washington International Law Journal
The recent establishment of large mega-free trade agreements has led to the potential for the rapid economic development of nations through the inclusion of provisions that lower tariff rates on goods crossing borders. Some countries, such as India, have shied away from these agreements in favor of protectionist strategies, which has led to inconsistencies in treaty negotiations and economic decline. India used protectionist strategies as part of its domestic plan, which has led it to withdraw from free trade agreements and weakened its regional partnerships. This comment examines the Foreign Direct Investment flowing into India before and after its withdrawal …
Where In The World: Protecting Indigenous Textiles In Guatemala Through Geographical Indications,
2022
Brooklyn Law School
Where In The World: Protecting Indigenous Textiles In Guatemala Through Geographical Indications, Lucie Couillard Sosa
Brooklyn Journal of International Law
There is a current movement by indigenous weavers in Guatemala to protect their textile designs due to the harm caused by the absence of the weavers’ intellectual property ownership over the designs and patterns. The exploitation and appropriation of their designs by domestic and international companies has hurt weavers’ livelihoods and has led to culturally inappropriate and insensitive uses of religious and traditional patterns. Conventional intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, and patent law) fails to protect indigenous peoples’ intellectual property rights. A key weakness within conventional intellectual property law is the emphasis and focus on individuality of the creation process. …
Breaking Down Digital Walls: The Interface Of International Trade Law And Online Content Regulation Through The Lens Of The Chinese Vpn Measure,
2022
Brooklyn Law School
Breaking Down Digital Walls: The Interface Of International Trade Law And Online Content Regulation Through The Lens Of The Chinese Vpn Measure, Neha Mishra
Brooklyn Journal of International Law
The interface of international trade law and online content regulation is problematic and complex. This Article examines the consistency of the regulation pertaining to Virtual Private Network (VPN) services in China with WTO law. It argues that although WTO law may be effective in disciplining protectionist aspects of online content regulations, they can neither scrutinize domestic values underlying such regulations nor guarantee the free flow of online content. Thus, existing rules contained in international trade agreements play a limited role in balancing domestic socio-cultural and political values vis-à-vis online censorship with an open, globally interconnected internet enabling seamless digital flows. …
Tailspin: Examining The Distortive Effects Of The Airbus-Boeing Duopoly On Trade Dispute Resolution Between The United States And European Union,
2022
Brooklyn Law School
Tailspin: Examining The Distortive Effects Of The Airbus-Boeing Duopoly On Trade Dispute Resolution Between The United States And European Union, Sam Bhat
Brooklyn Journal of International Law
This Note surveys the perverse effects of the Airbus–Boeing dispute on international trade, examining how this unique and unprecedented duopoly challenges WTO agreements regarding state assistance to domestic manufacturers of large civil aircraft. This trade dispute has precipitated significant consequences for industries unrelated to aircraft manufacturing on both sides of the Atlantic. Theoretically, the WTO’s dispute resolution framework is designed to maintain an undistorted status quo between member states. The case of Airbus–Boeing, however, has shown that a duopoly conflict masquerading as a WTO dispute leads to escalating tariffs with substantial repercussions. This is the costliest dispute in the history …
Analysis Of Discriminatory Measures From European Union Renewable Energy Directive Ii To Indonesia As A Palm Oil Producer Country,
2022
University of Dundee, United Kingdom
Analysis Of Discriminatory Measures From European Union Renewable Energy Directive Ii To Indonesia As A Palm Oil Producer Country, Enrico Denis Sihotang
Indonesia Law Review
On 21 December 2018, the European Union (EU) issued a regulation titled Renewable Energy Directive II (RED II), where the RED II policy introduced the indirect land use change (ILUC) criteria for palm oil. RED II states that palm oil is classified as a commodity with a “ high ILUC risk” type, and as such, the EU will gradually reduce palm oil consumption and no longer use palm oil by 2030. Indonesia brought this issue to WTO in 2020. Indonesia, through its consultation, argued that the RED II is inconsistent with the few provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs …
The Original “Market” Understanding Of The Commerce Clause: Insights From Early Federal Government Practice And Precedent,
2022
Brigham Young University Law School
The Original “Market” Understanding Of The Commerce Clause: Insights From Early Federal Government Practice And Precedent, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.
BYU Law Review
No abstract provided.
