The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the legal landscape in India, particularly in the context of technological innovations during pandemic. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in various sectors, including the legal sector. The Indian government and the judiciary have introduced several measures to promote digitalisation and technology, including the introduction of online courts and the development of digital infrastructure for the legal system. The measures to promote the use of digital technologies and improve access to justice were the key developments. The introduction of e-courts and virtual hearings using video conferencing technology in the Supreme Court and several High Courts in India were the landmark steps towards justice delivery system during pandemic. Even subordinate courts have also introduced e-filing in which the litigants were required to file their documents electronically, and the court clerk reviews the documents and verifies them. Once the documents were verified, they were uploaded to the court’s electronic case management system. With the use of technology, the virtual hearing conducted using video conferencing and the litigants participated from their homes or offices. During the hearing, the judge, lawyers and litigants saw and heard each other through their respective screens. After the hearing for record-keeping, the courts prepare a transcript of the proceedings and save it in the electronic case management system. The litigants could access the transcript and other documents related to the case through the online portal. Further, the government has introduced several measures to improve the digital infrastructure and platforms for the legal sector. National Judicial Data Grid, a database of orders, judgements and case details of 18,735 District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the e-Courts Project. The government has also launched several legal information portals that provide access to legal resources and information, such as case law, legal databases and law journals. The adoption of digital technologies is likely to continue to play an important role in improving access to justice in India in the post-pandemic era that has several advantages in saving time and costs associated with physical travel to the court. It also reduces the backlog of cases and improves access to justice for litigants who live in remote areas. Additionally, virtual hearings provide greater flexibility to litigants and lawyers, who can participate in court proceedings from anywhere in the world. The pandemic has highlighted the potential of online dispute resolution (ODR) to provide an efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. The Indian government has introduced a draft policy on ODR to promote the use of technology in dispute resolution. So in this background, how these courts worked during pandemic tim
{"title":"Technological Innovations in India’s Legal Sector for Access to Justice During and Post Pandemic","authors":"Priti Saxena","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2024-0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2024-0010","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the legal landscape in India, particularly in the context of technological innovations during pandemic. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in various sectors, including the legal sector. The Indian government and the judiciary have introduced several measures to promote digitalisation and technology, including the introduction of online courts and the development of digital infrastructure for the legal system. The measures to promote the use of digital technologies and improve access to justice were the key developments. The introduction of e-courts and virtual hearings using video conferencing technology in the Supreme Court and several High Courts in India were the landmark steps towards justice delivery system during pandemic. Even subordinate courts have also introduced e-filing in which the litigants were required to file their documents electronically, and the court clerk reviews the documents and verifies them. Once the documents were verified, they were uploaded to the court’s electronic case management system. With the use of technology, the virtual hearing conducted using video conferencing and the litigants participated from their homes or offices. During the hearing, the judge, lawyers and litigants saw and heard each other through their respective screens. After the hearing for record-keeping, the courts prepare a transcript of the proceedings and save it in the electronic case management system. The litigants could access the transcript and other documents related to the case through the online portal. Further, the government has introduced several measures to improve the digital infrastructure and platforms for the legal sector. National Judicial Data Grid, a database of orders, judgements and case details of 18,735 District & Subordinate Courts and High Courts created as an online platform under the e-Courts Project. The government has also launched several legal information portals that provide access to legal resources and information, such as case law, legal databases and law journals. The adoption of digital technologies is likely to continue to play an important role in improving access to justice in India in the post-pandemic era that has several advantages in saving time and costs associated with physical travel to the court. It also reduces the backlog of cases and improves access to justice for litigants who live in remote areas. Additionally, virtual hearings provide greater flexibility to litigants and lawyers, who can participate in court proceedings from anywhere in the world. The pandemic has highlighted the potential of online dispute resolution (ODR) to provide an efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. The Indian government has introduced a draft policy on ODR to promote the use of technology in dispute resolution. So in this background, how these courts worked during pandemic tim","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139758761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Public finances have been extensively affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures enacted to mitigate them. In South America, have these effects been permanent, or were fiscal rules solid enough to allow for flexibility and a later return to normality? The hypothesis in this paper is that Covid had a significant impact on the fiscal institutions of countries with previous difficulties in using norms as stabilization tools for public finance, but had only temporary effects for countries with a stronger tradition of implementing fiscal rules more effectively. The text is structured as follows: in the first part, a general panorama of the creation of fiscal rules in South America is presented to offer comparison patterns with their post-pandemic evolution. Secondly, a description of the possible structures of fiscal rules is analyzed, and these categories will be applied to the South American case. In the third and last part, the types of fiscal rules are classified according to each country, as well as the transformations observed after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the paper will offer a consolidated approach to changes in fiscal rules in the region.
{"title":"Changes in South-American Fiscal Rules in a Post-Pandemic Scenario: A Case-By-Case Analysis","authors":"Gabriel Loretto Lochagin","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2024-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2024-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Public finances have been extensively affected by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures enacted to mitigate them. In South America, have these effects been permanent, or were fiscal rules solid enough to allow for flexibility and a later return to normality? The hypothesis in this paper is that Covid had a significant impact on the fiscal institutions of countries with previous difficulties in using norms as stabilization tools for public finance, but had only temporary effects for countries with a stronger tradition of implementing fiscal rules more effectively. The text is structured as follows: in the first part, a general panorama of the creation of fiscal rules in South America is presented to offer comparison patterns with their post-pandemic evolution. Secondly, a description of the possible structures of fiscal rules is analyzed, and these categories will be applied to the South American case. In the third and last part, the types of fiscal rules are classified according to each country, as well as the transformations observed after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the paper will offer a consolidated approach to changes in fiscal rules in the region.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"116 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139758999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines the status and importance of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Jurisprudence in the national legal system of the Republic of Kosovo. This will be accomplished by pursuing two main paths: first, by a doctrinal analysis of the constitutional status of the ECHR and the Jurisprudence of the ECtHR in Kosovo and, second, through a closer examination and analysis of specific cases as to the level of their (non) implementation by the Constitutional Court and regular courts of Kosovo. Even though Kosovo is not a member of the Council of Europe and has not ratified the ECHR, the ECHR has a specific and privileged place in the legal system of Kosovo and is part of its constitution. This makes Kosovo a very special case regarding the technique chosen for the incorporation of international instruments for human rights in its internal legal order. Public authorities in Kosovo agree to the obligation that the scope and meaning of fundamental rights should always be determined based on the standards established in Strasbourg. However, implementing these Strasbourg-derived standards is not simple or easy. Some of the elements identified for the application of these standards in internal judicial practice include the degree and measure of implementation, the methodology of choosing cases, the methods of interpretation, and local legal culture. This article, explains these elements by analyzing statistical data and specific court cases.
{"title":"The Constitutional Relevance of the ECHR in Domestic Law: The Kosovo Perspective","authors":"Përparim Gruda, Mentor Borovci","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0110","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the status and importance of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) Jurisprudence in the national legal system of the Republic of Kosovo. This will be accomplished by pursuing two main paths: first, by a doctrinal analysis of the constitutional status of the ECHR and the Jurisprudence of the ECtHR in Kosovo and, second, through a closer examination and analysis of specific cases as to the level of their (non) implementation by the Constitutional Court and regular courts of Kosovo. Even though Kosovo is not a member of the Council of Europe and has not ratified the ECHR, the ECHR has a specific and privileged place in the legal system of Kosovo and is part of its constitution. This makes Kosovo a very special case regarding the technique chosen for the incorporation of international instruments for human rights in its internal legal order. Public authorities in Kosovo agree to the obligation that the scope and meaning of fundamental rights should always be determined based on the standards established in Strasbourg. However, implementing these Strasbourg-derived standards is not simple or easy. Some of the elements identified for the application of these standards in internal judicial practice include the degree and measure of implementation, the methodology of choosing cases, the methods of interpretation, and local legal culture. This article, explains these elements by analyzing statistical data and specific court cases.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"168 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139483454","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines the nature, impact, ramifications, and root causes of the corporate-community resource conflict in Anambra’s oil-bearing communities. It approaches this objective from the standpoint that such a conflict may be appropriately termed “a legacy of oil transnational corporations” in Nigeria, given their antecedents in the Niger Delta region. Unlike the existing literature that blames such conflicts for the most part on environmental, socio-economic, and political factors, with limited emphasis on the legal factors, this paper takes the position that an unhealthy legal apparatus of the Nigerian state and regulatory gaps in Nigeria’s oil industry provide the enabling environment that makes the conflict inevitable. Essentially, this paper tweaks the “resource curse” theory as espoused by mainstream political economists by demonstrating that, apart from greed and grievance, the “curse” is equally underpinned by inept legal structures and regulatory gaps that show little regard for good governance and the well-being of the local people in host communities. But two possible solutions are proffered. One is the institutionalization of a statutory scheme for consultation with the local communities before appropriation of their lands for oil production projects, and the other is encouraging the participation of indigenous peoples or indigenous entities in the development of their natural resources, following the example of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.
{"title":"Oil Transnational Corporations and the Legacy of Corporate-Community Conflicts: The Case of SEEPCO in Nigeria","authors":"Martin-Joe Ezeudu","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0083","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0083","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the nature, impact, ramifications, and root causes of the corporate-community resource conflict in Anambra’s oil-bearing communities. It approaches this objective from the standpoint that such a conflict may be appropriately termed “a legacy of oil transnational corporations” in Nigeria, given their antecedents in the Niger Delta region. Unlike the existing literature that blames such conflicts for the most part on environmental, socio-economic, and political factors, with limited emphasis on the legal factors, this paper takes the position that an unhealthy legal apparatus of the Nigerian state and regulatory gaps in Nigeria’s oil industry provide the enabling environment that makes the conflict inevitable. Essentially, this paper tweaks the “resource curse” theory as espoused by mainstream political economists by demonstrating that, apart from greed and grievance, the “curse” is equally underpinned by inept legal structures and regulatory gaps that show little regard for good governance and the well-being of the local people in host communities. But two possible solutions are proffered. One is the institutionalization of a statutory scheme for consultation with the local communities before appropriation of their lands for oil production projects, and the other is encouraging the participation of indigenous peoples or indigenous entities in the development of their natural resources, following the example of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139054667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract International tourism is a main sector of economy that witnesses continuous and tremendous growth in developed and developing countries and expresses destabilization by several factors including climate change. Being considered as a sensitive sector to climate, tourism shows, through several criteria such as number of arrivals and receipts, an influence by environmental and socioeconomic modifications. This article will outline the interrelationships between climate change phenomenon and the business component of the international tourism. Three focal elements that were developed through literature on the effects of climate change for tourism will be critically reviewed: climate change and temporal shifts in tourism demand, climate-inducted change and destination competitiveness within the major market segment of business tourism, and future tourist mobility. The review will develop the differential weakness of tourism destinations and the consequence in competitiveness that will transform some international markets. This will be relevant to explain why destinations will need to adapt to the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. Despite several elements illustrating progress in the past years, an important gap of knowledge in each of the major impact areas needs to be looked into in order to indicate to the concerned tourist the necessity for a well preparation toward challenges of climate change.
{"title":"Double Impact: A Macroeconomic Study of the Crossed Influences Between Climate Change and Business Tourism","authors":"M. Kayal","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0054","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract International tourism is a main sector of economy that witnesses continuous and tremendous growth in developed and developing countries and expresses destabilization by several factors including climate change. Being considered as a sensitive sector to climate, tourism shows, through several criteria such as number of arrivals and receipts, an influence by environmental and socioeconomic modifications. This article will outline the interrelationships between climate change phenomenon and the business component of the international tourism. Three focal elements that were developed through literature on the effects of climate change for tourism will be critically reviewed: climate change and temporal shifts in tourism demand, climate-inducted change and destination competitiveness within the major market segment of business tourism, and future tourist mobility. The review will develop the differential weakness of tourism destinations and the consequence in competitiveness that will transform some international markets. This will be relevant to explain why destinations will need to adapt to the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. Despite several elements illustrating progress in the past years, an important gap of knowledge in each of the major impact areas needs to be looked into in order to indicate to the concerned tourist the necessity for a well preparation toward challenges of climate change.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"142 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77330127","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tunggul Anshari Setia Negara, Syahriza Alkohir Anggoro, I. Koeswahyono
Abstract On October 5, 2020, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) passed Law no. 11/2020 on Job Creation (Job Creation Law/JCL) designed to improve Indonesia’s private investment climate. The law changed various legal landscapes that were identified as obstacles to accelerated development and economic growth. However, the Law has sparked widespread protests because it can potentially encourage environmental damage, exacerbate workers’ vulnerability and increase socioeconomic inequality. Describing JCL as a neoliberal legality project, this paper explores the elected executive’s role in mobilizing authoritarian state practices through disciplinary measures that undermine democratic accountabilities. It is argued that the configuration between the pre-existing illiberal democracy and Jokowi’s autocratic tendencies offers predatory business alliances an adequate legal and institutional platform to formulate a neoliberal legal breakthrough while eliminating resistance to them. Through a socio-legal analysis of the three areas targeted by the JCL amendments, we further argue that Jokowi’s success in advocating for his preferred neoliberal agenda hinges on what is called an executive aggrandizement strategy. This is characterized by interventions designed to safeguard the neoliberal legality preferences promoted by the elected executive from the disruption of meaningful checks and balances in the future, thereby deepening the features of authoritarian statecraft. This paper contributes to an advanced understanding of the bleak picture of Indonesian democracy over the past few years by proposing neoliberal legality as one of the ingrained legal characteristics of Jokowi’s authoritarian regime.
{"title":"Indonesian Job Creation Law: Neoliberal Legality, Authoritarianism and Executive Aggrandizement Under Joko Widodo","authors":"Tunggul Anshari Setia Negara, Syahriza Alkohir Anggoro, I. Koeswahyono","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0022","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract On October 5, 2020, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) passed Law no. 11/2020 on Job Creation (Job Creation Law/JCL) designed to improve Indonesia’s private investment climate. The law changed various legal landscapes that were identified as obstacles to accelerated development and economic growth. However, the Law has sparked widespread protests because it can potentially encourage environmental damage, exacerbate workers’ vulnerability and increase socioeconomic inequality. Describing JCL as a neoliberal legality project, this paper explores the elected executive’s role in mobilizing authoritarian state practices through disciplinary measures that undermine democratic accountabilities. It is argued that the configuration between the pre-existing illiberal democracy and Jokowi’s autocratic tendencies offers predatory business alliances an adequate legal and institutional platform to formulate a neoliberal legal breakthrough while eliminating resistance to them. Through a socio-legal analysis of the three areas targeted by the JCL amendments, we further argue that Jokowi’s success in advocating for his preferred neoliberal agenda hinges on what is called an executive aggrandizement strategy. This is characterized by interventions designed to safeguard the neoliberal legality preferences promoted by the elected executive from the disruption of meaningful checks and balances in the future, thereby deepening the features of authoritarian statecraft. This paper contributes to an advanced understanding of the bleak picture of Indonesian democracy over the past few years by proposing neoliberal legality as one of the ingrained legal characteristics of Jokowi’s authoritarian regime.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"50 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79794484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Reducing inequality in its multiple dimensions is key to sustainability. Under the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, one way to meet the goal of narrowing gaps between and within countries is by implementing the special and differential treatment (SDT) principle. The most concrete and well-established implementation of this principle within international trade law is through the Enabling Clause, which authorizes wealthy States to grant, under specified conditions, preferential market access to select developing countries. Yet commentators, consisting primarily of economists and developing-country representatives, argue that tariff preferences are often inadequate to grow the economies of many in the Global South, much less to reduce inequalities. A legal perspective that could bolster this argument remains sparse. This article fills said gap by explaining that while international trade law operationalizes the SDT principle with a heavy emphasis on tariff preferences, the principle is additionally expressed in several other provisions under the other World Trade Organization (WTO) covered agreements: Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; Agreement on Trade Facilitation. These under-studied provisions demonstrate crucial but overlooked aspects of the SDT principle, namely, capacity-building and international assistance and cooperation. Therefore, critically analyzing these provisions is important to ascertain whether and how implementation of the SDT principle can reduce inequalities and support sustainable development. This legal analysis contributes in two ways to the broader inquiry about the role of international trade law in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First, on a practical level, the article suggests legal bases or sources for additional indicators needed to better measure and monitor progress in reaching the target. Second, the analysis reveals a necessity to revisit and further scrutinize assumptions underlying the legal mechanisms within the trade regime that States and other relevant actors are using to pursue valuable global objectives.
{"title":"Differential Treatment and Inequalities under the Sustainable Development Goals: Beyond Preferential Market Access","authors":"J. A. Lorenzo","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0031","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Reducing inequality in its multiple dimensions is key to sustainability. Under the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, one way to meet the goal of narrowing gaps between and within countries is by implementing the special and differential treatment (SDT) principle. The most concrete and well-established implementation of this principle within international trade law is through the Enabling Clause, which authorizes wealthy States to grant, under specified conditions, preferential market access to select developing countries. Yet commentators, consisting primarily of economists and developing-country representatives, argue that tariff preferences are often inadequate to grow the economies of many in the Global South, much less to reduce inequalities. A legal perspective that could bolster this argument remains sparse. This article fills said gap by explaining that while international trade law operationalizes the SDT principle with a heavy emphasis on tariff preferences, the principle is additionally expressed in several other provisions under the other World Trade Organization (WTO) covered agreements: Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; Agreement on Trade Facilitation. These under-studied provisions demonstrate crucial but overlooked aspects of the SDT principle, namely, capacity-building and international assistance and cooperation. Therefore, critically analyzing these provisions is important to ascertain whether and how implementation of the SDT principle can reduce inequalities and support sustainable development. This legal analysis contributes in two ways to the broader inquiry about the role of international trade law in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). First, on a practical level, the article suggests legal bases or sources for additional indicators needed to better measure and monitor progress in reaching the target. Second, the analysis reveals a necessity to revisit and further scrutinize assumptions underlying the legal mechanisms within the trade regime that States and other relevant actors are using to pursue valuable global objectives.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75864070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction: Law and Sustainable Development","authors":"Yong‐Shik Lee","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0064","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"67 1","pages":"251 - 252"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83945231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The question of how to adequately integrate environment and labor provisions in free trade agreements is still a difficult one for both States and academicians. This article explores China’s approach to environment and labor issues in free trade agreements. For reference and comparison, it relies on the European Union’s and the United States’ approaches in their respective FTAs. The article identifies China’s preference for a case-by-case approach to the inclusion of environmental chapters in its FTAs. Additionally, in most FTAs it avoids to include provisions on labor standards. These two preferences represent major divergences from the European Union’s and the United States’ approaches, characterized by inclusion of chapters on environment and labor in all their modern FTAs. The article also finds that China’s FTAs rely solely on consultations and cooperation for the implementation of environmental and labor provisions, within the framework of Joint Committees and avoid the inclusion of civil society mechanisms. Moreover, resolution of disputes relies exclusively on consultations, in a diverse procedure than the one applicable to trade disputes. Despite alignment with the European Union model, this is another major point of divergence with the United States’ model, which applies the same enforcement mechanism for both environment and labor issues and trade issues and includes the possibility of applying sanctions. Finally, the article concludes that China’s options with regards to the treatment of environment and labor concerns in its free trade agreements aligns with both its domestic governance approach and its approach to international cooperation.
{"title":"China’s Approach to Sustainable Development in Free Trade Agreements","authors":"D. Wei, Â. Rafael","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0053","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The question of how to adequately integrate environment and labor provisions in free trade agreements is still a difficult one for both States and academicians. This article explores China’s approach to environment and labor issues in free trade agreements. For reference and comparison, it relies on the European Union’s and the United States’ approaches in their respective FTAs. The article identifies China’s preference for a case-by-case approach to the inclusion of environmental chapters in its FTAs. Additionally, in most FTAs it avoids to include provisions on labor standards. These two preferences represent major divergences from the European Union’s and the United States’ approaches, characterized by inclusion of chapters on environment and labor in all their modern FTAs. The article also finds that China’s FTAs rely solely on consultations and cooperation for the implementation of environmental and labor provisions, within the framework of Joint Committees and avoid the inclusion of civil society mechanisms. Moreover, resolution of disputes relies exclusively on consultations, in a diverse procedure than the one applicable to trade disputes. Despite alignment with the European Union model, this is another major point of divergence with the United States’ model, which applies the same enforcement mechanism for both environment and labor issues and trade issues and includes the possibility of applying sanctions. Finally, the article concludes that China’s options with regards to the treatment of environment and labor concerns in its free trade agreements aligns with both its domestic governance approach and its approach to international cooperation.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"7 1","pages":"367 - 384"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75475877","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The OECD led BEPS project attempts key changes to the international tax standards to limit harmful tax avoidance. First, it is found that calls for the BEPS project are based on arguments (illicit financial flows and tax competition) that are supported by limited evidence and hence may not offer much fiscal gain to the developing countries. Second, it is found that the BEPS project would, through information sharing, further limit the fiscal jurisdiction of capital importing states. Further it is found that tax competition, even if existing in a limited form, is a result of the international tax architecture and the externalities caused by it. In fact, it is seen that the MNCs actually reduce the inefficiencies created by this tax architecture and thereby reduce transaction costs. By agreeing to the BEPS agenda of information sharing the developing countries would be paying the cost of internalising the externality.
{"title":"BEPS: Changing International Fiscal Standards and the Unchanging Fortunes of ‘Sustainable Development’","authors":"Ajay Mahaputra Kumar","doi":"10.1515/ldr-2023-0051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/ldr-2023-0051","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The OECD led BEPS project attempts key changes to the international tax standards to limit harmful tax avoidance. First, it is found that calls for the BEPS project are based on arguments (illicit financial flows and tax competition) that are supported by limited evidence and hence may not offer much fiscal gain to the developing countries. Second, it is found that the BEPS project would, through information sharing, further limit the fiscal jurisdiction of capital importing states. Further it is found that tax competition, even if existing in a limited form, is a result of the international tax architecture and the externalities caused by it. In fact, it is seen that the MNCs actually reduce the inefficiencies created by this tax architecture and thereby reduce transaction costs. By agreeing to the BEPS agenda of information sharing the developing countries would be paying the cost of internalising the externality.","PeriodicalId":43146,"journal":{"name":"Law and Development Review","volume":"11 1","pages":"325 - 365"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87311725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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