The US presidential election process is fascinating people all over the world. The two major parties have selected their candidates for an election which will take place in November 2016. Two weeks ago, the UK changed Prime Ministers, from David Cameron to Theresa May, without holding an election. Mr Cameron simply resigned and Mrs May […]
International Produc...
It happens thousands of times every day: a business in country A sells products to a business in country B. What laws apply? The CISG Treaty This question can be solved in one of two different ways, in a lot of cases. One way is by the application of international law.There is an international treaty […]
How Will “Brexit” Ha
Brexit is short for “British Exit”. By now probably everybody has heard that the citizens of the UK decided last week, in a country-wide vote called a “plebiscite” or “referendum”, that their country should leave the European Union, or EU. What does this involve? Brexit at the international level The EU is a supra-national body […]
What’s an “Electroni
ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST UNCITRAL MODEL LAW Today, June 12, 2016, marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the first major international protocol on the use of electronic signatures in business transactions, namely the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (1996). Since then, the Model Law was updated in its 2001 version, and […]
What’s A “Shell Comp
What’s a shell company? Recently there has been a lot of media attention on the issue of investors in various countries using shell companies incorporated in foreign, or offshore, jurisdictions, to hide assets out of the view of taxation authorities in their home countries. In some cases, the owners of these entities have been accused […]
“Tax avoidance” and
What’s the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion? The so-called Panama Papers affair has led to a lot of accusations that people should not be using off-shore companies to structure their businesses. But what kinds of activity are illegal and what kinds are not? Where I live, in Australia, the corporate tax rate (the […]
“Arbitration” and “M
Contracts don’t always go according to plan, and the parties may end up having a dispute. For example, if one party is unable to complete all of its obligations under an agreement, how much should the other party pay? The agreement itself may provide a method for deciding what happens in such a situation, but […]
Evolution of Consume...
BUYER BEWARE Consumer laws have changed a lot over the years. The words CAVEAT EMPTOR, in Latin, mean “Buyer Beware”. That is how old that legal rule is: it dates from the Roman Empire. Basically, it means you are responsible for inspecting goods before you buy them and, if they aren’t exactly what you […]
Book Review: “The Pa
It’s true, “law” and “fun” don’t usually get said together in the same breath. Make an exception for this book, The Party of the First Part by Adam Freedman (2007). It may be a few years old now but it hasn’t lost any of its charm. It is very witty, well written and very educational. […]
Intellectual Propert...
In our last post, we discussed international law. The rules that control Intellectual Property are a sub-set of international law, which are reflected in the national laws of countries. The two layers of rules work together, and that is how IP is protected. This post explores some aspects of how that system works. As you […]