Posted: April 14th, 2015

CURRENT ISSUES OF LAW IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Order Description
• The cover page of your essay should display the following information:

Subject:
Question Number or Title:
Your student number: (Your name should not appear anywhere on the document)
Total word count:
(Please ensure that when you check your word count you do so campus.
Your essay will be checked and penalised if over the word limit)

• If your work exceeds the maximum word limit by 1-300 words, an automatic penalty of 5 marks will be deducted from your essay. If you exceed the word limit by 301 words or more a further 5 marks will be deducted from your essay.

• You must reference any cases cited using OSCOLA referencing system, which is The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) you can use OSCOLA reference guide.
• Word Count: 5000 words INCLUDING footnotes, but EXCLUDING bibliography.
• Please check your work carefully to ensure that your footnotes are included in your word count.
• Please also ensure that your electronic version is a word document.
• THIS ASSIGNMENT IS ASSESSED and forms 100% of the whole of your assessment.

Please answer ONE of the following questions:-

1. There has been dramatic development on the principles of international investment law. Critically discuss in relation to TWO only of the following topics:

(a) fair and equitable treatment;
(b) full protection and security;
(c) non-discrimination;
(d) expropriation;
(e) umbrella clauses.
2. “In reality, cross-listing may be pursued by issuers for a number of good reasons, but for the majority of issuers, corporate governance self- improvement apparently is not among them. Instead of bonding, most issuers may actually be avoiding better governance.” (Licht, 2003)

Discuss.

3. ‘The main objective of [the US insolvency regime] is to maintain the business as a going concern…In contrast, [that of the UK] is the repayment of creditors’ claims.’ (Franks and Torous, 1992)

Discuss.

4. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been advertised as a business strategy that goes beyond risk mitigation towards proactively solving social problems critical to the operation of the business. To what extent does CSR succeed in becoming the driving force for the ethical transformation of the modern business culture or is it just a window-dressing public relations exercise?

5. Corruption and bribery not only undermine fair competition and severely affect the profitability of businesses on a global basis, but they also divert crucial public resources away from their legitimate use, denying citizens essential public services. However, there are companies, which despite complying with the rules against corruption, can find themselves losing business to less ethical competitors who are willing to take the risk and engage in corrupt conduct.

Critically discuss the above statement, focusing on how governments and companies can develop and engage in effective anti-corruption measures.

6. Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts [2014] OJ 94/1 is bound to contribute to the dynamisation of infrastructure markets in the EU.

Critically assess the above statement, with a special focus on the suitability of concession contracts for the financing of long-term financing of infrastructure projects.

7. The exclusion of the water sector from Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on the award of concession contracts [2014] OJ 94/1 was necessary in order to avoid the privatisation of such an important public good.

Critically assess the above statement, with reference to the transfer of public property within concession agreements.