International Law Articles

Many have asked the question “what is international law?” It is an understandable question given the way that it is thrown around as though it is an easily identifiable thing. However, “international law” is largely a misnomer, given that it primarily refers to a body of treaty agreements and their resulting rules, regulations, and practices, and not the codification of laws passed down by a centralized government or legislative body.

While American women are generally treated with little distinction from men under American law, it has not always been so. Indeed, it is still not this way in many parts of the world. A recent survey of countries ranked the legal standing of women in various nations and compiled a list of the nations with the most legal distinctions between the rights of men versus those of women.

After decades of live fire exercises on the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico, the US government ceased to fire on the island in 2003. Nevertheless, the legacy of those training exercises linger on, and now a group of residents have filed a lawsuit against the US government claiming human rights violations.

A wet lease is a leasing arrangement whereby the lessor (one airline or aircraft operator) provides an aircraft, complete crew/only cockpit crew, maintenance, and insurance (hull and third party liability) to the lessee (another airline or aircraft operator), which pays by hours operated. The term ACMI is an acronym signifying the four main elements of a wet lease which are; Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance.

Turkey proved its aspiration with the liberalization of electricity market for being an energy hub in the heart of Europe and Middle East territory. According to Türk Eletrik İletim Anonim Şirketi (TEİAŞ) 2012 report, the electricity demand in Turkey will arise within the range of 398-434 billion kWh in the light of historical perspective in 2023.

The Arabic term for Islamic securities Sukuk , commonly refers to the Islamic equivalence of bonds. The Islamic ban on interest payments is the root cause of the Islamic financial instruments such as Sukuk that provides the investor a share of an asset and its cash flows and involved risks.

Whether you believe the current administration's handling of the dispute in Syria has been well handled or not, and whether you are for or against intervention, the back and forth process provides interesting insights into the processes of both international and constitutional law.

Most of the economic pundits are in agreement that Turkey has increasingly been playing a prominent role in the world economy and redefining itself as an attractive hub for Foreign Direct Investments. The country has already been associated with the economic powerhouses of BRIC and accentuated its appeal for foreign investors by its resilient economic standing during the latest global economic recession.

In order to avoid potential problems in the clearance of your merchandise, understanding US customs laws is very important. In fact, this knowledge is key before you begin trying to import/export products, or they may be subject to delays or even seizure.

This article aims at explaining enforcement of foreign judgments obtained from Courts of Poland in Turkey. It explains the procedure of implementation of Polish Decrees/Decisions in Poland based on judicial and legal cooperation agreement which enables reciprocity between Turkey and Poland as a core treaty. It also touches arbitral awards enforcement which are given by Polish Courts.

To promote fair trade, enhance protection for individual consumers and to prevent unfair business practices in Hong Kong, the Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 was passed on 17 July 2012 to amend the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap 362) (“TDO”).

This article aims at explaining enforcement of foreign judgments obtained from Courts of China in Turkey. It explains the procedure of implementation of Chinese Decrees/Decisions in Turkey based on judicial and legal cooperation agreement which enables reciprocity between Turkey and China as a core treaty. It also touches arbitral awards enforcement which are given by Chinese Courts.

Amendments to the Companies Law (as Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Law”) has streamlined the mechanics for implementing mergers involving Cayman Islands companies.

When Turkey first acquainted with franchising system, it was 1991. From that day to this, Turkey's economic perspective was entirely amended and currently ranked as the world's 17thlargest economy regarding GDP all over the world and converted into an integrated emerging market with a growing financial system.

This article provides corporate counsel and international practitioners with a comprehensive legal analysis of shipping law and regulations in Ukraine.

The Companies Bill, 2013 has been passed by the two houses of Parliament of India and is awaiting the assent of the President, which, when assented to by the President of India, will replace the 57 year old Companies Act, 1956. An attempt is made in this article to focus on how the new Bill impacts small and medium sized foreign companies who seek to do business in India through the means of a limited liability company.

The EU’s legislative landscape on failing banks may be changing quite rapidly. Cyprus was indeed the first Member State to experience and implement the resolution and bail-in approach with respect to failing banks, thus relieving taxpayers and direct investors from suffering the burden of rescuing failing, bad-managed banks. But there can be no doubt that Cyprus is a jurisdiction actively protecting foreign direct investment at the highest levels.

International trade transactions relate to the importation or exportation of goods or services from one country to another.

Double tax treaties provide for relieving double taxation; sometimes double taxation relief is extend to tax paid by foreign subsidiaries and other foreign affiliates in terms of economic definition.

Panamanian corporations may be organized by two or more elderly (who may be Panamanian or foreign) as well as legal entities, for any purpose (lawful) for which the incorporators subscribe at least one share each (they are considered shareholders), the authorized capital stock of the corporation in training

U.S. domestic steel producers consistently raised concerns about the Turkish steel industry, alleging that it is subsidized and unfairly aided. U.S. Commerce Department and International Trade Administration found a variety of Turkish subsidy programs to be dependent on export performance and imposed countervailing duty and anti-dumping penalties. As a response, Turkish steel producers have challenged these rulings in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) with varying degrees of success.

Corporate authority problems may arise occasionally, with Panama legal doctrine providing interesting solutions.

The Commercial Companies Law covers the formation and regulation of Branches and Representative Offices of foreign companies in the UAE, and stipulates that they may be 100% foreign owned provided that a local service agent is appointed.

The Cayman Islands exempted company is the corporate vehicle of choice among international investment fund managers and investors. The popularity of the exempted company is principally as a result of the Cayman Islands being rightly recognized as a stable jurisdiction for structuring international investments owing to the following features.

On the 15th July 2013, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a Notice for the purpose of formally notifying all Financial Services License Holders of the recent publication of the Malta Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) Annual Report for 2012, issued in terms of Article 42(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (Chapter 373, Laws of Malta).

On the 28th June 2013, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a Circular to the Financial Services Industry on the proposal by the European Commission for the implementation of a new investment fund framework designed for investors desirous of effecting long-term investments into corporate entities and projects.

Nowadays foreign investors seek to establish their legal presence in Uzbekistan in order to better explore and understand the Uzbekistan market. While considering different options, investors face certain dilemmas, e.g. whether to open a representative or branch office, or a subsidiary; as well as issues regarding economic and other risks, and so on.

The judicial system of Uzbekistan consists of the Constitutional Court, courts of general jurisdiction for civil and criminal cases, economic courts, and military courts. The main act regulating and establishing the procedure for organization and activity of courts is the Law on Courts (new edition) dated December 14, 2000.

As you know, most of the national companies in a certain period of their development set themselves the task to bring out their goods, works and services to foreign markets, which may be done, including through the expansion of their actual geographical presence outside the country of incorporation of the company, or the location of the head office.

As 22 July 2013 looms ever closer, as part of our continuing legal update series on this topic, this Guidance Note seeks to consider the impact of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (the “Directive”) for non-EU Managers who manage Cayman Islands domiciled funds.

Whether there is a need to restructure a business, to protect assets or simply develop an international presence for a business, one of the ways of doing so, is by opening an Offshore company.

After its adoption by the National Assembly and the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC"), the President of the Republic promulgated on June 26, 2013 the Law No. 13/023 authorizing the accession of the DRC to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards signed in New York, on June 10th, 1958 (the "Convention").

Almost twenty years have passed since the enactment of Law 8 of 1994, which until the end of the year 2012 regulated tourism investments and incentives in the Republic of Panama. This body of law responded to a national strategy and a master plan oriented towards promoting tourism related investments in Panama.

As the CIETAC Shanghai and CIETAC Shenzhen have respectively declared to become a independent arbitration commission breaking away from the CIETAC Beijing. The effect to the contract with a arbitration term and potential disputes involving the CIETAC can be seen from recent judgments.

There are different types of commercial companies that can exist in a member state of OHADA (the organization for the Harmonization of Business in Africa) such as the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]. This article discusses the types of companies and their incorporation or establishment in the Democratic Republic of Congo

With approximately a month to go from the transposition deadline, Malta has announced that it is first member state to have fully transposed the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (“AIFMD / Directive”).

Futures and Derivatives Trading To perform as a trader (broker) of commodities in the UAE the company (a legal entity incorporated according to the UAE law or foreign company incorporated outside the UAE) needs to carry out the necessary procedures to obtain a membership from DGCX (Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange).

On April 4, 2013, the Council of Ministers of Gabon adopted a draft law regulating the mining sector, which aims to reform the mining sector of Gabon by introducing a new institutional, fiscal and technical framework.

Importers and exporters often face harsh treatment through the hands of customs administration. Though there exists a class of traders which indulges in the acts of under invoicing,1 yet, the rejection of ‘transaction value’ on whimsical grounds is not mandated by Article VII of GATT 1994 and the implementation agreement on the application of GATT Code of Valuation.

Among the well-known commercial risk of today, expropriation seems to stand out as the most prominent. It represents the most dreadful form of measures to investors, which might be taken against foreign direct investment by a host state.

The Cameroon Government in its effort to protect foreign direct investment has adopted a legal framework made up of on the one hand of national laws and specific contractual agreement signed between Cameroon and a prospective foreign investor and on the other hand , of Inter- Governmental Bilateral Regional and Multilateral Treaties agreed to by the Government.

The Investment Services Act (CHAP. 370 of the laws of Malta) currently defines collective investment schemes as arrangements which, inter alia, “operate according to the principle of risk spreading”. By virtue of this definition, the requirement of risk spreading has been imposed on all licensed collective investment schemes alike and this irrespective of the type of collective investment scheme licence.

The Supreme Court on Friday, 7 of March, delivered its long-awaited decision with regard to the appeals lodged by Laiki’s and BoC’s depositors who lost part of their money in the €10 billion bail-in plan for Cyprus. More than 3.000 appeals of uninsured depositors were filed before the Supreme Court requesting the decision to be revoked.

The article introduces the procedure to settle the international trade disputes in China.

In business litigation, the quality, independence and acceptability of the expert evidence can make or break the case. This article discusses the law of Canada affecting the use of financial experts and best practices to make their evidence most effective. This presentation was prepared for a legal conference which took place in Toronto on May 30, 2013. The contents are not legal advice. Please contact the authors if you have any questions.

Reproduced with permission from Law Business Research Ltd. This article was first published in Getting the Deal Through – Restructuring & Insolvency 2013, (published in May, 2013; contributing editor:Bruce Leonard).

International Trade is expending day by day, small and big countries of the world are engaged in transfer of huge quantum of goods and services. The mutual contact between the parties, at time, creates legal problems. These problems arise from the first act of offer made by a trading partner and its acceptance by the other trading partner. The contracts created between the traders are generally binding on the parties.

A registered agent shall at all times retain physical possession of the bearer shares certificate, whether he deals directly with the end-user customer or with a professional intermediary customer.

The industrial property legislation had significant changes, as: any registered trademark must be used within the Panamanian territory, etc.

The Panama-USA free trade agreement has entailed the modification of several legislations.

All countries try to monitor and control import-export flows that pass through their borders. While some European countries have significant experience in these activities, contemporary Ukraine is continually developing its customs control systems (and supporting legislation). Ukraine’s new Customs Code, which came into force on January 1, 2013, completely overhauled the prior legislation governing customs bonded warehouses.

The moratorium on alienation of Ukrainian farm land has long prevented meaningful foreign investment into the Ukrainian agricultural sector. To somehow obtain access to agricultural land, instead of outright ownership foreign investors had to register Ukrainian companies that entered into lease agreements with landowners, most with a “right to buy” option if and when the moratorium will be lifted.

On February 27, the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party adopted an opinion on smart devices. The opinion strives to clarify the European regime on the collection and use of personal information by means of smart devices.

The separation of CIETAC Shanghai and CIETAC South China from CIETAC Beijing has made a great noise, causing some confusion and legal issues about the arbitration clause. The author intents to briefly clarify it in this article.

A European business group is calling on China to make big changes to its patent system. The European Chamber of Commerce in China argues that the current Chinese patent system hinders the country's ability to innovate and may be detrimental to foreign companies. The group released a report recommending a total of 52 changes.

India and Malta renegotiated the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between the two countries with the intention of aligning to changes in domestic laws.

The authors offer an overview of the process to obtain a bank account in Panama.

On the 16th April 2013, Fitch Ratings issued a statement regarding a special report published by Fitch, highlighting the main differences between the Maltese and Cypriot banking systems and concluded that these differences far outweigh the similarities and that, as such, ‘Malta Does Not Face Same Bank System Risks as Cyprus’ meaning the Maltese banking sector does not present the same level of risk to the sovereign that was seen in Cyprus.

This article aims to explain Enforcement Procedure and Conditions in Turkey. International private and civil procedure law of Turkey and Turkish Procedure Law are the main laws governing the procedure of enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Turkey. In this article, we’ll guide our readers based on the provisions of these laws. It is also important to note that Turkey ratified Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards which apply to the cross-border enforcement.

The investors establishing their businesses in the UAE should consider various legal aspects, before any investment decisions to avoid any future legal implications.

Following Mitt Romney's run for election and the more recent fall of Cyprus, tax havens have become increasingly scrutinized by the public eye. But are they always illegal?

This summary of Civil Litigation Procedures was prepared on the on the occasion of the 2012 Annual Conference of the International Network of Boutique Law Firms in Rancho Palos Verde, CA on Oct 12-14, 2012. The law and procedure are similar but not identical in the Canadian common provinces and territories but differs in Quebec which has a Civil Code. This summary is not exhaustive and is not intended as legal advice.

With the proliferation of international commercial arbitration and business arbitrations locally, a large body of rules, protocols, laws and conventions - formal and informal -- have developed. Litigation lawyers cannot assume they know the ins and outs of arbitration without learning how the details. This article reproduces the power point slides of a presentation made by the author at an Arbitration Advocacy seminar in October 2012. They are for information only and not legal advice.

The concept of the Community Trademark (CTM) has long been considered very straight-forward in its approach. The common understanding is that it gives protection of a trademark applicable to all 27 Member States of the EU. Naturally, this could be easily abused if a CTM were registered and only used in one Member State.

Cyprus is struggling with the worst crisis in its history since the 1974 invasion by Turkish military forces that divided the country in two.

When we think about creativity in the field of technology, we normally think about the U.S. and Japan. The European Union Commissioner for technology and the digital agenda Neelie Kroes is now actively trying to challenge this notion. Few people realize, for example, that Angry Birds and Skype were actually created in Europe. These may not trump the prolific success of Silicon Valley, but they are certainly a start.

International commercial arbitration is the most common method for resolving disputes arising from agreements between businesses from different countries. In this presentation, the author describes the systems and procedures applicable to international commercial arbitration and helps business people understand what to expect.

After a series of debates spanning around forty years, the EU has finally approved the new unitary patent system as of 19th of February, 2013.

Chasing payment of dues is a mundane yet critical element of every business process. Hugely time consuming, it could expose any activity large or small to counter-party risk, even more so in times of economic crisis.

Forty-two years of the Kaddafi regime’s apathetic attitude and incoherent economic development strategies left Libya as one of the least developed of the oil producing countries.

German investors who invest their money with foreign banks on the basis of the credit rating assessments of rating agencies can potentially recover their assets in the case of an erroneous assessment.

The European Union has spent a good number of years trying to consolidate bloc-wide intellectual property regimes to improve the efficiency of the Single Market.

This article discusses conditions conditions of approval of a Financial Institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo and how to open a bank in that country.

High-net-worth individuals with valuable possessions around the globe need effective asset protection tools to manage and safeguard their wealth, as a respond to the differing legislations and tax regulations of the various jurisdictions.

On the 14th January 2013, Neelie Kroes, in her capacity as Commissioner responsible for telecommunications within the European Union, issued a statement that the EU will dedicate this year to introducing reforms in the regulation of the pan-European telecoms market.

What are the trends going to be for personnel management in the years to come? From an employment law point of view, how will companies and employees relate to each other in these changing times?

Those, who watch the real estate market, may note that after the crisis of recent years, new buildings began to appear in Kyiv again as rapidly as mushrooms after rain. The construction industry is slowly recovering and hopes to go beyond the 3% of the Ukrainian GDP.

This article is intended to analyze the conditions for enforcing of divorce between Bulgarian national and citizen of EU member state before the Bulgarian court

Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) provided guarantees for funding in Ukraine

The global brands can assert the rules of fair competition in Ukraine.

On November 19th, 2012, State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) issued a Notice on Further Improvement and Revision of Foreign Exchange Regulatory Policies concerning Foreign Direct Investment (hereinafter referred to as the Notice) which shall be implemented since December 17th, 2012.

JEDDAH: A Saudi attorney called for a law eliminating imprisonment as a penalty for infringing upon certain private rights as part of efforts to modernize the country’s legal system.

If you are looking for refugee status or political asylum in the US, you would need to learn more about these options.

Legal comments on the possibility for acquiring of land by foreign citizens following expiration of the 5-years period of prohibition

It is always a difficult topic to address when one talks about the death of a spouse: this article aims to clarify some of the issues people living in Italy may have if they find themselves in the situation of inheriting property or assets under the Italian Legal system.

This is an article regarding a law suit against Sharp in Israel.

This is an article regarding the reform in the importation of cellular phones into Israel.

This is an article regarding a 0% VAT rate during exportation from Israel.

This is an article regarding the obligation to perchuse Israeli products after a tender was canceled.

This is a verdict reagrding a bill of lading

This is an article regarding a case between an international forwarder and a marine carrier.

Rejection and non-registration of international trademarks using the Madrid system often go unnoticed for years resulting in crisis once enforcement action is sought. Careful scrutiny of the current status of such registrations is advisable to all international trademark holders.

This article was written to help explain the various video formats available to attorneys after conducting a video deposition.

The Italian Civil Code (“ICC”) recognizes three types of limited liability companies: • Società a responsabilità limitata (a private limited company); • Società per Azioni (a joint-stock company); • Società in Accomandita per Azioni (an hybrid form, rarely used in practice, that involves two categories of shareholders, some with and some without limited liability). The S.r.l. is the most commonly used corporate form in Italy.

Fraud emanating from the employee level rather than the more typical organization level is often indistinguishable to the victim. However, these are two distinct forms of misdeed and must be approached differently in order to affect a positive outcome for the victim.

This article reviews the activities of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Anti-Monopoly Bureau, in reviewing applications for approval for M&A transactions under the PRC Anti-Monopoly Law, over the last 12 months.

This is an article regarding an insurence law suit

This is an article regarding reducing the price of goods by importers

This is an Article regarding changing a price quote by an international forwarder

In view of world wide economic integration, the international aspect of income taxation has become increasingly important. This note provides an introduction to the policies that countries seek to advance. The questions of source, jurisdiction and distinction between resident and non-resident from the perspective of international taxation are an important issue and in this perspective tax treaties and related instruments have been reviewed.