International Law Articles

Humanitarian concerns aside,the economic need for a response is indisputable: 22,000 ships transit through the Gulf of Aden each year. Keeping that waterway free of obstructions is vital.

Before the accession of Romania in the European Union there existed strict rules that prevented foreign investors, either legal or natural persons, to purchase land in Romania. After January 1st, 2007 when Romania joined the European Union these rules have been changed and as such presently foreign investors are allowed to purchase land in Romania under certain conditions.

The Romanian law provides for two types of inheritance: the legal inheritance and the inheritance established through a last will or testament.

Foreign natural or legal persons are admitted by the Romanian law to hold shares in Romanian limited liability companies. There is no limitation as to the share capital with a foreign investor, either legal or natural person, can hold in a Romanian limited liability company. As such, a foreign investor can hold the total share capital of a Romanian limited liability company, it thus being the sole shareholder.

This article analyses the new Chinese Anti-Monopoly Law, and recent decisions in international M&A transactions under this law - including the Inev/Anheuser Busch transaction, the Coca Cola/Huiyuan transaction and the Mitsubishi Rayon/Lucite transaction. This article also suggests steps that can be taken to maximise chances of approval being obtained from the Chinese Anti-Monopoly Bureau in M&A transactions requiring approval.

Pursuant to the Insolvency Act 26 July 2005 and Article L622-17 of the Code de Commerce, debts arising after the date a French company is put into Receivership must be paid by the company's Receiver. However, those debts e.g. rents that arose prior to the leaseback company becoming insolvent must be lodged in the insolvency proceedings. This is a necessary step in order for the Court to admit claims and consider you as a (usually non-preferential) creditor in the Receivership.

Today, Panama is one of the world's top retirement destinations as well as a world class tourist location. Many buyers acquired pre sale apartments in Panama City because of its skyline reminiscence of Manhattan or Singapore: the high rise buildings facing the ocean or rainforest and many other Panama highlights.

Cross-default clauses are part of the customary tools and modules of international banks. Their operational area covers credit agreements with enterprises, as well as governments and governmental agencies all over the world.

In the following we would like to generally refer to the conditions, costs, steps and time frame for setting up a limited liability company in Romania.

With food prices rising across the globe, adventurous foreign investors can find excellent business opportunities in Ukrainian agricultural sector despite (or perhaps due to?) the global economic crisis. Known as “the breadbasket of Europe”, Ukraine still boasts enormous land reserves that can grow various grains, seeds, fruits and vegetables. Plus livestock. And due to the crisis, at last everything and everyone is available for sale or rent at rock-bottom prices.

The purpose of this article is to review how an American plaintiff can enforce a U.S. judgment in Ontario Canada and to address the process of obtaining an Ontario court's recognition and enforcement of the American judgment. Given the historic high level of trade between the United States and Canada it is no surprise that there are commercial disputes resulting in litigation. Where problems sometime arise is in enforcement of the foreign judgments obtained.

Most importers applauded Ukraine’s entry into the World Trade Organization in May 2008, which resulted in a decrease of import duty (including the duty for the automobiles) from 25% to 10%.

This article looks at policing of IP rights in China, with a particular focus on trademark rights. It examines some of the special policing measures available in China.

By definition, most of the Distribution Contracts signed between US distributors and Mexican growers, involve 2 different applicable laws and jurisdictions. Even though the majority of these contracts are prepared and signed, under the regulations of some US state, once the default of the grower comes up, those contracts need to be executed by a Mexican Court, where the grower is actually located.

In light of the financial downturn, many foreign invested companies simply are abandoned by their foreign investors. However with recent guidelines issued by the Chinese government, foreign investors may be subject to more substantial liability, for failure to properly close their FIE. This article sets forth guidelines regarding proper closure of an FIE.

In a move welcomed by both domestic and foreign investors, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (“SAIC”) promulgated the “Administrative Measures for Registration of Capital Contribution by Equity Stock” on 14 January 2009 (“Measures”) and the Measures became effective on 1 March 2009.

Please Note: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution—Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Greece License.

This article will help to explain some similarities and differences in the taxation systems of Russia and the United States. First, an overview of the various tax systems will be presented followed by the analysis.

Choosing which type of legal entity to register is one of the most important stages before undertaking business activity in Russia. The type of legal presence will influence all activity, including financial and tax reporting, customs and currency control. Therefore, an investor should pay special attention to determining the appropriate corporate form which will help him achieve his goals while meeting all legal requirements.

The Peruvian Cibertribunal is the body in charge of solving the lawsuits between trademarks and ccTLD.Pe domain names.

The delivery of goods without original B/L has been one of the hot topics in maritime law around the world. This is also the case in China. There has been many contradictory judgment with respect to the delivery of goods without original B/L in China, as there was no uniform legislation thereupon. The latest judicial interpretation by Supreme Court in China has made a good contribution to the uniformity in the adjudication of delivery of goods without original B/L.

This article aims at giving a brief overview on civil procedure in Germany. It covers core questions and explains the legal process step by step.

After tensions with Malaysia and others on ownership of traditional heritage, the Indonesian Government appears to have become assertive in protecting its heritage. Indonesia perceived that Malaysia claimed ownership to expressions of traditional Indonesian heritage, such as Javanese batik-patterned textiles, wayang shadow puppets and the folk song Rasa Sayange (a song believed to have originated from the island of Maluku, Indonesia).

It is difficult to keep up with the prolifery of legal cases affecting the costs landscape here in the UK. Here is a summary of the main recent cases.

Hong Kong is an internationally well-known “Shoppers’ Paradise” and its tourism industry has always been important to its economy. With the relaxation of Mainland China individual’s travel policy to Hong Kong, Hong Kong has become a shopping hot spot for Mainland Chinese but at the same time the Hong Kong Consumer Council received a record 42,000 complaints mainly from Mainland Chinese in 2008 for malpractices by unscrupulous retailers.

After disintegration of the USSR, business is rapidly developing in the CIS, one of the key countries of which is Kazakhstan. In various cases intellectual property (“IP”) is one of the most important areas for initial entering the market of the region, and registration of trademarks and patents and other IP rights is a big step towards the market and wise care of company’ assets even without a physical presence of the company.

Nigerian Government may debt finance and/or equity finance its 2009 joint venture cash call obligations.

Commercial arbitration has become a major attraction in international transactions owing to its speed and effectiveness in resolving commercial disputes. Having obtained the award however, the successful party would have to enforce the award against his adversary.

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Release Criteria for Licensing Market Makers in Nigeria

Chinese government welcomes those foreign investors, high-level administrators and technical staff to work in china. And the normal vacancies are not offered to foreigners. So the foreigners who intend to work here shall have more than 2 years relevant work experience and relevant educational background.

Summary of the new legislation for the financing of German limited companies.

How to serve international legal documents in France. Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.

The following is the procedure that is necessary for setting up a foreign Chinese joint venture company in Shanghai.

The following is the procedure that is necessary for setting up of a wholly foreign owned trading company in Shanghai.

The author gives main steps for setting up an office in Shanghai.

There is a paucity of fibre optic capability in the West African telecommunications industry. In addition to widening the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world, this situation has resulted in slower Internet connections and expensive telecommunications facilities in the sub-region.

The Technical Committee on the Nigerian National Tax Policy has announced that the draft document of the tax policy is to be submitted to the Federal Executive Council for approval before the end of the year 2008.

The IRS Qualified Intermediary Program has heightened scrutiny as a result of the federal investigation into the Swiss Bank, UBS (the world's largest private bank). U.S. Prosecutors allege UBS deliberately abused the Qualified Intermediary Program ("QI Program"), selling offshore banking services to U.S. Taxpayers to evade taxes.

The Internet is the most important achievement of the last decades and has already changed the way of doing business in the world. Increasing global commerce and communication and the benefits provided by the Internet are increasingly providing Iranian people with opportunities to perform transactions with businesses both inside Iran and outside Iran.

In the Sudan, a company having share capital may be incorporated as a private limited liability company or a public limited liability company. In the Sudan companies are incorporated under the Companies Act of 1925 as amended from time to time.

Higher levels of investment and productivity are key elements to stirring growth in the Sudan as a developing country and raise living standards. Attracting investment is a competitive exercise which requires stable, sound macroeconomic policies where risk environment is highly low.

The Anti-Monopoly Law (the “Law”) of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) came into effect on 1 August 2008. Two days later, the State Council promulgated the “Regulations of Filing Standards for Concentrations of Operators” (the “Regulations”) to provide the thresholds above which operators must report business concentration to the Anti-Monopoly Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce (the “MOFCOM”).

The Nigerian Public Procurement Act 2007 and Debarment of Multinational Corporations from Participating in Government Contracts: Unanswered Questions on Debarment and Exclusion Rules

Central Bank of Nigeria and Foreign Ownership of Nigerian Banks

A Survey of Compensation Packages for US and UK Qualified Attorneys Working in the Asian Legal Markets.

Electronic commerce relates to Information Technology area and the laws applicable to IT issues also cover e-commerce. Cyprus has passed new laws concerning IT issues to be in conformity with European standards. Before 2004, this law area was weakly regulated here and implementation of EU Directives brought the Republic to the European level and expanded the applicable legal framework.

Which assets are capable of being taken by execution in France on an English judgment?

Unlike some other vacation schemes, the Ince & Co scheme offers potential trainees the opportunity to spend two weeks at Ince & Co doing real work. Successful candidates will be sitting with a Partner and will have a trainee to support them while they’re here. They’ll get the opportunity to work on real cases which could mean attending court and hearings, meeting clients, drafting correspondence and undertaking legal research.

The role of a trademark owner’s proactive initiative and other fundamental considerations for effective IP protection in China.

Overview of tax law in Costa Rica.

Overview of real estate law in Costa Rica

Overview of different organizational forms available in Spain as well as tax implication to the US citizen participating in a Spanish business venture.

Overview of US tax laws affecting both US and non-US residents/citizens.

The liberalization of the oil & gas sectors of the Nigerian economy and increased global demand for crude oil have combined to make Nigeria a key player in the global oil market. However, for decades, Nigeria’s oil and gas sectors have been dominated by foreign multinational entities with large expatriate workers deployed in both on-shore and offshore locations in the country.

What could persuade an investor to invest in your company once they've shown initial interest? Clearly having your company's products and business goals match the investment policy of a potential investor is a prerequisite. However, there are a number of additional steps you can take which may sway investors to choose to invest specifically in your company.

Dramatic changes took place in the communication laws and regulations of the main liberalised electronic communications markets in the recent years in response to rapid technological advancements and marketplace changes in the communications sector. The general trend in the aforesaid regulatory changes is a movement away from sector specific regulation towards relying on competition law in order to facilitate a more innovation and economic-driven communication market.

This article provides helpful advice on what French off-plan property purchasers should do if they face snagging problems on handing over the keys.

Court system of Ukraine has undergone substantial changes since independence has been declared, but this system isn’t sufficient for democratic and constitutional state yet. Generally, court system consists of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and courts of general jurisdiction.

Contracts and their kinds are regulated by the Civil Code of Ukraine which treats commercial concession agreements which are analogous to franchise ones. Regulation stipulated for commercial concession agreements does not provide a grantee responsibility to disclose any special information at the pre-contractual stage.

When the ECJ decided the case of Marks & Spencer Plc v David Halsey it found that the UK group relief rules where mostly consistent with European law.

The Regulator's final version of the conflict of interest guidance has just been published.

The United States Government, in its June 5, 1998 Statement of Policy on the Management of Internet Names and Addresses (the “White Paper”), called for the privatization of the DNS “in a manner that allows for the development of robust competition and that facilitates global participation in the management of Internet names and addresses.”

The Community Trademark does not abolish national trademark protection but allows registrations which coexist with national trademarks.

This legal author discusses the $700 Billion Bailout Plan, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and what it means for federal regulations lawyers who will be called to interpret the law and the truckloads of new regulations that will likely follow. After years of deregulation in the U.S. and internationally, one thing is certain in these uncertain times. There are going to be a great deal more regulations put on the financial and other industries.

This article examines what biotechnology is and how it relates to the medical field, agriculture, bio processes, industry and the aquatic field. The author notes that as the planet becomes more polluted and more in need of clean water and food, the field of biotechnology will become even more important.

As at the end of August 2008, there were 65 “Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors” (“QFII”) approved in China. QFII was allowed into China’s securities market pursuant to the Provisional Measures for Administration on Domestic Securities Investment in China by QFII (“Provisional Measures”) issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) and the People’s Bank of China (“PBC”), effective from 1 December 2002.

One of the most paramount questions on the mind of every entrepreneur on the verge of starting their own business or intending to expand their business is how to raise capital. This article seeks to consider the various types of financing options and the legal considerations that are available to start up businesses and companies with the desire to expand in Nigeria.

This article examines what will be the effect of the lifting of the ban on offshore drilling in California and shows why the “Drill Now” movement is not likely to produce a single extra barrel of oil from new offshore drilling platforms off the coast of California.

This introduction guide offers an outline of some legal implications of buying or disposing of residential property in France. It also identifies some of the main pitfalls to avoid.

Buying a property in any country requires the specialist legal assistance of highly-trained, qualified lawyers suitably experienced in such matters. In most common law countries, both vendor and acquirer instruct their own legal professional to act in their interests, yet many French property purchasers fail to insist on having their own adviser. It is not just permitted to have your own legal advisor, it is highly recommended.

The author discusses Law No. 5 of January 25, 2006 modifying Article 5 of Law 108 of 1974 which grants incentives for exports and indicates other provisions.

A recent CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) news report declared: "Canadians could be subjected to the application of the American USA Patriot Act". Another CBC news report declared on May 16th 2006: "Canadians under American scrutiny".

A business acquisition transaction often implies several considerations. Although the seller normally provides the buyer with various attestations concerning the property title to be transferred, the buyer should consider a due diligence period to protect himself from future litigations, as well as to secure his property title and the accuracy of the offered purchase price.

This article provides a brief overview of the Jones Act and how it applies to seamen injured working on ships out of California’s busiest ports including San Pedro and Long Beach. With legal experience and education in Europe, and Jones Act experience in San Diego for many years, the author describes some of the benefits available under the Jones Act.

Help and tips about making a French will.

Budget law 24 December 2007, n. 244 introduces, for the first time into Italian law system, a type of class action (called "azione collettiva risarcitoria") for awards of compensatory damages or payments of amounts to multiple individual users or consumers.

This article notes the changes to the world's financial system that are likely as a result of the global financial crisis. The author describes the concerns of the European Union with the U.S. and the effect America's mortgage meltdown is having on the countries in Europe.

The definition of foreign investment is contained in paragraph 1, article 6 of the Investment Promotion Act.

The most popular forms of foreign investment in Bulgaria are the acquiring of shares or interests of a commercial company and transactions related with acquiring of property.

As a part of the implementation of the USA-Peru Free Trade Agreement, on June 28th, 2008, it was issued the Legislative Decree No. 1075.

An important question which often arises during an international transaction is what law applies to a contract of sale between parties from different countries. Much too frequently, the parties to an international agreement fail to include what is known as a “choice of law” provision. The failure to include such a clause may result in unexpected problems to both parties, especially in the context of debt collection.

It is well settled that marriage amongst Muslims is not a sacrament, but in the nature of a civil contract. Such a contract undoubtedly has spiritual and moral overtones and undertones but legally, in essence, it remains a contract between the parties which can be the subject of dissolution for good cause.

The legality or the otherwise of the etsu nupe’s directives on alhaji bello-masaba’s celebrated matrimony.

New time-limitations in French civil matters.

The United States Department of Homeland Security has introduced the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under which a person traveling to the United States on the Visa Waiver Program obtains electronic travel authorization prior to boarding a carrier to travel by air or sea to the United States. This article discusses the ESTA program in detail and makes recommendations for those individuals who have suffered past arrests and convictions.

This article has been prepared for companies and individuals proposing to invest in business in the Republic of Uzbekistan. It is a summary of some of the main legal considerations to be taken into account in making any such investment.

Trademarks in Cuba, commercial names in Cuba and patents in Cuba can be fully protected by U.S. individuals and corporations.

As a consultant to foreign investors on business risks in Ukraine, the author is frequently asked about the best ways to start a business in that country. In this article, he highlights the key issues.

This article outlines how the China Securities Regulatory Commission (“CSRC”) relaxed China’s restrictions on foreign participation in securities companies.

Since 1999 Nigeria has experienced a profound level of structural, political and economic changes that have made it one of the emerging markets in Africa. Nigeria has evolved to the point where there are excellent investment opportunities in multiple asset classes, including public equities, debt, and private equity.

Ukrainian tax legislation is built on the principle of non-discrimination and equal terms of taxation for any business entity in the Ukraine. An overview of the taxation system for foreign investors and individuals.

Regional Documentation: Transfer Pricing Regulations are expanding through Latin America not only in terms of the number of countries they involve, but also the levels of document requirements. The solution for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Due to the fact that China has become the world's leading manufacturing base, this article highlights the need for foreign companies to carefully select and monitor their OEM suppliers in China.

China has undergone rapid development in the past two decades due to the opening of its market and its recent succession into the WTO. This article discusses the rules and regulations for foreign franchisors establishing and operating in China.

On March 10th, the Official Gazzette published Resolution Number 357 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the “Resolution”), which establish complementary rules Department of Diplomatic Import of Cars (the “Department”).

China's tax refund policy for re-investment with profit by foreign investor

“Corporation” was the first term for an ancient prototype of legal entity and it remained the most popular type of legal entities in many European countries. This article is devoted to the appropriate perception of the similarities and differences in the modern types of European “corporations”, with a special focus on the main types of Ukrainian legal entities.

Unlike the position in Hong Kong, the major laws and regulations governing the protection of intellectual property rights in Mainland China do not explicitly set out restrictions on parallel importation.

Comparative Analysis of the Philippine Arbitration Law and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (Part I)

Any dispute arising from or in connection with this Contract shall be submitted to China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission for arbitration which shall be conducted in accordance with the Commission’s arbitration rules in effect at the time of applying for arbitration. The arbitral award is final and binding upon both parties.