The Future of Commercial Law: Ways Forward for Change and Reform

Description

The reform of commercial law through harmonisation, unification, codification and other means remains one of the most important projects in developing the institutional architecture for the global economy. This edited collection engages with the challenges and contributes to a greater understanding of the problems faced by states, international organisations, and private sector actors in this ongoing reform project for commercial law. The volume takes stock of the project to date and looks towards a restructuring of the agenda to deal with new challenges. The primary aim of the collection is to understand the future of commercial law reform in a way that offers ideas and strategies for innovation as well as in methodologies for project selection and evaluation. In so doing, the collection informs the debate on the global reform of commercial law and will be of interest not only to academics, but also to those involved in the reform of commercial law around the world. The volume collects papers presented at the UK Society of Legal Scholars Annual Seminar 2017. Hart Studies in Commercial and Financial Law: Volume 4 Table of Contents List of Contributors Introduction PART I: FOUNDATIONS AND FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMERCIAL LAW REFORM 1. UNCITRAL’s Role in Commercial Law Reform: History and Future Prospects I. The Establishment of UNCITRAL II. The First UNCITRAL Congress III. The Second UNCITRAL Congress IV. The Third UNCITRAL Congress V. Four Key Lessons from the Three UNCITRAL Congresses VI. Conclusions 2. The Harmonisation of Laws in the United States of America I. The Need for Harmonisation II. The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws III. The American Law Institute IV. Harmonisation of Commercial Law in America V. Conclusion PART II: NEW TECHNIQUES FOR CHOOSING
AND EVALUATING COMMERCIAL LAW PROJECTS 3. Do We Need Harmonisation for Everything? The Possibilities and
Limits of Harmonising Financial Law I. The Truth about Harmonisation of Law II. The Harmonisation of Law as Measure of Reform III. Harmonisation versus Regulatory Competition IV. Reasons for Divergence of Laws: Failure of Harmonisation or Optimisation? V. Conclusions 4. Behavioural Comparative Law: Its Relevance to Global Commercial
Law-making I. Global Commercial Law-making: The Status Quo II. The Dissenters: Prevailing External Points of View III. Behavioural Comparative Law as a Field IV. Improving Global Commercial Law-making V. Conclusion 5. Towards a Unified Approach to Economic Assessment in International Commercial Law Reform I. The Role of Economic Assessment in International Commercial Law Reform II. Conclusion PART III: THE CHALLENGE OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY 6. Cyberspace Institutions, Community and Legitimate Authority I. The Authority of Current Institutions II. Legitimate Authority in Cyberspace III. New Kinds of Institutions? IV. Conclusions 7. Data-driven Mergers under EU Competition Law I. Institutional Cooperation: A Pragmatic Solution in the Age of Big-Data Mergers? II. Data-driven Mergers – A Few Preliminary Observations III. Post-merger Innovation Incentives: Dead or Alive? IV. From Fictional Assumptions Disregarding Data to the Growing Relevance of Data V. The Corporatist Model of Data Control – Where Terms and Conditions of Privacy are Imposed on Consumers: Is Huge Accumulation of Data a 'Road to Serfdom'? VI. Towards a Workable Theory of Harm? VII. Merger Control in the Public Interest: Are Privacy Considerations Taken Seriously in Data-driven Mergers? VIII. Conclusion PART IV: TENSIONS FOR SALE OF GOODS LAW 8. Circular Economy, Title and Harmonisation of Commercial Law I. Circular Economy II. The Shift from Controlling Ownership to Controlling Use in the Circular Economy III. Harmonisation IV. Conclusion 9. Service Contracts and the CISG I. Why does the CISG Exclude Service Contracts from its Scope? II. Domestic Distinctions between Sales and Service Contracts III. Is the CISG Suitable to Govern Service Contracts? IV. Conclusion PART V: LAW FOR ACCESS TO FINANCE 10. The Financing of Micro-businesses in the United Kingdom: The Current Position and the Way Forward I. Problems Likely to Occur in the Financing of Micro-businesses II. Financing of Micro-businesses in the United Kingdom III. Legal Framework IV. Access to Finance V. Conclusion 11. Equity Crowdfunding to Facilitate Access to Finance for Small Business: The Regulatory Response and the Indirect Impact on Company Law I. 'Access to Finance' Challenges and the Search for Alternative Sources II. Crowdfunding: Concept and Variations III. Regulatory Model for Funding Platforms: 'Outside Effect' IV. Crowdfunded Businesses and Corporate Governance: The Inside Effect V. Corporate Governance Structures for Crowdfunded Companies PART VI: SECURED TRANSACTIONS: GLOBAL AND NATIONAL MOVEMENTS 12. Global Secured Transactions Law-making and National Law Reforms:
Quo Vadis Secured Transactions Law? I. Introduction II. Significance of Secured Credit III. Rationale for Taking Security IV. Harmonisation in the Context of Secured Transactions Law V. Conclusions 13. The Role of Innovation in Cross-Border Lending I. The Increasing Willingness of US Lenders to Make Cross-border Loans II. The Willingness of Lenders and their Lawyers to Develop Innovative Legal Concepts and Loan Structures III. Innovation Through Secured Transactions Reform 14. Reform of Moveable Transactions Law in Scotland I. Current Law II. Previous Attempts at Reform III. The SLC Project IV. Harmonisation V. The SLC Recommendations VI. Conclusion PART VII: PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS: AN AREA
FOR FUTURE REFORM? 15. Public–Private Partnerships and Harmonisation: The Public Private
Partnership Act I. The Globalisation of PPP Regulation II. Defining PPP III. PPP Institutions IV. The Decision to Use PPP V. The PPP Procurement Process VI. The Contract VII. Conclusion 16. Regulation of Public–Private Partnership in China: The Search for Coherence, Consistency and Certainty I. A Note on the Terminology II. Evolution of the Regulation of PPPs in China III. Chinese Government Procurement Reform IV. Obstacles Impeding Sustainable Development of PPPs in China V. Appraisal of the Draft PPP Regulation VI. Conclusion Index