This is the second of three posts where I comment on Mexico’s “new” agricultural policy. For Part I click here. In the first post I have presented evidence that, in constant prices, the 2019 budget allocations to the “mainline” subsidy programs in agriculture are at historically low levels. [1] In particular, acreage-based payments (irrespective of production levels)…
Last week the Dutch government made international headlines with its share acquisition in Air France-KLM Holding (increasing its stake to 14%). According to the Dutch government the acquisition was justified to have a seat at the table when it comes to the role of the Netherlands (read Schiphol) as an aviation hub to protect the…
The debate on the future of work has largely concentrated how many jobs will be lost to automation and the number of workers who will likely be displaced. Since the publication of Frey and Osborne’s working paper in 2013, there has been a fury of policy and academic discussions on the issue, much of which…
The law of obligations and SMEs With its first released decision of 2019, the Ontario (Canada) Court of Appeal added itself to the growing list of Uber litigation Heller v Uber Technologies Inc 2019 ONCA 1. Most often, Uber drivers challenge their employment status. Largely, courts have found against Uber; drivers fall into some aspect…
Please find below the abstract of “Future Partnership in EU–UK Cross-Border Civil Judicial Cooperation” by Zheng Sophia Tang, published in European Foreign Affairs Review, Issue 4, Volume 23 (2018) edited by Jörg Monar and Nanette Neuwahl. In the past forty years, the EU has established a very successful and effective civil judicial cooperation scheme that…
Please find below the abstract of “The Criminal Provisions of German and UK Export Control and Sanctions Law” by Malte Wilke & Hinrich Rüping, published in Global Trade and Customs Journal, Issue 1, Volume 14 (2019) edited by Jeff Snyder. Germany and the UK have been among the strongest supporters of a liberal trade policy…
For a variety of reasons Australians have wholeheartedly embraced the various means of electronic communication and social media platforms. One lawyer’s brief history of the digital revolution In large part, technological progress has been benign, albeit confusing for certain generations. After all, when I first started in the law, our most sophisticated form of communication…
This is the first of three posts where I comment on Mexico’s “new” agricultural policy. In particular, in the first post I discuss how Mexico’s “mainline” subsidy programs have fared, in terms of funding, in the first year Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO, for his initials in Spanish) has been in power. In…
Beware those working in licensed premises – you can be liable for amounts equal to duty owing on goods stolen from those premises. Beware those working in licensed premises – you can be liable for amounts equal to duty owing on goods stolen from those premises. On 14 November 2018, following decisions of the Administrative…
In its first judgment regarding the European Commission’s recent fiscal State aid decisions, the EU General Court (GC) last week annulled the Commission’s decision of 11 January 2016 on Belgium’s so-called “excess profit rulings”. The exemption for “excess” profits The case concerns a specific provision in Belgian tax law, which provides for the possibility to…
AS THE confusion continues over whether the UK’s exit from the EU will be “hard”, “soft” or “just right”, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)has announced certain goods entering Britain from the EU will be allowed through without checks or payment of duty for a temporary period. This approach is consistent with promises from the UK…
Introduction In June 2018, I presented a paper on ‘Trade in Services, Migration and Recognition of Professional Qualifications post-Brexit’ (draft available here) at the third Radboud Economic Law Conference, ‘Upgrading Trade and Services in EU and International Economic Law’. At the time, my interim conclusion (summarised in a blog post here) was that the ideal…
While the eventual outcome of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU remains uncertain, the text of the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) offers some insight into the likely approach of the EU to labour standards in any future EU-UK relationship. The WA was accompanied by a Political Declaration on the Future Relationship. In relation to social and…
The Australian border is a busy place, not just in terms of the movement of goods and people and not just in terms of the many free trade agreements (FTAs) and other trade developments. As many readers would be aware, the border also happens to be a busy place for legislation and other regulation by…
While there has recently been significant commentary on Chain of Responsibility under the Heavy Vehicle National Law and transport of goods by road the most common manner of importing and exporting goods to and from Australia is by sea. While carriage by sea meets practical requirements of importing and exporting it does carry inherent risk….
On January 22, the ILO launched its centenary celebrations by releasing the Report of its Global Commission on the Future of Work. The Report is the result of several years of research, consultation with the Governments and social partners of the ILO Members State and the work of the 28 members of the Global Commission, with…
On 19 October 2018, the European Commission concluded three agreements with Singapore that will govern the relations between the two markets.[1] In particular, the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement EUSIPA, a mixed agreement that needs to be ratified not only by the European Parliament but also by each Member State, provides for substantive protection standards as…
Connectivity brings a broader range of work Social media platforms connect individuals in ways that often blur the line between work and leisure. Although there has been an increase in the number of employment law cases illustrating the negative aspects of this intersection, there are opportunities within the platforms. In fact, the platforms may constitute…
Please find below the journal abstract of “The New Politics of Time” by Emily Rose published in International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Issue 4, Volume 34 (2018) edited by Guy Davidov. New forms of temporal contestation are taking place in the world of work. UK employers are requiring from workers…
The European Union’s (EU) political and economic achievements are impressive. It has helped to keep the peace in Europe after the horrors of two 20th century world wars; promoted democracy; established good governance standards; and expanded trade. Recent years, however, have been unkind to the EU project due to bad decisions and bad luck. First,…
