Global Rules Research Articles

ГАРМОНІЗАЦІЯ ІНФОРМАЦІЙНОГО CЕРЕДОВИЩА СТРЕСОСТІЙКОСТІ КОРПОРАТИВНОГО СЕКТОРУ ЕКОНОМІКИ

Уже майже півтора року від початку повномасштабного вторгнення російських військ до України наш народ демонструє всьому світові наявність безцінних вітчизняних нематеріальних активів: культурних, етнічних, генетичних, інтелектуальних – у форматі мужності, рішучості, комунікативності, лідерства і стійкості. Завдяки синергійному ефекту їх поєднання з матеріальною складовою в цілому збережено макроекономічну, фінансову і зовнішню стабільність, хоча загрози деструктивних явищ посилюються. Тому, незважаючи на нашу незламність і підтримку Міжнародного валютного фонду та інше значне офіційне фінансування ззовні, перед Україною й надалі поставатимуть серйозні виклики й залишатимуться істотні потреби в грошово-кредитному ресурсі. Корпоративний сектор економіки потребує високих обсягів капіталовкладень, які є неможливими без гармонізації інформаційного простору ділової активності підприємців і роботодавців із світовими нормами і правилами дотримання принципів транспарентності, підзвітності, захисту прав власності, а також поліпшення інвестиційного клімату й подолання корупції на всіх рівнях. З використанням сучасних економічних теорій, досліджень, з одного боку, і досвіду корпоративного підприємництва в координатах регулюючої ролі наднаціональних, державних структур – з іншого, визначено методологічні засади просування найкращої практики звітування підприємств про сталий розвиток з метою їх подальшої імплементації в Україні. На основі аналізу ключових змін, які вносяться до Директив ЄС, інших міжнародних регламентів, запропоновано шляхи подальшої стандартизації розкриття інформації про стресостійкість, а також сталий розвиток суб’єктів господарювання. Обґрунтовано доречність інтеграції до звітного циклу підприємств даних щодо потенціалу шокової резилієнтності в умовах війни і повоєнної відбудови, які є вельми суттєвими.

Harmonizing Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: Enhancing Efficiency and Synergy between WTO and ISDS System

This research article explores aligning and optimizing dispute resolution mechanisms in international law, particularly within the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) contexts. Addressing challenges arising from the "spaghetti bowl effect" of multiple treaty regimes, it examines the interplay between WTO and ISDS systems, aiming for harmonization and reduced jurisdictional inconsistencies. Traditional coordination methods are evaluated, revealing limitations in adapting to this evolving paradigm. Instead, an "articulation clause" and the "principle of comity" are proposed as innovative approaches for rationalizing dispute resolution. These strategies aim to transcend rivalry between WTO and ISDS mechanisms, expediting impasse resolution in the WTO Appellate Body. The study promotes a strategic shift, encouraging stakeholders to view dual mechanisms as mutually advantageous. This pragmatic outlook empowers informed decision-making, enhancing the global rule of law's predictability, efficiency, and integrity. The ultimate goal is strengthening the WTO's dispute resolution framework and ISDS mechanism, contributing to a more streamlined and cohesive international dispute resolution landscape. The qualitative research methodology has been applied to the following article.

Do Digital Trade Rules Matter? Empirical Evidence from TAPED

This study aims to examine (1) the impact of digital trade rules on digital services exports, (2) the heterogeneity of this impact in different trade categories, (3) the impact of digital trade rules on the growth of services exports through reducing trade costs, and (4) whether this impact is different in national income levels. In order to test the hypotheses, this study uses panel data from the TAPED database encompassing 143 economies between 2005 and 2019, employing a differences-in-differences model as the analytical framework. Our empirical results yield several key findings. Firstly, digital trade rules have a significant role in promoting the export of digital services. Secondly, the impact of trade rules on different types of trade and national income levels is significantly different. Thirdly, the mechanism analysis results show that trade costs have an intermediary role, and digital trade rules can promote the export of digital services by reducing trade costs. Finally, compared to “high-income countries”, the establishment of digital trade rules brings greater benefits to the digital services trade of low- and middle-income countries. Digital trade has brought significant changes to globalization development. Few studies address the role of digital trade rules in regulating the development of digital trade, and some researchers suggest reconstructing the global trade rules to meet the growth of digital trade. Nevertheless, research on how digital trade rules affect digital services exports is still sparse. This study contributes to the literature by revealing the importance of digital trade rules and provides a reference to promote institutional openness in the field of digital trade.

Politics and International Law: Making, Breaking, and Upholding Global Rules By LeslieJohns, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2022. pp. 560.

Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental LawEarly View BOOK REVIEW Politics and International Law: Making, Breaking, and Upholding Global Rules By Leslie Johns, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2022. pp. 560. Franz Perrez, Corresponding Author Franz Perrez [email protected] Federal Office for the Environment, University of Bern School of Law, Bern, Switzerland Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author Franz Perrez, Corresponding Author Franz Perrez [email protected] Federal Office for the Environment, University of Bern School of Law, Bern, Switzerland Email: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author First published: 11 May 2023 https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12504Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL No abstract is available for this article. Early ViewOnline Version of Record before inclusion in an issue RelatedInformation

Transformation of the global governance in the cocoa sector with three characteristics: Diversification, flexibilization, and coordination

The cocoa sector has continued its global efforts to address various environmental and social issues. This research aims to unpack characteristics of the global cocoa governance focusing on global actors, rules, and agendas through content analysis with global documents related to the cocoa sector. This research includes the 60 year time frame from 1962, the year of establishment of Intergovernmental Cocoa Organization, to 2021. The results indicate a transition in global cocoa governance with three characteristics: diversification, flexibilization, and coordination. First, the actors and agendas in the cocoa sector were diversified throughout the study period. Starting from the early 2000s, private actors emerged and actively participated in forming global cocoa agendas and suggesting solutions to cocoa-related problems. Accordingly, diverse actors have handled diverse agendas. Second, the global cocoa rules were softened and flexibilized. Until the 2000s, treaties among countries controlled the global cocoa industry. Recently-introduced soft rules from 2012 enabled diverse issues to be addressed and facilitated the participation of various actors. Third, coordination between the international and state levels was emphasized in agreements and declarations. The inclusion of varied actors and agendas necessitated aligning efforts for improving global cocoa governance.

Impact of the global gag rule on women’s contraceptive use and reproductive health outcomes in Ethiopia: a pre–post and difference-in-difference analysis

ObjectiveTo assess the impacts of the Protecting Life through Global Health Assistance policy (otherwise known as the expanded global gag rule (GGR)) on women’s sexual and reproductive health (SRH) in...

Federated Fuzzy Neural Network With Evolutionary Rule Learning

Distributed fuzzy neural networks (DFNNs) have attracted increasing attention recently due to their learning abilities in handling data uncertainties in distributed scenarios. However, it is challenging for DFNNs to handle cases in which the local data are non-independent and identically distributed (non-IID). In this paper, we propose a federated fuzzy neural network (FedFNN) with evolutionary rule learning (ERL) to cope with non-IID issues as well as data uncertainties. The FedFNN maintains a global set of rules in a server and a personalized subset of these rules for each local client. ERL is inspired by the theory of biological evolution; it encourages rule variations while activating superior rules and deactivating inferior rules for local clients with non-IID data. Specifically, ERL consists of two stages in an iterative procedure: a rule cooperation stage that updates global rules by aggregating local rules based on their activation statuses and a rule evolution stage that evolves the global rules and updates the activation statuses of the local rules. This procedure improves both the generalization and personalization of the FedFNN for dealing with non-IID issues and data uncertainties. Extensive experiments conducted on a range of datasets demonstrate the superiority of the FedFNN over state-of-the-art methods.

Can global trade rules cope with changing nutrition challenges?

AbstractMalnutrition remains a global challenge and is hampering the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. At the United Nations, governments have committed to taking action on food systems and nutrition. Government intervention in this space will necessarily intersect trade and health policy. This Practitioner Commentary considers the implications for policymakers in the trade and health communities. We argue that there is an opportunity for ‘soft guidance’ to play an important role in helping governments navigate potential tensions between trade and nutrition policies.

Review of “The Global Rules of Art: The Emergence and Divisions of a Cultural World Economy”

Larissa Buchholz has written a magnificent account of the Global art market over the last half century. The book combines extensive, and highly nuanced, discussion of a wide range of relevant cultural theories, with an enormous amount of wonderfully researched data and studies of the Global art market and the relevant personnel including artists, curators, gallerists, art critics, art purchasers, and museum personnel. As a result, the book is an empirical and theoretical treasure for those interested in Global art. Buchholz’s motive for starting this study was a desire to understand how some artists from geographic locations that were, historically, outside geographic mainstream locations such as Western Europe and the United States, had nevertheless managed to become successful in the global art world and market. She was especially struck by the well-known paradox that, despite so much talk of a new era of globalization and openness, empirical studies such as those by French sociologist Alain Quemin, showed that contemporary visual arts were dominated by artists from a small number of Western countries. So her research turned to case studies of the very small number of exceptions, artists from “non-Western” countries who had succeeded in the Global art market.

Forging Global Rule of Law through Climate Litigation against the United States and the Fossil Fuel Industry

Forging Global Rule of Law through Climate Litigation against the United States and the Fossil Fuel Industry

COVID-19 and China’s Foreign Direct Investment Inflow- Stress Tests Based on Extreme Gradient Boosting Model and Policy Implications

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is essential to world economic growth, global industrial chain optimization, technology diffusion, and product innovation. This study identifies several macro-level factors affecting FDI inflow to China after discussing possible mechanisms through which COVID-19 influences FDI. Then, it tests three different stressful scenarios simulating the COVID-19 influence on China’s FDI inflow with a regression model estimated by extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) in Python. Results show that the rampant COVID-19 pandemic and increasing global investment risks would have a substantial and negative impact not only on global FDI size, investment rules, and investment structure, but also on FDI inflow to China. Without effective measures being taken, from January 2020 to March 2022, losses in China’s annual FDI inflow could reach 5.71 percent to 11.28 percent, but the country’s actual annual FDI inflow is much higher. The extraordinary measures adopted by the Chinese government include preventing pandemic measures that are prompt and effective as well as targeted macroeconomic regulation policies. They make a rapid recovery or even improvement in China’s economic fundamentals, which in turn enhance China’s attractiveness to FDI and the FDI size, more than offsetting the negative effect of COVID-19 on FDI inflow to China. Finally, this paper proposes several countermeasures in macro-economic regulation and industrial policy adjustment to prevent and mitigate the negative influence of COVID-19 on FDI.

Promoting sustainable investment through financial architecture reform

Abstract The global financial architecture is struggling to facilitate the sustainable investment needed to address climate change. Some argue that if the Basel III global capital rules treated environmentally friendly assets as being safer forms of capital, banks would be incentivized to hold more of these assets on their balance sheets and extend more green debt, promoting sustainable investment. This paper explores the possible impacts of this reform by combining firm-level environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data with a global general equilibrium model. It finds that the reform would result in a significant reallocation of capital, goods, and services across sectors and economies. It finds that while the reform could significantly increase investment, the investment is not necessarily sustainable and not all countries benefit from cooperation. The paper identifies a range of challenges that need to be overcome for these results to hold, including the reliability of ESG data, inconsistencies in taxonomies and methodologies, and further analysis confirming whether green firms are indeed safer borrowers. The paper argues that the G20 is well placed to address these challenges and outlines an agenda to achieve it.

Number of Variables for Graph Differentiation and the Resolution of Graph Isomorphism Formulas

We show that the number of variables and the quantifier depth needed to distinguish a pair of graphs by first-order logic sentences exactly match the complexity measures of clause width and depth needed to refute the corresponding graph isomorphism formula in propositional narrow resolution. Using this connection, we obtain upper and lower bounds for refuting graph isomorphism formulas in (normal) resolution. In particular, we show that if k is the minimum number of variables needed to distinguish two graphs with n vertices each, then there is an n O ( k ) resolution refutation size upper bound for the corresponding isomorphism formula, as well as lower bounds of 2 k -1 and k for the treelike resolution size and resolution clause space for this formula. We also show a (normal) resolution size lower bound of exp (Ω ( k 2 / n )) for the case of colored graphs with constant color class sizes. Applying these results, we prove the first exponential lower bound for graph isomorphism formulas in the proof system SRC-1, a system that extends resolution with a global symmetry rule, thereby answering an open question posed by Schweitzer and Seebach.

JUDGING MORE BY JUDGING LESS : ISSUES AND LIMITS OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

With the International Criminal Court (ICC) losing not only its chance of incorporating the same great powers that decided not to support it at the very start – out of fear of losing dominance – but also about to lose long-time members such as the ones from the African Union, its chances of being a mean of institutionalized punishment against the worst individual crimes of international concern are trembling. Would the ICC obtain better outcomes if it discarded entirely its authority against member governments, and restricted its jurisdiction to cases suggested by the same countries where the crimes had been allegedly committed? The ICC could hence maintain an important role in the canalization of local jurisdictions through common, global rules: this way, even if through selective jurisdiction, it could at least limit and moderate the intentions of member States when dealing with inconvenient local enemies or oppositions. Through an analysis of the jurisdictional past of this institution and a contextualization of its controversial relationship with the United Nations (UN) Security Council, this paper aims to furnish a comparison of available outcomes, and elucidate the aforementioned possibility as an advantageous framework, although less ambitious. An eventual last focus will be put on the risks of the opposite trend, an ambitious but inefficient institution, possibly leading to the legitimization of its failures.

Implementing Pillar Two: Potential Conflicts with Investment Treaties

A key objective of pillar two is to coordinate a minimum 15 percent tax on the GloBE income of certain in-scope multinational enterprises. This objective has been driven by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and focuses on global cooperation and model rules to calculate and collect the proposed tax. Tax is also a key driver in investment decisions. By design or default, the pillar two rules will clash with the typical tax incentives offered by countries to attract foreign direct investment, including tax holidays, lower tax rates, exemptions, and accelerated depreciation regimes. Often these tax incentives are offered in investment treaties. These agreements offer a win-win solution in that they set out the minimum protections that investors may rely on when making an investment in the host state, backed up by the direct remedy of binding international arbitration if those protections are not provided. For the host state, the protections provided by an investment treaty encourage inbound cash flows, and for the investor's home state, they offer the hope of repatriated profits. Although no precise numbers can be offered, clearly the tax benefits provided by investment treaties will be affected by the pillar two rules. This paper outlines some of the potential conflicts between pillar two requirements and the protections provided in investment treaties. It also offers some preliminary solutions.

Transboundary movements of plastic waste from EU countries as a constraint for sustainability

Motivation: In the face of contemporary environmental and economic challenges, a transition to more sustainable global plastics economy is crucial. Countries are implementing circular economy solutions, but one of the common problems is so called “waste tourism” — export of plastic waste to other countries, often less developed. It contributes to global environmental problems but frequently surfaces also as inefficient resource management/trade and an ethical question as well. Transboundary movements of plastic waste from EU countries should be based on the principles set out in the Basel Convention which entail minimizing and disposing all kind of waste in an environmentally sound manner, minimizing the amount of waste transported and treating and disposing it as close as possible to its place of origin. Unfortunately, European plastic waste is exported in large quantities, often to less developed countries and not processed in accordance with European standards.Aim: This paper aims to identify the volume and directions of UE countries export patterns of plastic waste, its impact on the Sustainable Development Goals and trends in global and EU rules on transboundary plastic waste movements. The considerations are based, to a great extent, on literature on the subject-matter and secondary data, i.e. export data under the trade code 3915 (Waste, pairings and scrap of plastics) derived from the UN Comtrade and Eurostat Database, SDGs data derived from Sustainable Development Report 2022 and UN database and main legal basis for the international trade in plastic waste (the Basel Convention with its recent amendments) and its trends.Results: EU countries are still the leaders in exporting plastic waste, making it difficult to achieve the 12th SDG. Changes to the Basel Convention have not significantly affected the volume and destinations of EU plastic waste exports. They organize the categories of plastic waste but still leave an ample room for undesirable activities. Although the EU’s proposals are more restrictive, the most desirable solution is a complete ban on the export of plastic waste by EU countries outside the EU.

Exclusion by Design: Locating Power in Mansbridge’s Account of Descriptive Representation

A much-circulated image during the Donald Trump administration showed Vice President Mike Pence and members of the Republican House Freedom Caucus discussing the removal of maternity coverage from the Affordable Care Act—with not a single woman or person of color among them. In another image, white men watched approvingly as Trump signed an executive order reinstating the global gag rule, which bans foreign nongovernmental organizations that receive American aid from supporting abortion access. These images contrast with one from early in Joe Biden’s presidency. In his first address to Congress, Biden was backed by two women occupying the second- and third-most-powerful positions in the country, Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, respectively. After acknowledging “Madame Speaker, Madame Vice President,” Biden said, “No president ever said those words and it is about time.”

Combating Organised Crime: Exploring the Intersection of Cryptocurrencies and Money Laundering in Serbia

Background: This paper's central theme revolves around combating contemporary forms of organised crime by exploiting cryptocurrencies. It delves into the evolution of cryptocurrency structures, trends in the cryptocurrency market, and the intricate processes of transactions and money laundering involving digital currencies. The paper presents an overview of the most significant cryptocurrencies traded on electronic exchanges and explores their market characteristics.Objectives: This paper aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of the intersection between cryptocurrencies and high-tech crime, mainly focusing on money laundering, within the context of specific cases in the Republic of Serbia.Methods: The analysis commences by elucidating the nature of cryptocurrencies, with a particular emphasis on how the underlying technologies and applications contribute to heightened vulnerabilities. The subsequent segment of the analysis will then pivot towards delineating the extent of the money laundering predicament associated with cryptocurrencies. In the third section, the research will delve into the burgeoning Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations that govern cryptocurrencies, emphasising the ongoing development and implementation of such regulations in the Republic of Serbia.Results: The absence of borders in digital currencies and exchanges renders the current laws and regulations insufficient in dealing with illicit activities like cross-border money laundering. Consequently, it is imperative to establish consistent global rules to achieve uniformity in implementation promptly. Conclusion: Prioritising the pursuit of harmonisation becomes crucial as the FATF endeavours to formulate a universal benchmark. This international standard will facilitate the consistent enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF) laws and regulations on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

Comparison of metaheuristic optimization algorithms for numerical solutions of optimal control problems

SummaryThe objective in optimal control problems is to determine the control rule to be applied according to the objective function determined for a given system. Theoretically, different solution methods have been developed starting from calculus of variation such as Pontriagin, Hamilton, or Riccati. In this study, apart from analytical methods, it is proposed to apply algorithms inspired by nature to the same problem. Among these algorithms, genetic algorithm, firefly algorithm, Harris Hawk's optimization algorithm, and differential evolution optimization algorithm have been applied to given optimal control problems and their successes were compared in terms of statistical analysis such as minimum, maximum, average, Wilcoxon, and Friedman analysis. The originality of this study is to control the system with discrete control rule by partitioning the control signal, to be applied to the system which is wanted to be optimally controlled. This will allow the control of different techniques, such as MPC or NMPC, which will contribute to the determination of the global optimum control rule, especially in the solution of nonlinear systems. In addition, three different applications have been performed to demonstrate. As a result of these experiments, it has been shown that these algorithms can be applied successfully to such problems.

The Dynamics of Power

Battery manufacturers hoping to take advantage of the rising demand for lithium-ion batteries must ensure their products are in compliance with global safety and sustainability rules, says LabTest Certification.