International Economic Law Research Articles

THE PHENOMENON OF EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION LAW

The purpose of the article is to comprehensively analyze the definition “The Law of the Eurasian Economic Union” and determine its place in the international law system. Research methods: historical-legal, axiological, functional and contextual approaches of comparative legal method, formal-legal method. The authors consider the genesis of Eurasianism as a historical phenomenon and philosophical direction, analyze the law-forming social factors that form the basis for the Eurasian law development. They conclude that Eurasian integration has traditionally been free and legal and the system of Eurasian law is based on the postulates of both Western and Eastern influences. These are the rule of law, collectivism and the priority of natural relations within the group. The law-forming factors that influenced the creation of the EAEU and its law are peculiar and fundamentally different from the factors and prerequisites characteristic of other integration economic formations. The EAEU was created by the states that had previously been part of a single state; its statutory documents, along with taking into account the peculiarities of European law, also took into account the confessional and civilizational identity of Eurasianism. Formally, at this stage of Eurasian integration, the EAEU law is a sub-branch of international economic law and represents a system of principles and norms in the sphere of international communication of Eurasian states, created to regulate public relations on the creation (liquidation) of regional associations, cooperation of a regional association with other international organizations, its participants and structures in the spheres established by EAEU statutes.

Article: Green Regionalism: US Strategies to Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals

Critical Minerals are essential constituents for numerous modern technologies from computers, and modern cars to household appliances. Most critical minerals are also key inputs in technologies that are crucial for clean energy transitions such as batteries, electric vehicles (EV), wind turbines, solar panels etc. Global trends indicate that the race for ensuring a secure and reliable supply of critical minerals is being furthered through industrial policy, domestic regulations as well as international economic law instruments. More recently these three aspects have been characterized by increasing securitization as seen through attempts to friendshore and reshore supply chains and capacities. This paper peruses the recent Critical Material Transparency and Reporting of Advanced Clean Energy (Critical Material TRACE) Bill which focuses on implementing a digital identifier system for advanced energy systems including batteries and battery components. The paper looks at the bill in connection with other initiatives aimed at creating United State (US) led critical mineral value chains. These include industrial policy measures including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as well as international initiatives such as the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP) and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) inter alia. In our examination, the focus is on analysing the progress made under the US-led MSP and the potential coverage and implication of the Critical Material TRACE Bill. We also examine if such steps by the US further promote green regionalism or are necessary to break the dominance of a few countries (mainly China) in leading the critical minerals supply chain.

Study on the Experience of Integrating Agricultural Intellectual Property Content in the Teaching of the International Economic Law

International Economic Law is one of the compulsory courses for undergraduate law programmes in China. The Faculty of Law of the Beijing University of Agriculture implements the development of intellectual property rights in agriculture while integrating the relevant content into the international economic law programme as a special chapter. The aim is to expand the traditional international intellectual property rights chapter into an overview of international intellectual property rights treaties, international protection of geographical indications of agricultural products, and cases of agricultural gene security. At the same time, the Faculty of Law of fers a number of elective courses concerning agricultural intellectual property rights. It is also building a practical platform for intellectual property topics in the international economic law programme through the combination of law and agricultural science. By reforming the teaching of the international economic law programme, teaching resources have been further integrated. This has led to an increase in LLB admission scores, while also enhancing the practicality of teaching the international economic law programme.

The Rule of Law Between National and International Contexts: Introduction to the Special Issue on International Economic Law and the Rule of Law

The Rule of Law Between National and International Contexts: Introduction to the Special Issue on International Economic Law and the Rule of Law

The Relationality of Community Development Agreements towards a Human Rights Due Diligence Good Faith Requirement

Abstract Human rights due diligence (HRDD) is a buzzword in business and human rights (BHR) activities. However, multinational corporations (MNCs) often conduct it as a tick-box exercise without transparency. Using a relational contract theory, this article argues that when MNCs contract with local communities through community development agreements (CDAs) to perform HRDD, such contracts are internationalized relational contracts that attract a level of good faith. An established principle in international economic law, good faith serves as a standard for assessing conduct designed to discharge obligations in international contracts between states and MNCs (investor-state contracts). Similar to how investor-state arbitration tribunals use good faith jurisprudence in regulating the relationship between states and MNCs, this article proposes a BHR good faith jurisprudence to prescribe how HRDD obligations should be discharged. The article concludes that a good faith interpretational exercise in BHR would (1) reduce MNCs’ cosmetic compliance with HRDD principles; (2) increase transparency in the HRDD exercise; and (3) become a source of rights for local communities to enforce corporate accountability.

Conceptualizing National Security in an Era of Great Power Rivalry: Implications for International Economic Law

AbstractUntil recently, the national security exception in investment and trade was understood in terms of defense against military invasion or attack and possibly extendable to economic collapse. However, national security is increasingly understood far beyond the classical contours of territorial integrity. Driven primarily by the China-U.S. hegemonic competition, the new conceptualization is exemplified in a dramatic expansion in U.S. investment and trade measures based upon conceptualizing national security as encompassing threats to a fusion of interrelated spheres of national strength including economic, technological, and ideological power. Moreover, the U.S. now understands security as the retention of superiority in an array of power spheres and encompasses denying China access to emerging technologies. China has similarly expanded her definition of security which is often referenced as “national interests” and embraces political stability (Party dominance), social stability, ideological security, and the defense of Chinese overseas interests, all of which lie far outside the classical definition of security. The untethered expansion in both the U.S. and Chinese conceptualization of security raises significant ramifications for the international economic architecture. As the guardrails of security are abandoned in pursuit of policy goals, a potentially overly broad and excessive notion of security risks deepening several overlapping perils to the current international legal landscape. The focus of this article is on the expansion of the national security exception in investment and trade and potential implications arising from an unfettered expansion.

Talent Development Pathways for Integrating Law and Business in Chinese Universities

The practice of “integration of law and business” in universities has a history of nearly twenty years in China. With the maturity of China’s market economy system, the cultivation of compound talents of law and business become more and more important in the future development of business majors and law majors in universities. This paper mainly adopts literature research method and induction and summary method to collect the relevant literature of the “integration of law and business” curriculum construction and talent training path in the four platforms, and summarizes and analyzes the specific practices in the university running practice. Through research, it is found that in the past five years, the trend of “integration of law and business” in running schools in domestic colleges and universities has been rising, and many business majors in colleges and universities implement the integration of law and business in related courses such as “Economic Law”, “International Economic Law” and “International Trade Law”. Construction of the team of compound teachers of law and business and emphasis on practical teaching are the core part of the cultivating compound talents of law and business. Combing through the historical practice of the training of complex talents of law and business in domestic colleges and universities is helpful to provide reference and guidance for other colleges and universities to carry out the reform of the integration of law and business education, and is conducive to deepening and improving the training mechanism of complex talents of law and business, and train talents who can truly meet the needs of economic and social development.

Factfinding Jurisdiction: A Review of the Determination from the First USMCA Rapid Response Labor Mechanism Panel

The first panel constituted under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Facility-Specific Rapid Response Labor Mechanism (RRM) determined that it did not have jurisdiction over the situation presented to it by the United States. This Essay argues that the panel reached this conclusion based on a misperception of its mandate. Whereas the panel saw itself as a traditional adjudicatory body, the framing of an RRM panel’s mandate – to determine whether there has been a denial of labour rights at a worksite – is more similar to a factfinding mission’s mandate in international human rights law than it is to a state-to-state dispute settlement tasking as found in other areas of international economic law. Seeing the panel’s mandate this way makes it easier to understand how the procedural, methodological, and jurisprudential analyses of the panel and the parties converged in a murky hybrid.

Dispute Resolution in International Economic Law

Dispute Resolution in International Economic Law

Editorial: The Workshop ‘Pursuing Fairness in Times of Crisis: Reflections on the Future of International Economic Law’ Held within the 2023 ESIL Annual Conference

This editorial reflects on the discussions held during the workshop 'Pursuing Fairness in Times of Crisis: Reflections on the Future of International Economic Law', organized by the Interest Group on International Economic Law of the European Society of International Law (ESIL). The workshop highlighted the challenges and ethical dilemmas related to fairness in international investment arbitration. The selection of five contributions for this special edition from a multitude of submissions underscores the diversity and complexity of the topics addressed. The editorial also highlights the decline in new investment treaties in recent years, analyzing factors such as economic nationalism, geopolitical tensions, and the reassessment of existing treaties. In the current context, investment treaties remain crucial but require ongoing reassessment to ensure a fair balance between investor protection and state sovereignty.

The Role of International Institutions in Enforcing International Economic Law: Analysis of Strength and Weaknesses

The Role of International Institutions in Enforcing International Economic Law: Analysis of Strength and Weaknesses

The Right to Water as a Shaping Force in International Economic Law

Abstract While the road leading to the recognition of a human right to water has been rather bumpy, it has nonetheless had a significant impact on international economic law. It operates as a shaping force in international trade law and international investment law as the two main branches of international economic law by incremental change rather than radical transformation. Against this background, the present article seeks to identify where and by virtue of what mechanisms one may expect the most profound and lasting changes in and to international economic law under the impact of the human right to water.

Introduction to the ARIEL Special Issue – ‘International Human Rights and International Economic Law: Interfaces, Challenges, Visions’

Abstract The Introduction to this Special Issue gives an overview of the contributions that were gathered after the Conference ‘International Human Rights and International Economic Law: Interfaces, Challenges, Visions’ that took place in Vienna, in November 2022. The contributions explore the numerous interfaces between International Human Rights Law and International Economic Law which have become particularly evident in present times, among others, due to an increasingly interconnected economy, in light of the climate crisis, and as a consequence of the distortions caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

Parallel Proceedings – Investment Arbitration and the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract This contribution addresses the intersection of international human rights law and international economic law in situations where investors can bring claims under both protection systems. It discusses why multiple proceedings concerning one set of facts may be problematic and identifies situations in which duplication may occur. It presents instruments that have been developed at the domestic or international level to prevent this phenomenon. The article analyses the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) as well as of investment arbitral tribunals dealing with parallel or subsequent litigations. The conclusions set out whether the mechanisms used by arbitral tribunals and the ECtHR are adequate to deal with the phenomenon of potential multiple proceedings.

Regulating Seed Digitization: What Role for Seed Sovereignty?

Abstract Applying new technologies to agriculture is considered paramount for securing a more efficient global food system. Digital Sequence Information (DSI), or the process of electronically mapping, processing, using, and exchanging the genetic information and traditional knowledge embodied in plant and seed varieties, has become pivotal for pursuing better output and food quality. Nevertheless, growing concerns exist regarding the effects of this practice. Intervening in the interphase between human rights and international economic law, this article suggests that the global governance of DSI should consider political demands for a global food system premised on human rights and environmental justice. By doing so, policymakers would contribute to dissociating the global food system from the commodification of nature, advancing instead towards a more just future for agricultural production.

Международно-правовое регулирование транзита в сфере энергетики

The seamless transit of energy resources stands as one of the most pressing international legal issues, with freedom of transit being a fundamental principle of international economic law. This article aims to conduct a comparative legal analysis of international legal norms governing energy transit, highlighting both general and specific regulations. The scientific novelty lies in identifying general and specialized international legal norms applicable to energy transit and providing a comprehensive analysis. Differences in the status and formulations of existing international treaties on transit have led to the conclusion that there is a need for developing and adopting specialized universal international legal norms regulating energy transit. The results of the generalization and analysis of international treaties applicable to transit in the energy sector can be useful in practice when preparing transit provisions as part of the development of a new universal international treaty in the energy sector, the concept of which was proposed by the Russian Federation.

Economic progress versus cultural preservation: insights from ‘cultural heritage in international economic law’

Economic progress versus cultural preservation: insights from ‘cultural heritage in international economic law’

Conjuring markets: valuation in comparative international economic law

Conjuring markets: valuation in comparative international economic law

Unilateral Sanctions under International Law and Effectiveness of Blocking

INTRODUCTION. This article discusses modern international legal concept of unilateral sanctions. The authors contribute to the emerging discussion on the qualifying of unilateral sanctions under international law.MATERIALS AND METHODS. In this study we took into account the works of both Russian and foreign scholars in the field of international economic law, as well as analyzed documents and materials of international organizations (United Nations (UN), World Trade Organization (WTO) and others) in order to assess the compatibility of unilateral sanctions with international law. General scientific methods of cognition (analysis, synthesis, induction, and deduction), special legal methods (formal-legal, technical-legal, method of legal analogy) and comparative legal method were used in the presented research.RESEARCH RESULTS. Presented analysis has shown that widely used term “unilateral sanctions” leads to abusive and inappropriate use of international legal term. Analysis of compatibility of unilateral sanctions with other types of coercive measures such as countermeasures, UN Security Council sanctions, retortions, reprisals have shown that unilateral sanctions do not fall under the meaning of all mentioned measures. In addition, unilateral sanctions should not be justified under the WTO security exceptions. The use of extraterritorial unilateral sanctions contradicts one of the fundamental principles of international law – principle of non-interference in internal affairs. Existing blocking unilateral sanctions mechanisms are not efficient enough to compensate negative effect posed by unilateral sanctions.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. Authors concluded that unilateral sanctions in most of the cases do not satisfy cumulative criteria of legitimate countermeasure. Unilateral sanctions are not equivalent to the United Nation Security Council sanctions, as there are no “checks and balances” in the decision-making process in the form of determining the degree of threat to peace and security and taking into account humanitarian exceptions. Although there is some correlation between unilateral sanctions and retortions or reprisals, retortions and reprisals posses criteria of legality and proportionality, while, unilateral sanctions are introduced at the state’s discretion without any standard. Furthermore, the authors argue that to avoid abusive use of the WTO security exceptions WTO panels have to rely on the well-balanced approach used by the Panel in Russia – Transit case. This approach shows that the context of security exception should be understood as encompassing only military and closely related to military issues and does not cover political, economic, cultural or any other interests and relations. Existing blocking mechanisms of unilateral sanctions require separate qualification under international law including compatibility with the legitimate countermeasures.

Tricks under Trade: How International Trade Both Facilitates and is Facilitated by Corporate Environmental Crime in the Waste and Hydrocarbon Sectors

Abstract Legal scholarship in the realm of international economic law has a blind spot: the practice of international trade. Cargo and container shipping is the blood and guts of international trade, and it is fuelled by bunker oil – a hydrocarbon mixture of the dirtiest petroleum-based products. Worryingly, there is empirical evidence of bunkers being intentionally contaminated with waste oils. This fraudulent contamination violates numerous international, national, and EU rules on waste management and poses immense risks to the health of planet and people alike. These same acts of fraud are also extremely profitable, and they facilitate the smooth functioning of our global economy. The fraud is itself not just incentivised in the tight-margins reality of international trade, but it is facilitated by the lack of proper legislation and the vulnerability of the existing means of enforcement in the areas where there is legislation to comply with. Economic operators often use falsified documents to market fuel oil that should be considered as waste. Systematic wrongdoing of this kind is detrimental to the environment and risks eroding the rule of law in both its formal and substantive conceptualisations.