Mandatory Provisions Research Articles

The Mitigating Effect of Audit Committee Financial Expertise on the Voluntary Adoption of Clawback Policies

Clawback policies are compensation recovery policies that provide companies with the ability to recoup incentive-based compensation in the event of a financial fraud. We investigate whether the mandatory clawback provision in the Dodd-Frank Act is necessary or whether existing provisions under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) are sufficient in inducing problematic firms to voluntarily adopt clawbacks. Specifically, we examine the relation between financial expertise on audit committees and voluntary adoption of clawback policies in the pre-Dodd-Frank period, separating audit committee financial expertise into accounting- and non-accounting financial expertise and classifying clawbacks into fraud-based- and non-fraud based clawbacks. While firms with restatement history are more likely to adopt fraud-based clawbacks due to SOX Section 304, the financial expertise on audit committees has a mitigating effect on the voluntary adoption of clawback policies. Greater accounting financial expertise is more likely to result in voluntary adoption of fraud-based clawbacks for firms without prior restatements. On the contrary, accounting and non-financial expertise are less likely to result in the voluntary adoption of fraud-based clawbacks for firms with prior restatements. Consistent with the signaling hypothesis, this suggests that accounting experts are more in favor of adopting fraud-based clawbacks when they are not associated with any previous accounting scandals, whereas both accounting experts and non-financial experts are against adopting fraud-based clawbacks when they could be implicated by prior financial frauds. Since non-fraud based clawbacks do not serve as signals, neither accounting- nor non-accounting financial expertise is related to the adoption of non-fraud based clawbacks. Our results suggest that the mandatory clawback requirement in Dodd-Frank can eliminate the mitigating effect of audit committee financial expertise on the voluntary adoption of clawback policies.

Transgender Sterilisation Requirements in Europe.

The possibility of individuals procreating post-transition has long stalked debates on transgender rights. In 1972, Sweden became the first European jurisdiction to formally acknowledge preferred gender. Under the original Swedish law, applicants for gender recognition were explicitly required to prove an incapacity to reproduce-either through natural infertility or through a positive act of sterilisation. Across the Council of Europe, 20 countries continue to enforce a sterilisation requirement. When considering reforms to their current gender recognition rules as recently as 2015, the Polish executive and the Finnish legislature both rejected proposals to remove mandatory infertility provisions. This article critiques the rationales for transgender sterilisation in Europe. It places transgender reproduction, and non-traditional procreation, in the wider context of European equality and family law. Adopting a highly inter-disciplinary framework, the article explores legal, social, medical, and moral arguments in favour of sterilisation, and exposes the weak intellectual and evidential basis for the current national laws. The article ultimately proposes a new departure for Europe's attitude towards transgender parenting, and argues that sterilisation should not be a pre-condition for legal recognition.

Oiling the machine: overriding mandatory provisions and public policy in the Hague Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts

Art. 11 of the Principles on Choice of Law in International Commercial Contracts, adopted by the Council of the Hague Conference in March 2015 contains provisions governing the relationship between the system of law1 chosen by the parties under Art. 2(1) (the “chosen law”) and the laws and policies of other systems. It provides as follows: 1. These Principles shall not prevent a court from applying overriding mandatory provisions of the law of the forum which apply irrespective of the law chosen by the parties. 2. The law of the forum determines when a court may or must apply or take into account overriding mandatory provisions of another law. 3. A court may exclude application of a provision of the law chosen by the parties only if and to the extent that the result of such application would be manifestly incompatible with fundamental notions of public policy (ordre public) of the forum. 4. The law of the forum determines when a court may or must apply or take into account the public policy (ordre public) of a State the law of which would be applicable in the absence of a choice of law. 5. These Principles shall not prevent an arbitral tribunal from applying or taking into account public policy (ordre public), or from applying or taking into account overriding mandatory provisions of a law other than the law chosen by the parties, if the arbitral tribunal is required or entitled to do so. In brief summary, therefore, the first and third paragraphs address the relationship between the chosen law and certain laws and policies of the forum, the second paragraph addresses the relationship between the chosen law and certain laws of legal systems other than the forum, the fourth paragraph addresses the relationship between the chosen law and the certain policies of the legal system whose laws would have applied but for the parties’ choice under Art. 2(1) and the fifth paragraph addresses the limits of the application of the chosen law in arbitration proceedings.

Smuggled and Trafficked Unaccompanied Minors: Towards a Coherent, Protection-Based Approach in International Law

Irregular migration by unaccompanied minors has become an increasingly prevalent global issue. Unaccompanied minors who have fled their countries of origin, often due to persecution, violence, or poverty, present an opportunity for migrant smugglers and human traffickers who exploit their unique vulnerabilities and dependence. Smuggling and trafficking are often fluid, interrelated phenomena, making practical distinctions difficult. This article explores the protection of smuggled and trafficked unaccompanied minors under the United Nations Protocols against the Smuggling of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons. While each Protocol includes mandatory provisions pertaining to criminalization, it explains that neither Protocol adequately protects unaccompanied minors, addresses their unique vulnerabilities, or accounts for the often-blurred distinction between minors who are smuggled migrants and minors who are victims of trafficking. In light of these issues, this article argues that a coherent, protection-based approach, founded on international human rights and refugee law, is necessary. This article outlines rights and principles integral to such an approach, and analyses their particular application to smuggled and trafficked unaccompanied minors. It posits that the emphasis on criminal, preventative, and border control aspects of smuggling and trafficking comes at the expense of more nuanced understandings of the experiences and vulnerabilities of smuggled and trafficked unaccompanied minors, despite the pressing and evident need for a more substantive framework for their protection.

Why Do Firms in Weak Institutional Environments Adopt Strong Corporate Governance? The Role of Government Regulation

This study identifies one potential benefit of mandatory investor protection laws in weak investor protection countries neglected by the extant literature: laws help reduce firms’ bonding costs to strong corporate governance. We argue that corporate insiders (outside investors) have little incentive to voluntarily supply (demand) strong corporate governance in weak legal regimes because such voluntary bonding is not a credible commitment. However, once a corporate governance provision is mandated by law, it can serve as a more credible bonding mechanism at lower costs. Hence, firms that expect to benefit more from such bonding should be more likely to comply with the corporate governance provisions in the mandatory regime. Using two different and complementary corporate governance proxies, we find supporting evidence for our hypothesis. We also find that stock market investors react positively to firms’ adoption of such mandatory corporate governance provisions.

Individualarbeitsrechtliche Streitigkeiten im Schiedsverfahren

In the last decade, arbitration as a mechanism for alternative dispute resolution has become increasingly important. Questions of arbitrability move to the forefront as arbitration expands to disputes whose commercial character might be less obvious. One recent question of interest is whether individual employment disputes can be the subject of arbitration proceedings in Switzerland. This paper identifies two areas of employment disputes which lend themselves to final resolution through arbitration. In particular, sports related and “executive”-employee disputes benefit from dispute resolution outside of state courts. The well-known distinction between domestic and international arbitration proceedings seated in Switzerland has a profound impact on the subject matters that are considered to be arbitrable. Because Art. 177 of the Private International Law Act states that any dispute concerning a pecuniary interest may be the subject of an arbitration procedure, “international” parties desiring to arbitrate their dispute will rarely face an issue since almost all possible employment law claims are of a pecuniary interest to at least one party. On the other hand, the arbitrability of a domestic dispute is governed by Art. 354 Civil Procedure Code, which limits the scope of a potential arbitration procedure to any claim over which the parties may “freely dispose of”. The possibility of arbitration procedures regarding employment law disputes is therefore limited, since the Federal Supreme Court decided that an employee cannot “freely dispose of” all mandatory provisions enumerated in the Code of Obligations. This discrepancy is the main focus of this essay and will be explored in detail.

De toepassing van Nederlandse caoos op buitenlandse chauffeurs in het goederenvervoer over de weg - Op de viersprong van transportrecht, arbeidsrecht, vrij verkeer en IPR (The Application of the Dutch Collective Agreements to the Employment Contracts of Foreign Truck Drivers Active in the Transport of Goods by Road in the Netherlands On the Intersection between Transport Regulation, Labour Law, Free

Dutch transport companies make use of foreign truck drivers for their transport services through different employment modalities, such as use of temporary agency work, subcontracting and intra-concern transfers. The report, commissioned by the social partners in the road transport sector and finished in December 2008, examines the effect of these employment modalities on the application and enforcement of the Dutch collective agreements for the transport by road sector. In doing so, it describes the interaction between the rules on transport (national and European), free movement of services, EU choice of law and national collective agreements. Though the rules have changed since the report was published, the problems with regard to the interaction of these legal areas are still highly topical. Therefore, on request, the report is made publicly accessible in March 2017. Part 1 describes the legal framework of transport of goods by road. This overview is meant both to identify possible connecting factors for the regulation of employment and to test the legality of the employment modalities used in practice. Part 2 focuses on issues of private international law. It discusses the law applying to the contract, the application of overriding mandatory provisions and the status of collective agreements in private international law. Part 3 explores how applicable Dutch collective agreement provisions can be enforced, within the framework of European law.

Do Voluntary Clawback Adoptions Curb Overinvestment?

AbstractManuscript TypeEmpiricalResearch Question/IssueThis study tests whether the adoption of clawback provisions mitigates overinvestment. A clawback provision is a recoupment policy that allows certain bonuses previously paid to executives to be cancelled or “clawed back” if financial statements are restated.Research Findings/InsightsThis study focuses on 1,093 voluntary clawback adopters in the United States during 2006–2012 and uses propensity score matching to obtain a matched sample. We then perform a difference‐in‐differences analysis to assess pre‐ and post‐adoption changes in overinvestment. The empirical results show that (i) clawback provisions mitigate overinvestment, and (ii) overinvestment decreases most for those executives identified as overconfident or receiving higher option compensation.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsAgency conflict between shareholders and executives distorts a firm's investment decisions. According to the agency‐based explanation, better financial reporting quality decreases information asymmetry. Clawback provisions improve financial reporting and mitigate potential overinvestment under agency conflict. To the best of our knowledge, no other published study has discussed executives’ investment behavior or has reported that one benefit of clawback provisions is mitigating ex post overinvestment. It is important for regulators and academics to understand how clawback provisions impact executives’ behavior.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsThe results of this study provide political implications for mandatory clawback provisions under Section 954 of the Dodd‐Frank Act after 2016 in the US. Given that we show that voluntarily adopting clawback provisions curbs overinvestment, it is important to examine whether this new act should place restrictions on the form of executive pay.

The Impact of Mandatory Arbitration on the Common Law Regulation of Standard Terms in Consumer Contracts

The focus of this paper is the regulation of standard terms in consumer contracts at common law, i.e., judges deciding cases in published opinions. In particular, I focus on the two most important common law doctrines in this area — unconscionability and good faith — and to a lesser extent on court decisions that interpret consumer statutes. They have all played a central role in regulating standard terms in consumer contracts over the years, yet their continuing role is being threatened by the proliferation of mandatory arbitration provisions in consumer contracts. If this trend continues, the ability of courts to further develop contract doctrine in consumer transactions may be severely limited. I begin with a discussion of the role that common law plays in regulating consumer transactions. I then discuss how the unconscionability and good faith doctrines have evolved as limitations on standard terms in consumer contracts. Next I discuss the increasing use of mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts and the likely effects of this trend on consumer contract litigation. Toward the end of the paper, I explore what this might mean going forward if the common law of unconscionability and good faith in consumer contracts are essentially frozen in time, and if mandatory arbitration results in fewer published decisions interpreting and applying consumer statutes.

Arbitrability and Choice of Law in Transfer of Technology Agreements Under Egyptian Law

This article analyses the mandatory provisions of Article 87 of the Egyptian Trade Law of 1999 concerning the arbitration of disputes on transfer of technology agreements, and attempts to shed light on this problematic topic of Egyptian law, particularly in light of the dearth of relevant Egyptian jurisprudence. This article demonstrates the contradiction between the Egyptian Supreme Constitutional Court’s view of the ‘mandatory’ nature of the Arbitration Provision of Article 87(1) and the plain language of the statutory provision, that is not synchronized with the current Egyptian Arbitration Law. Most importantly, the Supreme Constitutional Court’s judgment of 2007 is not yet finally conclusive with respect to the ‘mandatory’ nature of the arbitration provision, as it did not issue an interpretive decision. Absent the full legal consequences of an official interpretative decision by that Court, the Supreme Constitutional Court’s view should be considered obiter dictum, and parties should carefully consider pursuing the argument that the clear language of the statute dictates that they remain free to refer disputes related to transfer of technology agreements to arbitration with the seat of their choice, particularly in light of the ambiguities in the Egyptian Arbitration Law.

Clawback Provision of SOX, Financial Misstatements, and CEO Compensation Contracts

Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (hereafter, SOX), commonly known as the clawback provision, entitles the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sue the CEO and CFO in an attempt to recover their incentive compensation based on misstated financial reports. Although a stream of literature investigates the effects of voluntary firm-initiated clawback provisions, this study explores the effects of the mandatory SOX clawback provision on the likelihood of financial misstatements and CEO compensation. We find a significant decrease in the association between CEO in-the-money option value and the likelihood of a financial misstatement surrounding SOX, suggesting the SOX clawback provision has been effective in reducing financial misstatements arising from CEO in-the-money stock options. To examine the effects of the SOX clawback provision on CEO compensation, we identify a set of misstatement firms with a high restatement likelihood where the CEOs are most likely concerned with the impact of the SOX clawback provision on their compensation. We find that compared with control firms, these misstatement firms with a high restatement likelihood where the CEO is the chair of the board exhibit an increase in CEO salaries between the pre- and post-SOX periods, suggesting that in the post-SOX period, powerful CEOs are able to receive higher salaries which are not subject to the SOX clawback provision.

An examination of outlaw motorcycle gangs and their involvement in the illicit drug market and the effectiveness of anti-association legislative responses

BackgroundIn 2013 the Queensland Government introduced criminal association and mandatory sentencing laws for members of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs). Forms of “criminal association” or “anti-bikie” laws have been introduced in several Australian jurisdictions, and recent High Court decisions upholding their constitutionality will ensure that they remain part of our justice landscape.Generally, the aims of these laws are to declare a specific organisation as “criminal” and impose various legal orders and offences that thwart the consorting of members and address organised crime, such as unexplained wealth regimes. There have been significant criticisms of these styles of association laws both here and internationally. The aim of this research is to show the extent of involvement of OMCGs in the drug trade and associated organised crime activity, and whether anti-association laws are an effective response to this type of organised criminal activity. MethodsThis paper relied on six years of data outlining the criminal activity of OMCGs from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) obtained under the legislative framework of The Queensland Right to Information Act (RTI) 2009. Information obtained from the Queensland Commission into Organised Crime (2015) and Queensland Taskforce into organised crime legislation (2015) was also used. ResultsThe data suggest that the role of OMCGs in the drug market has been overstated and is not as dominant as has been portrayed by government agencies and the popular media. Generally, OMCGs account for less than one percent of organised crime type activity. This is also true for drug type offences where OMCGs are responsible for less than one percent of offences. The findings show that the Queensland example has highlighted the ineffectiveness of the criminal association laws and the mandatory sentencing provisions in that they have had little impact on drug market activity and little success in the courts. ConclusionThe analysis presented here is twofold: an examination of the legal ramifications and an evaluation of the investigative utility of such laws from a policy evaluation standpoint. In both cases, there is little evidence to suggest that these laws are an effective or appropriate response.

Underwriters' allocation with and without discretionary power: Evidence from the Hong Kong IPO market

This study uses a unique and extensive data set from the Hong Kong IPO market to examine the theory of adverse selection under two distinct regulatory regimes in relation to underwriters' discretionary power in IPO share allocation. Consistent with Rock's (1986) theory of adverse selection in the IPO market, we show that, prior to the introduction of the clawback provision; retail (uninformed) investors were allocated more of the overpriced offerings and less of the underpriced issues. However, after the provision is implemented, retail investors have been allocated significantly more of the underpriced offerings and less of the overpriced ones. Overall, we find that allocation-adjusted initial returns for the retail investors are lower (higher) than the risk-free rate pre- (post-) clawback provision. These findings imply that the mandatory clawback provision has enhanced the fairness in IPO share allocations among different investor groups and has reduced the winner's curse in the IPO market.

ВИЗНАЧЕННЯ ПРАВА ЗАСТОСОВНОГО ДО СУТІ СПОРУ СКЛАДОМ АРБІТРАЖУ ПРИ ВИРІШЕННІ МІЖНАРОДНИХ КОМЕРЦІЙНИХ СПОРІВ

The article examines the main approaches to the determination by the arbitral tribunal, in the absence of a choice of parties, of a substantive law applicable to the merits of a dispute, when resolving disputes in international commercial arbitration. It is noted that the three fundamental approaches to the establishment by the arbitral tribunal of the law applicable to the merits of the dispute include: 1) the application by the arbitrators of the principle of the closest connection; 2) recourse to conflict-of-laws rules that the arbitral tribunal considers applicable (indirect approach, voie indirecte) 3) granting arbitrators the right to directly establish and apply substantive law without resorting to any conflict-of-laws or rules (the so-called voie directe or direct approach). It is summarized that all of the above approaches are aimed at ensuring the compliance of the applicable substantive law established by the arbitral tribunal with the substance of the dispute and the subject of the contract, especially the first two related to conflict of laws – both with a specific reference to law, which has the closest connections with legal relations, and with the ability of the arbitrators to refer to other conflict-of-laws rules that it deems applicable. The difference concerning the third of the approaches, voie directe or direct choice of the applicable law, lies in the greater degree of freedom of the arbitrators in this matter, since the obligation of the arbitral tribunal to refer to the conflict of laws rules of a certain national system of private international law or transnational conflict of laws is generally eliminated. The author claims that the arbitral tribunal, depending on the approach adopted in the country of place of arbitration, whose mandatory provisions determine the procedure for the arbitrators to establish the applicable substantive law in the absence of a choice of parties, and the rules enshrined in the arbitration rules of the relevant institution, can either independently establish such a right (direct approach) or turn first to the definition of applicable conflict of laws rules, according to which the choice of substantive law will be made (indirect approach). Such conflict-of-laws links, as a rule, include: the principle of the closest connection, the country of the place of performance of the contract, the country of location of the party that must carry out significant performance, etc.

El origen normativo de los servicios municipales de prestación obligatoria. Antiguo régimen y primer constitucionalismo = The normative origin of the municipal publics utilities of mandatory provision. Ancient regime and first constitutionalism

We are witnesses of a time of a vertiginous change about traditional concepts of administrative law, like public utilities, in its material and subjective aceptance. Deserve to review, in the midts of such uncertainty, how publics utilities so relevant to the development worthy of human life, like municipal publics utilities of mandatory provision (art. 26 LRBRL), remain largely unchanged in the area of municipal attributions, since the irst constitutionalism. Without doubt, of this permanence its follows the undoubted secular utility of our municipal institutions to meet the collective needs. Among all mandatory services we analyze the origin of three that we consider particularly emblematic: water supply to populations, urban solid waste collection service, and urban collective transport.

The Value Implications of Mandatory Clawback Provisions

Performance-based compensation can give managers an incentive to misreport financial information. This incentive can be mitigated by requiring the recoupment of erroneously awarded performance-based compensation from executives, which is known as a clawback provision. We study the value implications of having a clawback provision by examining the stock market’s reaction to the SEC’s announcement of proposed Rule 10D-1 that mandates clawback provisions. We find that relative to firms that had voluntarily adopted a clawback provision prior to the SEC’s announcement, firms that did not have a clawback provision experienced positive abnormal returns, suggesting that clawback provisions are value-enhancing. Furthermore, the announcement had the greatest positive impact on firms without a clawback with more powerful managers. Our findings suggest that clawbacks create a valuable disincentive to misreport information, but that despite this, powerful managers may resist their adoption, which is why regulation mandating clawbacks may be necessary.

Legitimisation of the Principle of Party Autonomy from an ASEAN Perspective: Contractual and Non-Contractual Obligations

The ASEAN Community has gradually developed its Private International Law (PIL) at both national and regional levels. The significance of this development has been the subject of much debate by most, if not all, legislators, enforcers and scholars, among others, since the substantive agreements of the ASEAN Economic Community were enforced by Member States in 2015, thereby fostering regional trade and investment to a greater degree. A role of the PIL is to facilitate the economic flows by securing transactions and activities of private actors through the use of certain methodologies and principles. One of the most acclaimed of these principles, the Principle of Party Autonomy, has undergone a striking development in recent decades, especially outside the region (EU and US), and while this has provoked dialogue among scholars, it has had little effect on the region’s policy-makers and legislators, despite being consolidated into the prevailing Principle of contractual and non-contractual obligations in the Asian Principles of Private International Law (APPIL). It is humbly admitted that the adoption of this Principle entails some major challenges, including the preoccupation with sovereignty impairment, and the doctrinal and technical limitations in the PIL systems in ASEAN countries, among others. Since both of these concepts are currently widespread in Southeast Asia, the legitimisation of the Principle should be considered from an ASEAN perspective, which is driven by the common values and overarching rules in the region, before abruptly adopting it in national vis-a-vis regional systems; yet, the analyses on the subject are narrowed to contractual and non-contractual obligations. The parameters used in this study are the relevant principles of regional economic law and human rights law, which provide the basis for justifying aspects of this Principle at both regional and national levels. Although regional economic law and human rights law approaches may be invoked elsewhere, namely in European PIL treatises, the findings of this paper appear to indicate that there are specific deviations in the ASEAN Community. In this case, the common values and policies, as well as the common legal traditions, need to be explained, which involves an examination of certain dimensions of the Principle, including, but not limited to, the necessary connection between the chosen law and the state, the application of internationally mandatory provisions, the sanction of ordre public, and the special protection of a weaker party, which are briefly discussed in the paper. Possible ways to adapt and adjust the legal systems and configure the Principle itself are proposed, where necessary. Moreover, the study also includes certain selected jurisdictions that use a PIL system, which is more tangible and concrete than that of most ASEAN countries, and which represents particular regimes. The former group includes Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and the latter, the Philippines.

Who Would Use the Common European Sales Law? An Empirical Analysis of Cross-Border Consumer Contracts in the European Internal Market

On October 11th 2011 the European Commission proposed a Common European Sales Law (CESL) for the European Union. One of the main aims of this optional instrument is to help businesses to avoid the complexity associated with dealing with multiple mandatory provisions of their customers’ home jurisdictions. In this study I used one of the datasets published by the European Commission to predict the characteristics of businesses that would have benefited from the introduction of the CESL. I also test whether the CESL would be an effective measure for addressing some of the legal barriers that the Commission intends to overcome. My results provide support for the Commission’s claim that the adoption of a Common European Sales Law would benefit some businesses and that it would allow them to improve their operations on the European internal market. However, the CESL may not be effective as a measure for overcoming all of the legal barriers that the Commission intended to address with its proposal.

Reflecting sustainability in property valuation – a progress report

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a survey conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to discuss the extent to which qualified valuers have adapted their valuation practices in the light of guidance published by RICS in respect of sustainability and commercial property. The findings are placed within a wider debate between assessment of market value and investment value (worth).Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a theoretical discussion incorporating the results from an empirical survey of valuation practitioners.FindingsThe paper reveals that guidance published by RICS in 2011 has achieved limited, but variable, impact in terms of impacting on valuation practice due to a combination of factors including lack of knowledge of the guidance, non-requirement of clients to request sustainability reporting within valuations, paucity of data. It found that where worth (investment value) is required, sustainability factors are more likely to impact the calculation than where an estimate of market value is prepared. The paper identifies theoretical problems and practical barriers hindering an integration of sustainability aspects into valuation practice.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical work was conducted prior to the embedding of guidance within the mandatory provisions of the “Red Book”; the study therefore reports on a direction of travel rather than the current position. The implications for research are the requirement to enhance data capture and to seek ways to break down the barriers to more comprehensive integration of such data so that worth and market values may begin to converge.Practical implicationsThe paper has practical implications for both the education of valuers which is proposed through the RenoValue project discussed in the paper and for the RICS in monitoring progress towards more specific integration within valuers’ calculations. Further, the paper identifies that clients and lenders have a key role to play through the instructions given to valuers.Social implicationsThere is now widespread recognition that properties which are not resource efficient and which are not equipped to flex to changing occupier needs may not currently be “future proofed” in investment value terms and are likely to see value erosion over time. Further, buildings have a key role in terms of climate change policy. Whilst new buildings can be mandated to meet improved efficiency standards, the ways in which buildings owners can be encouraged to upgrade will be important moving forward. One way is through a value chain response.Originality/valueThe survey is the most comprehensive investigation of valuer’s practice in relation to sustainability and the assessment of market value and worth undertaken. This provides a unique insight into the effectiveness of professional guidance and enables an informed discussion as to appropriate ways to enhance guidance moving forward.

Study of potential nonconformities of a new recreation center building's envelope

This article presents a building envelope's analysis in order to verify the compliance with mandatory provisions of the Model National Energy Code for Buildings in Canada (MNECB 1997). Because some of the requirements are «not met», investigations were carried out to provide justifications in order to prove that the building can be considered as an exception to the mandatory provisions of MNECB. Therefore, we evaluate the impact of three (3) potential nonconformities of the building's walls on the building energy performance. In regards to article 3.1.1.1.4 of MNECB, there is an exception if it can be proved that permanent process (like heat recovery of refrigeration compressors) can produce at all times enough heat that no other heating source is required. First of all, by using simulation, we were able to indicate that almost all building's heating will be provided by energy recovery from ice rinks refrigeration systems (99.2%). Secondly, by using an energy analysis carried out with HEAT2 software, we can show that the increase of heating energy demand caused by the 3 studied walls is very low. This represents an increase of the heating energy demand of only 0.2%, and this, regardless of the heat recovery process. Because the nonconforming wall sections are small (0.97% of the envelope area), this mainly explains the minor impact in terms of building performance. In conclusion, according to the results obtained, we were able to recommend the building for consideration as an exception to the mandatory provisions of MNECB.