Trade law Part 25

BILATERAL WTO-PLUS FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: A CASE STUDY OF OFTA IN THE POST TRIPS ERA
Mohammed R. Hassanein
Wake Forest Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law
Volume 8, Number 2, Summer 2008 p.161

This article explores the current state of intellectual property law in the Middle East and the effects of free trade agreements on domestic laws and regulations in the region. The article begins by depicting the protection of IP in Islamic law, with an emphasis on recent developments in Oman. In Part II, the article articulates the importance of international IP rights and analyzes the effects of exporting U.S. trade policies overseas. Part III gives a brief history of OFTA, the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement, and highlights political and economic concerns arising out of the agreement. Finally, Part IV analyzes the interaction of international and domestic law as it relates to Oman; and offers recommendations on how Oman can benefit from its commitment to OFTA, offering a template for other developing nations to follow in enacting and establishing their own IP protection.

A dollar in the hand: Assessing penalties for contraventions of Part IV of the Trade Practices Act
Peta Stevenson, Dana Stewart and Andrew Floro
Trade Practices Law Journal
Volume 16, Number 3, September 2008 p.203

The increased maximum penalties and introduction of a new formula for setting penalties under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) call for a consideration as to how these changes will be applied in practice. This article discusses the approach of courts in Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and the United States to setting penalties for competition law infringements, and reflects on the importance of determining the maximum penalty under the new Australian penalties regime.

DROIT DU COMMERCE INTERNATIONAL ET DE LA CONCURRENCE/ INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND COMPETITION LAW
International Business Law Journal
Number 2, 2008

Gehring, Markus W./Hepburn, Jarrod/Cordonier Segger, Marie-Claire: World Trade law in Practice
Kaseberg
Heidelberg Journal of International Law
Volume 68, Number 1, 2008 p.285

Criminalising serious cartel conduct: Issues of law and policy
Caron Beaton-Wells and Brent Fisse
Australian Business Law Review
Volume 36, Number 3, June 2008 p.166

In January 2008 the government released an Exposure Draft Bill and associated materials relating to the long-promised introduction of criminal penalties for serious cartel conduct in Australia. These materials reflect the work of the previous government and are not endorsed necessarily by the new government. If enacted in the form released for public comment, the legislation would be the most significant reform of cartel regulation, if not competition regulation generally, since the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) was introduced. The Exposure Draft Bill proposes not only to criminalise certain forms of collusion (with consequences for immunity policy, investigatory powers, corporate liability, concurrent proceedings, mode of trials and many other aspects of enforcement) but also to broaden substantially, and controversially, the scope of the civil prohibitions against arrangements between competitors. These reforms would involve a major shift in competition policy and approach to regulatory enforcement and would have important practical consequences for the Australian business sector and its advisors, as well as for the agencies charged with administering the new regime and the judiciary. In addition to their national impact, the reforms would have international significance given the recent campaign of regulators world-wide to combat cartel activity with harsher penalties and greater co-operation between foreign agencies. The Exposure Draft Bill contains numerous amendments to the Trade Practices Act. The proposed amendments are far-reaching – they touch on every aspect of the law, policy and practice relating to cartel regulation in Australia. Many are complex. Several are highly controversial. Some are surprising because they go far beyond the proposals foreshadowed by the Report of the Dawson Committee in 2003 and the former Treasurer’s Press Release in 2005. Few would dispute the merits of criminalising serious cartel conduct in principle. However, the specific means of implementation proposed in the Exposure Draft Materials raise many questions. This article outlines the key features of the Exposure Draft Materials and provides a basic explanation of the proposed amendments. It draws attention to the main legal and policy issues and highlights areas in which changes should be made or further work needs to be done. Finally, it identities and makes recommendations regarding the options for the government and Treasury going forward. The authors urge the government to tackle at least the most serious issues identified in their analysis in order to make the new law work.

The World Trade Organization: Law Economics and Politics. By BERNARD M. HOEKMAN and PETROS C. MAVROIDIS
David Collins
Journal of International Economic Law
Volume 11, Number 3, September 2008 p.702-704

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

International trade law Part 25, Trade law.