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The purpose of this paper is to use a stylised multi‐period model to describe the economic dynamics related to title risks and the implications of title insurance in the risk management decision process. Some fear that insofar as the quality of public records is concerned, the purchase of title insurance might induce a race to the bottom that would reduce the possibility to identify and correct title defects. This phenomenon is illustrated and the impact of different title risk management strategies and conditions under which recourse to lawyers is preferable to the purchase of title insurance are examined.

The main source of risk is the disparity between the characteristics of a property and what is written on its title. The choice of a title risk management strategy is modeled as the probability of hiring a lawyer versus that of buying insurance. Consistent with the literature, the deterioration of public records is made a function of the risk management decisions.

Results suggest that when public records are sound, the race to the bottom can be avoided and high title values maintained by adopting a risk management strategy based on recourse to lawyers; when public records are flawed, insurance companies may be in a better position than lawyers to maintain title values; switching back and forth from insurers to lawyers does not benefit title values.

The originality and the value of this paper is the study of title insurance which, while an important component of title risk management process, has received limited attention in the academic literature.

This paper aims to set out an argument for the use of blockchain technology as a land registration tool, for Cyprus and other disputed land contexts, to assist with land disputes, which may, in turn, promote peace and harmony.

The paper is exploratory in nature. It raises the historical and present land issues in Cyprus and highlights that blockchain technologies could work as a tool to record disputed property rights on the Island.

While there have been many pilots to date for blockchain land registration, there is still scope to develop blockchain as a tool to record land interests. Cyprus offers an exemplar opportunity to use such a tool to assist in developing peace on the Island.

While the paper is conceptual in its application of blockchain technologies, it is novel in that it strives to show how technologies such as blockchain can act as a tool to assist with land registration matters, which, in turn, can assist with new ways to approach the peace process. More research is necessary for this area of inquiry, especially as to how sidechains can act as a conduit for recording competing land interests and disputed land claims.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of disputed tax litigation risk on firm performance and stock return behavior using a sample of Indian listed firms.

The authors use disputed tax liability, reported as a contingent liability by the listed firms, as a proxy for the disputed tax litigation risk. To examine the impact of disputed tax litigation risk on firm performance (measured by accounting and market-based measures), the empirical approach used in this study focusses on the panel estimation technique. A portfolio-based approach using alternative asset pricing models examines the cross-sectional return variation because of the influence of disputed tax litigation risk.

The results of this study show a negative relationship between firm performance measures and disputed tax litigation risk. Cross-sectional test results reveal that higher disputed tax litigation risk is associated with higher expected returns.

This study focusses on disputed tax reported under the heading of contingent liability as a proxy for litigation risk. The study will help investors and portfolio managers to consider disputed tax litigation risk as an important parameter in the evaluation of firm performance. This study will also help regulators to get feedback on tax related policies and improve the dispute resolution process.

This study adds to the existing literature on the relationship between litigation risk and firm performance. In the context of emerging market, this study is the first-of-its-kind study, which focusses on disputed tax as a litigation risk proxy and examines its possible impact on firm performance and stock return behavior.

This paper aims to examine the remedies currently available in Ireland to resolve boundary disputes to assess the importance of the role played by adverse possession in this context. It also examines the potential impact of certain reforms in this area of law.

The research methodology is primarily doctrinal, although a comparative approach is adopted for the purposes of assessing whether certain lessons can be learned from recent reforms to the English law on adverse possession and the Australian approach to resolving boundary disputes, which relies heavily on mistaken improver and building encroachment legislation.

This paper demonstrates how the current law leaves certain mistaken improvers or encroachers on neighbouring land without a remedy, as they cannot rely on the doctrine of proprietary estoppel or adverse possession. If Ireland decides to replicate the English good faith requirement in relation to adverse possession of boundary land, the remedial vacuum facing these mistaken improvers or encroaching builders will become more pronounced. It is submitted that any such reform should be supplemented by the introduction of legislation akin to that operating in Australia which would facilitate the consideration of a broad range of factors and provide for flexible remedies to resolve such difficulties. It is also submitted that the legislation imposing such a good faith requirement should be carefully drafted to avoid the potential interpretative difficulties associated with the English reforms.

Boundary disputes are an unfortunate fact of life. The prevalence of boundary disputes and high costs associated with boundary litigation makes this review and critique of the current law and potential reforms highly relevant.

This study aims to investigate Australian civil tribunal decisions to ascertain compliance with decisional quality standards in Australian law, with a particular focus on strata and community title cases.

An orthodox doctrinal legal analysis and assessment of cases and tribunal policies was adopted. All Australian jurisdictions were surveyed, including federal, state and territory jurisdictions. The case law in each jurisdiction was screened to identify whether the principles applicable to decisional quality were engaged and then analysed as to the extent of that engagement.

Where a party presents a substantial, clearly particularised argument relying upon established facts, tribunals are obliged to address those facts and the arguments by way of an active intellectual process. However, appellate decisions disclose a degree of deference not often accorded to judicial officers, and there is a need for a more disciplined approach to ascertain whether any errors have been made by a tribunal lie on the critical path to the decision. As strata and community title disputes become more complex, the importance of decisional quality standards can only increase.

Up to date as of 1 March 2023.

The present position would appear to be that where a party presents a substantial, clearly particularised argument relying upon established facts, a tribunal must address its mind to those facts and the arguments by way of an active intellectual process. The requirement is limited to circumstances prescribed by a statute and factual and legal issues which are necessary to be determined in order for the tribunal to be satisfied as to circumstances prescribed by a statute. However, where the errors are not gross and plainly obvious, appeals from defective tribunal decisions are unlikely to succeed. There is a degree of deference not often accorded to judicial officers. That deference is unfortunate when tribunals are allocated jurisdiction over what quite often are significant property disputes.

The impact on community living of uncorrected poor quality tribunal decisions can be immense, depending on the degree of error. For example, water ingress into people’s homes might remain unremedied for many years, as, for example, occurred in the Marinko case.

The research and analysis is entirely original. A search of journals and textbooks did not identify any prior analysis, at least in the Australian context, relating to decisional quality standards of tribunals.

I begin with a dispute over a fox hunt, by which to understand the law of tangible property, then develop that metaphor for the major types of intellectual property. I start with domestic U.S. patent law for the sake of concreteness, and generalize to other jurisdictions and types of intellectual property. In the latter parts of the paper I discuss the international implications of intellectual property, including especially the effects of information spillovers. The last part of the paper describes the hazards in analogizing “trade” in intellectual property rights to trade in goods, and particularly in interpreting international patent data. These hazards motivate the search for a structural model specially adapted to the purpose of valuing international intellectual property rights and rules. The goal is to give economists a simple and integrated framework for analyzing intellectual property across time, jurisdiction and regime type, with an eye towards eventually developing other incentive systems that have the advantages of property (such as decentralized decision-making), but fewer of the disadvantages.

Northern Ghana still has vast supplies of undeveloped land, with enormous potential for commercial agriculture, agro‐industries, housing estates, shopping centres and hotels. Yet its regional economy remains weak. Ignoring the historical and colonial origins of the marginalization of the North generally, examines the tenurial issues and land management practices of the region and their implications for investment mobilization. The evidence suggests that the chequered history of land tenure not only resulted in social unrest and the displacement of helpless villagers, but also induced the destruction of invaluable investments, particularly in agriculture. To promote investments in the landed property sector more certain land tenure systems, secure and speedier land title documentation processes and improved management practices are required. For sustainable investments, however, tenurial security must of necessity be combined with improvements in technical and social infrastructure, financial support, widened markets and guaranteed prices, appropriate technology and environmental security. Government commitment and investment incentive packages, along with international financial and technical support should also facilitate the development process.

This book is a policy proposal aimed at the democratic left. It is concerned with gradual but radical reform of the socio‐economic system. An integrated policy of industrial and economic democracy, which centres around the establishment of a new sector of employee‐controlled enterprises, is presented. The proposal would retain the mix‐ed economy, but transform it into a much better “mixture”, with increased employee‐power in all sectors. While there is much of enduring value in our liberal western way of life, gross inequalities of wealth and power persist in our society.

This chapter appraised customary tenancy and Post COVID-19 agricultural development in Nigeria. In doing this, it discussed customary tenancy as an incident of customary tenure and the impact of Land Use Act 1978 in its evolutionary trend as a sustainable means of accessing land for long term agricultural business in Nigeria. The study made use of socio-legal research methodology involving doctrinal research method and an analysis of social context for information gathering. The primary source of law included the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered); the Land Use Act 1978 and related statutes as well as judicial precedents. The secondary sources included books, journal articles, conference proceedings, magazines, newspapers and the internet. The outcome of the study indicated that customary tenancy was a recognized method of accessing land for agriculture on long term basis among many ethnic groups in Nigeria, including but are not limited to Yoruba of Southwest and the Igbo of Southwest, Nigeria. That the method was predominantly used for agricultural purposes, and in agricultural communities. Third, that the Land Use Act 1978 did not stop the customary land practice, but rather recognized and encouraged its use through customary right of occupancy. Fourth, customary tenancy was found to have promoted access to land resources and reduction of tension and bitter acrimonies which could have been attendant to request for land resources in rural communities. It was recommended that efforts should be made by Governors who are trustees under the LUA to use their powers in the interest of the people and that reforms be undertaken to resolve latent contradictions in the Act. It was concluded that customary tenancy should be harnessed for sustainable Post COVID – 19 land use in Nigeria.