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Article
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Robin Shura, Elle Rochford and Brian K Gran

Intercountry adoptions (hereafter ICAs) in the USA are a form of sale of children. According to international policy, sale of children is an illicit social practice that involves…

Abstract

Purpose

Intercountry adoptions (hereafter ICAs) in the USA are a form of sale of children. According to international policy, sale of children is an illicit social practice that involves improper financial gains by at least one party. Sale of children is a threat to legitimate ICA. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the policy and practice of ICAs in the USA, including pricing arrangements, demonstrate that US ICAs, which can have humanitarian aims and be legitimate forms of family development, comprise sale of children.

Design/methodology/approach

Internet searches and e-mail inquiries were used to obtain ICA cost data for a randomised sample of 10 per cent of the agencies in the USA that facilitate ICAs.

Findings

Cost information was obtained from only 25 per cent of the sample, suggesting lack of transparency in and available information about monetary costs of US ICAs. A range of US$12,000 to $40,000 suggests that US ICAs are expensive and costs vary. Large, undisclosed fees in the form of “required donations”, agency fees, and extensive foreign travel requirements imply third party economic gains are made through US ICA transactions.

Practical implications

US ICA agencies should disclose costs and employ transparent practices. US policies regulating ICAs should be clarified and strengthened. The US Government should ratify, implement, and enforce major children’s rights international policy standards.

Social implications

International demand for adopted children may encourage child trafficking, child laundering, and kidnapping for profit (see Smolin, 2005), putting children, adoptive families, and birth communities at risk of breaches of basic human rights.

Originality/value

No study has offered systematic analysis of monetary costs of US ICAs and linked this analysis to policy and legitimacy of social practices.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 36 no. 5/6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1994

PETER WILLIS

The paper seeks to address the problems facing securities regulators arising from the internationalisation of markets by considering the efficacy of three means of effecting…

Abstract

The paper seeks to address the problems facing securities regulators arising from the internationalisation of markets by considering the efficacy of three means of effecting international uniformity or harmonisation of the substantive rules of law for securities and their enforcement. These are multilateral arrangements, bilateral arrangements and mutual recognition and harmonisation of securities laws. In doing so, the paper examines a number of current arrangements for international cooperation on securities regulation and enforcement, in particular Australia's use of MOUs and its adaptation of the Corporations Law.

Details

Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1358-1988

Article
Publication date: 22 January 2024

Veltrice Tan

This paper aims to determine the adaptability of China’s legal system in recognizing and enforcing foreign judgements in China.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to determine the adaptability of China’s legal system in recognizing and enforcing foreign judgements in China.

Design/methodology/approach

Academic articles, case law and books are examined as are relevant reports by various regulatory authorities and organizations.

Findings

Historically, Chinese courts have strictly adhered to “de facto reciprocity”, which made it difficult for foreign judgements to be recognized and enforced in China. Fortunately, Chinese courts have since abandoned their rigid adherence to de facto reciprocity, and have instead, used flexible tests of reciprocity such as de jure reciprocity, reciprocal commitment and reciprocal understand/consensus. Accordingly, this would facilitate the recovery of stolen assets, as there is a lower threshold for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgement.

Research limitations/implications

There are limited data available in relation to the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements pertaining to the recovery of stolen assets. Any discussions within this paper are based on the impressionistic observations of this author, which may not reflect the true state of affairs within the Belt and Road Initiative.

Practical implications

Those who are interested in examining the viability in recognizing and enforcing foreign judgements relating to stolen assets will have an interest in this topic.

Originality/value

The value of the paper is to demonstrate the difficulties in recognizing and enforcing foreign judgements in China in relation to stolen assets.

Details

Journal of Financial Crime, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-0790

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 January 2009

Mika Purra

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of Global Electronic Commerce (GEC) on transnational regulatory governance and to suggest a novel way of understanding its

1008

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of Global Electronic Commerce (GEC) on transnational regulatory governance and to suggest a novel way of understanding its implications for national and transnational governance structures.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper has two components. The first part endeavours to establish a basis from which to observe regulatory governance of GEC and, in doing so, suggests a framework that draws together the relevant elements of transnational GEC governance. The second part examines the central determinants in shaping a functioning framework for GEC, namely, copyrights, data privacy protection and jurisdiction.

Findings

The findings are twofold. Owing to limitations deriving from institutional structural divergences; variations in cultural, political and commercial interests; and the relative power of non‐state actors, the cases first indicate how GEC has made multilateral negotiations between states more complex. Second, given the complexity of cross‐border governance and the variation in interests across its regulatory subsectors, GEC calls for an increasing degree of cultural harmonization across all regulatory subsectors.

Originality/value

In the absence of major views or paradigms, a novel approach to understanding the regulatory governance of GEC between states is a welcome addition to the study of transnational governance. Such an approach seeks to elucidate the impact of GEC on the development of transnational regulatory mechanisms, on the one hand, and the transformations that the governance of GEC imposes on transnational negotiation processes, on the other hand. It also seeks to understand how these underpinnings affect formation of holistic governance structures for GEC.

Details

info, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6697

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2005

Michel Veuthey

Within the context of an international conference dealing with global challenges, the Atlantic Community and the outlook for international order organized by Webster University

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Abstract

Purpose

Within the context of an international conference dealing with global challenges, the Atlantic Community and the outlook for international order organized by Webster University, Geneva (Switzerland), to propose an approach to strengthening the international order by reviving the global responsibility to abide by fundamental humanitarian rules.

Design/methodology/approach

The twentieth century presented a very disturbing catalog of violations of humanitarian law. In addressing the main question of the conference, namely “What are the true principles of international order today and do we need new rules and organizing principles in the future?”, the author tackles the issue from the international humanitarian law perspective and suggests various instruments (formal and informal) for enhancing the protection of human dignity.

Findings

A global responsibility to abide by fundamental humanitarian rules may be revived through positive law and judicial mechanisms, but also through a new respect for human life, a return to universal values found in all civilizations, religions and traditions, and through a new humanitarian order based on the core concept of humanity.

Originality/value

This paper suggests that it is through a combination of existing legal and humanitarian instruments, and not just one, that the international order can be strengthened.

Details

Foresight, vol. 7 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6689

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 October 2021

Blaine Stothard

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the history of relevant legislation before and after the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the history of relevant legislation before and after the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act (MDA).

Design/methodology/approach

A chronological narrative of laws and reports with concluding discussion.

Findings

That UK legislators have not made use of the evidence base available to them and have favoured enforcement rather than treatment approaches. That current UK practice has exacerbated not contain the use of and harms caused by illegal drugs.

Research limitations/implications

The paper does not cover all relevant documents, especially those from non-governmental sources.

Practical implications

The practical implications centre on the failure of consecutive governments to reflect on and review the impact of current legislation, especially on people who use drugs.

Social implications

That the situations of people who use drugs are currently ignored by the government and those proven responses which save lives and reduce harm are rejected.

Originality/value

The paper attempts to show the historical contexts of control and dangerousness of which the MDA is one instrument.

Details

Drugs and Alcohol Today, vol. 21 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1745-9265

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 9 August 2022

Carla Larouco Gomes

Despite the apparent philanthropic concerns of the new imperialism and the rhetoric of the civilising mission, the Second Boer War (1899–1902) revealed British irrational…

Abstract

Despite the apparent philanthropic concerns of the new imperialism and the rhetoric of the civilising mission, the Second Boer War (1899–1902) revealed British irrational ambition, military reverses, scandals and evidence of inadequate administration. In this context, the South African concentration camps where the Boers, mostly women and children whose houses and farms had been destroyed by the British forces, were concentrated, stand out as examples of a seemingly arbitrary power. The controversies over such camps, and over the War itself, were heightened after Emily Hobhouse's Report was made public. Emily Hobhouse, an active humanitarian, obtained permission to visit the camps in order to write a report on the living conditions there. Upon returning to England, she had a meeting with Campbell-Bannerman, the leader of the Liberal Party, who eventually denounced the methods of barbarism carried out in such places. The Report appeared soon after the meeting and waves of protest ensued. Both Emily Hobhouse and Campbell-Bannerman were under crossfire.

My intention in this paper is, firstly, to briefly address the social, political and economic context underlying British imperial expansion and struggle for space at the turn of the nineteenth century, as far as controversies over the Boer War are concerned; secondly, to study the characteristics and living conditions in South African ‘concentration camps’ relying, to a great extent, on Emily Hobhouse's account; and thirdly, to analyse the social and political impact of the denunciation of such camps as places of wholesale cruelty in Hobhouse's (in) famous Report.

Details

Moving Spaces and Places
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-226-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1997

Georgios I. Zekos

Bills of lading had been in use a long time before the first attempts for the standardisation of their terms occurred. Their utility as legal documents was recognised after they…

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Abstract

Bills of lading had been in use a long time before the first attempts for the standardisation of their terms occurred. Their utility as legal documents was recognised after they have been circulated and used in international trade for some time. More clauses purporting to absolve the carrier from liability were introduced in the content of the bill of lading . A formula for the establishment of minimum liability of the carrier was adopted by a series of conferences after the first world war, in order to stop the practice of contracting in ways which would unduly favour the carrier. The whole effort has resulted in the emergence of the international convention for the unification of certain rules relating to bills of lading 1924. In modern days this document started to be used as a register in the book of loading and after years of practice has established as a new document. A bill of lading is a fundamental and vital document of international trade and commerce, indispensable to the conduct and financing of business involving the sale and transportation of goods between parties located at a distance from one another. A bill of lading has commonly been said to have three characteristics : 1} a contract for the carriage of the goods 2} an acknowledgement of their receipt and 3} documentary evidence of title . However, there is an uncertainty and dispute about its contractual nature. The significance of the establishment of the contractual role of bills of lading based on the necessity that any contractual party should know the final terms of the contract upon which the terms of the International Conventions will be implied to. Contractual terms must not be different to these stated by the International Conventions. Is the bill of lading the contract of carriage upon which the terms of the International Conventions are implied to? In this first article it is proposed to investigate the contractual role of bills of lading as it has been perceived in the different international conventions. The analysis will be based mainly on arguments which have arisen from the content of the conventions themselves, than by investigating the national Acts which were introduced in order to implement the international conventions. Reference to other sources, such as court decisions or views of various scholars, will be made in case that there is a straight relation with the construe of the conventions themselves. The main scope is to find out how the international practice is reflected in the writing of the conventions. This article will be the first of a series of articles which will follow and where their contractual role under the Creek, United States and English law will be investigated.

Details

Managerial Law, vol. 39 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0558

Article
Publication date: 6 November 2017

Bryan L. Barreras, Barbara M. Goodstein and Kevin C. McDonald

To explain the Hague Securities Convention in the context of secured financing transactions in the US and to discuss the implications of the Convention on new and existing…

Abstract

Purpose

To explain the Hague Securities Convention in the context of secured financing transactions in the US and to discuss the implications of the Convention on new and existing transactions, as well as on market practice going forward.

Design/methodology/approach

This article provides a broad overview of the Hague Securities Convention and the impact of the Convention’s choice of law rules on secured financing transactions in the US involving intermediated securities, including how this deviates from previously applicable laws (such as the Uniform Commercial Code), and provides practical considerations with respect to secured financing transactions.

Findings

While in most circumstances the Convention provides for the same choice of law as previously applicable laws, there are certain scenarios where the Convention will produce a different result. Market practice with respect to perfecting security interests will likely change to take account of the Convention and to provide the parties with certainty regarding the law applicable to secured transactions.

Practical implications

The Convention calls for increased diligence with respect to the law governing the account agreement between the debtor and the securities intermediary and whether the securities intermediary has a qualifying office in that jurisdiction.

Originality/value

Practical guidance from experienced finance lawyers.

Details

Journal of Investment Compliance, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1528-5812

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 November 2020

Diana Rodriguez-Spahia and Rosemary Barberet

Cities have long been of interest to international development as well as to criminology. Historically, criminology as a social science emerged as a response to urbanisation and…

Abstract

Cities have long been of interest to international development as well as to criminology. Historically, criminology as a social science emerged as a response to urbanisation and the new opportunities created by cities for criminal activity and victimisation. Thus, Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11), which ‘aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’, is ripe for criminological input and analysis. SDG 11 tackles housing and basic services, transport systems, urban planning, cultural and natural heritage, disaster prevention, environmental impact, and safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces. There has been ample criminological research on crime and victimisation in various types of human settlements, on transport systems, on the looting and trafficking of cultural heritage, on crimes associated with natural disasters and on the importance of public leisure areas for crime prevention. Yet many of the above goals, as well as the recommendations emerging from these bodies of research, conflict with each other, and must be problematised in their aim to be inclusive of all. Women and children, the elderly and persons with disabilities are usually the reference groups for inclusion, but globally, there are many other groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, indigenous communities, and LGBTQI individuals that are commonly excluded. The chapter will analyse SDG 11 against the evidence base of urban criminology as well as the challenges for inclusion, given diversity both within-country as well as globally.

Details

The Emerald Handbook of Crime, Justice and Sustainable Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-355-5

Keywords

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