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The purpose of this chapter is to give an interpretation to the limits of Indonesia’s forestry policy through the sustainable development approach analyzing the crossroads between economic development and environmental sustainability. There is an expansion and intensification of industrial plantations such as palm oil, as part of the economic development strategy, which must coexist with ongoing efforts of conservation of forest resources in the pursuit of environmental sustainability, including policies such as the Forest Moratorium.

The study explores the influence of the economic development of the palm oil industry in the environmental sustainability of the Forest Moratorium during the period 2011–2014. A case study on the Forest Moratorium is presented analyzing the operativeness of sustainable development principles in the discourse and concrete actions of this specific policy.

The study evidences that there is a basic problem in Indonesia’s forestry policy and the sustainable development approach, not only because of its inherent contradictions, but also due to the flaws in its interpretation and implementation. It is necessary to rethink the sustainable development, its scopes and limitations, taking into consideration its hybridity, dynamism, and constant transformation. It is also necessary to consider the feasibility of a paradigm shift or a search for sustainable solutions based on other parameters. One way of doing it should include a more participatory approach with a joint work by the government, local communities, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and academia.

First, as this is a case study the findings are not generalizable; and second, the social dimension of sustainable development is not incorporated in its entirety, as this study focuses mainly on the economic and environmental dimensions.

The findings contribute to the discussion in the theoretical and public policy fields, on the crossroads between economic development and environmental sustainability in the international agenda for sustainable development.

The study allows capturing the discussion in a concrete case and learning from the experience of Indonesia, its institutional failures, and the causes of its environmental problems.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the announcement and no‐action letter of December 11, 2012 from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Division of Investment Management lifting the moratorium on the use of derivatives by actively managed exchange‐traded funds (ETFs) but continuing the moratorium on use of derivatives by leveraged ETFs.

The paper explains the background, including the moratorium that went into effect as the SEC conducted a review of the use of derivatives by mutual funds, ETFs and other investment companies; the lifting of the moratorium; two representations ETFs that propose to use derivatives must make in their exemptive applications to the SEC; the implications for ETFs that make those representations; and the next steps for ETFs currently in the exemptive applications process.

While it does not mean the end of the SEC staff's review of derivative usage by ETFs generally, the lifting of the moratorium is a welcome development that restores actively managed ETFs' ability to compete largely on an equal footing with other vehicles in many investment strategies.

While the representations do not appear to impose substantive new disclosure requirements for ETFs, the difficulty, if any, could be that these representations will now be required by the terms of the exemptive relief on which they rely for all their operations.

The paper provides practical advice from experienced financial services lawyers.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of the 2008 SEC short‐sell moratorium on regional bank risk and return. The paper also examines the decline in “failures to deliver” securities in the wake of SEC short‐sell moratorium.

In total, six regional bank portfolios are derived and the beta coefficients from a CAPM model are estimated using the integrated generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (IGARCH) method accounting for the short‐sell moratorium. Data on 110 regional banks in six US regions from January 2002 to December 30, 2011 are used to estimate the model.

The ban on naked short selling and the SEC short‐sell moratorium significantly increased individual bank risk for a majority of banks in six geographic regions, but also increased return in three of three regions. There was also reduced naked short selling as failures to deliver securities declined sharply after the September 2008 moratorium took effect.

Regional banks have generally not achieved the size needed to be deemed “too big to fail” by policy‐makers. Thus, policy changes such as the SEC short‐sell moratorium might be expected to have larger effects on regional banks than on larger banks, which might be shielded from the policy change by having achieved “too big to fail” status. The authors' results are consistent with research that has shown that short‐sell restrictions increase risk by reducing liquidity and trading volume.

This chapter looks at the approaches taken by Malaysian Islamic banks and the central Shariah body in assisting the financial consumers going through the COVID-19 pandemic economic distress in consequence of the Movement Control Order and the socially responsible investing (SRI) opportunity Malaysian government put up through the Sukuk Prihatin in order to rebuild the economy. It is found that through shariah principles of ta'awun (mutual assistance), Islamic finance, and with numerous Islamic jurisprudential approaches under the shariah could provide better solutions to overcome the economic hardship experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper showcases the approaches taken in Malaysia relying on the Islamic finance landscape in overcoming the financial hardship suffered by the financial consumers due to COVID-19 pandemic and in rebuilding the economic through a unique mutual assist opportunity.

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the new Bankruptcy Law in Saudi Arabia (KSA Bankruptcy Law) under both a comparative lens and a policy-oriented one, while highlighting some of the most essential operational steps and procedures in a bankruptcy proceeding under the law.

The approach adopted analyzes the specific mechanics and procedures of a bankruptcy law under the general policies and goals of bankruptcy. Additionally, where appropriate, a brief comparison to the US Bankruptcy code and its provisions is presented to provide an alternative approach on how similar issues are handled under a reputable and proven bankruptcy system.

Overall, the KSA Bankruptcy Law is a major accomplishment and advancement to the Kingdom’s insolvency regime. The law consolidated and codified the laws governing bankruptcy under the Kingdom’s prior regime, and followed the structure of a modern bankruptcy regime. In doing so, several of the law’s policies and objectives have been fulfilled by providing an effective, predictable and reliable bankruptcy system.

Given the relatively recent adoption of the KSA Bankruptcy Law, the paper provides a comprehensive assessment of the law’s operation and its effectiveness in achieving its policy goals as a modern bankruptcy law.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an updated and critical assessment of the share reforms relevant to Chinese A‐share issuers listed in the two mainland markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen. The reform programme first began in 2005 and has now spread widely across issuers in the two markets. It is therefore timely to assess how effective the reforms have been as well as gauging the ongoing effects of the transformation (of non‐tradable scrip into tradable form) on A‐share prices.

The “Split Share Structure” reform programme represents a major policy initiative in China and potentially opens‐the‐door to large‐scale state‐share disposals. The evidence to date however suggests that the Chinese authorities are primarily concerned with the reconfiguration of the array of share types that presently exist into a more comprehendible, streamlined form. The various checks and balances imposed on controlling shareholders engaged in the transformation of their shares from non‐tradable to tradable form suggest that eventual re‐designation of the holdings into an unfettered tradable type will not necessarily translate to the state's acquiescence in the disposal of such shares. On the contrary, state holdings in the most strategic of assets are likely to be retained more or less intact. Insights are developed by focusing on examples involving major A‐share issuers. In particular, a case study of the Sinopec reform proposal of August/September 2006 is set out to help illuminate the principal features of the reform package. Critical examination of the empirical literature relating to the A‐share price effects of the share reform programme also features.

There is little evidence to date of significant stock disposals amongst the largest and most strategic of China's issuers. However, for a number of A‐listed issuers, parts of the lock‐up moratoria have already expired or are set to do so in the very near future. Given the precipitous fall in A‐share prices (in Shanghai and Shenzhen) since late 2007, largely wrought by the enveloping global credit‐crunch, the Chinese authorities have an even more compelling case than hitherto to assiduously dampen fears of large‐scale state‐share disposals. Notwithstanding this, at least a small part of the drop in A‐share values during 2008 derives from the building risk‐premium on this issue.

As the trading moratoria on re‐designated shares still applies in most cases, at least in respect of the majority of domestic stock holdings, a clearer picture will not emerge until 2009‐2011 when all such moratoria would have lapsed.

The discussions in this paper help to bring into focus a highly topical issue within the context of the Chinese equity market.

Is the death penalty dying? This autobiographical essay offers observations on the application of capital punishment in three very different legal jurisdictions at three different time periods when – partially by happenstance and partially by design – she was a homicide researcher, a participant and an observer of profound changes in the jurisdiction's application of the death penalty.

In the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s, the abolition of capital punishment was virtually unthinkable. However, a new form of abolitionism – which I call Rule of Law abolitionism – has raised the hopes of death penalty opponents. In this chapter, I elucidate the logic of the Rule of Law abolitionist argument, distinguishing it from its more familiar doctrinal and moral variants. I then assess its strengths and weaknesses. On the basis of this critique, I indicate the route Rule of Law abolitionism must travel to bring about the demise of the death penalty.

Kenya is vulnerable to trade-based and other forms of money laundering. Banks are prime targets for money launderers since they can facilitate the processes of placement, layering and re-integration. Consequently, banks are key in fulfilment of the prohibitory and preventative anti-money laundering (AML) strategies. In executing these obligations, the potential for clashes between the bank following the law and obeying its contractual duties to the client arises. Hence, this paper aims to examine these potential conflicts of interests.

The examination is based on reviewing relevant literature, case law and analysing the Proceeds of Crime and AML Act and its attendant regulations. These form the core of the AML regime imposing obligations on banks.

The analysis indicates the provisions are robust and can assist in addressing money laundering risks faced by banks. Nonetheless, there are identified gaps since the primary AML legislation does not provide guidance on various issues. This can potentially lead to banks facing litigation from customers for failure to honour its duty of secrecy and customer’s instructions.

The paper seeks to make a practical and scholarly contribution in considering the issue and possibly filling this gap through advocating for statutory amendment. Subsequently, positive review of the law will help strike a balance between interference in the banker-customer contractual relationship and facilitation of banks fulfilling their prohibitory and enforcement of AML obligations.

The technological progress has made it possible to transform a physical good into a digital one. This development has influenced international trade and a large volume of these digitisable items are increasingly crossing national boundaries. Goods like books, music and games which were earlier traded physically are now traded online. Digitalisation is reducing the cost of engaging in international trade, connecting businesses and consumers globally, helping to diffuse ideas and technologies and facilitating the coordination of global value chains. The emerging avenues of trade and its format supplemented with fast and ever-changing technology have posed a serious challenge for the policymakers around the world. Policymakers are grappling with several issues regarding digital trade for quite a long time but failed to provide any solution. Institutions like WTO and OECD are also seized with this matter. Yet, we do not have any correct assessment of the potential volume of digital trade. Second, due to the moratorium signed in WTO countries are unable to impose any duty of digital trade. South Asian region which is a net importer of these items loses a huge amount of revenue. Hence, in this study, we make an attempt to assess the potential volume of digital trade in South Asia. The study further tries to estimate the possible loss of tax revenue incurred by this region during the last decade. For both South Asia and India the results for actual import figure are found to be less than the estimated value. A gap of around US$1 billion was found between the actual and estimated import of India, while for South Asia it was the US$ 7 billion.

For estimation, the study largely follows Banga (2019) and extends the methodology further to estimate the tariff revenue loss. Following Banga (2019) the study identifies a list of goods that can be traded in both digitally or physically. In other words, a list of digitisable goods is prepared. Then their import by the South Asian region is measured. Then we examine the tariffs imposed by the individual South Asian countries on the physical trade of these items. The estimation is done by projecting the value of the global physical imports of digitisable products from 2011 to 2017 would have been without digitalisation and what the actual global imports are with digitalisation in this period. The difference between the two gives estimates of total digital imports by the region. The total physical imports of digitisable products in the period 2011–2017 are estimated applying the cumulative growth rate (CAGR) of regional imports of these products over the period 1998–2010. The difference between the estimated physical imports and the actual physical imports provides the estimates of digital imports. Finally, the summation of the tariffs for each of the items gives us the possible figure that the countries are losing by not imposing customs duties.

The study finds globally an estimated value of digitise items to be US$246 billion which is around the US$100 billion higher than the actual value of $147 billion during 2017. For both South Asian region and India estimated import is found to be higher than the actual value. The study estimated an import of $1 billion and $7 billion took place during 2017 in India and South Asia respectively.

Digital trade is undoubtedly one of the highest debated topics in international trade forums. Experts from both academic and corporate discourse are seized with this matter. Policymakers around the globe are poised with this issue to develop a comprehensive policy framework which facilitates the growth of the sector and at the same time safeguard the interest of the stakeholders. South Asian nations like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan are also grappling with this. In this background, it becomes utmost important to estimate the loss that they are incurring to take an informed policy decision.