This title was first published in 2000: The book will be a set of essays addressing various aspects of regulation. It will concentrate on regulation as a precondition of successfully operating markets - by opening up markets and establishing conditions of trust. It will cover a broad range of varied forms of regulation. The book will respond to recent developments, for example, the shift from deregulation to better regulation will be explored. Most chapters will be written jointly by an academic and a legal practitioner (from the commercial solicitors firm of Shepherd and Wedderburn), thus ensuring an integration of theoretical analysis with practical problems.

This book presents the first in-depth analysis of the export of the EU electricity acquis, through the imposition of an EU-type regional electricity market (REM) in SEE within the enlargement process. Among other germane issues, the author discusses the following: the suitability of the European model of electricity markets’ liberalization for economies in transition; the use of the Public Services Obligations (PSO) to address the impact of electricity markets liberalization; the use of regulated prices and measures for granting priority rights for cross-border capacity allocation as PSOs; the Court of Justice judgement in Federutility on the sustainability of states’ protection of their different types of customers, including the large businesses; the Energy Community as a step towards a Pan-European Energy Community; the effect of simultaneous national electricity markets liberalization and cross-border regional integration of national electricity markets; and, the interplay between liberalization policy and reforms and the regulatory tools available to address their impact on provision of public services. The author’s proposed rethinking of the public services obligation offers new views on using this tool more effectively and proposes possibilities for its practical implementation through measures such as energy efficiency, allocation of interconnectors’ capacity, transparency, addressing the affordability issue and the protection of vulnerable customers. The book is remarkable for its clear analysis of the policy lessons arising from the export of the idea of liberalized energy markets, and will be welcomed by practitioners, officials, academics and others in energy law and policy for its informative and forward-looking overview of the national and cross-border reforms in the Energy Community framework.

The main aims of this thesis are as follows:(a) To present a comprehensive analysis of the concept of privatisation its origins and limits, (b) To identify the legal and institutional framework for privatisation in different European countries from a comparative perspective; (c) To define and analyse particularly legal issues which arise during the privatisation transactions: e.g. labour law, competition law etc.; (d) To evaluate which features of the successful legal and organisational framework of privatisation have been successful so as to provide guidelines for those individuals and organisations participating in the privatisation exercises.This work found out that there is no simple, internationally applicable recipe for privatisation; various legal methods and techniques can be used to privatise state owned enterprises. Because each country has different circumstances, it is impossible to provide a unique model for privatisation; each country needs to design its own model according to its circumstances.Privatisation is an essential but insufficient element for structural economic reform in the economy and society. Privatisation is not a panacea, it is not the solution to every economic and administrative problem; selling an enterprise to the private sector does not mean an end to all problems. Also privatisation is not an overnight process or a magic touch; it will be a lengthy process. Furthermore, a decision that something can be privatised does not mean that it should be privatised.In that context, privatisation is not good or bad; it is an economic and social instrument. If it is well designed it may bring substantial benefits to the economy and society.In many countries, many state owned enterprises, particularly the ones which are financially weak, have still not been privatised. This finding revealed that the privatisation process will be in the political and economic agenda for at least few more decades.

Now that the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 has had a chance to bed itself down and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is developing its new regulatory toolkit and modus operandi, financial regulation has moved on in interesting directions. This book takes a critical look at the principles and practices behind this regulation, as well as the theory that is involved. This book goes further than a description of the laws that are currently out there, by analysing the impact and implications of the new financial regulations, making it a ’must-read’ for law, finance and accounting practitioners. Coverage includes: Regulation and compliance; disclosure risk and regulation and stakeholders in financial regulation.

Provides a review of regulatory reforms in developing countries, with a particular focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the 'best practice' model of reform, the significance of institutions of regulatory governance, and the impact of post-privatisation governance on development and poverty reduction agendas.

In a world of fast moving, social, economic and technological change, it is difficult to give an accurate forecast of demographic developments and their subsequent impact on employment and the labour market. This voulme discusses the extent of demographic trends taking into account the three main factors that effect population (birth, death and migration), and putting forward ideas on how governments may deal with the changing employment environment.

Consumer protection law in the age of globalisation poses new challenges for policy-makers. This book highlights the difficulties of framing regulatory responses to the problem of consumers' access to justice in the new international economy. The growth of international consumer transactions in the wake of technological change and the globalisation of markets suggests that governments can no longer develop consumer protection law in isolation from the international legal arena. Leading scholars consider the broader theme of access to justice from socio-legal, law and economics perspectives. Topics include standard form contracts, the legal challenges posed by mass infections (such as mad-cow disease and CJD), ombudsman schemes, class actions, alternative dispute resolution, consumer bankruptcy, conflict of laws, and cross-border transactions. This book demonstrates that advancing and achieving access to justice for consumers proves to be a challenging, and sometimes elusive, task.

More than 1.3 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity. Although extension of the electricity grid remains the preferred mode of electrification, off-grid electrification can offer a solution to such cases. Rural Electrification through Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries provides a review of rural electrification experiences with an emphasis on off-grid electrification and presents business-related aspects including participatory arrangements, financing, and regulatory governance. Organized in three parts, Rural Electrification through Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries provides comprehensive coverage and state-of-the art reviews which appraise the reader of the latest trend in the thinking. The first part presents the background information on electricity access, discusses the developmental implications of lack of electricity infrastructure and provides a review of alternative off-grid technologies. The second part presents a review of experiences from various regions (South Asia, China, Africa, South East Asia and South America). Finally, the third part deals with business dimensions and covers participatory business models, funding challenges for electrification and regulatory and governance issues. Based on the research carried out under the EPSRC/ DfID funded research grant for off-grid electrification in South Asia, Rural Electrification through Decentralised Off-grid Systems in Developing Countries provides a multi-disciplinary perspective of the rural electrification challenge through off-grid systems. Providing a practical introduction for students, this is also a key reference for engineers and governing bodies working with off-grid electrification.

Since the 1990s, government at all levels is under increasing pressure to do more with less. However, despite the U.S. government spending about 15 to 20 percent of its GDP on contracts for goods and services, there is a paucity of reference books for public procurement officials and very few textbooks for courses on the subject. Filling this void, the International Handbook of Public Procurement provides the knowledge necessary to understand how procurement works and how to improve the cost-effectiveness of procurement systems. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the book focuses on the managerial, economic, political, and legal aspects of this topic. It begins with a conceptual framework and highlights various reforms occurring in certain countries. By examining these improvements, readers are able to apply this knowledge to their own strategies. The next section presents selected cases that illustrate the public procurement process, examining systems in various nations including Germany, China, South Africa, Cambodia, Uganda, and Estonia. The book also discusses the rise of electronic procurement systems (E-procurement) and reviews the benefits of these efficient systems. Other topics presented in this comprehensive volume include practical discussions on contract negotiations, bidding, price strategies and cost analysis, and an insightful chapter on the market’s response to contract award announcements. A virtual encyclopedia from numerous international experts, this book was assembled by Khi V. Thai, Professor at Florida Atlantic University and Editor of the Journal of Public Procurement. Dr. Thai has provided technical assistance in the area of public procurement to governments across the world. Empowering those on all sides of the issue, this volume dispenses advice valuable to government officials and contractors, as well as providing a comprehensive text for public administration students.

This book - one in the four-volume set, Global Governance and the Quest for Justice - focuses on human rights in the context of 'globalisation' together with the principle of 'respect for human rights and human dignity' viewed as one of the foundational commitments of a legitimate scheme of global governance. The first part of the book deals with the ways in which 'globalisation' impacts on established commitments to respect human rights. When human rights are set against, or alongside, potentially competing priorities, such as 'security' or 'economy' how well do they fare? Does it make any difference whether human rights commitments are expressed in dedicated free-standing instruments or incorporated as side-constraints (or 'collaterally') in larger multi-functional instruments? In this light, does it make sense to view a trade-centred community such as the EU as a prospective regional model for human rights? The second part of the book debates the coherence of a global order committed to respect for human rights and human dignity as one of its founding principles. If 'globalisation' aspires to export and spread respect for human rights, the thrust of the papers in this volume is that it could do better, that legitimate global governance demands that it does a great deal better, and that lawyers face a considerable challenge in developing a coherent jurisprudence of fundamental values as the basis for a just global order.