Legal Convergence Asia

09/12/2015

Intellectual Property laws affect our society more each day, from downloading mp3s to the sale of live-saving AIDS drugs. In effect, IP is an intense balancing act between consumer rights and rewarding innovation. No wonder that it is an extremely polarized debate.

But if we are going to have a fair system of international trade, we will need to agree on common standards for IP. This article proposed three principles as a start.

Is there anything more contentious than the debate over intellectual property (IP) protection? The "Napsterization" of just about everything digital has one side jumping with joy, and the other claiming the end times are near. Is there any common ground? We'd like to suggest there is, but first ever…

02/12/2015

What are the UNIDROIT principles of international commercial contracts? How can they be used as a tool for legal convergence and how strong are they? Can we expect to see them in practice in future?
Here’s a series of short videos!

The UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts, or PICC, were created in 1994 after decades of preparation, against what Oxford author Stephan Vogenauer calls a “romantic background” of a global commercial law, or lex mercatoria. While the UNIDROIT PICC offer a harmonizing global cont…

25/11/2015

The Asia-Pacific economies are set to enter a new era with the TPP, a mega free trade agreement that was signed earlier this month. Many of the participant countries, including the US, Australia, Japan and Singapore, already have existing comprehensive free trade deals. But the new FTA is expected to also result in regulatory convergence on a wide range of issues such as rules of origin, intellectual property and e-commerce.

The TPP is expected to set the bar high and possibly pressure non-members, such as China, to adopt similar standards.

US, Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries agree a wide-ranging Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal that covers about 40% of the world economy.

20/11/2015

A ground-breaking initiative led by Singapore is under way to promote cross-border trade and investment through the convergence of Asia's business laws.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

20/11/2015

A NEW organisation to promote coherence in commercial laws across Asian countries will be set up in January 2016 in Singapore. Read more at The Business Times.

18/11/2015

Even nations that are mostly cut off from the world cannot escape the need for business laws that adhere to international standards, as North Korea is finding out in this debate with Chinese lawyers.

Yonhap reports about a seemingly interesting forum that has taken place in Beijing, sourcing Global Times reporting. The article is an interesting illustration of the divergent ways in which Chinese and North Korean scholars/analysts seem to view North Korea’s economic situation and business environ…

11/11/2015

The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements came into effect last month. Who has ratified it and how does it standardise procedures for dispute settlement? Will it adequately address the rising problem of forum shopping, where businesses and even nation states are spoilt for choice regarding dispute resolution options?

The Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (the Convention) comes into force today, 1 October 2015. The intention of the Convention is to provide a reciprocal regime in res…

03/11/2015

"Legal uncertainty is the most serious operational challenge to growing a regional business"
Let's start the dialogue on legal convergence in Asia at the conference this January.
www.legalconvergenceasia.com

14/10/2015

If the whole world were to converge on one legal system, what would it be?

In this article the authors argue why they think it should NOT be English law:
http://bit.ly/1hl90MG

07/10/2015

Who are the trendsetters in Asia’s arbitration scene today?

Well-established Singapore and Hong Kong jostle for top position, with Singapore attempting to one-up by opening an International Commercial Court to complete its suite of dispute resolution option.

But Malaysia is catching up fast and may have a shot at pipping its rivals by tapping on its speciality in Islamic law.

Meanwhile, South Korea and Cambodia are also getting in on the game. South Korea in particular will have a natural advantage due to its location near China, Russia and Japan, as well as the business clout of Korean multinationals who will no doubt favour a local setting.

Read on to find out more!

By Kanishk Verghese| Jul 1, 2014 Skip to The KLRCA’s resurgence The golden age Arbitration on the rise Q&A with Datuk Sundra Rajoo, Director of the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) The rise in investment and trade in today’s fast-globalising world has generated a surge in cross-…

02/10/2015

The European Union is often seen as a role model of regional integration – politically, economically and even legally. Although each member state retains a distinct legal system, they incorporate and adapt EU-wide directives to facilitate legal convergence.

Thus, legal harmonization is in theory the best way to promote cross-border relationships and trade while preserving national legal systems.

However, even the best systems have room for improvement. Read on to find out.

Certain features of this site make use of javascript. For maximum benefit it is strongly advised that you switch on javascript before continuing.

28/09/2015

For this Asian century vision to be realised, multiple challenges need to be addressed. One key challenge will be to reduce the significant diversity that current exists among legal systems across Asia.

Visit our website for more details about this conference
http://www.legalconvergenceasia.com/
And register at www.sal-e.org.sg/legalconvergence