New ebooks purchased this month: September - October 2023

A selection of  law ebook titles were purchased in September and October, in association with the ebooks@cambridge team. These are all available through iDiscover, and include:

Article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the Principle of Systemic Integration in International Investment Law and Arbitration, by Daniel Rosentreter (Nomos, 2015)

This treatise gives scholars and practitioners useful guidance for resolving the key issues of contemporary investment law (i.e. how best to balance investor’s rights to investment protection and host states’ rights to regulate) by applying Article 31(3)(c) VCLT and the so-called ‘Principle of Systemic Integration’. It illustrates the potential and limits of harmonious treaty interpretation. For this purpose, it demonstrates the relevance of extraneous rules in the system of international investment law and arbitration, deals extensively with the interpretation of Article 31(3)(c) VCLT, and explains in depth the ‘principle of systemic integration’. The author critically analysis – at the example of the FET standard, the prohibition of unlawful expropriation and the various non-discrimination provisions in investment treaties – how investment tribunals and international courts have interpreted investment treaties in the light of extraneous rules of international law.

Asymmetry, Multinationalism and Constitutional Law: Managing Legitimacy and Stability in Federalist States, by Maja Sahadžić (Routledge, 2021)

This book examines the link between constitutional asymmetry and multinationalism and the effects asymmetry produces on legitimacy and stability in federal and quasi-federal systems. This is done through a structured and exhaustive comparative analysis, covering states in Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. Contrary to traditional federal theory, contemporary scholars have linked constitutional asymmetry with multinational federal systems, by presenting asymmetry as a mechanism for diversity management. This book offers insights on whether and how constitutional asymmetry is linked with multinationalism and looks into the socio-economic, cultural-ideological, historical, and separatist factors that support the emergence of asymmetries. The work also provides a legal analysis of whether constitutional asymmetry is a condition or a threat to legitimacy and stability in federal systems.

Interim Measures in Cross-Border Civil and Commercial Disputes:  Interim Relief Proceedings in International Litigation and Arbitration, by Deyan Draguiev (Springer, 2023)

This book focusses on applying a holistic overview of interim measures and associated procedures in the context of cross-border private law (civil and commercial) disputes that are the subject of international litigation and arbitration proceedings. It reexamines key features of said problem and outlines novel findings on interim relief in the area of international dispute resolution. The book analyses the rules of EU law (EU law regulations such as the Regulation Brussels Ibis and the rest of the Brussels regime) as the single system of cross-border jurisdictional rules, as well as the rules of international arbitration (both commercial and investment). In the process, it conducts a complete mapping of interim measures problems and explores the criteria for granting relief under national laws. For this purpose, it includes an extensive comparative law overview of many jurisdictions in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, etc., to reveal common standards for granting interim relief.

International Tax Primer (5th edition), by Brian J. Arnold (Wolters Kluwer, 2023)

International Tax Primer follows the format and sequence of earlier editions, with updates on ongoing developments regarding the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) base erosion and profit shifting project, the revisions to the OECD Guidelines on Transfer Pricing, and updates to the OECD and UN Model Conventions. The Primer furnishes the reader with an introductory analysis of the major issues that a country must confront in designing its international tax rules and coordinating those rules with the tax systems of its trading partners, with numerous examples drawn from the practices of both developed and developing countries. Indubitably, the most crucial development in international tax since the fourth edition in 2018 has been the OECD Inclusive Framework’s Pillar One and Pillar Two proposals for dealing with the tax challenges posed by the digital economy. This edition analyzes in depth both Pillar One, which proposes new nexus and profit-allocation rules for the residual profits of the largest and most profitable digital multinationals, and Pillar Two, which proposes a global minimum tax on large multinationals. In addition, several sections, such as those dealing with digital services taxes, hybrid arrangements, and new Article 12B of the UN Model Convention dealing with automated digital services, as well as a brief history of international tax, among others, have been added to the fifth edition.

Modern Land Law (13th edition), by Martin Dixon (Routledge, 2023)

Modern Land Law is one of the most current and reliable textbooks available on land law today, offering a lively and thought-provoking account of a subject that remains at the heart of our legal system. Providing an accessible approach to a complex subject, this compact textbook provides an absorbing analysis of all the key legal principles relating to land.Written with students firmly in mind, a clear introduction to every chapter frames each topic in its wider context and corresponding chapter summaries help to consolidate learning and encourage reflection. The 13th edition has been revised and brought fully up to date to address all major developments in the law, and includes key recent cases, such as Hudson v Hathway and Global 100 v Laleva in the Court of Appeal.

Research Handbook on Legal Aspects of Brexit, edited by Adam Lazowski and Adam Cygan (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2022)

Illustrating the legacy of Brexit, this timely Research Handbook provides a comprehensive and coherent analysis of not only the Brexit process within the UK but also what it means for both the UK and the EU within the framework of their future relationship. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars in the field, this Research Handbook considers the ways in which the legal, economic and political uncertainty brought about by Brexit through the upheaval of established norms and values will continue to reverberate for the remainder of the 2020s and beyond. Divided into four parts, it focuses on different aspects of the Brexit process and EU-UK future relationship, including Brexit’s impact on the political system of the United Kingdom, repatriation of laws and competences and a post-Brexit framework. Above all, it argues that Brexit creates both new challenges and new opportunities for the UK but also for the process of EU integration.

Sustainable Justice : Reconciling Economic, Social and Environmental Law, edited by Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger and C.G. Weeramantry (Brill, 2004)

This book offers a cutting-edge scholarly discussion of judicial and legal methods to reconcile national and international economic, social and environmental law for sustainable development. A diverse anthology of perspectives from developed and developing countries, the book contains contributions from judges, international lawyers and other experts with a wealth of experience in the emerging field of sustainable development law. It presents negotiators, scholars and jurists with a lively, thought-provoking and highly current discussion of international legal debates related to sustainable development. The final part discusses future developments in sustainable development law, based on the results of three recent international processes. Sustainable Justice weaves a diverse and intriguing collection, reflecting a vigorous yet practical international legal debate of crucial importance to our common future.

The European Union and the Evolving Architectures of International Economic Agreements,edited by Ottavio Quirico and Katarzyna Kwapisz Williams (Springer, 2023)

The European Union is promoting a suite of innovations in international economic regulation—among them, reforms for secure and sustainable investment, a comprehensive approach to the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, a viable carbon border adjustment mechanism, heightened intellectual property rights protection, the arm’s length principle in taxation, and an increased commitment to non-economic vales. Through a critical analysis of key regulations and policies, this volume explores the evolving architectures of international economic agreements in light of EU practice. A comprehensive analysis indicates that novelties are rooted in geoeconomic considerations, through which a fundamental shift is underway towards the adoption of comprehensive bilateral trade agreements. Whilst innovation has the potential to significantly harmonise cross-border regulatory frameworks, it can also trigger significant fractures, particularly when applied restrictively and asymmetrically. Arguably, the ‘Brussels effect’ will to a certain extent foster a progressive development of international economic regulation, while in some respects being constrained by the status quo of the international economic regime. This volume is part of the Jean Monnet project Third Country Engagement with EU Trade Policy led by the ANU Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University, and supported by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ actions. The project seeks to explore and improve understanding of the EU’s evolving trade policy and its implications for third countries, including Australia and countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Prophet of Harvard Law: James Bradley Thayer and His Legal Legacy, by Andrew Porwancher, Jake Mazeitis, Taylor Jipp and Austin Coffey (University Press of Kansas, 2022)

Amid the halls of Harvard Law, a professor of legend, James Bradley Thayer, shaped generations of students from 1874 to 1902. His devoted protégés included future Supreme Court justices, appellate judges, and law school deans. The legal giants of the Progressive Era—Holmes, Brandeis, and Hand, to name only a few—came under Thayer’s tutelage in their formative years. He imparted to his pupils a novel jurisprudence, attuned to modern realities, that would become known as legal realism. Thayer’s students learned to confront with candor the fallibility of the bench and the uncertainty of the law. Most of all, he instilled in them an abiding faith that appointed judges must entrust elected lawmakers to remedy their own mistakes if America’s experiment in self-government is to survive. The Prophet of Harvard Law draws from untouched archival sources to reveal the origins of the legal world we inhabit today. It is a story of ideas and people in equal measure. Long before judges don their robes or scholars their gowns, they are mere law students on the cusp of adulthood. At that pivotal phase, a professor can make a mark that endures forever after. Thayer’s life and legacy testify to the profound role of mentorship in shaping the course of legal history.

What Is Legal Education For? Re-assessing the Purposes of Early Twenty-First Century Learning and Law Schools, edited by Rachel Ann Dunn, Paul Maharg and Victoria Roper (Routledge, 2022)

How we interpret and understand the historical contexts of legal education has profoundly affected how we understand contemporary educational cultures and practices. This book, the result of a Modern Law Review seminar, both celebrates and critiques the lasting impact of Peter Birks’ influential edited collection, Pressing Problems in the Law: Volume 2: What is the Law School for? Published in 1996, his book addresses many critical issues that are hauntingly present in the 21st century, amongst them the impact of globalisation; technological disruption; and the tension inherent in law schools as they seek to balance the competing interest of teaching, research and administration. Yet Birks’ collection misses key issues, too. The role of wellbeing, of emotion or affect, the relation of legal education to education, the status of legal education in what, since his volume, have become the devolved jurisdictions of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland – these and others are absent from the research agenda of the book. Today, legal educators face new challenges. We are still recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on our universities. In 1996 Birks was keen to stress the importance of comparative research within Europe. Today, legal researchers are dismayed at the possibility of losing valuable EU research funding when the UK leaves the EU, and at the many other negative effects of Brexit on legal education. The proposed Solicitors Qualifying Examination takes legal education regulation and professional learning into uncharted waters. This book discusses these and related impacts on our legal educations.

All of these ebooks are available to current University of Cambridge staff and students with a Raven password. A full list of ebook platforms can be viewed via the ebooks@cambridge LibGuide.