Negotiating Umbrella Agreements

Experienced negotiators know that it is often impossible to define all terms of a complex agreement. By negotiating umbrella agreements, the negotiating parties try to balance the need for certainty and calculability of give-and-take processes with the need to remain sufficiently flexible to embrace new or emerging business opportunities. Umbrella agreements describe a joint consent that explicitly articulates a framework of rules and principles that guides future agreements. It is argued that negotiators are better able to maximize their joint gains if they differentiate between agreements and the framework in which agreements are made.     

Latency – Time for lawyers to get up to speed?

While latency issues have always existed in IT systems, it is only in recent years that latency has become a significant focal point for both IT suppliers and customers. This paper will provide an overview as to how latency arises in IT systems, why latency is becoming important across a variety of business sectors and then explores some of the prominent legal issues inherent in contracting for low-latency solutions.     

关于城市化进程中集体土地上房屋买卖纠纷法律适用问题的分析简

与城镇房屋交易相比,集体土地上房屋流转整体活跃程度低,历来不是人们关注的重点.但农户之间买卖、互换房屋或以房抵债等流转情况由来已久,只是交易行为往往发生于本村成员间,纷争较少,因此鲜有关注.近年来,由于城市化进程的逐渐加快,集体土地上房屋价值水涨船高,以往内部成员间被亲缘、地缘关系掩盖的利益平衡被拆迁补偿等客观因素所打破,矛盾纠纷凸显,成为目前房地产案件中群体性最强、矛盾也较为突出的一类纠纷.集体土地上房屋流转是否存在各种限制,审理中如何平衡各种利益,成为了当前审判实践中亟待解决的问题.     

《保险法》第26条诉讼时效起算点规定的质疑

保险合同属于典型的射幸合同。由此所决定,保险合同生效后保险事故发生前,保险人并不实际负有赔偿或给付保险金的义务,保险事故的发生使这种义务变为确定,但并不必然导致保险权利人保险合同上的利益受损。只有在保险人违反合同全部或部分拒赔时,被保险人或受益人的保险合同利益才受到损害,方才构成诉讼时效的起算。     

高等教育合同基本构架的民法考察

从民法视角分析高等学校与大学生之间的法律关系,必须静态考察该高等教育合同关系的主体、客体和内容三个构成要素,动态考察高等教育合同的订立、履行和终止三个环节。这种考察分析不仅对于高等教育合同的本质属性、基本构架及其运行过程具有理论意义,对于明晰学校与学生双方当事人权利义务关系、保护双方当事人权益、正确处理矛盾与争议也具有实践价值。     

浅谈船舶建造合同的质量担保条款

针对英国伦敦海事仲裁中英国法下船东所提出的交船后船舶质保索赔的实务问题，结合对常用船舶建造格式合同下质量担保条款的分析，并参照英国相关案例，对可能由船厂承担的质保责任和赔偿义务等内容进行了探讨。最后对中国法下船舶超过质保期可能引起的问题进行分析。     

民事申诉案件和解制度探析

民事申诉和解制度在实践运行中虽然取得了一定的积极效果,但仍然存在诸多问题。民事申诉和解在本质上属于民法意义上的契约,和解协议的效力可以从实体法和程序法两方面进行分析。民事申诉和解与法院既判力的关系,包括两个方面：一是和解协议具有民事契约的请求力是否违背＂禁止重复起诉＂原理;二是如何协调民事申诉和解之诉与法院既判之诉之间的冲突。全方位构建民事申诉和解制度,就要明确应遵循的基本原则、适用范围、操作程序。     

Promoting Data Protection Standards through Contracts: The Case of the Data Security Council of India

Data protection has emerged as a major corporate and government concern worldwide. The focus is on secure handling of data so as to ensure privacy of customer data and security of corporate data. Privacy and security laws in countries are not harmonized; compliance regulations are different too. As the global hub of outsourcing, India is faced with a challenge of demonstrating compliance with varying compliance regulations in countries. The Data Security Council of India (DSCI) considers the Best Practices Approach as a practical and realistic way to enhance adherence to data security and privacy standards, and to enable a service provider to demonstrate compliance. Getting these standards recognized through contracts can promote data protection. An industry association can act as a third party self‐regulatory organization to promote these standards and enforce them among its members through certification or privacy seals, thereby helping implement data protection in international data flows.     

The Forfeiture of Possessory Rights in Land and Chattels

The article argues that the concept of forteiture may be applied to a variety of legal transactions in which the transfer of a possessory right takes place between the parties. In particular, it is contended that an equitable possessory right which is capable of enforcement by means of an order for specific performance falls within equity's jurisdiction to grant relief.