The governance of the financial action task force: an analysis of power and influence throughout the years

The international fight against money laundering illustrates changes in global governance as a result of the increasingly cross-border nature of crime and the need it creates for all involved to cooperate. The economic priorities and security concerns that surround it contributed to the strong evolution of global governance in this area and the status of anti-money laundering as a shared problem. The creation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), its expansion and cementation throughout the years, is a good example of the many forces working together to responding to the demands of emerging criminal threats and trends. It offers a good illustration of how relationships in global governance have influenced FATF’s priorities and action and ultimately the way in which illicit financial flows are tackled. This analysis offers an overview of FATF’s network across time taking into account the role of states, international organisations, and the private sector in the decision-making processes. It argues that Great Powers – a small, but aligned, group of states of global economic relevance – are responsible for FATF’s direction and the international efforts against illicit financial flows. It suggests, however, that unlike what could be expected, their power is declining following the rise of private sector influence through resourceful, organised and transnational actions e.g. on information sharing.     

律师惩戒职能分工改革研究

目前,我国对律师的管理实行司法行政机关和律师协会“两结合”的管理体制。在这一体制下,如何合理地确定司法行政机关和律师协会的职能,明确各自的分工,是一个至关重要的问题。可以说,只有分工明确,才能更好地实现司法行政机关和律师协会管理上的结合,发挥两个方面的优势。因此对律师管理职能进行细分,借鉴国外的经验,形成司法行政机关和律师协会在律师管理职能的合理分工,就成为律师管理研究的一个重要问题。本文试图就律师的惩戒权分工进行探讨,研究分析在“两结合”的体制下,司法行政机关和律师协会如何分工,更好地行使律师惩戒权,规范法律服务。     

ECFA对海峡两岸区域金融合作的法律支撑分析

随着《海峡两岸经济合作框架协议》(ECFA)的签署,其对海峡两岸区域金融合作的法律支撑效应尽显。从法律定位角度分析,ECFA不仅涵盖两岸货物贸易、服务贸易(含金融服务),还涉及投资内容,完全符合世界贸易组织(WTO)认可的"深度PTA"特征。从金融合作的实质内容来看,ECFA在金融方面的全面渗透,广泛合作的态势对金融监管提出了严峻的挑战,要求两岸在监管方面也必须配套广泛性和协同性。截止目前,ECFA框架尚未达成解决解决争端的救济模式,但考虑以政治性、法律程序性混合机制公允、灵活解决争端应成为题中应有之义。     

The Caribbean Court of Justice and the Legal Profession: Promoting a Caribbean Jurisprudence*

The author submits that the main purpose in the establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is to promote the development of a Caribbean jurisprudence, based on the Commonwealth Caribbean's common historic, political, economic and cultural experiences and mutual history.

The article examines the role of final appellate courts, noting that judges of such courts must often choose between alternatives which are perfectly capable of being defended as rational, reasonable and consistent with ‘the law’. Factors such as life experiences, socialisation, and backgrounds all play a role in determining the choices that are ultimately made. This is why, the author underscores that ‘it is so important to have a diverse Bench, to have Judges from different backgrounds’.

For judges to come close to steering the right course they must have an understanding of the society that gives rise to the legal disputes. They must be grounded in that society. In this respect, the author argues, it is remarkable that the evolution of certain landmark judgments relating to human rights, particularly capital punishment, have been rendered by British judges, sitting and residing in England.

The article, which draws on a wealth of jurisprudence, proceeds to examine the original jurisdiction of the CCJ and the role of the Bar in defending the integrity of the Court and the justice system as well as in enhancing the quality of judgments.

Finally, it emphasises the need to promote Caribbean jurisprudence and access to local judgments. In this regard, it is lamented that many truly outstanding judgments of Caribbean judges do not receive the recognition they should because, if there is an appeal, they become almost automatically buried beneath the judgments of the higher court.     

The financial competition,concentration and structure of financial performance nexus in the financial sector of Oman

Economic Change and Restructuring - This study aimed to measure the impact of financial competition, as measured by the Lerner index (LRI) and the Panzar-Rosse model (PRM), and concentration, as...     

Rumble in Paradise: The Caribbean Court of Justice Creating Waves in International Law after British Caribbean Bank v Belize

On 25 June 2013, the Caribbean Court of Justice denied a motion to halt the proceedings of an international arbitration between British Caribbean Bank (BCB) and the Government of Belize, and instead granted BCB the right to continue with the arbitration proceedings. The ruling is particularly important as it sheds light on the anti-arbitration principle – a feature known mostly to Common law – and the still troubled area of expropriation in relation to bilateral investment treaties. In this case comment, I will provide an overview of those main points and assess what implications there are under international law. Specifically, this comment also develops a notion of financial property, and asses under what circumstances financial property can be expropriated in light of bilateral investment treaties. The focus on financial property is to both generate a discussion and also raise more questions on problematic clauses in investment treaties.