Hold-ups and Asymmetric Information in a Technology Transfer: the Micronas Case

In 1980 three Finnish companies established a research joint venture as a separate firm in order to develop semiconductors. We study the initial stages of the project focusing on the two evident sources of difficulty associated with an international technology transfer. One is a hold-up problem and the other asymmetric information on the quality of the technology. We develop two simple models that capture some features of the contract governing the technology transfer, and conclude that both problems were present, but hold-up problems were considered a more serious threat.     

Die Beweislastverteilung bei der Geltendmachung von Störerausgleichsansprüchen nach § 24 Abs. 2 Bundes-Bodenschutzgesetz

§ 24 Abs. 2 BBodSchG normiert seit dem 1. 3. 1999 einen Ausgleichsanspruch zwischen mehreren Verantwortlichen gemäß BBodSchG. Besonders problematisch ist im Rahmen des Ausgleichsanspruchs die dem Anspruchsteller obliegende Beweislast. Der Beitrag nimmt im Anschluss an die erste Rechtsprechung des LG Hannover , des OLG Celle und des Bundesgerichthofes zu Beweiserleichterungen Stellung zu den vorgeschlagenen Lösungsmodellen.

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Ex Pluribus Unum: Fusion of the European Communities into the European Union

Abstract: This article presents the main legal approaches used in constructing the relationships between the TEU, TEC, TEAC and TECSC and the institutions set up by them. It argues that the dominant approaches which separate the European Union from the European Communities run into serious difficulties when explaining the normative framework and the actual practice of the EU institutions. In contrast, the proposed 'unity thesis' asserts that de lege lata the European Union can be considered one entity from the point of view of the organisation, its actions and its law, The article develops in detail the legal premises and some of the consequences of this thesis.     

Assessing organized crime: Provisional situation report on trafficking in contraband cigarettes

This report has a dual purpose. On one hand it aims at providing an assessment of the cigarette black market in Northwest Europe, based on a review of open source data. On the other hand, it serves to tentatively explore the possibilities for a comprehensive and meaningful assessment of the organized crime situation in this particular sector.