Banking in the cloud: Part 3 – contractual issues

This paper looks at EU banks' use of public cloud computing services. It is based primarily on anonymised interviews with banks, cloud providers, advisers, and financial services regulators. The findings are presented in three parts. Part 1 of this paper explored the extent to which banks operating in the EU, including global banks, use public cloud computing services. Part 2 of this paper covered the main legal and regulatory issues that may affect banks' use of cloud services.Part 3 looks at the key contractual issues that arise in negotiations between banks and cloud service providers, including data protection requirements, complexities caused by the layering of cloud services, termination, service changes, and liability. It also presents the overall conclusion derived from the studies conducted, as set out in the three parts of the paper.All three parts of the paper can be accessed via Computer Law and Security Review's page on ScienceDirect at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02673649?sdc=2. The full list of sources is available via the same link and will be printed at the end of this part of the article.     

整合产生强势竞争力--广西县域工业快速发展模式探究

善于对资源要素进行合理整合才会产生强势竞争力.考察广西近年一些县份经济的快速发展,不难发现有以下几种成功模式一是依托大企业产品向两头延伸拓展形成的整合竞争力模式;二是专业化生产配套产品形成的整合竞争力模式三是产品集群生产形成的整合竞争力模式;四是特色产业大基地种植+集群深加工的整合竞争力模式.     

Breaking up a partnership to build a competitive market in Denmark’s ambulance service: how can studies of contract reversals learn from the sociology of markets?

ABSTRACT

paper analyses a case of contract reversal in the market for ambulance services. The paper suggests that the sociology of markets-literature provides insights into market institutions of importance to relations between government and contractors that will benefit contracting out theory. Building on document analysis and interviews with 19 key stakeholders, it is demonstrated how a regional government in Denmark tried to wrestle the service provision from a long-time private provider and create a competitive market, only to discover that the implementation of the new contract was beset by obstacles largely stemming from informal norms in the market and attempts of the existing provider to hamper market entry for challenger firms. The result was a contract reversal: from private provision to government-provided service delivery. The paper contributes to the contracting out literature by providing a more elaborate understanding of the institutional conditions under which contract reversals can take place.     

Insurers, Claims and the Boundaries of Good Faith

This article examines the refusal of the English courts to award damages for consequential losses following unreasonable delay on the part of insurers in settling a claim. This has the potential to give rise to dire consequences for insureds. These difficulties have been addressed in North American jurisdictions where the concept of good faith has been developed and applied as a means of both compensating insureds and regulating the conduct of insurers. However, a hallmark of English law is that it fails to draw a bright line between the law of contract and the law of contracts. As a result, the policy issues that should inform insurance contracts are excluded by virtue of the notion, imported from the law of contract, that the contractual relationship is a matter of private law and is not, therefore, a means for public regulation of insurers.     

Institutional and symbolic aspects of illiberal politics: the case of North Macedonia (2006–2017)

ABSTRACT

The paper discusses the underlying characteristics of Macedonian illiberal politics during the 11-year rule of the centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE (2006–2017) focusing on two aspects: institutional and symbolic. We argue that the unfair political competition was enabled by the weakness of pre-existing institutions and the population’s clientelist preferences, which were systematically exploited and expanded by VMRO-DPMNE. We also argue that the multi-ethnic character of the country, the disputed Macedonian national identity and the lack of viable international prospects allowed VMRO-DPMNE to construct a strong nationalist narrative that appealed to voters and further isolated the opposition.     

Social contracts and authoritarian projects in post-Soviet space: The use of administrative resource

Drawing on evidence from Ukraine and other post-Soviet states, this article analyses the use of a tool of political coercion known in the post-communist world as adminresurs, or administrative resource. Administrative resource is characterized by the pre-election capture of bureaucratic hierarchies by an incumbent regime in order to secure electoral success at the margins. In contrast to other forms of political corruption, administrative resource fundamentally rewrites existing social contracts. It redefines access to settled entitlements—public infrastructure, social services, and labor compensation—as rewards for political support. It is thus explicitly negative for publics, who stand to lose access to existing entitlements if they do not support incumbents. The geography of its success in post-communist states suggests that this tool of authoritarian capacity building could be deployed anywhere two conditions are present: where there are economically vulnerable populations, and where economic and political spheres of life overlap.     

Electoral violence prevention: what works?

Elections are in theory democratic means of resolving disputes and making collective decisions, yet too often force is employed to distort the electoral process. The post-Cold War increase in the number of electoral authoritarian and hybrid states has brought this problem into relief. In recent years the prevention of electoral violence has played an increasingly large role in the democratic assistance activities undertaken by international agencies, following increased awareness within the international community of the specific security challenges that elections entail. However, there has to date been little systematic evaluation of the success of different electoral violence prevention (EVP) strategies in reforming electoral institutions so as to enable them to maintain the peace during the electoral period. This article assesses the effectiveness of two common types of international EVP activity. Using a new global dataset of EVP strategies between 2003 and 2015, this article finds evidence that capacity-building strategies reduce violence by non-state actors, whereas attitude-transforming strategies are associated with a reduction in violence by state actors and their allies. The findings are relevant both for understanding the dynamics of electoral violence, and also for policymakers and electoral assistance providers in the international community who have responsibility for the design of democratic assistance projects in states at risk of electoral violence.     

我国国际竞争力的发展状况及提升对策

我国加入WTO以后,参与国际竞争的范围增大、层次加深,面对国际强大的竞争对手和发达国家成熟的市场经济,我国正在发展中的市场经济的方方面面,将会带来更大的困难和挑战。因此,充分认识国际竞争力的内涵,了解我国国际竞争力的发展状况,对我国国际竞争力的优势和劣势进行分析,找出提升国际竞争力的对策,尽快树立竞争优势地位,成为我国急待解决的重要课题。     

附赠商品民事责任研究

附赠商品是市场竞争的产物,我们应当界定附赠商品的含义和范围;明确附赠商品致人损害民事责任的性质,解决违约责任、侵权责任、违约责任与侵权责任的竞合等法律问题;对附赠商品所造成的人身损害、财产损害和惩罚性损害赔偿等,都应当确定赔偿的范围;正确分担附赠商品致人损害的举证责任.从而厘清附赠商品的法律关系,更好地维护当事人的合法权益.     

关于吉林省确立“现代工业立省”核心发展战略的建议

在十一届三中全会以来的29年中,吉林省没有明确"现代工业立省"(或"现代工业强省")的"核心发展战略"[1][2]。目前,国内迅速"产业集聚"和分工的趋势告诉我们:吉林省己经站在十字路口上,既有成为"现代工业省"的前景,也有成为"农业省"的可能。我们无论如何要实现前者,而不是后者。吉林省经济社会发展的基本矛盾是"世界现代工业化发展水平与吉林省工业化发展程度相对落后("工业化初期阶段"、"农业省"[3])的矛盾",解决这个基本矛盾的根本方法是确立"现代工业立省"(或"现代工业强省")的"核心发展战略",并贯彻在全省上下党和政府的一切决策和执行之中,以此凝聚全省干部和群众,加快实现现代工业化。同时建议,就"吉林省以什么立省"的问题进行一定范围的讨论。