Your search

In authors or contributors
  • The question of how to adequately integrate environment and labor provisions in free trade agreements is still a difficult one for both States and academicians. This article explores China’s approach to environment and labor issues in free trade agreements. For reference and comparison, it relies on the European Union’s and the United States’ approaches in their respective FTAs. The article identifies China’s preference for a case-by-case approach to the inclusion of environmental chapters in its FTAs. Additionally, in most FTAs it avoids to include provisions on labor standards. These two preferences represent major divergences from the European Union’s and the United States’ approaches, characterized by inclusion of chapters on environment and labor in all their modern FTAs. The article also finds that China’s FTAs rely solely on consultations and cooperation for the implementation of environmental and labor provisions, within the framework of Joint Committees and avoid the inclusion of civil society mechanisms. Moreover, resolution of disputes relies exclusively on consultations, in a diverse procedure than the one applicable to trade disputes. Despite alignment with the European Union model, this is another major point of divergence with the United States’ model, which applies the same enforcement mechanism for both environment and labor issues and trade issues and includes the possibility of applying sanctions. Finally, the article concludes that China’s options with regards to the treatment of environment and labor concerns in its free trade agreements aligns with both its domestic governance approach and its approach to international cooperation.

  • Peer-rewieved journal

  • This research is to assess the current status quo, strengths, and weaknesses of financial consumer protection mechanisms in Macao. According to the World Bank, financial consumer protection can bring positive impact on the development of financial sector, broadening financial inclusion and fostering economic growth. In 2022, under the backdrop of COVID-19 and downturn in economy, Macao Government announced its ambition to recover and diversify the economy of Macao by leveraging “1+4” Diversified Development Strategy, in which developing modern finance is one of the main priorities. The new Financial System Act took into effect on 1st November 2023 and this Act will enable non-financial institutions to apply for temporary licenses on fin-tech innovations within a controllable risk area. In the local context, does Macao have a strong financial consumer protection mechanism in place to goal for developing modern finance and face challenges brought by fin-tech? In this research, a mixed method consisting of doctrinal legal research method and comparative legal research method is adopted. 10 jurisdictions (Ireland, Singapore, Australia, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, European Union, Canada, and United States) were selected in comparison of rights for financial consumer protection based on the G20/OECD High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection and the results of which were then compared to the rights for financial consumer protection in Macao. The findings of this study show that the main strength of financial consumer protection mechanisms in Macao lies on the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) on the banking sector and insurance sector, other financial institutions according to international principles; however, the in-depthness of work done by Macao in financial consumer protection is not as much as those done by other jurisdictions: in Macao, there is no policyholder protection scheme in the event of failure of insurance companies; no mystery shopping and consumer survey done by oversight bodies; narrow range of definition of vulnerable consumers; no financial literacy survey; no in-depth competition law; no in-depth guidelines to monitor advertising materials for financial products; no database for consumers to search for unregulated firms and scammers; no in-depth financial educational materials about the rights of financial consumers. It is recommended that Macao Government can learn from United Kingdom, Canada and European Union to adopt behavioural insights in developing financial consumer protection policy to protect financial consumers from being exploited by the financial service providers based on the consumers’ behavioural biases. Some literature suggested that consumers are vulnerable in digital landscape. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that Macao Government shall take proactive actions to strengthen the current financial consumer protection mechanism by adhering to the G20/OECD High-Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection, in order to develop modern finance and protect consumers from the risks posed by fin-tech

  • This dissertation examines the critical need to continuously update the international tax law against tax avoidance: “status quo” and perspectives for development of the current regime. Employing a doctrinal methodological approach, the research first seeks to uncover the most common forms of international tax avoidance through an extensive literature review. This crucial step provides invaluable insights into the diverse strategies and mechanisms utilized by individuals and businesses to circumvent taxation on a global scale. The dissertation then proceeds to examine how current international tax law addresses the identified forms of tax avoidance. This implies a multi-faceted analysis, including an identification of the relevant international norms and treaties, and an exploration of the main sources of international tax law and their practical application. Recognizing the dynamic nature of the global tax landscape, the dissertation also provides perspectives for the future development of international tax law to better address the challenge of tax avoidance. By thoroughly examining the strengths and limitations of the current international tax law regime, the dissertation offers recommendations for potential improvements to the application of international tax avoidance conventions. The findings of this comprehensive study contribute to the broader understanding of international tax avoidance and its regulation within the framework of international law. The research questions and objectives serve as a guiding framework, enabling a thorough analysis that can inform practitioners, and scholars engaged in the ongoing discourse surrounding global taxation and its implications for economic fairness and transparency

Last update from database: 4/11/25, 8:01 AM (UTC)