• Title/Summary/Keyword: IT disputes

Search Result 715, Processing Time 0.033 seconds

A Study on the Liability for Third Party's Damage on the Time Charter-parties (정기용선계약에서 제3자 화물손해 책임에 관한 연구)

  • Shin, Hak-Sung
    • International Commerce and Information Review
    • /
    • v.15 no.2
    • /
    • pp.285-313
    • /
    • 2013
  • By the revision of the Commercial Code of Korea in 1991 and 2007, some provisions for the regulation of Time Charterparty have been introduced into our own maritime law system. But, those provisions are in their nature mainly the reproduction of the provisions prescribed in the standard forms of time charterparty which are widely used, such as BALTIME Charter and NYPE Form, and the subject matters of their regulation are restrictive, so that the applicability of the provisions is not desirable. The cargo is lost or damaged, the cargo owner should seek compensation form, or sue, the carrier as, traditionally, under the COGSA, the cargo carrier is responsible for loss of damage of cargo. However, it is difficult to determine who is the responsible carrier under charters. There is no test to determine the carrier, but the courts in every country generally consider the bill of lading. Although the master has general authority to sign bills of lading on behalf of the shipowner, he can also sign bills of lading for, and on behalf of, the charterer. In this case, the charter is considered the carrier. Furthermore, the charterer is authorized to contract with third parties on behalf of the shipowner and, as such, the responsible carrier is the shipowner. Therefore, when determining the carrier we should examine carefully the all factors and the circumstances surrounding the case. Also, negligence of a captain of a time-chartered ship causing damages to a third party. It will analyze the legal character of a time-charter contract, review judicial precedents on time-charter. The Inter-Club Agreement was drawn up and is intended to be a somewhat easier way of allocating liability for cargo claims between owners and charterers and, although there is still scope for disputes to arise, the Inter-Club Agreement does in fact to some extent make the allocation of liabilities for cargo claims easier. Finally, it will also make legislative suggestions to resolve complex issues involving maritime transportation contracts under the current Commercial Code.

  • PDF

A Study on the Efficiency of the North Korean Foreign Economy Arbitration Law (북한 대외경제중재법의 실효성 고찰)

  • Kim, Suk-Chul
    • Journal of Arbitration Studies
    • /
    • v.18 no.1
    • /
    • pp.167-184
    • /
    • 2008
  • The economic cooperation between the South and North Koreas is a very important issue for the unification and economic development of both Koreas. In order to reach a successful economic cooperation, there is a need to coordinate the differences of the two countries before unification. The economic cooperation and the cooperation in other sectors will be followed by the entire unification. It is necessary to prepare a mechanism that could peacefully solve the conflicts and disputes that could arise during the actual process of cooperation, which will secure stable investments and trades. The study on the possibility of introducing the arbitration system as a conflict solving mechanism between the two Koreas is a very important subject, and the basis of this study is on the examination of the arbitration laws of North Korea. Therefore, the study on the efficiency of the North Korean arbitration laws on foreign economy is studying the possibility of a systematical solution to economic conflicts between the South and North Koreas. The problems and possible solutions of the North Korean foreign economy arbitration laws are summarized as follows. First, juridical cooperation system for both South and North courts of justice needs to be set up to smoothly carry out the main procedures. Mutual correspondence and telecommunication needs to be guaranteed, also remittance and the movement of goods shall precede. Second, the free liquidation of businesses by unit and the individual and independent management of wealth of the North Korean economic bodies, organizations and businesses shall precede to independently liquidate wealth and thus make arbitration possible. Third, amendments in the North Korea's foreign economy arbitration law shall be made to some parts of regulations on arbitration agreements and specific contents of written arbitration agreements to avoid conflicts regarding arbitration agreement. Fourth, the members of the North Korean arbitration committee shall impartially manage the committee only without taking the role of arbitrator, and the clause that allows the North Korean committee to nominate the arbitrator shall be erased. In case an agreement regarding the number of arbitrators is not reached, the three arbitrators general rule shall be applied. In case of requests from any of the parties, a third country arbitrator nomination shall be guaranteed. Also, the requested arbitrator by the party shall be nominated with the cooperation of the court. Fifth, the trial in case of non-appearance or written trial shall be added to the North Korean law in to prevent intended negligence or evasion. Sixth, regulations regarding the court's investigation of evidence shall be added to the North Korean law to make fair arbitration possible in case that government power is needed in order to investigate evidence. Seventh, provisions regarding majority decision shall be added in the North Korean law in the impossibility of unanimous decisions, and the certified system in the arbitration committee official text shall be erased to prevent arrogation and assure the power of the decision made by the arbitration government. Eighth, as "the wrong decision approved" reason for cancellation of arbitration in the North Korean law includes the content of the decision made by the arbitrator could lead to uselessness of arbitration, amendment will be necessary to limit it to legitimacy of the arbitration agreement and wrong procedures. It is hoped that this thesis will be of important use in understanding the issues on the workability and the solutions to the South and North Koreas' arbitration that could be presented during the negotiations for the countries' economic cooperation.

  • PDF

Compilation of Books on Military Arts and Science and Ideology of Military Science in the early Joseon Dynasty (조선(朝鮮) 초기(初期)의 병서(兵書) 편찬(編纂)과 병학(兵學) 사상(思想))

  • Yun, Muhak
    • (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
    • /
    • no.49
    • /
    • pp.325-355
    • /
    • 2012
  • This research aims to generalize the thoughts of military science of the intellectuals through the books on military arts and science, which were published in the early Joseon Dynasty. In the early Joseon dynasty, it was in a position to establish the foundation in the new monarch internally, and, at the same time, to overcome foreign powers on both northern and southern borders externally. Thus, the books on military arts and science should have to be published under a premise of such situations. Accordingly, the books on military arts and science of those days took account of political stability having reflected the activities not only as the founder of Joseon but also as the military officer in the late Goryeo along with the books' own purpose to found military arts and sciences. The books on military arts and science that published in the early Joseon Dynasty were written mostly based on Chinese military books and its annotations, except some descriptions of the history of war. However, the intellectuals at that time endeavored to redefine military arts and science from the perspective of Confucianism having evaluated Chinese military science books that were biased to boost Machiavellian tactics. As a result of this, the geographical distinctions between China and Korea were the start of an argument for the military arts and science. There were also disputes over the relationships between the military science and the Yin-Yang School, and between the military science and Confucian school. Organizing our country's own history of war for the first time in the early Joseon Dynasty is worth for putting a high evaluation. However, it cannot help but to point out the limits of the books that there are noticeable descriptions about the factors related to toadyism, and that there are no descriptions about the wars against Japanese raiders. The books on military arts and science in the early Joseon Dynasty put emphasis on the commander's leadership that should be good at both literary and martial arts, as well as the harmony in military-to-military relations. After all, the intellectuals in the early Joseon Dynasty had linked the military arts and science to the sages of Confucian school under a premise that scholarship is to be used in combination with martial arts. And, as the nexus between the two, they noted the items of virtue, such as humaneness and righteousness (仁義); ritual and music (禮樂); loyalty and filial piety (忠孝); three fundamental principles (三綱); five moral disciplines (五倫). It can be said that this point is the typical features of the military arts and science in the early Joseon Dynasty, which cannot be found in Chinese military classics.

"As the Scientific Witness Is a Court Witness and Is Not a Party Witness" ("과학의 승리"는 어떻게 선언될 수 있는가? 친자 확인을 위한 혈액형 검사가 법원으로 들어갔던 과정)

  • Kim, Hyomin
    • Journal of Science and Technology Studies
    • /
    • v.19 no.1
    • /
    • pp.1-51
    • /
    • 2019
  • The understanding of law and science as fundamentally different two systems, in which fact stands against justice, rapid progress against prudent process, is far too simple to be valid. Nonetheless, such account is commonly employed to explain the tension between law and science or justice and truth. Previous STS research raises fundamental doubts upon the off-the-shelf concept of "scientific truth" that can be introduced to the court for legal judgment. Delimiting the qualification of the expert, the value of the expert knowledge, or the criteria of the scientific expertise have always included social negotiation. What are the values that are affecting the boundary-making of the thing called "modern science" that is supposedly useful in solving legal conflicts? How do the value of law and the meaning of justice change as the boundaries of modern science take shapes? What is the significance of "science" when it is emphasized, particularly in relation to the legal provisions of paternity, and how does this perception of science affect unfoldings of legal disputes? In order to explore the answers to the above questions, we follow a process in which a type of "knowledge-deficient model" of a court-that is, law lags behind science and thus, under-employs its useful functions-can be closely examined. We attend to a series of discussions and subsequent changes that occurred in the US courts between 1930s and 1970s, when blood type tests began to be used to determine parental relations. In conclusion, we argue that it was neither nature nor truth in itself that was excavated by forensic scientists and legal practitioners, who regarded blood type tests as a truth machine. Rather, it was their careful practices and crafty narratives that made the roadmaps of modern science, technology, and society on which complex tensions between modern states, families, and courts were seen to be "resolved".

A Study on the Significance of Park Se-dang's Composition of the Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo(南華經註解刪補) (박세당의 『남화경주해산보(南華經註解刪補)』 저술 의의 구명(究明) - 주자와 박세당의 장자 인식 비교를 통해서 -)

  • Jeon, Hyun-mi
    • The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
    • /
    • no.42
    • /
    • pp.71-103
    • /
    • 2014
  • Park Se-dang (朴世堂, 1629-1703) is a figure rebuked as a "disturbing enemy of the Confucian canon" (斯文亂賊), having composed the Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo (南華經註解刪補), the sole commentary on every chapter of the Zhuangzi (莊子) in Joseon Dynasty. This article purports to articulate the significance of Park Se-dang's composition of the Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo within Joseon Dynasty in the 17th century, through the comparison between him and Zhu Xi (朱熹, 1130-1200), the founder of Neo-Confucianism, the mainstream ideology of Joseon Dynasty, in their recognition of the Zhuangzi. Since Neo-Confucianism attained an absolute status as the canonical doctrine in Joseon Dynasty, the other thoughts, including the thoughts of the Laozi and the Zhuangzi, could not be discussed without their relationship with it. Park Se-dang's recognition of the Zhuangzi does not deviate far from Zhu Xi's recognition of it. While his composition of the Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo might be said to have inherited and deepened Zhu Xi's recognition, it can also be seen as an attempt to escape from Neo-Confucianism in some aspects. Due to this complication, when the faction of the Noron (老論, a faction separated from the Seoin in the Joseon Dynasty, the hard-liners) rebuked him as a "disturbing enemy of the Confucian canon," they did not mention neither his Shinjoo Dodeokgyeong (新註道德經, New Commentary on the Laozi) nor his Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo. In his Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo, Park Se-dang does not think that the Zhuangzi is in diametrical opposition to Confucian thoughts. Firstly, he emphasizes that Zhuangzi faces the actual world with ultimately positive concern, though from a critical perspective. Secondly, he seeks common grounds between the thoughts of Zhuangzi and Confucians, proving that Zhuangzi emphasizes human relationships between father and son or between king and subject. Thirdly, he illuminates Zhuangzi's theory of human nature from a new perspective in order to reestablish Confucian theory of human nature. Fourthly, he attempts to apply Zhuangzi's thoughts in order to overcome contemporary consumptive political feuds, including the splits of political factions or the disputes about ritual proprieties (禮訟論爭). Park Se-dang's composition of Shinjoo Dodeokgyeong and Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo was a complementary measure for Confucianism, his proper mainstay being Confucianism. He attempted to escape, not from Confucianism itself, but from the absolutism of Neo-Confucianism. In the 17th century Joseon Dynasty, when Neo-Confucianism was becoming dogmatized and absolutized as a canonical doctrine and a dominant ideology, Park Se-dang's composition of Namhwagyeong Joohaesanbo was a very innovative attempt, which shows that he established himself as a pioneer to escape Neo-Confucianism, having consolidated his own unique and progressive academic province, differentiating himself from traditional Confucian scholars in his objective.

A Study on the Cooperation between Medical Care and Law - Focusing on the discussion of the role of clinical practice guideline in Japan - (의료와 사법(司法)의 협력 -일본에서의 진료가이드라인의 역할에 대한 논의를 중심으로-)

  • Song, young-min
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
    • /
    • v.23 no.2
    • /
    • pp.39-65
    • /
    • 2022
  • There are two aspects of clinical practice guidelines that act as non-legal control before medical practice and as legal control standards after medical practice. The essential purpose of clinical practice guidelines is the former, but the latter action cannot be excluded. The clinical practice guidelines are a means of linking law and medical care. The negative perception of clinical practice guidelines that medical professionals' autonomy can be violated by the enactment of clinical practice guidelines is an excessive negative evaluation of clinical practice guidelines. Rather, judicial judgment based on clinical practice guidelines plays a role in respecting the autonomy of medical professionals. In other words, the clinical practice guidelines suppress legal regulations on medical care as much as possible and are based on doctors' professional ethics and self-discipline, and patient awareness and cooperation. In order to establish an ideal relationship of cooperation between doctors and patients, 'medical ethics' must be incorporated as a legal means. Clinical practice guidelines are the most appropriate means for incorporating such medical ethics into legal procedures. The lawyer solves the case with a legal syllogism that establishes a norm and applies facts to it to conclude. For the resolution of medical disputes, Clinical practice guidelines are used to establish norms that doctors should perform for specific diseases, and conclusions are drawn by applying the established norms to specific medical practices. When it is not easy to apply the established norms to specific medical practices, medical judgments by experts, such as emotions, expert testimony, and explanations by expert members, are used. As such, the Law respects the autonomy of medical care even in the establishment of norms and the application of norms. In particular, Clinical practice guidelines prepared independently by the medical community are referred to in establishing norms, which are the prerequisites for legal syllogism. This shows that doctors participate in the formation of precedents and contribute to the formation of norms. The use of clinical practice guidelines in trials is respect and consideration for the autonomy of medical care. Although there may be an aspect in which the autonomy of individual doctors is limited by clinical practice guidelines, it should be considered that the autonomy of doctors as a group is respected. In this way, the clinical practice guidelines play a role in protecting the autonomy of the "medical" group from the logic of the "law."

Liability of the Compensation for Damage Caused by the International Passenger's Carrier by Air in Montreal Convention (몬트리올조약에 있어 국제항공여객운송인의 손해배상책임)

  • Kim, Doo-Hwan
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
    • /
    • v.18
    • /
    • pp.9-39
    • /
    • 2003
  • The rule of the Warsaw Convention of 1929 are well known and still being all over the world. The Warsaw Convention is undoubtedly the most widely accepted private international air law treaty with some 140 countries. In the international legal system for air transportation, the Warsaw Convention has played a major role for more than half century, and has been revised many times in consideration of the rapid developments of air high technology, changes of social and economic circumstances, need for the protection of passengers. Some amendments became effective, but others are still not effective. As a result, the whole international legal system for air transportation is at past so complicated and tangled. However, the 'Warsaw system' consists of the Warsaw Convention of 1929 the Guadalajara Convention of 1961, a supplementary convention, and the following six protocols: (1) the Hague Protocol of 1955, (2) the Guatemala Protocol of 1971, (3) the Montreal Additional Protocols, No.1, (4) the Montreal Additional Protocol No.2, (5) the Montreal Additional Protocol No.3, and (6) the Montreal Additional Protocol No.4. of 1975. As a fundamental principle of the air carrier's liability in the international convention and protocols, for instance in the Warsaw Convention and the Hague Protocol, the principle of limited liability and a presumed fault system has been adopted. Subsequently, the Montreal Inter-carrier Agreement of 1966, the Guatemala City Protocol, the Montreal Additional Protocol No.3, and the Montreal Additional Protocol No. 4 of 1975 maintained the limited liability, but substituted the presumed liability system by an absolute liability, that is, strict liability system. The Warsaw System, which sets relatively low compensation limits for victims of aircraft accidents and regulates the limited liability for death and injury of air passengers, had become increasingly outdated. Japanese Airlines and Inter-carrier Agreement of International Air Transport Association in 1995 has been adopted the unlimited liability of air carrier in international flight. The IATA Inter-Carrier Agreement, in which airlines in international air transportation agree to waive the limit of damages, was long and hard in coming, but it was remarkable achievement given the political and economic realities of the world. IATA deserves enormous credit for bringing it about. The Warsaw System is controversial and questionable. In order to find rational solution to disputes between nations which adopted differing liability systems in international air transportation, we need to reform the liability of air carriers the 'Warsaw system' and fundamentally, to unify the liability system among the nations. The International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) will therefore reinforce its efforts to further promote a legal environment that adequately reflects the public interest and the needs of the parties involved. The ICAO Study Group met in April, 1998, together with the Drafting Committee. The time between the "Special Group on the Modernization and Consolidation of the 'Warsaw system'(SGMW)" and the Diplomatic Conference must be actively utilized to arrange for profound studies of the outstanding issues and for wide international consultations with a view to narrowing the scope of differences and preparing for a global international consensus. From 11 to 28 May 1999 the ICAO Headquarters at Montreal hosted a Diplomatic Conference convened to consider, with a view to adoption, a draft Convention intended to modernize and to integrate replace the instruments of the Warsaw system. The Council of ICAO convened this Conference under the Procedure for the Adoption of International Conventions. Some 525 participants from 121 Contracting States of ICAO attended, one non-contracting State, 11 observer delegations from international organizations, a total of 544 registered participants took part in the historic three-week conference which began on 10 May. The Conference was a success since it adopted a new Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air. The 1999 Montreal Convention, created and signed by representatives of 52 countries at an international conference convened by ICAO at Montreal on May 28, 1999, came into effect on November 4, 2003. Representatives of 30 countries have now formally ratified the Convention under their respective national procedures and ratification of the United States, which was the 30th country to ratify, took place on September 5, 2003. Under Article 53.6 of the Montreal Convention, it enters into force on the 60th day following the deposit of the 30th instrument of ratification or acceptation. The United States' ratification was deposited with ICAO on September 5, 2003. The ICAO have succeeded in modernizing and consolidating a 70-year old system of international instruments of private international law into one legal instrument that will provide, for years to come, an adequate level of compensation for those involved in international aircraft accidents. An international diplomatic conference on air law by ICAO of 1999 succeeded in adopting a new regime for air carrier liability, replacing the Warsaw Convention and five other related legal instruments with a single convention that provided for unlimited liability in relation to passengers. Victims of international air accidents and their families will be better protected and compensated under the new Montreal Convention, which modernizes and consolidates a seventy-five year old system of international instruments of private international law into one legal instrument. A major feature of the new legal instrument is the concept of unlimited liability. Whereas the Warsaw Convention set a limit of 125,000 Gold Francs (approximately US$ 8,300) in case of death or injury to passengers, the Montreal Convention introduces a two-tier system. The first tier includes strict liability up to l00,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR: approximately US$ 135,000), irrespective of a carrier's fault. The second tier is based on presumption of fault of a carrier and has no limit of liability. The 1999 Montreal Convention also includes the following main elements; 1. In cases of aircraft accidents, air carriers are called upon to provide advance payments, without delay, to assist entitled persons in meeting immediate economic needs; the amount of this initial payment will be subject to national law and will be deductable from the final settlement; 2. Air carriers must submit proof of insurance, thereby ensuring the availability of financial resources in cases of automatic payments or litigation; 3. The legal action for damages resulting from the death or injury of a passenger may be filed in the country where, at the time of the accident, the passenger had his or her principal and permanent residence, subject to certain conditions. The new Montreal Convention of 1999 included the 5th jurisdiction - the place of residence of the claimant. The acceptance of the 5th jurisdiction is a diplomatic victory for the US and it can be realistically expected that claimants' lawyers will use every opportunity to file the claim in the US jurisdiction - it brings advantages in the liberal system of discovery, much wider scope of compensable non-economic damages than anywhere else in the world and the jury system prone to very generous awards. 4. The facilitation in the recovery of damages without the need for lengthy litigation, and simplification and modernization of documentation related to passengers. In developing this new Montreal Convention, we were able to reach a delicate balance between the needs and interests of all partners in international civil aviation, States, the travelling public, air carriers and the transport industry. Unlike the Warsaw Convention, the threshold of l00,000 SDR specified by the Montreal Convention, as well as remaining liability limits in relation to air passengers and delay, are subject to periodic review and may be revised once every five years. The primary aim of unification of private law as well as the new Montreal Convention is not only to remove or to minimize the conflict of laws but also to avoid conflict of jurisdictions. In order to find a rational solution to disputes between nations which have adopted differing liability systems in international air transport, we need fundamentally to reform their countries's domestic air law based on the new Montreal Convention. It is a desirable and necessary for us to ratify rapidly the new Montreal Convention by the contracting states of lCAO including the Republic of Korea. According to the Korean and Japanese ideas, airlines should not only pay compensation to passengers immediately after the accident, but also the so-called 'condolence' money to the next of kin. Condolence money is a gift to help a dead person's spirit in the hereafter : it is given on account of the grief and sorrow suffered by the next of kin, and it has risen considerably over the years. The total amount of the Korean and Japanese claims in the case of death is calculated on the basis of the loss of earned income, funeral expenses and material demage (baggage etc.), plus condolence money. The economic and social change will be occurred continuously after conclusion of the new Montreal Convention. In addition, the real value of life and human right will be enhanced substantially. The amount of compensation for damage caused by aircraft accident has increased in dollar amount as well as in volume. All air carrier's liability should extend to loss of expectation of leisure activities, as well as to damage to property, and mental and physical injuries. When victims are not satisfied with the amount of the compensation for damage caused by aircraft accident for which an airline corporation is liable under the current liability system. I also would like to propose my opinion that it is reasonable and necessary for us to interpret broadly the meaning of the bodily injury on Article 17 of the new Montreal Convention so as to be included the mental injury and condolence. Furthermore, Korea and Japan has not existed the Air Transport Act regulated the civil liability of air carrier such as Air Transport Act (Luftverkehrsgestz) in Germany. It is necessary for us to enact "the Korean Air Transport Contract Act (provisional title)" in order to regulate the civil liability of air carrier including the protection of the victims and injured persons caused by aircraft accident.

  • PDF

A Study on Korea Coast Guard Intelligence Centered on legal and Institutional comparison to other organizations, domestic and international (해양경비안전본부 정보활동의 법적·제도적 측면의 문제점 분석 및 개선방안 연구)

  • Soon, Gil-Tae
    • Korean Security Journal
    • /
    • no.44
    • /
    • pp.85-116
    • /
    • 2015
  • Found in 23 Dec 1953 to cope with illegal fishing of foreign ships and coastal guard duty, Korea Coast Guard was re-organized as an office under Ministry of Public Safety since the outbreak of sinking of passenger ship "Sewolho". In the course of re-organization, intelligence and investigation duty were transferred to Police Department except "Cases happened on the sea". But the definition of intelligence duty is vague and there are lots of disputes over the jurisdiction and range of activities. With this situation in consideration, the object of this study is to analyse legal and institutional characteristic of KCG Intelligence, to compare them to that of Police Department, foreign agencies like Japan Coast Guard and US Coast Guard, to expose the limit and to suggest solution. To summarize the conclusion, firstly, in the legal side, there is no legal basis on intelligence in [The Government Organization Act], no regulation for mission, weak basis in application act. Secondly, in the institutional side, stated in the minor chapter of [The Government Organization Act], 'the cases happened on sea' is a quite vague definition, while guard, safety, maritime pollution duty falls under 'on the sea' category, intelligence fell to 'Cases happened on the sea' causing coast guard duty and intelligence have different range. In addition, reduced organization and it's manpower led to ineffective intelligence activities. In the case of Police Department, there is definite lines on 'administration concerning public security' in [The Government Organization Act], specified the range of intelligence activities as 'collect, make and distribute information concerning public security' which made the range of main duty and intelligence identical. Japanese and US coast guards also have intelligence branch and performing activities appropriate for the main missions of the organizations. To have superiority in the regional sea, neighboring countries Japan and China are strengthening on maritime power, China has launched new coast guard bureau, Japan has given the coast guard officers to have police authority in the regional islands, and to support the objectives, specialized intelligence is organized and under development. To secure maritime sovereignty and enhance mission capability in maritime safety duty, it is strongly recommended that the KCG intelligence should have concrete legal basis, strengthen the organization and mission, reinforce manpower, and ensure specialized training administrative system.

  • PDF

Interpretation of the Umbrella Clause in Investment Treaties (국제투자조약상 포괄적 보호조항(Umbrella Clauses)의 해석에 관한 연구)

  • Jo, Hee-Moon
    • Journal of Arbitration Studies
    • /
    • v.19 no.2
    • /
    • pp.95-126
    • /
    • 2009
  • One of the controversial issues in investor-state investment arbitration is the interpretation of "umbrella clause" that is found in most BIT and FTAs. This treaty clause requires on Contracting State of treaty to observe all investment obligations entered into with foreign investors from the other Contracting State. This clause did not receive in-depth attention until SGS v. Pakistan and SGS v. Philippines cases produced starkly different conclusions on the relations about treaty-based jurisdiction and contract-based jurisdiction. More recent decisions by other arbitral tribunals continue to show different approaches in their interpretation of umbrella clauses. Following the SGS v. Philippines decision, some recent decisions understand that all contracts are covered by umbrella clause, for example, in Siemens A.G. v. Argentina, LG&E Energy Corp. v. Argentina, Sempra Energy Int'l v. Argentina and Enron Corp. V. Argentina. However, other recent decisions have found a different approach that only certain kinds of public contracts are covered by umbrella clauses, for example, in El Paso Energy Int'l Co. v. Argentina, Pan American Energy LLC v. Argentina and CMS Gas Transmission Co. v. Argentina. With relation to the exhaustion of domestic remedies, most of tribunals have the position that the contractual remedy should not affect the jurisdiction of BIT tribunal. Even some tribunals considered that there is no need to exhaust contract remedies before bringing BIT arbitration, provoking suspicion of the validity of sanctity of contract in front of treaty obligation. The decision of the Annulment Committee In CMS case in 2007 was an extraordinarily surprising one and poured oil on the debate. The Committee composed of the three respected international lawyers, Gilbert Guillaume and Nabil Elaraby, both from the ICJ, and professor James Crawford, the Rapportuer of the International Law Commission on the Draft Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, observed that the arbitral tribunal made critical errors of law, however, noting that it has limited power to review and overturn the award. The position of the Committee was a direct attack on ICSID system showing as an internal recognition of ICSID itself that the current system of investor-state arbitration is problematic. States are coming to limit the scope of umbrella clauses. For example, the 2004 U.S. Model BIT detailed definition of the type of contracts for which breach of contract claims may be submitted to arbitration, to increase certainty and predictability. Latin American countries, in particular, Argentina, are feeling collectively victims of these pro-investor interpretations of the ICSID tribunals. In fact, BIT between developed and developing countries are negotiated to protect foreign investment from developing countries. This general characteristic of BIT reflects naturally on the provisions making them extremely protective for foreign investors. Naturally, developing countries seek to interpret restrictively BIT provisions, whereas developed countries try to interpret more expansively. As most of cases arising out of alleged violation of BIT are administered in the ICSID, a forum under the auspices of the World Bank, these Latin American countries have been raising the legitimacy deficit of the ICSID. The Argentine cases have been provoking many legal issues of international law, predicting crisis almost coming in actual investor-state arbitration system. Some Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, already showed their dissatisfaction with the ICSID system considering withdrawing from it to minimize the eventual investor-state dispute. Thus the disagreement over umbrella clauses in their interpretation is becoming interpreted as an historical reflection on the continued tension between developing and developed countries on foreign investment. There is an academic and political discussion on the possible return of the Calvo Doctrine in Latin America. The paper will comment on these problems related to the interpretation of umbrella clause. The paper analyses ICSID cases involving principally Latin American countries to identify the critical legal issues arising between developing and developed countries. And the paper discusses alternatives in improving actual investor-State investment arbitration; inter alia, the introduction of an appellate system and treaty interpretation rules.

  • PDF

A Study on the Clauses of the Work-Related Disease due to Overwork in the Workmen's Compensation Law (과로로 인한 업무상 질병의 산재보상 인정기준에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Eun Hee
    • Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
    • /
    • v.6 no.1
    • /
    • pp.23-43
    • /
    • 1997
  • The work-related diseases due to continuous overwork are mainly cerebro- and cardio-vascular ones, which is commonly called 'Karoshi', death from overwork. Many factors are capable for Karoshi : occupational stress in relation to technological renovation and industrial rationalization, competitive social structure, and accumulated fatigue accured to long time or irregular working. And its occurence is on the rise. The World Labor Report 1993 released by ILO, pointed out the diseases related to overwork and stress as one of the most important occupational health problem. In Korea, social awareness of Karoshi is at an infant stage, and reliable statistics for its occurence are not compiled in a convenient manner. Despite the rising Karoshi, there are no reliable clauses in workmen's compensation enough to settle down the disputes. Therefore, it is not uncommon that the Labour Ministry and Civil Court find difficulties in reaching an agreement. This study was intended to provide proper compensation and prevention program for workers by suggesting reasonable compensation clauses for the death from overwork. This study consists of two comparative reviews on the compensaton clauses for the death from overwork. One is to review legal standards of Karoshi among three countries, such as Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The other is to investigate the cases of Karoshi in Korea, 121 cases identified at the Labor Welfare Corperation and the Labour Ministrial process of examination and reexamination, and 73 leading cases at the High Court of Justice. The main findings of the study are as follows : 1. Comparisons of comperative review on compensation clauses for the death from overwork among three countries. 1) All of three countries have the same kinds of disease for compensation, which were cerebro-and cardiao-vascular diseases, while for cardiac disease group, Korea has the smaller number of diseases for compensation than Japan. 2) As for the definition of overwork, the three countries share equally that overload for one week prior to collapse is considered as an important factor, but accumulated chronic fatigue is disregarded. 3) As the basis of overwork, in Japan, there is a tendency to move from the conditions of an ordinary healthy adult to those of the individual concerned in Japan, whereas there is no such concern yet in Korea. 4) All the three countries use a common standard of medical judgement in demonstrating causal relationship between a job and a disease. However, Korea is progressive in the sense that in the case of CVA at worksite, the worker himself has no obligation to prove the cause. 2. The results of a comparative review on excutive decisions by Labor Ministry and judicial decisions by the Court in Korea : A judicial decision is based on the legalistic probability, but a excutive decision is not. Therefore, excutive decisions have such restrictions that : 1) TIA (transitory ischemic cerebral attack) and myocarditis are excluded from compensation, and there is little consistency of decision in the case of cause-unknown death. 2) There is a tendency not to compensate for the death from overwork since the work terms such as repeated long-time working, shift work or night-shift work are not considered as overloading. 3) There is a tendency to regard the conditions of a ordinary healthy adult rather than those of the individual concerned(age, existing diseases, health state, etc.) as the comparative basis of overload. 4) There remains a tendency not to compensate for the death from overwork in the case of collapse occuring out of workplace, on the ground of 'on the course of working' and 'in the cause of accident'. Through the study, the fact manifests itself that Korea's compensation clauses for work-related diseases due to overwork are very restrictive. So, it is necessary to extend the Labor Ministry's clauses of compensation for the death from overwork following to the recent changes of other countries and internal judicial decisions. This is very important in the perspective of occupational health that aims at health promotion of workers including prevention of the Karoshi.

  • PDF