Special economic zones (SEZs) have become a permanent feature of the world trade scene. This book, the first to provide a critical and comprehensive analysis of SEZs covering a wide spectrum of countries and regions, shows how SEZs, albeit established at the domestic level by different countries, raise multiple legal issues under international economic law. This first-rate book is the product of the Asia FDI Forum IV held in Hong Kong in 2018. Thoroughly exploring the development of the SEZ phenomenon and its players, the contributing authors (all leading economic law experts) review the issues raised by SEZs in the context of international trade law, international investment law and investment arbitration. They identify the extent to which SEZs have been coherent in their design and policymaking, in particular with regard to domestic law reforms. They address such aspects (both core themes and specific examples) as the following: investment protection in China’s SEZs; state-owned enterprises regulation; dispute settlement; under what circumstances incentives available in SEZs count as export subsidies prohibited under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules; compliance with internal market rules in European Union (EU) free zones; local populations as victims of land expropriation; Brazil’s Manaus Free Trade Zone; India’s experience with multiple SEZs; the administrative approval system in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone; economic corridors and transit routes as SEZs; ‘refugee cities’: SEZs for migrants; how China’s Supreme People’s Court serves national strategy; how foreign investors challenge free-zone regimes; impacts of the establishment of SEZs on tax revenues; SEZs and labour migration; and management models. The chapters also include insights into the new emerging generation of international investment agreements; WTO accession, transparency, and case law materials clarifying specific trade issues associated with SEZs; and new rules to protect the environment and labour rights, as well as analysis of crucially significant cases such as Goetz v. The Republic of Burundi, Lee Jong Baek v. Kyrgyzstan and Ampal-American and Others v. Egypt. With its critical and comprehensive analysis of the dynamic SEZ phenomenon across legal, economic, investment, regulatory and policy matrices – including a thorough analysis of the success factors and required policies for SEZs – this book takes a giant step towards answering the question whether SEZs fundamentally contradict norms of international law or whether SEZs have to be considered as laboratories which facilitate the implementation of international economic policies. Its careful examination of theory and practice and its approach to lessons learned from case studies will reward trade and investment officials, policymakers, diplomats, economists, lawyers, think tanks, business leaders and others interested in this ever more important area of law and economics.

This book explains the definition, concepts, practices and procedures of Free Zone operations; how they are created, how they operate, and their benefits to the global and national economy. Readers will be able to understand why Free Zones exist, their role in the development and maintenance of international trade, and how they contribute to national and global economic development and wellbeing, especially in developing nations. The author explains the processes in the establishment of Free Zones, and how government legislation and initiatives assist in this process. The book comprehensively but accessibly covers the topics of Freeports, Free Zones, Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and Special Economoic Zones (SEZs), as well as issues such as Customs requirements, Free Zone law and government initiatives, including the new UK Freeport initiative. It analyses the role of such Zones in global economic development and considers the challenges and issues related to Free Zone development and operation, including security and potential crime. The book also provides a series of case studies into selected global examples of Free Zones, EPZs and SEZs. Freeports and Free Zones will have a broad readership, being of interest to global economic, fiscal and government institutions, policymakers, legal practitioners and advisers, economic and business advisers, port and airport authorities and major multinational enterprises. It will be especially relevant to the food, automotive, defence, manufacturing, logistics, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), pharmaceutical, aviation and maritime industries.

"International economic order (IEO) is a fashionable term, sometimes liberally used and often not defined. The IEO, in the sense in which we are employing the phrase, is essentially modern in character. It is a general description of the legal norms of international economic relations and its scope is confined largely to the sphere of public international law and international economic law, but, occasionally, private international law and national legal norms with extraterritorial effects are also included"--

"This book, designed for policymakers, academics and researchers, and SEZ program practitioners, provides the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of SEZ programs in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is the result of detailed surveys and case studies conducted during 2009 in ten developing countries, including six in Sub-Saharan Africa. The book provides quantitative evidence of the performance of SEZs, and of the factors which contribute to that performance, highlighting the critical importance not just of the SEZ itself but of the wider national investment climate in which it functions. It also provides a comprehensive guide to the key policy questions that confront governments establishing SEZ programs, including: if and when to launch an SEZ program, what form of SEZ is most appropriate, and how to go about implementing it. Among the most important findings from the study that is stressed in the book is the shift from traditional enclave models of zones to SEZs that are integrated ? with national trade and industrial strategies, with core trade and social infrastructure, with domestic suppliers, and with local labor markets.Although the book focuses primarily on the experience of Sub-Saharan Africa, its lessons will be applicable to developing countries around the world."

The post-Cold War era has seen an unprecedented move towards more legalization in international cooperation and a growth of third-party dispute settlement systems. WTO panels, the Appellate Body and investor-state dispute settlement cases have received increasing attention beyond the core trade and investment constituencies within governments. Scrutiny by business, civil society, academia, and trade and investment experts has been on the rise. This book asks whether we observe a transformation or a demise of existing institutions and mechanisms to adjudicate disputes over trade or investment. It makes a contribution to the question in which direction international economic dispute settlement is heading in times of change, uncertainty and increasing economic nationalism. In order to do so, it brings together chapters written by leading researchers and experts in law and political science to address the challenges of settling disputes in the global economy and to sketch possible scenarios ahead of us.

Frontiers of International Economic Law: Legal Tools to Confront Interdisciplinary Challenges offers innovative interdisciplinary solutions to global challenges along four themes: facing economic crises and uncertainties, confronting environmental challenges, considering human rights and development objectives, and finally, regulating energy transit and new technologies.