Stuart Weinstein

Council regulation (EC) 44/2001 and internet consumer contracts: Some thoughts on article 15 and the futility of applying ‘in the box’ conflict of law rules to the ‘out of the box’ borderless world

Abstract The Internet is by definition a borderless medium. Reflecting on the Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 and Internet Consumer Contracts, this article develops some thoughts on the futility of applying some traditional conflict of law rules to the borderless world. It focuses on a few aspects attempting to establish when thinking ‘out of the box’ may be of benefit to consumers and their protection under article 15.

The Copyright Clink Conundrum: Is Chan Nai-Ming the Modern Day Josef K.?

Abstract A study of the plight of the unfortunate3 Mr Chan Nai-Ming of Hong Kong leads the authors to conclude that a by-product of the digital age is the increasing criminalisation of copyright law. Increasingly, there is a worldwide trend to impose criminal liability for copyright infringement. For instance, in Australia broad ranging amendments to the Copyright Act, which (in part) implement obligations under the Australia–US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) were introduced into parliament on 19 October 2006.4 This is part of a growing trend that originated in the United States with the introduction of harsh criminal laws to prohibit the infringement of copyrighted works to prevent piracy.5 However, according to the Law Societys intellectual property working group an EU directive intended to target organized crime could see innocent victims face criminal proceedings for intellectual property infringement.6 Significantly, it would appear that few have considered the absurd ‘full-on’ ramifications of this attempt to impose criminal sanctions on those who commit minor infringements of copyrighted works.

?By Failing To Prepare, You Are Preparing To Fail?: The Importance Of Teaching Legal Risk Management, Governance And Compliance To Law Students

High profile corporate scandals have not only taught us that the loss of reputation can have a significant, if not, fatal effect on a company but also ensured that the study and implementation of legal risk management is at the forefront of the UK?s business and legal sectors. The significance of the complex assortment of new and often contradictory laws and regulations with which companies are faced in today?s global business environment should not be underestimated. Many international companies recognise this and invest heavily in implementing internal mechanisms and controls to detect and prevent compliance breaches. However, such systems and controls cannot succeed without the development of a strong compliance culture that gets ?buy-in? from all levels of a business. At the heart of this compliance culture is a company?s legal and compliance manager(s). Effective legal risk management and compliance requires a company?s legal and compliance manager(s) to gain a substantive knowledge of business and societal risks, awareness and insight into regulation and regulatory changes as well as an understanding of the potential impact of regulation on their organisation. Once these risks have been identified, and appropriate regulatory challenges ascertained, a business must develop, implement and communicate internal policies and ensure that effective control systems are also in place.In order to prove both efficient and effective, a business? legal and compliance manager(s) must draw informed links between regulation and the formulation of sound internal policies related to risks and controls at all relevant levels of their organisation. They must also implementation appropriate procedures to support such policies. Consequently, in order to be effective, a company?s legal and compliance manager(s) must not just identify problems but, more importantly, draw upon proven solutions to ensure success. The legal risk management process relies on a business? ability to manage processes, implement change, track issues, screen potential clients, partners and employees and to implement appropriate remediation.The pressure on management to ensure that a business operates in a compliant way is considerable, and growing. Managers must be permanently on their guard against things going wrong and, as such, are reliant on their legal and compliance manager(s) being ever vigilant and seeking to reduce risk to a minimum. The authors argue that in order to gain a well-rounded, informed business-focused preparation for work within the legal sector, every law student should, at some stage, gain a grounding in Legal Risk Management, Governance & Compliance.