Multinational Enterprises and the Law is the only comprehensive, contemporary, and interdisciplinary account of the techniques used to regulate multinational enterprises (MNEs) at the national, regional, and multilateral levels. In addition, it considers the effects of corporate self-regulation, and the impact of civil society and community groups upon the development of the legal order in this area. The book has been thoroughly revised and updated for this third edition, making it a definitive reference work for students, researchers, and practitioners of international economic law, business, corporate and commercial law, development studies, and international politics.
Split into four parts, the book first deals with the conceptual basis for MNE regulation. It explains the growth of MNEs, their business and legal forms, and the relationship between them and the effects of a globalized economy and society, now increasingly challenged by recently revived nationalist economic policies, upon the evolution of regulatory agendas in the field. In addition, the limits of national and regional jurisdiction over MNE activities are considered, a question that arises throughout the specialized areas of regulation covered in the remainder of the book. Part II covers the main areas of economic regulation, including controls over, and the liberalization of, entry and establishment, tax, company and competition law and the impact of intellectual property rights on technology diffusion and transfer. A specialized chapter on the regulation of multinational banks in the wake of the global financial crisis is new to this edition. Part III introduces the social dimension of MNE regulation covering labour rights, human rights, and environmental issues. Finally, Part IV deals with the contribution of international investment law to MNE regulation and to the control of investment risks, covering the main provisions found in international investment agreements, their interpretation by international tribunals, the process of investor-state arbitration, and how concerns over these developments are leading to reform proposals.
Peter Muchlinski is Emeritus Professor in International Commercial Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Prior to joining SOAS he was Professor of Law and International Business at Kent Law School, University of Kent (2001-5). He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the London School of Economics (1983-1998), and Drapers' Professor of Law in the Law Department of Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, from 1998 to 2001. He specialises in international business and economic law, comparative corporate law and international investment law in which fields he has authored numerous papers and articles. His more recent published work concentrates on business and human rights. He is a door tenant at Brick Court Chambers, London, and has also acted as a legal adviser to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on investment law and policy issues.
