We are delighted to announce the third issue of the LSE Law School’s Legal Studies Working Paper Series for 2023.
In this issue, Oliver Hailes (WPS 23/2023) explores the challenges relating to the valuation of compensation paid to fossil fuel companies in successful claims before investment treaty arbitration tribunals in relation to phase-out disputes, and argues that the quantum of compensation derived from the standard discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation process can be reduced through a broader consideration of a claimant’s contributory fault, their duty to mitigate damages, and a respondent’s successful counterclaim; Siva Thambisetty (WPS 24/2023) argues that the freedom of marine scientific research in the new Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty is a normative novelty in this setting that seeks to transcend the binary distinction between the common heritage of mankind and the freedom of the high seas, and move towards a more functional and equitable response to the enclosure of marine genetic resources; Giulia Claudia Leonelli (WPS 25/2023) argues against the 'securitisation' of the trade and climate change nexus, showing that the pursuit of dominance in key net-zero industries, the reshoring of supply chains, opportunistic forms of friendshoring, and loose agreement on regulatory means undermine decarbonisation at both national and transnational levels; Moran Ofir and Tal Elmakiess (WPS 26/2023) define the eco-agency problem, explore existing coping measures and argue, based on the findings of an experimental study, that an environmental disclosure mechanism is required to reflect the existing preferences of investors for sustainable investment and help drive positive change at the corporate level; Grégoire Webber (WPS 27/2023) reviews Wojciech Sadurski's Constitutional Public Reason, exploring the relationship between the legislative measures voted on by legislators and their motivations for so voting with reference to GEM Anscombe's famous example of a man at a pump; Eduardo Baistrocchi (WPS 28/2023) analyses the role of global tax hubs in the international tax regime and argues that they are best understood as a two-sided global marketplace – analogous to Uber for ridesharing – which plays a matchmaking role connecting endpoint jurisdictions with international investors; Grégoire Webber (WPS 29/2023) argues that moral autonomy and independence are central to the liberal concept of government, and that the authority of government is instrumental to the development of human capabilities to enrich that autonomy and independence; Siva Thambisetty, Paul Oldham, and Claudio Chiarolla (WPS 30/2023) present their contribution to the negotiating efforts of the G77/China Group, chaired by Cuba, at the reconvened fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference on the draft Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction in the form of an expert briefing document setting out developing states' positions and draft textual proposals on marine genetic resources; and Alperen Gözlügöl (WPS 31/2023) argues that as adaptation to climate change becomes ever-more important, policymakers must seek to prevent the danger of deadweight loss and moral hazard that can arise from the expectation of government bailouts of firms affected by climate-related impacts, by pushing those firms to build resilience against climate risk.