Journal of Business Law 8/2020

Bilateral free trade agreements and bilateral investment treaties have evolved enormously since the former were signed. The changes consist primarily in covering a broader spectrum of issues which, in addition to the rights and obligations of investors and host countries, define a new axiological basis and further values implemented through the agreements. What has also changed is the legal environment in which the agreements are implemented, including the regulations specifying the competences of the EU member states to sign free trade and investment protection agreements. New multilateral investment agreements have also emerged in global trade. The approach to entrusting investment disputes to arbitration courts has changed. The aim of this study is to anticipate possible scenarios for further regulation of (existing and future) investments made by UK investors in EU countries and vice versa after Brexit.

The article aims to study, in a systematic framework, the main profiles of the effect brought by the fiscal variable on international economic activities. The main causes of the distortions that occur are identified in the configuration of the current regulatory models of international tax law, dating back to the 1920s. The resulting proposal is to go beyond these regulatory models and to adopt a Destination-Based Approach, suitable to neutralize the main international tax-elusion strategies and to reduce the harmful tax competition among States by establishing more equitable criteria in international relationships.

The present contribution aims to scrutinize the recent Directive 2019/1 on the empowerment of National Competition Authorities, looking at the main innovations provided for, as their structure, roles, competences and powers. The concluding remarks analyse the impact of the Directive, with regard to the future implementation and application of the Directive, adding a general appreciation to the harmonization process.

The aim of this article is to analyze the potential impact of international climate law on the trade liberalization. Flexibility mechanisms introduced by the Kyoto protocol and Paris agreement result in the creation of trade-related environmental measures. Those measures are created by the states in their national policies aiming at implementation of flexibility mechanisms into national legal orders. Trade-related environmental measures are not directly identified by the WTO law. This creates a situation where such measures may be challenged in the WTO dispute resolution system. Article shows potential threats and tries to underline axiological common ground between climate change law and WTO law, which enable wider acceptance of the use of trade-related environmental measures between the WTO members.

The article deals with the issue of protecting Polish consumers who are customers of non-domestic lenders (i.e lenders with no registered seats on the territory of the Republic of Poland) granting facilities to Polish consumers. The protection is shown in the context of public oversight over non-domestic lenders, exercised as part of the supervision over the financial market. The purpose of the article is to analyze on what legal basis those non-domestic entities conduct their activities in Poland and how enforcement is used to ensure their compliance with the applicable provisions of law regarding taking up and running of activities in this area, as a part of the supervision of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Komisja Nadzoru Finansowego, KNF) over such entities.

The article is also an attempt to answer the following questions — are competences of KNF as lenders supervisory authority under the supervision of the financial market sufficient to provide consumers with protection while using services on the consumer credit market in Poland?; Is it indirect (or direct) protection and should the role of KNF in this respect be changed?