This book offers a comparative perspective on 18 countries’ legal regulation of crowdfunding. In the wake of the financial crises of 2008, use of this alternative financing method has increased substantially, in various forms. Whereas some states have adopted tailor-made regimes in order to regulate but also encourage this way of financing projects, allowing loans to be made by non-banking institutions, others still haven’t specifically addressed the subject. An analysis of these diverse legislative stances offers readers a range of legal solutions for managing crowdfunding activities...

With regard to family law, this volume examines claims based on cultural tradition, ethnic background, custom, religious affiliation and sexual orientation, as well as various other “claims” that are not officially recognized in state law, in 15 jurisdictions around the world.The country reports seek to determine whether these claims represent a challenge to family law as conceived by the state, and if so, how these challenges are being managed. The focus lies on the interaction between (i) claims and traditions raising minority-related and diversity-related issues and (ii) the state as...

This book addresses the importance of bilingualism in legal education. Written by respected experts in the field, it presents reports on bilingual legal education in countries with such diverse cultures and histories as Belgium, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Romania, Singapore, Taiwan and the USA. The findings are also summarized in a General Report that was presented at the 20th IACL General Congress in Fukuoka, Japan.

This book explores the challenge that the commons present to the private-public dichotomy in a wide variety of national legal systems representing the West European legal tradition as well as post-socialist and post-colonial experiences. It presents national reports from 13 jurisdictions, ranging from Belgium and the South Africa to the US. Constituting the outcome of the 20th General Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law, held in Fukuoka, Japan in July 2018, it offers a valuable and unique resource for the study of comparative law.

This book presents a comparative study on various issues regarding legal aspects of cruises – mainly, the importance of the cruise business, the impact of cruise tourism, general and specific rules applicable to cruises, liability issues, cruise passengers as consumers, package travel, labor rules for cruise workers, relevant rules on ports (e.g. on taxes, costs and rates charged to cruises in different ports), rules on the environmental impact of cruises, jurisdiction, arbitration, and choice of law in cruise contracts, and general conditions used by companies offering cruise services –...