scholarly journals General Anti-Avoidance Rules Revisited: Reflections on Tim Edgar's "Building a Better GAAR"

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 579-611
Author(s):  
David G. Duff
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Policy Response ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Consistent Manner ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
Subjective Element ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Explicit Rule

In addition to the requirement of a tax benefit or advantage, the application of most modern general anti-avoidance rules (GAARs) turns on two elements: a "subjective element," which considers the purpose for which the transaction or arrangement resulting in the tax benefit or advantage was undertaken or arranged; and an "objective element," which considers the object or purpose of the relevant provisions to determine whether the tax benefit resulting from the transaction or arrangement is consistent with this object or purpose. Although these two elements are present in most modern GAARs, the function of each element within these rules and the relationship between them are often poorly understood. Other unresolved issues concern the roles of artificiality and economic substance in the application of these rules, and the relationship, if any, between these concepts and the "subjective" and "objective" elements of the rules. A final set of issues involves the uncertainty that GAARs may engender, the ability of judges to apply these rules and principles in a coherent and consistent manner, and the compatibility of these rules and principles with the rule of law. The author addresses these issues by reflecting on Tim Edgar's article "Building a Better GAAR." The first part of the paper considers the rationale for a general anti-avoidance rule or principle, arguing that such a rule not only represents a useful policy response to the harmful consequences of tax avoidance (the consequentialist argument that Professor Edgar espoused), but also may be justified on the non-consequentialist grounds that it protects the integrity of the provisions at issue and thereby upholds the rule of law. In the second part of the paper, the author builds on this analysis to consider the design of a general anti-avoidance rule or principle, arguing that it should be codified in the form of an explicit rule, should include subjective and objective elements such as the "purpose" and "misuse or abuse" requirements in the Canadian GAAR, and should be informed by concepts of artificiality and economic substance that apply to, respectively, the subjective and objective elements of the rule.

scholarly journals Law, Democracy, and the Rule of Law

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-38
Author(s):  
Mireille Hildebrandt
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Reasoning ◽  
Legal Certainty ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Dynamic Architecture ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
Legal Effect ◽  
Rules And Principles ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter faces the question of law's ‘mode of existence’, by asking what law does—and how. To accomplish this, the chapter explains the concept of the ‘sources of law’ and the nature of legal reasoning, notably the attribution of legal effect when specified legal conditions apply. The crucial distinction between primary (regulative) and secondary (constitutive) rules is discussed, thus demonstrating that law is not a ‘bag of rules’ but a dynamic architecture of legal norms (rules and principles). Finally, we address the question of the relationship between law, democracy, and the rule of law. To qualify as law, a normative framework must aim to sustain, develop, and balance certain values—even though they may be incompatible in concrete cases. These constitutive values are defined as legal certainty, justice, and instrumentality.

The Relationship between Constitutions, Socioeconomics, and the Rule of Law: A Quantitative Thermodynamic Approach

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Jaffe ◽  
Antonio Canova ◽  
Jose Gregorio Contreras ◽  
Ana Cecilia Soares ◽  
Juan Carlos Correa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Thermodynamic Approach ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Relationship

TAX PLANNING AND STATE AID UNDER THE EUROPEAN LAW

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (05) ◽  
pp. 228-232
Author(s):  
Aygun Gunduz Guliyeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Tax Avoidance ◽  
Tax Planning ◽  
State Aid ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
European Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court

There is a strong link between funding criteria from government sources and the advantage and selectivity associated with classifying an event as government assistance. However, the selectivity criterion is very important when considering whether there is a banned state aid. Finally, the European Court of Justice no longer applies the rule of law and exclusion to selectivity. Instead, the selectivity review consists of two parts: whether a precaution is selective and whether preference is necessary and proportionate. Key words: EU, tax, tax avoidance, state aid, tax planning, competition

scholarly journals The New Wars: Terrorism and “Asymmetric” Warfare

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-108
Author(s):  
Alexander Treiblmaier
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
National Defense ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Asymmetric Warfare ◽  
New Wars ◽  
Terrorist Groups ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Rules And Principles

The term “new wars” is often used to describe how terrorist groups achieve objectives in addition to the “classic” means of intervention by states. Terrorist organizations use asymmetric methods of warfare to target the weaknesses of Western states. Consequently, conventional wars have also changed into hybrid wars. The legal status of terrorist organizations is a major problem for the rule of law. In responding to terrorist attacks, the distinction between crime and terrorism is difficult. The “war on terror” is governed by different rules and principles and is extremely difficult to wage. Conflicts last a long time and victory against terrorism is rarely possible due to the networked structure of terrorist organizations and the way they intermingle with the population. In addition to an alliance-wide approach, there is a national solution to answer these new threats in form of the comprehensive national defense in Austria.

scholarly journals Correlation of Law and Order in Society

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (64) ◽  
pp. 53-61
Author(s):  
Gabdrakhman H. Valiev ◽  
Sergey V. Kondratyuk ◽  
Natalia A. Prodanova ◽  
Irina A. Babalikova ◽  
Kermen I. Makaeva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Human Rights Organizations ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Concrete Reality

The problem of the relationship of law and order is relevant to any modern society. The article tries to analyze this relationship, taking into account judicial, police and other activities. The named concepts are closely interconnected, but are not identical. They are correlated as cause and effect: there is a rule of law, there is no rule of law. One suggests the other. The rule of law as concrete reality logically precedes the rule of law as a doctrine, the connection here is hard, causal. The process is one. Law and order: a real indicator of the state of legality, reflects the degree of compliance with the laws, the requirements of all legal regulations. It is concluded that the rule of law is the end result of the implementation of legal requirements and, at the same time, the objective of legal regulation, since it is for the formation and maintenance of the rule of law that laws are issued, thus like other regulatory legal acts, various institutions and bodies and, above all, the justice system, the control system, various human rights organizations and social movements.

scholarly journals CORRUPTION, CAPITAL ABUNDANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlatka Bilas ◽  
Mile Bošnjak ◽  
Sanja Franc
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this paper is to establish and clarify the relationship between corruption level and development among European Union countries. Out of the estimated model in this paper one can conclude that the level of corruption can explain capital abundance differences among European Union countries. Also, explanatory power of corruption is higher in explaining economic development than in explaining capital abundance, meaning stronger relationship between corruption level and economic development than between corruption level and capital abundance. There is no doubt that reducing corruption would be beneficial for all countries. Since corruption is a wrongdoing, the rule of law enforcement is of utmost importance. However, root causes of corruption, namely the institutional and social environment: recruiting civil servants on a merit basis, salaries in public sector competitive to the ones in private sector, the role of international institutions in the fight against corruption, and some other corruption characteristics are very important to analyze in order to find effective ways to fight corruption. Further research should go into this direction.

scholarly journals Connecting Reproductive Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law: Lessons from Poland in Times of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 1072-1097
Author(s):  
Atina Krajewska
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Reproductive Rights ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Abortion Law ◽  
Polish Society ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Tribunal ◽  
Litmus Test ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article examines the relationship between reproductive rights, democracy, and the rule of law in transitional societies. As a case study, it examines the development of abortion law in Poland. The article makes three primary claims. First, it argues that the relationship between reproductive rights and the rule of law in Poland came clearly into view through the abortion judgment K 1/20, handed down by the Constitutional Tribunal in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. The judgment and the context in which it was issued and published are interpreted as reflections of deep-lying processes and problems in Polish society. Consequently, second, the article argues that analysis of the history of reproductive rights in recent decades in Poland reveals weak institutionalization of the rule of law. This is manifest in the ways in which different professional groups, especially doctors and lawyers, have addressed questions regarding abortion law. Therefore, third, the article argues that any assessment of the rule of law should take into account how powerful professional actors and organizations interact with the law. The Polish case study shows that reproductive rights should be seen as important parts of a “litmus test,” which we can use to examine the efficacy of democratic transitions and the quality of the democracies in which such transitions result.

scholarly journals A European convergence towards a stare decisis model?

2015 ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Civitarese
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Stare Decisis ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Law System ◽  
Legal Space ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

The article revolves around the doctrine of precedent within the so-called European legal space, wondering whether and to what extent we can speak of a convergence towards a stare decisis model boosted by the harmonizing role of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The article argues that although there are still some differences between civil law and common law legal systems they regard more the style of reasoning and the deep understanding of the relationship between the present decision of a court and past judicial decisions than the very existence of the constraints of the latter upon the former. The article concludes that a sort of mechanism of stare decisis has in fact been created, even though, on the one hand, uncertainty remains as to the way in which the binding force of a precedent concretely operates in the system, and on the other hand, this mechanism relates exclusively to the relationships between past and future decisions of higher courts (horizontal effect). This change, far from being a shift towards a truly judge-made law system or a consequence of the final abandonment of the dictates of the rule of law, enhances legal certainty contributing to the fundamental requirement of stability of law as a feature of the ideal of the rule of law.

The Moral Dimension of Constitutional Faith

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanford Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Moral Dimension ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Law And Morality ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter considers the relationship between the Constitution—and the sovereign people ostensibly represented in its terms—and morality. Constitution faith requires the linkage of law and morality even as most twentieth-century jurisprudence has emphasized their analytic separation. All calls for renewed faith in the rule of law and renewal of the constitutional covenant imply that submission to the Constitution will create not only order but also the conditions of a social order worthy of respect. In order to see the logic and desirability of submission to the rule of the Constitution, the assumed linkage between it and morality must be closely examined.

Conclusion

Equity ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 189-196
Author(s):  
Irit Samet
Keyword(s):  
General Solution ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Relationship

In this concluding chapter I discuss some findings from the analysis of three of Equity’s fundamental doctrines we explored: fiduciary law, proprietary estoppel, and clean hands. I wish to highlight the traits they share and consider the relationship between the legal ideals of efficiency and Accountability Correspondence which they exemplify. Drawing up the strings of the last three chapters will also reveal how the courts use the category of conscionability to ensure that the value of the Rule of Law is sacrificed only in cases where it is necessary to maintain a healthy balance with Accountability Correspondence, in a way that also serves efficiency. Finally, I wish to show how the discussions of the specific doctrines support the argument that the fusion project as a general solution to the friction between law and Equity ought to be rejected.

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