Towards International Mechanisms for Resolving Investment Disputes in Qatar

In addition to possessing one of the largest proven gas reserves worldwide, Qatar benefits from a strategic location between the East and West, forming an attractive destination for foreign direct investments. Law No. 1/2019 regulating non-Qatari capital investments provides investors with greater political and social stability along with a full range of benefits. The most significant among these benefits is the freedom offered by the legislator to resolve any dispute by choosing any type of settlement dispute. Hence, Article 16 of Law No. 1/2019 states that ‘unless it is a labour dispute, the non-Qatari Investor may agree to settle any dispute between them and others through arbitration or any other means of settling disputes in accordance with the law’. This article will discuss and analyse the other means of dispute settlement mechanism compatible with Qatar, especially when online dispute resolution has become more significant in the era of COVID-19.

Burden of proof in a labour dispute

The actual implementation of labor rights is possible if there are working mechanisms for the protection of violated rights in the legislation. The effectiveness of such protection depends, inter alia, on the procedural rules that secure the position of the disputing parties, their rights, obligations, and the rules for the distribution of the burden of proof. In this paper, we will focus on the norms that enshrine the rules for distributing the burden of proof of circumstances that are important for resolving a labor dispute. English version of the article is available at URL: https://panor.ru/articles/burden-of-proof-in-a-labour-dispute/71251.html

KEKUASAAN DISKRESI HAKIM PENGADILAN HUBUNGAN INDUSTRIAL

In this article the author discusses the discretionary powers granted to Labour Dispute Court judges. Better known, in comparison, are the discretionary powers of criminal court judges in determining penal sanctions or of Islamic court judges when granting dispensation to marry for underage couples. Using a juridical normative method, the discussion focusses on the principles underlying the Labour Dispute Court judge’ discretionary powers and its implementation. The analysis shows that Labour Dispute Court judges do have and enjoy discretionary powers in determining betterment of working conditions, how to best fill gaps or seek clarity in the face of ambiguous rules and regulations found in work contract, company regulations or collective work agreement.

How Some Lawyers Prioritise Earnings and Not Necessarily the Best Interests of Their Clients

This case deals with an employee seeking justice in a labour dispute and who ends up paying a small fortune in legal fees and still fails to find satisfaction. The case provides food for thought for human resource practitioners and particularly lawyers regarding under the circumstances when they should be ethically bound to advise disgruntled employees to cease pursuing a grievance that has little prospect of success. How and when should the human resource practitioner provide professional and independent advice, and when should the ethical (sic) lawyer refuse to approach the courts with a case containing insufficient merit?

THE PROSPECT OF CHANNELING DISPUTE BETWEEN LABOUR AND FOREIGN INVESTOR

The recent trend of international investment agreement (IIA) is the termination of bilateral investment treaties, although on the other direction, free trade agreement with investment chapter is growing in numbers. Most of the reason of the termination is because of the unbalance position between two parties in the agreement. Added to the problem is the investor-state dispute resolution which made possible for the investor to bring claim to the host state government. The IIA was constructed to provide a protection for the investor from unfair treatment from the host country, however in the end the one who treated unfairly was the host country. The multinationals corporation, as prominent actors in global FDI, changed the way of production chain which then substituted their presence within the host country and replaced it by a third-party for supplying the MNC’s need. Many cases regarding violations of labour rights happened because of this production chain model. However, the MNCs denied the responsibility and argued that the supplier should take the responsibility based on the production chain model. This paper will explain on why IIA is not an effective channel to solve labour dispute and that National Contact Point established by OECD as one of options available for this type of dispute. Abstrak: Trend perjanjian investasi internasional pada saat ini adalah banyaknya negara yang kemudian menterminasi perjanjian investasi yang mereka pernah buat, walaupun di sisi lain perjanjian perdagangan bebas yang mengandung ketentuan investasi semakin bertambah. Alasan terbanyak dari terminasi perjanjian ini adalah karena tidak seimbangnya kedudukan dari kedua belah pihak dalam perjanjian. Satu hal yang juga dianggap masalah adalah dengan adanya penyelesaian sengketa investor dan negara yang memungkinkan bagi investor untuk menggugat pemerintah dari negara tempat investasi itu dilakukan. Perjanjian investasi internasional memang dikonstruksikan untuk memberikan perlindungan bagi investor dari perlakuan yang tidak adil pemerintah negara tempat investasi dilakukan, tetapi pada akhirnya negaralah yang menjadi korban. Perusahaan multinasional sebagai pemain utama dalam investasi global, mengubah rantai produksi dimana mereka sebelumnya memiliki perusahaan pada negara tempat investasi dilakukan, menjadi pihak ketiga untuk memasok kebutuhan perusahan multinasional ini. Banyak kasus pelanggaran hak tenaga kerja akibat dari model rantai produksi ini. Tetapi perusahaan nasional kemudian menolak untuk bertanggung jawab dan berargumen bahwa pemasok lah yang seharusnya bertanggung jawab didasarkan pada model rantai produksi yang mereka lakukan. Artikel ini akan menjelaskan kenapa perjanjian investasi internasional bukanlah saluran yang tepat untuk menyelesaikan permasalahan tenaga kerja dan bahwa National Contact Point yang didirikan oleh OECD adalah satu pilihan untuk penyelesaian sengketa ini. Kata Kunci: Penyaluran Sengketa, Investor Internasional, Hukum Ketenagakerjaan

The Right to Strike and Other Forms of Protest of Persons Performing Gainful Employment Under Civil Law

This article deals with the issue of extending the right to conduct a collective labour dispute to persons performing paid work under civil law contracts, after the entry into force of the Act of 5 July 2018 amending the Act on Trade Unions and Certain Other Acts (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1608). The author considers the question whether and to what extent the right to strike and to take industrial action, provided for in the Act of 23 May 1991 on Resolution of Collective Disputes (consolidated text: Journal of Laws 2020, item 123), extends to civil lawful contractors. The position is presented that the proper application of the above mentioned law to the indicated circle of work contractors cannot mean the deprivation or limitation of their right to strike and to take industrial action. The solutions implemented by the Polish legislator with regard to persons performing work outside the employment relationship are more advantageous and far-reaching in comparison with the requirements resulting from the international labour law acts binding on Poland. However, there are specific problems with applying to these persons some of the regulations included in the Act on Resolution of Collective Disputes. These problems results from the fact that the individual legal relationship between these persons and the entities employing them is based on the provisions of civil law, and not on the Labour Code.

Retooling the Sustainability Standards in EU Free Trade Agreements

ABSTRACT The EU’s weak promotional policy towards sustainability in its free trade arguments is up for revision. Labour and environmental standards need to be tightened. They were given a boost on balance by a remarkable panel ruling of January 2021 in the long-standing EU–Korea labour dispute. Compliance ought to be subject to regular dispute settlement between governments. Sanctions must be added to the EU’s toolbox, going beyond trade retaliation. Private stakeholders should become more involved in monitoring and enforcement, both at the international and at the domestic level. All this will put an extra responsibility on the EU and its Member States to protect their labour force and the environment as well.

USMCA labour provisions to define North America trade

Significance US President Joe Biden’s trade representative Katherine Tai was central to creating the USMCA’s labour provisions, and Biden has made enforcing them a priority in his trade agenda. Labour disputes over workers’ rights to unionise could lead to goods from targeted firms being blocked at the border. Impacts Once a first labour dispute sets a precedent, the number of cases against Mexico is likely to rise. Firms in Mexico will have a growing incentive to respect freedom of association, facilitating the Mexican government’s current reforms. USMCA wage requirements will force firms to reorganise their supply chains or pay tariffs. Restrictions on Mexico launching RRM action may prompt it to tackle disputes through the lengthier ‘state-to-state’ dispute mechanism.

Assessing the Impact of Disruptive Events on Port Performance and Choice: The Case of Gothenburg

This paper assesses the impact of a major disruptive event at the port of Gothenburg, Scandinavia’s largest container port. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data is analyzed, in combination with official port statistics on container handling in the four main container ports in Sweden, from 2014–2018. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between container volumes handled and calculated performance metrics at the specific times of the intense labour dispute at the port of Gothenburg during the periods Q2 (2016) and Q4 (2016)–Q2 (2017). The paper concludes that the decline in container volumes handled at Gothenburg over the period is specifically due to fewer ships calling at the port following each of the intense periods of the labour dispute. It is also concluded that the effect on competitor ports in the region were significant in terms of both increased volumes of gateway container traffic and the resulting short-term and medium term impacts on both port user profiles and port efficiency levels.