The degree of development reached by cooperatives of different sectors throughout the world, which among others led to the UN declaring 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, needs to be accompanied by a similar development of corresponding legislation. To this end, a better knowledge of cooperative law from the comparative point of view, as has already been established for other types of enterprises, becomes of great importance. This book strives to fill this gap, and is divided into four parts. The first part offers an analytic and conceptual framework with which to understand, study and assess cooperative law from a transnational and comparative perspective. The second part includes several chapters dealing with attempts to harmonize cooperative laws. The third part contains an overview of more than 30 national cooperative laws, while the last part summarizes and compares these national cooperative laws, thus laying the foundation for a comparative cooperative law doctrine.

National taxation authorities around the world are rapidly improving international cooperation, given the unprecedented triple impact of persistent revelations of large-scale corporate tax avoidance, the ever-increasing intricacies of digital cross-border transactions, and the unprecedented revenue deficits engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is also a growing recognition that improving tax compliance needs to be reconciled with a legitimate desire on the part of businesses to have some certainty about their taxes. Cooperative compliance is one way to achieve that. This first analysis of the details of cooperative compliance programmes currently in operation describes tax control frameworks, suggests practical examples to assist practitioners in tax administrations and the private sector, and provides multiple perspectives on the design and legitimacy of such programmes. Drawing on detailed information contributed by tax practitioners and academics from a wide range of jurisdictions worldwide, the book identifies and explains certain crucial elements of successful programmes: the criteria for access to cooperative compliance (e.g., is the programme voluntary or mandatory? Is there a financial threshold? Will the criteria be publicly available?); model legislation that can facilitate the operation of such programmes (statutory provisions, administrative rules and procedures, etc.); the foundations for an international agreement on an audit assurance standard for tax control frameworks (including the role of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Union (EU), and other international organizations); how to develop a methodology to measure the cost and benefits of cooperative compliance programmes; detailed case studies of existing compliance programmes in Australia, Austria, China, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Russia; and how to communicate a cooperative compliance programme to obtain trust from society. The analysis draws on two years of work led by WU Global Tax Policy Center (GTPC) at Vienna University of Economics and Business in cooperation with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA). The project brought together over two hundred people from 25 countries, including public officials, businesses, and academics. Tax certainty and predictability are key components for providing a tax environment that is conducive to cross-border trade and investment, and, in the long term, it is in the interest of both governments and businesses to minimize tax uncertainty as much as possible. This truly helpful book promises to pave the way to an internationally effective tax framework that will be welcomed by taxation authorities and practitioners worldwide.

This Handbook investigates all types of 'member owned' organizations, whether consumer co-operatives, agricultural and producer co-operatives, or worker co-operatives among many others. The chapters reflect the latest academic research and thinking on each topic, as well as reporting the relevant policy debates.

This multidisciplinary volume offers an essential, comprehensive study of perspectives on the scope and application of the best interests of the child and focuses mainly on its application in relation to child custody. With expert contributions from psychological, sociological and legal perspectives, it offers scientific analysis and debate on whether it should be the primary consideration in deciding child custody cases in cases of divorce or separation or whether it should be one of several primary considerations. It explores complex dilemmas inherent in shared parenting and whether the advantages it offers children are sufficient when compared to attributing custody to one parent and limiting visitation rights of the other. Offering a comprehensive analysis of this complex topic, chapters provide detailed insight into the current state of research in this area, as well as expert guidelines aimed at resolving the controversies when parents agree or disagree over their children’s living arrangements. Cutting-edge topics explored include: transnational shared parenting; alternative dispute resolution; breastfeeding parents; religious disputes between parents and the psychological, social and economic factors that affect shared parenting. The Routledge International Handbook of Shared Parenting and Best Interest of the Child will be essential reading for scholars and graduate students in law, psychology, sociology and economics interested in shared parenting and family law.

The Principles of European Cooperative Law (PECOL) focus on the 'ideal' legal identity of cooperatives. Drafted by a team of legal scholars, the PECOL aim to describe the common core of European cooperative law based on both existing cooperative law in Europe, and the EU regulation on the societas cooperativa europaea. The Principles are accompanied by commentaries which illustrate the rationale and legislative background of each principle, and link them to the key features of co-operative identity. The PECOL are articulated into five chapters corresponding to the main aspects around which a cooperative's identity may be structured, namely the purpose pursued, internal governance, financial structure, external control, and cooperation among cooperatives. The second part of the book presents the national reports upon which the PECOL were based. The reports offer a detailed overview of the cooperative law of seven European jurisdictions (Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and the UK), and thus provide a unique opportunity for law-makers, practitioners, and researchers to compare, circulate, and apply best practices of cooperative legislation. Subject: European Law, Cooperative Law]

This book contributes to the development of literature on cooperative law while paying tribute to Hagen Henrÿ’s significant impact on this field at a global scale. Hagen Henrÿ is one of the most influential scholars in the field of cooperative law. His primary contribution has been in the area of public international cooperative law. His other areas of scientific interest include development law and comparative law. This honorary volume is focused on two main axes -- the essence of cooperatives as well as their activities and their governance. The contributions throw light on how these two axes are addressed by cooperative legislation across countries, regions and continents. In the varied perspectives that the contributions put together, both a theoretical and practical approach, the authors address central, current and crucial issues for the development of cooperative law. The book is a great resource for researcher scholars, as well as policy makers and industry players interested in the topic.