Toward Global Corporate Citizenship: Reframing Foreign Direct Investment Law

I have posted the most recent draft of my article Toward Global Corporate Citizenship: Reframing Foreign Direct Investment Law on the Social Science Research Network.

Globalization in the form of foreign direct investment has not lived up to its promise to promote prosperity around the world. Many of the anticipated benefits to developing countries and their citizens have yet to materialize. True, laws promoting foreign direct investment contribute to technology transfer, increased tax revenues, and other economic benefits. However, existing laws are lax, one-sided, or limited in scope. They allow transnational corporations to cause harms like property damage, personal injury, and significant environmental damage. Insufficient protections and limited avenues for redress encourage transnational corporations to chase profits with limited concern for consequences.

Researching Nevada Business Cases

Researching Nevada business cases presents some challenges. There is not one publicly-available statewide database for business cases. Making business cases and records more easily available will contribute to the development of a body of business case law, which can contribute to predictabilty and consistency.

Nevada Business Courts

Nevada is one of fifteen states, including Delaware, that have specialized courts for business and complex litigation. The number of judges hearing business matters in Nevada is growing, which will allow the business courts to handle more cases. One of the benefits of business courts is that they can contribute to the development of a body of case law on business issues. Over time, the existence of a body of case law tends to contribute to increased predictability and consistency. However, to achieve these benefits, the body of case law must be accessible to business decision-makers and the lawyers who advise them. At present, as I will discuss in a future post, researching Nevada business cases is still an arduous and time consuming process compared to the ease of researching business cases in states with a longer history of business courts such as Delaware. Nevada has taken important steps in developing specialty business courts but there is still room for improvement when it comes to the ease of researching and access to case records and documents.