Roundtable Discussion: Corporate Planning Through International Law

On February 1, 2017, the Dennis J. Block Center for the Study of International Business Law at Brooklyn Law School will host a roundtable discussion on "Corporate Planning Through International Law: The Use and Abuse of Tax Treaties, Investment Law, and Political Risk Insurance." Here's the idea:

Corporations are not formally subjects of international law. Yet in diverse fields, business entities can make use of robust treaty regimes to protect their ventures around the globe. By navigating a labyrinth of thousands of bilateral and multilateral treaties, corporations can unlock access to valuable benefits and protections far in excess of what is ordinarily available under national law – including especially tax treatment, protections for foreign direct investment, and political risk insurance.

Corporate planning through international law is fast becoming a critical field of practice in our increasingly globalized economy. At the same time, international economic law in these areas continues to feed into global anxiety over the distribution of benefits and burdens across the globe, and the national community’s loss of sovereignty. The international legal bar remains bitterly divided over how far international tax and investment law ought to discipline the domestic regulatory action of sovereign states.

The panel of scholars and practitioners in international tax, the law of foreign direct investment, and political risk insurance will examine how multinational corporations can use international law to plan for growth in the 21st century. The speakers will explore practical aspects of corporate planning through international law, with due attention to the broader social consequences and legitimation concerns attending such maneuvers.