This pioneering Research Handbook provides an in-depth scholarly overview of the field of soft law, exploring the scope of current thinking in the field as well as proposing future pathways for soft law research. Through theoretical and empirical analyses by established voices in the field, the Research Handbook offers important insights and much-needed clarity into the dynamic and complex nature of soft law. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.

The editors’ substantive introduction and the specially commissioned chapters in the Handbook explore the emergence of transnational labour law as a field, along with its contested contours. The expansion of traditional legal methods, such as treaties, is juxtaposed with the proliferation of contemporary alternatives such as indicators, framework agreements and consumer-led initiatives. Key international and regional institutions are studied for their coverage of such classic topics as freedom of association, equality, and sectoral labour standard-setting, as well as for the space they provide for dialogue. The volume underscores transnational labour law’s capacity to build bridges, including on migration, climate change and development.

This timely Research Handbook examines the increasingly economically vital topic of corporate restructuring. Reflecting a shift in the global approach to insolvency towards a focus on rescuing viable businesses rather than liquidation, chapters consider all areas of the law closely connected to corporate insolvency, rehabilitation and rescue, as well as the introduction of the EU Preventive Restructuring Directive and other reforms from around the world.

This expanded and updated Research Handbook delivers an authoritative and in-depth guide to the conceptual foundations of environmental law. It offers a nuanced reflection on the underlying principles by exploring issues such as human rights, constitutional rights, sustainable development and environmental impact assessment within the context of environmental law.

'Global insurance and its rapidly evolving law and regulation demands international research. To this aim, the Handbook offers a truly international collection of essays. Highly renowned experts analyze the key topics currently under international discussion and development. While representing a diversity of national jurisdictions, the focus lies on the largest insurance jurisdictions (USA, UK and Germany) but newly important jurisdictions like Brazil and China are considered as well a most valuable and important contribution to international insurance law literature.' Manfred Wandt, Director of the Insurance Law Institute, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany 'This Research Handbook is published at an opportune time. A global review of insurance law and regulation is underway. Much reform happens locally with little reference to developments elsewhere and this Research Handbook brings the strands together. It is a comprehensive review by distinguished authors from different backgrounds including both leading academics and practitioners. They consider the definitions of insurance, its economic underpinnings, comparative law and regulations, actual and proposed reforms, the effects on underwriting and claims and how insurance is studied and taught. Good laws and regulation benefit the market and its customers. Bad laws and regulation do the opposite. This book is required reading for all involved in the reform process.' David Hertzell, Law Commissioner 'Globalisation has had no greater impact in the commercial world than on insurance, the law which governs it and the risks it seeks to address. Those who inspired this publication and the contributing authors, are to be thanked for providing such a necessary and useful reference source. It covers so much of what insurance professionals need to be aware of in the insurance/law world of the twenty first century.' Michael Gill, President of the International Insurance Law Association Given its economic importance, insurance is a field that has been underserved as an area of academic study. This detailed book provides much needed coverage of insurance law and regulation in its international context. Produced in association with Lloyd's, it draws on the expertise both of academics and practising lawyers. Containing 30 comprehensive chapters, it provides in-depth studies on key areas, such as the role of international organisations, the judicial interpretation of insurance contract clauses and transnational regulatory recognition. It also provides thorough introductions to important jurisdictions, including the EU, US and Japan as well as focusing on newly emerging economies such as China and Brazil. Specialist topics covered include regulation by and of Lloyd's, the tort of bad faith in the US, microinsurance and takaful insurance. This well-documented resource will appeal to academics and students in insurance law and regulation, policymakers and private practice lawyers. The book also aims to stretch the imagination of anyone with an interest in insurance law and regulation, providing detailed analysis and avenues for further investigation.

The effect of Globalization on health has attracted the attention of scholars and policy makers across multiple disciplines. A key concern is the regulation of international health protection, and in particular the use of international health instruments and the complex interaction between international law and health considerations. For the first time, a group of law and policy scholars have analysed these issues, drawing on knowledge from their respective fields. The resulting book provides comprehensive coverage of contemporary issues in global health law and governance.

Capturing the core challenges faced by the international tax regime, this timely Research Handbook assesses the impacts of these challenges on a range of stakeholders, evaluating various paths to reform at a time when international tax policy is a topic high on politicians’ agendas.

This comprehensive Research Handbook is the first study to link law and Earth system science through the epistemic lens of the planetary boundaries framework. It critically examines the legal and governance aspects of the framework, considering not only each planetary boundary, but also a range of systemic issues, including the ability of law to keep us within the planetary boundaries’ safe operating space.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline, thanks to generous funding support from Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). The Research Handbook on Health, AI and the Law explores the use of AI in healthcare, identifying the important laws and ethical issues that arise from its use. Adopting an international approach, it analyses the varying responses of multiple jurisdictions to the use of AI and examines the influence of major religious and secular ethical traditions.

There has been an explosion of interest in recent years regarding the origin and of intellectual property law. The study of copyright history, in particular, has grown remarkably in the last twenty years, with a flurry of activity in the last ten. Crucial to this activity has been a burgeoning focus on unpublished primary sources, enabling new and stimulating insights. This Handbook takes stock of the field of copyright history as it stands today, as well as examining potential developments in the future.