Criminal investigation and prosecution of politicians, top civil servants and other public figures are topics frequently discussed in the media. The nature of the investigating or prosecuting authority varies between countries - from the general public prosecutor, through magistrates to...

It is hypothesized that prosecution agencies that are dependent on the executive have less incentives to prosecute crimes committed by government members which, in turn, increases their incentives to commit such crimes. Here, this hypothesis is put to an empirical test focusing on a particular...

Elected politicians often choose to delegate competence to various agencies rather than deciding themselves. The paper deals with the apparent paradox that competence is being transferred despite the fact that politicians are assumed to maximize individual utility. The constitutional structure,...

States write incomplete contracts when negotiating and concluding international treaties. Often, they delegate the interpretation of treaties to third-party adjudicators. Some treaties, especially in environmental law, do not institutionalize adjudication within the treaty regime but leave the...

Economics is not only a subject matter but also a specific methodological approach. Economic analysis in International Economic Law is therefore not confined to economic matters but can be extended to virtually all issues by drawing on the economic approach. It can be used both to explain the...

Traditionally, the enforcement of public international law (PIL) was a task of states: its addressees and its enforcers were states. That has changed recently. Whereas the influence of private market actors on the making of PIL has been extensively analyzed, their influence on its enforcement...

Nudges having paternalistic purposes (paternalistic nudges) pose special legal problems in liberal States. Surprisingly, the discussion on regulation-by-nudging has not focused on the constitutional limits to nudging. Although the property rights of firms potentially infringed by nudging...

This comment on Alan Sykes Article "Economic 'Necessity' in International Law" on AJIL UNBOUND discusses the application of necessity clauses from an economic perspective especially in light of the incentives of investors, who are the third party beneficiaries of the investment treaty/contract....