If the effectiveness of any dispute-settlement process is to be measured by the existence of impartial and well-defined rules, finality of the outcome and enforceability of the decision, Canada’s ratification on November 1, 2013, of the 1965 Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention) and its coming into effect on December 1, 2013, should be widely recognized as a watershed event for Canadian businesses investing overseas.

THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE: Recent Developments in Cross-Border Insolvencies in Canada (citation: Frank Spizzirri and Shaheen Karolia, Recent Developments in Cross-Border Insolvencies in Canada, XXXII ABI Journal 9, 36-37, 80-81, October 2013) - Frank Spizzirri and Shaheen Karolia

It’s a Small World, After All: Cross-Border Bankruptcies (ABI/GULC Views from the Bench, 2013) - Hon. Martin Glenn, Hon. James M. Peck, Hon. Francis J.C. Newbould, Hon. Christopher S. Sontchi, Gregg M. Galardi, Gary T. Holtzer

The Ontario Superior Court recently convicted Nazir Karigar, an agent for Cryptometrics Canada, an Ottawa-based technology company, for agreeing to bribe a foreign public official under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.

On June 19, 2013, in Baker v. Ministry of the Environment, 2013 ONSC 4142 [Baker], the Ontario Divisional Court upheld the decision of the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) that refused to stay a Director’s order issued by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment (MOE) against former directors and officers of Northstar Aerospace (Canada) Inc. (Northstar Canada).

Far-reaching and critical amendments proposed by Bill S-14, An Act to amend the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act, received royal assent on June 19, 2013. http://www.osler.com/NewsResources/Details.aspx?id=6148

THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE: DIP Priority Clarified, but Deemed Trust Ruling Raises Other Questions (citation: Christopher Besant, Frank Spizzirri and Shaheen Karolia, DIP Priority Clarified, but Deemed Trust Ruling Raises Other Questions, XXXII ABI Journal 5, 40-41, 87-88, June 2013) - Christopher Besant, Shaheen Karolia and Frank Spizzirri

There are two main sources of confusion in the public corporate governance debate. One is the confusion about the role of public policy intervention. The other is a lack of empirical knowledge about the corporate landscape where rules are supposed to be implemented and the functioning of today’s equity markets, where voting rights and cash flow rights are traded. To mitigate some of this confusion, this paper provides both an analytical framework for the role of public policy and a description of the empirical context that influences the conditions for that policy.

In its recent decision, the Supreme Court of Canada held that claims in respect of provincial environmental clean-up orders can be compromised under the federal CCAA. While the Court disagreed on whether the particular facts warranted compromising the provincial remediation orders at issue, the majority concluded that claims in respect of the orders were compromised claims in the circumstances.

Judicial Panel: Viewing Valuation from the Bench—What Matters Most to Judges (VALCON Conference, 2013) - Justice Geoffrey B. Morawetz, Hon. Kevin J. Carey, Jay M. Goffman, James M. Lukenda, Hon. Gregg W. Zive, Hon. James M. Peck