Jurisdictional arbitrage
Jurisdictional arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of discrepancies between competing legal jurisdictions. It takes its name from arbitrage, the practice in finance of purchasing a good at a lower price in one market and selling it at a higher price in another. Just as in financial arbitrage, the attractiveness of jurisdiction arbitrage depends largely on its transaction costs, here the costs of switching legal service providers from one government to another.[1]
The lower the
Applications
The practice of individuals
Outlawry
Jurisdictional arbitrage has also been utilized to hinder attempts at governmental prosecution, by transnational criminals such as
To counteract this phenomenon, most countries have signed bilateral extradition treaties with most other countries, and some governments adopted the principle of universal jurisdiction, which has enabled individuals to be prosecuted for offences (particularly alleged human rights violations and war crimes) committed outside the jurisdiction of prosecution – the legal structure of nations such as Belgium and Spain allow for this, as does that of international tribunals operating under the aegis of the United Nations.
Tax policy
A similar attempt at governmental collusion to limit the use of jurisdictional arbitrage for
Labour
In the view of one journalist, Microsoft's satellite office in Vancouver was set up because the US Immigration and Naturalization Service was given to restrict the immigration of programmers.[9]
The
Advocates
A notable proponent and practitioner of jurisdictional arbitrage is Canadian businessman and perpetual traveler Calvin Ayre, founder of online gambling consortium Bodog Entertainment Group.[14] Although online gambling is illegal in the United States, a market which accounts for 95% of Bodog's sales, the company pays no corporate taxes there as its activities are distributed across different jurisdictions to minimise tax burden. "We run a business that can't actually be described as gambling in each country we operate in. But when you add it all together, it’s Internet gambling."[15]
See also
- Asylum shopping
- Flag of convenience
- Forum shopping
- Gaming the system
- Libel tourism
- Tax Competition
- Tiebout model
- Seasteading
- Anarchy in international relations
- Counter-economics
- Panarchy
- Polycentric law
- anarcho-capitalist literaturedetailing the privatisation of government functions
References
- ^ Friedman, Patri. "Dynamic Geography: A Blueprint for Efficient Government". Patrifriedman.com. Retrieved 2008-02-29.[permanent dead link]
- ^ No interpretation of Islam demands female circumcision, contrary to popular opinion. See Reliance of the Traveller and Tools of the Worshipper (Umdat al-Salik), trans. Nuh Ha Mim Keller
- ^
Branigin, William; Douglas Farah (2000-12-20). "Asylum Seeker Is Impostor, INS Says". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
"Not So Harsh on Refugees". The New York Times. 1996-04-22. Retrieved 2008-02-29. - ^ "Dubai ruler's wife asks UK court for forced marriage protection order". Guardian News & Media Limited. 30 July 2019.
- ^ "Anti-terror measures hit formal finance", Oxford Analytica, 2004-05-25. Retrieved 2008-02-29. "This is especially important given terrorists' ability to exercise jurisdictional arbitrage."
- S2CID 44984081.
- ISBN 0-8122-1950-3.
- ^ Buerkle, Tom (1998-12-10). "Blair and Schroeder Agree on Taxes". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
- ^ "Microsoft pressures U.S. in Vancouver move". National Post. 2007-07-06. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
- ^ McCullagh, Declan (2011-11-08). "Visa problems? 'Seasteading' your startup may be the answer". CNET. Archived from the original on 2011-11-22. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
the entire enterprise could be jeopardized by immigration officials irritated by what amounts to jurisdictional arbitrage and a clever legal hack
- Journal of Libertarian Studies. 19 (4): 79–81. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Menthe, D. (1998). "Jurisdiction In Cyberspace: A Theory of International Spaces" (PDF). Telecommunication & Technology Law Review, Michigan. 4: 69. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Clarke, R. (1997). "Encouraging Cyberculture'". CAUSE in Australasia. 97. Archived from the original on 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Bashir, Martin (2006-07-07). "Online Gambling Mogul Living it Up". ABC News. MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Miller, Matthew (2006-03-27). "Catch Me If You Can". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 21, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
Further reading
- Balloun, O.S. (2010). "The True Obstacle to the Autonomy of Seasteads: American Law Enforcement Jurisdiction over Homesteads on the High Seas" (PDF). The Seasteading Institute. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2010-10-27.
- Hosein, I. (2004). "The Sources of Laws: Policy Dynamics in a Digital and Terrorized World" (PDF). The Information Society. 20 (3): 187–199. S2CID 43612133. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- Ware, R. (2006). "The Use of Jurisdictional Arbitrage to Support the Strategic Interest of the Firm". University of Toledo Law Review. 38 (1): 307.
- Plender, John (2007-01-01). "Continental capitalism à la carte". Financial Times.