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In the more recent decades, international investment law (“iil”) and arbitration have been going through a process of recalibration prompted by both the intensification of cross-border capital flows and the States’ growing concerns over the potential restraints iil may impose upon the pursuit of public interests. The present contribution will pay attention to a specific feature that can be observed within these developments, i.e. the role played by soft law in investment arbitration and, more generally, under iil, also with a view to assessing the impact on the formation of binding international law of instruments formally devoid of normative force within the international legal order. After an introduction (Section 1), the contribution is articulated into four sections. Section 2 will first define the field of investigation. The case law of investment tribunals and the treaty practice under the more recent iia s will be then explored as to the reliance on soft law instruments for the purposes of settling procedural (Section 3) and substantive issues (Section 4). Some final remarks will close (Section 5).

Research on the role of sovereign investments in a time of crisis is still unsatisfactory. This introdution to the Research Handbook illustrates the state of the art of the legal investigation on sovereign investments, filling necessary gaps in previous research. Current focus is based on investment flows and trends, grounded in economic scenarios and objectives. Conversely, investigations from a legal standpoint are still few, namely disregarding the host states’ concerns about sovereign investments goals and tools. Hence, most of the many relevant drivers that affect current sovereign investments, be they FDI or portfolio investments, remain unexplained. This introduction investigates the juridical foundation of sovereign investments and extends our frontier of understanding.

Research on the role of sovereign investments in a time of crisis is still unsatisfactory. This Research Handbook illustrates the state of the art of the legal investigation on sovereign investments, filling necessary gaps in previous research. Current focus is based on investment flows and trends, grounded in economic scenarios and objectives. Conversely, investigations from a legal standpoint are still few, namely disregarding the host states’ concerns about sovereign investments goals and tools. Hence, most of the many relevant drivers that affect current sovereign investments, be they FDI or portfolio investments, remain unexplained. This book investigates the juridical foundation of sovereign investments and extends our frontier of understanding.

From 2012 to comply with the ED 2010/31/EU and its recasts, all new buildings will perform as Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NearlyZEBs). Buildings are going to be transformed through a careful design into energy generation systems, and the conventional, centralized system of energy generation is going to be replaced by a “web” of energy generation systems. Photovoltaics (PV) seems to be one of the most suitable energy generation technologies for enabling this change, thanks to its “fair” cost, technical features, and multifunctional use in the building's envelope, as well as in the urban environment. PV will be an indispensable technology for Net Zero Energy Buildings (NetZEBs), with the consequence of being a kind of “ubiquitous” technology, also suitable for added uses than the traditional ones. For example: in addition to the multifunctional use in the building's envelope, it might offer advanced services for improving the efficiency and participation in the city processes. A multidisciplinary investigation on possible ways for PV and NetZEBs to change the future urban scenario is proposed, focusing on design, energy management and technological issues to support a Smart City (SC) vision.

The contribution surveys SWF immunity from foreign jurisdiction from three perspectives. As a starting point, it is determined to what extent sovereign wealth funds fall under the subjective scope of rules on sovereign immunity. The definition of ‘foreign State’ is therefore investigated in order to define in which circumstances SWFs meet it. Next, the issue of their immunity from adjudication is ascertained. In this regard, the main point is whether SWFs’ investments are to be understood as actions engaged in within the exercise of sovereign authority, or as mere commercial activities, over which immunity from judgment on the merits is removed. Within this framework, the classical juxtaposition between the ‘nature test’ and the ‘purpose test’ is considered. As it may not be excluded that courts render judgments against SWFs, the rules on immunity from pre-judgment and post-judgment measures of constraint are considered so as to identify the property against which jurisdictional rulings may be enforced for the full satisfaction of the legitimate expectations of judgment creditors. The enquiry mainly focuses on the 2004 UN and the 1972 Council of Europe Conventions on sovereign immunity, by virtue of their impact on the design of national statutes as well as on judgments by national and international courts and tribunals. The practice under the 1976 US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the 1978 UK State Immunity Act is also taken into account. Indeed, the United States and the United Kingdom are among the most important world financial centres where investments by SWFs may take place and, at the same time, their national courts have already passed plenty of judgments concerning some of the matters here considered. The practice of other States is also given appropriate consideration, insofar as it evidences the emergence or the existence of customary rules on sovereign immunities.

Systems reliability evaluation is an important task in industry. In fact, reliability indices suggest information about equipments quality level, maintenance and investments. Reliability performances can be estimated in different ways. Most used methods are reliability prediction models. In spite of their diffusion, their applications and results are often discussed, since each of them provides a different reliability evaluation for the same system under investigation. In addition, these models evaluates a system behaviour in a specific working condition. This aspect introduces supplementary problems in case of photovoltaic systems characterized by continuous changing operating conditions. The aim of this paper is to use the RIAC 217Plus model to a qualitative comparison between different Distributed Maximum Power Point Tracking converters to identify the most reliable one. A new index to characterize the reliability behaviour of systems used in continuous changing environmental conditions is proposed. © 2013 IEEE.

Humanitarian assistance and relief in the event of disaster may require the affected State to import the goods and equipment indispensable to satisfy the needs of the population. Severe problems may arise in this phase, precluding the chance to provide immediate aid: customs delays, lack of exemptions from custom duties, charges, restrictions, and ordinary customs procedures are all potential obstacles to prompt and effective assistance. A considerable body of law has been developing to address these issues, yet the existing international legal instruments are considerably heterogeneous, varying in scope and content. The purpose of this study is to analyze the trends followed within such a complex legal framework regarding the application of waivers to ordinary customs barriers and practices for relief consignment, at the same time assessing whether international trade law applies in these circumstances. The legal position of intergovernmental organizations will be taken into account in the light of the privileges conferred upon them by their constitutive agreements. The study concludes with some considerations on the feasibility of an international legal text prescribing the obligation for all States to adopt every measure necessary to facilitate access of relief goods and equipment to territories struck by disaster.

Multilateral and regional financial institutions have adopted numerous instruments designed to provide financial assistance to countries hit by disaster. Their aim is to support immediate relief to populations, as well as recovery and reconstruction. Over the last decades, development banks have extended the scope of their assistance, on the assumption that to overcome emergencies and difficulties due to disaster, the adoption of preventive measures can be as important as post-disaster operations. Consequently, new financial instruments have been introduced, focusing on prevention and disaster risk reduction actions by beneficiaries. All these initiatives may include a component in favor of the least developed countries, to make financial resources available to them on concessional terms. In more recent practice, debt relief programs have also been introduced to reduce the debt of beneficiary countries toward international financial institutions, so that more resources can be allocated to humanitarian assistance, recovery, and reconstruction programs.This chapter will analyze the practice of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. The analysis will be carried out in the light of the general instruments of financial assistance adopted by these institutions, to explore to what extent positive discrimination is applied in favor of countries affected by disaster. Special emphasis will be placed on whether co-ordination mechanisms are implemented between these institutions and between them and other actors, both States and other intergovernmental (regional or universal) organizations providing financial assistance. The purpose is to explore whether mechanisms of international governance have emerged in the practice.