International Law

What is the best indicator for a regulatory transparency?

Posted on March 31, 2010
Gutierrez (2003, paper here) tried to come up with an operational elements of regulatory governance.  He considered that autonomy and independence should be reflected in financial and budgetary independence and no free removal of commissioners; accountability is reflected through clear mechanisms for solving disputes, while clarity of roles and objective is manifested through the regulatory authority?s ability to impose fines and set tariffs...

RI water services suffering from a lack of governance

Posted on March 30, 2010
Below, I repost my article at today's JP.  RI water services suffering from a lack of governance Mohamad Mova Al ?Afghani ,  Dundee, UK   |  Tue, 03/30/2010 9:48 AM  |  Opinion From more than 300 water utilities currently operating, only a quarter is said to be financially healthy...

Legal System and Governance Transparency

Posted on March 26, 2010
Bushman, Piotroski and Smith (2004) distinguished between two elements of Corporate Transparency: Governance Transparency and Financial Transparency. The factors of financial disclosure are segments, r&d, capex, accounting policies and subsidiaries...

[RTWS Update] Consultation on the Human Right Aspects of Private Sector Participation in the Water Sector: more responses from the private sector

Posted on March 26, 2010
The UN Independent Expert launched a consultation a few months ago regarding the human rights aspects of private sector participation in water services. As of today, several companies including Suez, Veolia and American Water had sent their responses...

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[RTWS Update] Two Misconceptions about the Human Right to Water (Part 1)

Posted on March 25, 2010
David Zetland wrote:To understand the costs, begin with the difference between negative and positive rights. Negative rights (e.g., the right to free speech) should not be taken from you; positive rights (e.g., the right to ?clean and accessible water, adequate for the health?") should be given to you...

[RTWS Update] Does Human Rights to Water Improve Access to Clean Water?

Posted on March 23, 2010
Prof Zetland argued in his paper that the right to water does not improve access to sufficient and safe water (download paper here):Some argue that a *human right* to clean water would improve this situation. This paper shows that human rights have not improved access to clean water and argues that it would be more productive to give people a *property right* to water...

The Bonn Charter for Safe Drinking Water

Posted on March 19, 2010
  According to the WHO website :The IWA Bonn Charter for Safe Drinking Water sets out the principles of an effective drinking water quality management framework and the responsibilities of key parties. The Charter presents a framework for drinking water safety, which incorporates the development of water safety plans...

E&P Sharing Contracts and Agreements 2010 (Update 1)

Posted on March 16, 2010
I have been informed that Tariq Shafiq, who is involved in writing the new Iraqi Oil Law will be joining the event. Here's the tentative schedule for the speakers for Day Two: Plenary One | 09.00 - 10.45The post-recession E&P industry agreements and thechallenge of recoveryChairman?s Opening RemarksMr Tariq Shafiq, Founding Executive, Iraq National OilCompanyNext-generation E&P engagement: Outlook for the world andAsia in 2010? To what extent will the downturn bring fundamental changeto the nature of E&P contracts in Asia and how will IOCs,NOCs and service contractors respond?? What are the bright spots and challenges for the servicecontractors?Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia*Transforming PSAs: Evolving contracting models and the pushto abolish the PSA? Revisiting and transforming the original PSAs to more win-wincommercially viable arrangements? What are the alternatives available to successfully transform aPSC into a more economically viable contract?Hardiono, Deputy Chairman, BPMigas*Structuring advanced models of cooperation in the form of aJoint Venture or Partnership? What specifi c terms have to be adopted for safeguarding youragreements and ensuring successful collaboration?? How changing roles of IOCs and NOCs contribute to theshape of the partnership agreement and what you shouldexpect?Ms Karen Agustiawan, President Director, Pertamina*Revising ineffi cient contracts: Holistically reducinguncertainties from E&P projects? Evaluating alternatives under different scenarios, i...

Sony -- don't take away my friend's name

Posted on March 15, 2010
Detik reported that Sony corp sent a sommation* letter to a blogger named Sony, for using sony-ak.com for his domain name. Now the blogosphere strikes back at Sony and organize a facebook group called 'Sony -- don't take away my friend's name'.Will the wisdom of the crowd(ed) facebook beat Sony corp and its lawyers? We shall see...

[RTWS Update] Questionnaire on Good Practices

Posted on March 14, 2010
The UN Independent Expert on the right to water and sanitation recently launches a good practice questionnaire on the right to water and sanitation. If you have been or is involved in watsan related projects or is doing a research on watsan related policies, you are invited to make a contribution...

RTWS Updates

Posted on March 14, 2010
To cover recent developments on the Right to Water and Sanitation, this blog launches "RTWS Update". The updates will contain news, issues, viewpoints and events related the right to water and sanitation. If you are not yet familiar with RTWS, please have look at the right to water web page here.

E&P Sharing Contracts and Agreements 2010

Posted on March 13, 2010
Center for Energy Sustainability and Economics will be holding a very important forum this April, in Jakarta. The E&P Sharing Contracts and Agreements 2010 will be held in Jakarta 27-29 of April 2010, and will feature important figures in the Indonesian Oil and Gas Industry...

World Water Day: Dee & Tweed HELP workshop (Live Broadcast)

Posted on March 05, 2010
The UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science at the University of Dundee will be holding a workshop with a focus on land use and water management. Following is the release I received from the organizer: "The University of Dundee?s UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science is takes a leap into the world of online conferencing for the celebration of World Water Day next month, on the 22nd March...

Aardvark for Legal Research?

Posted on February 12, 2010
Google had recently acquired Aardvark, a social tool designed to post and answer question or consultations. The idea is pretty much like Ask Yahoo or Google Answer, except that Aardvark can search the right person in answering your question (that is, based on your profile)...

Prita in New York Times

Posted on December 10, 2009
Prita's story is now in New York Times:PRITA MULYASARI became famous, as her lawyer put it, for going from ?e-mail to jail.?Her ordeal began when she sent an e-mail message complaining about the poor treatment she received at a hospital to 20 relatives, friends and co-workers...

Indonesia gearing up towards Creative Commons

Posted on October 25, 2009
One of my colleague leads a Creative Commons Project in Indonesia. Tempo reported that the activists are campaigning the license to law enforcement institutions, before submitting them later to the central government.  I really hope that their efforts will materialize...

Revising Aceh's stoning law

Posted on October 21, 2009
According to an Aceh legislator:However, a council member from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Moharriadi Syafari, said the bylaw would come into effect 30 days after it was passed regardless of the governor?s refusal to endorse it. Syafari advised people who are against the bylaw to apply for judicial review to the Constitutional Court...

KPK - BP Migas; Conflict of Interest?

Posted on October 11, 2009
The Jakarta Globe reported:In a move to address persistent allegations of corruption in the multibillion dollar oil and gas sector, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on Friday appointed an officer of the Corruption Eradication Commission to the board of directors of upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas...

The new electricity law

Posted on September 11, 2009
The House of Representative recently passed the new electricity bill. The bill is perceived by the media as a real attempt to liberalize the electricity sector in Indonesia. But is it true that the law is an attempt to liberalize the sector? How does the law protect investor?Under the new law, electricity provision are segregated into generation, transmission, distribution and retail and the private sector is allowed to participate...

The Social Cost of Cigarette (and its advertisement) in Indonesia

Posted on September 10, 2009
Pramudya has been very kind in providing us a commentary on the recent Constitutional Court Decision on Cigarette Advertisement in his post. I agree with him that the negative externalities arising out of cigarette must be borne by the consumer and that -- given the explicit contribution to income -- dealing with tobacco industry in Indonesia would not be easy...

Behavioral Monkeynomics

Posted on September 08, 2009
First of all, a hat tip to my Canadian friend who referred me to this article at Science Daily: "Monkeys Follow Economic Rules Of Supply And Demand".Cécile Fruteau placed food containers with highly-desired pieces of apple in two groups of South African vervet monkeys...

Indonesia needs a strong water services law

Posted on August 31, 2009
Following is my latest op-ed at the JP:Indonesia Needs a Strong Water Services Law Mohamad Mova Al `Afghani , Dundee , UK | Mon, 08/31/2009 11:56 AM | Opinion The current condition in the water and sanitation sector is bleak...

Why is a speed limit rule effective?

Posted on August 23, 2009
I had a discussion with my Canadian friend a few days ago. I told him, that I grew skepticial about the role of law in society. I explained, that it is very difficult to establish causation (or strong correlation) between a particular law and behavioral changes intended by the law...

Is Privatisation Irreversible?

Posted on August 17, 2009
I took this picture at the Edinburgh Train Station Yesterday (Aug 16, 2009)

The rivers are our brothers

Posted on August 11, 2009
Here's a quote from what is believed to be a speech of the Indian Chief, Seattle. If you are familiar with property rights theories and the tragedy of the commons, this speech offers another perspective in looking at the environment.How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us...

[Guest Post] Court Reporters? Role in Depositions

Posted on August 10, 2009
A court reporter is perhaps the most important person in the courtroom if you?re looking for the history of the trial ? he or she is responsible for ensuring that every word said in the courtroom is transcribed into indelible records that can be analyzed and scrutinized down the ages...

End of natural monopoly in the water sector?

Posted on August 09, 2009
Michael Pritchard demonstrated his Lifesaver Bottle that can turn filthy water into drinkable water in a matter of second. The portable lifesaver filter is said to have 15 nanometer pores, small enough to filter viruses. The running cost to produce 25...

Gecko challenging a crocodile

Posted on July 26, 2009
NYT posted a story on the recent polemic between the gecko and the crocodile:?Now our relations are no good because the K.P.K. started picking on their high officials,? said Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas, a former deputy chairman at the commission. ?We suspect each other...

Draft Law on Commercial Court

Posted on July 25, 2009
The Central Jakarta Court website published a draft Law (June 2009 version) on Commercial Court (in Bahasa). Click here.

The New Indonesian Mining Law

Posted on July 23, 2009
ABNR/CastleAsia provided update on the new mining law here. The Jakarta Post published some report on divestment obligations for foreign mining firms here and here. A rather academic discussion is available on a paper here. IFLR published a memo on mining -- quite thorough here...

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