International Norms & Taxation

TEU

Treaty on European Union; sets values (Art. 2: human dignity, democracy, rule of law, human rights), main institutions and procedures.

TFEU

Treaty on the Functioning of the EU; defines competences (internal market, free movement, competition, some taxation), and institutional rules.

GDPR (2016)

Personal data protection, extraterritorial reach (applies also to non-EU firms offering goods/services to EU residents).

Regulation on free flow of non-personal data (2018)

No unjustified localisation of non-personal data inside EU.

DSA

Digital Services Act; safe and accountable online environment; focus on illegal content, transparency, systemic risk duties for very large platforms.

DMA

Digital Markets Act; regulates gatekeepers (very large platforms with entrenched position); bans self-preferencing, enforces data-access and interoperability rules.

DGA

Data Governance Act; creates mechanisms and 'data intermediaries' to share data safely and build European data spaces.

Data Act

Applicable 2025; rights to access/use data from connected products; prevents lock-in and abusive data practices by gatekeepers.

AI Act

First horizontal AI regulation; risk-based (unacceptable/high/limited/minimal risk); bans certain uses; strict duties for high-risk systems.

ePrivacy Regulation

Lex specialis to GDPR for electronic communications (cookies, metadata, messaging confidentiality); proposal, not yet in force.

EU Competition Logic

Aim: protect effective competition and the internal market, not individual competitors.

Gatekeepers

Platforms that can act as 'gatekeepers' between businesses and users (large user base, entrenched position).

Letta report / Competitiveness Compass

Single Market often seen as favouring large firms; SMEs face high compliance and cross-border complexity.

Creative Destruction

Growth comes from continuous innovation that destroys old industries; requires openness to new ideas and managing conflicts.

Trade Conflicts

Tariffs and unilateral measures can upend global value chains, reduce investor confidence, and provoke retaliatory measures.

Data as an Asset

In Pistor's Code of Capital, legal structures turn data, IP, contracts into capital by attaching Priority, Durability, Universality, Convertibility.

Surveillance Capitalism

In Zuboff's concept, personal data become 'behavioural surplus' used to predict and shape behaviour.

EU Data Strategy

Objective: a digital single market where free movement of data joins free movement of goods, persons, services and capital.

Global Data Protection Regimes

US - patchwork (no single federal GDPR-style law); China - PIPL - strong state oversight; India - DPDP Act - covers digital personal data.

AI Act - Key Points

Risk-based pyramid: Unacceptable risk - banned; High-risk - strict ex-ante duties; Limited risk - transparency obligations; Minimal/no risk - free use.

Council of Europe AI Convention (2024)

First binding international treaty on AI and human rights, democracy, rule of law; applies across the AI lifecycle with a risk-based approach.

Rule of Law State

Public powers limited by Constitution and treaties; independent courts and checks.

Brutal State

Election presumed to confer all rights; executive attacks courts, media, international norms.

Moral Contract & Judicial Legitimacy

Behind rule of law is a moral contract; judges gain legitimacy from reasoned debate and caution.

Rule of Law and Capitalism

Stable rule of law is essential for investment and long-term contracts; chaotic deregulation increases risk.

Substantive Legal Analysis

Goes beyond the text to examine real effects and who benefits; critiques legal concepts and reveals material law.

European Commission

Initiates EU legislation; guardian of the Treaties; manages EU programmes, negotiates certain international agreements.

European Parliament

Manages EU programmes, negotiates certain international agreements.

Council of the EU

Council of the EU: ministers; adopts laws, often unanimity in taxation.

European Council

Heads of state/government; gives strategic direction.

CJEU

Ensures that 'the law is observed' in interpretation and application of the Treaties.

European Court of Auditors

Checks that EU funds are collected and used correctly.

OECD

Produces tax standards (Model Tax Convention, BEPS, global minimum tax), as well as economic and social guidelines.

WTO

166 members ≈ 98% of world trade.

Council of Europe

Human rights (ECHR), anti-corruption (GRECO), and now AI Convention.

IFRS Foundation

Sets International Financial Reporting Standards used in many countries; affects how profits and assets are reported → impacts tax base.

ISDA

Produces ISDA Master Agreement and standard documentation for derivatives.

ICC

Issues Incoterms (rules allocating costs/risks in international trade).

Surveillance Capitalists

Extract behavioural surplus and sell behavioural futures; exercise instrumentarian power (steering behaviour via digital architecture).

Disney and Permission Culture

Built empire on reuse of public-domain stories, but now supports long and strong copyright → shift from Free Culture to Permission Culture.

Trafigura

Commodities giant whose executive Mike Wainwright was convicted for bribery in Angola; case shows serious corporate liability for corruption.

Vulture funds

Investors profiting from distressed assets or public debt; raise questions of fairness and regulation.

Cultural Commons

Idea that culture and knowledge should be a shared resource, not purely private property.

Creative Commons licences

Enable 'Some Rights Reserved' to allow legal sharing and remixing.

Data and Knowledge Commons

EU data spaces, open science, and some public sector data policies treat data as shared infrastructure.

Global Commons

Issues like climate, oceans, cyberspace often require cooperative norms and sometimes international funding/taxation (e.g. carbon pricing).

Corruption

Estimated to cost the EU at least €120 billion/year; globally ≈ 5% of world GDP.

EU Anti-Corruption Package (2023)

New Directive on combating corruption covering public + private sector corruption.

CFSP sanctions regime

Allows EU to impose foreign-policy sanctions on individuals/entities responsible for serious acts of corruption worldwide.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (US)

Bars US companies (and listed foreign companies) from bribing foreign officials.

Crypto and Money Laundering

Investigations show some crypto exchanges' weak KYC/AML controls → 'fast lane' for laundering.

Lost in Taxation

Typically refers to mismatch between mobile capital and territorial tax systems, opacity, and the difficulty of reconciling competition, innovation and fair contribution.