The Irish Government's public interest in Islamic finance has occurred only recently, with the publication of the Tax Briefing 2009 and the modifications to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, introduced by the Finance Act 2010. Echoing developments in other non-Islamic countries, these instruments attempt to facilitate the development of Islamic finance in Ireland by removing legislative obstacles faced by Islamic financial products, and by clarifying the tax position of these transactions. However, notwithstanding publicity suggesting that the Irish economy is now open to Islamic financial activity, this accommodation has not extended, in practice, beyond the wholesale Islamic finance market. Retail-level Islamic finance in Ireland therefore remains undeveloped and stymied by regulatory and taxation burdens. Focusing on domestic Islamic finance activity, this article will consider the current legal position of Islamic finance in Ireland. Using Islamic mortgage-alternatives as an example, it will discuss the continuing difficulties faced by those who wish to participate in Islamic retail finance. It will also present recommendations on how this sector could be more successfully integrated into the Irish legal framework.
Responsible finance ṣukūk provide market participants with a capital markets instrument through which they can fulfil the dictates of Islamic law while also participating in green, social or sustainable economic activity. However, as centres for Islamic finance (such as Malaysia and Indonesia) become prominent markets for responsible finance ṣukūk, issuances of these instruments have been noticeably slower to develop in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This has not been due to a lack of public enthusiasm for a sustainable economy from UAE authorities. However, the plethora of government sustainability initiatives, statements and targets has resulted in somewhat of a patchwork of policies, not all of which are publicly available or centrally curated. This article will aim to map the UAE’s sustainability agenda and consider where responsible finance ṣukūk fit within this agenda. Against this backdrop, it will analyse the contractual structure of the UAE’s first issuance of responsible finance ṣukūk.
This paper focuses on the drivers steering companies’ behaviour over uses of patented health technologies, taking Covid-19 as a case study. Global equitable access to health technologies is vital to bringing the pandemic under control. Reflecting this, global mechanisms for rightsholders to share intellectual property rights, data and know-how over such health technologies have been developed. Yet, to date, there is limited support from corporate rightsholders for such mechanisms. Instead, health technologies have been licensed largely based on bilateral deals, with vast global inequalities emerging. Given the traditional focus within company law on prioritising shareholders' short-term financial value, we argue that it is unsurprising that many corporate rightsholders adopt a protectionist approach to patents, even in the face of health crises. However, we argue that the tide may now be starting to shift, catalysed by an emergence of engaged shareholders petitioning for socially responsible corporate behaviour, including for uses of intellectual property over health technologies in a manner that more clearly aligns with public interests. If harnessed and encouraged, such engaged shareholder behaviour could present an opportunity to reframe the conception of shareholder value towards one that considers a long-term sustainable approach and ultimately to shift corporate behaviour around uses of intellectual property over health technologies to take public interests into account.
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