فصلنامه پژوهش حقوق عمومی
سال هفدهم شماره 50 (بهار 1395)

Successful performance for political systems depends to existence of an efficient administration. In this regard, bureaucracy, from the late nineteenth century until the 1980s was considered as the exclusive system for efficiency. However, this system, especially in the welfare states period, following the expansion of administrative apparatus of the governments, was seen as inconsistent with the values of democracy by forming an independent authority from society and democratic institutions. This fact has led to the theoretical and practical efforts to reform and democratization of administration in the context of the democratic systems. Therefore, various theories and methods have been proposed for reforms; such as representative bureaucracy; political appointments and the use of administrative procedures. In addition, methods and techniques presented in the years after 1980 in the context of “new public management" for efficiency and effectiveness and frugality; can be considered in line with the reduction of bureaucratic authoritarianism. Methods that have reduced the size of bureaucracy and have also facilitated the accountability

Bilateral tax treaties in the world are significantly spreading as a tool for waiver of double taxation, which is an obstacle in the way of expansion of international trade. In the text of the such treaties, the concept of "permanent establishment" is predicted, which means a fixed place for doing business by the companies residing in Contracting States in order to clarify tax liability of entrepreneurs in both countries. Determination of the question of tax residence has critical importance for recognizing tax liability of a tax payer and in bilateral tax treaties, having a permanent establishment means residency and tax liability in relation to the profit attributable to this unit. However, it has been seen that transnational companies attempt to take fraudulently measures through bilateral tax treaties to reduce their tax liability by abusing the concept of permanent establishment. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has introduced and published solutions and amendments to deal with transnational corporations’ tax avoidance and tax evasion strategies the application of which in Iran’s tax law system will be useful to determine the competent tax jurisdiction and encountering ‘treaty shopping’ by transnational corporations.

The decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations is considered as one of the most complicated problems of our time, that comprises broad legal, economic, political and environmental issues. Although such factors have always been important in oil and gas industry, but with the decline of production from oil and gas fields since mid 1980s it has turned into a serious challenge for the oil companies and states. This paper seeks to identify the challenges faced by the oil and gas industry regarding the issue of decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations, and furthermore to identify the regional and international applicable law on decommissioning and their efficiency. The paper concludes that the existing international regulations lack the required consistency and efficiency. Moreover, currently integration or formation of customary international law concerning decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations would be impossible due to lack of necessary basis for the creation of such rule.

Quantum of damages is one of the most important aspects of proceedings in investment arbitration. Assessment of damages in investment treaty claims occasionally requires adjustment and reduction of damages under certain circumstances and situations. This could be explained by the impact of other rules of international law on the assessment of responsibility and damages in investment claims. The investment arbitration’s jurisprudence indicates the relevance of investor's behaviorand practice after and before the breach of investment treaty standards by the host State to the determination of damages. Investment treaty obligations are, in principle, intended to exclusively protect qualified investors. However, conduct and practice of investor in the course of the investment activity in the host State has to be taken into account at the final stage of determination of compensation. In addition, contribution to the injury and non-compliance with the duty to mitigate the loss are the post-breach considerations potentially relevant to the reductionof damages arising out of investment treaty breaches. Taking into account damage-reducing factors is the potential source of development of the rules of remedies/compensationin investment treaty arbitration as well as the overall promotion of legitimacy of investment arbitration system.

The principle of specialty of international organizations requires that rights and obligations of each organization is a function of the scope of the powers entrusted to it by the members. This principle can play an effective role in the legal regime of this kind of subjects of international Law, including international responsibility. The draft articles on the responsibility of international organizations adopted by international law commission in 2011 has taken into account this principle in the certain manner so that it implies a median approach. The commission while accepting the importance of this principle in the law of international organizations, refused to accept it as a basis for the provisions relating to the responsibility of international organizations, but in other ways mainly by relying on the rule of Lex specialis has tried to make it operational. This rule, that involves the superiority of specific law to general law, has been declared in article 64 of draft articles on the responsibility of international organizations and considered as a field for observance of specific legal conditions of international organizations in dealing with the general rules of international responsibility. This article, with the aim of explaining of the position of specialty of international organizations in regulations of their international responsibility, has examined the specific approach of the international law commission on this issue.