The effect of directives within the area of direct taxation on tax treaties has become more and more relevant in light of the increasing overlap between situations covered by directives and tax... Show moreThe effect of directives within the area of direct taxation on tax treaties has become more and more relevant in light of the increasing overlap between situations covered by directives and tax treaties, the changing nature of obligations arising from directives, and the interpretation by the EU Court of Justice of terms in directives that are similar to terms used in tax treaties. This book contains an analysis of the effect of directives on the interpretation and application of tax treaties from the perspectives of public international law and the laws of the EU. Regarding the effect of directives on the interpretation of tax treaties, this book addresses the question whether directives qualify must be taken into account when resorting to article 3(2) OECD Model and article 31 Vienna Convention 1969 and, if so, to what extent they could affect the interpretation of a tax treaty (while taking into account the duty of conforming interpretation). Additionally, this book looks into to what extent directives could affect the application of tax treaties under the conflict rules of public international law (lex posterior, lex specialis) as well as by means of the primacy of directives under the laws of the EU Show less
In the multi-level legal order, it is not unusual for a legal relationship between private parties to be governed by multiple Union rules on, for instance, non-discrimination, free movement,... Show moreIn the multi-level legal order, it is not unusual for a legal relationship between private parties to be governed by multiple Union rules on, for instance, non-discrimination, free movement, competition and the internal market more broadly. Nor is it uncommon that, on the face of it, national private law creates rights and duties as well. In such situations of concurrence, the question that arises is whether the interested party may elect the rule of his choice. Is he entitled to choose the rule which appears to him to be the most advantageous?This book offers a scheme of analysis by which this question can be debated and solved. Inspired by the experiences gained from examining several national systems of private law, the book starts from the premise that each rule, however founded, should be realised to the greatest possible extent. In principle, the existence of one rule does not, therefore, affect the scope of application of another rule. The book demonstrates that this principle also runs through the texts adopted by the Union legislature and through the judgments delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union. It makes a clear case that in situations of concurrence, the substance of the rules should be decisive, and not merely their formal relationship Show less
