Sexual identity and wellbeing: A distributional analysis

The relationship between sexual identity and wellbeing is analysed in an unconditional panel quantile setting. There is heterogeneity across sexual identity and gender for homosexuals and, for all but lesbians, sexual minorities are less satisfied than heterosexuals below the median of the wellbeing distribution. Meanwhile, bisexuals of any gender are the least satisfied of any sexual group, and this is apparent across the entire wellbeing distribution. In contrast, the happiest individuals who report an ‘other’ sexual orientation are happier than the happiest heterosexuals

The Welsh economy and the labour market

This paper takes a brief review of the labour market performance of Wales over the last 20 to 30 years, and some of the challenges it has faced and will face going forward. These include, public sector pay and employment, the quality of education, trends to more flexible labour markets, and Brexit

Regional pay? The public/private sector pay differential

This paper extends the debate on making public sector wages more responsive to those in the private sector. The way in which the public/private sector wage differential is calculated dramatically alters conclusions and far from there being substantial regional disparity in wages offered to public sector workers, any differences are predominantly concentrated in London and the South East where public sector workers are significantly disadvantaged relative to private sector workers. This has implications for staff recruitment and retention. Such findings question the need for regional market-facing pay but highlight the necessity to revisit the London-weighting offered to public sector workers

Considérations sur l’application du principe iura novit curia à l’arbitrage commercial international

Despite its recognition in different jurisdictions, the application of the iura novit curia principle in international commercial arbitration has been subject to debate. From the most liberal point of view, the principle is entirely applicable to international commercial arbitration in the same way that it would be applied by a judge when rendering a decision under his national law. However, from the most conservative standpoint, any manifestation of this principle allowing arbitrators to take the initiative in raising new legal issues during the proceedings must be completely rejected. Taking as a premise that, generally speaking, members of an international arbitral tribunal are not familiar with the law applicable to the disputes that are brought to them and that they have no experience or practical knowledge regarding such law, the application of the iura novit curia principle in its purest form would not be adequate in the context of international commercial arbitration given its contractual nature and the interests involved. On the other hand, an outright rejection of this principle in international commercial arbitration would tie the hands of arbitrators and create the risk of awards being rendered that either ignore or contradict rules or principles that form part of the applicable law, which could lead to challenges to their validity or later enforcement. For this reason, in order for iura novit curia to be applied in the context of international commercial arbitration, an intermediate approach should be adopted. This involves a significant adaptation of the principle, so that some of its manifestations could be accepted in exceptional circumstances as a tool that arbitrators could use in order to fully comply with duties that are inherent to their decision-making function, including the duty not to exceed the jurisdiction conferred upon them by the parties, the duty to render awards that are valid, enforceable and in accordance with the applicable law, the duty to act in an impartial manner and the duty to guarantee at all times fundamental due process rights of the parties, such as the right to adequately and timely exercise their defense and the right to equality.A pesar de su reconocimiento en diferentes jurisdicciones, la apli­cación del principio iura novit curia al arbitraje comercial internacional ha sido objeto de debate. Desde el punto de vista más liberal, el principio es absolutamente aplicable al arbitraje comercial internacional, tal y como sería aplicado por un juez al dictar sentencia conforme a su derecho nacional, mientras que desde la postura más estricta, cualquier manifestación de este principio que permita a los árbitros tomar la iniciativa de traer nuevas cues­tiones de derecho al proceso debe ser rechazada por completo. Partiendo de la premisa de que, por lo general, los miembros de un tribunal arbitral inter­nacional no conocen el derecho aplicable a las controversias que se someten a su conocimiento, ni tienen experiencia o manejo práctico respecto a dicho derecho, la aplicación del principio iura novit curia de forma pura y simple no resultaría adecuada en el contexto del arbitraje comercial internacional en razón de su naturaleza contractual y los intereses involucrados. Por otra parte, rechazar de plano la aplicabilidad del principio en el arbitraje comercial internacional implicaría atar de manos a los árbitros y crearía el riesgo de que se emitan laudos que ignoren o contradigan normas y principios del derecho aplicable, lo que podría afectar su validez y dar pie a que su validez y ejecución posterior se vean cuestionadas. En razón de lo anterior, para que el principio iura novit curia pueda ser aplicado en el contexto del arbitraje comercial inter­nacional, dicho principio debe ser abordado desde una postura intermedia y sufrir una importante adaptación de forma que ciertas manifestaciones del mismo puedan ser aceptadas en casos excepcionales como una herramienta para que los árbitros puedan cumplir cabalmente con los deberes inheren­tes a su función decisoria, incluyendo el deber de no exceder la jurisdicción que les ha sido conferida, de dictar laudos válidos, ejecutables y apegados al derecho aplicable, de actuar en forma imparcial y de garantizar a las partes en todo momento derechos fundamentales derivados del debido proceso, como lo son el derecho a ejercer su defensa en forma adecuada y oportuna, así como el derecho a ser tratadas con igualdad.En dépit de sa reconnaissance dans différentes juridictions, l’application du principe iura novit curia (“la cour connaît le droit”) à l’arbitrage commercial international fait débat. Selon le point de vue le plus libéral, ce principe est totalement applicable dans ce contexte, exactement comme il serait appliqué par un juge qui prononce un jugement conforme à son droit national ; selon le plus strict, toute manifestation de ce principe permettant aux arbitres de prendre l’initiative d’amener de nouvelles questions de droit au procès est à rejeter complètement. D’un côté, si on part de la prémisse qu’en général les membres d’un tribunal d’arbitrage international ne connaissent pas le droit applicable aux différends soumis à leur connaissance et n’ont pas d’expérience ou gestion pratique concernant ce droit, l’application de manière pure et simple du principe iura novit curia ne serait pas appropriée dans le contexte de l’arbitrage international commercial en raison de sa nature contractuelle et des intérêts qui sont en jeu. D’un autre côté, rejeter d’emblée l’applicabilité du principe dans ce contexte impliquerait de “lier les mains” des arbitres et créerait le risque qu’ils émettent des décisions qui ignorent ou contredisent des normes et principes du droit applicable, affectant ainsi leur validité et menant à ce que leur validité et leur exécution postérieure soient contestées.Compte tenu dette analyse, pour que le principe iura novit curia  puisse être appliqué dans le contexte de l’arbitrage commercial international, il doit être abordé depuis une position intermédiaire et connaître une importante adaptation, de sorte que certaines manifestations du principe puissent être acceptées dans des cas exceptionnels comme un outil qui permet aux arbitres d’accomplir pleinement les devoirs inhérents à leur fonction décisionnelle, notamment celui de ne pas outrepasser la juridiction leur conférée, prononcer des décisions valides, exécutables et conformes au droit applicable, agir de manière impartiale et garantir à tout moment aux parties les droits fondamentaux découlant du procès équitable, comme le droit à exercer sa défense de façon appropriée et opportune et être traité de manière égale

Sexual Orientation, Political Trust, and Same-Sex Relationship Recognition Policies: Evidence from Europe

This study uses data from the European Social Survey to analyse the impact of same-sex relationship recognition policies on the political trust of sexual minorities. We exploit temporal and geographic variation in the passage of same-sex relationship recognition policies to test the effect of these policies on the political trust of sexual minorities. Findings suggest that same-sex relationship recognition policies increase the trust that sexual minorities have in the actors and institutions that were integral to the policy change. The findings further suggest an incentive mechanism exists for politicians and political parties to follow public policies that reduce structural stigma of minority groups and improve their political trust