1) Prepare a list of online resources which may be used to research Belgian legislation concerning:
• negotiable instruments
• credit facilities
• securitisation of transactions
• recourse to pledged assets
Meta-directories
As an alternative to standard search engine searches, directories are useful sources of information. Directories are lists of Internet resources collected, edited and updated by people rather than computers. Directories are designed to be browsed, as you would the index of a book, but can also be searched.
Several directories can be searched at once using a meta-directory (sometimes called a meta-index) in the same way that a meta-search engine searches several search engines at once. This can save valuable time when searching for information, and the human factor involved in the organisation of directories and meta-directories means that the information found is often more useful than that found through search engines.
In order to identify legal resources relevant to this task it will be useful to find a law directory detailing sources of Belgian law in English. A meta-directory would help you locate and search several directories at once.
To find a meta-directory for law, use the Google search engine (www.google.com) and enter the following search query:
meta-index law
Click on the link to the CataLaw: Metaindex of Law and Government.
CataLaw allows you to search through the catalogue according to Topic, Region or Extras. In the Topic field, choose Banking Law.
Scroll through the resulting page until you see links to various international sources under the heading Usual Suspects.
Under the heading Multinational, click on the link to the AustLII – World:Subject Index:Banking and Finance. This will take you to the World Legal Information Institute, a useful directory containing legal resources listed under various categories.
From the World Legal Information Institute website, choose the By Country link and then choose Belgium in order to get a quick overview of Belgian legislation available in English.
When using meta-directories such as CataLaw and directories such as the World Legal Information Institute, it is important to explore them thoroughly to see what options are available for narrowing or broadening your search.
Note also that the CataLaw directory listed several other directories under the heading Multinational, which could be useful when researching foreign legislation in English. Other links on that menu, such as Legal Topics: Business and Commercial Law might also be useful.
Use the resources outlined above to find the answer to question 1.
Research tip: Directories
The human element involved in collecting the links included in directories can be a great advantage over search engines, which contain information gathered together relatively indiscriminately by computers. However, while search engines are kept up-to-date automatically, directories generally rely on people to maintain them. If a directory is not well maintained, you may find that some of the links you wish to follow are ‘dead’.
If you find a dead link, try one or more of the following:
• Run the name of the website to which it leads through a search engine. This will often lead you to the information you need.
• Try some of the other links included in the directory. These will often lead to similar information.
• As a last resort, you may need to find a different directory.
As directories depend on people to keep them up-to-date, they often include an email address to which dead links can be reported. Those responsible for maintaining directories are generally very grateful for such assistance.
Answer
The many links found at the World Legal Information Institute and Catalaw directories will lead you to detailed information on Belgian legislation covering the above four points.
Examples of resources found at these directories are:
Negotiable instruments
The obligation to identify clients
http://www.stibbe.be/assets/publications/articles/
vanbavel-obligation%20to%20identify%20clients%20uk.pdf
National Bank of Belgium Annual Report (2000)
http://www.bnb.be/NR/rdonlyres/AA8B30A5-4166-4D72-
B26B-44417DE2875E/0/AR2000_P2.pdf
The Financial Products of the Belgian Treasury (2004)
http://www.treasury.fgov.be/interdette/Pdf/np2004.pdf
Credit Facilities
Fortis Bank – Expat in Belgium
http://www.fortisbank.be/Expats/ExpatInBelgium/index.asp
Wallonia – Land of Opportunities – Banking Guide for Expatriates
http://www.investinwallonia.be/an/finance01.htm
ING – Letter of Credit
http://www.ing.be/business/showdoc.jsp?docid=
025687_EN&menopt=sme%7Ccam%7Cpay%7Cloc
Securitisation of Transactions
NBB Working Paper 71 – Financial Intermediation Theory and Implications for the Sources of Value in Structured Finance Markets
http://www.nbb.be/pub/01_00_00_00_00/01_06_00_00_00
/01_06_01_00_00/20050726+wp+71.htm?l=en&t=ho
Stibbe – Belgium: Regulatory Perspectives
http://www.stibbe.be/assets/publications/articles/peeters_ghijsels-securitisation%20in%20belgium2.pdf
Stibbe – Increasing Activity in the Belgian Market
http://www.stibbe.be/assets/publications/articles/peeters_ghijselsincreasing_activity_in_the_belgian_market.pdf
Recourse to Pledged Assets
Contents and Protection of Property
http://www.storme.be/comprop3.pdf
Credit Bureaus in Today’s Credit Markets
http://www.ecri.be/media/research_report/Credit_Bureaus.pdf
2) Prepare a memo to the partner responsible for Intabank outlining Internet services which may be used to keep up-to-date with any changes in Belgian legislation concerning regulatory issues and letter of credit arrangements.
Receiving updated information
In question 1 you discovered a number of websites containing valuable information required by the partner responsible for Intabank. However, the information contained in these websites may change rapidly.
There are a number of services on the Internet which allow you to be alerted to such changes without having to check websites manually for updates. Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts) and Copernic Agents (www.copernic.com) are both examples of this kind of service.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a free service which monitors your areas of interest on the Web for new information and changes. When new information is added to the websites searched by Google, Google Alerts will automatically inform you via email. There is no need to register for the service, although each request will be confirmed via email.
Go to Google Alerts and use the Create a Google Alert box in the top right-hand corner of the screen to set up an alert.
The box instructs you to “Enter the topic you wish to monitor”. Try entering the following search queries:
Belgian “banking laws”
Belgian “letter of credit”
Belgian “negotiable instruments”.
For more information on Google Alerts, see:
http://www.google.com/alerts/faq.html?hl=en
Copernic Agent
Another useful tool for keeping track of Internet searches is the Copernic Agent. Copernic Agent also offers a free service which can be enhanced for a fee.
Copernic Agent Basic, a free service, allows you to perform Web searches and store the results for later use. It includes Web page previews, relevancy rankings of the returned links and various sorting functions. In addition, Copernic Agent Basic can be instructed to focus on a particular country, in this case Belgium.
In addition to saving valuable time in performing legal research, using alerts and saving the results of past searches can help you focus on related legal English concepts and terms, as well as keep up-to-date with changing vocabulary.
Try various combinations of keywords in both Google Alerts and Copernic to see which return the most useful information on the following:
• negotiable instruments
• credit facilities
• securitisation of transactions
• recourse to pledged assets
Once you have found the most successful combinations of keywords in Google Alerts and/or Copernic, set the alert function to inform you of any changes.
When drafting your memo, remember to include the following information:
• Which combinations of keywords give the best returns for each of the four areas of research?
• Which search engine provides the most useful results (Google or Copernic)?
• How to set Google Alerts and Copernic Agent Basic to track the search queries for any changes.
Answer
Google Alerts
http://www.google.com/alerts/faq.html?hl=en
Copernic Agent
http://www.copernic.com
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