SYMPOSIUM: CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL CODES OF CONDUCT: A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL COOPERATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SEYMOUR J. RUBIN* INTRODUCTION The writing of articles on the subject of transnational corporations has been one of the great growth industries of the world for quite some time.' In the 1970's, it was not merely the writing of such articles, books, treaties and the like, but rather the writing of codes of conduct for transnational corporations that became such an industry. In the past five years, hardly a day passed during which representatives from states, observers from a panoply of organizations, scholars, and others were not gathered somewhere in the world to discuss the fashioning of a code of conduct, a set of guidelines, or an interpretation of an existing * Professor of Law, The American University, Washington College of Law; Executive Vice President, American Society of International Law; Member, Inter-American Juridical Committee; U.S. Representative, U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations. This article is entirely the responsibility of the author, and should not be taken to express any official view. 1. See Rubin, Corporatiorn and Society: The Remedy of Federaland InternationalIncorporation, 23 Am. U.L. REV. 263 (1973) [hereinafter cited as Corporaionsand Society]. For examples of the literature, see R. VERNON, STORM OVER THE MULTINATIONALS-THE REAL ISSUES (1977); R. THE MULTINATIONAL SPREAD OF U.S. ENTERPRISES (1971) [hereinafter cited as SOVEREIGNTY AT BAY]; THE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATxION: A SymposIUM (C. Kindleberger ed. 1970). See alro Rubin, Forewordto I E. BROWNDORF & S. RIEMER, BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT at xiii (1978). VERNON, SOVEREIGNTY AT BAY: 904 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 understanding. These talks were designed to affect the relationships between an entity about which everyone speaks but few define-the transnational corporation (TNC)-and the countries in which it operates or 2 in which its owners dwell. Work on various codes of conduct continues. For example, the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations has been engaged in work on a proposed code of conduct since its Second Session in 1976. In fact, as of May 1981, the Intergovernmental Working Group,3 charged with drafting the code itself, had met in fourteen sessions, each of two weeks' duration. At the 1980 Commission meeting, it was agreed that a draft code should be put before the full Commission when it met next, in the summer of 1981. 4 That deadline was not met, and at the Seventh Session of the Commission, held in Geneva in September 1981, the Intergovernmental Working Group was given an extension of three two-week sessions, with the understanding that a draft would be put before the Eighth Session. That session is now scheduled to meet in Manila at the end of August 1982. The Intergovernmental Working Group has the advantage of drawing on the experience of a number of international and regional efforts to regulate foreign investment. The drafting of codes, with limited and sometimes divergent objectives, has long been on the agendas of international organizations. The abortive charter of the International Trade Organization addressed concerns similar to the issues currently under consideration by the Intergovernmental Working Group. These issues include entry of private investment, the right to regulate or limit such entry, the conduct of the investor, and the right to, and consequences of, 5 expropriation. In the last fifteen years, codes relating to foreign private investment have flourished. In 1967, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) proposed a code for the protection of foreign private investment. 6 In the 1970's, the attention of regional and international groups turned to TNC's. The OECD, in June 1976, adopted a 2. A partial listing, as of 1975, is given in Rubin, Tran-natinalCorporatzon.r:Superision,Regulation or What?, I INT'L TRADE LJ. 1 (1975). See W. FELD, MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS & U.N. PoLircs--THE QUEST FOR CODES OF CONDUCT (1980); LEGAL PROBLEMS OF CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES (N. Horn ed. 1980). 3. The Intergovernmental Working Group was established by the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations at its Second Session. 61 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. 5) 3, U.N. Doe. E/C.10/16 (1977). 4. Commission on Transnational Corporations, Report on the Sixth Session, 66 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. 10) 14, U.N. Doe. E/C.10/75 (1980). 5. A history of early efforts to draft codes of conduct and a discussion of the problems inherent in any general statement of principles can be found in RUBIN, PRIVATE FOREIGN INVESTMENT: LEGAL AND ECONOMIC REALITIES (1965). Experience has not led this author to materially alter his earlier views. 6. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Draft Convention on the Pro- 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's "Declaration, '" 7 "Guidelines," 8 and three "Decisions" 9 for TNC's that are recognized as establishing standards of conduct, in spite of their explicit statements that they are "voluntary."' 0 In November 1977, the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted its Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy."I The U.N. Conference on Restrictive Business Practices, under the auspices of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), has promulgated a "Set of Principles" dealing with restrictive business practices.' 2 Another UNCTAD effort, the Conference on an International Code of Conduct on the Transfer of Technology, is at an impasse, as of late 1981, as a result of conflict mainly over principles of "applicable law" to be invoked in settling disputes. t3 Work is also continuing, though with little evidence of tection of Foreign Property, OECD Publication No. 23081 (1967), reprinted in 7 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 117 (1968). 7. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, OECD Doec. C(76)99 (1976), reprtntedin 15 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 967 (1976) [hereinafter cited as OECD Declaration]. 8. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, annexed to OECD Declaration, supra note 7 [hereinafter cited as OECD Guidelines]. 9. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Decision of the Council on Inter-Governmental Consultation Procedures on the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, OECD Doc. C(76)117, reprinted in 15 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 977 (1976); Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Decision of the Council on National Treatment, OECD Doc. C(76)118, reprinted in 15 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 978 (1976); Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Decision of the Council on International Investment Incentives and Disincentives, OECD Doe. C(76)119, reprinted in 15 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 980 (1976). 10. Set OECD Guidelines, supra note 8, para. 6. 11. Adopted by the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) on November 16, 1977, ILO Doe. No. GN 204/4/2, reprintedin 17 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 422 (1978). The ILO, a specialized agency within the United Nations system, has a tripartite composition, so that government, labor and employers are each represented. See Baade, Codes of Conductfor Multinational Enterprses: An Introductog' SuiVe, in LEGAL PROBLEMS OF CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES 407 (N. Horn ed. 1980). The ILO Tripartite Declaration had its genesis in a meeting of experts in October 1972 and consists of both a policy statement and a declaration of principles. The Tripartite Declaration is designed to establish criteria essentially in the area of "social policy." 12. U.N. Conference on Restrictive Business Practices, The Set of Multilaterally Agreed Equitable Principles and Rules for the Control of Restricted Business Practices, U.N. Doe. TD/RBP/CONF/10 (1980), reprinted in 19 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 815 (1980) [hereinafter cited as UNCTAD Restrictive Business Practices Code]. For a discussion of efforts to reach agreement on the control of restrictive business practices, see Davidow, The UNCTAD Restrictive Business Practices Code, in LEGAL PROBLEMS OF CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES 193 (N. Horn ed. 1980). A proposed chapter on this subject was included in the abortive Charter for an International Trade Organization, which was prepared by a U.N. conference in 1948. Efforts continued in various forums such as the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1952. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1960 produced a consultation procedure that has remained unused. Id at 193-94. 13. UNCTAD has been working on a Code of Conduct on Transfer of Technology since 1975. See UNCTAD, Report of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on a Code of Conduct on Transfer of Technology, U.N. Doec. TD/B/C.6/I (1975). In May 1980, a draft code was presented to the U.N. Conference on an International Code of Conduct on the Transfer of Technology. Draft International Code of Conduct on the Transfer of Technology, U.N. Doe. TD/CODE TOT/25 (1980). Issues that remain to be resolved include the scope of the code's application, particularly whether THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 progress, on a code outlining sanctions for illicit payments. 14 These are not the only attempts to reach some sort of international regulatory scheme. The World Health Organization (WHO) has now adopted (with the United States as the lone vote in opposition, though others abstained) a code dealing with breast-milk substitutes.' 5 The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is attempting to draft revisions of the current international patent rules. Many regional organizations, from the European Economic Community to the Andean Common Market, as well as other organizations, such as those concerned with the environment, also seek international agreement on economic or social conduct of private international enterprise. Although many codes or guidelines are very broad in scope, others, such as the proposed international agreement on illicit payments under development by ECOSOC and the WHO code on breast-milk substitutes, are quite specific and relatively narrow.16 In some of the proposed codes, explicit statements are made regarding the nonbinding effect of the document, as is the case with the OECD Guidelines. 17 In others, a the code should apply to transactions between affiliated enterprises; the legal nature of the codes (the view of business and the U.S. is that the code must be voluntary); the regulation of such practices as arrangements; the scope of proposed provisions with regard to guarantees and obligations, in which "performance criteria" are of special importance; special treatment for developing countries; and international collaboration and institutional machinery. Seegenera4'y Wilner, Transfer of Technology: The UNCTAD Code of Conduct, in LEGAL PROBLEMS OF CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES 177 (N. Horn ed. 1980). 14. See Report of the U.N. Economic and Social Council Committee on an International Agreement on Illicit Payments, U.N. Doc. E/1979/104 (1979), repintedin 18 INT'L LEGAL MATERIALS 1025 (1979) [hereinafter cited as Illicit Payments Agreement]. Work in the area of illicit payments first was proposed by the U.S. Delegation at the Second Session of the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, in May 1976. The proposal was inspired largely by criticism from abroad, especially from some developing countries, of the allegedly undesirable and possibly illegal conduct of (mainly) U.S. TNC's in pursuit of business opportunities. Eventually, the proposal was referred to ECOSOC. The U.S. Delegation had been inspired in its efforts concerning illicit payments by the passage of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, Pub. L. No. 95-213, 91 Stat. 1494 (codified at 15 U.S.C. §§ 78a note, 78dd-l, 78dd-2, 78m(b), 78ff (1976)). The American experience under this law, described as "by far the harshest, most comprehensive effort by any nation to suppress bribery outside its own borders," may ultimately result in the downfall of the international effort. Seymour, Illhct Panents in InternationalBusiness: National Legislation, International Codes of Conduct, and the Proposed United Nations Convention, in LEGAL PROBLEMS OF CODES OF CONDUCT FOR MULTINATIONAL EN- TERPRISES 223 (N. Horn ed. 1980). Although most authorities agree that the Act has been successful in curbing illicit payments by U.S. multinationals, there may have been a corresponding shift of foreign business away from American firms. Arguably, the resulting competitive advantage to non-U.S. companies may act as a disincentive to other nations to pass similar laws. Id at 225. The failure of the other countries to adopt standards similar to those embodied in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has led to efforts in Congress to alter U.S. law. See, e.g., S. 708, 97th Cong., Ist Sess., 127 CONG. REC. S2148 (daily ed. Mar. 12, 1981). 15. World Health Organization, Draft International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Report of the Director-General, WHO Doe. EB67/20, at 5-14 (1980). 16. For further illustration of the specificity of some codes of conduct, see the variety of codes regarding investment and business operations described in 1 CTC REP. (No. 8) 11-13 (1980). 17. See OECD Guidelines, supra note 8, para. 6. 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's binding international treaty is sought, as is the trend in the work on illicit payments.18 The variety of proposed codes is vast, the scope is virtually boundless, and the amount of time and money expended on the drafting of codes is enormous. In addition to the efforts of the global international organizations, regional organizations also are engaged in attempts at promulgating codes of conduct. At the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the American Republics in Tlatelolco, 1 9 the participants devised various formulations that have served as the basis for much of the work at the United Nations. A series of lengthy sessions of the Inter-American Juridical Committee produced an "opinion" on regulation of TNC's. 20 Finally, many international private organizations have proposed their 21 own codes or guidelines. The list is long. Underlying all of this work is the conviction that TNC's, because of their size, have vast power to affect national policies. For example, annual sales of a corporation like General Motors exceed the gross national product of all but twenty-two independent nations. 22 Moreover, the rate of growth of TNC's has been very rapid. 23 Estimates made in the early 1970's suggested that in the near future some 300 to 400 TNC's would control sixty to seventy percent of the industrial assets of the world. 24 Thus, it was quite understandable that interest in international supervision and regulation would develop which sought to ensure that TNC's would not frustrate--and possibly would contribute to-national development strategies. Such interest was, of course, enhanced by the 18. See Illicit Payments Agreement, supra note 14; Seymour, supra note 14, at 231-32. 19. See U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, International Codes and Regional Agreements Relating to Transnational Corporations, Report of the Secretariat, U.N. Doc. E/C.10/9 (1976). A meeting of the Conference on Economic Cooperation Among Developing Countries was held in Mexico in September 1976, as well as a meeting of experts of developing countries on the Code of Conduct on Transfer of Technology. Meetings held at the U.S. Department of State in 1975 brought together representatives of the American republics for a dialogue between the United States and the other countries of the region, which formulated suggested terms for a code presented at the First Session of the U.N. Commission on TNC's. See Rubin, Rej'icions Concerning the U.A Conmission on TNC, 70 AM. J. INT'L L. 73, 87-88 (1976) [hereinafter cited as Rdflections]. 20. Opinion of the Inter-American Juridical Committee on Transnational Enterprises, dated Feb. 13, 1976, OAS Doe. CJI-27, OEA/Ser.Q/IV.12, at 25 (1976). 21. For some of the antecedents, see Reilctions., supra note 19. An example of work on the regional scale is found in OAS Doe. CJI-19, OEA/Ser.Q/IV-8 (1974) and OAS Doc. OEA/Ser. G/CP/SA.CP/RES (1974) dealing with work within its Inter-American Juridical Committee and other organs of the Organization of American States. 22. Multinational Corporations: Hearings Before the Subcom. on International Trade of the Senate Comm. on Finance,93d Cong., Ist Sess. 393 (app. A) [hereinafter cited as Hearingson TNC's]. General Motors' gross sales in 1969 ($24.3 billion) exceeded, according to those hearings, the combined GNP of Venezuela, Peru, and Chile ($22.89 billion). Id at 404 (Table 1). 23. The rapid growth rate, in all likelihood, is reduced by the rapid and substantial increase in fuel prices, and at least partially consequent worldwide economic difficulties. 24. See Stoiber, EqualityandDicriminationin InternationalEconomic Law, 1977 Y.B. WORLD AFF. 908 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 transnational nature of the business done by these corporations, the belief that their international structure might enable them effectively to escape national regulation, and the possibility that only an international response could meet the perceived challenge to national economic sovereignty. Additionally, the impetus toward codes of conduct or guidelines was enhanced by the lack of equilibrium between developed and developing nations, a determination to rectify that imbalance, and by the demand that TNC's make a major contribution toward the achievement 25 of developmental objectives. It is clear that corporate power and its concomitant effect on the achievement of governmental goals is far from being solely characteristic of "the" TNC. In the first place, there is no such thing as "the" TNC, except in the most formal sense of a business entity that has its effective headquarters in one country and does business, or has subsidiaries or branches, or both, in several other countries. For example, some TNC's are in fact companies that engage in business in several countries, through subsidiaries or other linked affiliations, but that are closely tied either to resources in one or another country (as is the case in the extractive industries) or to markets (as would be the case for a company like Sears, Roebuck & Co.). In such cases, though there may be other problems, the "TNC" does not have that "mobility"-the ability to transfer resources from one nation-state to another-that is said to be a prime characteristic of "the" TNC, and a principal source of worries over its power. Moreover, events have shown that in many situations, even a small nation-state can effectively control a large TNC, at least insofar as its activities in that country are concerned. In any case, it seems clear that TNC's differ vastly-as to their ability to control events in the various parts of the world in which they operate, as to their own degree of centralization and effective control over even their own branches or subsidiaries, as to the nature of the business in which they are engaged, and as to their relation to substantial issues of economic policy of the countries in which they operate. It is equally noteworthy that concern over TNC's is not exclusively a function of their international attributes. Concern has been expressed over many years about the mere issue of largeness, whether on the national or international scene. Nations have, in various ways, been interested in the way in which a large organization, able to mobilize enormous amounts of capital and technology, affects national economies. This concern, at least in the United States, has extended-indeed began-with national entities. The antitrust laws of the United States did not, after all, origi25. For somewhat contrasting views, see Rubin, The MultinatibnalEnterpriseat Bay, 68 AM. J. INT'L L. 475 (1974); Vernon, Economic Soveregnty at Bay, 47 FOREIGN AFF. 110 (1968). 19811 CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's nate in a concern with transnational corporations, but with the so-called "trusts." The issue, indeed, is largely that of the corporate form of doing business, whether the entity itself is domestic or transnational in nature. Concern is likely to be small, however, when the entity itself is small, when in fact it is merely a convenient substitute for another form of business association such as a partnership or joint venture of limited scope and, generally, limited resources. But the corporate form makes it possible for formidable concentrations of economic power to be brought together under the control of relatively few individuals and with little more than a theoretical accountability even to the putative owners-the shareholders. It thus has long been commonplace that corporations have a capacity not only to achieve their business purposes, but also to affect the society in which they function. The classic analysis, which has since been recognized as a truism as well as the basis of much regulatory legislation, was popular as early as 1933. That analysis emphasized that it was not solely the owners of the corporation who had an interest in its activities. It argued that the large corporation could and did affect the social values and interests of a large and diverse community. Under these circumstances, much early debate dealt with concepts of corporate 26 responsibility. In the international arena, there is still much to be learned from an often neglected national experience. Recent debates in the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, the Organization of American States, and the arguments underlying such U.N. General Assembly Resolutions as the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States,2 7 as well as many proposals for codes of conduct, could well be founded not in North-South confrontation, but in the opinion voiced many years ago, albeit in dissent, by Justice Brandeis in the noted case of Louis X 28 Lzgget Co. v. L e. Through size, corporations, once merely an efficient tool employed by individuals in the conduct of private business, have become an institution-an institution which has brought such concentration of economic power that so-called private corporations are sometimes able to 29 dominate the State. When the concept of the corporation was first evolving, the public 26. For a summary of these points, and reference to literature on the role of the corporation in the national as well as the international context, see P. DRUCKER, CONCEPT OF THE CORPORATION (rev. ed. 1972); J. GALBRAITH, AMERICAN CAPITALISM: THE CONCEPT OF COUNTERVAILING POWER (1952); THE CORPORATION IN MODERN SOCIETY (E. Mason ed. 1959); R. NADER & M. GREEN, CORPORATE POWER IN AMERICA (1973); Corporation and Society, supra note 1. 27. G.A. Res. 3281, 29 U.N. GAOR, Supp. (No. 31) 51, U.N. Doc. A/9631 (1974). 28. 288 U.S. 517 (1933) (Brandeis, J., dissenting). 29. Id at 565. 910 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 interest was a recognized element in deciding if a corporate charter would be granted. The medieval "Company of the Staple," chartered in Great Britain and the ancestor of the modern corporation in common law jurisdictions, was established precisely because it was felt that there was a public as well as a private interest in the staple goods trade. 30 The state thus maintained a lively interest in the creature that it had created. Early incorporation acts defined how corporations could act, what assets they could accumulate, and often granted them merely a limited life. In the international sphere, the public interest was even more pronounced. Two of the earliest English corporations, the Andalusia Company and the Prussia Company, had as their principal resource a Crown monopoly of foreign trade with certain nations. The East India Company, first chartered in 1600, expanded these governmental powers so 3 successfully that eventually it was merged back into government. ' Early corporations often were chartered to do international business as well as domestic business. This early international scope was accompanied by the notion that some degree of public responsibility was inherent in the corporate charter. Given these early developments, it is not surprising that international attention has focused on the transnational corporation and its relation to the public interest. This attention has been accentuated as a result of the enormous growth of the transnational corporation in recent years, which is itself a result of the increasing interdependence of the modem world. The existence of a public interest, of course, does not lead automatically to conclusions about how that interest should be expressed. A vast chasm lies between the opposing views on the subject of the proper role of the modern private corporation in international economic relations and particularly in developmental policy. This gap is especially evident in discussions about the function of an international regulatory or supervisory scheme. 32 Governmental responsibility for fair treatment of the 30. See Corporationsand Soc'ep supra note 1; Stoiber, supra note 24. 31. See Williston, History of the Law of Business CorporationsBefore 1800, 2 HARV. L. REV. 105 (1888). The Company of Merchants of London (East India Company) was established, in part, due to severe financial constraints placed on merchants who individually attempted to supply an entire ship for an ocean voyage. By employing their capital in joint stock, all stockholders-noblemen, shopkeepers, widows, and all other subjects-would share equally in company profits. Unlike the modem corporation, however, individual members did not have to participate in the joint stock ownership. Rather, individual members of the company could engage in private trade in the Indie--a privilege held exclusively by Company members. Id at 109. 32. For contrasting views of the impact of TNC's even in the domestic economy, see Stobaugh, MultinationalEnterpriresand the US Economy, in 1 U.S. DEP'T OF COMMERCE, THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATION: STUDIES IN U.S. FOREIGN INVESTMENT 30-31 (1972) (view expressed that TNC's increase domestic employment); Hearingson TWC's, supra note 22, at 443 app. B. As to costs and benefits in the international scene, the conflict is even sharper. See A. TOYNBEE, THE RELUCTANT DEATH OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY (1971); Muller, Rover, is the Product, 13 FOREIGN PoL'Y 71 (1974); Report of the Group of Eminent Persons, The Impact of Multinational Corporations on Development and on International Relations, U.N. Doc. E/5500/Rev. 1, ST/ESA/6 (1974) [here- 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's corporation and of those who have contributed to its capital (human as well as material) is a proper and indeed essential component of a balanced concern over the practices of TNC's. Thus, there is no automatic 33 or simple answer in either the domestic or the international arena. I. CORPORATIONS AND NATION-STATES: A TENSE INTERACTION The relationship between corporations and governments often has been uneasy. Seldom is there general agreement that "what is good for General Motors is good for the United States." Indeed, it is appropriate to recall, as already stated, that corporations historically were created only by a special and guarded act of the sovereign. General and permissive incorporation laws came late to the United States. Increasing industrialization, however, made it obvious that the corporate form of doing business was a highly useful social and economic tool. The corporation permitted the capital of many persons to be brought together, to guarantee to each investor that he would put at risk only an agreed and limited amount of capital, that such capital would be centrally managed, and that the entity would survive the death of the natural persons who contributed either their capital or skills. The corporation thus responded to the needs of society and hence its growth. Over the last few decades, nearly the same set of considerations has dominated the exponential growth of the "transnational corporation," an entity whose operations extend beyond national frontiers. 34 TNC's have proliferated because they are useful in a world in which efficiency often demands an outlook that transcends national boundaries. Even in the national arena, the corporation has sometimes exacerbated fears. The aggregation of economic power that the device permits often has been viewed as being powerful and not always responsive to popular concepts of the "best interests" of the general public. Separation of investment and of management carries with it at least some possibilities of abuse. The interests, for example, of labor and of consumers, inafter cited as Eminent Persons' Report]. For the U.S. reaction to the U.N. Report, see Department of State, The Views of the United States Government Concerning the Report of the Group of Eminent Persons on the Impact of Multinational Corporations on the Developmental Process and on International Relations (Nov. 6, 1974). 33. Compare C. BERGSTEN, T. HORST & H. MORAN, AMERICAN MULTINATIONALS AND AMERICAN INTERESTS 467 (1978) and GOVERNMENT OF CANADA, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN CANADA (1972) [hereinafter cited as GrayReport] with Goldberg & Kindleberger, Towarda G,477 for Investment: 4 ProposalforSupervision of the InternationalCorporation, 2 LAw & PoL'Y INT'L Bus. 295 (1970) (proposal to establish a forum of international experts for purpose of framing basic procedures precedent to General Agreement on International Corporation (GAIC)) and Kindleberger, The MultinationalCorporationin a World of Militant Developing Countries, in GLOBAL COMPANIES, THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WORLD BUSINESS 70 (G. Ball ed. 1975) [hereinafter cited as MNC's IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES]. 34. Much of this and the following paragraphs owe a great deal to A. BERLE, THE 20TH CENTURY CAPITALIST REVOLUTION (1954). THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 and the likelihood that corporate interests will not always coincide with the public interest, have thus led to suggestions for reform of the institution of the corporation and to a myriad of regulatory measures. One aspect of this reformist sentiment has been the recurrent crusade in the United States for a federal incorporation law, in the belief that national standards are appropriate for entities that have continent-wide operations. That proposal has come to the fore at intervals since its incorporation in the Democratic Party platform of 1908, though it has never prospered. An analogous concept lies behind much of the present emphasis on international regulation, as well as the proposals for a European Countries "Companies Law." Though no federal general incorporation law exists in the United States, there are many statutes and regulations that are applicable to corporate conduct on a nationwide scale and which, if consolidated, could well be called a corporate code of conduct. For example, the laws that regulate the offering of securities by corporations 35 and their sale to the public determine what a corporation may do to raise capital, and what it must do to give information to its shareholders3 6 as well as to government. State legislation often exists concurrently. 3 7 Moreover, labor laws prohibit unfair labor practices; other laws regulate price-fixing and other unfair business practices; antitrust laws control mergers that may conflict with the public interest; and other regulations affect such diverse areas as standards of accountancy and protection of the environment. In spite of this legislation, other public interest concerns arise. One source of these concerns is that a corporation may be perceived as not conferring benefits or costs equally on all regions of even a single country. The economic and political repercussions of uneven distribution of natural resources, or other factors of comparative advantage, are evident in many nations: in the United States, as industry moves out of the Northeast to the so-called Sunbelt; in Britain, where Scottish nationalism is fortified by oil discoveries; and in Canada, where separatism is fed not merely by linguistic and perceived cultural differences but also by questions of who should profit from resources found in different parts of the nation. 35. See Securities Act of 1933, 15 U.S.C. § 77 (1976), which regulates the public offering of securities by requiring the issuer to make full disclosure of all material facts in order to provide the public with adequate information regarding securities. 36. See Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. § 78 (1976), which applies to trading in securities that are already issued and are outstanding by imposing disclosure requirements on publicly-held corporations and prohibiting fraud in connection with the purchase or sale of securities. 37. State securities laws, commonly called "Blue Sky Laws," establish various requirements for the registration of broker/dealers, registration of securities to be offered or traded in the state, and sanctions against fraudulent activities. 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's An entirely domestic corporation may thus find itself caught up in such regional conflicts, and may be seen as serving the interest more of "foreigners" than of the natives of the resource-rich region in which it operates. Consequently, tensions can be considerable. If the corporation is transnational, the tensions are greatly magnified, because the corporation is perceived as being one that owes its allegiance not merely to another group within the same country, but to persons in another nation. Benefits of TNC's are seen as remaining principally in one country, with the costs--or the lack of benefits--in another. Further, when the corporation is an entity that is foreign-owned and foreign-controlled, the suspicion that regulation might bring a better order tends to harden into conviction. That conviction is likely to become an article of faith when the corporation has its headquarters in a developed nation, while maintaining many or most of its operations in developing countries. 38 Moreover, the likely disparity in the standards of living between the two countries powerfully exacerbates the human tendency to put more of the blame on a foreign concern than on one's own shortcomings or on the dictates of economics. An additional factor brings transnational corporations under suspicion-the possibility that they may act as conduits for the policies of a foreign state.39 Though in most cases the corporation will be unwilling to play such a role, that hardly matters. What does matter, for example, is that the home government may seek to impose its antitrust laws on host states. In addition, policies such as those embodied in the "trading with the enemy" concept, which are concerned with embargo policies of one country, might be imposed on subsidiaries in other countries. Corporations also may be asked to follow policies with respect to repatriation of earnings that respond more to the needs of the home than of the host country. This results in a feeling of "dependency" that may or may not have undesirable economic aspects but that certainly is psychologically unsettling. Developing countries generally believe that an unjust international economic order exists and that a transfer of resources is necessary to correct the inequities. The developing countries also are aware of the important role that TNC's play in the present international economic system.4 Hence the call for regulation. Such regulation would seek to 38. Cf Corporationsand &detpy, supra note 1, at 7. 39. Se, e.g., United States v. Aluminum Co. of America, 148 F.2d 416 (2d Cir. 1945) (extraterritorial application of antitrust law); United States v. Imperial Chemicals Indus., Ltd., 100 F. Supp. 504 (S.D.N.Y. 1951) (liability), supplementedby 105 F. Supp. 215 (S.D.N.Y. 1952) (remedies); Societe Fruehaufv. Massardy [1965] J.C.P. II No. 14,247 (Cour d'appel, Paris). Seegenerally Rubin, MultinationalEnterpriseand NationalSovrteigny: A Skeptihc¢ Ana sis, 3 LAw & PoL'Y INT'L Bus. 1, 10 (1971) [hereinafter cited as A Skeptis's Analysis]. 40. See Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, G.A. Res. 3281, 29 GAOR, Supp. THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 achieve several objectives such as rectification of past injustices; enhancement of the contribution which it is conceded that TNC's could, and on occasion do, make to the development of the countries in which they operate; and the creation of a balanced and equitable world economic order basically in accordance with the spirit of the several U.N. resolutions that set out a program for achievement of a "new interna'4 tional economic order." ' Both the interdependence of nations and the major role of TNC's in international trade and investment are salient features of the international economic landscape. The role of TNC's has been emphasized, and perhaps overly so. Although both proponents and critics agree on the importance of the TNC, there is no consensus on the effects of that importance. Some writers, such as Arnold Toynbee, regard the transnationalism of the TNC as a beneficial means of overcoming nationalism, which they believe must be eliminated if the world is to survive. 42 Many have regarded the TNC as a threat to national sovereignty, an attitude reflected, for example, in several Canadian reports, 43 as well as in the opinions of representatives of the developing countries. Others have perceived the TNC as an instrument of division that perpetuates an inequitable allocation of benefits that impoverishes the less developed countries. The TNC thus may be regarded as widening disparities not only between nations, but also between economic classes within a nation, while simultaneously destroying indigenous cultural patterns. The more skeptical have argued that sovereign states have become actors in a world situation in which they have limited power and freedom of choice. 44 Almost all nations agree on the desirability, if not the necesssity, of some form of international regulation of TNC's. Although there was wide divergence in the attitudes toward TNC's among the members of the Group of Eminent Persons established by the Secretary General of the United Nations, that body suggested in a 1974 report that the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations be established. In 1974, the U.N. General Assembly created both the Commission and the Informa(No. 31) 50, U.N. Doc. A/9631 (1974). See also Reflections,supra note 19; U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, Transnational Corporations: Issues Involved in the Formulation of a Code of Conduct, U.N. Doc. E/C.10/17 (1976). 41. For a dramatic and generally exaggerated exposition of the ill aspects of the TNC, see R. BARNET & R. MULLER, GLOBAL REACH: THE POWER OF THE MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS (1974). Contrast to this the considerably rosier attitude of Ball, The Promise ofthe MulltnationalCorporation, FORTUNE, Jan. 1, 1967. 42. See, e.g., A. TOYNBEE, supra note 32. 43. See, e.g., Gray Report, supra note 33. 44. .4Skeptic's Anaoysir, supra note 39. See generall Eminent Persons' Report, spra note 32; United Nations, Multinational Corporations in World Development, Annex II, U.N. Doe. ST/ECA/190 (1973). 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's tion and Research Center on Transnational Corporations. 45 The Commission, composed of forty-eight U.N. members, held its first annual meeting in the spring of 1975; the Center began operations in time to present a set of documents to the second Commission meetings in 1976.46 In the work program of the Commission, preparation of a code has always been a priority. The resolution establishing the Commission assigned several other tasks to it as well, including the preparation of a comprehensive information system, and the creation of a program of technical assistance to developing countries that is generally aimed at enhancing their negotiating capacities. The Commission also was directed to work on a definition of TNC's. 47 Work on the information system, including possible harmonization of accounting and reporting standards, has been mainly in the hands of the Center, although some of the work on the information system has been delegated to a special group set up to analyze questions of accounting. The Commission itself has devoted much time to discussing these matters. Certain matters are thus far clear. Corporations themselves are important economic actors on both the national and international scenes. Their international importance has increased enormously in recent years, just as international trade, commerce, and investment have increased. 48 Moreover, great benefits have been realized as a result of their activities. The concerns of developing nations regarding the "more equitable" distribution of resources and wealth are also great. TNC's often are as much concerned with issues of fair treatment, especially in light of numerous expropriations (most prominently in the extractive industries), stability, and an appropriate investment climate, as governments are with excesses or lack of responsiveness by TNC's to the national objectives of the host countries. Perceiving the advantages in a compact, businesses and governments, host and home alike, agree on the desirability of a "code of conduct." It was with little difficulty, therefore, that the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations was able to agree at its Second Session to give priority to the preparation of such 45. The Commission was established pursuant to ECOSOC Res. 1913, 57 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. IA) 31, U.N. Doc. E/5570/Add. 1 (1975). The Information and Research Center was established by ECOSOC Res. 1908, 57 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. 1) 13, U.N. Doc. E/5570 (1974). 46. For a general overview of the background and work of the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, see Retlections, supra note 19, at 5. 47. This writer has elsewhere suggested that definitions, to be useful in analyzing and possibly solving problems, should describe functions rather than formal structure, e.g., Rubin, The International Firm and the NationalJuridttion,in THE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION: A SYMPOSIUM (C. Kindleberger ed. 1970) [hereinafter cited as INTERNATIONAL FIRM]; Rubin, IntemationalRules for TransnationalCorporations 1 J. INT'L TRADE L. 1, 10 (1975). 48. See generaly MNC's IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, supra note 33; R. BARNET & R. supra note 40; INTERNATIONAL FIRM, supra note 47; SOVEREIGNTY AT BAY, supra note 1. MULLER, THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW a code. [Vol. 30:903 49 The content, form, and nature of such a code, however, is very far from being agreed upon even after five years of discussion and negotiation. Some of the difficulties were foreseen from the outset; some have been overcome; some have developed out of the negotiation process itself and out of a perceived need for acceptable definitions. The code, if it emerges as a consensual document, or even if it does not, is likely to have a significant effect on corporate-state relations. 50 II. PROSPECTS FOR A U.N. CODE OF CONDUCT The writing of a code of conduct will not be on a tabula rasa. Indeed, any code that is produced by the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations obviously will reflect to some degree the considerable array of existing "regulatory" agreements, or works in progress. 5 ' Indeed, some part of the U.N. Commission code will be based on work in other fora. It is likely that the provisions of the ILO Tripartite Declaration on social standards, the work of ECOSOC on illicit payments, and the work already accomplished on restrictive business practices or transfer of technology will provide a basis for code provisions in those areas or will 52 be incorporated by reference in a code. It seems evident that at least one of the basic issues that has divided the Commission from the outset-namely, the mandatory or voluntary nature of the code-has largely been decided in other fora. If a code dealing with a relatively narrow range of issues, such as those of restrictive business practices (on which many nations already have national or regional binding legislation) cannot be made "mandatory," there seems little possibility that a code of the sort being negotiated in the Commission will be put into treaty form. Hence, formal national commitments to matters as ill-defined as the broad commitment to "respect for socio49. Actually, the formulation of a code of conduct for transnational corporations has been given a high priority by the Commission since its initial session. Commission on Transnational Corporations, Report on the First Session, 59 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. 12) para. 9, U.N. Doc. E/5655, E/C.10/6. 50. During the First Session, for example, views differed on whether the code should take on a moral tone, should be obligatory and containing penalties for nonobservance, and whether the code should be addressed solely to TNC's or should also contain "general principles guiding the policies of governments." See general, id paras. 41-50. 51. See notes 6-21 & accompanying text supra. 52. One such existing set of regulatory principles that has been generally taken as a broad statement of the position of countries of the Third World regarding TNC's are the principles relating to the conduct of transnational companies put forward at the third preparatory meeting of the Working Group on Transnational Enterprises of the American Republics. Included in these ten principles were such guidelines as: TNC's should be subject to the laws of host countries and the exclusive jurisdiction of their courts; they should not serve as a policy instrument of a foreign state; TNC's should contribute to the development of the host country; they should refrain from restrictive business practices; and finally, TNC's should respect the cultural identity of the host country. Those principles have received support from the Group of 77. Refections, supra note 19. 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's cultural objectives, values and traditions" of countries in which TNC's operate, or those subject to varying interpretation as "adherence to economic goals and development objectives" would go unenacted.5 3 Indeed, the 1980 edition of the CTC Reporter, alludes to the possibility that the Commission and ECOSOC might decide to convene an international conference to deal with final adoption of a code. The Reporter then notes that "[s]uch conferences are called, of course, not only for the adoption of treaties, but also for the adoption of recommendations or non-formally binding instruments." In the latter category, the CTC Reporter includes the results of the UNCTAD conferences on restrictive business practices (already concluded with a nonbinding instrument) 54 and on transfer of technology. It does not follow, however, that a "voluntary" code would be ineffective. Frequently, references have been made in informal conversations during meetings of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the code as well as the sessions of the Commission to the possibility of a "zebra" code--one in which some provisions would be adopted as binding international agreements, while others would be voluntary. But in view of the position of many delegations that each part of the code is and must be dependent on all other parts, 5 5 and the confirmation of that position by consensus at the 1980 Commission meeting, this seems an unlikely solution. It is of course possible that some provisions will be more precatory in nature than others. The more likely prospect would seem to be that certain areas, addressed only in general terms in the code, might be developed further in specialized meetings into standards that could be the subject of collateral and perhaps binding agreements. In any case, the legal effect of a multilaterally accepted code of conduct is a matter of some debate.56 It has been suggested that even unilateral declarations can create international "law." The effect of General Assembly resolutions is similarly controverted, though the majority-or at least more traditional-view is that obligations under the U.N. Charter require Security Council action. Even codes explicitly declared to be "voluntary," such as the OECD Guidelines, may establish norms of conduct that would probably be observed-perhaps as much 53. U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, Work Related to the Formulation of a Code of Conduct: Report of the Intergovernmental Working Group on a Code of Conduct on its Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Sessions, U.N. Doc. E/C.10/62, at 12 (1980). 54. 1 CTC REP. (No. 8) 4 (1980). 55. This position is seen in the statements of the head of the U.S. delegation to the First through the Sixth Sessions of the U.N. Commission on TNC's, who indicated that this proposition has been accepted. Set afro U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, Transnational Corporations: Issues Involved in the Formulation of a Code of Conduct, U.N. Doc. E/C.10/17 (1976). 56. See Baade, 7he Legal Efcfr of Code ofConAtfor MultinationalEnterprses, in 22 GER. Y.B. INT'L L. 11 (1979). 918 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 as if they were formally "mandatory." On the other hand, codes explicitly stated to create no binding obligation may be considered interpreta57 tive of other explicitly binding agreements. Moreover, to make a nonbinding code "effective" may be to blur the distinction between a voluntary and a mandatory code. Most international fora, including the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, would agree that a code should be effective, and that it should be reviewed from time to time. There already has been considerable discussion as to whether the review mechanisms of the OECD Guidelines that are explicitly voluntary and not designed to judge the conduct of any individual corporation have imported considerable compulsion into even those Guidelines. 58 A generally accepted set of standards eventually may have an effect as significant as a more formal commitment. Indeed, because a formally adopted commitment is likely to be narrowly worded, the looser standards may be more, rather than less, effective in influencing conduct. In any case, review of the effectiveness of such standards will tend to ensure that they do have the intended effects. Already it seems clear that the conduct of corporations-in the field of public disclosure, for example, and in the area of labor relations-has been affected significantly by the existing understandings already mentioned, as well as by the continuing negotiations and complementary discussions in board rooms and in international organizations. This ongoing debate indicates that the code negotiations have already had an effect, and will have effects, almost without regard to the eventual attainment of a formal code. This is a comforting consideration, because attainment of a universally accepted and comprehensive code still has many hurdles before it. The Sixth Session of the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, on the final day of its 1980 session, adopted a resolution 59 that was designed to provide guidance to the Working Group in its preparation of a code that would be presented at 57. Id at 40 (pointing out that the "modalities" paper of the U.N. Center on Transnational Corporations states that even a code adopted explicitly in nonbinding form can become "a 'source' of law for national authorities as well as for the transnational corporations themselves." See U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations, Certain Modalities for Implementation of a Code of Conduct in Relation to its Possible Legal Nature, U.N. Doc. E/C.10/AC.2/9, at 8 (1978). 58. For a general discussion of this point in the context of a well-known case before the OECD, see R. BLANPAIN, THE BADGER CASE AND THE OECD GUIDELINES FOR MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES (1977). The OECD Guidelines have also evoked a statement in the "authorized" summary of that case, to the effect that parts of the Guidelines "though voluntary in origin, may . . . pass into the general corpus of customary international law evenfor those multinationalenterprises which have never acceptedtherm." (emphasis added). The summary, prepared by Dr. T.W. Vogelaar of the OECD Secretariat, caused some consternation and controversy in at least some governments of the OECD. 59. Progress Made Towards the Establishment of the New International Economic Order and Obstacles That Impede It: The Role of Transnational Corporations (Draft Resolution II), in Commission on Transnational Corporations, Report on the Sixth Session, 66 U.N. ESCOR, Supp. (No. 10) 5, U.N. Doc. E/C.10/75 (1980). 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's 919 the Seventh Session of the Commission. The resolution affirms the priority status of work on the code, and maintains that it will be "an essential contribution in the accomplishment of the goals of the new international development strategy and the new international economic order."0 It also affirms that the code should be "effective, comprehensive, generally accepted and universally adopted."' 6 ' This may prove difficult to achieve, particularly in light of the broad, difficult, and sometimes differently viewed concepts contained in other items listed for the guidance of the Working Group. The purposes of the code are to associate TNC's effectively within the new international order; to reaffirm principles of respect for national sovereignty, for established policies of countries in which TNC's operate, and for the right of the host countries to regulate and monitor TNC activities; to foster TNC contributions to developmental goals; to prohibit subversion or "interference in the internal affairs of countries and other inadmissible activities"; to deal effectively with activities of TNC's in South Africa and Namibia; to include "provisions relating to the treatment of transnational corporations, jurisdiction and other related matters"; to provide appropriate implementary provisions; and to be considered as an integrated whole. Some of these desiderata are viewed quite differently by various members of the Commission. Most of the industrialized countries, for example, would consider "treatment" to mean "fair treatment," but how that concept would be defined by the developing countries, especially by the Socialist or Communist countries, is another matter. Furthermore, reasonable defense of rights guaranteed by international law in the concept of one nation may be "interference" to another. Other difficulties abound. The overarching difficulty is to achieve agreement in broad terms on matters ofpnn~cle. Many negotiations over the course of the years have demonstrated that countries, even those with widely divergent social and economic systems, can come to agreement on specif issues even though the results often are not completely satisfactory to either side. Agreements generally are reached at least partially because both sides are looking for a solution to enable them to get on with business, not for a victory for the principles of either side. That the agreements, whatever may be the disputes between the parties, are at least a modus vivendi is evidenced by the increase and the growth of international investment and international trade, a large part of which the TNC's control. For example, the dispute between the United States and Mexico that arose out of the oil and agrarian expropriations of the 1930's, has 60. Id at 11. 61. Id 920 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 30:903 never been resolved in principle. Both sides stand on their original and flatly opposed theories of international law. Yet American investment in Mexico has grown-to the apparent satisfaction of both countriesand Mexico is the United States' third largest trading partner. The basic problem of agreement on a code of conduct then is precisely that it deals with principles, not with specific and identifiable cases. The foreseeable consequences of establishing these principles, however, are largely unknown, if not unascertainable. One cannot reasonably predict just what factual situation will arise, or just how the general principle will be applied to it. Nevertheless, imagination tends to emphasize the worst case scenario. The necessary vagueness of the language, which in many diplomatic settlements is intended, understood, and a useful aspect of a settlement, becomes a hazard of indefinable dimensions. 62 Despite the guidance of the resolution adopted at the Sixth Session, difficulties remain in attaining a code that will be generally accepted, universally adopted, and uniformly interpreted. If methods of interpetation, review, and possibly resolution of differences can be reconciled, there is reasonable hope that a code in draft form can be offered to the 1982 session of the Commission. A considerable amount of progress has been made, though it has been slow and has been made on the easier issues. Moreover, there has been a measure of success in other fora-the ILO, the OECD and UNCTAD, for example. Corporate practice actually has tended to conform to the standards being enunciated and without undue harm. Much discussion has had the effect of taking at least some of the mystery and fear out of the concepts. In addition, it is widely perceived that failure would have a major and negative effect at a time when real and not merely verbal cooperation is essential to the welfare of all. Achievement of a generally acceptable code would not do a great deal to satisfy demands for a massive transfer of resources from North to South, for such a transfer of resources is not within the legal or economic power of privately owned corporations. A code, however, would be at least one perceptible indicia of cooperation. Thus, although both content and timing remain largely undefined, reasons exist on all sides to make a strenuous effort to achieve a code. All have recognized that a code need not be engraved in stone, and instead that it may be an evolving set of understandings of varying nature. Further, all recognize that, whatever may be the economic signifi62. These issues have been dealt with at some length earlier. See also ReftclionL, supra note 19. The article discussed the differences that are likely to complicate the future progress of the U.N. Commission on Transnational Corporations in making proposals on a code of conduct. The controversial areas include the language to be used in the Commission's report; identification of areas of concern; scope and nature of information-gathering functions; technical cooperation; and the definition of a TNC. 1981] CODES OF CONDUCT FOR TNC's cance of code provisions, achievement or nonachievement of a code will have substantial psychological and political implications. A code may or may not have important beneficial effects, but failure in this effort has very grave risks. Not the least of these risks, from the point of view of the industrialized countries and the TNC's themselves, would be the possibility that an unsuccessful code would nevertheless be adopted as a resolution of the U.N. General Assembly. Although the majority opinion is that such a resolution would have no binding effect, it would provide a precedent for enactment of national or regional legislation. Moreover, it would constitute a mandate to a U.N. secretariat-in this case, the U.N. Center on Transnational Corporations-which would then have both the authority and the resources for preparation of a series of reports, research studies, and other activities designed to implement such a resolution. This is a possibility that must be borne in mind by those who feel that the code exercise itself is unrealistic--or worse. The hope-and if realism prevails, the expectation-thus must be that a code will be achieved. It may not be a thing of logical harmony and beauty, but it will be at least something more than a finger in the dike.
© Copyright 2024