Concessions continue to be a topic of interest to both daily practice and legal scholarship. This book highlights some specific themes to help bridge the current research gap. It deals with situations in which the government has a de facto or legal monopoly on (the allocation of) certain rights and where the private party acquiring these rights must make investments to subsequently be able to exploit these rights. The risk of recouping the costs incurred lies with the private party. Examples include mining, operating casinos, and operating parking garages. Although concessions are used in quite a few cases for these matters, this is not always the case. Indeed, sometimes similar instruments such as licenses or permits are used. The book anticipates this by including these instruments in its scope.
