Special drawing rights are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the International Monetary Fund. SDRs are units of account for the IMF, not a currency per se, they instead represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged. SDRs were created in 1969 to supplement a shortfall of preferred foreign exchange reserve assets, namely gold and U. S. dollars. SDRs are allocated by the IMF to countries, cannot be held or used by private parties; the number of SDRs in existence was around XDR 21.4 billion in August 2009. During the global financial crisis of 2009, an additional XDR 182.6 billion was allocated to "provide liquidity to the global economic system and supplement member countries’ official reserves". By October 2014, the number of SDRs in existence was XDR 204 billion; the value of a SDR is based on a basket of key international currencies reviewed by IMF every five years. The weights assigned to each currency in the XDR basket are adjusted to take into account their current prominence in terms of international trade and national foreign exchange reserves.

In the review conducted in November 2015, the IMF decided that the Renminbi would be added to the basket effective 1 October 2016. From that date, the XDR basket now consists of the following five currencies: U. S. dollar 41.73%, euro 30.93%, renminbi 10.92%, Japanese yen 8.33%, British pound 8.09%. While the ISO 4217 currency code for special drawing rights is XDR, they are referred to by their acronym SDR. Both refer to the name "special drawing rights". Intentionally innocuous and free of connotations because of disagreements over the nature of this new reserve asset during its creation, the name derives from a debate about its primary function—money or credit. While the name would offend neither side, it can be argued that prior to 1981 the XDR was a debt security and so a form of credit. Member countries receiving XDR allocations were required by the reconstitution provision of the XDR articles to hold a prescribed number of XDRs. If a state used any of its allotment, it was expected to rebuild its XDR holdings.

As the reconstitution provisions were abrogated in 1981, the XDR now functions less like credit than previously. Countries are still expected to maintain their XDR holdings at a certain level, but penalties for holding fewer than the allocated amount are now less onerous; the name may derive from an early proposal for IMF "reserve drawing rights". The word "reserve" was replaced with "special" because the idea that the IMF was creating a foreign exchange reserve asset was contentious. Special drawing rights were created by the IMF in 1969 and were intended to be an asset held in foreign exchange reserves under the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates. 1 XDR was defined as US$1, equal to 0.888671 g of gold. After the collapse of that system in the early 1970s the SDR has taken on a less important role. Acting as the unit of account for the IMF has been its primary purpose since 1972; the IMF itself calls the current role of the XDR "insignificant". Developed countries, who hold the greatest number of XDRs, are unlikely to use them for any purpose.

The only actual users of XDRs may be those developing countries that see them as "a rather cheap line of credit". One reason XDRs may not see much use as foreign exchange reserve assets is that they must be exchanged into a currency before use; this is due in part to the fact private parties do not hold XDRs: they are only used and held by IMF member countries, the IMF itself, a select few organizations licensed to do so by the IMF. Basic functions of foreign exchange reserves, such as market intervention and liquidity provision, as well as some less prosaic ones, such as maintaining export competitiveness via favorable exchange rates, cannot be accomplished directly using XDRs; this fact has led the IMF to label the XDR as an "imperfect reserve asset". Another reason they may see little use is that the number of XDRs in existence is few; as of January 2011, XDRs represented less than 4% of global foreign exchange reserve assets. To function well a foreign exchange reserve asset must have sufficient liquidity, but XDRs, because of their small number, may be perceived to be an illiquid asset.

The IMF says, "expanding the volume of official XDRs is a prerequisite for them to play a more meaningful role as a substitute reserve asset." The XDR comes to prominence when the U. S. dollar is otherwise unsuitable to be a foreign exchange reserve asset. This manifests itself as an allocation of XDRs to IMF member countries. Distrust of the U. S. dollar is not the only stated reason. One of its first roles was to alleviate an expected shortfall of U. S. dollars c. 1970. At this time, the United States had a conservative monetary policy and did not want to increase the total amount of U. S. dollars in existence. If the United States had continued down this path, the dollar would have become a less attractive foreign exchange reserve asset: it would not have had the necessary liquidity to serve this function. Soon after XDR allocations began, the United States reversed its former policy and provided sufficient liquidity. In the process a potential role for the XDR was removed. During this first round of allocations, 9.3 billion XDRs were distributed to IMF member countries.

The XDR resurfaced in 1978 when many countries were wary of taking on more foreign exchange reserve assets denominated in U. S. dollars. This suspicion of the dollar precipitated an allocation of 12 billion XDRs over a period of four years. Concomitant with the financial crisis of 2007–08, the third round of XDR allocations occurred in the years 2009 and 2

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to civil law: Civil law – branch of the law. In common law countries such as England and the United States, the term refers to non-criminal law; the law relating to civil wrongs and quasi-contracts is part of the civil law. The law of property is embraced by civil law. Civil law can, like criminal law, be divided into procedural law; the rights and duties of individuals amongst. It is suggested that civil proceedings are taken for the purpose of obtaining compensation for injury, may thus be distinguished from criminal proceedings, whose purpose is to inflict punishment. However, exemplary or punitive damages may be awarded in civil proceedings. Civil law can be described as all of the following: Branch of law dealing with non-criminal cases Substantive law Art and culture law Civil rights Commercial law Contract law Australian contract law Canadian contract law English contract law Scots contract law United States contract law Labor law Environmental law Family law Property law Cultural property law Intellectual property law Trust law Tort law Personal injury Tort law by common law country Tort law in Australia Canadian tort law English tort law Scots tort law United States tort law Procedural law Civil procedure History of company law in the United Kingdom History of competition law History of English contract law History of equity and trusts History of labour law History of labor law in the United States History of labour law in the United Kingdom Lawsuit – suit, action, or cause instituted or depending between two private persons in the courts of law.

Civil procedure – body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits. These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced, what kind of service of process is required, the types of pleadings or statements of case, motions or applications, orders allowed in civil cases, the timing and manner of depositions and discovery or disclosure, the conduct of trials, the process for judgment, various available remedies, how the courts and clerks must function. Service of process Pleading – as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement of a party's claims or defenses to another party's claims in a civil action; the parties' pleadings in a case define the issues to be adjudicated in the action. Pleading in England and Wales pleading in United States federal courts Motions Motion in United States law Court orders Depositions Discovery Trial Judgments Legal remedies Civil procedure in Brazil Civil procedure in Canada Civil procedure in England and Wales Civil Procedure Rules Civil procedure in South Africa Civil procedure in the United States Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Journal of Tort Law Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. William Blackstone Outline of law Differences between Civil and Criminal Law in the USA Civil Cases in US Courts Civil Procedure Rules applying to England and Wales Complete text of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Battleground is a 1949 American war film that follows a company in the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division as they cope with the Siege of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, in World War II. It stars Van Johnson, John Hodiak, Ricardo Montalbán, George Murphy, features James Whitmore, was directed by William Wellman from a script by Robert Pirosh; the film is notable for portraying American soldiers as human. While they remain steadfast and courageous, each soldier has at least one moment in the film when he considers running away, schemes to get sent back from the front line, slacks off, or complains about the situation he is in. Battleground is considered to be the first significant American film about World War II to be made and released after the end of the war. In mid-December 1944, Pvt. Jim Layton and his buddy Pvt. William J. Hooper are assigned to the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division; as a newcomer, Layton receives a chilly welcome from his squad.

PFC Holley returns to the company after recuperating from a wound. Instead of going on leave in Paris, the squad is trucked back to the front because of a surprise German breakthrough in the Ardennes, they stop that night in Bastogne and are put up for the night in the apartment of a young woman, Denise, to whom Holley is attracted. Jarvess stands guard in the village, where he runs into some battle-weary soldiers making a "strategic withdrawal"; the next morning, led by Platoon Sgt. Kinnie, the men are ordered to dig in on the outskirts of town. Just as they are nearly done, they must dig in all over again. Holley and Kippton man a roadblock that night. German soldiers, disguised as Americans, infiltrate their position and blow up a nearby bridge. In the morning, Roderigues, a Latino man from Los Angeles, is delighted by the novelty of snow from a heavy winter storm, but Pop Stazak, awaiting a "dependency discharge" that will send him home, is unimpressed. Layton goes to see Hooper, only to find he had been killed, no one in his company had known his name.

Kinnie informs the squad about the infiltration and dispatches a patrol comprising Holley and Jarvess. Just before they start out, the platoon is shelled by German artillery, causing Bettis to panic and desert. Holley's patrol skirmishes with the infiltrators. Roderigues is wounded by machine-gun fire from an enemy tank. Holley conceals him under a disabled jeep half-buried in snow; when Holley returns, Roderigues has died. Wolowicz and a sick Cpl. Standiferd are sent to a field hospital. Doc informs the 2nd Squad that the hospital has been captured. Holley is partnered with Layton, while Pop is paired with Hansan. Pop's discharge comes in. Moved 3rd Platoon is attacked at dawn. Hansan is the first to return fire, which hits the German commander; when it appears the platoon will be overrun, Hansan is wounded, Holley flees, Layton follows Holley. Ashamed, Holley leads a flanking counterattack that stops the Germans. After they get Hanson to an aid station, the squad runs into Bettis, doing K. P. duty. Holley finds Layton being entertained by Denise.

While on guard duty, they encounter some Germans who have come under a flag of truce to offer Brig. Gen. McAuliffe surrender terms. - puzzles the Germans. The squad is short of supplies. Several men attend impromptu outdoor Christmas services held by a chaplain; that night, the Luftwaffe bombs Bastogne. Denise dies, Bettis, slowed by his fear of returning to the lines, is killed by a collapsing house; the "walking wounded", including Hansan and a mess sergeant he befriended, are recalled for a last-ditch defense of the town. As the platoon is down to its last few rounds of ammunition, the weather clears, allowing Allied fighter aircraft to attack the Germans and C-47 transports to drop supplies, enabling the 101st to hold. Afterward, Kinnie leads the platoon's survivors rear-ward, for a well-earned rest; as they move out, they spot a relief column of clean soldiers marching toward them. Kinnie begins calling "Jody cadence", the veterans pull themselves together as they pass their replacements. Battleground was an RKO property, titled "Prelude to Love" to hide its subject matter, but was shelved when production head Dore Schary resigned, despite $100,000 having been put into the property to that point.

When Schary went to MGM, he purchased the rights to the script from RKO, over the objections of Louis B. Mayer, who believed the public was tired of war films. At MGM, Robert Taylor and Keenan Wynn were reported to have been penciled in for the film, along with Van Johnson and John Hodiak, the project was budgeted at $2 million. Wellman put the cast through some military training with Robert Taylor, a former navy officer who dropped out believing the role was not right for him, he was replaced by Van Johnson. Robert Pirosh had based the script on his own experiences during the Battle of the Bulge, although he did not serve with the 101st Airborne. Many of the incidents in the film were based on actual events, including the rejection of a German demand for surrender on December 22, 1944, with Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe's one word response, "Nuts!". Twenty veterans of the 101st appeared in the film as extras. Lt Col