If you have flown in various parts of the world there is no doubt that some of the local practices can be quite alien. Whether this justifies an air law exam or a check ride with an instructor is perhaps debatable but given that not unreasonably national authorities want some evidence a pilot has proved their knowledge I can see the justification for this requirement. Unfortunately our air law exam for example is not a very good model for demonstrating that a pilot that has only flown in the US understand the differences here.
I agree with regards the annual instrument check flight - its a complete nonsense but realistically I suspect you would be paddling against a very strong tide to get that changed!
I am afraid Martin struggles to get to grips with these sort of issues after his debacle over the IMCr and EASA changes in general but I suspect he has been more expertly guided by AOPA US who really do know their business. We can only hope it produces some results.