Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Law - U.S. - General'

Requests for battlefield euthanasia have, no doubt, occurred on battlefields as long as there have been battlefields. When men have taken up arms against one another, for whatever reason, there have always been those wounded who do not die immediately, but clearly cannot live for long, either because of their wounds or their circumstances. This can generate the desire to hasten their inevitable death, by both the wounded soldier as well as their comrades. These situations have probably occurred throughout history.’ Mercy killings, those lethal actions carried out to relieve suffering, enacted by soldiers upon wounded enemy combatants during and after combat have been evidenced since the earliest recordings of armed conflict. An action which was taken from necessity due to inadequate medical knowledge and resources and also because of the existence of a less humane, but perhaps more practical society, are now considered as a criminal act. However, the act is often carried out from compassion and a feeling of sympathy towards the victim. Meanwhile, public values, the common law and legislation dealing with euthanasia have all developed in the domestic civilian setting. Mercy killings have traditionally been dealt with in a confusing manner by the courts, using ill-fitting doctrines such as diminished responsibility to alleviate the criminal stigma placed upon the defendant. In other situations the application of the law has created uncertainty concerning the demarcation between whether an act constitutes murder or manslaughter. This uncertainty is compounded when the law developed to deal with civilian situations is juxtaposed on a mercy killing carried out by a soldier on another combatant in a battlefield setting. These situations present circumstances beyond the comprehension of civil domestic law. To implement it correctly requires a strained alignment between the pressures facing the soldier in combat and the pressures facing the defendant in peacetime, and there is a high likelihood that by doing so an injustice shall be served to the soldier and the victim. The potential trial processes faced by the soldier who has carried out a battlefield coup de grace are also questionable. To try the soldier in a civilian court is to place the deliberation of his actions into the hands of those who are not his military or cultural peers and who will judge his actions in accordance with a belief system contrary to those the defendant is indoctrinated with through his military training. However, implementing civil criminal law in a court martial alongside military discipline offences for crimes which represent serious operational misconduct, creates conflict between which values should be prioritised. The values of military discipline are in competition with the values of the criminal law. The court martial also carries with it the aura of unfairness due to its inherent bias, and there are concerns over its partiality. However, it also offers potentially the best place for the soldier to face trial because the case is deliberated upon by a Board of military personnel, his peers, who understand the unique culture of the soldier. By comparing the professional soldier with medical professionals, who are also involved with end of life decision making a better sense of the ‘wrongness’ of the action can be found. In the medical context consent can be used to legitimise many actions which may lead to death, and even without it the doctor may act in the patient’s best interests in a manner which avoids liability but results in death. The practice of double effect allows a physician to deliver pain relief even though there is a foreseeable consequence of death. The soldier’s actions exhibit many of the same motives but are never legally justified. The comparison serves to change the perception of the action, from merely legally wrong to morally legitimate. Although difficulties exist in arguing that mercy killing actions should be made legal, the wider consideration of the influences and behaviours can show that such actions can be morally legitimate and that it is not just to punish the soldier too harshly, nor is it just to hold him to account to laws which ill-fit the circumstances, be they domestic criminal laws, international criminal laws or military offence.

This thesis argues that contemporary views of the laws of arms among soldiers, and of the laws of war by legal theorists, influenced particular military campaigns and individual actions in a variety of armed conflicts. Elizabeth I’s officer corps were careful to act in wars so that their actions would be seen as honourable by outside observers in the belief that such actions would add to their personal glory. Their individual and corporate perception of the laws of war directly affected military practices. However, the Elizabethan military establishment was engaged in conflicts that did not conform to contemporary views of just war. Catholic popes funded military expeditions against England and its dominion of Ireland, where the leaders were granted commissions to wage holy war not just war. The suppression of armed rebellions in Ireland employed numerous soldiers, and much of the machinery of state was supported by the English military. Holy war and counterinsurgency operations had no parallels in just war theory. The laws of war provided an important new context for re-evaluating military practices. Although legal discourse was predominantly ordered towards fighting regular wars, with careful reading of contemporary sources, there are important indicators that illuminate contemporary justifications for some of the more brutal military actions associated with the English military establishment, particularly in Ireland. By re-examining the discourse on the laws of war, the thesis finds that soldiers took seriously the customs of war and through them, it reassesses the motivations and mentalities of commissioned officers. This discourse was then used as a basis by which the conduct of soldiers can be understood and contextualised within English political and ethical structures.

Malicious cyber-attacks, those cyber-attacks which do not rise to the level of force in international law, pose a significant problem to the international community. Attributing responsibility for malicious cyber-attacks is imperative if states are to respond and prevent the attacks from continuing. Unfortunately, due to both technical and legal issues attributing malicious cyber-attacks to the responsible state or non-state actor is difficult if not impossible in the vast majority of attacks. Even if an injured state may recursively trace the malicious cyber-attack to the responsible IP address, this is not enough under the current international customary law to hold a state or non-state actor responsible for the cyber-attack as it is virtually impossible to bridge the air gap between the computer system and end user to demonstrate affirmatively who initiated the attack. Even if a state could demonstrate the identity of the end user that initiated the attack, this is not enough to link the end user to the state for responsibility to lie under existing customary international law. As such this study was conducted to analyze the issue of malicious cyber-attacks as a matter of customary international law to ascertain mechanism to hold states responsible for malicious cyber-attacks which originate from a state’s sovereign territory. Specifically, this study addresses the issue of legal and technical attribution of malicious cyber-attacks for the purposes of holding states responsible for those attacks. This study argues that under existing customary international law attributing malicious cyber-attacks for the purpose of ascertaining state responsibility is difficult if not impossible. As such, this study proposes alternative theories, which already exist within customary international law, for holding states responsible for malicious cyber-attacks which originate from their sovereign territory. This study addresses alternative theories of state responsibility existing in customary international law such as those put forth in Trail Smelter and Corfu Channel and the theory of strict liability for ultra-hazardous activities. In addition, this study addresses the theory of indirect responsibility, the duty to prevent harm, and due diligence in cyber-space. Lastly this study analysis the impact of the post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan by the United States and NATO forces and determines that a burgeoning rule of attribution may be present which would impact the attribution of malicious cyber-attacks to states. This study makes an original and important addition to the corpus of international law by addressing the issues of technical and legal attribution, state responsibility, and the duty to prevent malicious cyber-attacks as a matter of customary international law. This study is needed; malicious cyber-attacks implicate international law, as the majority are interstate in nature. However, international law currently has no paradigm, per se, in place to effectively deal with the issue of malicious cyber-attacks.

Counter-insurgency assumed a status during the twentieth century as one of the British military‟s fortes. A wealth of asymmetric warfare experience was accumulated after World War Two, as the small wars of decolonisation offered the army of a fading imperial power the opportunity to regularly deploy against an irregular enemy. Yet this quantity of experience has been misguidedly conflated with quality. This thesis holds that the British, far from being the counter-insurgent exemplars that history has benevolently cast them, have in fact consistently proven to be slow learners and slow strategic burners in the realm of counter-insurgency warfare. The case study-based nature of this thesis, utilising the chronologically and geographically dispersed examples of Malaya (1948-60), Kenya (1952-60), South Yemen (1962-67), the first decade of the Northern Irish „Troubles‟ (1969-79), culminates with an analysis of the recent British counter-insurgency campaign in southern Iraq (2003-09). This thesis will blend historical narrative with critical analysis in order to establish a new paradigm through which to interpret and analyse British inertia in counter-insurgency and help unpack the mythology of inherent British competence in the realm of irregular warfare. Three major dimensions emerge. These elements constitute a „Tri-Partite Counter-Insurgency Model‟, and were carefully selected as comprising the major causal and impacting factors contributing to success or failure in counter-insurgency, and were settled upon after an exhaustive review of primary and secondary literature relating to counter-insurgency, both historical and doctrinal. The Tri-Partite Model is constructed by three interactive and interdependent factors: the counter-insurgent, the insurgent, and the international political context.

Law and State, especially forms of landed property and contract, have played an important mediatory role in the internationalisation of agricultural capital in Ghana. The establishment of cocoa production in Ghana in the late nineteenth and the early part of the twentieth century established the predominance of small holder peasant production in Ghanaian agriculture. The production and export of cocoa also established a specific form of internationalisation of agricultural capital in Ghana. This involved the subsumption of peasant commodity producers within the circuit of international capital. Because capital did not directly control production its relations with the peasantry centred around struggles over both the conditions of labour. in the sphere of production and over the realisation of the value of the peasants' product, in the sphere of circulation. These struggles were moulded by legal forms of landed property controlled by the direct producer and the character of the contractual relationship between peasant and the representatives of capital. The transformation induced by cocoa production included changes in forms of landed property, a process in which the colonial state played an important role. These changes have been a significant influence on the subsequent forms of internationalisation of agricultural capital in the post colonial period. The thesis shows through an analysis of the post colonial sugar and oil palm industries the nature of this influence. It also shows ho«- the shift in the proclaimed objectives of the state from the colonial concern with export agriculture to the "nationalist" post colonial goal of seif reliance came to be co-opted by new forms of international capital and the mediatory role of legal forms, especially contract, in this process of co-optation. This work is based mainly on written primary and secondary sources, complemented by intcrviews with some officials of the some of the institutions covered in the thesis. My secondary sources include unpublished essays and thesis, books, articles, reports, studies by companies, government bodies and similar such published material. Most of the primary material used in the parts of the work that deal with the colonial period conic from the British Public Records Office and the Ghana National Archives in Accra. For the post colonial period a substantial part of the primary information was gathered using personal contacts in various state institutions, particularly the Ministry of finance and Economic Planning, the Attorney General Department and the Ghana Investment Centre.

In this study, I examined the Supreme Court's agenda from 1801 to 1993 to determine the composition and dynamics of the issues that have dominated the business of the Court. Specifically, I set out to test empirically Robert G. McCloskey's (now standard) characterization of the Supreme Court's history, which sees it as dominated by nationalism/federalism issues before the Civil War, by economic issues just after the War through the 1930s, and by civil rights and liberties since the 1930s. The question that drove my investigation was "Is McCloskey's interpretation, which appears to be based on the great cases of Supreme Court history, an accurate description of the agenda represented in the Supreme Court's total body of reported decisions?" To test McCloskey's historical theses I employed concepts adapted from Richard Pacelle's (1991) important work on the agenda of post-Roosevelt Court and used the methods of classical historical analysis and of interrupted time-series analysis. Data for my research came from existing datasets and from my own collection (I coded the manifest content of thousands of Supreme Court's decisions from 1887 back to 1801). The most important finding from my analyses is that McCloskey not withstanding, the pre-Civil War Supreme Court's agenda was clearly dominated by economic issues of various sorts, not by nationalism/federalism as previously believed. Another key finding is that partisanship had a pronounced impact on the Court's attention to this category of issueseven in the periods when the Supreme Court had very little control of its docket. These results suggest that Supreme Court scholars should reassess or rethink their previous notion of the Court's pre-Civil War agendathe now well-established view that nation-state issues dominated the business of the Court in its formative yearsand the idea (often expressed implicitly) that the Court's mandatory jurisdiction suppressed attitudinal factors on the Court in the earlier eras.

History has proven that, if freed from the grasp of the unitary executive, the elected Attorney General flourishes as a lawyer for the law dedicated above all else to the "public interest." In light of these proven benefits, the pressing question becomes whether this tested design can help the people of Africa as they fight to reclaim their wayward governments. Might a popularly elected Attorney General steady the bridge so Africa can pass through to freedom and prosperity? More immediately, does the divided executive with its elected attorney general represent a new hope for Africa in combating corruption? The author takes a critical look at the evolution of the elected Attorney General and uses the role of the Attorney General in the United States of America as an example. The author concludes that perhaps now is the time to start creating the history of Africa’s ultimate escape from the endless vestiges of colonialism still embedded in the unitary executive. Maybe now is the time for the peoples of Africa to borrow an idea from their American cousins and get their own lawyer!
Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008.
A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Mr. Tilahun Teshome in association with the Addis Ababa University
http://www.chr.up.ac.za/
Centre for Human Rights
LLM

The focus of this study is the property rights theories tested in the context of Modern China’s rural areas. It is divided into three parts: Part I presents the theoretical framework, concepts. These form the analytical tools. Part II briefly describes the three big transformation of rural arable land ownership in modern China. This is a particular case in which the theoretical framework can be tested. In Part III of this study I apply the analytical framework developed in part I to understand the puzzles and problems described in part II. This is the application of theory to the history and reality. In this research, I show that the change of property rights is central to political, economic and social change in that particular society. As a formal institution, property rights provide an incentive or disincentive structure for a particular economy. The contrasting economic performance in modern China’s agriculture can be well explained by the underlying force— the property rights institutional arrangement. The stagnation and decline of Chinese economy and universal poverty is conditioned by the disincentive structure of the Commune System. While the specular economic growth and its relief of poverty is driven by the incentive structure of the Household Responsibility System (HRS). The success of the HRS is in that it is not only a government institutional arrangement but also a communal institutional arrangement in its origin. The rules created by the peasants themselves are legitimized by the central government as property rights. It really matter who creates the property rights and for whom. This research attempts to enrich our knowledge in social science. It challenges the conventional and standard political and economic theory used to explain Chinese puzzles in its economic growth and social development. In the theoretical sphere, it contributes mainly to the literature of Marx’s theory of property, Honoré’s concept of ownership and Ostrom’s theory of common-pool resources and institutional change. In the practical sphere, it contributes to our understanding of the radical and complex change in Modern China’s rural areas.

Tax avoidance is an exceedingly complex area of law. It is also a matter generally found not far from the headlines, or from the concerns of state and policy forums such as the G8 and the OECD. In an increasingly capital mobile world, the concern on the part of Governments for the protection of their sources of revenue has increased. Adam Smith’s four canons of taxation are well known. In his work, The Wealth of Nations, Smith regarded the values of certainty, equity, efficiency and convenience as integral to the functioning of a tax system. Among these, however, Smith would seem to have regarded certainty as of particular significance. The prominence afforded to the value of certainty, in conjunction with the smaller role afforded the state likely contributed to the formalistic approach taken by the courts of the British Commonwealth to the interpretation of taxing statutes. In recent times, however, the importance of certainty among policy makers and jurists has declined. Although this is not to contend that the value of certainty has ceased to be a consideration, it would seem to have come to be regarded as a lesser value among many rather than an end in itself. Although the optimal level of certainty within a jurisdiction is undoubtedly a matter for debate, the presence of uncertainty may carry with it a number of risks and unintended consequences which may hinder the achievement of the ends sought after by policy makers. These may include an increase in the rate of capital flight and in the use of asset sheltering devices, a decrease in the incidence of economic activity, and decreased rates of compliance among taxpayers. The value of certainty, in other words, may be of greater significance to the efficient functioning of a tax system than it has in recent times been thought to be. In contending with tax avoidance, the countries of the British Commonwealth tend to employ either one of two instruments; a statutory General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) or a judicial doctrine; an innovation of the common law. In this thesis, the writer sets out to examine the judicial doctrine applied in the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom (UK), and the statutory GAARs deployed in Canada and New Zealand, and the respective implications of each instrument for the value of certainty. While the difference in the implications presented by the application of a broad judicial doctrine and a narrow GAAR may be slight, it is the writer’s contention that, all things held equal, the use of a judicial doctrine is likely to have a less deleterious effect on the value of certainty than a GAAR. Accordingly, it is the writer’s contention that the use of a judicial doctrine is for this reason be preferred.

La tesis se encarga de analizar, por un lado, la integración y el desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías en la Administración de Justicia; y, por otro, los parámetros que constituyen la validez y eficacia del documento electrónico.
La primera cuestión se centra en la configuración de los Sistemas de Información de la Oficina Judicial y del Ministerio Fiscal, así como de la informatización de los Registros Civiles, donde el art. 230 LOPJ es la pieza clave. Se estudian sus programas, aplicaciones, la videoconferencia, los ficheros judiciales y las redes de telecomunicaciones que poseen la cobertura de la firma electrónica reconocida, donde cobran gran relevancia los convenios de colaboración tecnológica. La digitalización de las vistas quizá sea una de las cuestiones con más trascendencia, teniendo en cuenta que el juicio es el acto que culmina el proceso. Aunque no todos los proyectos adoptados en el ámbito de la e.justicia se han desarrollado de forma integral, ni han llegado a la totalidad de los órganos judiciales. El objetivo final es lograr una Justicia más ágil y de calidad, a lo cual aspira el Plan Estratégico de Modernización de la Justicia 2009-2012 aprobado recientemente.
En referencia a la segunda perspectiva, no cabe duda que el Ordenamiento jurídico y los tribunales, en el ámbito de la justicia material, otorgan plena validez y eficacia al documento electrónico. Nuestra línea de investigación se justifica porque cada vez son más los procesos que incorporan soportes electrónicos de todo tipo, ya sea al plantearse la acción o posteriormente como medio de prueba (art. 299.2 LEC). Entre otros temas examinamos el documento informático, la problemática que rodea al fax, los sistemas de videograbación y el contrato electrónico.
La tesi s'encarrega d'analitzar, per una part, la integració i el desenvolupament de les noves tecnologies dins l´Administració de Justícia; i, per l'altra, els paràmetres que constitueixen la validesa i l'eficàcia del document electrònic.
La primera qüestió es centra en la configuració dels Sistemes d´Informació de l´Oficina Judicial i del Ministeri Fiscal, així com de la informatització dels Registres Civils, on l'art. 230 LOPJ es la peça clau. S'estudien els seus programes, aplicacions, la videoconferència, el fitxers judicials i les xarxes de telecomunicacions que tenen la cobertura de la firma electrònica reconeguda, on cobren gran rellevància els convenis de col·laboració tecnològica. La digitalització de les vistes tal vegada sigui una de les qüestions amb més transcendència, tenint amb compte que el judici es l'acte que culmina el procés. Però no tots el projectes adoptats en l'àmbit de la e.justicia s'han desenvolupat d'una manera integral ni han arribat a la totalitat dels òrgans judicials. L'objectiu final es assolir una Justícia més àgil i de qualitat, al que aspira el Pla Estratègic de Modernització de la Justícia 2009-2012 aprovat recentment.
En referència a la segona perspectiva, no hi ha dubte que l´Ordenament jurídic i els tribunals, en l'àmbit de la justícia material, donen plena validesa i eficàcia al document electrònic. La nostra línia d'investigació es justifica perquè cada vegada son més el processos que incorporen suports electrònics de tot tipus, ja sigui quant es planteja l'acció o posteriorment como a medi de prova (art. 299.2 LEC). Entre altres temes examinem el document informàtic, la problemàtica que envolta al fax, els sistemes de videogravació i el contracte electrònic.
The thesis seeks to analyse, on the one hand, the integration and development of the new technologies in the Administration of Justice; and, on the other, the parameters which constitute the validity and efficiency of the electronic document.
The first question centres on the configuration of the Information Systems of the Judicial Office and the Public Prosecutor, as well as the computerisation of the Civil Registers, where the art. 230 LOPJ it's the part key. Their programmes, applications, the Video Conferencing, the judicial registers and the telecommunication networks which are covered by the recognised electronic signatures, are studied, where the agreements on technological collaboration gain great relevance. The digitalisation of evidence might perhaps be one of the questions with most consequence, bearing in mind that the judgment is the act by which the process is culminated. Although not all the projects adopted within the compass of e.justice have developed completely nor have reached all the judicial organs. The final objective is to achieve an agile, quality Justice, to which the recently approved Strategic Plan for the Modernisation of Justice aspires.
With reference to the second perspective, there is no doubt that the juridical Ordinance and the tribunals within the compass of material justice grant full validity and efficacy to the electronic document. Our line of investigation is justified because there are more and more processes which are sustained by electronic supports of all kinds, whether it be at the establishment of the action or later, as a proof of it (art. 299.2 LEC). Amongst other things, we examine the computerised document, the problems which surround the fax, the systems for video recording and the electronic contract.

Radim Gelner Overview of specific modes of authorial work protection including the comparison with the general mode of protection - Diploma Thesis Summary In this thesis we analyze specific modes of protection of authorial works provided by the Czech Copyright Act 121/2000 Sb. as amended. These specific modes of protection are invoked either by the type of authorial work (for example computer programs) or by legal circumstances at the time the authorial work is created (for example existing employment relationship). In the first part of the thesis we discuss the parties of intellectual property relationships. Although the author is the primary party of such relationships there are other subjects as well such as heirs, employers, licensees, movie producers etc. We briefly describe the natural rights and the property rights of the author relating to the authorial work and modes of their transferral to other subjects of the intellectual property relationships. Then we follow up with the description of authorial work as a subject of intellectual property relationships. The legal definition of authorial work is provided and analyzed as well as specifics of various kinds of authorial works and modes of its creation (such as joint-authorship). In the third part we discuss the content of natural and property rights...

碩士
中原大學
財經法律研究所
100
Abstract The theory of the doctrine of equivalents is that an applicant through the doctrine of equivalents should only be able to protect the scope of his invention, Wilson Sporting Goods Co. v. David Geoffrey &; Assocs., 904 F.2d 677, 684 (Fed. Cir. 1990), not to expand the protectable scope of the claimed invention to cover a new and unclaimed invention. The doctrine of equivalents, and the extent to which prosecution history estoppel limits application of the doctrine. The Supreme Court and the Federal Circuit used the Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co. case to set rough contours of how these two legal doctrines interact. The Supreme Court's last word, in Festo VIII 535 U.S. 722,（2002） established three grounds for rebutting a presumption of estoppel for amendments submitted during patent prosecution for reasons "substantially related to patentability." These are: 1) that the equivalent was unforeseeable, 2) that the amendment had only a tangential relation to the equivalent, or 3) that there was "some other reason" that suggested the patentee would not have reasonably been expected to describe the equivalent. The Federal Circuit, tasked with establishing the extent to which these exceptions apply, last spoke in Festo X, where the Court held that "an alternative is foreseeable if it is disclosed in the pertinent prior art in the field of the invention. In other words, an alternative is foreseeable if it is known in the field of the invention as reflected in the claim scope before amendment." Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 493 F.3d 1368, 1379 (Fed. Cir. 2007). The disclosure of patentable invention should be sufficiently, because the claim scope would not extend after amendment. This study is named “The Prosecution History Estoppel Under U. S. Patent Law” which is in the cases of Festo and Honeywell.

A new general anti-abuse rule (GAAR) has been adopted as part of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive of 12 July 2016 (ATAD), and will likely have worldwide implications regarding the way companies operate and structure their businesses. This dissertation intends to expose and develop the relationship between this new GAARs’ treatment of abuse and the one forged by the European Court of Justice throughout the years. Throughout this endeavor several questions are raised about abuse, its prevention, the methods used and their efficiency. Thus, first this study sets out to highlight the difficulties of interpreting the concept of abuse of (tax) law, as well as the doctrine that was built around it throughout the years. Subsequently it exposes the role of abuse (and measures taken to prevent it) within the European Union legal order, as well as those based on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice – further detailing the onus regarding the burden of proof. Finally, part III establishes a recent trend towards mandatory GAAR codification by exposing the traditional approach taken up until this point, as well as a critical analysis of the scope, requirements and legal consequences related to the ATAD’s GAAR.

Title: The effect of physiotherapy on balance in multiple sclerosis Objectives: The aim of this study is to compare efficacy between ambulatory individual physiotherapy and complex inpatient rehabilitation in people with multiple sclerosis on balance and subjective evaluation of general health. In ambulant program to compare effect of different physiotherapeutic methods (Motoric program activating therapy, Manual physiotherapy correction, Reflex Locomotion according to Vojta). Methods: A combined design of study. Ambulant program has randomised assessor blind design, in which subjects were divided into one of the three groups of ambulatory physiotherapy. A clinical study without control arm design is used in case of comparison between complex and ambulatory program. Results were analysed in 45 patients with multiple sclerosis (25 subjects of ambulatory program, 20 subjects of complex program). Subjects of the ambulatory program were divided into one of the three groups of ambulatory physiotherapy (Motoric program activating therapy, Manual physiotherapy correction, Reflex Locomotion according to Vojta), in which they absolved during two months 20 therapies (2-3 times per week, length 60 minutes). Subjects of complex program underwent complex inpatient rehabilitation with duration about 21 days. The...

The thesis deals with connections between completion of reduced course and self-efficacy of obese people. The theoretical part deals with definition of obesity, its prevalence and aspects of its treatment. A chapter of the theoretical part focuses on self-efficacy and its connections to obesity and physical activity. The last part is about general self-efficacy. The empirical part describes physical activity of obese respondents, changes in their physical activity self-efficacy and their general self-efficacy after completion of reduced course. The questionnaires about the level of physical activity and physical activity self-efficacy were created by author of the thesis. General self-efficacy was measured by General self-efficacy scale. Data were obtained in the first and last lesson of reduced courses. A paired-samples t-test was conducted to compare changes in both areas of self-efficacy. It has been found that frequency of respondents physical activity was insufficient. The results suggest that connection between completion of reduced course and general self-efficacy exist. On the other hand there was not significant difference between individual's physical self-efficacy before reduced course and after its completion. Keywords: obesity, self-efficacy, physical activity self-efficacy, general...

Overview of special protection regimes of copyright works including the comparison with the general protection regime Object and purpose of this work is to explore the special protection regimes of copyright works. But before I start to deal with these regimes, I find necessary to, at least in brief, outline the historical development and basic concepts of copyright law. In my opinion special protection regimes can not be examined without knowledge of these basics. In the next chapter, I will discuss the general protection regime of copyright works. I think it is a sort of bridge between first general chapters on one side and specialities of special protection regimes of copyright works on the other. Copyright law has traditionally belong to private law, so I will explore different interventions to author rights and the means of protection, typically aimed at compensating injured. However, certain aspects of copyright law are so important to society that it is protected by criminal and administraticve means, and those belong to public law. For this area is typical preventive repressive method of solving infringements. Thus compensating injured is on the second place, the primary is to protect society from such undesirable phenomena. In the last part of this work, I'll get to the very core of this work,...

碩士
淡江大學
中國大陸研究所碩士在職專班
94
Abstract: In 1982, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher visited China and had negotiations with China with regard to the issues of Hong Kong. After China stated clearly that, it would reclaim the sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997 and passed the message to Britain, the latter started to aggressively promote the “non-colonization” policy in Hong Kong. Besides, it also accelerated the process of democratization in Hong Kong. China treated “one country, two systems” as the means to arrange the political and economic positions of Hong Kong after returning to China and established “Basic Law” as the legal base of concrete implementation. In April 2004, National People''s Congress Standing Committee of China “actively” proposed legal explanation with regard to the modification of administrative executives in 2007 and regulation of the establishment of legislative assembly in 2008 in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The result of law explanation vetoed Hong Kong democratic advocates appeal of overall implementation of Double General Election for administrative executives and the members of legislative assembly. The purpose of British development of democratization policy in Hong Kong region was to construct the democratic representative system as three official branches in the West. When establishing “Basic Law”, China has promised Hong Kong “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy” and “Basic Law” also regulated that the administrative executives and legislative assembly in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will finally be elected by general election. However, the result of law explanation in National People''s Congress Standing Committee of China not only violated the public opinion of Hong Kong, but also made Hong Kong people feel suspicious of China’s fulfillment of “one country, two systems”. “One country, two systems” is exclusive in the political systems of the countries around the world. It is also the only means to executive two different systems in the country with single system. This research explored the process of Chinese law explanation and the possible reasons from the difference of Chinese and Hong Kong law explanation systems, political systems of China and Hong Kong and the considerations of Chinese political stability and economic development. It further analyzed if Chinese law explanation violated the idea of “governing the country by law” and the possible influences on democratization development in Hong Kong and the promise of “Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy” under the regulation of “one country, two systems”.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2478. Adviser: Reginald J. Alston. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-130) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

and keywords This diploma thesis deals on the competence of general assembly in a limited liability company. In the introduction the author made a brief historical summary presenting the previous legislation of the Czech republic. The thesis is divided into four parts. The first part concerns with the general findings on the competence of general assembly including its classification. The second part is special to the first one, since it concerns with particular cases of competencies. This part is the most voluminous one because of its goal to interpret various conditions to take a decision depending on case of competency. In the third part the author made description of the French legislation and compared it to the Czech one. From the previous findings the author made a critical evaluation of contemporary legislation in the fourth part as well as specific suggestion for law-making changes.

The Zuma case - important as the first decision of the Constitutional Court - is primarily concerned with the constitutionality of section 217(l)(b)(ii) of the Criminal Procedure Act. In trying to fmd an answer to this question, the Constitutional Court also addressed other important issues. In this dissertation the Constitutional Court's decision on the constitutionality of section 217(1)(b)(ii) is examined, as well as important general principles laid down by the Court regarding incompetent referrals by the Supreme Court; constitutional interpretation; reverse onus provisions and the right to a fair trial; as well as the application of the general limitation clause. A closer look is taken at adherence to these principles in subsequent Constitutional Court decisions, and finally a conclusion is reached on the value of the Zuma case.
Law
LL.M. (Law)

A presente dissertação analisará o Estado Social, a sua origem, apresentará um conceito do mesmo, o que este abrange, onde este se encontra plasmado na Constituição da República, qual a sua sustentabilidade, as formas de financiamento e se o crime de abuso de confiança contra a Segurança Social é a essência do seu suporte. Ademais será verificada a desconformidade da interpretação jurisprudencial estabelecida no Acórdão de Fixação de Jurisprudência n.º 8 / 2010 de 23 de Setembro e em que serão demonstradas as possíveis inconstitucionalidades da sua interpretação e aplicação.
This present dissertation will examine the welfare state, its origin, will present a concept, what it covers, where it is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic, its sustainability, ways of financing it and if the crime of embezzlement against Social Security is the core of its support. Also it will be analyzed the disconformity of judicial interpretation established in the Judgement n.º 8/2010 of 23rd of September and which it will be demonstrated the possible unconstitutionality´s of its interpretation and application.

This PhD thesis, after a brief introductory historical exposé of water use (not only) in our territory and related sources of law focuses on decision making and processes in water use in contemporary Czech legislation. The topic is divided into three blocks, relating to integrated water management procedures, a general measure of water law and other acts pursuant to the Water Act. The introduction precedes the chapter on system of water authorities, which are crucially involved in the exercise of state administration under the Water Act. PhD thesis points to the split competence of the four central ministries (agriculture, environment, transport, defense) as a central water authorities and the other "residual" powers of municipal authorities of municipalities with extended powers as water authorities. The chapter on water management offices is also engaged in the scope of municipal and regional authorities and military domains office, as well as the recently canceled water authorities in charge of municipal authorities. The water management is the administrative proceedings on matters within the Water Act. Administrative bodies (mostly water authorities) there follow the Administrative Code, or in the case of water works and water management arrangements of the Building Act, if the Water Act, which...

Stosunki dyplomatyczne państw przez wieki regulowane były przez normy prawa zwyczajowego. Jednakże wraz z intensyfikacją stosunków międzynarodowych pojawiło się dążenie do skodyfikowania norm prawnych obowiązujących pomiędzy państwami w umowie międzynarodowej. Zadanie to zrealizowała Komisja Prawa Międzynarodowego ONZ, opracowując w latach 1954–1958 projekt artykułów w zakresie prawa dyplomatycznego, przyjęty następnie przez państwa w postaci Konwencji wiedeńskiej o stosunkach dyplomatycznych z dnia 18 kwietnia 1961 r. W niniejszej rozprawie przeprowadzono analizę związków pomiędzy obowiązującymi, w ocenie Komisji Prawa Międzynarodowego, normami zwyczajowego prawa dyplomatycznego a normami umownymi wyrażonymi w Konwencji wiedeńskiej z 1961 r. Pierwszy rozdział stanowi wprowadzenie do analizowanej tematyki poprzez przedstawienie genezy kodyfikacji norm zwyczajowego prawa dyplomatycznego. Co więcej, znalazło się w nim wyjaśnienie podstawowych terminów stosowanych w dalszych częściach pracy. W rozdziale drugim zostały zaprezentowane kolejne etapy prac podejmowanych przez Komisję Prawa Międzynarodowego. Proces ten rozpoczął się od powołania specjalnego sprawozdawcy, który przygotował raport wraz z projektem artykułów. Były one następnie przedmiotem debaty podczas dwóch kolejnych sesji Komisji. W trakcie prac swoje uwagi zgłosiły również państwa, które w 1961 r. na konferencji kodyfikacyjnej w Wiedniu przyjęły obecnie obowiązującą treść Konwencji wiedeńskiej z 1961 r.W rozdziałach od trzeciego do szóstego przeanalizowano kolejne normy zwyczajowego prawa dyplomatycznego, których treść dyskutowana była na posiedzeniach Komisji Prawa Międzynarodowego w latach 1957–1958. Rozdział trzeci zawiera analizę norm prawa zwyczajowego w zakresie nawiązania stosunków dyplomatycznych przez państwa. Obejmuje ona działania zmierzające do utworzenia misji dyplomatycznej państwa wysyłającego, ustanowienia personelu misji dyplomatycznej, a w szczególności powołania szefa misji dyplomatycznej. W rozdziale czwartym analizie poddano funkcje dyplomatyczne, których katalog został wypracowany przez Komisję Prawa Międzynarodowego. Komisja uwzględniła także zgłoszone uwagi państw, w szczególności w zakresie pełnienia przez misję dyplomatyczną funkcji konsularnych. Rozdział piąty rozpoczyna się od wskazania teoretycznych podstaw przywilejów i immunitetów dyplomatycznych. Najważniejszą jest teoria funkcji, która uzasadnia przyznanie przywilejów i immunitetów, jako niezbędnych do wykonywania funkcji misji. W dalszej części rozdziału przeanalizowano przywileje i immunitety przyznawane misji dyplomatycznej. Z kolei w rozdziale szóstym została przeprowadzona analiza przywilejów i immunitetów przyznawanych członkom personelu misji. Istotna w tym zakresie jest analiza zarówno przywilejów i immunitetów przyznawanych personelowi misji dyplomatycznej, jak również ich obowiązków w stosunku do państwa przyjmującego. Rozdział siódmy stanowi uzupełnienie przeprowadzonej analizy, obejmując wyjaśnienie miejsca prawa zwyczajowego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem prawa dyplomatycznego, w polskim porządku prawnym, w świetle obowiązujących źródeł prawa wewnętrznego, orzecznictwa sądów oraz poglądów doktryny.W wyniku badań przeprowadzonych w niniejszej rozprawie możliwe było wysunięcie wniosków, wyrażonych w stosunku do kolejnych postanowień Konwencji wiedeńskiej z 1961 r., określających, czy stanowią one kodyfikację zwyczajowego prawa dyplomatycznego, czy są wyrazem działania Komisji Prawa Międzynarodowego ONZ przyczyniającej się do stopniowego rozwoju prawa międzynarodowego. W zakończeniu niniejszej rozprawy przedstawiono natomiast wnioski ogólne wynikające z przeprowadzonej analizy.
Diplomatic relations of states has been always regulated by the norms of a customary law. However, along with the intensification of international relations arose the need to regulate legal rules binding states in the form of the international treaty. This task has been achieved by the International Law Commission (henceforward called ILC) which, between 1954–1958, has prepared a draft articles on diplomatic law which were accepted by states and concluded in the form of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 18 April 1961. The overriding goal of the present doctoral dissertation was to analyse the relations between binding, in the opinion of the International Law Commission, rules of customary diplomatic law and treaty rules arising from the Vienna Convention of 1961.The first chapter is an introduction to the analysed topic, in which the origin of the codification of customary diplomatic law has been described. In addition, the chapter provided the explanation of the basic terms used in the further parts of this work. In the second chapter, the progress of work of the International Law Commission has been presented. This process has begun with the appointment of the special rapporteur, who had prepared the special report with the draft articles. The draft was then the subject of debate during two consecutive sessions of the ILC, during which states also gave theirs comments. The proposed draft articles were agreed during the conference in Vienna in 1961 and concluded as Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.Chapters from three to six contain analysis of the norms of the customary diplomatic law, which were discussed during the plenary sessions of the International Law Commission in 1957 and 1958. Chapter three provided the analysis of customary law of in conection with establishing diplomatic relations between states. It consists of activities aiming at starting diplomatic mission, appointing the personnel of this mission, and in particular in appointing the head of the mission. In chapter four the diplomatic function, which catalogue was proposed by the International Law Commission, has been analysed. The ILC has taken into account the comments of states, especially by adding the possibility of performing consular function by the diplomatic mission. In chapter five the theoretical background of diplomatic privileges and immunities has been described. The most important is theory of functional necessity, which justifies privileges and immunities as being necessary to enable the mission to perform its functions. After that, the analysis of the privileges and immunities relating to the diplomatic mission was conducted. Chapters six provided the analysis of personal privileges and immunities. What is important, the subject of this chapter were both: the privileges and immunities of the personnel of the diplomatic missions, as well as as theirs obligations towards the receiving state. Finally, chapter seven consists of the explanation of the customary law, especially diplomatic law, in Polish legal order according to the inner sources of law, judicial decisions and doctrine.The results of analysis described in the present doctoral dissertation allows to draw conclusions concerning articles of the Vienna Convention of 1961, and identify whether they are the result of the codification of the customary diplomatic law, or the proposition of the International Law Commission influencing the progressive development of international law. At the end of the work, the general conclusions has been presented.

This research is concerned with the complex and contested relationship between the sovereign prerogatives of states and the international imperative of defusing world conflicts. Due to its historical setting following World War Two, the national vs. international staking of claims was framed within the escalating imperial-nationalist confrontation and the impending “end of empire”, both of which were significantly influenced by the role Israel played in this saga. The research looks at the issue of “decolonization” and the anti-colonial struggle waged under the leadership of Egypt’s President Nasser. The Suez War is analyzed as the historical event that signaled the beginning of the final chapter in the domination of the European empires in the Middle East (sub-Saharan decolonization followed beginning in the early 1960s), and the emergence of the United States as the new major Western power in the Middle East. The Suez experience highlighted a stubborn contest between the defenders of the concept of “sovereign consent” and the advocates of “International intervention”. Both the deployment of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) and its termination were surrounded by controversy and legal-political wrangling. The role of UNEF and UN peacekeeping operations in general framed the development of a new concept for an emerging international human rights law and crisis management. The UNEF experience, moreover, brought into sharp relief the need for a conflict resolution component for any peace operation. International conflict management, and human rights protection are both subject to an increasing interventionist international legal regime. Consequently, the traditional concept of “sovereignty” is facing increasing challenge. By its very nature, the subject matter of this multi-dimensional research involves historical, political and international legal aspects shaping the research’s content and conclusions. The research utilizes the experience and contributions of several key participants in this pioneering peacekeeping experience. In the last chapter, recommendations are made –based on all the elements covered in the research- to suggest contributions to the evolving UN ground rules for international crisis intervention and management.
Graduate
hilmyh@uvic.ca

Ce mémoire s’intéresse au comportement américain en matière de reconnaissance d’État. Il tente d’identifier quels sont les facteurs susceptibles d’être appliqués par les États- Unis d’Amérique dans l’hypothèse d’une éventuelle reconnaissance du Québec. Les évènements politiques survenus au cours des trente dernières années au Québec ont non seulement suscité un fort intérêt à Washington, ils ont également conduit le gouvernement américain à mettre en place une approche politique particulière à l’endroit du Québec. Utilisée à partir de la fin des années 1970, cette approche spécifique (qui fait maintenant office de ligne de conduite) demeure encore aujourd’hui celle qui prévaut à la Maison- Blanche. En dépit de la tenue de deux référendums sur la souveraineté en 1980 et en 1995, le Québec demeure encore aujourd’hui une province de l’État canadien. Cependant, s’il devait un jour accéder à l’indépendance, il y a fort à parier que la décision des États-Unis de reconnaître le Québec serait modulée à partir d’intérêts sécuritaires ponctuels, mais aussi en fonction d’intérêts politiques ou économiques. Dans la majorité des cas depuis la dissolution de la Yougoslavie en 1991, les États-Unis d’Amérique ont agi ainsi. L’analyse du comportement américain lors de la reconnaissance récente du Kosovo en 2008 vient appuyer ces dires et démontre que Washington utilise la même approche pour reconnaître de nouveaux États depuis au moins 20 ans.
This master’s thesis focuses on the U.S. behaviour in matter of State recognition. It attempts to determine what are the determining factors that the United States would take into account in an eventual process of recognition of a sovereign Quebec. The political events over the last thirty years in Quebec have not only attracted great interest in Washington, they also led the U.S. government to define a policy towards Quebec. Used since the late 1970’s, this specific approach and line of conduct still prevails even today at the White House. Despite the two referendums on sovereignty held in Quebec in 1980 and 1995 the issue of Quebec sovereignty is still relevant. However, if it were ever to achieve sovereignty, it's safe to say that the U.S. decision to recognize Quebec would be modulated on security interests as well as political or economical interests. In most cases since the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991 such as been the position of the United States. The analysis of U.S. behaviour towards Kosovo in 2008 supports these facts and demonstrates that Washington has been applying the same approach in matters relating to the recognition of new States for the past 20 years.