Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties'

The objective of the study was to investigate the right of the South African Government to tax the income earned by a foreign company when rendering services in South Africa to a South African associated enterprise on a recurrent basis, together with the right to tax the amounts paid to the employees of the permanent establishment for services rendered in South Africa. At the same time the research investigated whether the services rendered by a foreign company to an associated enterprise in South Africa on a recurrent basis would constitute a permanent establishment, as this is essential before South Africa may tax either the foreign company or the employees of the permanent establishment (where such employees are not resident in South Africa).The research was conducted by means of a critical analysis of documentary data and data from a limited number of interviews with academics and the authors of textbooks and articles. In order to limit the scope of the research, a number of assumptions were made. Conflicting viewpoints underlying certain of these assumptions were discussed. Some of the important conclusions reached are that the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties should be taken into account when interpreting South African legislation (including Double Tax Agreements), and that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Commentary may be relied upon when interpreting OECD based Double Tax Agreements in South Africa. No conclusion was reached on whether to apply an ambulatory or a static basis of interpreting the OECD Commentary, however. The final conclusion of the research is that the services rendered in South Africa on a recurrent basis would be geographically and commercially coherent and consequently meet the "location test'. It is clear that as the services are rendered regularly and recurrently, they would be regarded as having the necessary permanence and would meet the 'duration test'. The place of business would therefore be regarded as being fixed (having the necessary degree of permanence). As the services would be rendered at the place of business of the South African entity, they would be regarded as being rendered 'through' the place of business and the foreign entity would be regarded as having a permanent establishment in South Africa (as defined in Article 5(1) of the OECD Model Tax Convention}. The South African Government would therefore be entitled to tax the income attributable to the permanent establishment and the income earned by the non resident employees, who rendered services in South Africa for the permanent establishment. Once the entitlement to tax exists, South African legislative rules determine how South Africa proceeds to tax the income.

La dénonciation et la renégociation sont deux notions qui ne partagent pas de traits caractéristiques communs. L’une est un acte unilatéral qui met fin à la participation d’un Etat à un traité, tandis que l’autre consiste à mener un dialogue entre les Etats parties à un traité en vue de maintenir le lien conventionnel tout en lui apportant des changements substantiels. Cependant, les Etats ont souvent recours à la dénonciation et à la renégociation d’un traité comme solution alternative pour un même motif, à savoir un changement de circonstances. Ce constat a suscité notre intérêt d’étudier l’articulation de la dénonciation et la renégociation lorsqu’elles portent sur un même traité, notamment quand elles sont invoquées simultanément. Cette thèse soutient l’omniprésence d’une possibilité de renégocier le traité dans tous les cas de dénonciation. Toutefois, la renégociation peut ne jamais se manifester, compte tenu notamment du traité en question et des circonstances entourant la dénonciation de celui-ci. Il s’agirait dans un tel cas d’une possibilité dormante. Nous soutenons également que la renégociation n’opère qu’avant la prise d’effet de la dénonciation. L’étude du régime juridique et des effets de ces deux notions démontre que la dénonciation et la renégociation sont en effet procéduralement liées. Elles obéissent ainsi à certaines conditions communes et sont gouvernées par des principes communs. Par ailleurs, bien que leurs effets soient a priori opposés, ceux-ci s’entrelacent à plusieurs égards. Enfin, il ressort de cette étude que la dénonciation et la renégociation des traités jouent un rôle pivot dans l’atténuation de la tension entre les exigences de stabilité juridique et de mutation sociale. Elles sont des outils d’adaptation, et de ce fait, constituent des éléments de flexibilité du traité permettant de gérer les risques liés à l’évolution de la société en offrant un moyen de réaménager le traité ou de s’en libérer, selon les circonstances<br>Denunciation and renegotiation are two notions that do not share common features. One is a unilateral act that terminates a State’s participation in a treaty, whereas the other is a dialogue between States parties to a treaty aiming to maintain the conventional relationship while making substantial changes to it. Nonetheless, States often resort to the denunciation and the renegotiation of a treaty as an alternative solution for the same reason, namely a change of circumstances. This observation aroused our interest in studying the interaction between denunciation and renegotiation when they relate to the same treaty, in particular when they are invoked simultaneously. This thesis supports the omnipresence of the possibility of renegotiating the treaty in all cases of denunciation. However, a renegotiation may never occur, particularly in view of the treaty in question and the circumstances surrounding its denunciation. In such a case, it would be a dormant possibility. We also argue that renegotiation only takes place before the denunciation takes effect. A study of the legal regime and the effects of these two concepts shows that denunciation and renegotiation are in fact procedurally linked. They thus obey certain common conditions and are governed by common principles. Moreover, although their effects are seemingly divergent, these are intertwined in several respects. Finally, this study shows that denunciation and renegotiation of treaties play a pivotal role in reducing the tension between the requirements of legal stability and social change. They are tools for adaptation, and thus constitute elements of treaty flexibility that allow to manage the risks associated with social change by providing a means of rearranging the treaty or to break away from it, depending on the circumstances

This thesis examines the default application of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties reservation rules to reservations to human rights treaties. The contemporary practice of formulating reservations allows states to unilaterally modify their treaty obligations following the conclusion of negotiations. Though multilateral treaties address a broad spectrum of subjects and are negotiated using a variety of methods, all treaties are governed by the same residual reservation rules of the Vienna Convention when there is not a treaty-specific reservation regime in place. The Vienna Convention system is only engaged if a state seizes the opportunity to determine whether a reservation is valid pursuant to default rules or if a challenge regarding the validity of a reservation is brought before another competent mechanism of review, such as a dispute resolution mechanism. Even when applied, the Vienna Convention rules are ambiguous at best and have been criticised since their inception due to the high degree of flexibility in their application, especially in relation to human rights treaties. In light of the inherent flaws of the Vienna Convention reservation regime and the structural characteristics of human rights treaties, rarely will a reserving state be deprived of the benefit of the reservation even if it is determined to be invalid by another State Party. Though the consequences of an invalidity determination are more concrete when the decision is taken by a dispute resolution mechanism, such as a court, seldom are disputes over the validity of a reservation to a human rights treaty submitted to a competent mechanism. Using the core UN human rights treaties as a case study this research highlights that the past thirty years have revealed a practical impasse in treaty law when the default reservation rules are relied upon to regulate reservations to human rights treaties. Reservations of questionable validity gain the same status as valid reservations because the Vienna Convention rules do not address the consequence for a reservation determined to be invalid outwith the traditional inter se application of the reservation between the reserving and objecting states, which is not logical in the context of a human rights treaty. Against this background, this thesis examines whether the default reservation rules adequately govern reservations to human rights treaties. The conclusion affirms that the Vienna Convention reservation regime can regulate reservations to human rights treaties but only if there is a clearly defined final view on the validity of a reservation taken by an organ other than the state. Therefore, it is argued that treaty-specific supervisory mechanisms attached to each of the core UN human rights treaties should be invested with the competency to serve a determinative function with respect to evaluating reservations to human rights treaties in order to facilitate a stronger basis for the international human rights system.

Considering that the concept of sustainable development has a function of normative integration in international law, Article 31(3)(c) provides a legitimate basis of such systemic integration. At the same time, it displays the limitations of the harmonious solution drawn from its application because it works only within the rigid consent-based framework in which the referenced rules should be legal “rules” and should be “applicable in the relations between the parties.” International jurisprudence suggests supplemental elements to overleap the consensual limitations in the application of Article 31(3)(c): a generic term and the object and purpose of the treaty. These text-based and the object-and-purpose-based developmental interpretative techniques enable interpreters to consider legal rules that are not “any relevant rules of international law applicable in the relations between the parties” under Article 31(3)(c).

The Diploma Thesis deals with the President of the Republic and his/her relation to the International Treaties, to the Negotiation, the Approval and the Ratification. The work contains both international and national perspective of the problem. The thesis is a reflection of the ongoing expert debate, to which extent has the President of the Republic the constitutional right of decision-making autonomy in the field of International Treaties of the Czech Republic. The thesis analyses the current legal situation and presents up-to-date juridical opinions together with arguments from the political science.

Performance requirements act as policy instruments for achieving broadly-defined economic and developmental objectives of States, especially industrial and technological development objectives. Many States consider that performance requirements distort trade and investment flows, negatively impact global and national welfare and disrupt investment decisions compared to business-as-usual scenarios. As a result, a number of States have committed to prohibiting performance requirements in international investment agreements (“IIAs.”). Performance requirement prohibitions (“PRPs”) are meant to eliminate trade-distorting performance requirements and performance requirements which replace investor decision-making by State decision-making. This thesis focuses on providing answers to two research questions: first, how do States prohibit performance requirements in IIAs? And second, how should PRPs in IIAs be interpreted and applied? For the first time, this thesis: proposes a comprehensive understanding of PRPs in IIAs by drawing notably on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (“GATT”) Uruguay Round of negotiations and on the United States Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”) Programme; develops a detailed typology and analysis of PRPs in IIAs through the identification of systematically reproduced drafting patterns; conducts the first critical and in-depth analysis of all arbitral awards which have decided claims based on PRPs in IIAs; analyses interpretation and application issues related to provisions that exempt government procurement from PRPs and to reservations that shield sensitive non-conforming measures or strategically important sectors from PRPs; and anticipates the application of most-favoured nation (“MFN”) treatment clauses to PRPs in the future. Finally, this thesis formulates proposals that can help interpret and apply existing PRPs and draft future PRPs in a more deliberate and informed way.

Die Beilegung von Investitionsstreitigkeit erfolgt innerhalb des ICSID-Systems durch die nicht ständigen und für jeden Fall neu gebildeten ICSID-Schiedsgerichte. Mit Institutionen zur Sicherung der homogenen Entwicklung der Rechtsprechung wie die EG-Generalanwälte, die EG-Vorabentscheidung, das WTO-„Appellate Body“ oder die einem Berufungsverfahren gleichstehende Verweisung an die Große Kammer des EMRGH ist allerdings das ICSID-System nicht ausgestattet. Vielmehr ist die Möglichkeit einer Berufung innerhalb des ICSID-Systems ausdrücklich ausgeschlossen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird die Homogenität der ICSID-Rechtsprechung geprüft, um festzustellen, ob die Rechtsprechung der für jeden Fall neu gebildeten ICSID-Schiedsgerichte derartige Dissonanzen aufweist, die das ICSID-System reformbedürftig machen. Die Prüfung der Homogenität der ICSID-Rechtsprechung bezieht sich auf die Auslegung von gleichen bzw. ähnlichen Bestimmungen völkerrechtlicher Investitionsschutzabkommen sowie des ICSID-Übereinkommens selbst durch die ICSID-Schiedsgerichte und betrifft im einzelnen die folgenden Themen: (a) Definition des Begriffs „Investition“ im Sinne des ICSID-Übereinkommens. (b) Ausdehnung der Reichweite der Meistbegünstigungsklausel auf Verfahrensvorschriften. (c) Zuständigkeit der ICSID-Schiedsgerichte für reine Verletzungen von Investitionsverträgen mittels weiter Streitbeilegungsvorschriften und Regenschirmklauseln. (d) Standard der Enteignungsentschädigung und Unterscheidung zwischen indirekter Enteignung und staatlicher Regulierung. (e) Völkervertraglicher und völkergewohnheitsrechtlicher Notstand. Die Untersuchung kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass die ICSID-Rechtsprechung an Heterogenität leidet. Dementsprechend bildet der Mangel an Mechanismen zur Sicherung der Homogenität der ICSID-Rechtsprechung ein schwerwiegendes institutionelles Defizit. Es ist daher dringend, dass das ICSID-System unmittelbar reformiert wird, vorzugsweise durch die Schaffung einer ICSID-Berufungsinstanz.<br>The settlement of investment disputes within the ICSID system is carried out by the ICSID arbitral tribunals which are non-permanent judicial bodies. Every separate case is adjudicated by a different tribunal. The ICSID system, however, does not provide for any institutions similar to the EC Advocate Generals, the EC preliminary rulings, the WTO Appellate Body or to the appeal-like process of the referral to the Grand Chamber of the ECHR capable of securing the homogenous development of the case-law. Moreover, the possibility of appeal of an arbitral award is explicitly excluded within the ICSID system. The present thesis examines the homogeneity of the ICSID jurisprudence in order to ascertain whether the case-law of the separate and not standing ICSID panels proves to be so inconsistent that the ICSID system is in need of reform. The study of the homogeneity of the ICSID jurisprudence concerns the interpretation of identical and similar provisions laid down in international investment treaties as well as of the ICSID Convention itself by the ICSID panels. In particular, it deals with the following topics: (a) Definition of the term “investment” pursuant to the ICSID Convention. (b) Extension of the scope of application of the most-favoured-nation clause to procedural provisions. (c) Jurisdiction of ICSID tribunals over mere violations of an investment contract through broad dispute settlement clauses and umbrella clauses. (d) Standard of compensation for expropriation and distinction between indirect expropriation and state regulation. (e) State of necessity under customary and investment treaty law. This study comes to the conclusion that the ICSID jurisprudence suffers from heterogeneity. Thus, the lack of mechanisms able to secure the consistency of the ICSID case-law constitutes a serious institutional deficit. It is, therefore, urgent to reform the ICSID system immediately, preferably by way of establishing an ICSID appellate authority.

The title of the dissertation: Law of Treaties - subsequent agreements and subsequent practice The topic of the dissertation is the codification of the rules of interpretation of international treaties, with special focus on the phenomenon of subsequent agreements and subsequent practice of the state parties. In its general introductory section, the thesis defines international treaties as a source of international law and presents a comprehensive analysis of methods of interpretation and their codification. The fundamental part is devoted to the subsequent agreements and subsequent practice, their definition, including the difference from other similar methods, and the use of them for the interpretation of treaties before international courts and in international organizations. This thesis also focuses on the issue of evolutionary interpretation. The practical part of the thesis is based on the interpretation of treaties in three branches of international law (investments, cultural cooperation, taxes), with emphasis on the use of subsequent agreements and subsequent practice and on the current developments in the negotiation of new treaties and in the activities of international organizations.

This thesis deals with the possibilities of interpretation of legal texts au- thentic in more than one language and attempts to analyze the approaches applicable as a possible solution of contradictions between various langu- age versions. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is an intro- duction to the issue. There is just roughly outlined the reason for the exis- tence of multilingual legal texts and there is also defined the scope of the following chapters. The second chapter is dedicated to various methods of interpretation, distinct by legal doctrine. With regard to the topic of the thesis, the inter- pretive methods are divided into two groups with respect to the approach of finding the meaning of legal norms and the content of the regulation. The first section deals with methods based on the text of the legal norm. These are linguistic, logical and systematic method. The second section describes the methods based on the purpose and significance of the treatment. These are the teleological, the historical and the comparative method, as well as the modifications of the teleological method, used primarily in internati- onal law and law of European union. The way of choosing the primary interpretation method is described in the third section. The third chapter deals with the...

This dissertation interrogates which principles should govern the interpretation of South African Double Tax Agreements (‘DTAs’). This field of study is complex because any DTAs have a dual nature. In the first place, it is an international agreement where two states are parties (a bilateral agreement); second, it also becomes part of domestic law. DTAs are governed by principles of customary international law some of which have been codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (‘VCLT’). Though South Africa is not a party to the VCLT, nevertheless, there is judicial support in South Africa for the notion that VCLT reflects general principles of international law [Harksen v President of the Republic of South Africa 1998 (2) SA 1011 (C)]. DTAs are incorporated into South African domestic law by way of statutory enactment in accordance with the dualist approach to international law. The first purpose of the dissertation is to systematise and analyse the structure of an OECD Model Tax Convention (‘OEC D MTC’) and the international methods (principles) of interpretation of DTAs in order to gain a better understanding of how this international methods functions. A number of issues relating to the interpretation of these methods are analysed. Since DTAs are applied by tax authorities, courts and taxpayers in a domestic law context, i.e. within the framework of the legal system of a particular state, the analysis focuses on the application in South Africa of the methods of the interpretation of South African DTAs. The second objective of the dissertation refers to international tax law principles (treaties and customary international law) derived from South Africa public international law and to evaluate a few selected issues related to South African DTAs and their relevance to South Africa domestic tax laws; the interpretation of DTAs and the implications of a DTA overriding or in conflict with South Africa domestic tax laws. It will also interrogate the legal status of a DTA under South African tax law and whether the anti-discrimination article in South Africa DTAs have the force of law in South Africa?<br>Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014.<br>gm2014<br>Mercantile Law<br>unrestricted

1 Abstract This dissertation deals with investment protection in the European Union from several points of view. The first part deals with the history of investment protection and its main basis and grounds for current legislation and proposals for future regulation, particularly within the EU. In subsequent parts, current legislation and intra-European Union investment protection is analysed in detail, including the question of validity and applicability of Intra-EU BITs, i.e. bilateral treaties concluded between two EU Member States. The analysis is made from the perspective of EU law, as well as from the point of view of public international law. The dissertation further deals with their relationship and demonstrates contradictions between them in two crucial cases, Eureko/Achmea and Micula. Additional themes of this dissertation are the powers of the European Union regarding investment protection and the conclusion of international treaties such as CETA and TTIP. This dissertation further deals with the status, jurisdiction and functioning of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), demonstrating the relatively smooth and widely accepted investment dispute settlement mechanism. In this regard, the proposed EU Multilateral Investment Court project in analysed, including a...

This study involves a critical appraisal of the legal implications of South Africa’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the context of its international and regional human rights obligations. The dissertation also investigates the history and formation of the ICC, South Africa’s involvement and its role as a guardian of international and regional human rights obligations in Africa. The study reviews the circumstances leading to South Africa’s notice of withdrawal from the ICC, including the legal implications and international human rights obligations. This inquiry considers South Africa’s proposed withdrawal from the ICC which is supported by points of departure and a comprehensive literature review. The decision to withdraw from the ICC is considered to be a political one. However, this study raises questions about the executive’s withdrawal in regard to its domestic, regional and international human rights obligations, irrespective of whether it is a member of the ICC. The study surveys the background to South Africa’s participation in the ICC, its membership of the African Union and the implications of ICC membership including the obligations imposed on member states.<br>Criminal and Procedural Law<br>LL. M.