This paper examines leading Canadian decisions in the areas of obscenity and indecency law and freedom of religion to demonstrate that the strangeness of a practice will be a major factor in determining the harm associated with it. Since “strangeness” in sexual deviance cases turn on the perceived objectification and subjugation of women and minority religion cases turn on communal behaviours, these strands intersect in the debate over polygamy. The impact that these skewed perceptions will have on findings of harm in the polygamy context is examined, as are how the benefits of the legislation may be overstated. Finally, the effects of “othering” are addressed for the practice of polyamory, a relationship structure that lacks harm but may nevertheless be equally prohibited.

The Article discusses digital-era courts’ distortion of (para)copyright principles, deeming it borne of jumbled underlying legislation and a misplaced predilection for adopting licensing terms—even at the expense of recognized use exceptions. Common law evolutionary principles, it is shown, have been abandoned just when they are most needed: the ethereal rightsholder-user balance is increasingly disturbed, and the incipient “generative consumer” is in thrall, not liberated. Finally, the Article puts forth a proposal for the reestablishment of the principle of substantially noninfringing use, showing it to be in the interests of innovation, democracy, and the greater public interest.

This paper deals with the interaction of insolvency and secured transactions law in a “bijural” jurisdiction, composed of sub-jurisdictions that come from different legal origins. It gives an introduction to bijuralism and then examines an example, namely the interaction of Canadian insolvency law and provincial secured transactions law. It stresses the different origins of Anglo-Canadian law and Québec law, in particular the difference in property law between the two and how it affects secured transactions law. It argues that given these fun- damental differences, the provinces have achieved a relatively harmonized secured transac- tions law. The paper goes on to compare the interaction in Canada with the interaction of European law and the law of EU member states. While the Canadian experience can serve as an example for the interaction in Europe, it also demonstrates shortcomings that need to be addressed in Canada as well as by a European insolvency legislator.

Mashups are a controversial form of music as they frequently infringe copyright in the songs they sample and these composite works are not likely to be saved by the “fair dealing” copyright exemption. Moreover, those who attempt to produce mashups legitimately by obtaining licenses to music samples encounter numerous problems, including high license fees and a complex licensing system. In light of these issues and the fact that mashups are a particularly beneficial form of music in several respects, a change to the current legal/licensing status quo would be prudent. The introduction of a compulsory licensing regime for samples would facilitate mashup creation while still protecting the interests of the underlying copyright holders, which helps strike a better balance between the copyright goals of ensuring just rewards for creators and encouraging the dissemination of creative works.

After Ukraine’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2008, foreign banks were permitted to open their branches directly in this country. This development brought the opportunity for additional capital inflow to Ukrainian economy. However, foreign banks tend to operate in Ukraine through locally incorporated subsidiaries rather than branches. This thesis analyzes the Ukrainian regulatory framework for foreign bank branching and compares to the analogous Canadian regimen. I find that, although the minimum entry requirements for establishing a foreign bank branch are more relaxed in Ukraine as compared to Canada, the Ukrainian legal framework that is not conducive to operating via branches. The regulatory limits for a branch’s loan activities are based on a branch’s capital deposited in Ukraine rather than on the parent bank’s capital. Branches effectively have no inherent advantages over subsidiaries in this jurisdiction, whereas the disadvantages, such as unlimited liability, are preserved.

This thesis explores the impact that Chinese aid and investment has on the political economy of resource-rich African countries. In particular, it examines the effects of Chinese resource-for-infrastructure agreements on the political economy of the resource curse. Using Ghana as a case study, this thesis highlights the peculiar obstacles that countries face with regard to managing their resources. In turn, it argues that general prescriptions against the resource curse, such as resource revenue transparency initiatives, like the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, are insufficient. As a result, African recipients of Chinese aid require specific institutional arrangements that accurately reflect the specific “rules of the game” that exist under their respective political economies. In the case of Ghana, this thesis argues that vetting Chinese resource-for-infrastructure agreements through the Public Procurement Act serves that need.

The concept of human dignity is an essential and inextricable element of equality rights. In Law v. Canada the Supreme Court united around the concept of dignity to determine section 15(1) cases. This test was abandoned in R v. Kapp, deciding that dignity was too abstract and subjective. This paper argues that the problems with the Law test did not come from the concept of dignity itself, but rather from the reasonable claimant test which focused on subjective feelings and legislative intentions. This paper presents an alternative conception of human dignity, which proposes that substantive equality should be a matter of equal concern based on two principles of human dignity: the principle of equal intrinsic value and the principle of personal responsibility. The analysis must be truly contextual, focused on the objective consequences of discrimination and the circumstances that create and foster inequality.

The recent financial crisis and subsequent sovereign debt distress in the eurozone has reinvigorated the debate over bailouts and sovereign debt restructuring. This paper analyzes the effectiveness of two approaches to debt management in addressing the practical challenges of debt workouts, particularly in relation to developing countries: a contractual approach and a sovereign bankruptcy approach. The paper uses an economic analysis of private law to analyze optimal solutions to those problems and proposes a flexible approach to debt restructuring. Drawing on theoretical research and experience from professionals in the technical aspects of the debt markets, the paper merges traditional solutions with the law and development concept of “odious debt”. It argues that potential legal elaborations of the concept of odious debt, shaped by a contractual approach, presents loan sanctions as an effective ex ante solution to contemporary problems of sovereign debt management a current climate of global sovereign debt distress.

This thesis is a timely response to the current developments of cultural forces which lead to honour killings in Canada. I believe that it is only through a detailed analysis of honour killings that Canada as a country can equip and prepare itself to deal with crimes of honour in the future. The aim of this thesis is to examine the crime of honour killing by elaborating the close linkage that it shares to the cultural regulations for the sexuality of women. The research also endeavors to resolve the existing dilemmas of balancing multiculturalism and diversity in Canada on one hand and counteracting the extreme violent cultural reactions, which are in clear violation of Canadian laws. I propose that, since the crime shares a crucial foreign element, being cultural pressure, a careful analysis of the honour killing situations in South Asian countries can offer vital inputs for policy analysis.

This thesis examines issues related to security interest, especially the security that holds after acquired property as well as present property, which are caused by discharge under bankruptcy procedure. This thesis also examines security interest valuation issue under proposal under Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act. Both issues are related to the nature of security interest, which is, in my opinion, to hold the value of collateral at the time of realization. This thesis especially focuses on the security under after acquired clause, which holds interests in after acquired property as well as present property. In my view, the security on after acquired property has proprietary interest. It leads to the conclusion on the issue whether the security can attach to a property acquired after discharge.