The thesis explores the significance of moral conflict for an understanding of the role of law and legal reasoning in contemporary society. In doing so it suggests that there are contradictions between liberalism, in a version drawn from the work of Isaiah Berlin, and liberal legalism. The thesis looks at recent critiques of liberal theory, and centrally on that provided by Alasdair MacIntyre, to help understand the significance of moral conflict in contemporary society. It then explores how a liberal understanding of moral conflict ought to view current structures of law and legal reasoning. It is here that key contradictions emerge. In focusing on both the internal justificatory practices of liberal legalism, and on those practices understood from an external point of view, the thesis draws out incompatibilities between such practices and the liberal theory here expressed. It concludes that the vested institutional power of the legal system ought to be challenged if the concerns and aspirations of such a theory are to be taken seriously.

A-national principles discussed in this thesis mean broadly the principles whose origins and formation have no direct connection with any particular states by contrast with national laws. They include the general principles of law, the new <I>lexmercatoria</I> together with amiable composition. Within the present framework, arbitration draws upon national laws, by reference to which, questions as to whether and to what extent arbitration agreements and awards will be enforced are answered. The validity of the choice of a-national principles also has to be determined under the laws of the states connected with the arbitration. This is evident where arbitrators have to reach their decision on the basis of a specific national law in accordance with the laws of the countries connected with the dispute. Thus, the parties' freedom to select the proper law may be incompatible with the provisions of domestic laws. The application of a-national principles is controversial. However, this thesis will not examine the arguments for or against such an application. Its main aim is to examine the practice of applying a-national principles and the sometimes hostile reception this receives in national courts. Whether this can be sufficiently accommodated by the existing theories of arbitration will also be examined. Part One of this thesis, a background study, highlights the changes in the traditional three-step rule on choice of law on contract in international commercial arbitration. Part Two presents the result of the study of <I>ad hoc</I> and ICC arbitral awards which shows that a-national principles are increasingly applied in such arbitration. Using comparative analysis, Part Three examines the diverse attitudes held by different national courts which are in different regions and at different stages of development in the area of such arbitration. Part Four examines the conflict with the existing theories of arbitration and suggests a new approach that corresponds more closely with the application of a-national principles and the development of arbitration in an international commercial context.

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This thesis is concerned with finding an appropriate legal response to medical research involving human subjects. The first section contains Chapter One which consists of an historical account of forms of unethical research and asks two questions; first, how could such things have been done in the name of research? Secondly, how could society allow them to take place? How were the safeguards overridden? What was the environment or climate within which unethical research was allowed to flourish? The history of the regulation of medical research testifies to the social climate within which research has been conducted. This includes the evolution of the doctor as scientist which led to the objectification of human beings as research subjects, the presence of ideologies in times of war, for instance, which took hold of national consciousness and conscience thereby shifting the goal posts of justification, and the development and maturing of medical careers. Chapters Two, Three and Four comprise section two and deal with the intellectualisation of questions of research at the abstract level of the medico/legal debate. In particular, Chapter Two outlines the terminology of medical research, the monopoly over which has been secured by scientists through scientific reasoning. Chapter Three considers legal reasoning in relation to the concept of informed consent and considers the implications of an approach based on medical negligence, in itself a retrospective 'after the fact' approach; it will be argued that medical research should be viewed prospectively within a framework which is more informed by public than private law. Chapter Four considers the role of moral reasoning in relation to its main protagonists, 'bioethicists', who retain a firm grip on the ethical implications of medical research. An alternative rationale will be suggested which is both universally applicable and normatively neutral. It will be further argued that moral reasoning should involve the public sphere and should not be confined to the private realms consisting of the educated intuitions of researchers and other members of the professional elite. The third section consists of Chapters Five and Six and are concerned with the applied level of the medical research debate as seen in research ethics committees in both the United Kingdom and Germany.

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The argument of the present thesis is that the withdrawal of religion as a source of legitimacy raises the issue of the foundations of the secular state and how the secular state has responded to this "legitimacy gap". The hypothesis developed here is that the "secular" should not be seen as separating culture (including religion) and politics, but rather in terms of how these two dimensions can be linked. Max Weber's theory of legitimacy and social contract theories are based on a move from traditional forms of authority towards modern forms of legitimacy, but do not provide a complete answer to the "legitimacy gap". It is suggested that modern constitutional law has moved away from a "substantive" legitimacy, based in particular on natural law, towards a "procedural" legitimacy - based on popular sovereignty and human rights - which leaves unanswered the issue of the nature of legitimacy in a secular/modern state. The dynamics of the problem developed above, that of the legitimacy of the secular state, will be explored by looking at the constitutional responses to this problem through three models of constitutional legitimacy which articulate in different ways three main sources of legitimacy (people, rights, culture): the "neutral model" (constitutions based on the "displacement of culture"); the "multicultural model" (constitutions based on diversity and pluralism); and the "asymmetric model" (constitutions based on tradition). The exploration of these models through three case studies - France, India and Malaysia - will show how secularism has moved either towards "nationalisation", being linked to a particular national identity (as in France and, to some extent, in India), or towards "de-secularisation", under pressure from religious or cultural identities (as in the case of Malaysia). The secular should thus be seen as a process of cultural (and religious) reform rather as a separation from culture (and religion).

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In the late 1980s, many developed countries were of the opinion that national patent laws of most developing countries were insufficient in protecting some essential technologies such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnologies. The advanced nations claimed that the lack of adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights brings about distortions in international trade. In order to strengthen protection worldwide, this issue was raised and discussed at the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations in order to formulate new international rules for international protection of intellectual property rights. Like many other countries, the U.K. and Thailand have adopted a patent law to provide legal protection to inventors. The main purpose of this thesis is to undertake an examination of the effects of pharmaceutical patenting in a developed and a developing country by looking at the situation and experience of the U.K. and Thailand. In this regard, chapter one introduces the concept and evolution of patent. It also undertakes a critical examination of basic principles enshrined in the Paris Convention. Chapter two outlines recent trends in international dispute on the issue of patent protection and examines the relationship between patents and international trade. Chapter three examines the present patent law of the U.K. in relation to pharmaceuticals. The next chapter goes on examining the present patent regulatory regime of Thailand. Chapters five and six assess the costs and benefits surrounding pharmaceutical patents in the U.K. and Thailand. The last chapter, chapter seven, summarises outstanding issues in the thesis and presents some policy recommendations regarding patents and pharmaceuticals.