This feminist, qualitative research project explores how the voices of women affected by prostitution in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and of selected evangelical church leaders in that city, could contribute to a life-affirming theological response to prostitution. The thesis engages sociological and theological sources to interpret the data gathered; contextual Bible study sessions provided access to the women's voices, and semi-structured interviews revealed church leaders' perspectives. During conversations with the women, six core themes emerged, reflecting their contextual understanding of the social and theological ramifications of prostitution: their entrance into prostitution; God; sin; humanity (Christian anthropology); justice; and the church. The women articulated that: 1) prostitution was a means of survival; 2) God is a protective figure in their lives; 3) sin is equated with prostitution and uncleanliness; 4) humanity is rejecting; 5) injustice is a normalised experience; and 6) they are unwelcome in the church due to their status as 'sinners,' and have few expectations that the Christian church or its leaders would help them exit prostitution. These themes reportedly resonated with interviewed church leaders, who expressed empathy for the women. Bringing both sets of voices together in a discussion of the Story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), however, revealed several theological deficiencies held by the evangelical church that currently impede the formation of a life-affirming theological response to prostitution. These deficiencies primarily involve an excessively narrow understanding of sin, salvation, and repentance in light of the Kingdom of God. This thesis offers a theological response to these specific deficiencies, based on an appropriation of the Peter and Cornelius story (Acts 10:1-48) to the evangelical church in Addis Ababa. This study contributes new understanding about the gift that women affected by prostitution have to offer to the evangelical church in Addis Ababa. The insights of all of the participants in this study draw attention to an expanded, Biblical view of salvation in light of the Kingdom of God, a vision that places responsibility on the community of faith to mediate God's holistic program of restoration for the full human being. Further areas of study could include voices of other key stakeholders within the wider Christian church in Ethiopia to address additional theological deficiencies that impede a life-affirming theological response to women affected by prostitution.

The Mareva injunction has been available in England for 40 years. Initially, the Mareva injunction was a contentious form of relief; today it is regarded as an exceptionally effective device in common law jurisdictions across the globe. This body of work critically appraises the development, evolution and effectiveness of the Mareva injunction. It is primarily established that the Mareva injunction is an equitable remedy. A corollary crystallises; in order to gain a fuller understanding of the Mareva injunction it is necessary to contextualise it within the equitable jurisdiction. Traditional doctrinal research methods explicate the development of the equitable jurisdiction drawing attention to certain characteristics, common themes, techniques and principles. Equity becomes the contextual framework upon which the ensuing discourse is rendered. At its heart equity is found to be about remedies; a supplementary system which repairs defects in the law. The Mareva injunction was devised to ring fence amenable assets on a temporary basis; to protect the possibility of an effective remedy. The continuing effectiveness of the Mareva injunction is examined in relation to evolving externalities such as the rise of globalisation inclusive of developing financial infrastructures and improving technologies. The action taken by the courts to overcome the difficulties presented by the abovementioned evolving conditions are evaluated. The range of ancillary and connected orders of the court which have been created or refined in order to ensure that the Mareva injunction remains effective are critically appraised. It is argued that the Mareva injunction can no longer be viewed in isolation; it is part of an evolving matrix of interconnected devices which characterise the modern Mareva jurisdiction.

Technology transfer is crucial for China to gain advanced technology so as to facilitate its economy’s growth, as well as to improve its enterprise’s competitiveness. However, anti-competitive restrictions imposed on technology transfers not only severely restrict or eliminate the competition but also limit the technological advancement of China. The existing legislation was considered to be insufficient for effectively intervening in these technology transfer issues in China and requires much improvement. Above all, this thesis discusses how the application of competition law to technology transfer can achieve innovation, efficiency, and consumer welfare, and advocates the exploitation of an effects-based approach to assess the intervention of competition law with intellectual property rights (IPRs). The thesis observes that a number of anticompetitive issues have occurred in the Chinese technology market. Nevertheless, Chinese legislation on the interface of IPRs and competition law has been delayed, which is one of the reasons for the inadequacy evident in the historical review. Whilst the existing legislation cannot properly address these issues. Finally, the thesis provides proposals with comprehensive guidelines for China to deal with some primary anti-competitive issues, including price fixing, price discrimination, allocation of markets, tying, grant-back, and refusals to license. Based on an effects-based approach, the proposals draw on the experiences of the United States and the European Union, whilst also considering China’s unique characteristics. In sum, China requires guidelines that embody an effects-based approach, far more nuanced and sophisticated than current provisions, in order to address these complex and troublesome issues involving the interface of IPRs, competition law, and the effective operation of a modern, technology-dominated market.

This thesis seeks to provide the Iraqi legislature with a proposal to regulate the timesharing industry in Iraq. The aim of the primary research question of the thesis is to ascertain what features of legal regimes for timeshare are likely to provide the optimal system of a timeshare operation in any jurisdiction, from which a legislative proposal for Iraq will be suggested. In answering this research question, the thesis has analysed the problems associated with the timeshare market. The analysis of the problems has been done by consulting the European Timeshare Directives, European timeshare policy documents, key cases and relevant literature. This is to establish an evaluative framework from which a set of questions has been derived. These questions have then been used to carry out a functional analysis in respect of timeshare models which are in use in the common law jurisdictions of England and Wales and some of the States in America because a significant proportion of the world’s timesharing projects occur in these jurisdictions. The thesis has also considered the timeshare models which are in use in the civil law jurisdictions of France and Egypt as timeshare projects are prevalent in those countries, and also the Iraqi civil code is based upon the civil codes of France and Egypt. This is to determine the features of legal regimes which are likely to lead to the optimal system of timeshare in any jurisdiction. Once this has been achieved, the thesis will then move to assess the extracted optimal features in terms of compatibility to Iraqi law in order to make a legislative proposal for Iraq in respect of timeshare. This thesis is a doctrinal legal research, and it has largely used the comparative law methodology, as it is extremely useful for law reform in developing countries.

No description available.

This thesis deals with the investment behaviour of government-led investment vehicles, widely known as Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), and the implications that arise from their investments in Europe and the western world. In the last 10 to 15 years SWFs have grown in size and number and have drawn the attention of many government officials because of their non-transparent nature and their expansionary investment policies. Although SWFs have been a valuable source of foreign investment in the past, their non-transparent nature, combined with their government-controlled status, raises fears that their investments might be politically, rather than economically, motivated. Specific examples of those concerns are the risk that SWFs use their economic influence in order to obtain critical information, to transfer jobs abroad or compromise the operation of strategically important companies such as telecommunications or energy companies. The above concerns have led many western governments to take active measure to regulate sovereign investors. Such regulation comes in the form of legislation establishing procedures to control the impact of their investments. Additionally, various forms of regulation have been established at the international level, through the adoption of Codes of Conduct. The main case studies used in this thesis are those of France, Germany, the USA as well as instruments promulgated by international bodies, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. In this thesis, it is argued that the majority of the legislative measures adopted at the national level are overly protectionist and go far beyond what is necessary to respond to the potential concerns associated with SWFs, while they seriously risk damaging their positive effects. It is also argued that international instruments are better placed to address the potential negative impact of SWFs while preserving the benefits of their operation.

This thesis investigates the question of what claims to resources and positive obligations are inherent in an effective respect for the rights protected by the ECHR. I advance my thesis first by way of a negative argument about where we cannot look for answers: in flawed categorizations and distinctions between different types of rights and duties and in formalistic or conventional interpretations of the ECHR. Instead, I treat this as an interpretive question that invites substantive moral arguments about what the content and extent of such claims may be in light of the principles and values underlying the Convention. I highlight the significant progress but also the inconsistency and uncertainty in the case law of the ECtHR and offer examples that point to the need for a coherent set of principles by which to determine the content and fair scope of positive obligations and claims to resources. I investigate three different conceptions of the value of liberty as the core value underlying the ECHR. I consider the problems in employing the theories of I. Berlin and J. Raz as the basis for an account of rights and positive obligations. In contrast to these, I develop an interpretation of Ronald Dworkin's integrated conception of the values of liberty and equality, by which his two principles of dignity and the abstract right to equal concern and respect may give rise to rights as fair shares in a just distribution of the available resources. The idea of proportionality, I suggest, so prevalent in human rights theory and practice, cannot answer the question of what is a fair share but points to the central problem of when can individuals challenge a distribution of resources or opportunities as disproportionate, unreasonable or unfair. Besides, I highlight the significant flaws of minimum core and capabilities theories as the basis for construing the content of rights and claims to resources and positive obligations. As a more attractive alternative, I closely examine Dworkin's theory of equality of resources and defend an interpretation of his hypothetical insurance device as a safety net strategy for determining the content of claims to resources and positive obligations under the ECHR.

When states use force extraterritorially, they invariably claim a right of self-defence. They also accept that its exercise is conditioned by the customary international law requirements of necessity and proportionality. To date, these requirements have received little attention. They are notorious for being normatively indeterminate and operationally complex. As a breach of either requirement transforms lawful acts of self-defence into unlawful uses of force, increased determinacy regarding their scope and substance is crucial to how international law constrains military force. This thesis addresses this fact. It examines the conceptual meaning, content and practical application of necessity and proportionality as they relate to the right of self-defence following the adoption of the UN Charter. It provides a coherent and up-to-date description of the lex lata and an analytical framework to guide its operation and appraisal. It does this by undertaking the first comprehensive review of relevant jurisprudence, academic commentary and state practice from 1945 to date. Although the operation of necessity and proportionality is highly contextual, the result is a more determinate elaboration of international law that bridges theory and practice. This greater normative clarity strengthens the law's potential to exert a pull towards compliance. Necessity determines whether defensive force may be used to respond to an armed attack, and where it must be directed. Proportionality governs how much total force is permissible. This thesis contends that the two requirements are conceptually distinct and must be applied in the foregoing order to avoid an insufficient 'catch-all' description of (il)legality. It also argues that necessity and proportionality must apply on an ongoing basis, throughout the duration of an armed conflict prompted by self-defence. This ensures that the purposes of self-defence are met, and nothing more, and that defensive force is not unduly disruptive to third party interests and international peace and security.

Whilst economic, social and cultural rights benefit from a better protection worldwide than when they were first recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, they remain criticised for being too vague and, thus, not legally enforceable. This is particularly relevant to the right to health, since it embraces complex ethical, economic and legal issues often calling into question its substance. Such criticisms, nonetheless, threaten its implementation: how can key actors contribute to realising a right of which they do not understand the meaning? This thesis, therefore, aims at clarifying what the human right to health entails, and will focus on how this can be done through supranational monitoring. Mandated to supervise the implementation of human rights instruments, supranational human rights bodies (SNHRBs) embody the most authoritative interpretation of the right to health. When evaluating whether or not states comply with their obligations and when justifying why, SNHRBs effectively delineate the legal content of this right. Therefore, this thesis will analyse how SNHRBs contribute to clarifying the legal content of the right to health in the course of their quasi-judicial monitoring procedures, and how their interpretation can be optimised for that purpose. I will particularly study the interpretation of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (United Nations) and the European Committee of Social Rights (Council of Europe), for they are the most illustrative of how supranational monitoring of the right to health feeds into its substance, and vice versa. Such comparative analysis will enable me to develop a theoretical account assisting SNHRBs in interpreting the legal content of the right to health more clearly, to highlight ‘best practice’, and to discuss compatibility between universal and regional standards. As a result, this thesis lies primarily in international human rights law but will also involve aspects of public international law and, modestly, public health.

This work is a summary essay in support of my PhD by published works. At its broadest level, my book The Handbook of Social Media and the Law, considers the array of overlapping and existing legislation that seeks to 'govern' social media platforms and social media users, analysing from both criminal and civil perspectives the laws that regulate the way in which stakeholders are able to interact with social media. In my book, I analyse the law doctrinally and offer a contemporary analysis of social media as an ever-shifting "lawscape", which continually presents regulatory challenges. Drawing on this this systematic doctrinal analysis, I have subsequently been able to consider from a theoretical and conceptual perspective the effectiveness of the regulation of social media, which has allowed me to offer an original analysis, which any future effective regulation in this area must acknowledge, namely that the regulation of social media will always retain an element of reactivity to technological development. In this summary, I therefore suggest that, as underpinned by my doctrinal analysis, a regulatory model must be devised that can grow with technology, that is alive to cultural sensitivities and the organisational constraints of both the regulator and regulated entities. In this summary, I therefore assert that truly responsive social media regulation would embrace and engage with the disruptive nature of the environment which it seeks to assist, rather than command.