Human trafficking has increasingly been referred to in academic circles as ‘modern slavery’. It thrives in conditions of poverty, prejudice, inequality and discrimination, and has a deleterious impact on its victims. Its perpetrators come from all walks of life, and are actively involved in myriad forms of exploitation, which generate billions in profits on an annual basis. Since the passage of the Trafficking Protocol in 2001, there has been a marked increase in anti-trafficking policy and legislation at the international, regional and domestic levels. Notwithstanding this, however, the effectiveness of these measures remains a hotly contentious issue. It is against this backdrop that this thesis has been conceptualised; the overarching aim being to critically assess the existing law and practice on human trafficking at the European and Commonwealth Caribbean levels, and to explore and evaluate possibilities for an enhanced regulatory framework. To achieve this aim, several objectives are actively pursued over the course of nine chapters. The first objective involves a deconstruction and critical evaluation of the various 'hegemonic assumptions' that underlie the conventional criminal justice and human rights approaches to human trafficking. The second involves a critical examination of the existing law and practice on human trafficking at the European and Commonwealth Caribbean levels from a comparative socio-legal perspective. The main argument advanced is that, at present, there is a ‘disconnect’ between anti-trafficking law and practice, which has an adverse impact on the prevention of human trafficking, the prosecution of traffickers and the protection of trafficked victims. The final objective involves an exploration of a non-exhaustive list of possibilities for reform that are aimed at ameliorating this ‘disconnect’. The methodological approaches of the thesis to its research question involve doctrinal analyses, comparative analyses, as well as socio-legal analyses.

The time charter plays a very significant role in the practical shipping field. However, the time charterparty itself has attracted little consideration by researchers working in the field. In addition, there are still many legal issues that require resolution as it is possible to easily confuse merchants, leading to further practical disputes. This thesis explores the core characteristics of the time charter. It discusses crucial legal issues and aims to resolve potential legal disputes. It also considers key improvements to the relevant significant clauses in the current essential standard forms of the time charterparty by way of recommending revisions to clauses within various charterparties such as the BALTIME form, the NYPE 46 form, the NYPE 93 form and the GENTIME form. The original contribution of this thesis is not only the modification of vital clauses in these essential forms for merchants, but also the provision of constructive ways of reforming the remaining clauses in these forms thereby providing a potential guiding framework for the revision of other standard charterparty forms in the future.

Globalisation has created new market opportunities for Nigerian traders, resulting in the growth of international trade in Nigeria. However, the opportunity of a wider market and a broader range of goods, means that Nigerian traders have to grapple with the complexities and transaction costs of foreign laws of different jurisdictions, which are a hindrance to trade. Given the above, there is a need for a uniform framework capable of regulating international trade transactions. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is capable of resolving such conflicts and reducing transaction costs. However, the CISG has not been adopted in Nigeria. In light of this, the thesis considers the reasons for the non-adoption of the CISG in Nigeria. The thesis evaluates the Convention to determine if it is successful based on established criteria. Using the legal transplant theories, the thesis draws up a typology to determine whether the CISG can be considered a successful transplant in Germany and U.S. where it has been adopted. The thesis then examines the possibility, and effects of transplanting the Convention into Nigeria. The thesis also measures the level of awareness of the CISG in Nigeria and the disposition of the key legal actors towards the Convention, which serves as a determinant of adaptability and receptivity of the CISG in Nigeria, where it is adopted. The thesis adopts a doctrinal approach, historical, socio-legal and comparative research methodologies in undertaking the research.

The dramatic uprisings that ousted the long-standing leaders of several countries in the Arab region have set in motion an unprecedented period of social, political and legal transformation. The Arab Spring uprisings saw criminal prosecutions in the Arab region take centre stage in the pursuit of transitional justice. Through a comparative case study of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, this thesis presents a critique of mainstream transitional justice theory. This theory is built on the underlying assumption that transitions constitute a shift from non-liberal to liberal democratic regimes, where measures – often legal – are taken to address atrocities committed during the prior regime. By examining the factors that triggered, drove and shaped decisions regarding the prosecution of political leaders in the four case studies, this thesis will enhance our understanding of how transitional justice is pursued in varied contexts. The findings of this research therefore build on the growing literature that claims that transitional justice is an under-theorised field and needs to be developed to take into account non-liberal and complex transitions. I argue that transitional justice in the Arab region presents the strongest challenge yet to the transitional justice paradigm, which presumes a shift from violent, non-liberal rule to peaceful, liberal-democratic rule. There are four parts to this argument. First, the non-paradigmatic nature of the Arab region transitions, whereby a renewed form of repressive, non-liberal rule has largely taken shape, warrants a re-thinking of transitional justice and its pursuit in various contexts. Second, the Arab region cases demonstrate that both domestic and international actors pursue competing accountability agendas, thereby weakening claims of a global accountability norm. Third, the emphasis these cases place on accountability for corruption and socio-economic crimes as opposed to civil and political rights violations underline the need to develop transitional justice theory. The limited content and extent of the investigations and prosecutions in the four case studies are driven by the controlled nature of the transitions and point to a practice of scapegoating certain high-level officials and a certain set of crimes to show that there has been a break with the former regime. Finally, a re-thinking of transitional justice needs to take into account the absence of pre-existing democratic structures and what this means for criminal accountability prospects in non-paradigmatic transitional contexts.

Inherent in and at the core of the right to fair trial in Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is the concept of equality of arms, the construct to which this thesis is devoted within the context of criminal proceedings. As a contextual prelude to specific analysis of this concept, a background for Article 6 is first established which identifies influential historical developments in trial rights and provides an outline of the rationale for the Convention and of the content, and applicability, of the article. Thereafter, the thesis offers a theoretical insight on equality of arms, identifying and exploring its value, contemporary international legal basis and constituent elements as per the Strasbourg definition. The insight on the latter recognises an underpinning relationship between the concept of equality of arms and Article 6(3), and introduces the key argument in the thesis: the European Court of Human Rights equates inequality of arms not with procedural inequality in itself, which would be a dignitarian interpretation, but with procedural inequality that gives rise to actual or, in some circumstances, inevitable prejudice. This argument predominates the subsequent survey of case-law in which the Court’s approach to procedural equality is demonstrated and assessed within the context of the right to challenge and call witness evidence (Article 6(3)(d)), the right to adequate time and facilities (Article 6(3)(b)) and the right to legal assistance (Article 6(3)(c)). Though the thesis is based on Article 6 decisions of the Court and, to a lesser extent, the former European Commission of Human Rights, references are made throughout to other national and international legal instruments and judgements whenever instructive.

The research aims to demonstrate the benefits of worker involvement in safety and health. It establishes the need for a structured and coherent approach to managing worker involvement and suggests how this can be achieved in practice through the development, implementation and maintenance of a procedural model. An hypothesis is presented that worker involvement in safety and health can lead to improved health and safety performance. Further, to optimize these benefits and gain significant improvements in performance, changes are necessary in both law and policy to promote a systematic approach to the management of worker involvement in safety and health. The central research questions addressed are; Does worker involvement lead to improvements in health and safety performance? Is the level of worker involvement a critical factor? Can a procedural model help to promote further improvements in performance? In order to address these questions, the research identifies different levels of worker involvement in safety and health and places worker involvement in a contextual background. Published literature and data indicating the benefits of worker involvement is evaluated and a procedural model is advanced. Following an introduction to the thesis, a spectrum of worker involvement in safety and health is presented in Chapter 2, followed by a literature review of associated benefits and limitations, in Chapter 3. The context of worker involvement in safety and health is established in Chapters 4, 5 and 6. This includes a review of existing legislation and guidance, consideration of the influence of changing patterns at work and lessons from other jurisdictions. Chapter 7 addresses the importance of organisational culture in developing worker involvement in safety and health and Chapter 8 considers practical implementation issues. A procedural model for managing worker involvement in safety and health is presented in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 details recommendations for developing legislation and guidance, with conclusions presented in the final Chapter.

Takeovers have become frequent in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) since the 1960s. However, in China takeovers are a relatively new concept and have only recently become more common. The Chinese government has attempted to create a clearer roadmap for the takeover players, and over the last two decades has developed a relatively complete and stable regulatory framework for takeovers. However, the Chinese takeover law is not immune to criticism. As such, it can be expected that the takeover regime will experience some fundamental reform in coming years. Based on the understanding that various jurisdictions have adopted different ways to regulate takeovers, China needs to seek some ideas for improving the existing takeover law, in line with the global perspective. Thus, a comparative research method is employed in this study with the aim of obtaining a better understanding of Chinese takeover law based on the earlier experiences of the UK and US. The goal of this thesis is to make an in-depth comparative analysis of the takeover regimes across the UK, US and China and put forward recommendations for Chinese takeover law reform. To summarise the thesis, descriptions of legal regimes in the UK and US are set out in Chapters 2 and 3 respectively. Chapter 4 compares these two regimes and explains how divergences have arisen. In order to compare the Chinese regime with the UK and US regimes, Chapter 5 provides a comprehensive discussion on how the takeover regime in China has evolved and regulates takeover activities. Finally, Chapters 6 and 7 critically examine the appropriateness of Chinese takeover law in its own legal context. Chapter 8 concludes the thesis, with recommendations for future legal reform.

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This is a study about large-scale international involvement in the reconstruction of a state without an independently effective domestic government. Specifically how the practice in Cambodia, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sierra Leone, Kosoyo, East Timor, Afghanistan, and Iraq, relates to the right of the target state and its people to political independence. The international involvement, particularly its legal justification, is analysed from the perspective of the right to political independence and the core UN system values of self-determination of peoples and international peace. From this analysis, an opinion is formed on what explains intenlational acceptance of a practice that struggles to remain consistent with the legal structures and political values of the inter-sovereign relations paradigm of the international system. This is argued to rest on the pursuit of democratic reconstruction. The absence of a legal concept of democracy, in the practice analysed, is the basis for the thesis that: when there is not an independently effective domestic government, there is a need for greater international legal regulation and accountability of those - both the domestic and international actors - that exercise the right to political independence for the purpose of state reconstruction. This is to compensate for the lack of assurance that the process reflects the wishes of the state and its people, which is a threat to the core UN system values of self-determination of peoples and international peace.

My project considers the extent to which personal insolvency law has evolved, and should evolve, to meet the conditions of the modern consumer credit society. I illustrate how unprecedented household borrowing has become essential to sustaining macro-economic growth and household living standards, and present economic theories explaining this development, as well as the legal/regulatory norms which facilitated it. Exploring insolvency law theory (particularly ideas from law and economics), I then contrast the law’s traditional debt collection objective with the more recently developed fresh start policy in arguing that the circumstances of modern consumer over-indebtedness require a re-orientation of the law to prioritise its debt relief objective. I explore next factors influencing the development of consumer insolvency law. I contrast the laws of England and Wales, Ireland, France and Belgium, highlighting the extent to which each law is oriented towards the goals of debt collection or debt relief. Using empirical data to question theories which attribute such differences to contrasting legal traditions, social welfare systems or cultural values, I argue that political factors such as interest group influence and shifting policy salience have been more influential in shaping laws, and may occasionally impede the advancement of the fresh start policy. Next I evaluate the extent to which the realities of consumer over-indebtedness and the fresh start policy have been accepted by English policymakers, administrators and courts. My case studies focus on the conditions for access, scope of debt relief, and sanctions for culpable debtors under English personal insolvency procedures. I argue that in certain aspects English law has not departed sufficiently from its origins in commercial law and its traditional role as a debt collection mechanism. I propose reforms which would allow the law to reflect better its transformation into a de facto consumer law and its need to embrace more comprehensively the fresh start policy.