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Defamation is a complex topic, historically lying at the crossroads of tort and criminal law. In the current state of the law, various common law jurisdictions (including England) have abolished criminal defamation. By contrast, civil law jurisdictions approach defamation first and foremost as a criminal offence, although in many countries (including France), the claimant’s right is also civilly actionable. From a comparative perspective, this distinction supports a generally held view that the national particularisms of defamation laws reflect very different approaches to the protection of reputation. This thesis considers and challenges this view by critically examining the extent to which the nature of the regulation, tortious or criminal, influences the substantive content of the rules on defamation in England and France. It argues that the current regulatory features are the result of a haphazard historical development, rather than of a conscious choice. Thus, the distinction between tortious and criminal liability in England and France does not necessarily epitomise fundamentally irreconcilable conceptions of reputation. This suggests that the English and the French laws of defamation are comparable despite their different regulatory features. This is confirmed by studying key features of the law of defamation: standards of liability, the defence of truth and remedial aspects of the wrong. At first sight, their apparent differences seem to be justifiable on the basis of each system’s disparate regulatory features. Upon closer analysis of each of these features however, elements of commonality emerge. The English and French rules on fault are comparable and are underlined by a shared concern to promote media accountability, their treatment of truth is becoming analogous, and the remedial aspects of defamation are functionally comparable. The thesis concludes that despite substantive differences owing to the regulatory features of each system, England and France adopt a shared conceptual approach to the wrong of defamation.

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This thesis uses a mixed methods approach utilising questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to explore how and why an embedded professional association may act to alter a longstanding trait of its profession. Focussing on the trait of social closure at the English Bar, it uses an access programme (Pegasus Access and Support Scheme - PASS) created by a professional association of the Bar (The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple) as a case study. Social closure occurs through mechanisms controlling access to the profession. Whilst formal and explicit exclusionary strategies existed historically, more informal exclusionary barriers still operate. These indirectly disadvantage those from lower socio-economic backgrounds as they emphasise aspirant entrants’ social capital and habituation to the social norms of the Bar. One way in which these attributes can be assimilated or increased is through mini-pupillage; work experience in barristers’ chambers. PASS provides mini-pupillage opportunities to non-traditional aspirant entrants. More widely, it could be construed as a challenge to exclusionary recruitment practices. However, such a challenge requires that the conceptions of merit underlying exclusionary recruitment practices, as well as the practices themselves, are altered. By maintaining the privilege attached to mini-pupillage, PASS was not as radical as sometimes portrayed. The educational and social contexts of students participating in the programme also influenced its efficacy. A challenge to patterns of social closure requires a collaboration between the professional association’s elite, and salaried staff with specialist knowledge of access and education from other professional backgrounds. This emphasises the role of individuals and agency in such action. Despite the general diminished power of professional associations, there remains potential for innovative action. This is realised when the attributes of the professional association combine with acts of agency by individuals which cause elite influence and alternative institutional logics to mutually reinforce one another.

David A. Huffman. / "March 25, 1959"--Cover. "Reprinted from the Transactions of the 1959 International Symposium on Circuit and Information Theory." / Bibliography: p. 51. / Army Signal Corps Contract DA36-039-sc-78108. Dept. of the Army Task 3-99-06-108 and Project 3-99-00-100.

Esta Tesis, incardinada en el Derecho ambiental administrativo, aborda el régimen jurídico de los vertidos en aguas continentales en el ordenamiento español, desde una óptica fundamentalmente jurídico-administrativa.Este trabajo aporta algunas reflexiones respecto del actual marco regulador de los vertidos, a partir de un análisis crítico de las normas vigentes -sin olvidar sus raíces históricas- y de su interpretación jurisprudencial, atendiendo también a la doctrina científica, con el fin último de poner de relieve sus virtualidades y carencias, al tiempo que se realizan algunas sugerencias y propuestas de mejora. Para alcanzar este objetivo, la Tesis se divide en tres partes diferenciadas. En la primera, integrada por dos capítulos, se efectúa un tratamiento preliminar que justifica cuáles son las bases fácticas que reclaman el tratamiento jurídico de esta materia y fija las fronteras del propio concepto de "vertido". La segunda, que consta de tres capítulos, se centra en el análisis del marco jurídico aplicable a los vertidos, previo análisis de la distribución de competencias entre los diferentes poderes públicos implicados. Su finalidad es realizar una aproximación al ordenamiento jurídico español en esta materia, fruto de la confluencia de una pluralidad ordinamental procedente de diversos escalones normativos (internacional, comunitario, estatal, autonómico y local). La tercera parte, formada por trece capítulos, se dedica específicamente al análisis individualizado de las principales técnicas de intervención administrativa sobre los vertidos. Tras efectuar algunas consideraciones en torno al papel que corresponde desempeñar a la Administración Pública, a los límites y a los principios a que se sujeta su actuación en esta materia, se entra de lleno en el análisis de los principales mecanismos de intervención. Esta labor se inicia con el examen de las técnicas de carácter preventivo. Allí se analizan la planificación hidrológica; la prohibición de contaminar y la autorización de vertido, tema fundamental, ya que en nuestro ordenamiento se configura como eje central para el control previo de los vertidos contaminantes la prohibición general con reserva de autorización; la autorización ambiental integrada; las técnicas de incentivo económico; y los instrumentos de verificación y control. Este trabajo concluye con el examen de las técnicas represivas y reparadoras. Se analizan, en particular, el régimen de infracciones y sanciones administrativas en materia de vertidos y la obligación de reparar el daño causado, con especial referencia a la potestad administrativa de determinación y exigencia de responsabilidad por los daños causados al dominio público hidráulico.A partir de este análisis, este estudio destaca la existencia en nuestro ordenamiento de una vasta normativa reguladora de los vertidos en la que se recoge un amplio catálogo de instrumentos de intervención administrativa. Estos mecanismos, utilizados complementariamente, con clara preeminencia de los preventivos, presentan una enorme virtualidad como medio de prevención y control de la contaminación originada por vertidos. Asimismo, pone de manifiesto la existencia de importantes deficiencias técnicas y de configuración jurídica de estos instrumentos que exigen una rápida mejora, en aras de su mayor eficacia, y se hace eco de la decepcionante aplicación de este instrumentario, fruto del escaso rigor y de la falta de una actitud enérgica de las Administraciones Públicas en su aplicación y de la escasez de medios. En definitiva, se pone de relieve que el reto más importante que se plantea en esta materia no es tanto la adopción de nuevas normas e instrumentos de control de los vertidos -sin perjuicio de los ajustes y mejoras necesarios-, como garantizar la operatividad real del sistema. Sólo así podrá conseguirse el objetivo medioambiental mínimo del buen estado de todas las aguas superficiales, subterráneas y costeras con el horizonte temporal del año 2015, exigido en el ámbito de la Comunidad Europea. / This thesis, within the ambit of Administrative environmental law, approaches the legal framework for waste disposal in continental waters under Spanish legislation, from a fundamentally legal and administrate perspective.The study includes a series of reflections on present legislation for waste disposal, based on a critical analysis of regulations as they stand -without forgetting their historical roots- and their jurisprudential interpretation, along with a study of scientific doctrine, which stresses the importance of their virtues and shortcomings, while making other suggestions and proposals for improvement. To meet this objective, the Thesis is divided into three differentiated sections. The first, made up of two chapters, is a preliminary treatment that justifies what the actual bases are for demanding the legal treatment of this issue and that establishes the boundaries of the very concept of "waste disposal". The second, which is made up of three chapters, focuses on an analysis of the legal framework that is applicable to waste disposal, with an analysis of the distribution of responsibilities between the different public authorities implied. Its aim is to approach Spanish legal regulations that deal with this issue, the result of the confluence of such plurality in lawmaking coming from different governmental levels (international, community, state, autonomous, and local). The third section, made up of thirteen chapters, is specifically dedicated to the individual analysis of the main techniques for administrative intervention on waste disposal. After a few considerations of the role given to Public Administration, and the limits and principles to which it is subjected in this issue, there is a full analysis of the main mechanisms for intervention. This task begins with an examination of techniques of a preventative nature. This contains an analysis of hydrological planning; the prohibition of contamination and authorisation for waste disposal, a basic issue because, in our legislation, general prohibition without authorisation is configured as the central axis for the preliminary control of contaminant waste; integrated environmental authorisation; economic incentive techniques; and instruments for verification and control. The study ends with an examination of repressive and reparation techniques. There is particular analysis of the system of infractions and administrative sanctions on issues of waste disposal and the obligation to repair any damage caused, with special reference to administrative authority for the determination of and demands for responsibility for damage caused to the public hydraulic domain.Based on this analysis, this study highlights that our legislation contains widespread regulation of waste disposal, covering a wide range of instruments for administrative intervention. These mechanisms, used complementarily, with a clear pre-eminence of preventative methods, are extremely valuable as a means for the prevention and control of contamination caused by waste disposal. It also demonstrates the existence of major deficiencies in the techniques and legal configurations of these instruments, which require immediate improvements, based on greater efficiency, and which reflect the disappointing application of such instruments, the result of a lack of strictness and the lethargic attitude of Public Administrations when applying them, and a scarcity of means. Definitively, it emphasises the fact that the most important challenge concerning this issue is not so much the adoption of new regulations and instruments of control - without forgetting that some changes and improvements are needed -, but rather the guarantee of the effectiveness of the system. That is the only way to achieve the minimum environmental objective of a decent state of surface, ground and coastal waters by 2015, as demanded by the European Community.

La presente Tesis desarrolla el estudio de todos aquellos aspectos que puedan incidir en la invalidez permanente de los deportistas profesionales en su modalidad contributiva, dejando a un lado la incapacidad temporal y las lesiones permanentes no invalidentes, y poniendo los hechos causantes de la invalidez permanente en relación con la definición de deportista profesional, que necesita para la práctica de su profesión de una especial preparación física con continuos, tanto inicial para su contratación, como consecutivamente para comprobar que se encuentra en pleno rendimiento, exámenes físicos realizados dentro del ámbito de relación entre el club y el deportista.Así mismo, la citada Tesis determina que es muy difícil la invalidez permanente derivada de la naturaleza común del riesgo originario, sea por enfermedad común o por el accidente común, así que se ciñe, con las referencias oportunas, a la naturaleza profesional del riesgo originario de la invalidez permanente. / This thesis develops the study of all the aspects that can be related to the permanent disability of the professional sportsmen on its contributive form. In spite of that, it is not focused on the temporary disability and the permanent lesions that do not cause disability but it tries to concentrate on the facts that cause the permanent disability in relation with the definition of professional sportsmen, who needs a constant physical training for its profession(at first to be contracted and later in order to keep fit), and who is constantly examined by his club.In addition, this thesis shows that the permanent disability is very difficult when it is derived from the common nature of the original risk, including when it is caused for common illness or for common accident. So, it is focused on the professional nature of the original risk of the permanent disability.

Con el presente trabajo, se pretende satisfacer los requerimientos en investigación de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB) con respecto a la Tesis doctoral. Esta tesis consta de diez partes, que en conjunto comprenden 15 capítulos. Para desarrollarla, se ha utilizado un enfoque cuyo objeto es plasmar una postura personal -fruto de la investigación-. Su clase es inicialmente histórica, pero desemboca en lo descriptivo analítico. La idea de Tesis implica adoptar una postura personal con respecto a algo. Pues bien, en este trabajo, se asume una posición con respecto a la actividad del legislador, toda vez que la misma -al igual que la del Estado en general- ya no satisface totalmente los requerimientos de las colectividades y hoy, más que nunca, se hace obvia la presencia de otros actores que inciden en la creación de normas al provocar que se den iniciativas de ley, ajenas muchas veces a las ideas originales de los legisladores. El fenómeno jurídico luce muchas veces como algo que ya no debe tocarse, por haber muchos estudios sobre él. Sin embargo, presenta situaciones y actores que merecen trato y estudio en el contexto de lo normativo, como el caso del papel de la comunidad y de los movimientos sociales que se dan dentro de ella. Se propone -en esa línea- que el Derecho puede actuar como los camaleones, al darse una mimesis en lo jurídico cuando la acción de los movimientos sociales -entre otras- se traduce en normas de varios tipos, lo que preserva la existencia del Derecho, ya que éste, como fruto de la cultura y de la civilización es adquirido luego de muchos esfuerzos y puede perderse fácilmente, si no se adapta a lo que requiere lo social. El Derecho ha de equilibrar las fuerzas de quienes gobiernan y de quienes son gobernados para mantener la paz social. Éste, en su fase de creación, ya no es sólo una tarea parlamentaria de iniciativas de ley formuladas y planteadas en razón de la representatividad formal, sino es fruto de lo anterior, lo que implica configurar nuevamente la visión que se tiene del Estado, para hacer de la mimesis algo más fácil, ágil y beneficioso a las comunidades. El Estado se va volviendo, cada vez más, incapaz de atender las necesidades sociales; el legislador no necesariamente percibe lo que el pueblo que lo eligió necesita. No siempre a través de la acción del legislador, las sociedades se organizan de modo variable y segregan con independencia relativa su propio Derecho. El Derecho es entonces, un subproducto y un espejo de la sociedad. En la actualidad, las sociedades se ven influenciadas por la globalización, las empresas multinacionales, y las realidades de otras sociedades próximas a ellas o bien, al otro lado del mundo. Por otra parte, hoy por hoy, tenemos una visión más amplia del universo. Y por ello entendemos que hay grupos de presión -aceptémoslo- que hacen que ese entorno no sea "interno", sino esté globalizado. Lo anterior, podría requerir un replanteamiento acerca de la noción de la ciencia de lo normativo, para hacerlo más efectivo y actual. Y, además, en casos muy específicos, de administración de justicia -sobre todo en el contexto anglosajón- esa mimesis se da gracias a la intervención de los jueces, como fruto de la producción escalonada del Derecho; en este caso, la conciencia sobre la justicia de lo pedido, agilizaría el aprovechamiento de la mimesis mencionada. Lo anterior implica tomar en cuenta la participación de los actores colectivos mencionados, lo que será mejor si se hace en razón de valores sociales compartidos y a través de entidades como las organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) que, como puente y canal, podrían trasladar las inquietudes sociales a los entes que se ocupan de regular jurídicamente la conducta. El valor social compartido y la consecuencial armonía que puede lograrse en la vida comunitaria -tanto de las comunidades pequeñas, como de las grandes comunidades- tiene una gran cantidad de contenido ético, pero es una ética en común, respetando la pluralidad y la multiplicidad de culturas en lo posible. En ese pluralismo comunitario se aprovecharía de mejor manera el capital social, que tiene concordancia con la idea de comunidad y está relacionado con lo que algunos llaman "virtud cívica", con la adición de que esta virtud cívica será más fuerte si está enmarcada en una red de relaciones sociales recíprocas, que serían unos valores sociales compartidos. Y lo anterior, bajo la premisa de que todo cuanto acontece en el orden público tenga -o deba tener- como presupuesto una definición del concepto de justicia; tanto por lo que hace al ejercicio del poder de parte de los gobernantes, como por lo que corresponde al trato justo que reclaman los ciudadanos. De la síntesis entre ambos enfoques resulta la bilateralidad de los derechos y deberes del Estado, respecto de los derechos y deberes que corresponden a los ciudadanos. El Estado debe satisfacer para todos las siete aspiraciones sociales cardinales que, para los fines de esta tesis son: la aspiración de seguridad, la aspiración de nuevas experiencias y de perfeccionamiento o adelanto, la aspiración de reconocimiento, la aspiración de asistir, la aspiración de libertad, la aspiración de poder y la aspiración de sujeción. / The purpose of this work is to fulfill the research requirements in connection with a doctoral thesis at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB).The thesis consists of ten parts which amount to a total of fifteen chapters. In order to develop it, a focus has been used to express a personal position arising from research. This is a thesis that begins as a historical piece and ends up as an analytic and descriptive work.The idea of a thesis implies adopting a personal posture in regard to an issue. In this work, we assume a position with respect to the activity of a legislator as long as that activity, as well as that of the State in general, is no longer responsive to the collectivities; today, more than ever, the presence of other players and their influence on the creation of new legislation independent from the original thoughts of legislators has become obvious.Having been the subject of many studies, the juridical phenomenon may often appear no longer to be a viable area of research. However, there are always situations and players worthy of study and consideration within the context of the normative; such is the case of the community and the social movements that arise within it.We propose, along these lines, that the Law may be like a chameleon and mime the way in which the actions of social movements, as well as others, become norms of various types into the juridical realm. That is what perpetuates the existence of the Law since otherwise, being a product of culture and civilization, it is only acquired after much effort and can easily be lost if it does not adapt to social needs. In order to preserve the peace, the rule of Law must find a balance between the power of those who govern and the societal needs. At the moment of creation this is no longer only a parliamentary duty to formulate bills and introduce them as means of formal representation but rather the product of that very process. This forces us to reconfigure our view of the State so that the Law's mimesis of social processes flows easily and is most beneficial to the community. The State is increasingly incapable of tending to the social needs; legislators do not necessarily recognize the needs of those who elected them. It is not always through legislative actions therefore that societies organize themselves in various ways to give birth with relative independence to their own laws. The legal system is therefore a byproduct as well as a mirror of society. Nowadays societies are influenced by globalization, multinational corporations, and the influence of other societies that may or may not be at a geographical proximity. On the other hand, our vision of the universe is much wider than ever before. As we understand that there are pressure points, we must acknowledge that the framework is not internal but globalized. With this in mind, the notion of the science of the normative may need to be reformulated so that it may be more effective and contemporary. Yet another point is how in very specific cases of handling of justice issues, specially within an Anglo-Saxon context, the mimesis takes place through the intervention of judges and is a consequence of the graded development of the Law. When this happens, the awareness of how just a demand may be expedites the benefit of the mimesis mentioned. What has been exposed thus far demands that we take into account the role of the collective players mentioned above. This will be accomplished best if it is done within a context of shared social values and through entities such as non-government organizations that can serve as a bridge and a communication channel in order to translate social concerns to the entities in charge of the juridical regulation of conduct. The shared social values and harmony that can be reached in community living, regardless of the size of the communities in question, have a large amount of ethical content, but this must be of a common ethic that respects the plurality and multiplicity of cultures as much as possible.It would be within such community pluralism that most benefit could be reaped from the social capital, which is concordant with the idea of community and is related to what some call "civic virtue" with the addition that said civic virtue will be stronger when framed in a net of reciprocal social relations which would be shared social values. The above, under the premise that everything that happens within the public order has, or should have, as an assumption a definition of the concept of justice, not only as it pertains to the exercise of power by those who govern but as it does to the fair treatment that citizens demand.The synthesis of both approaches yields the bilaterality of the rights and duties of the State with respect to the rights and duties of the citizens. The State must then satisfy the seven cardinal social expectations which, for the purpose of this thesis, are the expectation of security, the expectation of new experiences, progress and development, the expectation of recognition, the expectation of support, the expectation of liberty, the expectation of power and the expectation of abiding.

The reporting of the financial results of an organisation is the responsibility of the management of that organisation. However, value may be added to the financial statements by the auditing of such financial statements and by the opinion expressed by the external auditors. Furthermore, there is the expectation on the part of the users of the financial statements that the auditors are also responsible for detecting fraud and, more specifically, financial statement fraud. It was stated in the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners 2010 Report to the Nations that it is the high-level perpetrators who cause the greatest damage to their organisations. The costs arising from financial statement fraud were found to be more than three times higher than the costs arising from fraud committed by lower-level managers and nine times more than the costs involved in employee fraud. The question, thus, arises as to why the auditors would not detect financial statement fraud timeously. The external audit profession has formulated a specific standard which addresses the responsibility of the external auditor as regards the detection of fraud during the audit of financial statements. The aim of this research was to determine the adequacy of the internal auditor standards as regards providing guidance to the internal auditors in terms of detecting financial statement fraud. This research highlighted the lack of guidance in the internal audit standards regarding the responsibility of internal auditors relating to financial statement fraud. In the main, both the directives and the guidance refer to fraud in general but not specifically to financial statement fraud and, thus, the professional internal auditor is forced to seek guidance outside of the internal audit standards as regards the detection of financial statement fraud. / MPhil University of Pretoria, 2014 / Auditing / MPhil / Unrestricted

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