Notre intention est d’effectuer une étude comparative du contrat de transport de marchandises en droit français et en droit chinois, principalement entre le droit positif français et le droit positif chinois en matière maritime, sans omettre les nombreuses interférences des Conventions internationales en vigueur dans ce domaine. Le contrat de transport maritime de marchandises est conclu entre le chargeur et le transporteur qui va assurer leur acheminement au moyen d’un navire sur un élément naturel non exempt de dangers, la mer, l’objet du contrat étant l’acte de transport. Ce contrat est généralement couvert par un type spécifique, le connaissement, mais il n’est pas un document unique. Parmi les spécificités du connaissement, la clause Paramount, la clause de compétence et la clause compromissoire insérées dans le document seront examinées car elles forment le socle juridique du transport maritime.L’exécution de ce contrat dépend des droits et des obligations de chaque partie que nous détaillerons. La mise du navire en état de navigabilité, l’accomplissement du voyage et la livraison sont à la charge du transporteur qui recevra en contrepartie le paiement du fret de la part du chargeur. Cependant les risques spécifiques de la navigation en mer génèrent certains problèmes qui recevront des réponses particulières. Ainsi par exemple, la responsabilité du transporteur pleine ou partielle, les cas exceptés, la limitation à l’indemnisation des dommages, etc. L’exécution de ce contrat entraîne parfois des litiges. Pour chaque affaire, il y a lieu de déterminer qui est la partie responsable du dommage subi par la marchandise. En fait, il n’est pas toujours simple de définir la responsabilité de chacun. Il est fait parfois appel à l’arbitrage international ou il sera parfois nécessaire d’avoir recours à la justice.Or s’agissant souvent de contentieux mettant en présence plusieurs entreprises (armateur, gestionnaire du navire, chargeur, transporteur, destinataire, assureur, banquier, etc.) relevant de divers États avec des systèmes juridiques différents, plusieurs questions complexes devront être résolues : les conditions de recevabilité de l’action, la compétence du tribunal, la loi applicable, etc.Parmi les particularités, nous observerons que la France a ratifié la Convention de Bruxelles, et les Protocoles modificatifs de 1968 et 1979, tandis que la Chine n’a ratifié aucun de ces textes. En droit international, la France applique le système moniste selon lequel les Conventions internationales ratifiées s’appliquent immédiatement en droit interne, alors que selon le dualisme, les Conventions n'acquièrent de force juridique qu'après avoir été transposées en droit interne. La Chine n’applique ni le système moniste, ni le système dualiste, tout en donnant à la Convention internationale une force supérieure à la loi interne, mais sous certaines conditions.Avec les moyens modernes de fabrication et de communication, la planète est devenue un village dont les membres échangent sans cesse des biens et des services. Dans cette évolution, le commerce international en général et le transport des marchandises par mer en particulier ont beaucoup progressé. L’étude comparative du contrat de transport maritime en France, pays de droit ancien du vieux continent, et en Chine, riche d’un passé culturel et d’une économie contemporaine florissante, nous est apparue intéressante et utile : outre sa participation aux échanges culturels entre ces deux pays, force est de constater que se poursuivent la mondialisation de l’économie et la progression concomitante des échanges internationaux de marchandises par mer. / The purpose of this dissertation is to carry out a comparative study of the contract for the carriage of goods by sea in French law and in Chinese law, principally between French positive maritime law and Chinese positive maritime law, taking into consideration as well the numerous influences which international Conventions currently in force bear on this issue.The contract for the carriage of goods by sea is concluded between a shipper and a carrier. The transportation of the goods by the carrier involves the navigation of a ship through water, a natural element which is not without danger; the act of the transportation of the goods therefore involves certain risks, and it is this act of transportation which is the object of the contract.This contract is generally modelled after the standard form of a Bill of Lading, though that is not the only document which is used. Among the specific elements of a Bill of Lading, the Paramount clause, the jurisdiction clause and the arbitration clause inserted in the document will each be examined, because they form the legal base of maritime transport.The execution of the contract, considering the rights and obligations of each of the parties, will be examined in detail. Assuring that the ship is in sound navigating condition, carrying out the voyage and accomplishing the delivery of the cargo are the responsibilities of the carrier, who in return will receive payment for these services from the shipper.However, the particular risks inherent in sea travel engender particular problems which will be specifically addressed – for example, the exact extent of responsibility of the carrier; the cases in which an exception might be made; amount limitations to the indemnities for damages, etc.The practical application of the contract to a specific situation will sometimes lead to disputes. In each case it needs to be determined which is the party that is responsible for the damage to the cargo. In fact, it is not always easy to define the responsibilities of each party. Sometimes appeal is made to international arbitration, and at other times it will be necessary to appeal in a court of law.Since the disputes often involve several separate enterprises (the ship owner, the ship manager, the shipper, the carrier, the recipient, insurance companies, bankers, etc.) coming from diverse countries with judicial systems which differ from one another, a number of complex legal issues must be resolved: the conditions of admissibility of the action, the jurisdiction of court, applicable law, etc.Among the particularities, we observe that France ratified the Brussels Convention and the modifying Protocols of 1968 and 1979, whereas China did not ratify any of these documents. In international law, France applies the monist system, according to which the ratified International Conventions are immediately applied in internal law, although according to dualism, the Conventions do not acquire legal force until after having been transposed into internal law. China applies neither the monist system nor the dualist system, while granting to the International Convention a superior authority over internal law, though only under certain conditions.With modern means of production and communication, the planet has become a global village whose members continually exchange goods and services. This development has led to significant growth in international commerce in general, and to significant growth in the transport of merchandise by sea in particular; hence the importance of this study.

Malgré les spécificités politiques de l’Union européenne, le fonctionnement du droit communautaire a généralement été assez traditionnel, s’appliquant obligatoirement à tous. Ces dernières années, toutefois, nous assistons à la création d’un corps de droit atypique dont l’application est optionnelle, et qui existe donc en parallèle au droit national normalement applicable. Ces hypothèses de choix sont essentiellement de deux types. D’abord, les instruments optionnels de droit européen peuvent être choisis comme alternative au droit national. Ensuite, le droit de l’Union européenne permet dans certaines hypothèses le choix de la loi nationale applicable à une situation. Dans ces deux cas, l’expression d’un choix mène à la portabilité du régime juridique choisi dans toute l’Union. Cette thèse vise à répondre à plusieurs questionnements autour de ce phénomène, en analysant les raisons politiques qui poussent à créer des droits d’option, en regardant l’impact véritable de l’exercice du droit d’option en termes de l’autonomie véritable des régimes optionnels et des contours de l’espace de liberté ainsi laissé aux sujets de droit de s’écarter du droit national normalement applicable, et en évaluant le taux d’utilisation de ces instruments juridiques particuliers. / Despite the specificities of the European Union’s political set-up, the operation of EU law has generally been relatively traditional, in the sense that EU law mandatorily applies to all. These last few years, however, a body of atypical law has been created which is applied optionally and therefore exists in parallel with national law. Legal regimes applicable by choice in this way essentially fall into two categories. Firstly, there are optional instruments of EU law, which can be chosen as an alternative to national law. Secondly, in some cases, EU law allows a choice of the national law to be applied to a given situation. In both cases, the expression of a choice leads to the portability of the chosen legal regime across the EU. This thesis aims to address various issues surrounding this phenomenon: by analysing the political reasoning which has led to the creation of a right to choose, by looking at the true impact of the use of the right to choose in terms of the real autonomy of optional instruments and the extent of the freedom to deviate from the national law applicable by default, and by evaluating the level of usage of these unusual legal instruments.

The present thesis is concerned with private international law for corporate and insolvency disputes in the context of freedom of establishment. First, it presents the traditional rules of conflict applicable to corporate disputes that have been implemented in some major jurisdictions. Second, it analyses the relevant leading judgments of the European Court of Justice and it demonstrates the way in which, contrary to popular belief, the real seat theory has not been held contrary to freedom of establishment. The thesis then deals with the concept of letter-box companies and examines the limitations that are being placed to the use of freedom of establishment. This is followed by a juxtaposition of the factors that have lead and could lead to regulatory competition for corporate law in the USA and the EU respectively. A modest approach is taken towards the possibility of the latter occurring in the EU. Third, the thesis examines the treatment of insolency disputes in this context. A substantial part of it is dedicated to the definition of the basis for international jurisdiction for the opening of insolvency proceedings, namely the centre of main interests. It argues in favour of an objective test for the identification of the centre of main interests (COMI) and the allocations of certain burdens on both the debtor and the creditors. It then focuses on the treatment of forum shopping in the context on international insolvencies. Based on considerations of consent and economic efficiency, it suggests a definition, according to which certain transfers of the COMI should not amount to forum shopping. Finally, the thesis examines the possibility of a regulatory competition for insolvencies in the EU and seeks to demonstrate that the conditions for such a competition are more analogous between US corporate law and EU insolvency, rather than company, law.

Legal aspects of the securing of obligations in international trade The securing of obligations in the international trade is recently, possibly more than ever before, very topical issue, and the reason is quite clear - there is a strong need to secure international contractual obligations by effective and reliable securing instruments because of the economic and debt crises which started in 2008 and has been still a very actual problem. This thesis focuses on legal relations arising from the securing of contractual obligations in the international trade. The goal of the thesis is to describe legal aspects of securing obligations considering the determination of an applicable law, under which the securing is governed. Because of the author's long- term working bank experience, the final part of the text deals with a securing by a bank guarantee. In the first part of the thesis there are described legal relations in which an international element appears, and there are also described a purpose, function, categorization and different types of securing instruments respective of the international trade. The second part of the thesis deals with the problem how to determine which law is the applicable one for securing of obligations in the international trade. There are described legal aspects of...

This thesis is aimed at specific questions of conflict rules of the international family law. Specifically, it focuses on the conflict law rules of matrimonial law with an international element. It takes into account the domestic, as well as the international regulation and regulation of the European Union. The thesis is divided into eight chapters. It starts with an introduction, which is followed by the second chapter which deals with the concept of international family law and its sources. The third chapter devoted to a general explanation of the conflict rules including the most significant related terms, such as determining factor or public order. The fourth chapter is aimed at the legal regulation of concluding a marriage with respect of the conflict rules determining the law applicable in case of capacity to conclude a marriage, its validity and form. This chapter also deals with consular marriages and marriages concluded abroad in case of threat to life. The fifth chapter contains he conflict rules of personal and property situation of spouses. This chapter at the same time reflects a recent progress in this field as far as European Union law on property situation in marriage is concerned. The sixth chapter is aimed at termination of mixed marriage and primarily at conflict rules of...

Protection of a Weaker Contract Party and Private International Law The topic of this dissertation thesis is the protection of weaker parties in the context of determination and application of the applicable law. The dissertation seeks anchor and concept of protection of weaker parties in the Rome I Regulation. The thesis is divided into three main parts. The first part deals with the basis for protection of weaker parties, linking the theoretical and value foundations on which the protection stands with practical implications that ignorance of significantly unequal position might have. For a comprehensive understanding, it is necessary to look at the background of individual legal rules. However, dealing with these issues cannot be viewed solely in the context of private international law. Certain legal institutions of private international law may not be designated solely for the protection of certain categories of weaker parties but may be used to protect a weaker party with regard to the concept of a weaker party and the importance of its protection in substantive law (especially civil law). The second part, which is the focal point of this thesis, consists in the analysis of ways of protecting the weaker parties, both at a more general methodological level and in the form of a more detailed...

A arbitragem é um mecanismo consensual de resolução de disputas com vistas à prolação de uma sentença passível de execução. Na arbitragem comercial, a convenção arbitral é considerada a pedra angular do instituto, motivo pelo qual é nela que o presente estudo estará centrado. Sendo a convenção arbitral um negócio jurídico e, considerando que, para a formação de qualquer negócio jurídico requer-se a presença do consenso, segundo o qual o acordo de vontades é suficiente à conclusão da avença, o consentimento mostra-se como um elemento essencial da convenção arbitral, tendo em vista que ela não existe sem acordo de vontades. Nesse sentido, faz-se necessário examinar como o consensualismo se aplica e se manifesta na arbitragem comercial. Para esse fim, devem ser desenvolvidas as questões atinentes à aplicação do consensualismo à validade formal e material da convenção arbitral. Em relação às exigências formais para a validade da convenção arbitral, ver-se-á que mesmo que essas tenham sido relativizadas, sobretudo em relação à arbitragem comercial internacional, muitas questões ainda surgem quanto à necessidade de respeito aos requisitos formais para que uma parte possa ser considerada validamente obrigada pela convenção arbitral, seja no direito brasileiro, seja em outros ordenamentos jurídicos. Em relação à validade substancial da convenção arbitral, serão examinadas outras formas de manifestação do consentimento das partes, tendo em vista que a manifestação de vontade das partes nem sempre se dá pela expressa assinatura na convenção arbitral escrita, podendo os comportamentos adotados pelas partes, do início ao término do contrato, e mesmo durante o procedimento arbitral, ser uma forma de apontar para a sua intenção em relação à arbitragem. Ao final, será feita uma reflexão crítica no sentido de verificar qual a importância que o consentimento tem na prática arbitral atual e se o seu conceito se alterou, para que nele também tenham lugar as novas práticas adotadas pelos agentes do comércio internacional. / Arbitration is a consensual and private dispute resolution mechanism which leads to an enforceable arbitral award. In commercial arbitration the agreement to arbitrate is considered to be the cornerstone of arbitration, and that is why this study will be centered in it. Being the arbitration agreement a contract and considering that for the formation of any valid contract the presence of consent is required, whereby the mutual will of the parties is enough to the conclusion of the contract, the consent shows itself as an essential element of the agreement to arbitrate, since it doesn\'t exist without the mutual will of the parties. In this sense, it is necessary to examine how consent applies and manifests itself in commercial arbitration. To that end, the issues concerning the application of consent in the formal and material validity of the agreement to arbitrate must be developed. With regard to the formal requirements for the validity of the arbitration convention, it will be seen that even if they have been relativized, especially in relation to international commercial arbitration, many questions still arise about the need to respect the formal requirements in order to a party may be considered validly bound by the arbitration agreement, this is so in Brazilian law and in many other jurisdictions. Regarding the substantial validity of the agreement to arbitrate, this study will examine other forms of manifestation of consent, considering that the expression of the will of the parties is not always proven by their express signature in the written arbitration agreement, and the behaviors adopted by the parties, from the beginning to the termination of the contract, and even during the arbitral proceedings, may be a way of pointing to their real intentions in relation to arbitration. In the end, it will be made a critical reflection in order to verify what is the importance of consent in current arbitration practice and if its concept has changed, in order to embrace the new practices adopted by the players of international trade.

Cette thèse propose un algorithme de mosaïquage pour la construction d'images panoramiques des parois internes de la vessie. Le temps de construction de ces images correspondant aux parties intéressantes de la vessie doit être inférieur à la durée d'un examen clinique standard. La méthode de mosaïquage doit aussi être robuste vis-à-vis des variabilités inter-examens liées aux patients et aux instruments. Ces images panoramiques pourront être utilisées par le clinicien comme référence pour guider des examens ultérieurs, pour l'archivage des données et pour suivre l'évolution des lésions. La première étape de l'algorithme est le pré-traitement des images cystoscopiques consistant en l'atténuation des inhomogénéités d'illumination et du motif de fibres optiques visible dans les images acquises par un fibroscope. La deuxième étape est le recalage des images. La solution retenue consiste en la corrélation par les transformées de Fourier des images qui fournit des translations initiales à un algorithme itératif basé sur la différence d'intensité entre les images. Ce dernier délivre les paramètres de la transformation perspective reliant deux images successives de la séquence. Dans la troisième étape nous projetons les images dans un repère commun en utilisant des transformations globales calculées avec les résultats des recalages. Nous utilisons un moyennage pondéré des intensités des pixels pour atténuer les bords visibles lors de la projection. Les résultats quantitatifs obtenus avec un fantôme et des résultats qualitatifs calculés pour des séquences réelles montrent que notre approche automatique de mosaïquage est robuste et rapide (temps compatible avec la durée d'un examen cystoscopique clinique). Nos tests ont également prouvé que l'algorithme de recalage fonctionne pour des transformations géométriques plus grandes que celles rencontrées typiquement entre images d'une séquence vidéo (90% de recouvrement entre images consécutives pour ces dernières) / This work describes a mosaicing algorithm for constructing panoramic images of internal walls of the bladder. Time relating to the construction of panoramic images including the interesting parts must be shorter than that required by a standard cystoscopic examination. The mosaicing algorithm must be robust against lighting conditions, morphologic and texture variations relating to instruments and patient anatomy. These panoramic images could be used by a clinician for guiding further exams, storing non-redundant data and following-up evolution of lesions. The preprocessing of cystoscopic images is the first stage of the algorithm. Preprocessing consists of shading correction and fiber optics pattern attenuation occurring in fiberscope acquired images. The second stage is image registration. The chosen solution consist of cross-correlating images (using their Fourier transforms) in order to have initial translations for an iterative registration algorithm based on the sum of squared differences of images. In the third stage, images are projected in the coordinate system of the panoramic image using global transformations computed with matrices given by the iterative registration. We use a weighted average of pixel intensities to blend visible borders of images produced in the projection process. Numerical results obtained with a phantom and qualitative results obtained with real sequences show that our automatic approach is robust and allows for a fast construction of panoramic images in a period of time that is shorter than the duration of a clinical cystoscopic examination. Our experiments showed that the registration algorithm can handle geometric transformations that are larger than those existing typically in a video-sequence (90% of superposition between successive images in this case)

O novo contexto do Direito Internacional tem buscado acomodar interesses econômicos às exigências de proteção ambiental, em linha com o desenvolvimento sustentável. Nesse particular, o investimento estrangeiro é elemento-chave e contribui para a aproximação entre Direito Internacional do Investimento Estrangeiro e Direito Internacional Ambiental, tanto em relação à elaboração de normas substantivas quanto aos processos de adjudicação. Embora já existam diversos trabalhos voltados a demonstrar como os investimentos estrangeiros podem contribuir com a preservação ambiental, pouco se tem escrito sobre os aspectos mais práticos dessa interação. Durante muito tempo, o caráter vago e impreciso da redação dos tratados ambientais dificultava sua aplicação às operações dos investidores. Contudo, a crescente consciência de parcela significativa da população mundial sobre a proteção ao meio ambiente está dando vida a cláusulas com conteúdo ambiental até então dormentes. Nesse contexto, o objetivo do presente trabalho é analisar empiricamente qual o tratamento concedido às questões ambientais suscitadas nos casos decididos pelos tribunais do Centro Internacional para Resolução de Disputas de Investimento (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes), o ICSID, no período entre 2000-2013. Para tanto, a pesquisa foi dividida em três partes. A primeira parte é dedicada ao contexto histórico que permitiu a aproximação entre Direito Internacional do Investimento Estrangeiro e do Direito Ambiental Internacional. Na segunda parte o ICSID é apresentado, de modo a compreender sua organização e funcionamento e, principalmente, de que forma as questões ambientais podem ser suscitadas no âmbito das disputas de investimento. E, por fim, os resultados obtidos a partir da pesquisa empírica das decisões proferidas pelos tribunais do ICSID são apresentados, sistematizando os argumentos apresentados pelas partes, bem como aqueles utilizados pelos tribunais ao decidir os litígios de investimento compreendendo a matéria ambiental. / The new context of International Law pursues the accommodation of economic interests to the needs of environmental protection, in line with the sustainable development. To that particular, the foreign investment is a key element and contributes to a closer relation between the Foreign Investment International Law and the Environmental International Law, inasmuch as in relation to the enactment of substantive laws, as towards to enforcement procedures. Although there are several studies aiming at demonstrating how foreign investments may contribute to the environmental protection, few has been written about the most practical aspects of such interaction. For a long time, the vague and imprecise character of the provisions in environmental treaties turn harder their enforcement towards the investment transactions. However, the growth in conscience on environment protection of a substantial portion of the world population has given life to clauses with environmental content that were dormant until recently. In this context, the objective of this study is to make an empiric analysis on the treatment granted to environmental matters raised in cases decided by the tribunals of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the ICSID, in the period between 2000 and 2013. For that, this research is divided in three parts. The first one is dedicated to the historical context that allowed the approximation between Foreign Investment International Law and Environmental International Law. In the second part the ICSID is presented, to allow a better comprehension of its organization and functioning and, mainly, the forms in which environmental matters can be raised within the scope of investment disputes. And, finally, the results obtained with the empiric research on the decisions enacted by the ICSID tribunals are presented, with a systematization of the arguments used by the involved parties, as well as the arguments adopted by the tribunals to decide the investment disputes comprising environmental matters.

O Poder Judiciário brasileiro encontra-se em crise, sendo a excessiva morosidade dos processos seu principal ponto sensível. Diante disso, foram introduzidas alterações normativas destinadas a amenizar o grave cenário existente, como a Emenda Constitucional n. 45/04, que incluiu a razoável duração do processo no rol dos direitos e garantias fundamentais, e a Lei n. 11.232/05, que alterou a estrutura do processo civil de conhecimento e o conceito de sentença. A indigitada reforma processual implicou rompimento com o princípio da unicidade da sentença, possibilitando o fracionamento do julgamento de mérito, por meio de sentenças parciais. O presente estudo verificará as possibilidades e os limites de aplicação dessa técnica processual, bem como proporá solução a problemas surgidos no sistema recursal, o qual não foi adaptado à nova realidade processual existente. A cisão no julgamento do mérito também traz importantes reflexos no momento de formação da coisa julgada material, tema que foi recentemente objeto de análise pelo Superior Tribunal de Justiça. Analisar-se-á o acerto do posicionamento adotado pela jurisprudência, buscando-se alcançar conclusão que tenha o condão de extrair o máximo de efetividade do método estatal de resolução de conflitos. O tema é intrigante, apresentando diversas possibilidades. Não há dúvidas de que do fracionamento do exame do mérito decorrerão dificuldades e dúvidas, as quais devem ser solvidas pelos operadores do direito, em prol de um processo mais efetivo e capaz de produzir os resultados que dele se esperam / The Brazilian Judiciary is in crisis and the excessive length of proceeding isits main sore point. Therefore, legislative amendments were introduced,aiming at alleviating the serious existing scenario, as the Constitutional Amendment 45/04, which included the reasonable duration of the process (speedy trial clause) in the list of fundamental rights and guarantees, and Law 11.232/05, which changed the structure of civil procedure and the concept of sentence. The nominee procedural reform entailed breaking with the principle of unity of the sentence, allowing the fractionation of judgment, through partial sentences. This study will examine the possibilities and limits of application of this technique, and propose solution to problems arising in the appeal system, which was not adapted to the new reality. The split in judging the merit also carries important consequences on the formation of res judicata, a topic that has recently been examined by the Superior Tribunal de Justiça. The correctness of the position adopted by the jurisprudence will be analyzed, seeking to reach a conclusion that has the power to extract the maximum effectiveness of the state method of conflict resolution. The topic is intriguing, presenting several possibilities. There is no doubt that from the partial judgment of merits derives difficulties and doubts, which should be answered by law operators, in favor of a more effective process and capable of producing results that are expected of it.