LL.D. / Powers are granted to local authorities in South Africa by way of the specification of each power in the empowering legislation. The possibility has been mooted to change this way of empowerment to a specification of powers, combined with an additional general grant of powers to the effect that local authorities be authorized to do anything which may be required in order to perform their functions. Such a general form of authorization is in accordance with the situation in France and other continental systems as well as the majority of the federal states comprising the United States of America...

For several years, the literature has discussed whether a country’s particular economic circumstances should be taken into account in competition law and policy design. This thesis discusses whether economic growth should be considered as the guiding principle for Latin American Emerging Economies’ competition law and policy design. It specifically explains why having economic growth as competition policy’s guiding principle makes a difference in choosing superior rules and standards, among the large range of efficient rules. In order to explain how economic growth as a guiding principle has an impact on competition policy design, this thesis studies whether the analysis and application of the prohibitions and standards of abuse of dominance in emerging Latin American economies are appropriate, and why, having regard to economic growth, a different approach might be justified. To engage in the study of such questions this thesis centres on the regulation of dominance and the law governing abuse of dominance, in particular on predatory pricing and excessive pricing. After a careful analysis of such institutions, an optimal rule for the regulation of pricing abuses in these emerging economies is proposed. Similarly, having regard to economic growth as the policy’s guiding principle, the mainstream standards on excessive pricing and price predation are evaluated and a different approach is found to be justified. It is concluded that economic growth should be the principle guiding Latin American emerging economies’ competition law and policy design and it is demonstrated that this will grant these economies policy soundness and identity.

The impressive growth of antidiscrimination law in liberal democracies in the past few decades belies the inadequacy of the normative bases on which it has been sought to be justified. Popular ideals such as rationality, equality and dignity have been unsuccessful in providing a coherent liberal framework for the fundamental aspects of the practice of antidiscrimination law. In this thesis, I have argued that a unified normative framework comprising autonomy and dignity-as-autonomy does a markedly better job of justifying the most fundamental aspects of these laws. The ideal of personal autonomy is understood here as a principle that seeks to guarantee an adequate range of valuable options to individuals. Dignity-as-autonomy is understood to be an expressive norm, which forbids certain persons from expressing contempt for the autonomy of another. These ideals have different forms: autonomy is a non-action-regarding principle, while dignity-as-autonomy is action-regarding. They are also distinct substantively: it is often possible to violate one of them without affecting the other. When these ideals make incompatible demands, I argue that those made by autonomy should prevail. Mandating positive action and reasonable accommodation on the one hand, and prohibiting indirect discrimination and harassment on the other, are essential features of a model of antidiscrimination law based on this framework. Further, under this framework, antidiscrimination law is not vulnerable to objections such as ‘levelling down’ and responds well to claims of discrimination on ‘intersectional grounds’. Furthermore, it is not essential to find an ‘appropriate comparator’ in order to prove discrimination. This model also explains when, and under what conditions, can some forms of discrimination be ‘justified’. Finally, on an autonomy-based model, antidiscrimination law is only one of several complementary tools that should be employed to protect and promote personal autonomy.

This thesis looks into the law and policy implications of law-making within the EU in pursuit of the internal market, while protecting other interests such as those of consumers. The discussion concentrates in the field of services addressed to consumers and more specifically in harmonising at EU level the national liability rules governing their defective supply. This case study is developed on the following strands. Firstly, the withdrawal of the European Commission’s ‘Proposal for a Council Directive on the liability of suppliers of services’ [COM (90) 482 final] is examined from the following aspects: a) the political reactions which have preceded its withdrawal, b) its compliance with the constitutional principles governing the legislative process at EU level and c) the assessment of the substantive regime which it purported to establish. Secondly, having regard to a) the aftermath of the Proposal’s failure, b) the evolution of the constitutional debate concerning the existence, the nature and the exercise of EU competence to set harmonised rules and c) the law-making standards which the Union’s Institutions have set to self-restrict their regulatory power, the perspective of harmonising the liability of suppliers of services to consumers is further explored. Drawing on this case-study, this thesis examines the limits to EU law- making activity which are imposed by primary European law and also considers the policy standards which the EU has set for itself in engaging in its law-making commitments. This examination allows in turn the pursuit of broader reflections I about the law and policy factors which become crucial and deserve particular attention by the EU lawmaker when harmonising national rules governing market transactions – such as the liability for the supply of defective services – with a view to attaining and managing the internal market along with protecting other interests recognised at EU level, such as those of consumers.

This thesis explores the roles played by implied constitutional principles in fundamental rights cases in the common law jurisdictions of Canada, Australia, the Commonwealth Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. The two principles selected for this research are the separation of powers and the rule of law, both of which are relied upon in courts in common law states. The thesis examines the types of cases in which such principles are used, the possible reasons for the appeal of these principles, and the functions that they play in fundamental rights adjudication. The thesis begins with a brief discussion of the applications of the rule of law and the separation of powers, outlining the content of these principles as applied by the courts. However, the bulk of the analysis throughout the thesis is concerned with a thematic study of the functions played by the principles. It is argued that the principles are used as interpretative aids, as independent grounds for invalidating legislation, and as gateways to comparative legal analysis. The thesis ends by showing the necessary preliminary work that must be undertaken in order to engage in a thorough normative analysis of the use of implied principles in rights adjudication. Throughout the thesis, several themes are identified as key to our understanding of the functions played by implied principles in the cases discussed. One such theme is legitimization, specifically the role the principles play in the attempt to legitimize arguments, state institutions (particularly the courts), and the state itself. The theme of institutional self-protection also arises; it is evident in the use of principles to protect the jurisdictional sphere of the courts. The analysis of the operation of implied constitutional principles also highlights the legacy of Empire and the deployment of traditional principles to signal the maintenance of democratic traditions and institutions.

Le droit français des procédures collectives a connu pas mal de modifications ces dernières années. La profession d’administrateur judiciaire pour sa part, n'a également pas cessé d’évoluer avec des succès et des échecs qui ont attiré notre attention. Il s’agit d'examiner cette évolution pour la modernisation de la profession dans le contexte actuel de la mondialisation. En droit chinois il n’existait pas une vraie loi sur les procédures collectives au sens strict avant la publication de la nouvelle loi du 27 août 2006 sur la faillite d’entreprises. Par rapport à l’ancienne loi de 1986, la nouvelle loi adoptée après 12 ans d’élaboration, est venue apporter des changements importants et constitue un effort majeur pour constituer un système juridique correspondant au développement vers une économie de marché. Parmi de nouveaux régimes établis par la nouvelle loi 2006, nous notons que la mise en place du régime d’administrateur de faillite est un des plus remarquables. Toutefois étant un régime établi dans le droit de la faillite, qui lui- même est apparu assez récemment, le dispositif ne peut que fournir un cadre juridique pour l’administrateur de faillite. Pour autant, la recherche sur l’administrateur de faillite, s’investissant d’un rôle très important, dans les procédures collectives chinoises est sans aucun doute un sujet nécessaire et urgent. Espérant pouvoir faire progresser le régime chinois d’administrateur judiciaire vers une profession libérale juridique en s'inspirant de l’expérience française, nous traitons successivement la nature juridique de l’administrateur judiciaire du point de vue historique et de droit positif, les conditions d’accès aux fonctions d’administrateur judiciaire, ainsi que sa rémunération, ses fonctions, et sa responsabilité en droit français et en droit chinois. / In the last years, the French and Chinese Bankruptcy law has been quite changed. So has the profession of « Judicial administrators » (administrateurs judiciaires), with more or less success. Both the successes and failures of these changements have drawn our attention. Our scope is to analyse the evolution of this profession in the perspective of its modernisation in the today's context of a global economy. There was no specific Chinese Bankruptcy law until the publication of the new law of August 27th 2006 on Enterprise Bankruptcy. The new law which has been prepared for 12 years has brought some remarkable improvements to the existing law of 1986 and has been a major effort to build up a complete legal system in line with the modern open market economy. One of the most remarkable features of the new 2006 law has been the implementation of the « Judicial administrators » profession. Nevertheless, the « Judicial administrators » profession, who was established within the Bankruptcy Law, which has itself been defined quite recently, must only be considered but as an initial framework for the profession. Yet, as the « Judicial administrators » plays an important role in the Bankruptcy Law, making research on this subject appears to be both necessary and urgent. Our hope is to help transforming the « Judicial administrators » profession into a « liberal profession », similarly to their equivalents in the French system. We therefore analyse successively the juridical nature of the profession, from an historical point of view and in the perspective of the « effective law » (droit positif), the access conditions to this profession, its remuneration, the involved functions and responsibilities in both the French and Chinese law.

strana 259 Unjustified Enrichment in the Comparative Perspective Abstract The aim of the thesis is the legal research of important results concerning unjustified en- richment that have been attained in foreign jurisprudence and judicial opinions, especially within the German legal family, and their comparative application to all provisions of the New Czech Civil Code ("NCC") regulating unjustified enrichment, including their rela- tion to other parts of civil law. The thesis thus draws extensively from Austrian and Ger- man jurisprudence and case law, from the Draft Common Frame of Reference, from Swiss law and from comparative literature; further legal orders are also mentioned and a refined translation of relevant foreign provisions is included in the appendix. The thesis does not include a mere description, but rather follows the interests of Czech law and aims to make a contribution to Czech jurisprudence and application the of law. Accord- ingly, the thesis is also founded on complete research of the Czech Supreme Court case law made in and after 2010. The thesis comes to a number of conclusions (summarized in the itemized resumé) which may be deemed for original from the point of view of the Czech legal discourse. These conclusions corroborate the hypothesis that the Czech law of unjustified...

La consécration de la notion juridique de couple par la loi du 15 novembre 1999 a permis la reconnaissance de nouvelles formes de conjugalité au sein du Code civil. À la famille légitime autrefois valorisée par le Code napoléon succède une famille constituée d’un couple, marié ou non, de sexe différent ou de même sexe. Si la reconnaissance de l’autonomie de la notion de couple émanait d’une volonté d’adaptation du droit aux faits et nouvelles valeurs de la société, la reconnaissance par le législateur en 2013 du mariage entre personnes de même sexe atteste d’un processus en cours de dématrimonialisation du droit de la famille. Il a semblé utile de mettre en perspective l’évolution qu’a connu le droit français en la matière. À cet égard, l’approche comparée permet de révéler les contradictions et les atouts des conceptions renouvelées du couple et de la famille. Surtout, elle permet d’ouvrir sur une autre manière de concevoir les rapports familiaux, particulièrement au sein du système juridique marocain qui connaît nombre de transformations sociales. L’attention n’a que trop été portée sur les divergences entre les systèmes juridiques occidentaux et les systèmes d’inspiration islamique en matière familiale, sans s’intéresser à leurs causes profondes. Une telle attitude éloigne de la démarche comparative et favorise une réception à sens unique d’un système juridique par l’autre. Le choix du Maroc comme pays de comparaison n’est pas fortuit. Ce dernier a procédé en 2004 à la réforme du droit de la famille en portant une attention particulière à l’exigence d’égalité. Tout le défi pour le législateur est de nouer avec la modernité en adaptant le droit aux évolutions de la société, dans le respect du fondement du système politique et social : l’Islam. L’étude des droits de la famille des deux systèmes juridiques n’a pas pour objet leur rapprochement car les réponses apportées à la question familiale ne sont pas les mêmes. Pour autant, l’individu demeure au cœur de la réflexion, et le droit est appelé à assurer sa fonction classique d’organisation de la société. Il s’agit davantage, dans ce travail, de construire un pont pour favoriser une communicabilité entre deux systèmes juridiques différents. / The consecration of the legal notion of couple by the law of November 15th, 1999 allowed the recognition of new forms of conjugality within the Civil code. To the legitimate family formerly valued by the Napoleonic code succeeds a family constituted by a couple, married or not, by a different or same-sex sex. If the recognition of the autonomy of the notion ofcouple emanated from a will of adaptation of the law to the facts and the new values of the society, the recognition by the legislator in 2013 of the marriage between same-sex people attest of an ongoing process of dematrimonialization of the family law. It seemed useful to put in perspective the evolution which knew the French law on the subject. In this respect,the compared approach reveals the contradictions and the assets of the conceptions renewed of the couple and the family.Especially, she allows to open on another way of conceiving the family relationships, particularly within the Moroccan legal system which knows number of social transformations. The attention had too much concerned the differencesbetween the western legal systems and the systems of Islamic inspiration in family subject, without being interested in their underlying causes. Such an attitude takes away from the comparative approach and encourages a one-way reception of a legal system by the other one. The choice of Morocco as country of comparison is not fortuitous. The latter proceeded in 2004 to the reform of the family law by paying a particular attention on the requirement of equality. All the challenge for the legislator is to set with the modernity by adapting the right to the evolutions of the society, in the respect for the foundation of the political and social system: the Islam. The study of the rights of the family of both legal systems has not for object their rapprochement, because the answers brought to the family question are not the same. However, the individual remains at the heart of the reflexion, and the rule of law is called to assure its classic function of organization of the society. It is more a question, in this work, of building a bridge to favor a communicability betweentwo different legal systems.

A presente dissertação versa a teoria geral da determinação da lei aplicável no Direito Internacional Privado, sob a ótica de parâmetros cosmopolitas colhidos em outras ciências humanas, em perspectiva interdisciplinar. Analisam-se vários estudos recentes sobre o cosmopolitismo, bem como suas origens remotas, de modo a propor possíveis relações do tema com o método conflitual do Direito Internacional Privado. No capítulo I, empreende-se estudo histórico, retornando às origens do cosmopolitismo (filosofias grega e romana), passando pelo cosmopolitismo de Kant, no séc. XVIII, para então, finalmente, examinar os cosmopolitismos contemporâneos. Quanto a estes, procede-se à uma taxionomia e se exploram algumas proposições teóricas de especial utilidade para a determinação da lei aplicável. No capítulo II, busca-se transpor o cosmopolitismo do plano das demais ciências humanas para o plano da teoria jurídica em particular. Analisa-se, primeiro, o que implica a ideia de cosmopolitização do direito e, após, a relação entre o cosmopolitismo e o Direito Internacional Privado em específico. Dá-se especial atenção à aplicação da ideia de justiça cosmopolita no contexto da determinação da lei aplicável. No capítulo III, trata-se dos três grandes métodos de determinação da lei aplicável (multilateralismo, unilateralismo e materialismo), em perspectivas histórica e crítica. Conclui-se que a adoção do multilateralismo enquanto estrutura principal de determinação da lei aplicável, flexibilizado pelo princípio da proximidade, atende mais à imparcialidade cosmopolita que os outros dois métodos. No capítulo IV, propõe-se uma visão cosmopolita do princípio da ordem pública, concentrando-se em duas importantes evoluções teóricas mais recentes: as noções de ordem pública de proximidade e de ordem pública verdadeiramente internacional. Procede-se, ademais, a exame crítico da aplicação da exceção da ordem pública, no que se refere à lei aplicável, na jurisprudência brasileira recente. Ao fim do estudo, as principais conclusões são enumeradas. / This dissertation addresses international choice of law, through the lens of cosmopolitan standards collected from other humanities, undertaking an interdisciplinary approach. Many recent studies on cosmopolitanism are examined, as well as its remote origins, so as to propose links between choice of law and cosmopolitanism. In chapter I, a historical study is undertaken, going back to the origins of cosmopolitanism (Greek and Roman philosophers), dealing moreover with Kants cosmopolitanism (18th century) and contemporary cosmopolitanisms. Accordingly, a division into categories is proposed and some theoretical notions of special importance to choice of law are tackled. In chapter II, cosmopolitan concepts are applied to legal theory. First, consequences are drawn from the idea of cosmopolitanizing law. Afterwards, the relation between Conflict of Laws and cosmopolitanism is addressed. The focus is on the application of the idea of cosmopolitan justice to choice of law. In chapter III, the three existing choice of law methods are addressed (multilateralism, unilateralism and substantialism), historically and critically. It is concluded that the adoption of multilateralism as a general framework, flexibilized by the principe de proximité, is a better option in terms of cosmopolitan impartiality than the other two methods. In chapter IV, a cosmopolitan vision of public policy is proposed, focusing upon two important theories recently conceived: the notions of ordre public de proximité and of truly international public policy. Also, a critical address of the recent application of the public policy exception by Brazilian courts (within the choice of law context) is made. At the end, the main conclusions are enumerated.

Le traitement juridique de la procréation est volontiers présenté, en France et en Allemagne, comme servant à limiter les dérives, à garantir les valeurs fondatrices de la société tout en assurant la protection du corps humain, de la personne et de la dignité humaine. Cet encadrement apparaît comme nécessaire pour lutter contre les abus que la consécration d’une liberté procréative rendrait possibles. Mais est-ce réellement le principe de protection de la vie et de la personne qui constitue le paradigme principal du droit de la procréation ? En prenant notamment pour cadrage théorique les réflexions de Michel Foucault et de Giorgi Agamben sur la biopolitique, il apparaît que ce n’est pas la protection de la vie biologique, zoe, la vie nue, c'est-à-dire le seul fait de vivre, commun à toutes les espèces vivantes, que l’État entend protéger mais seulement certaines de ces formes : la vie bonne - c'est-à-dire la vie bonne, celle qui est axiologiquement et politiquement significative. Les diverses réglementations du champ procréatif - contraception, avortement, procréation médicalement assistée et gestation pour autrui - entendent mettre en œuvre des processus de normalisation de la vie, particulièrement visibles en ce qui concerne la famille et le handicap physique et mental. / How Law addresses procreation is often presented, both in France and Germany, as a way to limit abuses, to guarantee founding values of the society while ensuring at the same time the protection of the human body, the human person and its personal dignity.This legal framework seems to be necessary to prevent any abuse that may arise from procreative freedoms’ enshrinement.The question is thus the following : Is this principle of protection really constitutive of the main paradigm of reproductive rights ? Is the protection of life and of the human person the base of this paradigm ? Taking Michel Foucault’s and Giorgi Agamben’s work on biopolitic as a theoretical frame, it seems that the State does not intend to protect zoe (biological life), the « bare life », i.e. the simple fact of living, encompassing all living species.It appears that the State aims to only protect some forms of life : the « good » life, i.e. the life which is meaningful both axiologically and politically.Via various regulations on procreation - birth control, abortion, medically-assisted procreation or surrogate motherhood - the State implement processes that lead to normalize the life per se. These processus are especially visible when relate to the family as well as physical or mental disability.