Filing and settling of claims in insolvency proceedings Abstract The aim of the thesis was to provide a comprehensive picture of the two mutually interconnected topics: (i) classification of claims from the perspective of insolvency proceedings and (ii) filing and settling of claims in insolvency proceedings. Bankruptcy has always accompanied human societies from its very beginnings when people began to exchange goods and provide services. The importance of regulation of bankruptcy is even up with growing trade exchange. The matter stays in focus of lawyers in Czech Republic because the related case law is constantly evolving, which provides the legislator with useful inputs for amendments of the statute law. The source of the amendments of the statute law is also a change in social conditions and recent public policy efforts to make debt releaf and exemption from remaining debts admissible for poor debtors. The 1st part of the thesis is a theoretical introduction focused on the nature of insolvency proceedings (including comparison with general individual civil proceedings), subjects in insolvency proceedings and legal principles governing this procedure. In the 2nd part, I analyzed the classification of claims as the insolvency statute law distinguish them, especially with regards to determination of the...

Cette thèse cherche à rendre compte des réponses que les Aborigènes Noongars du sud-ouest de l’Australie Occidentale déploient face aux discours sur la « tradition » et la « modernité » qui sont construits au sein des institutions et par les acteurs de l’État avec lesquels ils interagissent et auxquels ils sont tour à tour confrontés. L’étude de ces discours, des conditions de leur production et de leurs effets permet d’envisager les concepts de « tradition » et de « modernité » comme des moyens d’action et des techniques sociales mobilisés pour éliminer la différence culturelle dans la mise en œuvre d’un « devenir commun ».L’État australien produit ses propres définitions antagonistes de la « tradition » et de la « modernité », catégories pensées comme étant mutuellement exclusives. Dans certains contextes, il est attendu des Noongars d’être « traditionnels », alors que dans d’autres ils doivent se montrer « modernes ». Les Noongars se trouvent ainsi pris dans une contradiction : ils tendent vers la « modernité » pour rester « traditionnels » et, inversement, ils sont maintenus dans leurs « traditions » lorsqu’ils doivent faire preuve de « modernité ». Dans leurs diverses tentatives de s’intégrer à la nation australienne tout en conservant leurs spécificités, les Noongars redéfinissent leur « identité culturelle ». Pour cela, ils s’approprient, contestent et négocient l’image de l’Aboriginalité qui leur est présentée et se façonnent une identité contemporaine propre, sans pour autant s’opposer radicalement au mythe national de l’Aboriginalité.En analysant les divers processus par lesquels les Aborigènes Noongars revendiquent leur reconnaissance et tentent d’acquérir un degré de souveraineté au sein d’un État-nation, cette thèse enrichit les réflexions sur l’autochtonie en tant que catégorie politique et contingente. Il s’agit d’aborder les questions autochtones comme des réalités discursives devant être analysées dans les contextes ethnographiques particuliers où elles sont produites et articulées. / This thesis seeks to account for the responses that the Noongar Aborigines from the South West of Western Australia display to the discourses of "tradition" and "modernity" that are built within institutions and by state actors, with whom they interact and to which they are in turn confronted. The study of these discourses, the conditions of their production and their effects makes it possible to consider the concepts of “tradition” and “modernity” as means of action and social techniques mobilised to eliminate cultural difference in the implementation of a “common becoming”.The Australian state produces its own antagonistic definitions of “tradition” and “modernity”, categories thought to be mutually exclusive. In some contexts, Noongars are expected to be “traditional”, while in others they must be “modern”. The Noongars are thus caught in a contradiction: they tend towards “modernity” to remain “traditional” and, conversely, they are kept in their “traditions” when they have to show “modernity”. In their various attempts to integrate into the Australian nation, while retaining their specificities, the Noongars are redefining their “cultural identity”. For this, they appropriate, challenge, negotiate the image of the Aboriginality presented to them and shape their own contemporary identity, without radically opposing the national myth of Aboriginality.By analysing the various processes by which the Noongar Aborigines claim their recognition and attempt to acquire a degree of sovereignty within a nation-state, this thesis enriches reflections on Indigeneity as a political and contingent category. It is about addressing indigenous issues as discursive realities that need to be analysed in the particular ethnographic contexts in which they are produced and articulated.

In this thesis are extreme value theory used to estimate the probability that large insuranceclaims are exceeding a certain threshold. The expected claim size, given that the claimhas exceeded a certain limit, are also estimated. Two different models are used for thispurpose. The first model is based on maximum domain of attraction conditions. A Paretodistribution is used in the other model. Different graphical tools are used to check thevalidity for both models. Länsförsäkring Kronoberg has provided us with insurance datato perform the study.Conclusions, which have been drawn, are that both models seem to be valid and theresults from both models are essential equal. / I detta arbete används extremvärdesteori för att uppskatta sannolikheten att stora försäkringsskadoröverträffar en vis nivå. Även den förväntade storleken på skadan, givetatt skadan överstiger ett visst belopp, uppskattas. Två olika modeller används. Den förstamodellen bygger på antagandet att underliggande slumpvariabler tillhör maximat aven extremvärdesfördelning. I den andra modellen används en Pareto fördelning. Olikagrafiska verktyg används för att besluta om modellernas giltighet. För att kunna genomförastudien har Länsförsäkring Kronoberg ställt upp med försäkringsdata.Slutsatser som dras är att båda modellerna verkar vara giltiga och att resultaten ärlikvärdiga.

Internet involves possibilities for public debate and civic participation in democratic life. Space is provided on the World Wide Web for new communities and public discussions, both with and without explicit political intentions. The starting point of this study is that online discussions in everyday life, political or not, contribute to the reproduction of democratic and civic culture. The aim of the study is to analyze whether an un-political discussion forum in everyday life can be described as a public sphere and the discussion on hockey as communicative, democratic and deliberative. The data consists of contributions to the discussion from three seasons, 1999–2002, of the Swedish National Hockey League. The final sample, 3993 contributions posted during totally 149 days, have been undergone a content analysis. The results show that the discussion is open to anyone but dominated by one group of supporters and this status affect the discussion in several ways. The forum can be considered a public sphere principally because new areas and perspectives are continuously discussed. The participants cope well with language, truth and truthfulness but normative conflicts sometimes strongly challenge understanding. Yet communicative action is frequent enough to guarantee the survival of the discussion. The overarching character of the discussion is, due to its inequality, ordered structure and media dependency, a problem-solving democratic dialogue. Furthermore it is deliberative in several respects. Compared with political discussions on Usenet and America Online, the hockey supporters seek information and use arguments to a lower degree. On the other hand they interact much more frequent, incorporating and reflecting upon other contributions, and are much less homogeneous in their opinions than political debaters are. The conclusion is that an un-political discussion in the cultural public sphere shows even more deliberative merits than discussions in the political public sphere. In addition, by publishing new subject matters and perspectives and being a problem-solving dialogue with a potential for communicative action, the discussion is a soil for reproduction of civic and democratic culture for far more tangible reasons than just being an association of people in every day life, supposed to produce the more indeterminable qualities solidarity and social capital

This thesis analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of various types of eco-labels, focusing primarily on differences between mandatory and voluntary eco-labeling programs. I argue that many of the problems with eco-labeling could be addressed by improving regulations. The current regulation of eco-labeling in the United States is discussed, especially the shortcomings of the FTC’s Green Guides. I recommend creating enforceable national legislation to regulate environmental claims that includes involvement of key stakeholders, a list of acceptable environmental claims, enforceable national definitions of environmental terms, an avenue for manufacturers and consumers to challenge environmental claims, consumer education, and periodic review and revision.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is in the discourse of international development,which is often considered as the key to socio- economic development in the sense that it helps tosolve social problems and increases the rate of economic growth. ICT policies are situated in thiscontext. Many international agencies advocate certain policies in order to accelerate economicgrowth and development in so-called developing countries. In 2009, Bangladesh enacted itsNational ICT Policy setting a broad vision to establish a transparent, responsive and accountablegovernment; developed skilled human resources; and to enhance social equity through anextended use of ICT. Following this vision multiple objectives have been addressed where socialequity and integrity are prioritized in the name of developing a socially equitable and integratedsociety through ICT. The research task of this work is to analyze the discourse of this strategyand to compare it to social reality. The ‘Theory of Communicative Action’ (TCA), which isbased on the four validity claims - truth, legitimacy, sincerity, and clarity - is used to demonstratehow social equity and integrity are addressed as objectives and what claims are made in theaction items with regard to these two objectives and how far such claims reflect social reality.Keywords:Information Communication Technology (ICT), National ICT Policy, Social Equity, Integrity,Communicative Action Theory, Critical Discourse Analysis, Validity Claims, ICT4D, CriticalTheory, Critical Information Systems research.

An in depth study of the pricing of Game contingent claims under a general diffusion market model, in which interest rate is non constant, is presented. With the idea of providing a few numerical examples of the valuation of such claims, we present a detailed description of a Bootstrapping procedure to obtain interest rate information from Swaps rates. We also present a Stripping procedure that can be used to obtain initial spot (caplet) volatility from Market quotes on Caps/FLoors. These methods are of general application and could be used in the calibration of diffusion models of interest rate. Then we show several examples of calibration of the Hull--White model of interest rates. Our calibration examples are later used in the numerical approximation of the value of a particular form of Game option.

In British Columbia, fifty-one First Nations have filed Statements of Intent signifying their interest in negotiating a treaty with Canada and the Province of British Columbia since the establishment of the British Columbia Treaty Commission in 1993. Twenty-seven of these First Nations participants claim ocean spaces within their traditional territories. Academic research and writing over the last decade has focussed on Aboriginal title to land, with little, if any reference, to ocean spaces. The concept of Aboriginal title was recently recognized by the courts in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia. My research will explore what information and legal principles could be utilized to recognize Aboriginal title to ocean spaces within the Canadian legal context, and therefore provide some bases for First Nations in substantiating their claims. My analysis will begin with a review of international law principles surrounding title to and jurisdiction over ocean spaces. Following which, I will delineate the sources available for recognizing such a theory, starting with a review of the concepts of Aboriginal title as determined in Delgamuukw and their applicability to ocean spaces. Delgamuukw has affirmed Aboriginal perspectives are an integral part of the investigation of Aboriginal title, and voices of members of two particular First Nations being the Haida Nation and the Tsawwassen First Nation, with whom I visited, will be included. Rounding out the sources will be a review of comparative legal concepts drawn from the United States and Australian experiences, and the principles espoused within international human rights materials. Having established the avenues for recognition of this concept, I then turn to discussion of its reconciliation within the Canadian legal context by reviewing theories of co-management and examining a number of settlement instruments that have yielded some degree of reconciliation between the federal government and the particular First Nation or Province involved. Comments from First Nations in respect of the obstacles that hold back reconciliation will be noted. In conclusion, my research will deduce Aboriginal title to ocean spaces is a viable legal concept in Canada, and First Nations have the resources necessary to substantiate their claims. Comments about the possibilities that may result at the treaty table or in the courts upon recognition of this concept will also be discussed. This analysis is timely and important as many First Nations are nearing the stage of the treaty process where discussions will be directed towards what territories these First Nations groups will retain and what ownership, jurisdiction and rights they will enjoy as to ocean spaces and resources. Such issues directly relate to the continued way of life, culture, and sustainable economic growth and stability of First Nation communities into the twenty-first century.

International law today is a discipline rife with dissensions. This is largely because international law has meant different things to different generations of scholars and nation-states. In 1996 a United States circuit court in Atlanta affirmed a civil judgment against an Ethiopian defendant in an action initiated by Ethiopian citizens for violations of that country’s law and international law. But about a decade earlier in 1984 another appeal court denied to enforce claims against Libyan and Palestinian defendants under international law because according to the court, international law is dedicated exclusively to the relationship between independent states and not their citizens. Although such different interpretations may appear startling, over the previous centuries, courts have eschewed one view while embracing the other. It is thus imperative to examine what constitutes international law or under what authority a U.S. court could challenge another state’s treatment of its own citizens, in its own land, under its own laws. The Judiciary Act of 1789 which created the Alien Tort Statute, a relatively obscure piece of legislation is at the center of these actions. But what was the original intent of the Alien Tort Statute? Is it possible to reconstruct the meaning of that statute? To answer these questions, this dissertation critically interrogated the meaning of international law and the law of nations as it existed at the time of the founding of the United States. What was called the law of nations and subsequently international law revealed multiple meanings. In unpacking the history of the Alien Tort Statute, this dissonance was reflected in the conflicts which assailed the discipline. This dissertation therefore reproduces the dissensions as it analyzes and reconstructs a hitherto unexplored front in this debacle: lawsuits filed by some Africans in the United States under the Alien Tort Statute against their leaders and corporations for egregious human rights violations in Africa. In the end therefore, the issue becomes, can justice and reparations be achieved in United States courts for human rights violations committed in Africa?

In this thesis, the discrete time risk model with inhomogeneous claims is considered. This model is used for describing the insurer‘s capital and its components: initial capital, premiums received, and claims paid. The main risk measures, ruin probabilities and Gerber-Shiu function, are investigated and recursive formulas are obtained. These formulas give fast and accurate evaluation of the finite time ruin probabilities and Gerber-Shiu function. However, the infinite time investigations require that the Gerber-Shiu function's values for the initial capital equal to 0 must be known. This is slightly more difficult due to the claim inhomogeneity and for this reason a theorem with explicit expression of the infinite time Gerber-Shiu function for a zero initial capital is proposed. However, for the calculation of the infinite time values, some assumption about underlying claim structure must be made. As a solution the cyclically distributed claims are proposed, the algorithms for application of the theorems are given and numerical examples with graphical output are presented. Finally, a special case of discrete time risk model with inhomogeneous claims distributed according geometric law is investigated. In addition to the main results, another discrete time risk model with inhomogeneous claims acquiring rational values is investigated. Two theorems for evaluation of the finite time ruin probabilities are proved and some examples are presented. / Disertaciniame darbe nagrinėjamas diskretaus laiko rizikos modelis su skirtingai pasiskirsčiusiomis žalomis. Šis modelis aprašo draudimo įmonės turtą įtakojančius veiksnius: pradinį kapitalą, gaunamas įmokas, išmokamas žalas. Išvedamos rekursinės formulės, kurių pagalba galima tiksliai ir greitai rasti baigtinio laiko bankroto tikimybių ir Gerber-Shiu funkcijos vertes. Rekursinės formulės taip pat pateikiamos ir begalinio laiko rizikos matams, tačiau nevienodai pasiskirsčiusių žalų atveju iškyla papildomų sunkumų randant bankroto tikimybę ir Gerber-Shiu funkciją, kai pradinis kapitalas lygus 0. Tam įrodoma atskira teorema, tačiau nedarant jokių prielaidų apie žalų pasiskirstymus, apskaičiuoti vertes lengva tikrai nėra. Kaip išeitis pasiūloma cikliškai pasiskirsčiusių žalų struktūra ir pateikiami algoritmai, leidžiantys teoremas pritaikyti praktiškai. Demonstruojant teoremų ir rekursinių formulių veikimą, pateikiami skaitiniai pavyzdžiai su grafinėmis iliustracijomis bei programų kodai. Galiausiai nagrinėjamas atskiras diskretaus laiko rizikos modelio atvejis, kai žalos pasiskirsčiusios skirtingai pagal geometrinį dėsnį. Disertacijoje taip pat yra nagrinėjamas diskretaus laiko rizikos modelis su skirtingai pasiskirsčiusiomis žalomis, kurios įgyja racionalias reikšmes, bei kintančiomis įmokomis ir pradiniu kapitalu, taip pat įgyjančiais racionalias reikšmes su tam tikra sąlyga. Įrodomos dvi teoremos kaip rasti tokio modelio baigtinio laiko bankroto tikimybę ir keli... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]