Includes bibliographical references.

Includes bibliographical references. / According to the decision in Salomon a company is recognised as a legal entity separate and distinct from its shareholders. Although this fundamental rule has had a considerable influence in company law worldwide, it cannot be absolute and, as such, must allow for exceptions where the courts may disregard the separate legal personality of the company. The general rule is that a court will pierce the corporate veil “only where special circumstances exist indicating that it is a mere façade concealing the true facts, so that the separate existence of the company is in some sense being abused or, at least, is not being maintained in the full sense, with the result that separates between the company and its members does not in fact exist. However the courts uniformly exercise significant discretion, and fail to offer a clear standard for veil piercing.”4 Besides company law, this research paper also considers other areas of law where this principle has been applied. These include labour law, criminal (corporate liability) and maritime law.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / South Africa is one of the fastest emerging economies of the world and this rapid economic growth has been largely attributed to the adoption of the King codes and the various corporate governance structures. Against this background, this dissertation will begin by discussing the major changes that have been made from the King II report to the King III report. The driving forces behind this dissertation are contained in chapters three and four as these chapters will seek to ascertain some of the major progresses and challenges that have been scored in the area of corporate governance.

Includes bibliographical references. / With the dawn of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's),1 humanity discovered the pathway to a future which before, only science-fiction movies had contemplated. GMO technology has made it possible to engineer plants, animals and other organisms to bear specific, desired characteristics, by manipulating the genetic structure of the organism in question, making it capable of unprecedented commercial use and humanitarian benefit in the form and manner desired by the genetic engineer. GMO's can possess properties which make them cheaper and easier to produce, or make them capable of specific functions – from rendering consumer products more attractive, to alleviating hunger in desperately poor areas.

Includes bibliographical references. / This dissertation seeks to examine how factors like weak and incoherent mining laws, weak governance, transparency and accountability measures, political influence and negotiating power negatively contribute to the negotiation of EDAs in the mining extractive industry of countries that are rich in mineral resources like Malawi. The analysis of these factors is to provide a better understanding why countries like Malawi enter into EDAs on containing terms and conditions that are against their national interest, which in the cases of these contracts are their social and economic development goals. The conclusion of EDAs by countries that want to further their economic development is not reflected in the terms they agree to. Thus the conclusion of these contracts fails to serve the underlying goal, which is to advance social and economic development.

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Celebrities' prominence in our daily lives cannot be underestimated. It is therefore quite hard to imagine that little has been written about the confluence of celebrity and the law. Celebrity law, particularly the mercantile element thereof, deserves greater attention. Celebrity's freely use their image to make money - these actions must be governed by an established body of law. The law must assist the celebrity in his commercial activities and must offer safety nets for when others unfairly exploit his celebrity brand. The topic will be divided into five points of discussion. First, the commercialisation of the celebrity brand will be discussed. Secondly, we will take a closer look at image rights. Thirdly, the delictual claim of passing off as it pertains to celebrities will be discussed. Fourthly, trade marked celebrities will be considered. And finally our focus will be drawn to the personality right of reputation and how it can be influential for the capitalist celebrity's sake. It is imperative to fully understand the celebrity phenomenon. Through the ages humankind has naturally sought out leaders in an array of fields. We need to grapple with the oddity of this phenomenon to understand the position of these modern societal leaders. The commercialisation of the celebrity brand will be explored. As societal leaders, celebrities are in the remarkable position to utilise their renown for their own benefit. Attention economy is a concept relating to the celebrity's ability to exploit his fame for commercial gain. This theory deals with the association of capital gain with broad-based, far-reaching image recognition. The niceties of attention economy will be explored to offer us insight into the ability of a celebrity to use his fame to make a profit. Attention economy is a theory aligning itself with image rights. Image rights are the commercial sales aspect of the celebrity entity, offering it legal security and a reactionary arsenal.

Includes bibliographical references. / This minor dissertation particularily aims at - inspired by and considering the King Report and after analysing the situation and examining the various possible approaches - providing a contribution to the current social and political debates in Switzerland by issuing five recommendations on how to reform and adapt the (legal) framework in order to curtail and remediate the negative impacts globally active companies potentially have in terms of social, economical and environmental issues (in home and host countries alike) without curtailing the positive effects companies inarguably have and without immoderatly jeopardising the country’s vital competitivness.

This dissertation examines the current system of taxation that is imposed in South Africa on the death of a taxpayer. The main focus of the research, among others, is on the issues associated with a taxpayer having to pay both estate duty and capital gains tax upon his or her death, resulting in a form of 'double taxation', and whether a different system of taxation should be implemented in South Africa. The two main taxes imposed on death in South Africa are studied and arguments for and against the imposition of death taxes are considered. In order to determine what the most fair and reasonable tax system for South Africa would be, various taxation models of other jurisdictions are examined, namely those followed by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, India, Botswana and the Netherlands. Suggested alternatives and their suitability are identified, such as the possibilities of retaining estate duty and 'forgiving' capital gains tax on death (as is done in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India and Botswana); abolishing estate duty and imposing only capital gains tax on death (a system followed by Canada); replacing estate duty with an inheritance tax (like in the Netherlands) or retaining the current system in place. Ultimately, it is decided that South Africa should not abolish estate duty or rely solely on capital gains tax or implement a system of inheritance tax. Instead, we should retain the current system as there are already concessions provided by the legislature which aid the majority of South Africans and guard against unfair results occurring in the winding up of their estates. A suitable alternative would be to rely only on capital gains tax, but any amendments would result in major changes to current legislation. Furthermore, it is important to first ascertain whether relevant stakeholders, such as the South African Revenue Service or the Master of the High Court, would have the necessary resources, capacity and time to train staff, educate taxpayers and update their current systems in order to successfully implement these changes and efficiently process deceased estates.

This dissertation examines the developing countries participation and usage of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement system. Although the World Trade Organization provides equal rights and obligation to enter into the dispute settlement process for all member countries, the litigation process is complex and costly for developing countries. There are various limitations for developing country participation when they want to use the dispute settlement mechanism and this dissertation mainly discusses the lack of legal and financial means of developing countries. In this regard, this dissertation examines possible solution which could increase developing country participation in the dispute settlement mechanism. These alternative resolutions may address the problem of the participation of developing countries in the dispute settlement system and it also try to develop a more effective working dispute settlement mechanism for developing countries. Therefore, World Trade Organization system could propose significant reforms in the Dispute Settlement Body which encourage developing country participation.