Shareholder protection has been a focal point of the Greek legislator's agenda for years. Despite a series of reforms towards the direction of shareholder empowerment, the adequacy of the existing framework remains questionable. The thesis conveys the argument that the remedies for maladministration under Greek company law remain dysfunctional and need to be reformed in order to establish an effective and competitive legal framework for shareholder protection. It is argued that such initiatives are important in order to boost investor confidence and provide an effective monitoring mechanism of corporate governance. In order to assess whether and to what extent the Greek shareholder law attains these objectives, it is examined on a comparative basis with jurisdictions which recently reformed their shareholder law; namely the United Kingdom and Germany. The thesis analyses the imperfections of Greek law. The latter is devoid of a genuine derivative action and the existing functionally equivalent mechanism is unsuitable to overcome the challenges of shareholder litigation. The relevant law is exclusionary and rather biased against individual shareholders. It deters meritorious litigation and does little to ensure that proceedings do not run contrary to the company’s interests. Much of corporate misfeasance escapes the scope and content of the existing provisions and, effectively, corporate wrongdoing is left uncompensated for and undeterred. Furthermore, the broader legal framework cannot compensate for the absence of an appropriate mechanism to enforce directors’ duties and pursue corporate claims via shareholder-initiated litigation. However, the examination of the strategies followed by the UK and Germany provides useful insights for the way forward. The rationale for and the experience from the recently introduced provisions thereto are invaluable in the thesis’ attempt to construct and propose a modern and functioning model of derivative actions for Greece.

This thesis addresses the question whether there is a basis for active assisted dying to fall within the protection of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). With desperate individuals addressing the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in order to be granted a right to die, but being denied it, the right to life is turned into a de facto duty to live. An evaluation of the concepts of dignity and autonomy will highlight the need for a right to die, to counterbalance the right to life. Seeing dignity as a subjective element means that a dignified life can only be evaluated by the person living it. If therefore a dignified death is believed to be one brought about with assistance before natural death would occur, this should not be dismissed based on a general idea of how and when people should best die. Believing in a right to a dignified life asks for a right to die in dignity. Seeing autonomy as a relational concept, meaning that for a truly autonomous life we are dependent on others and society as a whole, stresses the need for a legalisation of assisted dying. The thesis analyses the ECtHR’s approach towards assisted dying and what factors prevent it from adopting a more forthright approach towards a right to die. Based on a lack of consensus among the Member States, the Court relies on the margin of appreciation and shies away from taking a stand. While seeing that dying is a part of life and consequently falls within the ambit of Article 8, the protection of private and family life, nonetheless Article 2, the right to life, acts as a barrier to any claim for a right to die, which arguably turns the right to life in a duty to live. Looking at the legal situation in England and Germany highlights the difficulty in reaching a European consensus on assisted dying. Actively assisting someone in dying, who is unable to commit suicide unaided, is a criminal offence in both countries. However, there are significant differences between the two jurisdictions. In England, assisting someone in committing suicide is prohibited under Section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961, whereas in Germany it is in theory legally possible. Yet, in England, assistants can hope to avoid prosecution based on the Director of Public Prosecution’s guidelines of 2009, whilst in Germany assistants face prosecution based on other legal provisions like the Narcotics Act. While Germany moves towards a criminalisation of assistance in suicide offered for a fee (commercial assisted suicide), in England, debates on Bills focus on attempts to legalise some categories of assisted dying. The comparison suggests that a European consensus is not likely to be achieved in the near future. The thesis concludes that based on dignity and autonomy the national approaches towards assisted dying should be revised and legalisation should be considered. This is necessary so that the ECtHR can counterbalance the right to life with a right to die.

No description available.

The research evaluates the pattern of change in the field of employee representation in the UK as influenced by the transposition and implementation of the Directive 2002/14/EC establishing a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Community and to relate this analysis to the impact of legislation in the field of labour law and industrial relations through the location of managerial and labour practice in implementing and handling the information and consultation arrangements. Theoretically, the thesis draws on the theory of reflexive law (Teubner, 1993; Barnard and Deakin, 2002) and on the capabilities approach (Sen, 1999), which has recently emerged in political economy. Empirically, it combines textual analysis, interviews with key actors, a questionnaire survey of companies and in-depth case studies in a few organizations in the business services and the financial sectors. The research aims to move beyond the traditional socio-legal concepts and methods to incorporate insights from the institutional and political economy frames of analysis commonly deployed in the field of industrial relations, and from its tradition of empirical enquiry rooted in field-based qualitative research methods. In diverging from existing UK social norms and conventions a new role for the two sides of industry, CBI and TUC, was created that assisted in the development of the national legislation transposing the directive and led to a re-conceptualization of the EU-level norms, as stipulated by the directive, concerning information and consultation of employees. Whilst the introduction of national legislation drove to some extent the spread of voluntary arrangements, albeit at the instigation of management, there was not much evidence that the 'standard provisions' of the UK Regulations promoted institutional experimentation or to a new framework for a process of learning, participation and capabilities for voice. This was down to the nature of the legal obligations, the efficacy of the enforcement mechanisms and the degree to which extra-legal resources, mainly trade union organization, were utilized.

This thesis explores the way in which people constructed their identities using the cultural, public and social narratives made available to them in mid-twentieth-century England. Focusing on the construction of masculinities, this study argues that, contrary to popular opinion, for many men during this period ontological narratives expanded beyond the ‘masculine’ discourses of politics, work and sport, to encompass ‘feminine’ discourses of family, home and romance. In the first section of this thesis the argument is advanced that ideal domesticity was promoted to men, just as it was to women, as integral to the construction of personal identity. As such, an exploration is undertaken of the ways in which discourses about family and home life incorporated men above and beyond a bread-winning role. Section two of this thesis argues that during these same decades romance became an overriding preoccupation for men and searching for a soul mate became a masculine pursuit of the utmost importance. The third section of this thesis looks at various attempts to bring these opposing discourses into a workable whole, concluding with a detailed examination of the divorce reform debates of the mid-twentieth century, and refuting the contention that divorce reform was fought for, and won, on behalf of women. Through an examination of the language and rhetoric expressed in a collection of private letters written by men during the 1960s, this study will demonstrate that men’s consumption of domestic and romantic narratives was as active and as enthusiastic as women’s, and that it was this participation which publicly altered perceptions of our most private relationships. By understanding historical processes in the context of narrative, and recognising men’s position within ‘feminine spaces’, this thesis claims that stories of domesticity, romance and divorce need to be retold.

At the outset of the twenty-first century and despite the challenges presented by the global networks and communities, conceptions of culture, religion and rights in the West remain firmly situated within the moral frameworks of western universalism and cultural relativism. Indeed it seems that the uncertainties of local and global conditions have only served to entrench cultural and religious diversity as fixed, bounded and uncontested. A striking feature of this development in the West has been the rigid adoption of liberal multiculturalism to accommodate the emergence and settlement of diasporic minority ethnic communities into mainstream society. More recently, the specific cultural practices that can lead to intra-family inequalities for women from minority ethnic communities as generated much discussion in political and social theory. While much of this literature has contributed to our understanding on the relationship between gender equality, justice and the limits of liberal multiculturalism, it also seems that the fluid and contradictory understanding of identities has been lost and replaced by the acceptance of culture as essentialized and homogeneous. In this context we have also witnessed the emergence of a 'culture of rights' and the 'politics of recognition' under the framework of human rights. Yet in the process the contestation over 'meanings' and the intermeshing and complexity of cultural and religious practices have in essence been lost, only to be replaced by static and fixed definitions of culture, religion, identity and community. It is within this context of liberal multiculturalism that we have seen the emergence and development of unofficial non-statutory bodies identified as Shariah Councils in Britain. Framed as sites upon which family law matters are resolved according to Muslim family law they have developed frameworks that are characterized by specific cultural and religious norms and values. This mobilisation of communities challenges the hegemonic power of state law and unsettles the multicultural project in its attempt to reconfigure social and legal discourse in matters of Family Law. Most interestingly, for the socio-legal scholar this process opens up the conceptual space in which to see in evidence the multiple legal and social realities in operation, within the larger context of state law, liberal multiculturalism and the rights discourse. This thesis explores the ways in which these bodies constitute as unofficial dispute resolution mechanisms between and within the context of local 'community' and the overarching determinancy of state law. Of particular concern is how gender is transformed through the position and participation of women in this process of 'privatized dispute resolution'. The discourses produced by the participants in such processes constitute and transform understandings of British Pakistani Muslim women that are significant to their position and autonomy in the family, home and community. Drawing upon fieldwork data and interview material the study explores the socio-legal reality of these women's lives in relation to the complexities of attachment, belongingness and identity that multicultural society introduces.

The Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA) is part of the legislative framework of the NHS. Small scale studies in a range of health settings have shown that the understanding and use of the MCA (2005) varies considerably in different services and across staff of differing occupations and grades. The experiences of individual staff in using the MCA has received little attention. This grounded theory study aimed to explain how staff working with people with a learning disability (PWLD) make sense of and use the MCA, whilst also exploring the factors that influence applying the MCA in clinical practice. This study involved 11 healthcare staff from a specialist learning disability service that had used the MCA in the six months prior to their participation in the research. Staff interviews provided narratives about how they had used the MCA. A theoretical framework was developed from the analysis which underpinned three core conceptual categories. The first core category was that of ‘professional risk’ in which staff have awareness of a series of risks that pertain to themselves or the service user that could have negative professional or legal consequences. The second core category described ‘emotional risk’, which affected both the staff and service user. Staff appeared to experience those risks as feelings in the form of anxiety or concern. Both ‘professional risk’ and ‘emotional risk’ bring about ‘strategies’ which mediate the risk; allowing staff to justify and document their position, creating what feels like safe practice for both the staff and service user. Factors which facilitate the use of the Act are concerned not only with these risks but the significance of the decision that the service user has to make. The findings suggest that there is much uncertainty in the process of using the Act, some of which is due to the subjective nature of evidence gathering. The study suggests that peer support offers a range of factors important to education and development of experience in using the Act, along with helping staff cope with the outcome of decision making. The findings have clinical implications for those involved in managing difficult assessments and decision making, including how to gain an appropriate balance between risk and human rights against a backdrop of adversity that can be present for people with a learning disability. Further implications clinically and for future research, along with limitations of the study are also discussed.

This dissertation examines the symbiotic relationship between intellectual property (“IP”) law and cultural heritage law, with an emphasis on intangible cultural heritage (“ICH”). These two fields of law have historically operated in relative isolation from each other, but the overlap of subject matter and practical effect of implementation is evident; the actual creative and traditional practices by individuals and communities are the subject matter of both fields. The central thrust of the research is to locate the effects of these two legal fields and to inform policy, research, and legislation when this previously under-considered effect and influence exists. This is accomplished through case studies of ICH and statutory intervention in three countries with diverse ICH: tartan in Scotland; cultural tourism and branding in Ireland, and the Welsh language and eisteddfodau in Wales. These countries were selected as they 1) are geographically proximate, 2) have shared cultural history, 3) are or were recently in a union legal structure with partially devolved governance powers, and 4) are ‘knowledge-based’ economies with strong IP laws. This selection facilitates the dissertation’s original contributions to research, which include highlighting the influence of ICH on IP law and how IP shapes ICH. This interaction challenges the domestic and international differential legal treatment between developed, Global North countries as IP- and knowledge-producing and developing and Global South countries as ICH- and culture-producing. Theoretical patterns emerged from the case studies: namely, first- and second-wave adoption, which is complementary to Hobsbawm and Ranger’s invented traditions; and ‘tangification’, which identifies the process through which ICH becomes IP in a modern legal framework and highlights the risks to ICH integrity as well as the over-extension of IP law. Each of these contributions support the assertion that properly managing risk to and safeguarding ICH, which provides social and economic benefits, can also help to ensure that IP law is functioning in a manner reflecting its jurisprudential underpinnings, facilitating longevity and enforceability of the law.

Despite the fine’s position as the most commonly imposed sentencing disposal, it has been the subject of limited research. This dearth is a particular concern as recent statistics show that a large proportion of financial penalties are in arrears, with significant amounts being written-off. There have been various attempts in recent years to improve the enforcement process, which underscores the need for an evaluation of current policies and practices. The thesis is based on a study evaluating the enforcement of financial penalties by the Birmingham and Manchester city centre magistrates’ courts. The fieldwork was conducted both inside and outside the court building: defaulters’ appearances at the fines court, and fines clinic, were observed, and bailiffs and Civilian Enforcement Officers [CEOs] were accompanied as they attempted to execute distress warrants and bail warrants respectively. The thesis outlines various problems, and makes a number of proposals designed not only to raise the levels of effectiveness and efficiency but also the quality of justice. Taken together they provide a new coherent framework for the enforcement process.

In the last 30 years English law has seen a small but steady proliferation of shari’a councils though exact numbers are unknown. They have been set up to meet the religious needs of the British Muslim population focussing on providing a forum for the resolution of marital disputes. Shari’a councils offer mediation and reconciliation services as well as issuing religious divorce certificates. In the academic research to date it is apparent that the primary applicants to shari’a councils are Muslim women. In order to understand why one must investigate Islamic law which differentiates between the way in which men and women may divorce. Muslim men are free to pronounce a unilateral divorce without seeking the approval of any judicial body. Muslim women are arguably not granted any equivalent rights and must either secure their husband’s consent or apply to an authority to provide them with a religious determination. Shari’a councils have emerged to meet that need. My research demonstrates that whilst Muslim women are generally satisfied with the outcome of a shari’a council ruling they are critical of the processes. This becomes even more apparent to them when they compare their experiences of shari’a councils with the civil court system. Nonetheless, civil law alone is insufficient to meet the women’s needs and access to a religious authority remains a vital resource for many Muslim women. There is, however, a dynamic and evolving relationship emerging between Muslim family law practices and English law, which is still only at the embryonic stage.