The EU regulatory framework for direct taxation is composed of three interconnected elements. First, having satisfied the requirement of a unanimous vote, the EU adopted a range of directives on the basis of the general harmonisation provision (Article 115 TFEU). Therefore, a traditional hard law framework harmonising some aspects of direct taxation exists in the EU. Second, case law is an indirect method of exerting influence on the direct tax field. As long as no positive integration has been brought about, the Member States are free to regulate this sphere as they see fit. The boundaries of their regulatory freedom are imposed, however, by negative integration i.e. by the ECJ applying the Treaty rules on non-discrimination. Jurisprudence has been an influential and dominant regulatory tool. Third, corporate taxation has also been regulated through soft law. The key example of a non-legally binding instrument in the direct tax field is the Code of Conduct for Business Taxation. This thesis investigates interactions between these hard and soft law measures and draws conclusions about the future of EU direct tax regulation. To achieve these aims, two research strands are explored. First, the thesis discusses the nature of the Code. In particular, it is investigated whether the Code can be regarded as an example of a ‘pure’ soft law measure. It is argued that the nature of the Code is not as clear-cut as is officially presented. Behind soft law terminology, the Code operates as a hard law measure. Supported by an examination of the OECD anti-harmful tax competition initiative, the thesis concludes that the use of soft law in tax regulation has not been wholly successful. The introduction of legally binding solutions is restricted by the requirement of unanimity, which is difficult to attain in the expanding EU. Thus, hard law has instead been introduced through the back door, raising valid questions about regulatory legitimacy. Second, this thesis explores the relationships between hard and soft law in the wider context of EU direct tax regulation. The extent to which the Code is embedded in the broader environment of tax regulation is analysed. The Code tends to be characterised as a soft law measure situated within the regulatory environment of taxation that, for years, has been dominated by hard law instruments. At this level, interactions between ECJ jurisprudence and soft law instruments are also explored. Consequently, the thesis demonstrates that hard law and soft law are not necessarily alternative choices; both approaches can be applied simultaneously to influence one regulatory field, and both offer different strengths and values. In a field as politically sensitive as direct taxation, soft law may prove to be insufficient to bring about real change. The addition of a hard law (or legally binding) element might be necessary to secure effectiveness of regulation. This thesis proposes that the current, disingenuous hybrid regulation of direct taxes in the EU should be replaced with a more transparent hybrid, where hard law measures are openly applied and soft law is given the opportunity to regulate in parallel and to its own distinct potential.

Concept désormais incontournable pour les entreprises dans la gestion, souvent corrélative, des risques juridiques et du risque de réputation afférents à leurs activités économiques, ainsi que dans la définition de leurs stratégies commerciales et concurrentielles, la Responsabilité Sociale des Entreprises (RSE) participe activement de l’abolition des frontières, d’ores et déjà poreuses, entre normativité d’origine publique et normativité d’origine privée. Dans un contexte concurrentiel mondialisé, elle met, dès lors, l’accent sur la nécessaire adaptation des instruments juridiques classiques à l’évolution d’une configuration normative complexe et ce, à l’échelle globale. Se faisant, la RSE fait l’objet d’un dialogue compétitif sans cesse renouvelé, entre pouvoirs publics nationaux et internationaux d’une part et pouvoirs privés économiques d’autre part. En ce sens, le droit économique contemporain, par capillarité normative et transfrontalière, n’est donc pas figé dans la durée, pas plus qu’il n’est cadenassé dans l’espace des frontières nationales. / Now being an unavoidable concept for companies in managing their, often correlated, legal and reputation risks attached to their economic activities as well as in defining their commercial and competitive strategies, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) actively participates in abolishing boundaries, already permeable, between public normativity and private normativity. In a globalized competitive context, it subsequently underlines the necessary adaptation of classical legal instruments to the evolution of complex normative systems at a global scale. In that matter, CSR is subject to a constantly renewed competitive dialogue between national and international public authorities and private operators. Therefore, economic law is neither frozen in time nor locked inside national borders space.

Diante da complexidade da problemática ambiental, emergiu a necessidade de atuação do direito ambiental internacional, através da criação de um compilado de normas imperativas, capazes de efetivar a tutela e proteção do meio ambiente, limitando a atuação do Poder Público e dos particulares. Contudo, o direito ambiental internacional precisou recorrer não só às normatizações hard law, que são as normas burocráticas e obrigatórias, mas também as normatizações soft law, as quais conseguem ser modificadas de forma simplificada ou complementadas posteriormente, consideradas um direito flexível e capaz de acompanhar as mudanças e necessidades ecológicas. No Brasil, para que haja validade dos tratados e das convenções internacionais pactuados, é necessário o referendo da ordem constitucional brasileira, haja vista que é essa ordem que dispõe sobre a admissibilidade da ordem internacional no direito interno. No direito brasileiro, a Emenda Constitucional 45, de 2004, inseriu o § 3º do art. 5º, não pacificando o entendimento hierárquico das normas internacionais em matéria de direitos humanos, aqui incluído o direito ambiental. Tal situação também não se encontra solucionada pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal, órgão competente para julgar os conflitos decorrentes do direito interno e do direito internacional, podendo-se apenas considerar por uma votação, da quase maioria, pela supralegalidade da norma internacional internalizada no ordenamento brasileiro. Ainda, os tratados pactuados em âmbito do Mercosul não possuem nenhum privilégio para adentrar no ordenamento brasileiro, bem como não há uniformização das legislações ambientais nos países membros, tampouco, um tribunal capaz de fiscalizar e sancionar os Estados não cumpridores, o que dificulta a efetividade de suas normas. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-06-05T16:22:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Andiara Flores.pdf: 1361562 bytes, checksum: f77f9b702a776ee84e270b577446cbaa (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-05T16:22:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Andiara Flores.pdf: 1361562 bytes, checksum: f77f9b702a776ee84e270b577446cbaa (MD5) / Given the complexity of environmental issues, there emerged the need for cooperation of international environmental law through the creation of mandatory rules compiled, capable of effecting the guardianship and protection of the environment by limiting the actions of the government and individuals. However, the international environmental law needed to appeal not only to hard law norms, which are the bureaucratic rules and compulsory, but also the soft law norms, which can be modified in a simplified form or complemented later considered a right flexible and able to follow changes and ecological needs. In Brazil, there is validity to treaties and international conventions agreed upon, it s necessary the Brazilian constitutional referendum, given that it is this order that provides for the admissibility of the international order in the law. Under Brazilian law, Constitutional Amendment 45, 2004, entered the § 3 of art. 5, do not pacify the hierarchical understanding of international standards on human rights, environmental law included here. This situation has also not been resolved by the Supreme Federal Court, a court competent to judge disputes arising from domestic law and international law, can only be considered for a vote, almost the majority of the international standard for supra-legal internalized in the Brazilian legal system. Still, the treaties agreed upon within the framework of Southern Common Market (Mercosul) have no privilege to enter into the Brazilian legal system, and there is no standardization of environmental laws in member countries, nor a court able to monitor and sanction the non-compliant States, which hinders the effectiveness of its standards.

Diante da complexidade da problemática ambiental, emergiu a necessidade de atuação do direito ambiental internacional, através da criação de um compilado de normas imperativas, capazes de efetivar a tutela e proteção do meio ambiente, limitando a atuação do Poder Público e dos particulares. Contudo, o direito ambiental internacional precisou recorrer não só às normatizações hard law, que são as normas burocráticas e obrigatórias, mas também as normatizações soft law, as quais conseguem ser modificadas de forma simplificada ou complementadas posteriormente, consideradas um direito flexível e capaz de acompanhar as mudanças e necessidades ecológicas. No Brasil, para que haja validade dos tratados e das convenções internacionais pactuados, é necessário o referendo da ordem constitucional brasileira, haja vista que é essa ordem que dispõe sobre a admissibilidade da ordem internacional no direito interno. No direito brasileiro, a Emenda Constitucional 45, de 2004, inseriu o § 3º do art. 5º, não pacificando o entendimento hierárquico das normas internacionais em matéria de direitos humanos, aqui incluído o direito ambiental. Tal situação também não se encontra solucionada pelo Supremo Tribunal Federal, órgão competente para julgar os conflitos decorrentes do direito interno e do direito internacional, podendo-se apenas considerar por uma votação, da quase maioria, pela supralegalidade da norma internacional internalizada no ordenamento brasileiro. Ainda, os tratados pactuados em âmbito do Mercosul não possuem nenhum privilégio para adentrar no ordenamento brasileiro, bem como não há uniformização das legislações ambientais nos países membros, tampouco, um tribunal capaz de fiscalizar e sancionar os Estados não cumpridores, o que dificulta a efetividade de suas normas. / Given the complexity of environmental issues, there emerged the need for cooperation of international environmental law through the creation of mandatory rules compiled, capable of effecting the guardianship and protection of the environment by limiting the actions of the government and individuals. However, the international environmental law needed to appeal not only to hard law norms, which are the bureaucratic rules and compulsory, but also the soft law norms, which can be modified in a simplified form or complemented later considered a right flexible and able to follow changes and ecological needs. In Brazil, there is validity to treaties and international conventions agreed upon, it s necessary the Brazilian constitutional referendum, given that it is this order that provides for the admissibility of the international order in the law. Under Brazilian law, Constitutional Amendment 45, 2004, entered the § 3 of art. 5, do not pacify the hierarchical understanding of international standards on human rights, environmental law included here. This situation has also not been resolved by the Supreme Federal Court, a court competent to judge disputes arising from domestic law and international law, can only be considered for a vote, almost the majority of the international standard for supra-legal internalized in the Brazilian legal system. Still, the treaties agreed upon within the framework of Southern Common Market (Mercosul) have no privilege to enter into the Brazilian legal system, and there is no standardization of environmental laws in member countries, nor a court able to monitor and sanction the non-compliant States, which hinders the effectiveness of its standards.

Le sport européen est à la veille d'un bouleversement quant à sa prise en compte par le droit de l'UE et par le droit de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme. Le constat du chevauchement de normes et de référentiels juridiques différents produisant des effets sur les sanctions infligées au « sportif citoyen européen » conduit à la répétition de difficultés relatives à la violation des principes d'égalité de traitement et d'intégrité des compétitions sportives. Cette thèse démontre la nécessité d'une européanisation des sanctions infligées au « sportif citoyen européen », et propose une réflexion sur les instruments juridiques de droit souple et de droit dur - existants ou à exploiter - susceptibles de répondre à cet objectif d'européanisation. L'originalité des travaux réside d'abord dans la réalisation d'enquêtes de terrain, puis dans le développement et les modifications à venir d'instruments de droit souple ou de droit dur existants, aux fins de combattre les atteintes aux principes précités en contribuant, de diverses façons, à l'européanisation des sanctions dans le domaine des activités sportives / European sport is on the verge of an upheaval as to its consideration by EU law and by the law of the European Convention on Human Rights. The finding of overlapping standards and different legal frameworks producing effects on the sanctions on the "European citizen athlete" leads to the repetition of difficulties relating to the infringement of the principles of equal treatment and of integrity of sport competitions. This thesis demonstrates the need for Europeanisation of sanctions imposed on the "European citizen athlete", and develops a reflection on the legal instruments of soft law and hard law - existing or to be developed - that may be of interest to meet that objective of Europeanisation. The originality of the work primarily lies in conducting field surveys, and secondly in the development and future changes in instruments of soft law or hard law existing for the purpose of combating violations of these principles, by contributing in various ways, to the Europeanisation of sanctions in the field of sports

En prenant l’exemple des entreprises pétrolières multinationales, cette thèse tente de clarifier l’état actuel du concept de responsabilité sociale des entreprises, qui, d’un point de vue juridique, relève du « soft law», et à dessiner la frontière entre le « hard law » et le « soft law», dans le but de mettre en lumière la différence entre les fonctions de ces deux types de droit et de dissiper les attentes irréalistes envers le concept de responsabilité sociale des entreprises. S’alignant avec cette logique, les contextes de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises ont d’abord été explorés, y compris l’évolution et les controverses autour de ce concept, ainsi que les instruments qui le sous-tendent et le mettent sur un pied solide, lesquels représentent certaines caractéristiques communes (diversité, flexibilité, inclusion des valeurs pionnières, etc.) pour être acceptés et engagés par les entreprises. Par ailleurs, a aussi été analysée la tendance au durcissement des règles nationales en cette matière, qui peut être constatée dans les pays développés et dans certains pays en développement. Puis, trois sujets, à savoir l’environnement, les droits de l’Homme et la lutte contre la corruption, ont été choisis et traités, pour, d’une part, exposer comment le « hard law » agit sur eux, ses faiblesses tant dans les pays en développement que dans les pays développés, et ses effets sur les performances réelles des entreprises pétrolières multinationales, et, d’autre part, déployer la contribution de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises sur ces thèmes. Enfin, les dynamiques de la responsabilité sociale des entreprises ont été recherchées. Certaines parties prenantes, comme les gouvernements, les investisseurs socialement responsables, les concurrents ou les ONG, ont un potentiel conséquent pour pousser les entreprises pétrolières multinationales à adopter une approche socialement responsable, tandis que certaines parties prenantes, comme les consommateurs responsables, restent un facteur faible pour la prise de décision de ces entreprises. / Examining the example of multinational oil companies, this article tries to make clear the actual situation of the concept of corporate social responsibility, which from legal perspective belongs to soft law, and to draw a line between hard law and soft law, aiming to highlight the difference in functions of these two laws and to dispel unrealistic expectations of corporate social responsibility. Along these lines, this article firstly explores the context of corporate social responsibility, including its evolution, controversies around it, and the underpinning instruments that put it on a solid footing. These instruments represent a couple of common characteristics (diversity, flexibility, inclusion of pioneer values, etc.) that make them accepted by companies as commitment. Furthermore, both developed countries and some developing countries have seen a trend to strengthen national-level rules in this area. Secondly, three subjects, i.e., environment, human rights and anti-corruption, are selected and analyzed to show how hard law functions, its weaknesses in both developing countries and developed ones, and its effects on the actual performance of multinational oil companies, and also to explore what contribution the corporate social responsibility can make. Finally, the dynamics of corporate social responsibility is discussed. Some stakeholders, such as government, socially responsible investors, competitors and NGOs, have great potential to push multinational oil companies to adopt a socially responsible approach, while some other stakeholders, such as responsible consumers, remain a weak factor in the decision-making of these companies.

This thesis examines responses to the problem of stock market short-termism ('SMST'). SMST is defined as investors preferring short-term financial returns over potentially more profitable longer-term investment opportunities. Such short-termism may result in serious real-world consequences. Company executives appear to respond to short-term pressures in ways that jeopardize the long-term sustainability of listed companies negatively impacting investors and other stakeholders including employees, customers and the community at large. This thesis provides an original contribution to the academic literature via an in-depth examination of all significant regulatory and financial industry efforts meant to reform SMST in major capital markets after the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. I hypothesize that the extensive discussion of the SMST issue has generated substantial reforms. Based on an analysis of the implemented reforms, I reveal that the anticipated surge of SMST reform has not occurred. I then explore why the widespread SMST discussion has not resulted in greater reform efforts. This examination reveals the complex nature of the SMST problem and the evidentiary issues inherent in viably identifying and measuring the harms of SMST. However, I determine that there is probable cause for concern justifying SMST reform measures. Further, I conclude that SMST issues arise because investors are biased towards short-term returns when calculating risk. This bias is evident in share pricing, meaning that share prices are not a reliable indicator of fundamental corporate value. Based on this conclusion, an original dual pathway for SMST reform is proposed. This dual pathway indicates that SMST reform measures must either: (1) reduce the actual or perceived excessive discounting of future returns by investors (i.e. make share prices better reflective of long-term value); or (2) cut-off the transmission mechanisms of SMST into the listed company (i.e. sever the link between share prices and corporate decision-making). Assessing the reforms against this dual pathway reveals that few of the reforms are conceptually effective. Of the few reforms that are conceptually effective, most are relatively 'light' touch. A 'light' touch approach may not be problematic, however, as such measures are easier to implement than 'hard' law. In the case of regulatory reforms, a 'light' touch approach provides scope for flexibility to minimize the many potential harms associated with 'hard' law measures. Consequently, this thesis concludes that SMST reform is more likely to occur if reformers pursue a 'lighter' touch approach meant to reduce excessive discounting of future returns and 'nudge' capital markets away from their harmful short-termism focus.

La dialectique entre contrats d’Etat et développement durable existe, malgré une antinomie apparente. Elle s’appuie sur une interaction particulière qui s’est construite depuis l’origine, à travers les contrats d’Etat, instruments conventionnels singuliers et autour des nécessités politiques et économiques de l’époque, avec en toile de fond l’impératif de développement.Face aux évolutions sociales successives et l’absence d’arsenal juridique adapté, les contratsd’Etat se sont développés de façon spécifique entre dépendance, indépendance,interdépendance, hétéronomie et autonomie. En droit international des affaires, c’estprécisément à partir du contrat conçu comme un instrument normatif singulier et à travers sesinteractions avec le contexte extracontractuel au sein duquel il est amené à opérer quel’existence d’un droit du développement durable en matière de contrats d’Etat doit êtrefondée. Cela nécessite une autre vision du droit, sans cesse renouvelée et davantageappropriée aux réalités de notre siècle. / Common discussion points between sustainable development and State contracts exist, despite many visible contradictions. They are based on a particular interaction, built up from the beginning through State contracts, which are highly specific agreements and around political and economic necessities of the time, with the notion of development merely as a requirement in the background. Confronted with successive social changes and the lack of an appropriate judicial framework, State contracts developed in a particular way between dependence, independence, interdependence, heteronomy and autonomy. In international business law, the existence of a sustainable development law related to State contracts must be based precisely on contracts, seen as instruments able to set norms, and must benefit from contracts’interactions with a non-contractual environment. That requires another vision of law, constantly renewed and more adapted to current realities.