This thesis aims to examine the intellectual property regimes in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states and assess the relationships between legislation, enforcement mechanisms and sharia law. The GCC states, currently Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, all have varied mechanisms in place for both the implementation and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The thesis pays close attention to the evolution of intellectual property laws and regulations in the GCC states with particular interest directed towards the development of national intellectual property laws within the GCC states from the 1970’s onwards1. Intellectual property protection in the GCC states is considered from two perspectives. The first perspective addresses the international demand for higher standards of intellectual property protection in the GCC states. The second perspective defines intellectual property within the laws of Islam and explores the relationship between Islam and intellectual property. The latter part analyses religious influence, societal and cultural norms, economic reality and the developmental stage of each GCC state. It is an important area of study as developing Muslim countries are struggling with meeting international standards and a successful integrated framework will impact not only on GCC states but other Islamic states and as a result could potentially lead to more informed negotiation in trade agreements with developed states. The research argues there are systematic flaws in the GCC states adopting intellectual property laws which are in essence a procrustean modification of foreign laws which have developed from colonial occupation or laws taken from donor countries. The GCC legal systems of the states have evolved utilising different sets of legal principles and therefore it could be argued the foreign laws that have been adopted are somewhat unsuitable for the GCC states. The research has focused on the implications of the national and international legislative regimes on the protection of intellectual property rights on the GCC states. Consideration is given to compliance, mainly how compliant the GCC is to its World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP’s) Agreement and to what extent the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) influence the intellectual property protection regimes in the GCC. The research has examined the development of the GCC in three distinct stages; pre-TRIPS, TRIPS compliance stage and TRIPS plus. Furthermore, the thesis argues that the somewhat simplistic formula of the GCC states passing a large number of intellectual property laws to appease the EU and US does not have the significant economic impact on the GCC economy as the international agreements would suggest. Not all trade is intellectual property related and not all foreign direct investment is contingent upon intellectual property protection. However, as the GCC states are largely oil dependent, they do need to diversify their trade and as such an intellectual property protection model that accounts for international intellectual property law and the bespoke cultural and religious views amongst GCC citizens can produce tangible results for both the GCC and its trading partners. What sets the research apart from previous research is two-fold. Firstly, the research is qualitative and has scratched beneath the surface of intellectual property law in the GCC and examined in detail the Islamic law principles that have been used to justify sharia compliance, the western perspective on international intellectual property and the impact of multilateral trade agreements. Secondly, the analysis of Islamic finance and the application of successful sharia compliant models in Islamic finance to intellectual property is innovative as it acts as a springboard to creating a modified sharia compliant intellectual property protection model. Finally, the thesis will conclude by making a series of recommendations to develop an integrated approach to intellectual property rights which takes into account; the structure of the GCC states, international agreements and pressures, the international institutions, Islamic finance and both societal and religious views.

Le contexte des relations commerciales internationales est marqué, depuis 1995, par une multiplication des processus de négociation et de renégociation des Accords Commerciaux aussi bien au niveau multilatéral, plurilatéral (y compris les arrangements régionaux) que bilatéral. La plupart des Accords Commerciaux Régionaux (ACR) en vigueur dans le monde sont les produits de processus de négociation qui mettent ensemble les pays de niveaux de développement différents.La présente étude identifie et analyse les facteurs qui influencent aussi bien le déroulement que l’issue des négociations des ACR dans un contexte asymétrique, entre les partenaires engagés dans des processus d’intégration régionale. Elle se concentre sur les conditions et les modalités dans lesquelles les acteurs du système interagissent pour produire des règles et des normes qui vont régir leurs relations commerciales. L’analyse place en son centre la question du pouvoir des acteurs et son utilisation dans un système politique. Plus précisément, elle vise à mettre en exergue les facteurs qui déterminent les rapports de pouvoir dans le système politique qu’est le processus de négociation et à analyser les mécanismes d’influence de ces facteurs sur le déroulement et l’issue du processus. L’étude conclu que les rapports de force dans la négociation d’un ACR au sein d’une configuration asymétrique, se déterminent et s’expliquent par un ensemble de facteurs d’ordre socio-anthropologiques, économiques, politique, géographiques et historiques. Ces facteurs peuvent être résumés par cinq concepts qui sont : la force, la dépendance, la cohérence, la stratégie et la tactique. Ils se déploient dans une dynamique et un environnement cryptés, impulsés par les puissances qui gouvernent les relations économiques et commerciales internationales, et ils sont promus par les institutions mises en place à cet effet. Enfin, les résultats de leur utilisation sur le pouvoir des acteurs sont imprévisibles à priori. / The context of international trade relations is marked since 1995 by a multiplication of the negotiation and renegotiation processes of trade agreements both at the multilateral, plurilateral (including regional arrangements) and bilateral levels. Most of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in force in the world are the products of negotiations that bring together countries of different levels of development.This study identifies and analyzes the factors that influence both the progress and the outcome of RTAs negotiations in an asymmetric context between partners involved in regional integration process. It focuses on the conditions and modalities in which the actors of the system interact to produce rules and standards that will govern their trade relations. The analysis places at its center the question of power and its use by the actors in a political system. Specifically, it aims to highlight the factors that determine the balance of power in the negotiation process seen as a political system, and to analyze the mechanisms of influence of these factors on the course and outcome of the process.The study conclude that the balance of power in the negotiation of an RTA in an asymmetrical configuration, is determined and can be explained by a set of factors from socio-anthropological, economic, political, geographical and historical order. These factors can be summarized by five concepts which are: strength, dependence, consistency, strategy and tactics. They unfold in a dynamic and encrypted environment-driven powers that govern international economic and trade relations, and they are promoted by the institutions established for this purpose. Finally, the results of their use on the power of actors are unpredictable a priori

1 ABSTRACT MEDIATION AS A MEAN OF INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION This dissertation deals with the phenomenon of discrepancies between commonly shared perceptions about international mediation and its real and practical situation. The aim of this disertation is not to analyze the legal provisions on mediation in individual national jurisdictions or to analyze individual provisions of the private international law, which potentially apply to issues of cross-border mediation. The intention is to point to current trends and current issues in the field of international mediation. We especially want to conduct generally accepted theoretical concepts of mediation in an international context critical view by comparing it to empirical dates proving the actual state of mediation as a method of resolving international business disputes. The first part of this disertation summarizes the basic theoretical background related to mediation, which serves as a basis for the construction of generally recognized premises in this field. These premises relate to the context of international commerce. Therefore, it deals with the mediation principles, models and important aspects that are relevant to international commercial disputes with an international element. In the second part, the disertation tries to point...

1 Mediation as a Mean of International Commercial Dispute Resolution Abstract The subject of this dissertation is the topic of mediation in solving international commercial disputes. At the outset, the author focuses on the general theory of dispute and argues that the main psychological features of thinking about conflicts are inherent in virtually all types of social relations, regardless of their specific nature. It is therefore useful to recall the knowledge about the psychology of conflict in the context of research on the resolution of international commercial disputes, as this initial line of reasoning is also present. In the first part of the dissertation, the author defines the position of mediation within the spectrum of the dispute resolution and identifies its relationship with other ADR methods. She is particularly concerned with the recent change in the ADR area, particularly as regards the shift of arbitration towards judicial proceedings and convergence of mediation with arbitration in certain respects. Furthermore, the author considers the importance of mediation for international commerce, noting in particular the aspect of the institutionalisation of mediation and touches on the phenomenon of regional change in international trade. The author points out that the cross-border commercial...