A arbitragem é um instituto previsto no direito brasileiro que consiste num método de solução de conflitos alternativo ao Poder Judiciário. Quando as duas partes concordam, procuram uma instituição especializado para que a controvérsia seja solucionada por meio da decisão de um ou mais árbitros. Desde 1996 com a aprovação da Lei da Arbitragem o laudo arbitral apresenta a validade de uma sentença judicial regular, devendo igualmente ser cumprido. Essa incorporação do instituto no Brasil está inserida no movimento transnacional de reforma dos sistemas de justiça nacionais visando adaptá-los ao mercado em expansão da arbitragem internacional. Inspirado em vários instrumentos internacionais, principalmente na Lei Modelo da Comissão das Nações Unidas para o Comércio Internacional (UNCITRAL), o método também permite a integração do país no esforço mais amplo de harmonização do direito entre os países. O principal objetivo desta tese é, assim, analisar esse processo de transplante da arbitragem ao contexto jurídico brasileiro. Para isso, inicialmente reconstitui o surgimento das mais importantes instituições da arbitragem comercial internacional e, em seguida, investiga a assimilação local deste instituto. Este último processo é analisado à luz da mobilização que resultou na aprovação da legislação em 1996, bem como da abordagem do funcionamento da arbitragem atualmente. O argumento destaca a participação fundamental dos intermediários para o sucesso da operação de mediação entre instâncias globais e locais. O trabalho finaliza com uma reflexão acerca do encaixe estrutural da arbitragem no campo do direito nacional. / Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism allowed by the Brazilian law. When both parties agree about it, they search for an specialized institution that will delegate the resolution of the conflict to one or more arbitrators. Passage of Brazils 1996 Arbitration Act recognized the validity of decisions reached by arbitrators. The incorporation of arbitration in the country happens as part of an international movement to reform local justice systems adapting them to the growth of the commercial arbitration market. Brazil\'s law was inspired by various international instruments, including the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law and can be considered part of a broader effort to homogenize law across countries. The main goal of this dissertation is, thus, to analyze the arbitration transplant to the Brazilian legal context. To do so, it first explores the emergence of the main institutions of international commercial arbitration and then it investigates its local assimilation. This process is analyzed through the mobilization that resulted in the approval of the law in 1996 and also through the exploration of the way by which arbitration operates today. The argument emphasizes the role of the gatekeepers in intermediating the local and the global. This work finishes with a reflection about the structural fitting of arbitration in the local judicial field.

A arbitragem é um instituto previsto no direito brasileiro que consiste num método de solução de conflitos alternativo ao Poder Judiciário. Quando as duas partes concordam, procuram uma instituição especializado para que a controvérsia seja solucionada por meio da decisão de um ou mais árbitros. Desde 1996 com a aprovação da Lei da Arbitragem o laudo arbitral apresenta a validade de uma sentença judicial regular, devendo igualmente ser cumprido. Essa incorporação do instituto no Brasil está inserida no movimento transnacional de reforma dos sistemas de justiça nacionais visando adaptá-los ao mercado em expansão da arbitragem internacional. Inspirado em vários instrumentos internacionais, principalmente na Lei Modelo da Comissão das Nações Unidas para o Comércio Internacional (UNCITRAL), o método também permite a integração do país no esforço mais amplo de harmonização do direito entre os países. O principal objetivo desta tese é, assim, analisar esse processo de transplante da arbitragem ao contexto jurídico brasileiro. Para isso, inicialmente reconstitui o surgimento das mais importantes instituições da arbitragem comercial internacional e, em seguida, investiga a assimilação local deste instituto. Este último processo é analisado à luz da mobilização que resultou na aprovação da legislação em 1996, bem como da abordagem do funcionamento da arbitragem atualmente. O argumento destaca a participação fundamental dos intermediários para o sucesso da operação de mediação entre instâncias globais e locais. O trabalho finaliza com uma reflexão acerca do encaixe estrutural da arbitragem no campo do direito nacional. / Arbitration is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism allowed by the Brazilian law. When both parties agree about it, they search for an specialized institution that will delegate the resolution of the conflict to one or more arbitrators. Passage of Brazils 1996 Arbitration Act recognized the validity of decisions reached by arbitrators. The incorporation of arbitration in the country happens as part of an international movement to reform local justice systems adapting them to the growth of the commercial arbitration market. Brazil\'s law was inspired by various international instruments, including the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law and can be considered part of a broader effort to homogenize law across countries. The main goal of this dissertation is, thus, to analyze the arbitration transplant to the Brazilian legal context. To do so, it first explores the emergence of the main institutions of international commercial arbitration and then it investigates its local assimilation. This process is analyzed through the mobilization that resulted in the approval of the law in 1996 and also through the exploration of the way by which arbitration operates today. The argument emphasizes the role of the gatekeepers in intermediating the local and the global. This work finishes with a reflection about the structural fitting of arbitration in the local judicial field.

The purpose of the research investigation is to consider the potential opportunities through which corporate governance may be developed to better suit the developing commercial culture within Poland. In order to do this, I formulate the following research questions: ‘What are the weaknesses of the Polish corporate governance system?’, ‘What changes should be made to corporate governance in Poland?’, and ‘Is a hybrid corporate governance model a choice for Poland?’ The concept of hybridisation is fairly new, and involves combining different approaches to corporate governance, eg it embraces combining elements of the board management and monitoring models. I examine several changes to corporate governance that can be called hybrid. They were implemented in South Africa, Japan, Malaysia, the UK and the US. The main focus, however, is put on Polish corporate governance, which I investigate from the angle of those changes. Doctrinal research is combined with a set of interviews conducted with business practitioners in Poland. Interviewees are asked to express their opinion about corporate governance in Poland. Questions are asked in the context of changes that were made to corporate governance in countries mentioned above. The interviews produce results that overlap with the doctrinal research. Polish companies have a highly consolidated share ownership structure, which has a negative influence on the allocation of power between corporate organs. The supervisory board is an organ through which the controlling shareholders extend their power. Under the Company Code 2000, the supervisory board usually appoints and removes members of the management board, and instructs them in the decision making process. The statutes might give a broader scope of powers to the supervisory board. All this results in various forms of expropriation in companies, such as, for example, stealing of profits by governing bodies, overpaying executives, or installing unqualified family members in managerial positions. In general, interviewees are pleased with the currently binding corporate governance in Poland. The majority of them are pessimistic about implementing such large changes in Poland as, for example, a one-tier board system. A significant number of interviewees propose minor changes to the Polish system of corporate governance. It should be highlighted that several non-managerial interviewees turn out to have more liberal approaches to potential changes to corporate governance in Poland. The research fills a gap in knowledge on hybrid corporate governance, as this issue has hardly been touched by the Polish legal doctrine. It also systematises and develops knowledge on hybrid corporate governance worldwide, and develops knowledge on legal transplant.

This diploma thesis deals with the disqualification of directors. With regard to the proclaimed inspirational source from the United Kingdom, the work is focused on comparing the British legal framework with its Czech counterpart. Certain theories and methods presented in comparative literature are used for this comparison, especially the theory of legal transplants and the functional method. The work is divided into five parts, including the introduction and the conclusion. Firstly, the theoretical starting points and the objectives of the work are presented, followed by the part devoted to the British legislation and subsequently followed by the part devoted to the Czech regulation, which also contains aforementioned comparison. Last ones are the chapters devoted to answering the research questions and conclusion. In the section on British legislation, emphasis is placed on the grounds for disqualification, especially on the disqualification for unfitness. There are described main features of the regulation, which are relevant for the Czech legislation. In the part devoted to Czech version, the emphasis is also put on the grounds for disqualification, the past development of regulation in the Czech Republic and the personal scope of the disqualification. Czech legislation is also analytically...

Several stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have emphasized the need for petroleum sector reforms in Nigeria. Canada is reputed to have one of the best oil and gas tax regimes in the world. This thesis argues that certain tax measures in Canada’s oil and gas industry have considerable potential for addressing certain industry inefficiencies in Nigeria’s petroleum sector. In developing this argument, this thesis gives an overview of oil and gas taxation in both jurisdictions and examines the possibility of transferring laws between Nigeria and Canada by exploring legal and tax comparative law theories. The thesis also examines the major challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry and identifies viable areas in Canada’s oil and gas tax system which have the potential to address these challenges. Given the peculiarities of oil and gas taxation in each jurisdiction, this thesis suggests that the selected Canadian fiscal and administrative measures may require certain modifications in order to make these measures more suitable for Nigeria’s legal and tax system.

What makes real life contractual arrangements? How does the law influence real life contractual arrangements? These are everyday questions for businesspeople and commercial lawyers. The traditional ‘imperative’ view of law assumes that business people contract ‘in the shadow of the law’ and contractual arrangements conform to what the law says. But empirical studies on contract practice suggest that contract law may, in fact, play a very insignificant role in real life contractual arrangements. This thesis provides a sociological view of the role of contract law in real life contractual arrangements in the context of the Vietnamese market. Specifically, this thesis applies an institutional law & economics approach to investigate how social structures of the market influence contractual arrangements to marginalize contract law in the Vietnamese market. Drawing on two surveys of contract behaviour in the Vietnamese market, this thesis finds that real life contractual arrangements respond to the institutional structure of the market as a whole, rather than only ‘the shadow of the law’. Institutional changes in the Vietnamese market suggest that there exists a merchant law system, constituted of traditional moral norms and social structures in the market. This merchant law system continues to order contractual arrangements in the market, despite the introduction of a transplanted contract law system. Disagreeing with the imperative approach, this thesis claims that contract law reform should conform to the institutional structure of the market to reduce transaction costs of contracting and to provide an effective framework for real life contractual arrangements.