The aim of this thesis is to give an interpretation on the responsibility and liability of the statutory bodies of the company, as the statutory body presents a series of rights and obligations, the omission or improper performance can have on society and individuals far-reaching consequences. The thesis contains an analysis of the Act No. 418/2011 Coll. the criminal liability of legal persons and proceedings against them, defining the type of criminal liability of legal persons in Europe and comparison of Czech and Slovak legislation. At the conclusion are included proposals de lege designed law relating to the provisions of Act No. 418/2011 Coll.

The child’s participation in any legal matter involving him/her is crucial whether received directly or indirectly through a legal representative. The significance of the child’s views in legal matters is accepted internationally and is entrenched in South African law. This is the main feature of the present research. In Roman law the paterfamilias was the complete antithesis of the best interest of the child with his paternal power entirely serving his own interests. The best interests of the child progressively improved his/her participatory rights and the dominance of paternal authority in Roman, Germanic, and Frankish law eventually gave way to parental authority and assistance in Roman-Dutch law. This advanced the child’s participation in legal matters and under Roman-Dutch law, his/her right of participation included legal representation by way of a curator ad litem. The child’s best interests were consistently viewed from an adult’s perspective and resulted in an adult-centred assessment of his/her best interests. Statutory intervention increased the child’s participatory and representation rights, however, the tenor of these items of legislation remained parent-centred. The Appeal Court later dispelled any uncertainty regarding the paramountcy with respect to the best interests of the child. During the 1970s in South Africa, the emphasis began shifting from a parent-centred to a child-centred approach in litigation between parents in cases involving their children. An open-ended list of factors comprising the best interests of the child accentuated this shift. Courts were encouraged to apply the paramountcy rule in legal matters concerning children and to consider the views of children in determining their best interests. The new democratic constitutional dispensation in South Africa, followed by the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter, obligated South Africa to align children’s rights with international law and standards. The South African Law Reform Commission set out to investigate and to formulate a single comprehensive children’s statute. The resultant Children’s Act 38 of 2005 is the most important item of legislation for children in private law in South Africa. The Children’s Act provides for the widest possible form of child participation in legal matters involving the child. It revolutionises child participation requiring no lower age limit as a determining factor when allowing the child, able to form a view, to express that view. The child’s right to access a court and to be assisted in doing so further enhances his/her participatory right. Effective legal representation is the key in ensuring that children enjoy the fundamental right of participation equal to that of adults in legal matters involving children. Comparative research of child laws in Australia, Kenya, New Zealand and United Kingdom confirms that South Africa is well on the way in enhancing children’s participatory and legal representation rights in legal matters concerning them. This illustrates that only the child’s best interests should serve as a requirement for the legal representation of children in legal matters. Continued training is essential to ensure the implementation of the Children’s Act and requires a concerted effort from all role-players. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Private Law / unrestricted

La position des victimes sur la scène pénale internationale a considérablement évolué depuis la mise en place des tous premiers tribunaux militaires internationaux en 1945. Même si les victimes n'ont pas, à proprement parler, le statut de « partie » au procès pénal international, leur participation au procès est désormais une garantie, avec des droits substantiels. L'étendue de ces droits, aux différentes phases de la procédure, clarifie la manière dont les dispositions correspondantes du droit positif international sont interprétées par le juge pénal international. La fonction des victimes tient, dans un premier temps, davantage à « corroborer l'action publique » internationale qu'à pouvoir déclencher par elles-mêmes cette action destinée à établir la culpabilité ou non des personnes, objets du procès pénal international. Leur rôle se renforce finalement au moment de la présentation, par la voie subsidiaire d'intervention, des réclamations civiles, et plus largement de la recherche d'une pleine satisfaction ; moment au cours duquel les victimes deviennent de véritables « parties civiles » disposant pleinement de la capacité juridique internationale pour faire valoir leur droit. Ainsi, fort de leur action, les victimes paraissent dans une posture « double », vindicative (répression) et réparatrice (indemnisation). L'objectif, visé et atteint, était donc de montrer quelle était aujourd'hui la place des victimes devant les juridictions pénales internationales. / The position of victims on international criminal scene has considerably progressed since the first international militaries tribunals were created in 1945. Even if the victims don't properly have the status of « parties » in international criminal trial, their participation in trial is henceforth a guarantee, with substantial rights. The scale of these rights, at different steps of the procedure, clarifies the way the international criminal judge interpreted the proportional dispositions of international positive laws. The role of victims is more, at the first time, to « confirm » international « public action » than exercise themselves this action to establish accused guilty or not. Their role is finally reinforced during the presentation of civil claims, by supplementary way of intervention, and more widely in search of full satisfaction. At that moment, victims become real « civil parties » with full international juridical capacity to claim their right. So, because of their actions, the victims appear in a “double” posture, vindicatory (repression) and repairing (compensation). The targeted and achieved aim was to show today what was the place of the victims in front of the international penal jurisdictions.

A l’heure du développement des nouvelles technologies et de la multiplication deshypothèses de représentation, la présence physique et personnelle des différentsprotagonistes du procès dans les lieux de justice interroge. Mode traditionnel d’organisationdes rapports processuels, la présence paraît aujourd’hui remise en cause, notamment enraison des lourdeurs de la procédure qu’elle entraînerait. Pourtant, dans le même temps, desvoix s’élèvent pour reconnaître l’existence d’un principe de présence.La présence des acteurs du procès doit en effet conserver sa place au sein du droitprocessuel, en raison de sa légitimité tant juridique qu’économique dans l’organisation duprocès. Elle apparaît alors comme le substrat d’un principe directeur du procès selon lequelles opérations procédurales déterminantes sur l’issue du litige se déroulent en présence desparties, duquel découleraient de nombreuses situations juridiques présentielles. Ce nouveauprincipe de présence, encore à l’état latent à l’heure actuelle, gagnerait à être renforcé afinde préserver une justice à visage humain. / At the time of the development of new technologies and the increase of legalrepresentation cases, physical and personal presence of trial actors in the justice‘s premisesquestions. The presence, which is considered as the traditional method of organizingprocedural relationships, seems to raise some doubts today, especially because of thecumbersomeness of the procedure involved. Nevertheless, at the same time, voices makethem heard to recognize the existence of a principle of presence.Indeed, the presence of the trial actors should hold its place in the procedural law, becauseof its legal as well as economic legitimacy in the organization of the trial. It appears as thebasis of a guiding principle of the trial according to which the determining proceduraloperations on the outcome of the trial occur in the presence of the parties. From this basis, itfollows many legal situations of presence. This new principle of presence, still at a latentstate for the moment, would benefit from being strengthened in order to preserve the humanface of justice.

Le 21 mars 2001, la loi relative aux droits des victimes d'infraction pénale 2001-5751 est adoptée. Fruit des mouvements féministes et des associations d'aide aux victimes, cette loi marque la reconnaissance par les institutions judiciaires et législatives de la nécessité d'adopter des droits en faveur des victimes d'infraction pénale en général et d'agression sexuelle en particulier. Elle institue, entre autres, le droit au respect, l'accès à l'information durant la procédure, la défense de la vie privée et le droit à la sécurité (face aux accusés ou à leur famille) des victimes d'infraction. Par ailleurs, cette loi énonce que les victimes d'agression sexuelle bénéficient de droits qui leurs sont propres, notamment celui de présenter leur avis à certains stades de la procédure pénale. Pourtant, cette loi ne possède pas de portée juridique obligatoire. La victime d'infraction pénale reste à l'écart de la justice pénale israélienne, sans véritable rôle autre que celui de témoin. Ce faible rôle de la victime semble reposer sur la particularité du système pénal israélien, qui respecte la tradition accusatoire. Selon ce modèle, le procès pénal oppose deux parties, l'accusation et la défense, qui doivent répondre d'un conflit devant une institution judiciaire impartiale, appelée à trouver la vérité à partir de la présentation de leurs arguments et de leurs preuves. Dans ce contexte, la victime n'est pas partie. Ce modèle s'oppose à la tradition inquisitoire, dans laquelle, la présence d'un juge actif participant à l'instruction et d'un juge de l'audience impartial et indépendant semble plus favorable à la participation de la victime. Pourtant, l'influence de ces modèles est moindre que par le passé, tout d'abord parce qu'il n'existe plus de système purement accusatoire ou inquisitoire, ensuite parce que les systèmes judiciaires respectant la tradition accusatoire dans leur pays ont adapté leur structure aux intérêts de la justice, mais aussi aux droits des victimes, notamment grâce à l'intégration des notions de procès équitable et de Due Process of Law. En Israël, cette évolution est plus mitigée. Ainsi, si le système judiciaire israélien reconnaît la victime comme sujet de la procédure, dans la pratique la rencontre avec les acteurs judiciaires est loin d'être facile, tout particulièrement lorsqu'il s'agit d'une victime d'agression sexuelle. En effet, ce type d'infraction repose souvent sur des préjugés et des stéréotypes contre les femmes. Le parcours de la victime d'agression sexuelle commence par le dépôt de plainte et la rencontre avec la police. Il se poursuit par la rencontre avec le procureur durant la phase d'enquête. N'étant pas représentée, c'est souvent seule ou assistée de simples bénévoles qu'elle se présente devant les acteurs de la justice. Lorsque la plainte n'est pas classée sans suite, le parcours de la victime continue par la rencontre avec le(s) juge(s) au cours du procès, durant lequel elle est interrogée par le procureur et contre-interrogée par l'avocat de l'accusé. Cette étape représente une nouvelle épreuve, et peut provoquer une victimisation secondaire, notamment lorsque l'avocat de l'accusé tente de la déstabiliser par ses questions. Ce parcours se termine par la sentence et par l'obtention, si la cour compétente le décide, d'une indemnisation au profit de la victime. L'enfant-victime bénéficie d'une procédure spécifique adaptée à ses besoins. Pourtant, qu'elle soit adulte ou enfant, la victime reste passive et subordonnée aux autres acteurs judiciaires pratiquement à toutes les étapes de la procédure. La victime d'agression sexuelle pourra-t-elle trouver une place active dans le cadre de la procédure pénale traditionnelle ? L'influence des autres systèmes juridiques qui ont su s'adapter pour intégrer le droit des victimes, et l'émergence de nouvelles pratiques telles que la justice restaurative pourraient permettre une évolution concernant le traitement de la victime d'agression sexuelle. / On the 21st of March 2001, the "Rights of Victims of Crime Law", which acknowledges the existence of victims in the criminal procedure, was passed. This law, which is the fruit of the intervention of the feminist and the human rights movement, finally recognizes the necessity of granting rights to victim of crime in general, and the victim of sexual offences in particular. The "Rights of Victims of Crime Law" included a series of rights for victims during the different stages of the criminal proceedings such as free access to information, the protection of their privacy and the right to be protected inside and outside of the court from intimidation by offenders and their families. Likewise, victims of sexual offences may receive information, and express their opinions, under specific conditions at different stages during the trial and in cases where a plea bargain is struck between the offender and the prosecutor. Despite this new law, the victim's participation in the process remains symbolic. The victim remains on the sidelines of the Israeli criminal justice system, with no active role at any stage of the criminal process. The only real players are the public prosecutor, the accused and his or her lawyers. It seems at first glance that the fact that the victim does not participate in the criminal process is based on the characteristics of the Israeli criminal system as an adversarial system. As an adversarial system of law, the Israeli criminal system consists of two parties only, which are equal: the prosecution and the accused seeking to resolve a dispute before a passive judge, interested in discovering the procedural truth. In this system, there are two parties, the defense and the prosecution, the victims only representation being as a witness. However, we have seen that during the last thirty years, in countries utilizing a similar legal system, a clear evolution in victims' rights based on the Due Process of Law and a fair trial for the accused and for the victims of sexual abuse. In some of these countries, victims have profited from an effective role during the proceedings. The journey of the victims of sexual offences in the criminal court, from the filling of a complaint with the police, to the meeting with the prosecutor and judges, until the sentence, is not easy, considering that he or she is not represented by a lawyer. Moreover, the domain of sexual offences is laden with stereotypes that the victims have to deal with. If "The Rights of Victims of Crime Law", try to ease the process for victims, the victims' participation is weak and depends on the will of the prosecutor. Moreover, the opinion of the victim does not have any bounding value. In fact, this law does not provide standing or remedies for victims rights violation. The traditional Israeli criminal system does not satisfy the need for victims of sexual assault to express human feelings during the stages of the criminal process, and may lead in certain case to secondary victimisation. Therefore, it is interesting to consider if the Israeli criminal prooceedings could be influenced by other systems of law which have succeeded in granting effective rights to victims, and whether the social and juridical evolution of Israeli society might offer progressively a forum to victims, notably with the utilization of restorative justice.

This thesis investigates the compatibility of a crucial aspect of Sudanese criminal justice, namely, the compatibility of the right to a fair trial with two main sources of this right: international human rights law and Shari’a law. The right to a fair trial is a cornerstone for any society and serves to observe the rule of law and other rights of citizens. The study illustrates that the right to a fair trial could play a significant role in the protection of human rights in Sudan. The main aim of this study is to establish ways in which the right to a fair trial can be strengthened in Sudan. The thesis has examined the work emanating from the international level by reviewing decisions, providing general comments and analysing other jurisprudence emanating from bodies such as the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Human Rights Committee. The decisions, general comments and other jurisprudence from these bodies are juxtaposed against Sudan’s laws to establish the extent to which the right to a fair trial is upheld at the domestic level in Sudan. The study critically examines the sources of the right to a fair trial in Sudan. The main sources of right to a fair trial in Sudan are the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Act, the Penal Code, Shari’a law and international human rights law. It seeks to answer the question whether Sudanese fair trial rights are compatible with international standards. The study establishes that one of the sources of law that govern the right to a fair trial in Sudan is Shari’a law. The main principle in Islam is that nothing is unlawful, unless it is expressly forbidden by law. However, the Shari’a law in Sudan has not been properly implemented as is illustrated through the rigid and traditional implementation of some of its provisions. The selective and rigid implementation of provisions of Shari’a law has resulted in a conflict with the accepted international standards of fair trial rights. What the study establishes is that a more progressive interpretation of Shari’a law can potentially solve the contradictions with international human rights law that currently exist. The study identifies a number of factors that have affected the development of the right to a fair trial in Sudan. Among these factors are the lack of political will, poverty, the lack of awareness about rights, laws that are contrary to the right to a fair trial, laws that inadequately protect victims and witnesses, impunity, corruption, the lack of resources both human and financial, abuse of power, existence of military and special courts, institutional constraints, discrimination against women, and the refusal or resistance of the executive branch of government to implement decisions of the courts. This study concludes that some pre-trial, trial and post-trial rights and standards in Sudan are not in conformity with international and regional standards. The study concludes by making a number of recommendations aimed at institutional and legal reform. / Dissertation (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Centre for Human Rights / LLD / Unrestricted

La reconnaissance du droit de participation et du droit à réparation des victimes est l’évolution la plus remarquable des dernières décennies dans le domaine des droits nationaux et dans le cadre de la justice pénale internationale. Les Juridictions Pénales Internationales construisent le statut des victimes. Confrontés à des concepts innovants, les juges doivent créer des précédents et organiser les modalités des droits des victimes. Ils doivent allier la coordination de la représentation légale de milliers de victimes avec les impératifs de la justice. Au vu des premières décisions, la place des victimes est acquise puisque les juges ont accepté leur participation. Cependant, leur interprétation des règles apporte de sérieuses restrictions aux droits des victimes dans la pratique. La participation des victimes n’est pas pleinement effective et leur réparation se révèle exceptionnelle. Ainsi, l’intérêt de l’étude de la jurisprudence réside dans la détermination du statut réel des victimes au sein des procès internationaux et l’importance des droits appliqués. Des évolutions positives sont possibles en faveur de la reconnaissance du statut de parties au procès et de l’effectivité des droits des victimes. / The recognition of the right to participate and the right to reparation to the victimes is the most remarkable evolution of these last decades in the national laws and in the International Criminal Justice. The International Criminal Jurisdictions built the victims’ status. Confronted to innovative concepts, the judges have to create precedents and organise the modalities of the victim’s rights. They have to combine the coordination of the legal representation of thousands of victims with the necessity of justice. In view of the first decisions, the place of the victimes is established since the judges grant them the right to participate. However, their interpretation of the rules brings serious limitations to the rights of the victims in the practice. The victims’ participation is not fully applied and their reparation turns out to be exceptionnal. So, the interest of the jurisprudence study resides in the determination of the real status of the victims in the international trial and the importance of the granted rights. Positive evolutions can be made in favor of the recognition of the status of parties in the trial and the effectiveness of the rigths of the victims.