To be able to understand future firm performance it is important to recognize and correctly evaluate what constitutes a signal. This study investigates if provisions contain signalling value regarding future firm performance. The study is conducted on firms listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm from 2001 to 2010, constituting a sample of 2173 firm years. All the provision data has been manually collected from each of the firm’s annual reports. By using both univariate and multivariate analyses, the study provides new evidence regarding the association between provisions and firm performance. The findings indicate that firms who recognise restructuring provisions experience a performance improvement. The performance improvement is tied to the size of the restructuring provision i.e. the signal. Warranty and litigation provisions show no indications of having any relation to future firm performance. Thus, large restructuring provisions contain a signal of performance improvement, whereas warranty and litigation provisions do not. The thesis contributes to existing literature by providing new insight of how provisions functions as signals of firm performance

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Cette thèse aborde la question du régime de l’obligation consumériste au travers de l’exemple de la prescription. Elle s’intéresse à la réception par le droit de la consommation, droit par essence inégalitaire, de la prescription en tant que mécanisme du régime général de l’obligation. Le délai biennal de l'action en paiement du professionnel peut-il être interrompu ? Quels sont les effets des pourparlers sur le court délai de l'action en inexécution du consommateur ? Comment s'impute le paiement d'une dette prescrite en droit de la consommation ? Ce travail s'attache à démontrer l'inadéquation du recours au régime de droit commun dans les rapports consuméristes, mais aussi les conséquences dommageables des solutions actuelles apportées par le droit de la consommation. Il se propose d'étudier, par une analyse systématique et détaillée de la jurisprudence du fond et de la Cour de cassation, le traitement de la prescription dans les contrats de consommation classiques, et dans les contrats de consommation inversés. Il s’intéresse également à la prescription des actions en nullité et en répétition de l’indu. L'étude de la jurisprudence accessible et du précontentieux disponible révèle que le consommateur est pénalisé à deux égards :– l'application des mécanismes de droit commun (computation, interruption, suspension, interversion des délais et prescription présomptive de paiement) confère en réalité au professionnel la maîtrise des délais, que celui-ci agisse en qualité de créancier ou de débiteur ;– la coexistence de plusieurs délais de nature et de régime différents (prescription, prescription présomptive et forclusion) est source de confusion tant pour les parties que pour les juridictions. La comparaison des courants jurisprudentiels des cours d'appel dans le contentieux de masse met en relief des pratiques opposées qui, outre l'enjeu économique important pour le consommateur, privent celui-ci d'un accès égal à la justice.La démonstration des déséquilibres induits par le régime de la prescription s’accompagne de pistes de réflexions prospectives. Théorisant les pratiques actuelles, l'étude sert de base à la construction d'un modèle raisonné de prescription de l'obligation consumériste et de son régime, fondé sur le traitement différencié des parties / While Civil law is traditionally based on equality between contractors, Consumer protection Law was built around the notion of unbalanced contractual relationship, the consumer being the weaker party. This study revolves around limitation periods and foreclosure, known to be Civil law mechanisms, and their use and reception by Consumer Law. Is the two year period granted to the professional to seek specific performance likely to be interrupted ? Do negociations revolving around a purchased good’s hidden defects suspend the brief period granted to the consumer to claim for specific performance ? How does French Consumer Protection Law allocate late payment of debts that have been extinguished by the statute of limitations ? This study consists in systematic analyses of available litigations obtained through courts' Open data. It aims to highlight phenomena such as rules resumption, rules adjustment or rules creation through the problematic of unbalanced, B to C, contractual relationships.Three sights were fixed for this purpose : - demonstrating how inadequate Civil Law, Consumer Law and Commercial Law are considering the contractual unbalances inherent to B to C relationships, through some examples of mass litigations (nature of the statute of limitations, commencement date of the limitation period, causes for interruption and suspension of the limitation period, court’s function) ; - highlighting the lack of strong, unchanging jurisprudence on the subject, at the expense of legal safety and legal rules quality ; - offering a new, rational model of limitation period for Consumer Law, taking into account the very specific problematics of each parties. The result of the above study could provide the basis for a reflection on a new Consumer legislation

The unreasonable length of Italian civil proceedings goes on filling pages of newspapers and magazines. According to some authoritative views, the inefficiency of the civil justice system helps explain why the Italian model legislation on civil proceedings, as well as its academic research, are not as influential on the European scene as they were in the past. It is interesting to note that an opposed thesis has pointed out that the Italian procedurallaw and recent researches in civil proceedings lack a clear, up-to-date, principle-oriented and comprehensive approach towards problems and challenges that contemporary civil justice systems face today. Such an outdated and overly complicated approach might contribute to the inefficiency of the Italian civiljustice system. The Italian Law Journal, which aims to both spread knowledge (and criticism) of the Italian legal system and foster international debate among lawyers of different traditions, may be an appropriate venue for deepening our understanding of the current performance of the Italian civil justice system. Itmay, in particular, assist in ascertaining the major causes of the inefficiencies, with a view to assessing (in a subsequent article) if the prevailing way of thinking of legal scholars may, in the end, exacerbate the relevant problems. / La longitud poco razonable de los procesos civiles italianos continúa llenando páginas de periódicos y revistas. De acuerdo con algunas opiniones autorizadas, la ineficiencia del sistema de justicia civil ayuda a explicar el motivo por el cual el modelo italiano de legislación en materia de procedimiento civil, así como su investigación académica, no sean tan influyentes en la escena europea como lo fueron en el pasado. Es interesante notar que una tesis opuesta ha señalado que el derecho procesal italiano y las investigaciones recientes sobre el proceso civil carecen de un enfoque claro, integral, actualizado y orientado por principios sobre los problemas y desafíos que el sistema de justicia civil afronta actualmente. Tal enfoque anticuado y demasiado complicado podría contribuir a la ineficiencia del sistema de justicia civil italiano. El Italian Law Journal, cuyo objetivo es la difusión de conocimiento (y crítica) del sistema legal italiano y la promoción del debate internacional entre abogados de distintas tradiciones, puede ser un modo apropiado para profundizar nuestra comprensión del desempeño actual del sistema de justicia civil italiano. Puede, en particular, ayudar a determinar las principales causas de las ineficiencias con el fin de evaluar (en un artículo posterior) si la forma predominante de pensamiento de los estudiosos del derecho posiblemente, al final, exacerba problemas relevantes.

A presente tese tem por objetivo a análise das convenções processuais entabuladas entre as partes antes ou depois de instaurada a relação jurídica processual. O enfoque da pesquisa são os limites e a eficácia dessas convenções, em respeito à ordem pública processual. São analisados ordenamentos jurídicos estrangeiros e, posteriormente, o tratamento que a legislação brasileira confere ao tema. Outro ponto da pesquisa é a influência das ideologias publicista e privatista no processo civil. Por fim, são examinados o modelo de flexibilização procedimental por calendário e o tratamento dado pelo projeto de novo Código de Processo Civil. / The present thesis has as its objective the analysis of procedural agreements established between parties before or after the case has arrived at a courthouse. The emphasis of the research is the way by which those agreements can be enforced within the procedure without disrespecting relevant public interests. Foreign systems and, later on, the way Brazilian law treats the subject are analyzed. Another point of the research is the influence of the public interest based and the private interest based systems in civil procedure. Finally, the timetabling model of civil procedure and the upcoming reform of the Brazilian Civil Procedure Code are examined.

A presente tese tem por objetivo a análise das convenções processuais entabuladas entre as partes antes ou depois de instaurada a relação jurídica processual. O enfoque da pesquisa são os limites e a eficácia dessas convenções, em respeito à ordem pública processual. São analisados ordenamentos jurídicos estrangeiros e, posteriormente, o tratamento que a legislação brasileira confere ao tema. Outro ponto da pesquisa é a influência das ideologias publicista e privatista no processo civil. Por fim, são examinados o modelo de flexibilização procedimental por calendário e o tratamento dado pelo projeto de novo Código de Processo Civil. / The present thesis has as its objective the analysis of procedural agreements established between parties before or after the case has arrived at a courthouse. The emphasis of the research is the way by which those agreements can be enforced within the procedure without disrespecting relevant public interests. Foreign systems and, later on, the way Brazilian law treats the subject are analyzed. Another point of the research is the influence of the public interest based and the private interest based systems in civil procedure. Finally, the timetabling model of civil procedure and the upcoming reform of the Brazilian Civil Procedure Code are examined.

Le droit international privé de l’Union européenne se réapproprie le problème de la qualification. Non content d’en altérer fondamentalement la configuration, il en réoriente laborieusement la résolution. Or, la qualité du système tout entier, sa stabilité à un instant t, de même que sa capacité à se développer, à s’ouvrir et à se déployer sur le monde extérieur, sont placées dans l’étroite dépendance de l’efficacité de la qualification ; efficacité qui se mesure à l’aune de l’analyse méthodologique de l’opération, comme de la cohérence des résultats auxquels elle conduit. Et si à ce titre le système déçoit aujourd’hui, il est néanmoins tout aussi possible que souhaitable de le refonder rationnellement. Qui peut le plus peut le moins… Exemple sera donc pris de la matière contractuelle, soumise à la règle la plus complexe qui soit, la plus sujette à polémiques aussi, afin d’ouvrir la voie à davantage de cohérence.La reconfiguration du problème de qualification, ayant sa source dans la rupture imposée par le droit de l’Union entre la législation matérielle et la législation conflictuelle, en accentue naturellement la complexité. Curieusement, la construction jurisprudentielle multiplie sans raison les difficultés, imposant deux nouvelles ruptures, entre l’interprétation de la catégorie érigée au fondement de la compétence et l’interprétation du facteur de rattachement d’une part, entre l’opération de qualification et l’opération de coordination des compétences concurrentes d’autre part. La refondation du système de qualification suppose ainsi la combinaison harmonieuse de ce que la jurisprudence a dispersé, qualification, rattachement et coordination concourant conjointement à la détermination de la compétence spéciale, la cohérence des résultats de la qualification déterminant le choix des orientations méthodologiques de l’opération. Dans cette perspective simplificatrice, parce que la complexité des réponses juridiques ne se conçoit que lorsqu’elle reflète adéquatement et efficacement la complexité des questions, il apparaît naturel de confier à l’opération de qualification les moyens de prévenir les difficultés que ne manque pas de susciter sa pratique purement analytique, cause naturelle d’un dépeçage des situations entraînant à son tour une dispersion excessive du contentieux. Appuyé au contraire sur une opération de qualification à visée préventive, et recourant à des catégories plus synthétiques aux contours flexibles, le système de détermination de la compétence spéciale en matière contractuelle gagnerait en simplicité, en efficacité, en adaptabilité, et il pourrait peut-être être envisagé, enfin, de donner une dimension mondiale à ce qui fonctionnerait à l’échelle régionale. / Formally disassociating the sources of material and conflict legislation, European Private International law alters the classical problem of characterisation, resolution of which cannot be borrowed from BARTIN or RABEL theories any longer. Yet, the quality of the whole system, its stability at a given moment, as well as its capacity to develop and to deploy on the outside world, are placed in the narrow dependence of the efficiency of the characterisation process. Analysing this efficiency calls for an examination of the theoretical and methodological implications, as well as of the consistency of the achieved results. On both grounds, the current system of characterisation is undoubtedly disappointing, and should be reconsidered rationally. In this perspective, attention will be focused on “matters relating to contract”, submitted to the more complex and criticized rule of the Brussels I regulation. The importation of a conflict of laws issue within a conflict of jurisdiction reasoning (De Bloos/Tessili) constitutes a terrible factor of complexity, interpretation of the conflict category belonging to the European legal order while the interpretation of the connecting factor is abandoned to the national legal order. As a consequence, the reasons behind the choice of a specific connecting factor simply cannot impact the characterisation process, as the exclusion of all claims formed by third parties from the scope of article 5-1° illustrates (Handte). Moreover, complexity and heterogeneity of situations seem to radically oppose the exercise of adjudicatory authority by a unique jurisdiction other than that of the defendant’s domicile. In such a context, conflicts of litigations are more than frequent and are not always dealt with in a consistent manner. Gubisch, for instance, coerces the very thing Shenavai and Leathertex prohibit, i.e. the exercise of adjudicatory authority by the first judge seized, be it the judge of a secondary obligation. Kalfelis drastically opposes consolidation of parallel proceedings in the event a litigation implies claims founded on different grounds. Observation can thus be made that the Brussels I system currently separates three intellectual operations; characterisation, location of the connecting factor, and coordination of concurring jurisdictions are insulated from each other. Yet, those three operations not only chronologically follow one another, but also functionally pursue the same objective, and characterisation could, and should be provided with the means to anticipate the following difficulties. In this perspective, it is suggested that the dispersive consequences of every conceivable characterisation should constitute the very cause of the definitive and centralising characterisation. In other words, the results’ consistency, as well as the cohesion of the heterogeneous components of the claim should dictate methodological choices. It appears, in turn, that departing from the dogmatic attachment to actor sequitur and prior tempore would enable a well functioning regional system to deploy rationally on worldwide scale.