This thesis addresses primary concepts in the humanitarian intervention debates. I argue that humanitarian intervention is a perfect duty. The global community has a moral obligation to act decisively in the face of extreme human rights abuses. There are two contrasting theoretical perspectives regarding international relations and humanitarian intervention: statism and cosmopolitanism. These contrasting perspectives contest the relative value of state sovereignty and human rights. Some of the most prominent ethicists in the debate have determined states have a “right” to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of other states to halt severe human rights abuses but there is no “duty”to intervene. These conclusions are largely based upon consequentialist considerations. This thesis argues a deontological perspective is essential. References to events Rwanda, Darfur, and Kosovo are made. There is a critical role for preemptive actions to play in addressing humanitarian crises and calls for global justice.

Cette thèse propose un test empirique du modèle d’attribution du leadership basé sur l’observation de dyades leader-subordonné au Sénégal et en France. Ce modèle se concentre sur des construits essentiels comme la complexité attributionnelle et l’exactitude des attributions des leaders, les comportements qui en résultent, les variables médiatrices comme la satisfaction des subordonnés, les stratégies correctives de la performance et les variables de résultat comme les perceptions du leadership. Le modèle est testé à l’aide de régressions hiérarchiques des effets directs et des effets médiateurs des attributions biaisées. Notre intention est de tester les relations à partir d’un échantillon d’auditeurs en formation continue de l’enseignement supérieur (au Sénégal et en France) et de déterminer selon notre modèle et nos hypothèses de recherche, quels construits contribuent le plus à expliquer la complexité attributionnelle des leaders. Cequi nous amène à étudier l’influence directe de l’exactitude des attributions, l’effet des stratégies correctives et de la satisfaction des subordonnés sur la perception du leadership. Nous testerons aussi le rôle des attributions biaisées sur les deux variables médiatrices. Les hypothèses sont fortement corroborées. La complexité attributionnelle des leaders est liée à l’exactitude de leurs attributions, telle qu’elle est perçue par leurs subordonnés. Les stratégies de correction de la performance élaborées par les leaders se sont révélées liées à des attributions exactes, puis à des variables clés de résultats. Nous analysons les résultats ainsi que les limites et les orientations futures de la recherche. Les contributionsmanagériales sont doubles : d'une part, de prendre en compte dans le processus de recrutement des leaders leur aptitude à adopter une approche attributionnelle complexe et, d'autre part, les former afin de mieux accompagner leurs subordonnés. / This thesis proposes an empirical test of the leadership attribution model based on the observation of leader-subordinate dyads in Senegal and France. This model focuses on key constructs such as attributional complexity and leader attribution accuracy, resulting behaviors, mediating variables such as subordinate satisfaction, performance corrective strategies, and outcome variables such as leadership perceptions. The model is tested using hierarchical regressions of direct effects and mediating effects of biased allocations. Our intention is to test the relationships from a sample of auditors in continuingeducation of higher education (in Senegal and France) and to determine according to our model and our research hypotheses, which constructs contribute the most to explain the attributional complexity of the leaders. This leads us to study the direct influence of the accuracy of the attributions, the effect of the corrective strategies and the satisfaction of the subordinates on the perception of the leadership. We will also test the role of biased assignments on the two mediating variables. Hypotheses are strongly corroborated. The attributional complexity of leaders is linked to the accuracy of their attributions, as perceived by their subordinates. The performance correction strategies developed by leaders have beenlinked to accurate attribution and then to key outcome variables. We analyze the results as well as the limits and future directions of the research. The managerial contributions are twofold: on the one hand, to take into account in the process of recruiting leaders their ability to adopt a complex attributional approach and, on the other hand, to train them to better support their subordinates.

Compelling research in international relations and international political economy on global warming suggests that one part of any meaningful effort to radically reverse current trends of increasing green house gas (GHG) emissions is shared policies among states that generate costs for such emissions in many if not most of the world’s regions. Effectively employing such policies involves gaining much more extensive global commitments and developing much stronger compliance mechanism than those currently found in the Kyoto Protocol. In other words, global warming raises the prospect that we need a global form of political authority that could coordinate the actions of states in order to address this environmental threat. This in turn suggests that any serious effort to mitigate climate change will entail new limits on the sovereignty of states. In this book I focus on the normative question of whether or not we have clear moral reasons to bind ourselves together in such a supranational form of political association. I argue that one can employ familiar liberal arguments for the moral legitimacy of political order at the state level to show that we do have a duty to support such a global political project. Even if one adopts the premises employed by the most influential forms of liberal scepticism to the ideas of global political and distributive justice, such as those advanced by John Rawls and Thomas Nagel, it is clear that the threat of global warming has expanded the scope of justice. We now have a global and demanding duty of justice to create the political conditions that would allow us to collectively address our impact on the Earth’s atmosphere.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

With national cuts on solar PV subsidies and the current “oversupply” of panels, the global solar market is clearly threatened by a contraction. Yet, the need for more solar power is apparent, particularly for the world’s poor and vulnerable population. Instead of securing modern energy access for these people, trade interests have triggered a counterproductive solar trade war. This contemporary legal study addresses these issues by examining existent and potential instruments for stimulating a North-to-South solar capital flow. The research finds that recent reforms of the CDM will do little difference from previous deficiencies, as local investment barriers are not reflected in the monetary support of the clean development mechanism. Competing technologies are successfully keeping solar out of the game while baseline requirements are undermining the poor. Inspired by national renewable energy law and policy, international alternatives could address these shortcomings. While feed-in tariffs have been commonly advocated, the REC model seems far more appropriate in an international context. Its ability to be traded separately from the electricity makes it a perfect candidate as a substitute for the CDM. Entrusted with certain features it could address the geographical unbalance and provide with greater investor certainty. But the scheme(s) are under current WTO regulations required to be non-discriminatory, making it highly questionable to believe that developed countries would ever fund such incentive. It is not likely that solar capital exporters want Chinese solar PV manufacturers, who are already receiving significant production subsidies, to receive the same benefits as other producers. However, if countries adversely effected by subsidies where allowed to offset the injury by discriminating Chinese producers in international REC schemes, the Author believes that it would be easier to sell such a concept and implement it, for the benefits of climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as the world’s vulnerable and poor nations. However, this would require extensive reforms under WTO which the Author calls for.

Depuis les dernières années, les marchés financiers ont été marqués par une volonté des investisseurs, dont les fonds d’investissement privés, de privatiser des sociétés publiques. Plusieurs fermetures de capital se sont matérialisées par des acquisitions par voie d’emprunt (aussi connues sous le nom « leverage buy-out »), en raison notamment des taux d’intérêt peu élevés, d’un crédit plus accessible et d’un certain resserrement de la réglementation applicable aux sociétés publiques. S’inscrivant dans ce contexte, le présent mémoire de maîtrise s’intéresse particulièrement à l’impact des jugements rendus dans le cadre du litige relatif à l’offre d’acquisition par voie d’emprunt de BCE inc. sur les conceptions traditionnelles des devoirs des administrateurs. Dans cette affaire, les détenteurs de débentures de la filiale à part entière de BCE inc., Bell Canada, se sont vigoureusement opposés à cette acquisition. Cette transaction, d’une envergure sans précédent dans l’histoire du Canada, a été scrutée jusqu’à la plus haute instance décisionnelle au pays quant à son caractère raisonnable et équitable et à son effet potentiellement oppressif envers les détenteurs de débentures. Cette étude abordera d’abord l’évolution de la jurisprudence du Delaware sur les devoirs des administrateurs, dans le contexte d’un changement de contrôle, juridiction phare en droit des sociétés aux États-Unis et source d’inspiration marquée en droit canadien. Ensuite, nous nous attarderons sur la position du droit canadien et sur un arrêt marquant rendu par la Cour suprême du Canada, dans l’affaire Peoples. Sur cette toile de fond, cette analyse sera complétée par un examen des motifs des décisions rendues par les trois instances judiciaires dans l’affaire BCE et une réflexion sur l’impact de ces décisions sur le droit des sociétés au Canada. / In recent years, financial markets have been marked by investors’ willingness, including private investment funds, to privatize public corporations. Several privatizations have been realized through acquisitions by way of a leveraged buy-out, partly because of low interest rates, a more available credit and a certain tightening of regulations applicable to public corporations. In this context, this master thesis focuses on the impact on traditional legal concepts of the directors’ duties, further to the series of judgments rendered in the litigation regarding the leveraged buy-out offer by a consortium led by Teachers on BCE Inc. In this case, the debentureholders of the wholly owned subsidiary of BCE Inc., Bell Canada, have strongly opposed the acquisition. On an unprecedented scale in Canadian history, this transaction has been scrutinized by the highest Court of the country for its fair and reasonable character and its potentially oppressive character on debentureholders. This study will initially address the evolving jurisprudence of Delaware on directors' duties in the context of a change of control. Delaware is the leading jurisdiction in corporate law in the United States and has therefore inspired the Canadian law. Then, this thesis will more particularly focus on the position of Canadian law and a landmark decision rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada in the case Peoples. This analysis will be complemented by a study of the underlying reasons rendered by the three levels of courts in the case of BCE and a discussion on the impact of these decisions on corporate law in Canada.

Marine scientific research has not lost any of its significance for the world of today and might become even more important for the future as the knowledge in this area will be crucial for management decisions in most areas of human life. Lithuania being the coastal state should be strongly motivated to create favourable conditions for carrying out MSR. The provisions of Part XIII, 1982 UNCLOS, set out specific rights and obligations for coastal and researching States and provide guidelines on how these rights and obligations should be implemented through negotiated access by foreign research vessels into the maritime zones under coastal State sovereign rights and jurisdiction. However, there is no evidence of successful UNCLOS implementation into national law of the Republic of Lithuania. The MSR regime remains nominal for lack of practical implementation. Though the UNCLOS is considered to represent the predominant international MSR regime, there are still provisions requiring a liberal interpretation, which could be enabled both by States enacting appropriate formulations and procedures in their national legislation and by commissions and international organizations developing guidelines and standardized procedures. The study has been structured in three parts which are further outlined in chapters representing the most relevant issues of the topic under discussion. Part 1 explores the historical development of marine science regulation indicating the origin and... [to full text]

It is emphasized, that both fiscal (tariff) export restrictions and non–fiscal (non–tariff) export restrictions shall be prohibited between Member States. Fiscal (tariff) export restrictions are customs duties on exports and charges having equivalent effect. Measures having equivalent effect can be distinguished to distinctly and indistinctly applicable measures and discriminatory and non–discriminatory measures. Only discriminatory measures, which usually are distinctly applicable, are forbidden. But the possibility, that even indistinctly applicable measures can be discriminatory and distinctly applicable measures can be non–discriminatory, is not discounted.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise s’intéresse au sujet de la citoyenneté telle que vue par treize personnalités musulmanes influentes du Québec. Ces personnes sont largement impliquées dans différentes sphères des affaires publiques, telles que religieuse, politique, communautaire, académique et économique. L’objectif de l’étude qualitative de ces entrevues de type ouvert est de comprendre comment ces personnes perçoivent leur citoyenneté et les expériences personnelles sociales qui influencent leurs visions respectives à partir de la sémantique de leur articulation de la relation de la foi musulmane avec la notion de citoyenneté. Le contenu de ces entrevues a été soumis à une analyse de discours et nous en avons ressorti « une théorie de la citoyenneté chez les musulmans du Québec » basée sur des définitions différentes de la citoyenneté : une citoyenneté qui est « à part entière » en contradiction avec une autre de « seconde zone » ou de « seconde classe », toutes les deux définies par un ensemble de droits et de devoirs. Cette logique de définition de la citoyenneté se justifie par un cumul d’identités durant la trajectoire personnelle de chacun en faisant intervenir ses priorités et ses préoccupations courantes tout en trouvant sa source d’inspiration dans l’islam. La nationalité canadienne/québécoise se complète par l’islam comme mode de vie au sein de cette définition de la citoyenneté, selon cette même logique, à l’intérieur d’une idéologie nationaliste canadienne. / We are focusing on the study of citizenship as seen by a group of influential Muslim people, extensively involved in public affairs in various fields: social, religion, politics, community and academic. This group of thirteen persons has been questioned in an open interview manner about citizenship with a goal to understand how they perceive their citizenship and which social experiences influence that vision and shape their position. The qualitative analysis using a discourse analysis methodology brings out a “Muslim Quebecers theory of citizenship” based on different definitions of citizenship: a "global citizenship" that is "full" at odds with one another labeled as "second class citizenship", both defined by a set of rights and duties. This logic of definition is defined by a set of identities cumulated during their personal experience and shaped by their current priorities as social actors. It has its roots in Islam as a spiritual referential. In other cases the citizenship is defined by the completion of the local Canadian/Quebecer nationality by Islam as a lifestyle within a Canadian nationalist ideology.