Over the past two decades, South Africa has introduced several laws regulating business and providing protection to consumers. These include the Competition Act (89 of 1998), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (25 of 2002), the National Credit Act (34 of 2005), and the Consumer Protection Act (68 of 2008) (CPA). The CPA was implemented to conform to international best practice regarding consumer law, to replace the existing but outdated laws, and most importantly, to provide protection to vulnerable consumers (Department of Trade and Industry, 2004:14; Rampersad & Reddy, 2012:7407). The importance of protecting vulnerable consumers can be attributed to South Africa’s history of discrimination and excluding the majority of the population from quality education and equal opportunities in the marketplace (Rampersad & Reddy, 2012:7407). However, the CPA is of small value to consumers if it is not generally known and applied; thus, consumers will continue to be at the mercy of retailers who very often do not have their best interests at heart. Therefore, this study was undertaken to measure the awareness and knowledge of the CPA among retailers. The research was done among small independent retailers located in shopping malls in the Vaal Triangle, South Africa. The study followed a quantitative approach, using a self-administered questionnaire to obtain a single cross-sectional sample. From the data gathered, it is clear that most of the participants considered themselves well informed regarding consumer rights; 88 present of the participants indicated that they are familiar with the nine consumer rights contained in the CPA. However, this stands in stark contrast to the results obtained in the section measuring the actual knowledge of the CPA; only 49 present of the participants managed to answer more than half of the questions correctly, and none answered more than 70 present correctly. In addition, the participants seemed to score higher on those rights that existed before the CPA came into effect, and lower on the new rights introduced by the Act. This seems to indicate that retailers are not yet familiar with the Act; it is, therefore, unlikely that they do business in a manner that complies with the CPA, which robs consumers of the benefit and protection of the Act. Of the retailers who participated in this study, 72 present said they believe the CPA is necessary to protect consumers. This would seem to indicate that it is the lack of knowledge rather that real resistance to the Act which is standing in the way of wider compliance. Therefore, steps should be taken with utmost urgency to educate and increase awareness of the Act, both among retailers and consumers. / MCom (Marketing Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The creation, implementation, and ratification of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), as well as the growth of parallel private initiatives against human trafficking, have emerged from a neoliberal political agenda that focuses on redefinitions of labor, sexuality, securitization of humanitarian campaigns, and immigration policies. In this thesis, I explore some of the meanings and effects of those redefinitions by focusing on the affective registers of pity and panic in their ability to mobilize publics toward restrictive forms of assistance to real and imaginary victims of the so-called phenomenon of “modern-day slavery.”

The creation, implementation, and ratification of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), as well as the growth of parallel private initiatives against human trafficking, have emerged from a neoliberal political agenda that focuses on redefinitions of labor, sexuality, securitization of humanitarian campaigns, and immigration policies. In this thesis, I explore some of the meanings and effects of those redefinitions by focusing on the affective registers of pity and panic in their ability to mobilize publics toward restrictive forms of assistance to real and imaginary victims of the so-called phenomenon of “modern-day slavery.”

Over the past two decades, South Africa has introduced several laws regulating business and providing protection to consumers. These include the Competition Act (89 of 1998), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (25 of 2002), the National Credit Act (34 of 2005), and the Consumer Protection Act (68 of 2008) (CPA). The CPA was implemented to conform to international best practice regarding consumer law, to replace the existing but outdated laws, and most importantly, to provide protection to vulnerable consumers (Department of Trade and Industry, 2004:14; Rampersad & Reddy, 2012:7407). The importance of protecting vulnerable consumers can be attributed to South Africa’s history of discrimination and excluding the majority of the population from quality education and equal opportunities in the marketplace (Rampersad & Reddy, 2012:7407). However, the CPA is of small value to consumers if it is not generally known and applied; thus, consumers will continue to be at the mercy of retailers who very often do not have their best interests at heart. Therefore, this study was undertaken to measure the awareness and knowledge of the CPA among retailers. The research was done among small independent retailers located in shopping malls in the Vaal Triangle, South Africa. The study followed a quantitative approach, using a self-administered questionnaire to obtain a single cross-sectional sample. From the data gathered, it is clear that most of the participants considered themselves well informed regarding consumer rights; 88 present of the participants indicated that they are familiar with the nine consumer rights contained in the CPA. However, this stands in stark contrast to the results obtained in the section measuring the actual knowledge of the CPA; only 49 present of the participants managed to answer more than half of the questions correctly, and none answered more than 70 present correctly. In addition, the participants seemed to score higher on those rights that existed before the CPA came into effect, and lower on the new rights introduced by the Act. This seems to indicate that retailers are not yet familiar with the Act; it is, therefore, unlikely that they do business in a manner that complies with the CPA, which robs consumers of the benefit and protection of the Act. Of the retailers who participated in this study, 72 present said they believe the CPA is necessary to protect consumers. This would seem to indicate that it is the lack of knowledge rather that real resistance to the Act which is standing in the way of wider compliance. Therefore, steps should be taken with utmost urgency to educate and increase awareness of the Act, both among retailers and consumers. / MCom (Marketing Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate to what extent the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) influences the common law of sale in South Africa. “Common law of sale” refers to the essentialia of sale (the minimum characteristics that parties must have consensus on to conclude a valid sale). The parties must have consensus on the intention to buy and sell, the things sold and the purchase price. The common law of sale also refers to the common law duties of the parties, the duties of the seller in particular (conversely therefore the rights of the buyer). The primary duties of the seller which will be investigated are: a. the duty of safe-keeping (including and investigation into the passing of benefit and risk doctrine); b. the duty of delivery and transfer of ownership; c. the warranty against eviction; and d. the warranty against latent defects. The primary common law duties of the buyer to pay the purchase price and accept the thing sold are included in the investigation as well. The formalities required in certain sale agreements, that wording must be in plain language as well as the buyer’s cooling-off rights are also investigated. An investigation into the influence of the CPA on the common law of sale in South Africa warrants a systematic framework and modus operandi which are: a. an investigation into the historical background of the common law of sale and its principles in the Roman law and Roman-Dutch law; b. a critical analysis of the position where the CPA is not applicable (the common law position); c. an extensive analysis and critical evaluation of the relevant provisions of the CPA and the influence thereof on the common law of sale; d. a comparative analysis of the appropriate provisions in Scotland and Belgium; e. a conclusion of the influence of the CPA on the common law of sale (whether the particular common law of sale principle is confirmed, amended or excluded in terms of the Act); and f. recommendations (taking into account the comparative analysis) regarding the rectification of uncertainties and ambiguities that arose as a result of the investigation. It is also important to remember that the existing principles of the common law of sale will still be applicable for transactions and agreements which fall outside the application of the Act. The golden rule to keep in mind when investigating the influence of the CPA on the common law of sale is to determine which approach and interpretation will be most beneficial to the consumer. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2013 / Mercantile Law / Unrestricted

This dissertation considers the impact of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (hereafter ‘CPA’) on contractual claims, and specifically whether the exceptio doli generalis is being reintroduced in the South African legal system. This dissertation illustrates that although the CPA improves the position of the consumer in many ways, the legislature should have drafted some provisions more carefully which could have resulted in clarifying some vital issues. Many terms and principles introduced by the CPA are foreign to the South African legal system. Although practice and precedent will eventually provide solutions to many of the practical difficulties currently experienced, it will take time and money to do so. It is therefore submitted that some areas should be reconsidered for amendment by the legislature in order to allow this significant piece of legislation to operate optimally Ultimately, two sets of conclusions can be drawn in this dissertation. Firstly, the general conclusions relating to whether the defence of the exceptio doli generalis has been reintroduced in the South African legal system by the CPA and, secondly, whether the exceptio doli generalis is in line with our constitutional values and in line with the current rules for the interpretation of contracts. Although the Courts have abolished the defence ofexceptio doli generalis, it seems as if the CPA has reintroduced this defence. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Private Law / unrestricted

Bakgrund Human Resource Management (HRM) hanterar alla beslut som påverkar relationen mellan människan och organisationen genom att utforma strategier för utnyttjandet av humankapital i syfte att uppnå verksamhetens mål. Utnyttjandet av mänskliga resurser regleras genom olika lagar där Lagen om anställningsskydd (LAS) är central. Vidare är LAS semidispositiv vilket lämnar utrymme för tolkning av lagen och förhandling av villkoren på arbetsmarknaden genom kollektivavtal. Tidigare forskning visar att lagen upplevs som stelbent och svårtillämpad. Detta har lett till att en utredning om en lagändring för att modernisera lagen och anpassa den till dagens arbetsmarknad genomförts och avslutats i juni år 2020. Då lagändringen är aktuell är det viktigt att förstå hur LAS tillämpas i det dagliga arbetet. Syfte Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa en förståelse om hur LAS tillämpas i dagliga arbetet både hos privata och offentliga verksamheter. Vi vill belysa vilka faktorer som påverkar tillämpningen av lagen i det dagliga arbetet samt hur verksamheter förhåller sig till de kommande ändringarna i lagen. Förståelsen för hur LAS tillämpas i det dagliga arbetet genererar ny kunskap som kan vara till nytta för alla som arbetar med HR-frågor och inför framtida förändringar inom arbetsrätten. Metod Studien har en kvalitativ ansats som har inslag av triangulering där datainsamling har gjorts med hjälp av intervjuer och enkät. Intervjuer har genomförts med tre verksamheter från den privata sektorn och tre från den offentliga sektorn. Slutsats Studien visar att det finns faktorer som påverkar hur LAS tillämpas i det dagliga arbetet samt att det finns likheter och skillnader mellan sektorerna. Den tydligaste likheten är att alla vill göra rätt, men de fuskar också. Vidare visar studien att sektorerna tenderar att för det mesta ha ett reaktivt förhållningssätt till den kommande LAS-förändringen. / Background HRM handles all decisions that affect the relationship between humans and the organization by designing strategies for the utilization of human capital in order to achieve the organizational goals. The utilization of human resources is regulated by various laws where the Employment Protection Act is central. Furthermore, the Employment Protection Act is semi-dispositive meaning that it leaves room for interpretation of the law and negotiation of term on the labor market through collective agreements. Previous research has shown that the law is stiff and difficult to apply. This has led to an investigation about modernizing the law and adapting it to today’s labor market and the investigation was completed in June 2020. Due to the fact that the law is about to change it is important to understand how the Employment Protection Act is applied in the daily work. Aim The purpose of the thesis is to create an understanding of how the Employment Protection Act is applied in the daily work of both private and public enterprises. We want to highlight the factors that affect the application of the law of the Employment Protection Act in organizations daily work and how the organizations relate to the upcoming changes in the law. The understanding of how the Employment Protection Act is applied in daily work generates new knowledge that can be useful for everyone working with HR issues and for future changes in employment laws. Methodology The study has a qualitative approach that has elements of triangulation where data collection has been done with the help of interviews and questionnaires. Interviews were conducted with three organizations from the private sector and three from the public sector. Conclusion The study shows that there are factors affecting how the Employment Protection Act is applied in the daily work and that there are similarities and differences between the sectors. The clearest similarity has been that everyone wants to do the right thing, but they also cheat. Furthermore, the study shows that the sectors tend to mostly have a reactive approach to the upcoming changes in the Employment Protection Act.

The theme of the theses is the new legal regulation of air quality protection in Czech Republic, which is mainly represented by the Act no. 201/2012 Coll. on Air Protection. The opening chapters deal with the definitions of the basic terms in this legal area, the characteristic of the main air pollutants and the development of the air protection legal regulation in Czech Republic. The treatise on the new legal regulation is divided by the legal instruments of air quality protection - the individual chapters deal with conceptual, administrative-legal and vindicatory, economical and specific instruments. The final chapter contains the summary of the major changes and the evaluation of the new legal regulation.

台灣因所在地理位置特殊，長期以來一直遭受天然災害的威脅，我國自災害防救法頒佈後，明文規定當中央及各級政府無法因應災害處理時可以申請軍隊支援。在幾次重大天然災害中，國軍與政府及民間救難團隊已有豐富合作的經驗，自八八水災後國軍救災角色及責任更為重要，馬總統在出席99年國軍重要幹部研習會指示：「災害防救」是國軍中心任務，國軍要超前部署、預置兵力，隨時防救，防災重於救災，離災優於救災。故在梅姬颱風期間，超前預置兵力更凸顯國軍救災的重要性。 國防部也於2009 年國防報告書中提出周延防災整備的作法，國軍對於災害防救的角色由「接受申請、支援」轉換為「主動、協調執行」。然國家建立軍隊的目的，主要還是應付外在敵對勢力的威脅，建立堅實的國防武力，達成防衛固守、有效嚇阻的國防戰略。國軍救災從以往應援改為中心任務，此一重大變革勢必對國軍未來的角色、功能及戰力有十分深遠的影響，因此國軍應如何投入災害救援，平衡戰備整備與救災工作，則必須對於現階段軍隊參與災害救援的相關作法進行探討，重新思考與規劃並進行政策之可行性做分析。 本篇論文採用文獻回顧和分析歸納的方法，綜觀國軍歷經幾次天然災害救援經驗，以八八水災及梅姬風災救災案例探討國軍現行參與災害救援問題並針對下列問題做分析：第一，政府已明確將救災列為國軍中心任務，但對於民間救難團隊、政府機關救難機制主從、整合及角色定位與指揮權責模糊不清。第二，國軍救災法源依據仍顯不足尚待立法及救災期間所需經費支出及來源問題。第三，天然災害發生時國軍投入救災執行效能仍有進步空間主要因素在於救災專業人力及裝(設)備不足。第四，國軍面臨救災前夕與另一非軍事行動時，兵力超前部屬必要性及孰輕孰重？或面對複合式災害時超前預置兵力是否可行？對上述的種種問題，將影響未來面對重大災害時國軍參與救災工作，因此重新檢討我國軍隊參與救災之適切性和可行性後，進一步對現行國軍參與災害防救之行動方案，提出檢討與建議。 / Taiwan has suffered in the threats of natural disasters for years, as its unique location. After the promulgation of Disaster Prevention and Response Act., a rule was written that military support can be applied for activation once the Government is no longer able to handle the disaster. Through some severe catastrophes, the military, the Government, as well as nongovernmental rescue teams, had gained profound experience in collaboration. Since the 88 Taiwan Flood, the importance of the military has increased. President Ma pointed out that “Prevent and rescue” is the main mission of the military – setting forces in advance, call-on relief duties, and emphasis on prevention instead of rescue. As a result, in the period of Maggie Typhoon, setting forces in advance had taken its advantage and importance. Department of Defense had issued a robust approach in its report in 2009. The report claims that the role of military in disasters is in a stage of transformation from “Accept appliance & support” to “Initiative & cooperative execution”. The classic aim of establish the army was to construct substantial defense force and to protect the country from invaders and enemies. As the main mission changed, it affects not only the role of the military, but also the function of the army and the strength of force. The policy of the military participating in rescuing needs to be analyzed in the balance of military operations, the plausibility of plans, and further improvements in the future. This thesis employs research in studies and induction, using the 88 Taiwan Flood and Maggie Typhoon as examples to review the problems occurred when the military attending in rescue. And the thesis will discuss and analyze the following issues: Firstly, the Government had classified disaster relief as the main mission of the military, however, the position and the role of the government and nongovernmental rescue teams are yet not clear enough. Secondly, the source of Disaster Prevention and Response Act. is still insufficient; the source of finance supports during rescue is vague, either. Thirdly, the shortage of equipments and human resource can be the main direction for improvement. Lastly, when facing both the need of rescue and another non-military action, should the military set in advance with flexibility? Or can it be feasible when facing compound catastrophe? Questions listed above are the main issues discussed in the thesis. Reviews and suggestions will be put forward after further investigation on the plausibility of the military participating in rescue.

Civil Service Protection Act was promulgated and announced in 1996, establishing a significant milestone for the protection of the rights and benefits of civil servants. Originally, the Act has 35 clauses only. In 2003, it was enormously revised, and increased to 104 clauses. With its regulative contents covering procedural and substantial requirements, the Act can be called a very special law. The relief procedures stipulated in the Act include two procedures: 1. retrial 2. appeal and re-appeal. Retrial is applied to the punishment that may change the identity and relationship of a civil servant, or has significant effects to the rights and benefits to a civil servant, or the item with property request right being infringed upon because of the identity of a civil servant. Appeal and re-appeal are applied to the management measure without significant effect to the rights and benefits of a civil servant, or the handling of the related working conditions. Although the implementation of Civil Service Protection Act protects the rights and benefits of civil servants, it causes impacts to the leadership of departmental officials. However, it facilitates the authorities to conduct administration according to the laws. With this system, the disputes between civil servants and institutions can be appropriately solved. To the business promotion of institutions, it has positive meaning. The study mainly investigates the problems currently existed, including whether the related protection of rights and benefits in Civil Service Protection Act is sufficient, whether the civil servants understand the protection of their rights and benefits, whether the protection procedures are proper, whether retrial system will lead to the waste and burden of administrative resources, etc. It is hoped that through the investigation of the existing system and the discoveries in times of practice, the proposed suggestions can be a reference for revising the law. The paper has about 10,000 words, and is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction. Chapter 2 analyzes the protection system of the civil servants of Taiwan. Chapter 3 is about the administrative self-evaluation. Chapter 4 compares the various administrative self-evaluation systems. Chapter 5 takes Kaohsiung City Government for examples, and undergoes case study, in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey for further explanation. Chapter 6 is about the conclusions and suggestions, giving proposes for the aspect of legal system and the aspect of execution. Especially on the aspect of execution, further investigation is made on three aspects, including the government authorities, civil servants and personnel. It is hoped that the study is helpful to the subsequent legal amendments or to researchers. Having analyzed some cases, and made in-depth interviews and questionnaire survey, the paper proposes several suggestions. First of all, the measurement standards of the administrative rules should be clearly specified. Secondly, a reinvestigation participation system should be established. Thirdly, the powers and functions of Civil Servants Association should be strengthened. Besides, the imposition of criminal punishment and disciplinary sanction should be reviewed. The disciplinary right should be passed to the administrative institutions, and the judicial institution should be responsible for the investigation right. In addition, the paper considers the appropriate disclosure of the punishment decisions or reinvestigation procedures and information so as to reduce the civil servants¡¦ queries of their institutions, establish in civil servants a value judgment of excellent work, and form a mutual supplementation and assistance relationship between the chiefs and the colleagues. Through the lectures and procedures, practical rehearsals, and the strengthening of personnel staff¡¦s business handling abilities, the institution is able to undergo an updated and harmonious development in maintaining the rights and benefits of civil servants and conducting the overall business promotion