Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Breslau, 1929. / Includes bibliographical references (p. vii-ix).

The public interest is the highest standard for bureaucratic action in American government. While the importance of this standard ebbs and flows in the literature, the eminence of it remains unquestioned as the North Star for the American ship of state. As the highest standard in American politics and policy, this standard must be formed democratically. In this dissertation, I examine the formation of the public interest standard through the lens of citizen-bureaucratic communication, using the theory of communicative action advanced by the contemporary German social and political philosopher, Jürgen Habermas. I support the use of such a theoretical framework in America by examining the importance of communication for the American pragmatist philosopher, John Dewey. I examine the ramifications of communication in the American democratic state as foundational for the formation and continued expression of the public interest throughout the institution of the American executive branch.

Magister Legum - LLM / This study explored the various forms public interest litigation takes in various legal systems, focusing on the practice in South Africa. An examination of the relevant legal regime in Ethiopia was made with a view to assessing its adequacy to cater for public interest actions and coming up with possible recommendations. Apart from the analysis of the adequacy of the legal framework, an attempt was made to identify other factors that may pose a challenge to the introduction of the system in Ethiopia. / South Africa

Due to legal uncertainty surrounding the application of key provisions of European and UK data protection law, the public interest in protecting individuals’ informational privacy is routinely neglected, as are the public interests in certain uses of data. Consent or anonymisation are often treated as the paradigmatic example of compliance with data protection law, even though both are unable to attend to the full range of rights and interests at stake in data processing. Currently, where data processing may serve a realisable public interest, and consent or anonymisation are impracticable (if not impossible to obtain) the public interest conditions to processing are the rational alternative justifications for processing. However, the public interest conditions are poorly defined in the legislation, and misunderstood and neglected in practice. This thesis offers a much-needed alternative to the predominant consent-or-anonymise paradigm by providing a new understanding of the public interest concept in data protection law and to suggest a new approach to deploying the concept in a way that is consistent with the protective and facilitative aims of the legislation. Through undertaking legislative analysis new insight is provided on the purpose of the public interest conditions in data protection law, revealing critical gaps in understanding. By engaging with public interest theory and discovering the conceptual contours of the public interest, these gaps are addressed. Combined with the insight obtained from the legislative history, we can determine the reasonable range of circumstances and types of processing where it may be justifiable to use personal data based on the public interest. On this basis, and to develop a new approach for deploying the concept, other legal uses of the public interest are examined. The lessons learned suggest legislative and procedural elements that are critical to successful deployment of the public interest concept in data protection. The thesis concludes with the identification of key components to allow a clearer understanding of the public interest in this field. Further, these insights enable recommendations to be made, to reform the law, procedure and guidance. In doing so, the concept of the public interest can be confidently deployed in line with the aims of data protection law, to both protect and facilitate the use of personal data.

Univ., Diss.--Montpellier, 2004. / Literaturverz. S. [805] - 971.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Stockholm University, 2003. / Added t.p. with thesis statement laid-in. Includes bibliographical references (p. [318]-354).

Problem This thesis attempts to determine if the Canadian federal and provincial governments are increasing their assertion of the public interest in the collective bargaining process. The primary concern is to determine to what extent the government, through its new labour legislation will be able to affect the quality of collective agreements. The quality of collective agreements can be affected directly through arbitration or can be affected indirectly by influencing the power positions of the negotiating parties. Method of Investigation The first problem which is tackled is the definition of the public interest. The public interest is a term now being used in labour legislation, for which a precise definition is not easily derived. A literature analysis is undertaken to develop a conceptual framework of the public interest. Since this is an investigation of the changing role of the government, it is necessary to establish the traditional role of the government in the collective bargaining process. This is accomplished by examining less recent government legislation as well as case studies of the applications of the U.S. Taft-Hartley Act. The public employees of Canada and the United States are treated as a special case. Recent legislative developments in both countries have resulted in federal public servants to become active in collective bargaining. These recent developments consist in Canada of the Public Service Staff Relations Act, and in the United States of the Executive Order 10899. The new developments in provincial labour legislation consist of B.C.’s Bill 33, Saskatchewan’s Essential Services Emergency Act, and Ontario's Rand Royal Commission Report. These two Acts and the Royal Commission Report are analyzed critically for their potential effect upon the collective bargaining process. Conclusions The literature analysis of the public interest reveals that there is no universally acceptable definition of the public interest. The public interest can only be meaningfully used within a situational framework. In other words, the concept is capable of definition only within a specific situation. Despite the fact that the concept is not likely ever to be universally defined, it will undoubtedly continue to be widely used. The policy of the Canadian federal and provincial governments regarding collective bargaining has traditionally been to assist the parties to come to an agreement. The role of the government has not been one of interference. It has consisted solely of facilitating agreements by postponing work stoppages and by providing mediators. Although the effectiveness of these measures can be questioned, the intent is quite clear. The recent provincial legislation seems to reinforce the proposition that the strike is an undesirable form of social conflict. It is felt to be undesirable in the sense that the legislation encourages the parties to collective negotiations to settle their dispute without resorting to work stoppages. At the same time, it recognizes that the threat of a work stoppage is part of the collective bargaining process. The new legislation formalizes the concept that there are certain kinds of collective bargaining relationships which are heavily endowed with the public interest. Whereas government activity in these kinds of disputes had occurred on an ad hoc basis in the past, the Rand Report, B.C.'s Bill 33, and the Saskatchewan legislation established mechanisms which will provide for the assertion of the public interest in extraordinary labour disputes. In some cases, and where the parties cannot come to an agreement without resorting to a work stoppage, the new legislation will provide an agency or mechanism through which the government can submit the dispute to compulsory arbitration. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

This dissertation examines the development of litigation and legal mobilization as constructive, participatory, strategic processes that have the potential to promote democratization and institution building in fragile democracies. Using Argentina and Bolivia as case studies, I show that the innovative use of strategic litigation and legal mobilization taking place in Latin America today holds significant promise for promoting social and institutional development in countries struggling with competing democratic and authoritarian impulses. A close examination of how local and regional permutations of strategic litigation play out at the intersection of law and politics in fragile democracies generates a more accurate, richer account of the relationship between law and democracy writ large, a relationship that has yet to be fully or properly theorized. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains v, 216 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Habilitationsschrift--Münster, 1968. / Bibliography: p. [314]-321.