Estudo sobre os direitos materiais constitutivos da democracia enquanto norma constitucional. Partimos de uma análise das origens históricas do constitucionalismo moderno, onde traçamos a aproximação entre o movimento teórico que embasou o constitucionalismo e o princípio democrático. A soberania é objeto de estudo a partir de suas origens, demonstrando a influência de sua formação teórica absolutista nas posteriores concepções de soberania do povo, correntemente associadas à democracia. A democracia é objeto de estudo específico na terceira parte, especialmente a idéia de democracia direta como essência da democracia, o princípio representativo, a democracia como forma de governo, democracia e república, igualdade democrática formal e substancial, bem como sua relação com o Estado social e o Estado de Direito. Desta relação surge a democracia como norma constitucional dotada de um conteúdo jurídico-material, cogente, que lhe é constitutivo, e que legitima democraticamente a atuação contramajoritária do Judiciário / Study on the rights of the constituent materials democracy as a constitutional rule. We start from an analysis of the historical origins of modern constitutionalism, where do we draw the connection between the theoretical movement that based constitutionalism and democratic principle. Sovereignty is an object of study from its origins, demonstrating the influence of his theoretical training in new concepts of absolute sovereignty of the people, commonly associated with democracy. Democracy is the object of special study in the third part, especially the idea of direct democracy as the essence of democracy, the principle of representative democracy as a form of government, democracy and republic, democratic equality, formal and substantial, and their relation with the State social and rule of law. This relationship appears to democracy as a constitutional rule endowed with a legal content-material, cogent, it is constitutive, and that democratically legitimized the role of the judiciary.

Estudo sobre os direitos materiais constitutivos da democracia enquanto norma constitucional. Partimos de uma análise das origens históricas do constitucionalismo moderno, onde traçamos a aproximação entre o movimento teórico que embasou o constitucionalismo e o princípio democrático. A soberania é objeto de estudo a partir de suas origens, demonstrando a influência de sua formação teórica absolutista nas posteriores concepções de soberania do povo, correntemente associadas à democracia. A democracia é objeto de estudo específico na terceira parte, especialmente a idéia de democracia direta como essência da democracia, o princípio representativo, a democracia como forma de governo, democracia e república, igualdade democrática formal e substancial, bem como sua relação com o Estado social e o Estado de Direito. Desta relação surge a democracia como norma constitucional dotada de um conteúdo jurídico-material, cogente, que lhe é constitutivo, e que legitima democraticamente a atuação contramajoritária do Judiciário / Study on the rights of the constituent materials democracy as a constitutional rule. We start from an analysis of the historical origins of modern constitutionalism, where do we draw the connection between the theoretical movement that based constitutionalism and democratic principle. Sovereignty is an object of study from its origins, demonstrating the influence of his theoretical training in new concepts of absolute sovereignty of the people, commonly associated with democracy. Democracy is the object of special study in the third part, especially the idea of direct democracy as the essence of democracy, the principle of representative democracy as a form of government, democracy and republic, democratic equality, formal and substantial, and their relation with the State social and rule of law. This relationship appears to democracy as a constitutional rule endowed with a legal content-material, cogent, it is constitutive, and that democratically legitimized the role of the judiciary.

A non-corrupt judiciary is a fundamental condition for the endorsement of rule of law and the ability to guarantee basic human rights in society. The judiciary must therefore be an independent and fair body that fights corruption, not the other way around. This essay systematizes different binding and non-binding international, and to some extent regional, norms and standards regarding corruption in the judiciary and judicial independence, and presents potential factors and effects of judicial corruption, through an inventory of documents recognized by organizations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Further, the essay presents different anti-corruption strategies and the dilemma of implementing such strategies with regard to judicial independence. The advantages and disadvantages of different anti-corruption strategies are reviewed through the study of some successful and unsuccessful examples. There are several definitions of corruption, this essay emanates from the definition of ‘abuse of office for personal or private gain’, a definition that is wide but yet well recognized. The factors of judicial corruption are many and often overlapping, but they vary from state to state and must hence be analyzed individually to find the factual reasons for what generates corruption. The effects are detrimental and break down the very core of rule of law and corrupt judges neglect fundamental principles such as equality, impartiality, propriety and integrity. With regard to the different factors and effects, the norms and standards, and the anti-corruption strategies, a discussion follows about how to rid the judiciary from corruption with preservation of the respect of judicial independence. The discussion also raises the predicament that malpractice of various fundamental principles e.g. judicial independence can occur and further distort unhealthy judiciaries. The main conclusion regarding anti-corruption strategies is that they must be carefully weighed against the principle of independence.

Democracy and a state governed by the rule of law The diploma thesis deals with the topics of democracy, the rule of law and their interaction. It is focused on both themes in the context of their historical development and other ideas that have influenced one or the other phenomenon. For this reason, the reader encounters primarily the issues of an ancient understanding of democracy, ideas of republicanism, liberalism, constitutionalism, or the Anglo-American concept of government. In this diploma paper, democracy and the rule of law are analyzed as concepts that have a general, i.e., global, meaning. Examples of elements typical of democracy and the rule of law are, however, the provisions of the Czech law. The aim of the diploma thesis is to point out the influence of historical experience on the development of ideas about democracy and the rule of law, and to emphasize the phenomena that are being studied, how they differ and how they interact. In conclusion, the historical development of both phenomena has led to a fundamental change in their understanding. Both terms are limiting and balancing each other. At present, democracy is seen as a universal value and, together with the modern concept of the rule of law, creates a liberal democratic system of governance. At the same time, however,...

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine three distributional issues in macroeconomics. First I explore the effects fiscal federalism on economic growth across regions in China. Using the comprehensive official data set of China for 31 regions from 1952 until 1999, I investigate a number of indicators used by the literature to measure federalism and find robust support for only one such measure: the ratio of local total revenue to local tax revenue. Using a difference-in-difference approach and exploiting the two-year gap in the implementation of a tax reform across different regions of China, I also identify a positive relationship between fiscal federalism and regional economic growth. The second paper hypothesizes that an inequitable distribution of income negatively affects the rule of law in resource-rich economies and provides robust evidence in support of this hypothesis. By investigating a data set that contains 193 countries and using econometric methodologies such as the fixed effects estimator and the generalized method of moments estimator, I find that resource-abundance improves the quality of institutions, as long as income and wealth disparity remains below a certain threshold. When inequality moves beyond this threshold, the positive effects of the resource-abundance level on institutions diminish quickly and turn negative eventually. This paper, thus, provides robust evidence about the endogeneity of institutions and the role income and wealth inequality plays in the determination of long-run growth rates. The third paper sets up a dynamic general equilibrium model with heterogeneous agents to investigate the causal channels which run from a concern for international status to long-run economic growth. The simulation results show that the initial distribution of income and wealth play an important role in whether agents gain or lose from globalization.

Emergency regimes as a legacy of French colonialism in Cameroon remain a key instrument to legalising strategies of control and subjugation of people. Officials in the country have been relying on these regimes not to save the state from a potential threat of war or invasion but to deny a fair democratic game, eliminate political opponents and keep control of power, people and resources. The core arguments of the present study devoted to emergency regimes in contemporary democracies with strong emphasis on Cameroon lies in its conceptual framing which is a clear contextualisation of the problem of the exception in the colonial period. In elucidating the situation in Cameroon, the study hilights how the permanent recourse to emergency regimes within the colony was central to Europeans’ tactics in their strategies of control and domination of colonised people. Starting with detailed historical analysis grounded on colonial and postcolonial experiences in Cameroon (and even Algeria), the study attempts to shift the understanding of the theories on the exception and sovereign violence by placing contemporary legal and philosophical debates on the exception in the context in which they originally emerged, a means of legitimating the subjugation of colonised peoples. More specifically, the thesis shows how the country’s colonial past strongly influences the current state’s structures through a basic reliance on emergency measures which became normalised to a point where law’s force has been reduced to the zero point of its own content. The draconian measures have been routinised and have successfully moved from the exceptional sphere to that of the normality. Additionally, patterns of rule by ordinance and decree were put in place in the early ‘post-independence’ period, and have now become the norm in Cameroon. As consequences, the process matters of justice are reduced to bare legal force, and in that process the legitimacy of both state and law are compromised, rendering subjects politically jaundiced and demoralised. The net effect of such developments appears to be detrimental to the very foundation of the state which is then subject to a process of disintegration. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Jurisprudence / LLD / Unrestricted

The judicial system of Poland is at the forefront of public, constitutional, political and legal debates of the European Union. Different aspects of rule of law in Poland, such as independence of judges, their right to irremovability, the alleged intention of the government to occupy and impact Polish judicial sector are discussed among academics. The aim of this research conducted throughout the thesis is to add complete and all-inclusive analysis of the recent judgment of European Court of Justice (hereinafter: "ECJ") regarding lowering retirement age of judges to the ongoing academic literature. Furthermore, before reaching that conclusion, providing the reader with the review of Polish political debate, the responses of European Union institutions and analysis of the necessity of the reform for Polish judicial system. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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Corruption has flourished in Ukraine for years, making Ukraine one of the most corrupt countries in Europe. However, since the Maidan in 2014, Ukraine has turned its political course towards the west, taken several steps in order to tackle corruption and tightened its cooperation with the European Union. The purpose of this research is to assess what measures has the EU undertaken between 2014-2018 to help Ukraine in its aspiration to combat corruption and to achieve rule of law. This research has found out that the EU has supported Ukraine to tackle corruption by suggesting changes and reforms with the aim to foster overall development, while simultaneously keeping in mind the anti-corruption priority. One significant outcome of the fight against corruption has been the creation of NABU, the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine, which is today the central element in the anti-corruption campaign. Secondly, the EU has backed Ukraine economically, and thirdly, the EU has granted visa liberation for Ukrainian citizens, which is contributing to the broader cooperation between Ukraine and the EU. In the theoretical scale, this study found out that there is an ongoing identity building, whereas Ukraine seeks to exclude corruption as a societal norm and obtain the values of the EU instead.

Includes bibliographical references / The development of subjecting government procurement awards to judicial review is a relatively recent development in South African law. It accords with a similar development in the United States, as well as South Africa's own constitutional requirements of transparency and public accountability. Given the often lucrative nature of public contracts, challenges to the lawfulness of government procurement awards have become a regular occurrence in South Africa. However, the setting aside of such an award does not automatically follow upon a finding of unlawfulness. For a number of reasons, a court may decline to set aside an unlawful government procurement award. This raises a number of interesting questions, particularly with regard to how such a decision may be reconciled with, and the implications this may have for, the principle of legality and the Rule of Law. This dissertation will address these issues, arguing that, ultimately, the concerns are resolved by appreciating the nature of the principle of legality, and the Rule of Law's place as a value in society.