Souvent présentée non seulement comme une notion fondamentale du droit, mais encore comme une notion fondatrice du droit public moderne, la personnalité morale est une oeuvre collective des juristes. Ce sont eux qui l’ont créée et qui continuent de la façonner. Elle s’impose aussi à eux en les orientant, en leur fournissant une palette de ressources dans lesquelles ils peuvent puiser. Le recours à cette technique d’individualisation d’un collectif est ainsi susceptible d’affecter la structure du droit public. Au travers d’une étude sémantique de la notion de personnalité morale, l’analyse des discours juridiques aura permis de montrer dans quelle mesure la signification retenue par les acteurs juridiques a pu être à l’origine tant de son développement que de sa stérilisation. En effet, plus la doctrine s’efforcera d’établir le sens proprement juridique de la personnalité morale, plus elle la réduira à rien ou presque. En tant que concept, elle est un point d’imputation qui ne fournit aucune indication sur les prérogatives juridiques des collectifs qui bénéficient de cette qualification. Quant à leurs différences de régime juridique, elles sont rattachées à la notion d’organisation. En revanche, en tant que procédé rhétorique, elle vise à assurer le succès d’une argumentation qu’elle contribue à mettre en forme. Cette métaphore assumerait ainsi une fonction heuristique dans la construction d’un droit des collectifs ou encore une fonction herméneutique dans la définition de leurs prérogatives. En définitive, la personnalité morale est une figure du discours juridique qui contribue à inscrire dans un même dispositif de rationalité les différents phénomènes qu’elle recouvre. / Often presented not only as a fundamental legal concept, but also as a founding notion of modern public law, corporate personality is the result of the collective work of jurists. They are the ones who created it and continue to shape it. While being bound by it, corporate personality also constitutes a tool which provides them with a range of resources from which they can draw. Defined more precisely as a form of individualization of a group, resort to this technique is likely to affect the structure of public law. Through a semantic study of the notion of corporate personality, an analysis of legal discourse contributes to showing how the meaning determined by legal actors is at the origin of both its development and its sterilization. Indeed, the more legal doctrine endeavors to establish its strictly legal sense, the more it will be reduced to nothing or almost nothing. As a concept, it is a point of imputation which does not provide any indication on the legal prerogatives attached to corporate bodies that benefit from this qualification. As for the differences in their legal status, they are attached to the notion of organization. As a rhetorical device however, corporate personality aims at ensuring the success of an argument which it contributed to shaping. This metaphor would thus assume a heuristic function in the construction of corporation law as well as a hermeneutical function in the definition of their prerogatives. Ultimately, corporate personality is a device of legal discourse that contributes to the inclusion within a single rationality system of the different phenomena which it covers.

In this dissertation, I critically evaluate the VAT treatment of common partnership transactions that are encountered during the life of a partnership. Of great significance, is that at common law a partnership is not regarded as a person, but for VAT purposes it is treated as a separate person. This creates a strong dichotomy between the general legal nature, and the VAT character of a partnership transaction. The partnership and the VAT law dichotomy, is an important theme that runs through most of the thesis. Only once I have established the nature of the transaction for VAT purposes – whether in keeping with or differing from the common law – do I apply the relevant provisions of the VAT Act to determine the VAT implications of the transaction. An important general principle is that what is supplied or acquired by the body of persons who make up the partnership, within the course and scope of its common purpose, is for VAT purposes, supplied or acquired by the partnership as a separate person. I conclude that there are difficulties and uncertainties regarding the application of the provisions of the VAT Act to various partnership transactions. For the sake of certainty and simplicity, I propose amendments to the current provisions that are relevant to partnership transactions, and also propose additional provisions. The proposed amendments seek to align with the purpose of the VAT Act and the principles upon which it is based, and also to adhere to internationally accepted principles for a sound VAT system. I also pinpoint those aspects of the VAT Act that can be clarified by the SARS in an interpretation statement. I further identify issues that require more research, eg issues arising from a partnership’s participation in cross-border trade. / Mercantile Law / LL. D.