A legally protectable trade secret is secret information which is applicable in trade or industry, in respect of which the owner has the will to keep it secret, which has economic value, and which is concrete enough to be embodied in a tangible form and to exist separately form its owner. A comparative study reveals that while trade secrets can be infringed in three ways - namely unauthorized acquisition, use and disclosure - contemporary legal systems differ in respect of both the ambit and juridical bases of protection against such infringing conduct. The legal protection of trade secrets is promoted by the recognition of a subjective right to the trade secret. This right is an intellectual property right independent of statutory intellectual property rights like patent rights and copyright, the common law intellectual property right to goodwill, and the personality right to privacy. In South African private law, trade secrets can be adequately protected by the application of general delictual and contractual principles. Delictual wrongfulness of trade secret misappropriation is constituted by an infringement of the right to the trade secret. Thus any act that interferes with the powers of use, enjoyment and disposal exercised by someone with a subjective right to that trade secret, is, in the absence of legal grounds justifying such interference, wrongful. Patrim·onial loss caused by both intentional and negligent infringement of trade secrets should be actionable under the actio legis Aquiliae. Wrongful trade secret infringements can - also in the absence of fault on the part of the infringer - be prevented by an interdict. Protection of trade secrets is not restricted to the contexts of either unlawful competition, or fiduciary relationships. Trade secret protection is on a sound footing in South African law, compares favourably with the position in other legal systems, and is in step with the international agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to which South Africa is a signatory nation. / Private Law / LL.D. (Private Law)

This diploma thesis provides a basic description and an indication of technical and legislative issues that are closely related to the safety of civil aviation. Well known accidents related to illegal acts are also described in this paper. The aim of this paper is to assess the current personnel?s state and knowledge relating to civil aviation security at international airports, focusing on the airport in České Budějovice. Two hypotheses are presented H ? 1 and H ? 2, which are evaluated using statistical survey and to perform structural analysis of security at international airports in the Czech Republic and structural analysis of security system of LKCS and then compare them, or possibly suggest additional measures that would increase security at the airport. This paper evaluates the level of knowledge on the basis of a questionnaire survey of personnel of České Budějovice airport and Prague - Ruzyně Airport on civil aviation security issues concerning illegal acts and compares this level of knowledge by application of statistical survey. Structural analysis of the security system and legislation used in international civil aviation in the Czech Republic and also analysis of security system according to the applicable legislation at the international nonpublic airport in České Budějovice are performed. These analyses are compared and evaluated. The analysis of results and the confirmation or refutation of hypotheses H ? 1 and H ? 2 are presented in the discussion including suggestion of precautions that could improve the security at the České Budějovice airport.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

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Syftet med denna studie var att komma till insikt, dels om hur kriget mot terrorismen har präglat diskursen kring det rättfärdiga kriget med dess särskilt utmärkande preventiva krigföring, och dels om huruvida begreppet "illegal kombattant" kan betraktas som legalt eller inte. Denna studie visar hur krigskonceptet har blivit alltmer diffust sedan det kalla kriget och hur attackerna gentemot USA den elfte september 2001 innebar en brytpunkt gällande diskussionerna kring rättfärdig krigföring. Studien visar också att begreppet "illegal kombattant", med dess preventiva syfte, tillvisso skulle kunna betraktas som legitimt i kontext till omfattningen av ovan nämnda attacker men att dess innebörd inte kan betraktas som legalt i vare sig nationell eller internationell bemärkelse. Jag har kommit till denna insikt genom att identifiera en diskursiv företeelse och lyfta fram dess legalitets- och legitimitetsaspekter och genom att identifiera en juridisk företeelse och lyfta fram syftet med dess innebörd med fokus främst på dess legalitetsaspekter. Med en diskursanalys har jag undersökt talet om det rättfärdiga kriget efter den elfte september, och genom en juridisk analys har jag prövat begreppet "illegal kombattant" gentemot nationell och internationell rätt. Dessa två analyser har fogats samman genom en samlad studie av kriget mot terrorismen och dess legalitets- respektive legitimitetsaspekter. / The purpose of this study was to come to realization on how the war on terror has characterized the discourse on Just War with its particularly distinctive preventive warfare, and also on whether the term "unlawful combatant" can be regarded as legal or not. This study shows how the concept of war has become increasingly diffuse since the Cold War and how the attacks against the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001 represented an inflection point on the discussions of righteous warfare. The study also shows that the term "illegal combatant", with its preventive purposes, to a certain extent might be regarded as legitimate in the context of the magnitude of the above-mentioned attacks but that its content can not be regarded as legal in either a national or international sense. I have come to this realization by identifying a discursive phenomenon and highlighting its legality and legitimacy aspects and by identifying a legal phenomenon and highlighting the purpose and meaning of it, primarily focusing on its legality aspects. With a discourse analysis, I have examined the speach on Just War after September 11, and with a legal analysis, I have tested the notion of "unlawful combatant" against national and international law. These two analyzes have been consolidated in a comprehensive study of the war on terrorism and its legality and legitimacy aspects.

Syftet med den här studien var att komma till insikt om huruvida Bushadministrationens ageranden kring behandlingen av internerna i det nordamerikanska fånglägret på Kuba kan betraktas vara legala eller inte. Mina analyser visar att USA har brutit mot internationella såväl som nationella lagar.Jag har kommit till denna insikt genom att identifiera de viktigaste handlingarna – och dess syften – i anslutning till USAs ageranden och genom att jämföra dessa med internationell rätt och med USAs nationella lagar och avtal. Tre handlingar har stått i fokus; upprättandet av fånglägret på Kuba, med syfte att eliminera fångarnas konstitutionella skydd genom att internera dem utom USAs landsgränser; instiftningen av begreppet "illegal kombattant", med syfte att tillintetgöra internernas krigsfångestatus och därmed det internationellrättsliga skydd som tillfaller krigsfångar genom krigets lagar och; den hårda fysiska och psykiska behandlingen av fångarna, med syfte att erhålla information för att förhindra terrorism.Med en juridisk arbetsmetod har jag således prövat dessa handlingar mot USAs konstitution och mot instiftningen av nya nationella lagar, mot Genèvekonventionerna med dess tilläggsprotokoll och mot FN-konventioner. / The purpose of this study was to come to realization on whether the Bush administration's conduct regarding the treatment of inmates in the American prison camp in Cuba can be considered legal or not. My analysis shows that the U.S. has violated international and national laws.I have come to this realization by identifying the most important single actions – and their purposes – related to the U.S. conduct, and by comparing them with international law and U.S. national laws and agreements. Three single actions have been in focus; the establishment of the prison camp in Cuba, with the purpose to eliminate the prisoners' rights to constitutional protection by detaining them outside U.S. land borders; the establishment of the term "unlawful combatant", with the purpose to eliminate the prisoners' POW status, and thus the international legal protection accruing prisoners of war within the laws of war and; the rough physical and psychological treatment of the prisoners, in order to obtain information to prevent terrorism.With a legal method of working, I have thus tested these actions against the U.S. Constitution and the establishment of new national laws, against the Geneva Conventions and its additional protocols, and against UN conventions.

This thesis investigates the role of prior use in common and statutory trade mark law. In the United States a pertinent requirement is priority of use. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a reputation must be present. In the United Kingdom a plaintiff is required to have goodwill in the country, but in the United States and South Africa it is not required. The conception of a mark does not qualify for protection. It is not required that a business must have actually entered the market. In the United States the general approach is that a plaintiff will not receive protection in a remote area, but regard must be had to zones of natural expansion. British and South African law is the same, and protection may be obtained in areas where there is no trading. Where a dual reputation exists, neither party will be able to act against the other. The mere fact that the user of a mark was aware of the use thereof by another person, does not exclude protection. A trade mark application can be opposed on the basis of another application, combined with use of a mark, or on the ground of prior use. In some instances the fact that a mark has been filed will influence the burden of proof. In general, a registration can be expunged on the same grounds as would constitute grounds of opposition. The concurrent use of a mark can form the basis for the registration of a mark. In the United States, the use must have taken place prior to the filing date of the other party, but in the United Kingdom and South Africa, prior to the own filing date. In the latter two countries, knowledge of a mark is not necessarily exclusionary. Prior use is generally accepted as a defence to an infringement action. It is, however, noted that in various countries, it is only use prior to the relevant date that will be protected, and there is not necessarily a right to extend the scope of use concerned. / Mercantile Law / LL.D. (Mercantile Law)

Text in Afrikaans / Theft in South African law is one of the most well-known common law crimes. It is also one of the crimes in respect of which opinions vary considerably. Furtum possessionis is one of the manifestations of the crime of theft at common law. The general requirements of furtum possessionis were already established in Roman law. Emphasis was not placed on the taker of the thing but on the particular position of the person who was deprived of the property. This approach was also followed in Roman-Dutch law. Fur tum possessionis in South African law can be defined as follows: It is the unlawful and intentional appropriation by the owner or someone else of a movable corporeal thing in commercio, in circumstances in which the possessor of the thing has a valid right of retention of the thing, with the intention of depriving the possessor permanently of control of the thing. Theft in the form of furtum possessionis differs in an important respect from theft in the form of the removal of a thing. In the case of removal the complainant can also be a person acting as a holder, that is someone exercising control of the thing on behalf of the owner. In the case of furtum possessionis the complainant is the person with the right of retention and from whose possession the thing is taken away. The accused either possesses the thing as an owner or as a holder before possession of the thing was transferred to the complainant. Mere possession is not enough. The possession of the complainant has to be accompanied by a right to retention. Furthermore the possession of the thing has to be lawful / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.M. (Criminal & Procedural Law)

Indecent assault consists in an unlawful and intentional indecent assault which is and is intended to be indecent. There is some controversy in the case law whether the indecency is committed only by acts which are, objectively speaking indecent, against the view that even though the act is not indecent itself, may nevertheless found a conviction of indecent assault if it was the intention of the accused to act indecent and such intention was conveyed to the victim. It is submitted that the last mentioned approach is to be preferred but that the following test should be used: 1. If the act, is objectively speaking indecent and there is no doubt about the unlawfulness as well as the indecent intention of the accused, the crime of indecent assault was committed. 2. If the act is objectively speaking indecent but the indecent intention of the accused can not be proven, there is a rebuttable presumption that the accused acted with an indecent intention. Such as presumption must be rebutted b the accused himself. 3. If the act is not objectively speaking, indecent but the indecent intention of the accused can for example be proven by the accused confession to such an intention, the act became indecent. / Text in Afrikaans / Law / LL.M.