1 Abstract: Czech and foreign arbitral award The purpose of this thesis is to describe and compare the position of Czech and foreign arbitral award in the Czech legislation. The author aims to clarify whether the Czech legislation grants to foreign arbitral awards the same possibility of enforcement as it grants, if the same conditions are met, to Czech arbitral awards. This thesis should also answer whether the decision-making practice of Czech courts is not in conflict with international obligations. The thesis is divided into five parts. The first part is dedicated to general questions of arbitration. The purpose of this section is to introduce arbitration as an alternative method of dispute resolution. The author analyses the use of arbitration by describing its advantages and disadvantages. Further attention is paid to the main institutes of arbitration such as arbitrability of the dispute. The second part deals with the most important sources of law governing arbitration. For unambiguous application of sources of law, the author also deals with conflicts between different sources of law, for example in the form of a conflict of a multilateral international treaty with a bilateral international treaty on legal aid. The third part the author dedicates to the arbitral award itself. It deals with its...

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published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Master / Master of Science in Construction Project Management

published_or_final_version / Economics and Finance / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Urban areas are facing huge environmental challenges due to an increase in the population from 50% to 70% until 2050. The European Commission promotes the European Green Capital Award to give European cities motivation to facilitate a change towards urban sustainable development in medium-sized cities, where the city Umeå in north Sweden is applying for the third time. The aim of this study is to see whether the award is a useful tool for the environmental work in Umeå and if there are controversies among the stakeholders of the city. Interviews have been conducted where interviewees from several areas, both pro and against the award, have been interviewed. It is shown that the award has several impacts where most of them are beneficial for the environmental work in the city, such as structuring the environmental work. The main challenge with the award is a communication failure between the project group and other stakeholders of the city. The conclusion is that the award in itself seem to be good for the environmental work in Umeå but that the communication between the project group and the citizens needs to be improved.

Los Premios Darwin son otorgados de forma póstuma a personas que han realizado un acto estúpido y han perdido la vida como consecuencia de dicho acto, por lo que parte del supuesto que el ser humano menos dotado genéticamente, no sobrevive. Para ello, se hizo una revisión bibliográfica en internet (google académico y descriptor DeCS), debido a que no se encontró información en otras fuentes. Este premio ha despertado la curiosidad de los investigadores para explicar las razones por las que los hombres se exponen más que las mujeres a situaciones peligrosas, llegando a postular la “teoría de la idiotez masculina”. / The Darwin Awards are awarded posthumously to people who have performed a stupid act and have lost their lives as a result of that act, so part of the assumption that the human less endowed genetically, does not survive. To do this, a bibliographical review was made on the internet (Google Sscholar and descriptor DeCS), because no information was found in other sources. This award has aroused the curiosity of researchers to explain the reasons why men expose themselves more than women to dangerous situations, even postulating the “male idiocy theory”.

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University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Law. / The paper examines the evolution of the recognition and enforcement of "foreign" arbitral awards prior to the introduction of the various international arbitration conventions by referring to court decisions of the relevant countries, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom. The scope and importance of the New York Convention will be canvassed, with specific reference to cases. The Dissertation traces the evolution of judicial and legislative attitudes towards arbitration (in particular, the issue of arbitrability), from the original position of antipathy towards arbitral processes, to the active promotion of arbitration and a "hands-off" approach to its processes by legislators as well as courts. The introduction of the arbitral process to developing countries will be discussed in the context of some recent controversial arbitrations in Indonesia and Pakistan. Public policy as the criterion for the enforcement of awards by national courts will be discussed and relevant authorities referred to. The reasoning adopted by courts in this area will be examined and discussed. The paradigm shift in the enforcement of awards and the leeway granted within the parameters of the arbitral decision making process will be highlighted by two case studies. Both demonstrate clearly the current negation of public policy considerations. The first is a decision of the English Court of Appeal which was mirrored by a subsequent arbitration awardin 'which the discarding of public policy considerations was particularly remarkable as constitutional issues were involved, which normally would have given rise to the expectation of deliberations as to the notions of public policy. NOTE CONCERNING "UNITED KINGDOM" AND "ENGLISH" LAW The title of the Dissertation inter alia refers to the " ... laws of ... the United Kingdom." Within the text, there are references to both the "United Kingdom" and "England." The constitutional and legislative position in the United Kingdom is perhaps more complex than in other jurisdictions and a brief outline is necessary. United Kingdom Parliament Parliament is called the "Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." (Great Britain is comprised of England, Scotland and Wales). The United Kingdom Parliament comprises the monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Until relatively recently, Parliament was regarded as the supreme law-making body within the United Kingdom; however, European Community law is now paramount within the United Kingdom's constitutional framework. The legislation of the United Kingdom Parliament is presumed to apply to the whole of the United Kingdom, although there can be an express or implied exclusion of a part of the United Kingdom from the operation of a particular Act. Legal systems England and Wales have the one legal system. As from the Sixteenth Century, "English law" has prevailed in Wales. Scotland has a distinct legal system and its own courts, with, in civil matters, rights of appeal to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. Northern Island also has its own courts, with rights of appeal to the House of Lords in both civil and criminal matters. Devolution The United Kingdom Parliament has legislated for the devolution of power to regional assemblies - to the Scottish Parliament, the Northern Island Assembly and the National Assembly for Wales. The Scottish Parliament has the power to pass primary legislation, subject to certain subject matters being reserved by the United Kingdom Parliament. The Northern Ireland Assembly also has power to enact primary legislation, but the Northern Ireland Assembly is also presently suspended. The National Assembly for Wales has no power to enact primary legislation - that power remains with the United Kingdom Parliament. Consequently, at present, the Scottish Parliament alone has power to pass legislation which has equal force to that of the United Kingdom Parliament. Dissertation In relation to the expressions used in the Dissertation; generally, references to legislation will be referred to as United Kingdom legislation, as Parliament is the United Kingdom Parliament. It should also be noted that it is the United Kingdom which is the contracting State to the New York Convention. References to decisions of the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal will be described as "United Kingdom" and "English" decisions respectively. As noted above, whilst each of Scotland and Northern Ireland has its own courts, there are rights (in the case of Scotland, in civil matters only). of appeal to the House of Lords. The House of Lords, consequently, hears appeals from the whole of the United Kingdom. The English Court of Appeal is the Court of Appeal for the unitary system of England and Wales. Given that "English law" was historically also the law of Wales, it is more appropriate to refer to decisions handed down by it as "English" decisions. Decisions of other Courts (such as Queen's Bench and Chancery) will also be referred to as "English" decisions.

A state contract is a common mode of entry for foreign direct investment, especially in developing states. It can form the legal basis of the investment relationship between a foreign investor and a host government. But, like any other contract, it cannot stand itself covering all aspects of the legal relationship. The contract thus must belong to a specific legal system or a body of rules or principles which is usually called “applicable law “or “governing law”.Historically, a “concession contract” in the natural resources sector was the predominant form of a state contract and it used to be governed by the domestic law of each host state. However, since the 1950s, international investment arbitrations have abandoned the tradition and advanced a theory subjecting state contracts in the foreign investment sector to an external legal system, ie public international law. One of the bases of the theory of internationalisation was the principle of party autonomy that allows parties to a state contract to select any law of whatever country they like. Then, the 1965 Washington Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (ICSID Convention)1 formally adopted the principle of party autonomy in Article 42 (1) as the primary choice of law rule in disputes arising out a foreign investment contract concluded between a state and a national of another state.The object of this thesis is to prove that the fundamental problems of party autonomy in foreign investment contracts involving considerations of public and private law issues remain unsettled. It explores the main controversies and confusions in the theory of internationalising state contracts, looking at its historical context. It examines the extent of the application of party autonomy in state contracts such as natural resource exploitation contracts and construction of a plant and infrastructure contracts which reflect important economic development policies of developing countries.In considering past and current problems in the field of international investment law, the thesis argues that arbitral tribunals resolving disputes between a state and a foreign private individual should abandon the party autonomy approach because contractual freedom to choose the law of the contract would disregard the objectives which host states normally pursue through economic regulations such as development, environment and human rights concerns of foreign investment. It suggests a consensus-based approach similar to the rule adopted in the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to Certain Rights in Respect of Securities (Hague Securities Convention)2 and which would produce the desired effect. It recommends that the choice of law provisions found in Article 42 of ICSID Convention would need to be either modified or repealed. In doing so, this thesis attempts to contribute to the positive development of international investment law balancing state authority and private property rights.