O presente trabalho tem por objetivo traçar os principais contornos do instituto do benefício particular, positivado na legislação brasileira por meio do artigo 115, §1º, da Lei n. 6.404/76, diferenciando-o do instituto relativo ao interesse conflitante nas sociedades, insculpido no mesmo dispositivo supra citado. A partir da análise do Direito Comparado, constatou-se que o benefício particular, tal como o conhecemos hoje no Brasil, tem origem na legislação francesa, especificamente nas Leis de 17 de julho de 1956 e 24 de julho de 1867. Os contornos de sua conceituação, portanto, estão intimamente ligados às razões de ordem histórica e teleológica que levaram o legislador estrangeiro a criá-lo, o qual visava, à época, afastar os abusos e inconveniências decorrentes da aprovação, em assembleia, de vantagens especiais e exclusivas pelo próprio sócio beneficiário dessas vantagens. Complementarmente, por meio da análise e interpretação sistemática da legislação societária brasileira e de outras fontes de direito disponibilizadas, como a doutrina e a jurisprudência, pôde-se definir algumas das características mais marcantes do instituto, das quais se pode destacar a licitude, a gratuidade e o caráter social das vantagens a ele associadas, garantindo ao beneficiado acesso aos fundos sociais. Em paralelo, para fins de mera comparação com o instituto do benefício particular, foram abordados alguns aspectos relativos ao instituto do conflito de interesses, reafirmando conceitos doutrinários já sedimentados acerca do alcance do interesse social e procurando, a partir da análise da legislação brasileira e comparada, fixar alguns elementos intrínsecos a esse instituto, tal como a ilicitude e o caráter extrassocial da vantagem visada pelo acionista conflitado. Comparando as características do benefício particular e do conflito de interesses, pode-se concluir que, apesar da aparente semelhança que carregam, tratam-se de institutos distintos, que regulam situações diversas, não podendo ser confundidos ou tomados um pelo outro, sendo possível, de fato, se estabelecer um critério relativamente seguro para distingui-los entre si, conferindo uma maior segurança jurídica aos aplicadores do direito, evitando-se, assim, algumas interpretações equivocadas acerca dos institutos, tais como aqueles constantes nos posicionamentos da Comissão de Valores Mobiliários analisados ao final desse trabalho. / The current paper has the sole purpose of designing the main lines of the private benefits regulation, reaffirmed by means of Act 115, §1st, in the Brazilian law number 6.404/76, distinguishing it from institutions that relate to conflicting partnership interests, comprehended by the same aforementioned Act. From assessing the Paired Law regulation, it has been understood that the private benefits, such as it is currently recognized in Brazil, is based on the French legislation, more specifically on the July 17, 1956 and July 24, 1867 Acts. Therefore, the contours of its conceptualism are intimately connected to historic and teleological reasoning that took the foreign regulator to create it and which aimed, at that time, to keep away abuse and inconveniences resulting from the approval, in an shareholders meeting, of special and exclusive advantages by their own beneficiary parties. In addition, by means of systematically assessing and interpreting the Brazilian Corporate Law and other Law resources made available, such as the Law doctrine and jurisprudence, it was possible to determine some of the most outstanding characteristics of such an institute, among which the lawfulness, gratuity and social character of the advantages associated with it can be highlighted, thus assuring the access of the beneficiary party to social funds. In parallel, by means of solely comparing the private benefits regulation, some aspects regarding the conflict of interests were also assessed, reaffirming doctrine concepts about the reach of social interests that are already established and trying to determine, by means of analyzing the Brazilian Corporate Law and Paired Law, some of the elements that are inherent to that establishment, such as its wrongfulness and the extrasocial character of the advantage pledged by the conflicting party. By pairing the characteristics of private benefits and the conflict of interests, it is concluded that, despite their apparent similarities, those are distinct institutes that regulate diverse situations, which cannot be confused or taken by one another and, in fact, it is possible to establish a relatively safe criteria to differentiate both, thus providing greater judicial accuracy to Law enforcers, and this way avoiding misinterpretation of regulation, such as those that are common to the positioning of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission that are analyzed in the end of this paper.

Orientador: Arsenio Oswaldo Seva Filho / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T16:42:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alves_JosiasManoel_D.pdf: 5620822 bytes, checksum: 8c2b8a18f45ab378b29f779f5c79b512 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Este trabalho de tese introduz, no estudo do processo de eletrificação, o conceito de politização dos serviços de energia elétrica. O texto inicialmente discute a noção de indústria de energia elétrica e ao mesmo tempo coloca em relevância alguns temas centrais do recente processo de privatização e desregulamentação dessa indústria no Brasil. Além do mais, informa os métodos que são utilizados para pesquisar os problemas políticos e sociais na era da reestruturação da indústria de eletricidade. Em seguida, são feitas duas retrospectivas: a primeira recai sobre a singular história de Goiás, ressaltando a construção das modernas cidades, Goiânia, a nova capital do Estado (nos anos 1930), e Brasília, a da República (nos anos 1950). Cabe também destaque à criação do Estado do Tocantins em 1988 e a recomposição do quadro político regional pós-regime militar até os dias atuais. A segunda reconstitui o processo de implantação de usinas, das linhas de transmissão e de distribuição de eletricidade em Goiás e no Distrito Federal ao longo do século XX. Neste processo, destaca-se a criação das empresas pioneiras de eletricidade, a ação dos grupos estrangeiros LIGHT e AMFORP, a intervenção dos governos estadual e federal através da criação da CELG e da CEB, além de FURNAS, da CEMIG, da ELETROBRÁS e da ELETRONORTE. Esta retrospectiva alcança o recente processo de desregulamentação dos negócios da indústria de energia, procurando introduzir a discussão sobre as licitações do patrimônio elétrico e dos novos projetos hidrelétricos a serem instalados. Os resultados das pesquisas de campo, das consultas realizadas no Ministério Público Estadual e Federal, das visitas periódicas às bibliotecas e das participações em congressos e seminários são apresentados nos três últimos capítulos. No conjunto, esta investigação enfoca a composição e o conflito de interesses capitalistas pelos novos projetos hidrelétricos recentemente licitados pela ANEEL. São analisados os projetos hidrelétricos localizados nos rios Araguaia, Claro, Verde, São Marcos e o processo de instalação do empreendimento de Corumbá IV. Por último, o foco analítico recai sobre poderosos grupos econômicos nacionais e estrangeiros que disputam atualmente o mercado e o patrimônio de energia elétrica em Goiás. Nesta análise, relevam-se os problemas do passivo social e ambiental das obras já instaladas das usinas de Cachoeira Dourada, de Serra da Mesa e de Cana Brava. Conclui-se este trabalho afirmando-se que o processo de mercantilização dos serviços públicos de eletricidade fez da vasta maioria da população a sua vítima e não a sua beneficiária. A continuidade desta lógica provoca rapidamente o esgotamento dos recursos naturais, além da expropriação das terras dos pequenos proprietários ribeirinhos / Abstract: The present thesis incorporates the concept that the electrification process, while a technical and economic process, has also an important social and politic aspecto The text begins with an overview of the electric power industry and with the mechanisms of its recent transformation in the Brazil through the privatization period, and informs the methods adopted in the research on the political and social problems associated with this process. Subsequently, two retrospectives are made: the first one relapses on the State of Goiás singular history, jutting out the construction of the modem cities of Goiânia, the new capital of the state (in the 1930's), and Brasília, the capital of the Republic (in the 1950's). In detach, also the creation of the new state of Tocantins in 1988 and the recomposing of the regional politic scene after military regime unti1 the present days. The second retrospect reconstitutes the process of implantation of the power plants, the transmission lines and the electricity distribution in Goiás and in the Federal District throughout the 20th century. In this process, detaches the pioneer e1ectricity enterprises creation, the action of the foreign groups LIGHT and AMFORP and the intervention of state and federal govems through CELG an CEB creation, as well as FURNAS, CEMIG, ELETROBRÁS and ELETRONORTE. The retrospect attains the recent deregulation process of the energy industry business, looking over to introduce the discussions about the outbidding of the settled electric patrimony and the new hydroelectric projects to be settled. The results from the field research, the consultation realized in the State and Federal Public Ministry, the periodic visits to libraries and the participation in congresses and seminaries are presented in three chapters. In conjoint, the investigation focuses the composition and the capitalist's interests' conflicts for the new hydroelectric projects recently outbid by ANEEL. In a first moment, hydroelectric projects in the Araguaia, Claro, Verde and São Marcos rivers are analysed. Subsequently, it's studied the installation process of the Corumbá IV hydroelectric project in the Corumbá River. At last, an analytical focus relapses over national and intemational powerful economic groups, which presently dispute the energy market and patrimony in Goiás. In this analysis, it's revealed problems in the ambient and social passives in the settled works of Cachoeira Dourada, Serra da Mesa and Cana Brava works. This work is conc1uded affirming that the mercantilization process of the electric public services didn't benefit most of the population, but made them a victim. The continuity of this logic rapidly provokes the nature resources exhaustion and the exploitation of the work power, as well as the land expropriation of the rural small owners / Doutorado / Planejamento de Sistemas Energeticos / Doutor em Engenharia Mecânica

Através do presente trabalho, demonstra-se que a função social da empresa é o fundamento e a justificativa para o reconhecimento e a proteção de interesses alheios aos dos sócios na sociedade limitada. Nos três primeiros capítulos, o objetivo é apontar qual o fundamento teórico da funcionalização do direito de propriedade, quais corolários dela decorrem e qual a sua importância para o exercício da empresa. Defende-se que a função social da propriedade é imperativo decorrente da ordem jurídica do mercado, moldada principalmente pelo princípio da solidariedade social. Por sua vez, a função social da empresa é corolário da função social da propriedade. Sustenta-se que a funcionalização do exercício da empresa repercute no exercício da atividade empresarial, acarretando obrigações positivas e negativas aos sócios majoritários (controladores) e administradores das sociedades empresárias, assim como incide sobre o exercício do direito de propriedade de parcelas do capital, do que decorrem obrigações atinentes aos sócios. A partir do capítulo quarto, objetiva-se sistematizar a composição de interesses na sociedade limitada, em abordagem que inclui tanto os conflitos que envolvem os sócios entre si, como os que os vinculam a terceiros, como a própria sociedade, os credores, os empregados, etc. No primeiro aspecto, versa-se sobre: deliberações sociais; o direito de recesso como forma de resolução de conflitos entre os sócios; a dissolução parcial como instrumento para assegurar a liberdade de não permanecer associado; as restrições ao exercício abusivo da administração; a transparência como instrumento de preservação dos interesses dos minoritários; o direito de participação nos lucros e no acervo social em caso de dissolução e liquidação da sociedade; o direito à manutenção da mesma proporção no capital social e o acordo de quotista como instrumento de composição de interesses. No segundo, sobre o conflito de interesses entre a sociedade e o sócio, em razão do exercício do direito de voto; a exclusão dos sócios nas modalidades de resolução da sociedade em relação ao sócio minoritário, da exclusão do sócio majoritário e do sócio remisso; aspectos da composição do capital social; os efeitos externos da sociedade, em abordagem que apreciará as conseqüências da autonomia patrimonial, a responsabilidade dos sócios e administradores e a desconsideração da personalidade jurídica; aspectos da proteção dos interesses dos empregados e da preservação do meio ambiente. A partir da análise doutrinária e jurisprudencial, demonstra-se como o princípio da função social da empresa é importante para a composição de interesses na sociedade limitada. / Through the present work we demonstrate that the social function of the firm is the basis as well as the evidence for the acknowledgment and protection minoritys and stakeholders interests in the private limited partnership. In the three first chapters it is analyzed the theoretical basis for the functionalization of the property right. It is supported that the property social function is mandatory due to the market juridical order shaped mainly by the social solidarity principle. The social function of the firm, in its turn, is corollary of the property social function. It also falls upon the exercise of property right of the capital portions of which elapse obligations which are referent to the partners. In the others chapters, the aim is to systemize the composition of interests in the private limited partnership, in an approach that includes conflicts which involve the partners among themselves as well as the ones which entail them to stakeholders, like the society itself, creditors, employees, etc. In the first aspect it runs upon social decisions; the right of recess as a way to solve conflicts among partners; the partial dissolution as an instrument to assure freedom of not continuing associated; the restrictions to the abusive exercise of management; transparency as an instrument of preservation of the minoritys interests: the right of participation in the profits and in the social patrimony in case of dissolution and liquidation of the society; the right of maintaining the same proportion in the social capital and the partners agreement as an instrument of composing interests. In the second one, concerning the conflict of interests between the society and the partner, due to the right of voting; the exclusion of partners in the modalities of resolution of society concerning the minority partner; of the exclusion of the majority partner as well as of the careless partner; aspects of the composition of the social capital. The external effects of the society, in approach which will appreciate the consequences of patrimonial autonomy, partners and managers responsibility and juridical personality disrespect; aspects of the protection of employees interests and environment preservation. Departing from the doctrinaire and jurisprudential analysis it is demonstrated how the principle of the enterprises social function is important for the composition of interests in the limited society.

Submitted by Renato Vilela (renatovla@yahoo.com.br) on 2012-10-15T15:01:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 RENATO VILELA - Dissertação de Mestrado.pdf: 2009901 bytes, checksum: c6531673d2170c86cb4edebfc889a91c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2012-10-15T15:12:12Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 RENATO VILELA - Dissertação de Mestrado.pdf: 2009901 bytes, checksum: c6531673d2170c86cb4edebfc889a91c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-15T15:24:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RENATO VILELA - Dissertação de Mestrado.pdf: 2009901 bytes, checksum: c6531673d2170c86cb4edebfc889a91c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-13 / The work is situated in the large area of corporate law, specifically under the subject of conflicts of interest in the deliberations of listed companies. The assumed objective was to critically explore theoretical interpretation of the legal problem resulting from these conflicts, and then perform an empirical study about a potentially contentious negotiating mode, the related party transactions. After studying the logic from these doctrinal proposals, the thesis maintains the hypothesis that the explanations of the Brazilian legal literature vary the ratio of the open concept of 'best interests of the company', according to articulate the position of the party represented by counsel. Arbitrarily designed as 'formal' or 'substantial', such interpretations cares about the time of infringement of the Company's best interest, respectively, to prohibit or guarantee the exercise of voting from the interested party, through suitable arrangements at the dispute. Due to this impairment of abstract reasoning to the practice of law, it is suggested to approach the subject by another theoretical proposal, linked to a specific notion of Law. Understood as a provider of relevant information to stakeholders of the companies, it acts in the regulation of data required from these corporations and in the information produced by them, individually. Such transparency, along with the rules that bind the market, form the conceptual content of the expression 'corporate governance', developed around the proposal called by 'corporate governance system'. The interpretation of information from the various possible systems must offer the decision maker a chance to meet their powers, prerogatives, incentives, skills, limitations and prohibitions in order to assess whether their choice is a good government practice for the business, according the system in which the company operates. For interested third parties, the system should serve to verify if the decision-making process follows the expectation of the business environment designed by the governance system. On the issue of conflicts of interest, the suggestion to think the problem through this notion of Law intended to support the creation and disclosure of rules conceived by the listed companies, which feed the alluded governance system and serve to guide the decision making oriented by the alignment of dissonant goals involved in the company, without the use of external arbitration. So, the empirical work focuses on studies of these particular rules applicable to related party transactions, such mechanisms were collected in the annual report of the 100 most liquid corporations listed at BM&FBovespa in 2011. The results show that only 6% of companies have procedures to identify conflicting relationships arising from related party transactions and 29% to address the problem. The figures relating to companies that establish rules for managing conflicts of interest in the deliberations of the general assembly and board of directors are also low, respectively, 7% and 13% present identification mechanisms, 4% and 11% for treatment. The low frequency showed by the results lighted with the built theoretical proposal identifies an opportunity, namely, to think of mitigating the problem using this private and extrajudicial route. / O trabalho está inserido na grande área do direito societário, especificamente sob a temática dos conflitos de interesses nas deliberações de S.A.´s listadas em Bolsa de Valores. O objetivo assumido foi o de percorrer criticamente as propostas teóricas empregadas na interpretação do problema jurídico resultante destes conflitos, para depois realizar um estudo empírico sobre uma modalidade negocial potencialmente conflitiva, as transações entre partes relacionadas. Após o estudo da lógica norteadora das propostas doutrinárias, sustenta-se a hipótese de que as explicações da literatura jurídica brasileira variam na razão do conceito aberto de 'interesse da companhia', articulado de acordo com a posição da parte representada pelo advogado. Arbitrariamente concebidas como formais ou substancias, tais interpretações cuidam do momento de violação do interesse da companhia, respectivamente, visando proibir ou garantir o exercício de voto do interessado por meio de entendimentos convenientes ao tempo do litígio. Diante deste comprometimento do raciocínio abstrato com a prática da advocacia, sugere-se a abordagem do tema por outra proposta teórica, vinculada a uma noção específica do Direito. Compreendido como um provedor de informações relevantes aos interessados nas operações das empresas, ele atua na regulação dos dados exigidos destas sociedades e na confecção das informações produzidas individualmente por elas. Tal transparência, junto das regras que vinculam o mercado, forma o conteúdo conceitual da expressão governança corporativa, desenvolvido em torno da proposta chamada de 'sistema de governança corporativa'. A interpretação das informações dos diversos possíveis sistemas deve oferecer ao tomador de decisão a chance de conhecer os seus poderes, prerrogativas, incentivos, competências, limitações e proibições, de modo a avaliar se a sua escolha é uma boa prática de governo da empresa, segundo o sistema no qual ela opera. Aos terceiros interessados, deve servir para verificar se o processo decisório segue o esperado pelo ambiente negocial que o sistema de governança delineia. No tema do conflito de interesses, a sugestão de pensar o problema por esta noção do Direito visa respaldar a criação e divulgação de regras próprias pelas empresas listadas, as quais alimentem o aludido sistema de governança e sirvam à tomada de decisões que orientem o alinhamento dos objetivos dissonantes envolvidos na companhia, sem que haja a necessidade de recorrer ao arbitramento externo. O trabalho empírico se debruça então nos estudos destas regras particulares aplicáveis às transações entre partes relacionadas, tais mecanismos são colhidos nos formulários de referência das 100 companhias mais líquidas da BM&FBovespa no ano de 2011. Os resultados mostram que apenas 6% das empresas possuem procedimentos para identificar as relações conflituosas decorrentes da modalidade negocial estudada e 29% para tratar o problema. Os números relativos às sociedades que estabelecem regras para a administração dos conflitos de interesses nas deliberações de assembleia geral e conselho de administração também são baixos, respectivamente, 7% e 13% apresentam mecanismos de identificação, 4% e 11% para o seu tratamento. A baixa frequência mostrada pelos resultados à luz da proposta teórica construída identifica uma oportunidade, qual seja, a de pensar a mitigação do problema por esta via particular e extrajudicial.

La corruption se définit de la manière la plus large comme tout « abus de pouvoir aux fins d’un profit privé ». Sous ses différentes formes, elle apparaît intimement liée à l’exercice du pouvoir. Cette dimension politique en fait l’envers de la démocratie, ainsi qu’un phénomène criminel particulièrement difficile à identifier, poursuivre et réprimer. Au cours des dernières décennies, elle aurait acquis une nouvelle dimension mondiale, rendant nécessaire une constante adaptation des dispositifs tant préventifs que répressifs. Cependant, le système pénal anti-corruption semble tributaire des profondes tensions générées par la confrontation permanente de la logique de l’État de droit à celle du pouvoir. Les résistances politiques s’avèrent nombreuses dans la perspective de diminuer les obstacles à une pleine efficacité répressive. Le juge pénal se trouve alors placé en première ligne de ce processus dialectique. Par son audace investigatrice et sa jurisprudence compensatrice, il contribuerait de manière décisive à faire évoluer le droit et, plus largement, à redéfinir les équilibres démocratiques entre pouvoir et contre-pouvoir. Sur le plan national, la justice acquiert ainsi une autonomie, une légitimité et une indépendance inédites. À travers la lutte contre la corruption transnationale, ce droit sous haute tension doit répondre au double défi de son efficacité et de son extranéité. L’approche systémique de la lutte contre la corruption permet alors de penser la cohérence d’ensemble des dispositifs juridiques, qu’il s’agit d’aligner suivant le même but : constituer une barrière protectrice pour le bien commun / Corruption is defined, in the broadest sense as any “abuse of power for private gain”. In its various forms, this phenomenon appears to be closely linked to the exercise of power. This political dimension makes it the opposite of democracy, as well as a criminal phenomenon which is particularly difficult to identify, prosecute and control. In the last decades, corruption has acquired a new international dimension that seemingly requires the constant adjustment of measures and provisions of law. However, the system dedicated to anti-corruption is seemingly born out of deep tensions generated by the permanent confrontation of the logic of the rule of law with the logic of power. There remains much political resistance to addressing the enforcement gap and remove the barriers to full repressive efficiency. The criminal judge is therefore placed at the forefront of this dialectical process. Through his investigative boldness and establishment of compensatory jurisprudence, the criminal judge contributes decisively to developing the law and, more broadly, to redefine the democratic balance between power and countervailing checks and balances. Nationally, justice thus acquires unprecedented autonomy, legitimacy and independence. Through the fight against transnational corruption, this law under high pressure must meet the dual challenge of its effectiveness and its foreignness. As a result, the systemic approach to the fight against corruption suggests we might think legal provisions in their overall consistency, with respect to their final aim: provide a line of defense for the common good

Cette thèse contient trois études sur le fonctionnement des banques.<p>Le premier Chapitre analyse empiriquement comment la capacité d’offrir des emprunts à long terme est influencée par la dimension des intermédiaires financiers.<p>Le deuxième Chapitre analyse, avec un model théorique caractérisé par la présence de soft-budget constraint, ratchet effect et short-termism, comment la pression compétitive influence la capacité des banque de financer le firmes ayant des projets de bonne qualité.<p>Le troisième Chapitre examine, avec un model théorique du type moral hazard common agency, le conflits d'intérêts des banques universelles.<p><p>Financial intermediaries are recognized to promote the efficiency of resource allocation by mitigating problems of incentives, asymmetric information and contract incompleteness. The role played by financial intermediaries is considered so crucial that these institutions have received all over the world the greatest attention of regulators.<p>Across and within banking sectors it is possible to observe a wide variety of intermediaries. Banks may differ in their size, market power and degree of specialization. This variety raises interesting questions about the features of a well functioning banking sector. These questions have inspired an important body of economic literature which, however, is still inconclusive in many aspects. This dissertation includes three studies intending to contribute in this direction.<p>Chapter 1 will empirically study the willingness of smaller and larger lenders to grant long-term loans which, as credit to SME's, constitute an opaque segment of the credit market. Chapter 2 analyzes, with a theoretical model, the effects of competition on the efficiency of the banking sector when this is characterized by dynamic commitment issues which brings to excessive refinancing of bad quality investments (so called soft-budget constraint) or excessive termination of good ones (ratchet effect and short-termism). Chapter 3 presents a model to investigate to what extent the distortions posed by conflicts of interest in universal banks can be addressed through the provision of appropriate incentive schemes by the different categories of clients. / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Le conflit d'intérêts est un sujet passionnant notamment en raison de son omniprésence dans l'actualité. Approximative, l'expression empruntée au magma lexical des politiciens et juristes anglo-américains s'est récemment diffusée en France dans le monde des affaires et aussitôt reprise par le jargon médiatique pour désigner des éventuelles interférences de l'intérêt privé dans l'exercice de pouvoirs de nature privée ou publique. Il n'existe en l'état actuel du droit positif français aucune réglementation spécifique de ces « conflits d'intérêts », pas plus en droit privé qu'en droit public, alors même qu'on se préoccupe de leur prévention tandis que leur sanction relève de qualifications plus générales. Il convient donc de s'interroger sur la définition et la valeur opératoire de cette notion et le régime juridique qui pourrait lui être réservé, ce que l'on se propose d'entreprendre dans la sphère du droit privé et par préférence dans le champ de l'arbitrage commercial, particulièrement exposé aux appétits hégémoniques des droits anglo-américains. / Conflict of Interests is a fascinated subject due to its pervasiveness in the economic life. This approximated expression, borrowed from the politicians and Anglo-American lawyers' jargon, has recently spread into the French business world and was taken up by the media to designate the interferences of private interest in the exercise of powers of private or public nature. In the current state of French Law, there is no specific rule governing conflicts of interests, neither in Private Law, nor in Public Law. Indeed, politicians and scholars paradoxically only focus on their prevention, whereas their sanctions fall within the scope of broader notions. The aim of this research is to lay down the definition, the operative value and the regime of conflict of interests. The scope of this research shall be, within Private Law, Commercial Arbitration Law, which is particularly exposed to the hegemony of Anglo-American laws.

La transparence de la vie publique correspond à un corpus de règles contraignantes visant à renouer la confiance entre les citoyens et les responsables publics. En outre, la notion de transparence se trouve quasi naturellement associée par la doctrine à l’idéal démocratique. L’analyse du droit positif montre que la transparence de la vie publique a élargi significativement le droit de la probité des responsables publics en développant une approche complémentaire de l’arsenal répressif préexistant. En trente ans, la législation a évolué dans le sens d’une plus grande effectivité. Cependant, elle présente encore de nombreuses insuffisances, particulièrement en matière de contrôle du financement de la vie politique. Par ailleurs, le potentiel démocratique de la transparence s’avère inexploité. La transparence de la vie publique n’entraîne pas de rééquilibrage entre les pouvoirs et fait une place marginale aux citoyens. Le législateur et le juge constitutionnel ne lui reconnaissent pas une valeur constitutionnelle. De plus, sa contribution à la garantie des droits politiques essentiels à la démocratie parlementaire reste mesurée. En revanche, le principe de séparation des pouvoirs et certains droits fondamentaux limitent considérablement la portée des contrôles sur les responsables publics et font obstacles à la transparence. / Transparency in public life refers to a set of restrictive rules designed for restoring trust between citizens and public leaders. Moreover, transparency is naturally associated to the democratic ideal. Analysis in positive law shows transparency in public life significantly broadens probity rules for politicians and public leaders as it develops a complementary approach to pre-existing repressive rules. For thirty years, statutes have evolved to a better efficiency. Nevertheless, they are still not enough, especially regarding controls over political funding. In addition, the transparency democratic potential has been neglected. Transparency in politics does not refund the balance between powers and only gives a marginal role for citizens. Both Parliament and Constitutional judge do not recognise it as a constitutional value. Furthermore, their contributions to guarantee political rights in a parliamentary democracy are moderate. Finally, the separation of powers and some fundamental rights limit substantially the reach of controls over public leaders.

By following a climate-friendly diet, consumers have the potential to reduce climate change. However, despite the growing awareness of the climate-friendly food options that are available, consumers still choose foods with a high carbon footprint. Following a survey design, this study aimed to determine the extent to which four psychological processes (denial, conflicting goals and aspirations, tokenism, and interpersonal influence) limit consumers’ climate-friendly food choices in South Africa. Data were collected from 151 participants using the Climate-friendly Food Choices Scale and the Psychological Barriers Scale. Regression analysis indicated that conflicting goals and aspirations and denial were the two main psychological barriers to climate-friendly food choices. Overall the barriers were negatively associated with climate-friendly food choices. Gender did not produce a significant effect in the study. Different age groups varied with regards to the extent to which they experienced the psychological barriers, but they did not differ significantly with regards to how often they made climate-friendly food choices. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

RÉSUMÉ FRANÇAIS Ce mémoire fait l’étude du régime de prévention et de sanction des conflits possibles entre les intérêts de la municipalité d’une part et de ceux de ses élus de l’autre. L’objet de recherche est abordé selon une approche historique et éthique basée sur le régime juridique actuel. Le mémoire est divisé en 3 chapitres : (1) la notion de conflit d’intérêts ; (2) le cadre juridique à la base du régime de sanction des conflits d’intérêts et (3) celui sur le régime de prévention des conflits d’intérêts dans le domaine municipal. Le chapitre préliminaire situe l’objet de recherche à l’intérieur des grandes tendances de la recherche juridique sur la question et présente un cadre de réflexion sur la notion de conflit d’intérêts. L’examen des conflits d’intérêts repose avant tout sur un questionnement et sur un jugement de nature subjective : ce qui a été considéré comme un conflit d’intérêts autrefois ne l’est pas nécessairement de nos jours et ce, en dépit du fait que le cadre juridique évolue aussi dans le temps. On ne peut donc pas dégager avec exactitude et pour toujours ce qui constitue un conflit d’intérêts de ce qui n’en constitue pas un. Le chapitre premier est divisé en 4 sections. On y traite notamment de la règle relative à l’interdiction pour un élu municipal de contracter avec la municipalité. On y démontre que l’origine de cette règle remonte aux premières lois municipales du XIXe siècle et que cette dernière a subi assez peu de modifications au fil des ans. La troisième section porte sur les cas de malversation, d’abus de confiance et les autres inconduites prohibées par la Loi sur les élections et référendums dans les municipalités (L.R.Q. c. E-2.2). Une quatrième section sur les accusations criminelles d’abus de confiance et de corruption vient clore le premier chapitre. Chacune de ces sections est abordée notamment en faisant l’historique des dispositions législatives en cause ainsi qu’en faisant certains parallèles avec la législation des autres provinces canadiennes. Le chapitre 2 sur le régime de prévention des conflits d’intérêts est divisé en 4 parties. La première section porte sur l’obligation pour un élu de déclarer annuellement ses intérêts pécuniaires. Cette obligation n’est pas unique au Québec puisqu’elle est présente dans quelques législations provinciales canadiennes. La deuxième section porte sur l’obligation pour cet élu de dénoncer verbalement son intérêt dans une question abordée par le conseil municipal réuni en séance ou en comité. Là encore, l’origine de cette approche préventive est fort ancienne et a longtemps été considéré comme le seul moyen de dénoncer son intérêt sans subir les sanctions prévues par la loi. Une troisième section s’intéresse au cadre juridique entourant les soumissions publiques et qui vise à éliminer toute situation possible de favoritisme ou de patronage. Une quatrième section aborde la question des codes d’éthique et de leur utilité ainsi que les développements récents sur cette question avec le dépôt en 2009 du rapport du Groupe de travail sur l’éthique dans le milieu municipal. Une conclusion vient clore le mémoire en présentant une synthèse de l’étude assortie de commentaires personnels sur les conclusions du Groupe de travail précité. / ENGLISH SUMMARY The objective of this master’s paper is to review the system of prevention and sanctions in the area of possible conflicts between, on the one part, the interests of the municipality and on the other, that of the elected officials. The research approach to the subject is both historical and ethical and is based on the existing legal system. The study is divided into three (3) chapters: (1) the concept of conflict of interest (2) the legal basis of the system of sanctions for conflicts of interest (3) the system of prevention of conflicts of interest in the municipal field. The preliminary chapter sets the research subject within the broader field of legal research on the question and presents a framework of thought on the notion of conflicts of interest. The examination of the concept of conflicts of interests begins by the questioning and making of subjective judgments: what has in the past been considered as a conflict of interest is no longer seen the same way today and this despite the fact that the legal system also evolves with the times. We cannot therefore identify permanently and with precision that which constitutes a conflict of interest and that which does not. It depends on the facts and the circumstances in each case. Chapter 1 is divided into 4 sections. We will review in particular the rules relating to the prohibition against an elected official contracting with the municipality. We will show that the rule takes its origin in the first legislation relating to municipalities dating back to the 19th century and that these rules have not been greatly modified since. The third section deals with misappropriation breach of trust and other misconduct prohibited by la An Act respecting Elections and Referendums in Municipalities (L.R.Q. c. E-2.2). A fourth section dealing with criminal charges for breach of trust and corruption brings the first chapter to an end. In each one of these sections we review the history of the legislation in question and by making certain comparisons with legislation in other provinces. Chapter 2 dealing with the system of prevention of conflicts of interest is divided into four (4) parts. The first section deals with the elected official’s obligation to make an annual declaration of pecuniary interests. This obligation is not unique to Quebec; it is also found in legislation in other Canadian provinces. The second section covers the obligation of an elected official to declare his or her interest in any question that is under study by council either in full session or in committee. Here again the origin of this preventative approach is quite ancient and has long been considered as the only means of declaring one’s interest without having to face the consequences provided at law. A third section deals with the legal system covering public tenders. This system is not only meant to insure healthy competition but also to eliminate any possible situation of favouritism or patronage that an elected official might be tempted to pass on to a supporter. A fourth section explores the matter of Codes of Ethics and their usefulness as well as recent developments in the area following on the tabling of the report in 2009 of the Groupe de travail sur l’éthique dans le milieu municipal. The conclusion presents a summary of the study including personal comments on the conclusions of the said study group.