Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-145). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

A person on the eve of bankruptcy may enter into transactions or arrangements that are intended to, or that have the effect of, preserving its property from being seized and distributed among creditors. Such transactions may provide a bankrupt with collateral benefits such as the continued use and enjoyment of property, or they may benefit third parties such as members of the bankrupt's family, or they may benefit selected creditors to the detriment of others. The effect of such transactions is to frustrate the legislative scheme which provides for the distribution of a bankrupt's residual property. This effect may be desired by a bankrupt or by a recipient of the bankrupt's property, or it may be unintended. Insolvency legislation confers wide powers upon a trustee in bankruptcy to "review" such transactions by bringing proceedings to reverse their effect and recover the value lost to the bankrupt's estate. Reviewable transactions comprise two main categories: dispositions or unequal transactions in which a debtor parts with property for no or insufficient consideration (such as a transfer of property to a spouse or a sale in which a bankrupt does not receive a fair price) and preferential repayments of debts owed to certain creditors to the detriment of others. Reviewable transaction laws in Canada and England have a subjective basis in that they focus upon the intent of a debtor to defeat creditors or prefer one creditor over others. In contrast, relevant Australian and New Zealand laws have an objective focus and provide remedies where the effect of a transaction, rather than the intent of a debtor, is to defeat the interests of creditors. This paper conducts a comparative critique of reviewable transaction regimes. It makes the argument that subjective regimes tend to reflect their historical origins in fraud law and a desire to punish and frustrate the fraudulent intent of a bankrupt; an inappropriate policy foundation that fails to address the competing interests and policy considerations which should form the basis of reviewable transaction law. Objective regimes, which focus upon the effect of impugned transactions, provide more appropriately for the balancing of creditors' and recipients' interests and the making of provision for policy considerations. This paper also considers collateral effects of reviewable transaction regimes upon creditors' interests (such as effects upon claims to property recovered by a trustee) in a variety of circumstances and concludes that the results are often inconsistent and undesirable. In this respect the relative positions of secured and unsecured creditors are described in detail and proposals for reform are ventured.

A person on the eve of bankruptcy may enter into transactions or arrangements that are intended to, or that have the effect of, preserving its property from being seized and distributed among creditors. Such transactions may provide a bankrupt with collateral benefits such as the continued use and enjoyment of property, or they may benefit third parties such as members of the bankrupt's family, or they may benefit selected creditors to the detriment of others. The effect of such transactions is to frustrate the legislative scheme which provides for the distribution of a bankrupt's residual property. This effect may be desired by a bankrupt or by a recipient of the bankrupt's property, or it may be unintended. Insolvency legislation confers wide powers upon a trustee in bankruptcy to "review" such transactions by bringing proceedings to reverse their effect and recover the value lost to the bankrupt's estate. Reviewable transactions comprise two main categories: dispositions or unequal transactions in which a debtor parts with property for no or insufficient consideration (such as a transfer of property to a spouse or a sale in which a bankrupt does not receive a fair price) and preferential repayments of debts owed to certain creditors to the detriment of others. Reviewable transaction laws in Canada and England have a subjective basis in that they focus upon the intent of a debtor to defeat creditors or prefer one creditor over others. In contrast, relevant Australian and New Zealand laws have an objective focus and provide remedies where the effect of a transaction, rather than the intent of a debtor, is to defeat the interests of creditors. This paper conducts a comparative critique of reviewable transaction regimes. It makes the argument that subjective regimes tend to reflect their historical origins in fraud law and a desire to punish and frustrate the fraudulent intent of a bankrupt; an inappropriate policy foundation that fails to address the competing interests and policy considerations which should form the basis of reviewable transaction law. Objective regimes, which focus upon the effect of impugned transactions, provide more appropriately for the balancing of creditors' and recipients' interests and the making of provision for policy considerations. This paper also considers collateral effects of reviewable transaction regimes upon creditors' interests (such as effects upon claims to property recovered by a trustee) in a variety of circumstances and concludes that the results are often inconsistent and undesirable. In this respect the relative positions of secured and unsecured creditors are described in detail and proposals for reform are ventured. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Zugl.: Tübingen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2007.

Reframing the Ditch explores the application of native canopy using green street tools as a method to move beyond minimums and improve biological diversity of stormwater conveyances in a way that is consistent with visual landscape preference theory. Small stream water quality impairment is an issue found in 83% of stream headwaters in the Eastern United States. The Clean Water Act (1972), which regulates pollutant discharge into U.S. surface waters, mandates that municipalities create an implementation plan to improve water quality of their impaired streams. Water quality impairment is often exacerbated when headwater streams flow through urban areas. Urban areas are concentrations of human activity and as such bring concentrations of impermeable surfaces and stormwater runoff. As development increases, dedicated space for stormwater changes. Natural flow patterns that interacted with stratified layers of native vegetation often become constrained to ditches and pipes with little or no vegetation within the conveyance corridor. Reframing the Ditch creates an approach to help municipalities improve water quality of headwater streams by addressing water quality in ditches before water reaches the stream. The objective of urban conveyance systems is to move stormwater runoff into waterways as quickly as possible. When we design these conveyances to simply minimize stormwater interference, we ignore the potential contribution this land has for our public urban systems. This project looks for an intermediary between minimums and maximums. Maximums, also known as restoration, allows for messy, dynamic systems that are not hydrologically or visually appropriate in most urban environments. This thesis reveals ditches as complex landscapes that require high preforming vegetation, which ultimately limits the number of native species suitable for such harsh environments. Additionally, the more impermeable an environment is and the farther a ditch is from the top of the watershed, the more stormwater runoff there is, and the more space is required to process water and improve water quality. Cost, lack of available vegetation and lack of space may limit the application of this design in most circumstances. However, there are appropriate landscapes where this design methodology can provide valuable insight for landscape implementation plans aimed at improving water quality, while also providing public space, enriching neighborhood aesthetics and highlighting the function of our urban drainage systems. / Master of Landscape Architecture / The Environmental Protection Agency, through the Clean Water Act, dictates what is an appropriate level of contamination in streams and rivers within the United States. Waterway impairment is a widespread issue affecting 83% of headwater streams in the Eastern United States. Improving the quality of headwater streams, the smallest parts of stream and river networks, is generally thought of as the first opportunity to improve water quality downstream. Reframing the Ditch suggests an alternate first opportunity by looking at how we can improve water quality by addressing design of the urban ditch. Urban ditches, mostly in the form or open channels or curb-and-gutters, collect and move stormwater runoff. Ditches, typically have little vegetation and work to more water as quickly and efficiently as possible. When we eliminate vegetation from urban ditches, we also eliminate valuable function. In natural stream processes, vegetation slows, filters, and infiltrates water, improving water quality, while also improving biodiversity and providing habitat. However, theses natural stream processes are dynamic and messy systems that are often not appropriate for urban settings. In order to define a design method that is appropriate for urban settings, Reframing the Ditch utilizes a green street toolkit to create a strong sense of place, while processing stormwater, within our public rights-of way. By focusing on the application of native urban canopy within a drainage network, we can adhere to landscape preference and increase biodiversity. The design reveals that ditches are complex, context specific landscapes. While there is opportunity to increase utility of these spaces, there is complexity and cost to doing so. Layering utility into our stormwater conveyances is a valuable design strategy that serves individuals, neighborhoods, municipalities and watersheds. This project is an effort to help municipalities reframe their ditches, by providing ecological and social benefit, and ultimately improving water quality downstream.

La tesi ha ad oggetto lo studio dei rapporti tra il trust e il nucleo di principi inderogabili in materia di crisi dell’impresa esercitata in forma societaria e delle sue soluzioni “negoziali” (: piani attestati, accordi di ristrutturazione, concordato preventivo) tanto in termini di compatibilità sistematico-astratta, quanto con riguardo alle funzioni concrete che detto istituto può svolgere in tali contesti. Il primo capitolo analizza le problematiche connesse alla fattispecie, diffusa nella prassi, del c.d. trust liquidatorio “extra-concorsuale”, anche alla luce delle regole che, in common law, disciplinano le interferenze tra «trust» e «insolvenza», sia del settlor sia del trustee, giungendo a negarne la legittimità. Il capitolo secondo prosegue con l’analisi comparatistica degli ulteriori istituti e contesti, propri del diritto statunitense e inglese, nei quali il trust viene utilizzato, a vari scopi, nell’ambito delle soluzioni non fallimentari della crisi d’impresa. Il terzo capitolo è dedicato all’esame delle fattispecie – diverse da quelle considerate nel capitolo primo – di trust nell’ambito delle tecniche di regolazione della crisi d’impresa, alternative al fallimento, nell’ordinamento italiano (: piani attestati, accordi di ristrutturazione e concordato preventivo): da una parte, sulla scorta degli esiti dell’analisi, svolta nel capitolo secondo, quanto agli utilizzi del trust nella crisi d’impresa societaria tipici dei sistemi statunitense e inglese; dall’altra, tenendo ferme le risultanze, emerse nel capitolo primo, in ordine al rapporto tra fenomeno fiduciario anglosassone e diritto fallimentare. / My dissertation deals with the compatibility of the «trust» – as a “foreign” institution – with the basic principles of corporate debt restructuring and/or reorganization in Italian bankruptcy law. More specifically, it draws extensively on the evidences from the common law experiences, with regard both to the general relationship between trusts and bankruptcy law [i.e. the treatment of the trust (rectius: the rights of the parties involved as well as their creditors) in the subsequent bankruptcy respectively of the trustee or the settlor] and to how and to which purposes are trusts used specifically in the corporate distress framework. The first chapter analyzes and criticizes a line of Italian cases dealing with the use of the trust as a form of private regulation of the corporate crisis. The second chapter further explores the functions played by trusts in the corporate bankruptcy – and their limits – in North-American and English law. The third chapter draws the consequences for Italian regulation on corporate restructuring, developing a new model on the use of trusts within said scope.

Esta tese analisa um regime jurídico convencionalmente designado numerus clausus dos direitos reais, examinando-o sob três aspectos. O primeiro deles concerne às funções que esse regime desempenha no interior do ordenamento jurídico. Em um sistema de direito patrimonial privado que promove a autonomia contratual e predispõe restrições jurídico-negociais ao poder de dispor, entre as quais se ressaltam os direitos subjetivos reais, o regime de numerus clausus se apresenta como uma previsão legal dos tipos de contratos que restringem o poder de dispor e, assim, modificam o poder de adquirir do sujeito passivo universal. Conquanto sofram essa modificação em sua esfera jurídica, esses sujeitos de direito não tomam parte na celebração daqueles contratos. De maneira que as funções do numerus clausus dirigem-se, fundamentalmente, ao concerto de um fenômeno de heteronomia privada: por meio de um catálogo, o adquirente pode não apenas conhecer quais são os contratos que, a despeito de sua declaração jurídico-negocial, afetam os seus interesses econômico-sociais, mas também desconsiderar a eficácia, sobre si, dos contratos que, extrapolando aquele catálogo, circunscrevem-se, seguramente, a só quem, dele, foi parte. Em segundo lugar, sustenta-se uma qualidade negativa e outra positiva no numerus clausus. Negativamente, esse regime jurídico se identifica por uma grave limitação na autonomia contratual, especialmente na autonomia dos contratos de disposição. Nesse sentido, e porque o poder de dispor não é uma posição jurídica exclusiva da titularidade de direitos subjetivos reais, assim como as conseqüências de suas restrições não despontam apenas no direito das coisas, não apenas a disposição contratual de direitos subjetivos reais, mas também a disposição contratual de créditos, de participações societárias e de propriedade imaterial submete-se, igualmente, a um numerus clausus. Essa circunstância remete a uma duplicidade de regimes de autonomia contratual no direito dos contratos: enquanto não há um tipo de contrato em gênero (tipicidade vinculativa) e predominam as regras cogentes (tipicidade fixa) para os contratos de disposição, os contratos obrigacionais obedecem a uma tipicidade aberta. Positivamente, por seu turno, o numerus clausus legitima uma poderosa técnica jurídica de oponibilidade de interesses econômico-sociais: o contrato de disposição. Selecionando um dos poucos tipos de contratos de disposição predispostos pela lei, os contratantes afetam, por meio da regra da prioridade e da imunidade contra disposição, a eficácia de contratos de cuja formação não tomam parte, sejam contratos subseqüentes, obrigacionais ou de disposição, sejam contratos precedentes, meramente obrigacionais. Sem dúvida, o ordenamento jurídico apresenta outras técnicas jurídicas de oponibilidade de interesses econômico-sociais aos terceiros-adquirentes, geralmente ligadas a procedimentos de publicidade, tais como a boa-fé. Muito embora elas manifestem efeitos semelhantes, por vezes contradizendo o regime de numerus clausus, não se verifica uma derrogação desse último, identificada, por vezes, como uma realização dos direitos obrigacionais. No fundo, em se tratando de fatos jurídicos inconfundíveis, as metódicas de argumentação e aplicação do direito, pressupostas em cada um deles, são, outrossim, diferentes. Essas diferenças correspondem, por fim, ao terceiro e último daqueles três aspectos sob os quais se analisa o numerus clausus. Efetua-se, para tanto, o estudo de dois casos representativos, colhidos da jurisprudência brasileira, a qual aplica ora esse último regime, ora a boa-fé, sem que isso signifique nenhuma contradição, uma vez que a excepcionalidade dessa última confirma o caráter do numerus clausus como a regulação motriz do tráfico jurídico, orientada à segurança da aquisição e à estabilidade de determinadas relações de intercâmbio dos bens econômicos. / My dissertation focuses on a legal regime generally referred to as \"numerus clausus of property rights\". It does so by examining three main aspects of the theme. First of all it analyses the function of that legal regime, which is the source of its perceived legitimacy nowadays. This function consists in tendering for buyers a welldefined catalogue describing all the possible agreements concerning the goods they intend to buy and that are going to be considered as burdens. In a Private Law system, which fosters the private autonomy and prearranges burdens, the numerus clausus works as a menu of those contracts likely to create burdens. All the other contracts not listed in that menu even if they make reference to certain goods will not be treated as burdens. Thus, the buyer may know that his own interests over these goods will not be affected. Second the dissertation identifies a positive and a negative quality in this function. A possible negative aspect is that the numerus clausus is a heavy limitation to private autonomy, mainly to exchange contracts. In this sense, not only the exchanges involving property interests (rights in rem) but also those affecting credits and other kinds of rights (rights in personam) are submitted to the same legal regime which leads to Private Law generally recognizing two kinds of private autonomy regimes in Contract. While inexchange contracts the autonomy is limited, in executory contracts the autonomy is sensitively wider. A possible positive aspect is that the numerus clausus establishes a very powerful tool for opposing interests to third parties: the exchange contract. By selecting one of the few exchange contracts available in that menu, parties may oppose their interests in future transactions they will not take part in. Exchange contracts are obviously not the only system available for opposing interests in Private Law. The so called good faith system, connected with publicity devices, works also in that way, but using a very different legal strategy. Although the legal doctrine is used to identify the application of the good faith system with a \"realization\" of personal rights, that seems problematic. As a matter of fact, as different legal conceptions, exchange contracts submitted to a numerus clausus regime and good faith system require different techniques and arguments. These different procedures are discussed in the third section of my dissertation. In this section I discuss major cases in Brazilian Law which apply sometimes the numerus clausus systems and sometimes the good faith system. I argue that there is no contradiction between the both fashions of judicial decision, unless one simply uses the incoherent notion of \"realization\".

Esta tese analisa um regime jurídico convencionalmente designado numerus clausus dos direitos reais, examinando-o sob três aspectos. O primeiro deles concerne às funções que esse regime desempenha no interior do ordenamento jurídico. Em um sistema de direito patrimonial privado que promove a autonomia contratual e predispõe restrições jurídico-negociais ao poder de dispor, entre as quais se ressaltam os direitos subjetivos reais, o regime de numerus clausus se apresenta como uma previsão legal dos tipos de contratos que restringem o poder de dispor e, assim, modificam o poder de adquirir do sujeito passivo universal. Conquanto sofram essa modificação em sua esfera jurídica, esses sujeitos de direito não tomam parte na celebração daqueles contratos. De maneira que as funções do numerus clausus dirigem-se, fundamentalmente, ao concerto de um fenômeno de heteronomia privada: por meio de um catálogo, o adquirente pode não apenas conhecer quais são os contratos que, a despeito de sua declaração jurídico-negocial, afetam os seus interesses econômico-sociais, mas também desconsiderar a eficácia, sobre si, dos contratos que, extrapolando aquele catálogo, circunscrevem-se, seguramente, a só quem, dele, foi parte. Em segundo lugar, sustenta-se uma qualidade negativa e outra positiva no numerus clausus. Negativamente, esse regime jurídico se identifica por uma grave limitação na autonomia contratual, especialmente na autonomia dos contratos de disposição. Nesse sentido, e porque o poder de dispor não é uma posição jurídica exclusiva da titularidade de direitos subjetivos reais, assim como as conseqüências de suas restrições não despontam apenas no direito das coisas, não apenas a disposição contratual de direitos subjetivos reais, mas também a disposição contratual de créditos, de participações societárias e de propriedade imaterial submete-se, igualmente, a um numerus clausus. Essa circunstância remete a uma duplicidade de regimes de autonomia contratual no direito dos contratos: enquanto não há um tipo de contrato em gênero (tipicidade vinculativa) e predominam as regras cogentes (tipicidade fixa) para os contratos de disposição, os contratos obrigacionais obedecem a uma tipicidade aberta. Positivamente, por seu turno, o numerus clausus legitima uma poderosa técnica jurídica de oponibilidade de interesses econômico-sociais: o contrato de disposição. Selecionando um dos poucos tipos de contratos de disposição predispostos pela lei, os contratantes afetam, por meio da regra da prioridade e da imunidade contra disposição, a eficácia de contratos de cuja formação não tomam parte, sejam contratos subseqüentes, obrigacionais ou de disposição, sejam contratos precedentes, meramente obrigacionais. Sem dúvida, o ordenamento jurídico apresenta outras técnicas jurídicas de oponibilidade de interesses econômico-sociais aos terceiros-adquirentes, geralmente ligadas a procedimentos de publicidade, tais como a boa-fé. Muito embora elas manifestem efeitos semelhantes, por vezes contradizendo o regime de numerus clausus, não se verifica uma derrogação desse último, identificada, por vezes, como uma realização dos direitos obrigacionais. No fundo, em se tratando de fatos jurídicos inconfundíveis, as metódicas de argumentação e aplicação do direito, pressupostas em cada um deles, são, outrossim, diferentes. Essas diferenças correspondem, por fim, ao terceiro e último daqueles três aspectos sob os quais se analisa o numerus clausus. Efetua-se, para tanto, o estudo de dois casos representativos, colhidos da jurisprudência brasileira, a qual aplica ora esse último regime, ora a boa-fé, sem que isso signifique nenhuma contradição, uma vez que a excepcionalidade dessa última confirma o caráter do numerus clausus como a regulação motriz do tráfico jurídico, orientada à segurança da aquisição e à estabilidade de determinadas relações de intercâmbio dos bens econômicos. / My dissertation focuses on a legal regime generally referred to as \"numerus clausus of property rights\". It does so by examining three main aspects of the theme. First of all it analyses the function of that legal regime, which is the source of its perceived legitimacy nowadays. This function consists in tendering for buyers a welldefined catalogue describing all the possible agreements concerning the goods they intend to buy and that are going to be considered as burdens. In a Private Law system, which fosters the private autonomy and prearranges burdens, the numerus clausus works as a menu of those contracts likely to create burdens. All the other contracts not listed in that menu even if they make reference to certain goods will not be treated as burdens. Thus, the buyer may know that his own interests over these goods will not be affected. Second the dissertation identifies a positive and a negative quality in this function. A possible negative aspect is that the numerus clausus is a heavy limitation to private autonomy, mainly to exchange contracts. In this sense, not only the exchanges involving property interests (rights in rem) but also those affecting credits and other kinds of rights (rights in personam) are submitted to the same legal regime which leads to Private Law generally recognizing two kinds of private autonomy regimes in Contract. While inexchange contracts the autonomy is limited, in executory contracts the autonomy is sensitively wider. A possible positive aspect is that the numerus clausus establishes a very powerful tool for opposing interests to third parties: the exchange contract. By selecting one of the few exchange contracts available in that menu, parties may oppose their interests in future transactions they will not take part in. Exchange contracts are obviously not the only system available for opposing interests in Private Law. The so called good faith system, connected with publicity devices, works also in that way, but using a very different legal strategy. Although the legal doctrine is used to identify the application of the good faith system with a \"realization\" of personal rights, that seems problematic. As a matter of fact, as different legal conceptions, exchange contracts submitted to a numerus clausus regime and good faith system require different techniques and arguments. These different procedures are discussed in the third section of my dissertation. In this section I discuss major cases in Brazilian Law which apply sometimes the numerus clausus systems and sometimes the good faith system. I argue that there is no contradiction between the both fashions of judicial decision, unless one simply uses the incoherent notion of \"realization\".