The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is a regional economic community established by Treaty in 1992 and comprising fifteen southern African countries. The Tribunal, SADC’s judicial organ, is situated in Windhoek, Namibia and became operational in 2005. The Tribunal enjoys a wide mandate to hear and determine disputes between states, states and SADC, and between natural and legal persons and states or SADC. It is mandated to develop its own jurisprudence having regard to applicable treaties, general rules and principles of public international law, and principles and rules of law of member states. Being new in the field, the Tribunal has not as yet developed a significant jurisprudence although it has delivered a number of judgments some of which are referred to in the study. The Tribunal is expected to develop its own jurisprudence having regard to the jurisprudence developed by other international courts involved in the judicial settlement of disputes. The study offers a comparative review and analysis of the jurisprudence of two selected courts: the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ). The focus is on four selected areas considered crucial to the functioning of the Tribunal and the selected courts. The study discusses the parties with access to the Tribunal and compares this with access to the ICJ and ECJ. The jurisdiction of the Tribunal is contrasted with that of the two selected courts. The sources of law available to the Tribunal are discussed and contrasted to those of the two courts. Lastly, the enforcement of law in SADC is contrasted to what applies in relation to the selected courts. In each selected area, similarities and differences between the Tribunal and the two courts are noted and critically evaluated. Further, rules and principles developed by the two selected courts are explored in depth with a view to identifying those which could be of use to the Tribunal. Recommendations are made on rules and principles which could be of use to the Tribunal and on possible improvements to the SADC treaty regime. / Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law / LL.D.

The subject of this study is transfer of undertakings and employment protection in cases of outsourcing. The aim of the study is to examine how the Swedish law in the area relates to the EU law. This is done by comparing the Swedish case law of Arbetsdomstolen to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and by critically reviewing the case law of Arbetsdomstolen from a gender perspective. The method used for this study is a doctrinal research method. This is supplemented with a social science perspective. Cases of outsourcing are often complex and have given rise to a lot of case law from both the Court of Justice of the EU and Arbetsdomstolen. Arbetsdomstolen has furthermore been subject to criticism for interpreting the EU directive too independently and for being too employer friendly. The results of the study show that Arbetsdomstolens assessments are different from the Court of Justice of the EU assessments in some aspects. Both courts, but Arbetsdomstolen in particular, distinguishes between undertakings that are based on material assets and undertakings that are based on personnel assets. Case law shows that a transfer of undertaking is more likely to occur when it concerns an undertaking based on material assets. This means that Arbetsdomstolens assessments are unfavorable for employees working in undertakings based on personnel. The conclusion is therefore that, since the Swedish labor market is gender segregated, the employment protection is stronger for men than for women.

This thesis concerns the topic of legal reasoning in the judgements of European courts. The first part of the paper presents the analysis of the theoretical aspects of legal reasoning, specifically the legal obligation for this practice, as well as an examination of the origins and arguments for the existence of this obligation. Furthermore, the way that the legal reasonings are embedded in the law of the Czech Republic, and in EU legislation, is discussed and examined in detail. The final part of the paper consists of a comparison of legal reasonings of the Czech courts and the European Court of Justice. The relevant aspects of the legal reasoning are explained with regard to the practice of two European courts: European Court of Justice and Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic, respectively.

The ECJ as a Political Actor In both the US and in the EU, the judiciary is often accused of being political. This thesis does not attempt to compare and contrast the two grand judiciaries; they are too dissimilar to be compared in this context. It only deals with the judiciary of the EU, trying to analyse its presumably 'political' character: why is it that political and legal scholars label the Court as 'political' or 'activist'? This thesis seeks to investigate the validity of these accusations by proposing a synthesis of various political theories and a certain clarification of the terminology in the context of the European judiciary. Chapter 1 deals with the ECJ as an institution, discussing its functioning and its presumably constitutional character. Chapter 2 then focuses on the notions of 'politics' and 'political', firstly in terms of their definitions by various authors and consequently in terms of the various political theories of European integration. Chapter 3 then deals with the central question of the thesis: is the ECJ a political actor or not? The analysis in the third chapter is split into five dimensions: (1) the judges' motivations in adjudication, (2) the appointment of judges, (3) the subject-matter of the Court's adjudication, (4) the institutional balance within the Union,...

The aim of this work is to provide a general view on legislation of enforcement of industrial property rights within the European Union with a closer focus to regulation of jurisdiction of courts to dispute resolution. The work deals with a current legislation, with jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice and of czech courts and in the end it deals also with de lege ferenda and proposals of means how to improve the current legislation and make it more effective, so the competitive position of the European Union towards asian countries and towards the United States of America would strenghten.

Locus standi of non-privileged applicants to bring an action for annulment Abstract Every developed legal system is bound to have a mechanism for checking the procedural and substantive legality of measures adopted by its institutions. In the European Union it was of significant importance to create a system of control over the acts of the EU institutions given the democratic deficit within the Union and the limited supervisory role of the European Parliament. Binding acts of the EU institutions are subject to review through a number of routes provided by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the Treaty on the European Union (TEU), namely action for annulment (Art. 263 TFEU), the plea of illegality (Art. 277 TFEU), the preliminary reference (Art. 267 TFEU) and the action for damages (Arts. 268 and 340 TFEU). The Court has consistently endeavoured to treat the several strands as a complex and coherent system of judicial review within the Union based on the rule of law. The action for annulment under Art. 263 TFEU plays a crucial role for individuals as it is in practice the only direct way open to individuals to challenge the acts of EU institutions. The main purpose of my thesis is to examine whether the current wording of Art. 263(4) TFEU provides for individuals a sufficiently...

The crime of genocide in the light of a judgment of the ICJ This diploma thesis addresses the influence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decision1 on the crime of genocide. On 22nd March 1993 Bosnia and Herzegovina brought an action against the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRJ) before the ICJ. FRJ was charged with the breach of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Convention). After 14 years, the ICJ held decision on 26th February 2007. In the beginning, the Court had to solve procedural issue concerning the position of the Respondent in the dispute and after it positive answer, it could proceed to consider the merits of the case. The important part of the Decision is dedicated to the responsibility of a state for the genocide. Although the Convention did not explicitly anchor it, the Court deduced it by interpretation of the Article I. The prohibition on the genocide is then recognized not only under the customary law, but also in the Convention. Consequently "the Court observes that the obligations in question in this case (...) and the responsibilities of the States (...) are obligations and responsibilities under international law. They are not of a criminal nature."2 Therefore, the standard of proof is not as high as beyond reasonable doubts...

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the status of the EU Charter in the system of EU law and its application by Member States. EU fundamental rights in the EU can be perceived as controversial, because they can be regarded as a means of control of Union institutions, but also as a way of expansion of EU competences. In this context I will explore the EU Charter. The thesis is composed of 5 Chapters. In the First Chapter I will explain why human rights protection was not included in the Founding Treaties; furthermore I will elaborate on the case law of the Court which gave rise to EU fundamental rights as general principles of EU law. I will also explain why human rights are a sensitive issue between the EU and Member States. Chapter Two examines the development, content and the legal effects of the EU Charter. It also explores the parallel regime of the EU Charter and EU fundamental rights as general principles after the Treaty of Lisbon. Chapter Three is the core of this thesis. It explains the scope of application of the EU Charter by Member States. Based on the case law of the Court of Justice it will be shown that Member States are bound by EU fundamental rights when they act in the scope of EU law, which comprises of implementation of EU law, but also of derogation from EU law. It will be shown...

Šiame darbe autorė aptaria pridėtinės vertės mokesčio ištakas, šio netiesioginio mokesčio harmonizavimo priežastis ir svarbą, nagrinėja ir apibendrina Europos Teisingumo Teismo praktiką atskirais pridėtinės vertės mokesčio aspektais – apmokestinamųjų sandorių sąvokos, apmokestinamųjų asmenų, apmokestinamojo momento, apmokestinamosios vertės, atskaitos. Taip pat siekiama atskleisti, ar į Europos Teisingumo Teismo bylas pridėtinės vertės mokesčio klausimais yra atsižvelgiama, nagrinėjant mokestinius ginčus Lietuvoje. Tyrimas remiasi Europos Teisingumo Teismo ir Lietuvos vyriausiojo administracinio teismo praktikos pridėtinės vertės mokesčio srityje analize, teisės aktais, reglamentuojančiais šio mokesčio taikymą, Lietuvos ir užsienio autorių literatūra, periodine literatūra, kurioje nagrinėjami su šio darbo tema susiję klausimai. Darbe aptariami pridėtinės vertės mokesčio derinimo tarp Europos Sąjungos valstybių narių tikslai ir reikšmė, Europos Teisingumo Teismo išaiškinimai pridėtinės vertės mokesčio aspektais. Taip pat aptariamas Europos Teisingumo Teismo vaidmuo, jo sprendimų pridėtinės vertės mokesčio klausimais reikšmė teisės aktų raidai ir mokestinių ginčų nagrinėjimui Lietuvoje. Daug dėmesio skiriama Lietuvos vyriausiojo administracinio teismo praktikai, nagrinėjant su pridėtinės vertės mokesčio taikymu susijusias mokestines bylas. Siekiama atskleisti, kokią įtaką Europos Teisingumo Teismo praktika pridėtinės vertės mokesčio srityje turi Lietuvos vyriausiajam... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In this work, the author discusses the origins of value added tax, the harmonization of this indirect tax reasons and importance, analyze and summarize the European Court of Justice practice on these value added tax aspects - the concept of taxable transactions, the taxable persons, the taxable moment, the taxable value, the deduction. It also aims to disclose or to the European Court of Justice cases of value added tax issues are taken into account in the consideration of tax disputes in Lithuania. The study is based on the European Court of Justice and the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court practice, the value added tax analysis, the law on this tax, the Lithuanian and foreign authors, periodical literature, which dealt with the labor issues. The paper discusses the value added tax harmonization between the European Union member states, the objectives and importance of the European Court of Justice's interpretation of value added tax aspects. It also discusses the European Court of Justice's role, its decisions on the value added tax influence in legislation development and tax litigation in Lithuania. Much attention is paid to the Lithuanian Supreme Administrative Court practice, considering the value added tax on related tax matters. The aim is to reveal the impact of the European Court of Justice law of value added tax in Lithuania to the High Administrative Court, the State Tax Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of... [to full text]

L'Europe est à l'heure actuelle en pleine mutation. D'une part, elle s'est élargie en acceptant de nouveaux États passant ainsi de quinze à vingt-cinq membres. D'autre part, elle s'est dotée d'un traité constitutionnel appelé Projet de traité établissant une Constitution pour l'Europe. Celui-ci a été approuvé en juin 2004. Il sera au coeur de notre recherche. Doter l'Union européenne d'un nouvel acte conduit incontestablement à se poser une multitude de questions concernant l'acte lui-même mais également ses conséquences. Que faut-il entendre par « traité établissant une Constitution pour l'Europe » ? Quels serontles effets d'un tel acte au regard du droit communautaire existant et des législations nationales ? Cette recherche répondra à ces questions et offrira un éclairage particulier du traité. Elle sera plus particulièrement axée sur la Cour de justice qui assure le respect du droit dans l'interprétation et l'application de la Constitution (article 28 du projet). Comment les juges devront-ils se comporter par rapport au traité ? Leur action sera-t-elle légitime ? Le débat sera ouvert sur l'interprétation que les juges feront de cette nouvelle norme. / Europe is at current major transformation. On one side, new countries joined the European Union so the number of member States has grown from fifteen to twenty-five. On the other side, a Draft Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was approved on June 2004. And which will be at the heart of this research. Providing The European Union with a new Act drives conclusively to raise a multitude of questions concerning the Act itself on the surface, but equally its consequences. What should be understood with "Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe"? Which will be the effects on the existing Community Law and the National Legislations? This research will try to answer these questions and will offer a special lighting on The Treaty. More particularly it will be focused on the Court of Justice that shall ensure respect for the law in the interpretation and application of the constitution (Article 1-28 of the Draft Treaty). And how judges will react towards it? Is their actions are going to be legitimate? In fact, the debate will be based on the judicial review that the judges will give, and which will set the new norm. / "Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en droit (L.L.M.)" / Texte du mémoire également publié dans Lex Electronica, vol. 12 n°3, Hiver 2008.