This dissertation examines the relations between court and commerce in Europe at the onset of the modern era. Focusing on one of the most powerful princely courts of the period, the court of Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, which ruled over one of the most advanced economic regions in Europe, the greater Low Countries, it argues that the Burgundian court was, both in its institutional operations and its cultural aspirations, a commercial enterprise. Based primarily on fiscal accounts, corroborated with court correspondence, municipal records, official chronicles, and contemporary literary sources, this dissertation argues that the court was fully engaged in the commercial economy and furthermore that the culture of the court, in enacting the ideals of a largely imaginary feudal past, was also presenting the ideals of a commercial future. It uncovers courtiers who, despite their low rank yet because of their market expertise, were close to the duke and in charge of acquiring and maintaining the material goods that made possible the pageants and ceremonies so central to the self-representation of the Burgundian court. It exposes the wider network of court officials, urban merchants and artisans who, tied by marriage and business relationships, together produced and managed the ducal liveries, jewelries, tapestries and finances that realized the splendor of the court. It shows how the princely court adapted to and harnessed the commercial economy of the urban network, employing nominally feudal titles and structures. Furthermore, it reveals how courtly understandings of magnificence and honor were also demonstrations of commercial prowess and acknowledgements of commercial wealth, even as these discourses were framed in terms of chivalric ideals. The princely court was neither merely a predatory expropriator of urban wealth nor a rapacious consumer of luxury goods, but also an active participant in the commercial economy. By examining the 'business' of a princely court, this dissertation seeks to contribute to our understanding of the socio-cultural manifestations of state and market formation during the late medieval and early modern era. This study is one testimony of how Europeans sought to make sense of, and more importantly, to channel and control the tides of commercialization, utilizing the institutional and cultural frameworks they inherited from their past. The intertwined relationship between the princely court and the commercial economy in the Burgundian Netherlands draws our attention to the common processes, institutions and cultures that laid the groundwork for the modern state and the capitalist economy.

This thesis is an examination of the place of restorative justice in the practice of criminal law in Canada generally and in Saskatchewan in particular. It takes as its focal point the fundamental tension between traditional Anglo-Canadian Law in this area, and the newly founded practices of restorative justice.<p> This project accepts that retribution, vengeance and proportional justice are important components of current practice. It argues that these imperatives find their place not only in practice, but also in justice system structure. This space is made both culturally and legislatively. Earlier societies are examined to develop a sense of the connection between societal norms and punitive paradigms, and an argument is made that Canada is no different from earlier societies in the way its legal values reflect the social values of the dominant settler culture. Into this analysis is then added reflections concerning the effect of colonialism on aboriginal people generally and on Canada in particular.<p> The thesis then goes on to situate this tension specifically in current criminal justice by analysing legislation, policy, courts and practice. It examines restorative justice, and demonstrates that it has significant potential to ameliorate the deleterious effects of the colonial project on aboriginal peoples. However, it remains a marginalised practice precisely because it is an anti-colonial force in a powerful colonial justice structure. It concludes that the forces that have the inclination to change this situation have not acted to do so, and the justice system actors with the power to effect change have proven themselves to be similarly disinclined.<p>

This thesis is an examination of the place of restorative justice in the practice of criminal law in Canada generally and in Saskatchewan in particular. It takes as its focal point the fundamental tension between traditional Anglo-Canadian Law in this area, and the newly founded practices of restorative justice.<p> This project accepts that retribution, vengeance and proportional justice are important components of current practice. It argues that these imperatives find their place not only in practice, but also in justice system structure. This space is made both culturally and legislatively. Earlier societies are examined to develop a sense of the connection between societal norms and punitive paradigms, and an argument is made that Canada is no different from earlier societies in the way its legal values reflect the social values of the dominant settler culture. Into this analysis is then added reflections concerning the effect of colonialism on aboriginal people generally and on Canada in particular.<p> The thesis then goes on to situate this tension specifically in current criminal justice by analysing legislation, policy, courts and practice. It examines restorative justice, and demonstrates that it has significant potential to ameliorate the deleterious effects of the colonial project on aboriginal peoples. However, it remains a marginalised practice precisely because it is an anti-colonial force in a powerful colonial justice structure. It concludes that the forces that have the inclination to change this situation have not acted to do so, and the justice system actors with the power to effect change have proven themselves to be similarly disinclined.<p>

This dissertation develops and empirically tests a theory of interaction between the federal appellate courts and the bureaucracy with regard to bureaucratic prosecution. Modeling the bureaucracy as a forward-looking and risk-averse institution and assuming that there is no uncertainty at the district court level, I posit that institutional uncertainty created by appellate courts' random assignment of judges and cases affects the likelihood of bureaucratic prosecution. Given that the decision from a specific panel of a circuit court can be estimated by its median judge's policy position and that the bureaucracy does not know which panel will hear the case, there exists institutional uncertainty at the appellate court level in terms of ideological differences among panels represented by their median judges. I contend that increasing ideological heterogeneity within an appellate court measured by its ideological variance among judges increases institutional uncertainty with respect to the bureaucracy's policy position, which in turn discourages bureaucratic prosecution. My examination of the Antitrust Division's prosecution record from 1950 to 1994 demonstrates that ideological variance within the federal circuit courts has a significant impact on the likelihood of prosecution by the agency. The Antitrust Division is less likely to prosecute when facing a circuit court with large ideological variance among judges. Studies of judicial decision-making and judicial control of the bureaucracy have not fully examined the implication of appellate courts' institutional practice of randomly assigning judges and cases. The development of ideological variance among circuit judges, in this project, as a measure of the institutional uncertainty created by the random assignment process suggests that the courts' unique institutional practice can now be fully incorporated into future studies of the interaction between the judiciary and the bureaucracy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universidad de Valladolid, 1979. / Errata slip inserted. Includes documents. Includes indexes. Includes bibliographical references (p. [25]-30).

When, how, and why do policy makers and reformers use courts and legal procedures to achieve their policy ends? This project explores the relationship of courts to the process of policy reform in Texas. I predict that reformers within this context utilize judicial and quasi-judicial strategies in different ways than the current literature suggests, that is that courts and legislatures are used interdependently to advance a policy goal. This line of inquiry enhances our understanding of the relationship of courts to policy reform as it contemplates reformers utilizing court based reform strategies in ways other than a court ruling in their favor and producing the desired policy end. This study also contemplates courts in the policy making arena as more than just one static institution; rather, court based strategies can and do encompass other quasi-judicial institutions available to reformers to advance their policy objectives. Through an in-depth case study analysis of reform in the areas of the scope of practice battle between engineers and architects, transportation infrastructure funding, and voter ID, I find that reformers, constrained by the overall opportunity structures available, choose a set of strategies that utilize multiple venues in ways that strengthen each other, so that their strategies are not just alternative or sequential but interdependent. / text

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

It has been claimed that internationalized, or "hybrid" courts, courts which mix international and local personnel and international and domestic law, can be used to replace or complement the work of the International Criminal Court. Four such hybrid courts---courts located in Kosovo, East Timor, Cambodia and Sierra Leone, have either just completed their work or are far enough along in their operation to provide a type of "justice laboratory" to test this claim. Analysis reveals that the performance of these courts has been poor. It shows that the courts in Kosovo and East Timor were doomed to failure, that the court in Cambodia is headed in the same direction, and that only the court operating in Sierra Leone offers a possibility that something close to justice will result. The summary recommendation drawn from the analysis is that hybrid courts should only be employed where: (1) international personnel control the proceedings, (2) the legal framework of the court conforms to international standards, and (3) the sponsors of the enterprise possess a clear ability, and demonstrate a credible commitment, to try and punish those most responsible for committing gross human rights offenses.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, Aug., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.