Mgr. Klára Soukupová Autobiography in the Context of the Positioning Theory Abstract This doctoral thesis is a theoretical and an interpretative study that deals with the genre of autobiography, its position in the contemporary literary theory and problems related to an interpretation of autobiographical texts. Autobiography as a genre of non-fictional literature refers to real characters and events, but at the same time it is a literary work of art, a verbal construct in which the representation of reality is subject to the intentions of the author and to the rules of construction, that are close to the compositional techniques of fictional texts. The first part of the thesis concentrates on the theory of autobiography and its interdisciplinary context. It summarizes the development of theory of autobiography from the late 19th century to the present. Also, the concepts of the memory studies (especially the concept of collective memory) and the problem of distinguishing fiction and non-fiction (discussed in philosophy of history in 1970s and 1980s, fictional worlds theory, pragmatics of fiction, etc.) are taken into account. The theoretical chapter critically reflects P. Lejeune's definition of autobiography, based on the concept of the autobiographical pact. In relation with the problem of how to define...

This limited scope dissertation deals with the protection against torture in international law. The mechanisms which have been established over the years to protect individuals against torture are analysed. The principles of international customary law dealing with torture and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) have been examined against the failure by States to honour their obligations under the Treaty and other legal normative rules. This required deep exploration of the definition of torture and how States can compromise the rule of law by manipulating the definition of torture as contemplated by the Treaty or other instruments. Examples from the former US government highlight the ways in which domestic laws can be used and are continued to be used to allow the use of torture. Measures by South Africa in joining the international community in the fight against torture are also discussed as a case study. While all efforts have been made by the South African system to adopt desirable frame works on the protection of individuals against torture, the lack of education on torture remains the down fall of the system. The dissertation clearly explains that universal jurisdiction applies in respect of torture and this is recognised by both treaty law and customary law. Indeed despite all the current measures in place the use of torture persists. The research clearly reveals that countries hide behind their own laws to perpetrate acts of torture. It is then recommended that proper implementation of the legal structures, informed of the objectives of the structures, is essential in completely eradicating torture. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LLM

This limited scope dissertation deals with the protection against torture in international law. The mechanisms which have been established over the years to protect individuals against torture are analysed. The principles of international customary law dealing with torture and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) have been examined against the failure by States to honour their obligations under the Treaty and other legal normative rules. This required deep exploration of the definition of torture and how States can compromise the rule of law by manipulating the definition of torture as contemplated by the Treaty or other instruments. Examples from the former US government highlight the ways in which domestic laws can be used and are continued to be used to allow the use of torture. Measures by South Africa in joining the international community in the fight against torture are also discussed as a case study. While all efforts have been made by the South African system to adopt desirable frame works on the protection of individuals against torture, the lack of education on torture remains the down fall of the system. The dissertation clearly explains that universal jurisdiction applies in respect of torture and this is recognised by both treaty law and customary law. Indeed despite all the current measures in place the use of torture persists. The research clearly reveals that countries hide behind their own laws to perpetrate acts of torture. It is then recommended that proper implementation of the legal structures, informed of the objectives of the structures, is essential in completely eradicating torture. / Public, Constitutional, and International Law / LLM

La France a mis en place en juillet 2015 une réforme en vue de transposer le nouveau « paquet asile » européen alors que le Canada a renforcé depuis décembre 2012 ses procédures d’asile en adoptant des changements ayant essentiellement pour objet de lutter contre les abus du système d’asile canadien. En s’orientant vers des politiques dissimulées visant les expulsions expéditives des demandeurs d’asile déboutés et des personnes indignes de la protection, la France et le Canada, connus en tant que terre d’asile, respectent-ils toujours leur obligation international du non-refoulement ? Cette thèse s’appuie sur les lois en vigueur des deux États notamment le Code de l’entrée et du séjour des étrangers et du droit d’asile (France) et la Loi sur l’immigration et la protection des réfugiés (Canada), les jurisprudences nationales et internationales, et les textes internationaux. Elle met en lumière les pratiques et législations nationales relatives à l’octroi de l’asile et à l’éloignement des demandeurs d’asile et des réfugiés qui peuvent ou pourraient porter atteinte au principe de non-refoulement, tel que consacré par le droit international des réfugiés ainsi que par le droit international des droits de l’homme / In July 2015, France adopted an asylum reform bill in order to transpose the EU asylum legislative package. In comparison, Canada has, since 2012, strengthened its national asylum procedures by introducing a number of changes with the objective of preventing the abuse of Canada’s inland refugee determination system. In moving towards hidden policies aimed at the efficiency of removals of failed refugee claimants and persons unworthy of international protection, are France and Canada, known as safe havens, respecting their international obligations of Non-Refoulement ? This thesis focuses on the laws in force in both States in particular the Code of the Entry and Stay of Foreigners and Asylum Law (France) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), national and international jurisprudence, and other relevant international documents. The present study aims at highlighting the national legislations and practices relating to the grant of asylum and the expulsion of asylum seekers and refugees which violate or could violate the Principle of Non-Refoulement as enshrined in both International Refugee Law and International Human Rights Law

The death penalty has been an issue of debate for decades and it is of great relevance at present. Different reasons have emerged that make recourse to the death penalty appear necessary, such as, that it serves as a deterrent, it meets the need for retribution and that public opinion demands its imposition. Conversely, more convincing arguments have been raised for its abolition, amongst which is the argument that it is a violation of human rights. Africa is seen as one of the “death penalty regions” in the world, as most African states still retain the death penalty despite the growing international human rights standards and trends towards its abolition. Further, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights makes no mention of the death penalty. The death penalty in Africa is therefore an issue that one has to be particularly concerned about. During the 36th Ordinary Session (2004) of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, for the first time, the death penalty was one of the issues discussed by the Commission. Commissioner Chirwa initiated debate about the abolition of the death penalty in Africa, urging the Commission to take a clear position on the subject. In view of this and the international human rights developments and trends on the death penalty, discourses on the abolition of the death penalty in Africa are much needed. Accordingly, this study examines the death penalty in Africa from a human rights perspective. It seeks to determine why African states retain the death penalty, the ways in which the current operation of the death penalty in African states conflicts with human rights, what causes obstructions to its abolition in Africa, and whether it is appropriate for African states to join the international trend for the abolition of the death penalty. The current status and operation of the death penalty in Africa is first examined. The historical background to the death penalty in Africa from a traditional and western perspective is also discussed. Subsequently, the main arguments advanced by Africans (including African leaders, writers, priests and government officials) for the retention of the death penalty in Africa are evaluated. The study goes further to examine the death penalty in African states in the light of the right to life, the prohibition of cruel inhuman and degrading treatment and fair trial rights at both the international and national levels. After examining the death penalty in African states, the study arrives at the conclusion that it is appropriate for African states to join the international trend for the abolition of the death penalty, considering that the death penalty in Africa conflicts with human rights, the justifications for its retention are fundamentally flawed, and that alternatives to the death penalty in Africa exist. A number of recommendations are then made, which are geared towards the abolition of the death penalty in Africa. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

The thesis constitutes the analysis of selected Czech dramas from the beginning of the 20th century representing various portrayals of national leaders. In my view, the dramas are Apollonian images of a kind representing the dreams of their creators about the strength and greatness, both individual and national. That is because, on one hand, the national leader is an exceptional individual, an exquisite human specimen and as such he or she corresponds to Nietzsche's characterization of a tragic hero as the highest phenomenon of the will. But at the same time, he or she is a national educator. Individual works represent various forms of how the leader educates and edifies the nation and whether he or she leads by command or by example. The dramas show us the leaders, who not only tame, purify, but also urge to growth those, whom they lead. The approach of the Czech playwrights is essentially mythopoetic. Their works constitute contributions to the creation or re-creation of national mythology, in other words, they deal with the meaning of the existence of the nation, or the national condition. They represent a dialogue or a polemic with one particular national mythology formed at the time that of T. G. Masaryk as he stated it in his works Česká otázka (1895), Naše nynější krise (1895), and Jan Hus...

Mgr. Tomáš Vokáč Engaged Drama of Everyday Life (Socially Engaged French Drama of the late 19th and 20th Century) Abstract This thesis describes the fundamental ontological change in the character of the French drama of the 19th and 20th century which became the basis for the modern French drama of the 20th century. The thesis is based on the analysis of the selected plays with the focus on socially engaged and socio-critical themes. This thesis defines the basic line of development of the socially engaged drama that begins with the work of naturalistic writers Émile Zola and the Goncourt brothers, continues in the form of Henry Becque's playwrights and the authors grouped around Andre Antoine's Théâtre Libre, especially Jean Jullien and his theory of "live theatre", and results in the definition of Eugène Brieux's, François de Curel's and partly Octava Mirbeaua's drama. The opposite character of French theatre and drama at the turn of the 19th and 20th century is described as the counterpart to this line. The thesis provides comparison with the contemporary influences of commercial and subsidized theatres, refers to the symbolist theatre and to the work of late Parnassians. It also closely describes Neo- Romanticism Drama in verse represented by the works of Edmond Rostand, Jean Richepina and, partially,...