This is a study on some controversial legal aspects of resorting to arbitration in disputes concerning administrative contracts with an international dimension – i.e. contracts between public authorities in the United Arab State (UAE) and foreign companies, as well as contracts concluded between local parties but indirectly generate results of international dimensions. In this study, I have adopted a descriptive methodology, meticulously describing the legislative and judicial status in the UAE compared to those of both Egypt and France. In addition, I have also resorted to an analytical approach to provide a concise analysis of the essence of legal provisions guided by the established jurisprudence and judicial opinions. Finally, I used the comparative approach to draw parallels and difference within the legislature and the judiciary between three legal systems, with an eye at making use of relatively advanced legal systems. According to the above, and through utilizing the three research methods mentioned, (the descriptive, analytical and comparative), we attempted to analyze the various relevant jurisprudence and judicial opinions, together with court rulings and legislative provisions. The ultimate objective is to draw scientific results from the detailed evidences drawn from the selected rulings, as well as deciding on the position of both local and international jurisprudence and judiciary on this regard. This is to consolidate the theoretical positions with existing practice. At the outset of the thesis (chapter one) this study begins with a discussion of the main concepts of the constitutional system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with an explanation of the federal structure of the state and the nature of the UAE system of government. This is important because this study is mainly concerned with the UAE. This is followed by an illustration of the principles of administrative law within the UAE state. The study shows that the judicial system of the UAE state adopts a unitary judicial system whereby the same courts have jurisdiction on all sorts of disputes, both on disputes arising from administrative law and administrative contracts, as well as on disputes arising between private persons. This would unify the rules that apply to all disputes relating to the administration including administrative contracts with international dimensions. (Chapter two) attempts to define the concept of the administrative contract; the main focus of this study, and the criteria for distinguishing it from other types of contracts. It is concluded that the distinctive criteria for administrative contracts in the UAE are that: (i) one party to a contract shall be a public persona (such as the state, city authorities or municipalities); (ii) the contract shall be connected to the running or organization of a public facility (such as public institutions and authorities, security organizations and educational institutions) and (iii) it shall include exorbitant conditions which are unfamiliar in private law contracts. This distinction would help determining the nature of the legal rules to be applied on settlement of disputes, whether pertaining to the rules of administrative law or those of private law. (Chapter three) displays and critically reviews the main ideas related to arbitration in administrative contracts and shows the reservations and disadvantages that might arise from resorting to arbitration in this field. (Chapter four) This study comes to a number of conclusions in relation to these reservations and disadvantages. Despite the great importance of resorting to arbitration in administrative contracts as a speedy and distinctively confidential instrument for protecting the interests of the contractual parties, my opinion resorting to arbitration for settlement of disputes should be followed only if and to the extent it encourages investment in the UAE and it is respectful of higher administrative interests of the UAE state. The same limitation should apply to international administrative contracts and administrative contracts with international dimensions. Arbitration should be carried out without prejudice to the principle that a public authority in the UAE shall pursue a public interest without prejudice to private interests. This study argues that the legislator should intervene in an unambiguous manner to achieve the following results in relation to arbitration in administrative contracts with an international dimension and formulate proposals on how best to address these issues: 1. Determine the fields in which resorting to arbitration in administrative disputes should be admitted. 2. Specify the competent authority for approval of resorting to arbitration in this field (preferably the higher administrative authority within the state, such as the cabinet of ministers, the competent minister or authorized representative among public persona. No delegation is permissible, in this regard, for public persona assuming positions inferior to the above-mentioned ones because of their distinguished expertise which brought them to shoulder highly sensitive positions. Delegation in arbitration should be restricted to a very limited domain and only endowed upon those who assume the highest executive positions and qualified to shoulder high ranking positions and responsibilities. 3. The arbitration panel shall refrain from prejudicing the nature of the administrative contract, that is to refrain from prejudicing public interests, in order not to use resorting to arbitration as a means of evading application of the rules and regulations pertaining to the established administrative contract, which are stipulated to maintain public interest and public funds without prejudice to the rights and freedoms of private persons. Hence, it is pertinent to preserve the administrative nature and enforce the substantive regulations of the administrative contract. The contract should involve provisions for including arbitration, in addition to explicitly specify that the applicable law governing the contract should be the administrative law and the theory of administrative contract, which shall be applied in case of dispute. Arbitration should be restricted to administrative contracts with international dimensions, connected with public interest projects and leading to the encouragement of foreign investment and applying the principles of arbitration for conciliation in internal administrative contracts disputes only. The study concludes by arguing that legislative reform should be carried out to introduce legislative amendments, incorporating the above-mentioned arrangements, which are crucial to the settlement of administrative contracts disputes through arbitration. Resorting to arbitration should be restricted to certain types of contracts concluded by public authorities as an exception to the general principle of resorting to a judicial authority for looking into a legal disputes. These were put in place only to strike a balance between achieving public interests of the state and protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals.

The thesis is a study of labour regulation and the State in the Sudan in the light of a general theoretical conception of labour law and the State. The first Chapter defines the concepts of analysis that are used throughout the study, isolates the "essential" properties of the Capitalist State and Law from the historically concrete forms which they assume in a particular society and distinguishes between processes which influence development of the form of law and others which influence its sociological development. Drawing on the analysis in Chapter I, Chapter II exposes the inter-relationship between the Sudanese social formation, State and Law and the implication of this inter-relationship for both the form and substance of labour relations law. Chapters III, IV and V are specific verifications of the hypothesis regarding the inter-relationship between the State and labour relations law in the Sudan and that regarding the development of the "substance" and "ideology" of law in general. The thesis considers law as an empirically-founded discipline. But, it distinguishes between various types of empirical facts about law corresponding with respective semi-autonomous social levels at which law asserts its existence. The research method followed describes the empirical facts about law at the particular level and, in order to determine the epistemological significance of these facts, analytically relates them to empirical facts at other levels. Wherever used in the thesis the term "theory" signifies either this methodological procedure of analysing the inter-connection of empirical facts at a certain level and their inter-relation with other facts at other levels, or the substantive generalizations about law which findings at these various levels would allow. I consider my application of this methodology to the study of labour rela tions law, the historical dimension this application introduces in socio-economic analysis of this law, the criticism of certain Marxist and other sociological conceptions of law it enables, and the socio-histor ical relativity of the "substance" and "ideology" of law it reveals as original contributions to the knowledge of labour law. The compilation and evaluation within the framework of the thesis of empirical materials on industrial relations in the Sudan are likewise original contribution to the knowledge of Sudanese "labour law" and labour law in general.

This thesis is a study of banking regulation in Nigeria. It has three main objectives: to explain the evolution and impact of banking regulation after independence to discuss the reasons for the persistent failure of financial regulation; and to highlight the role of external agencies in Nigeria's financial system. The thesis offers a historical perspective on the developments in Nigerian banking regulation, but focuses mainly on the period after independence. It examines the economic and political theories that have influenced financial regulatory trends in Nigeria. It considers these theories in their political and legal context. The thesis does not embrace any theory in particular. Instead, its approach is pragmatic and comparative focusing on the interaction between legal, political and institutional factors that have influenced financial regulation in Nigeria. The study shows that the pre-liberalisation regulatory norms were repressive and inefficient. It argues that banking deregulation was introduced as an economic revolution devoid of necessary corresponding political and legal changes. The core destabilising factors are identified as inadequate regulatory powers, political corruption, political instability, legal instability, policy distortions, and incongruous laws. The complicity of the IMF and World Bank in this process is also discussed. Financial deregulation was prompted by predatory politics characteristic of the Nigerian state; yet, deregulation has aggravated the country's political instability and exacerbated prebendalism. The thesis discusses policy options to break this vicious circle.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 29, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Leiden University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [109]-128).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Leiden University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [109]-128).

Situated at the two sides of Eurasia, Western Asia and China are both important centres for the origins of agriculture and civilization. Key suites of domestic crops, animals, and technologies were independently developed at these two centres. Scholars have been interested in seeing whether there was communication between these ‘nuclear centres’ in prehistory, and how they were influenced by each other. The domestication of sheep and goat, which first occurred about 10,000 years before present (BP) in the region of modern-day Syria, Turkey, and Iran, has long been assumed as introduced from the West to China, behind which there were population movements and cultural exchanges. However, this hypothesis has not yet been systematically examined. This is because in Western China there is such a complex distribution of wild Caprinae and Gazella species, which all have similar skeletal morphology to domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and goats (Capra hircus), and are difficult to separate from each other based on fragmentary and eroded archaeological remains. This project carries out a systematic osteoscopic and osteometric study of the Caprinae and Gazella in Western China and different Ovis species in Eurasia by examining a large quantity of the modern specimens. Systematic differences in correlating elements between these species were found to be related to the ecology of the animals. These criteria were applied to the archaeological specimens from five sites in Western China from Epipaleolithic era (c. 10,000 BP) to the Bronze Age (c. 3500 BP). Together with other methods, a process of transition from the local wild Caprinae hunting to the adoption of sheep husbandry was discovered. There might be complex interactions between the different animals and humans in the unique ecological and social contexts.

This empirical thesis explores the ways some Third World States use the patent regime as set out in the TRIPS Agreement to effect certain development and public health goals. It also investigates how non-state actors in these countries participate in patent law making, thereby creating narratives and counter-narratives that are challenging global norms on pharmaceutical patent protection. To do this, the thesis takes the three different examples of Brazil, India, and Nigeria and tells the story of patent law making within each of them. Adopting a Third World Approach to International Law as a macro-theoretical guide and nodal governance theory as a supplement, the thesis maps the broad interpretations and contestations of international patent law within the Third World. In doing this, the thesis pays particular attention to the everyday life of international patent law through the examination of practices that unfold through the different sites and objects in which international law operates today. In unpacking the patent law making in the aforementioned countries, the thesis posits that there is an emerging body of IP jurisprudence from the Third World that is expanding the aperture on norms governing pharmaceutical patent rules and medicines access discourse. In other words, the politics of international law making and implementation is shifting dramatically due to the confluence of different actors from various sectors in different forums in Brazil and India that are articulating counter-hegemonic pharmaceutical patent rules. The concomitant effect is not only the adoption of alternative pharmaceutical patent laws that are pro-human rights – especially pro-public health rights – in its articulation, but are also hermeneutic expressions of resistance against, and reform of, the international IP regime. In interrogating these narratives and counter-narratives that frame the global intellectual property regime in Third World forums, this thesis articulates successful counter-hegemonic discourses on patent law making and extrapolates lessons for Nigeria.

This study, for the first time, brings together the detached understanding that facilitates coherent analysis of the emerging legal and regulatory issues that mobile payments introduce after financial inclusion in Kenya. To pursue these arguments firstly the thesis finds that the law on payments systems is incomplete as it does not address the specific issues necessary for an effective payments systems. It also puts forward the argument that the current regulatory regime is weak and largely unfelt due to its nascent state of development. Furthermore the current legal instruments are dispersed, and not uniformly applied among and across all payments systems and instruments as there exists an ambiguity in the legal definition of ‘mobile money’ and ‘deposits’ that present legal challenges in the enforcement of new regulations. Secondly, the cross-roads between the telecommunications industry and the financial industry that introduces non-banks into the retail payments market, presents a challenge in its effective regulation. As policy objectives are blurred when firms which are traditionally separated have to find appropriate regulatory frameworks in convergence. Thirdly this thesis examines the approach taken by Kenya in regulating mobile payments juxtaposing the realities that combine to blunt the impact of innovation and access to finance. This thesis serves as a foundational discussion on the regulatory capacity for the adoption and development of mobile payments within a regulatory vacuum and proposes that an appropriate regulatory framework is needed to addresses all these issues.

The Nigerian judicial system is currently in a state of distress. Not only has the judiciary been trailed by allegations of corruption, incompetence and god-fatherism amongst others, the wheels of justice in Nigeria are slowly grinding to a near halt. This is because of the large and growing case list of courts as well as the recurrent industrial strike actions embarked upon by court staff. As a solution to this crisis, stakeholders have put forward a number of suggestions, one of which is the use of alternative dispute resolution methods like domestic arbitration, as a solution to the problems of the judiciary and as a viable alternative to the court system. As we will however come to see in this thesis, Nigeria’s Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1988 (“Arbitration Act”), which is based on the UNCITRAL Model Law 1985, is not only outdated, it is also for many reasons not suitable and relevant to a developing country as Nigeria. For example, the existing Arbitration Act fails to take the legal and social idiosyncrasies of the Nigerian nation into consideration. Furthermore, the Act fails to incorporate the pre-existing and judicially recognized customary arbitration practice into the Act. In addition, the Nigerian Arbitration framework contains a number of anti-arbitration provisions, which have clearly inhibited the growth of domestic arbitration in Nigeria. Moreover, between 1988 and now, a number of beneficial changes have occurred within the sphere of arbitration and from which the Nigerian arbitration framework can draw lessons. All these among others, make the Nigerian Arbitration Act an unsuitable alternative to the court system in Nigeria. This thesis therefore recommends a bespoke domestic arbitration framework, which takes account of the legal and social idiosyncrasies of the Nigerian nation as well as recent but relevant domestic arbitration practices in similar jurisdictions as Nigeria. Among other recommendations, the proposed framework borrows a leaf from the deeply rooted and judicially recognised customary arbitration practice in Nigeria. Furthermore, in a bid to identify and incorporate relevant provisions and practices that have emerged within the sphere of domestic arbitration between 1988 and now, we undertake a comparative analysis of the Ghanaian Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010, the UNCITRAL Model Law 2006, the English Arbitration Act 1996 as well as the Uniform Act on Arbitration 1999 of OHADA. It is believed that this modern but tailored framework will encourage the use of domestic arbitration in Nigeria and by extension ameliorate the problems in the judicial system.