The mass of space debris in orbit around the Earth is growing and will continue to grow due to more frequent launches of satellites and space debris colliding with other space debris. This could lead to a situation in the future where a part, or all, of the orbit becomes so crowded with space debris that it becomes impossible to launch satellites to that region. In the end, it could even become impossible to access outer space at all due to the high risk of collision when travelling through the orbit. The first aim of this thesis is to explore the international regulation regarding space debris and evaluate if the legal regime can successfully be used as a tool to deal with the growing issue of orbital debris. The second aim is to discuss and recommend some possible improvements to the international regulation of space, to promote the sustainability of the Earth orbit as well as legal certainty. It is concluded that the current legal regime is unequipped to handle the issue of space debris. This is because the space treaties are vague and do not impose strict boundaries on the actions of states, and sufficient international customary law has not been developed. To address this issue, several improvements to the regulation of outer space are proposed with the aim of removing the legal uncertainty and providing a flexible framework to address the complex issues space debris creates.

After the Cold War, international state-building has taken place in several countries as a response to ethnic conflicts. The dissolution of Yugoslavia was also characterized with ethnic conflicts, which ended after international interventions. The inter-ethnic violence destabilized the nexus between eponymous states, nationalizing states, and the minorities living in the latter. The international actors - primarily the EU and the US - involved in state-building saw consociational power-sharing arrangements as a key feature in multi-ethnic state-building processes, notably in post-war Bosnia, Kosovo, and Macedonia. Using Smith’s quadratic nexus and Germane’s “fifth element” as a theoretical framework, this thesis examines one segment of the nexus - the correlation of international relational field and national minorities relational field – in a ‘top down’ approach. Two central questions are asked: how have international actors influenced power-sharing arrangements in reaction to separatism; and how has the interplay between different ethnic groups from the same ethnic minority living in the same state affected power-sharing arrangements? These questions are addressed by engaging in a comparative case analysis of two ethnically divided states, namely Kosovo and Macedonia, having adopted consociational power-sharing arrangements under the international influence. The work in this thesis examines the international influence on power-sharing arrangements in reaction to separatism through three processes: international mediations, implementation of power-sharing arrangements into the constitutions and the functionality of power-sharing systems in practice. The thesis revolves around these central arguments: the role of international actors in reaction to separatism and the degree of local ownership in the drafting and constitutionalisation of power-sharing arrangements is reflected in asymmetric power-sharing arrangements between the two compared cases and on the functionality of the power-sharing systems; and, relationship between different groups of minorities from the same ethnicity living in the same state - “the sixth element” - has an impact on the functionality of power-sharing systems, giving rise to “the sixth element” as a new relational field within the quadratic nexus, proposed in this thesis.

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This study investigates and analyses the implications of state and state sponsored international terrorism for Africa. To realise this objective, the study focuses on international terrorist acts carried out by Libya and Sudan as well as those carried out by terrorist groups sponsored by them. The work examines new forms of terrorism, and attempts to develop a conceptual framework of state and state sponsored international terrorism. The focus is mainly on why states adopt or support terrorism as a means of achieving domestic and foreign policy objectives. The study also concerns itself with the measures in place to combat state and state sponsored international terrorism and further shows the extent to which sponsorship of international terrorism poses a threat to individual Africa countries in particular and the continent in general. The time period covered in this study is 1960 to 2006. The significance of this study is threefold: first, its clarifications of the concepts of terrorism, state terrorism, and state sponsored international terrorism, are necessary for policy formulation and implementation as well as secondly highlighting specific opportunities that exist for Africa if the threat of state and state sponsored international terrorism is combated. Thirdly, its investigation and recommendations for a concerted effort in the fight against this phenomenon are also aimed at policy makers. Copyright / Dissertation (MSS)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

The international banking environment has become potentially riskier because of the recent developments in financial services and products which have changed the way banks do their day to day business. Imposing minimum capital adequacy regulations is one way of fostering stability in the global banking system. A number of countries have started to implement the new capital adequacy rules (Basel II) following the worldwide consensus among central bankers that bank‟s capital levels should be regulated to enhance global financial stability. In this study, through the comparative analysis of the general implementation issues it was established that emerging countries apply all Basel II rules uniformly across all the banking institutions that operate in their territories. Developed countries apply these rules only to large and internationally active banks and because of the diversity of their banking industries, they also apply domestically modified rules to the domestically based banks. For the successful implementation of Basel II, properly planning, devoting bank resources and making necessary legislative amendments are prerequisites for incorporating Basel II into the regulatory framework for any country. The study concludes that the current global financial turmoil continues to pose a threat to the effectiveness of the Basel II rules which are aimed at achieving global financial stability.

Esta tese busca analisar os limites e possibilidades do regime da responsabilidade internacional do Estado como garantia da Ordem Pública Internacional, procurando demonstrar os riscos da implementação unilateral da responsabilidade. Inicialmente, através da análise do desenvolvimento normativo do instituto da responsabilidade internacional do Estado, a partir do pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial, buscamos apontar os principais indicadores do momento de transição paradigmática do sistema internacional contemporâneo, ao revelarem-se tanto as bases de identidade desse sistema quanto os traços de transformação que o atravessam. Partimos da hipótese de que as mudanças normativas operadas no instituto da responsabilidade internacional, no período em estudo, têm sido orientadas, em sua maioria, no mesmo sentido das transformações valorativas verificadas no âmbito do Direito Internacional Público como um todo. O que, já adiantamos, significa dizer, em apertada síntese, mudanças no sentido de um direito interestatal ? relacional e bilateral ? para um direito da comunidade internacional no seu conjunto. Tendo, então, em mente a realidade de descentralização em que se concretizam as normas internacionais, nossa segunda hipótese é de que esses avanços normativos não têm par no plano institucional e que essa lacuna gera à comunidade internacional os riscos da implementação unilateral da responsabilidade. Especificamente, analisamos o conceito, os valores, a legitimidade e as consequências substanciais e instrumentais do instituto da responsabilidade internacional do Estado como garantia da ordem pública internacional, focando a projeção da noção de comunidade internacional no seu regime, e os obstáculos normativos e sistêmicos que a sua proteção enfrenta em um sistema internacional descentralizado.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:27:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 UlianaLP_DISSERT.pdf: 1549958 bytes, checksum: 9d280b2ac6214dcd699e908fabbdab3e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-05 / The current research come from need to analyze possibilities to materialize human dignity principle during freedom curtail penalties fullfilment, abreast finding that internal and international regulations dictate this is the way to be tread by Brazilian penitentiary system, however, verily, indignity, assistance missing, overcrownding, crime, in the end, barbarie reigns. The work will analyze two strands in order to effective the mentioned principle: the state responsability optics, such in internal scope, as internationally, abreast historical omission in satisfy Constitution, international treaties and laws; and also indicating penal execution alternative methods adoption as a way, bringing to fore a case study - called "apaqueano" method. With such desideratum will bring, first of all, considerations about consolidation process of human dignity principle, its concept and essential content. Furthermore, will address historical and philosophical evolution of freedom curtail penalties. As it follows, will be done an approach about constitutional and underconstitutional legislation that disciplines penalties fullfiling in Brazil, analyzing their main aspects, emphasizing the possibility to charge Brazilian state for disregarding mentioned standards. Next, will also be started a critical analyzis about international regulations, which forbids diminishing or cruel penalties or treatments, approaching human rights international treaties and conventions ratified by Braziland their incorporation and effectiveness in local Law, emphasizing monitoring forms and country international charging possibility for disregarding international regulations. Lastly, will advance to the real possibility to materialize human dignity principle in penalties fullfiling, based in a case study verification - the APAC (Associa??o de Prote??o e Assist?ncia aos Condenados) called method, analyzing the various theories about penalties grounding, with emphasis in their ressocializing function, as well as traditional penitentiary systems, and the theory adopted by vernacular order, in desideratum to contribute to improve national penitentiary system chaotic situation / A presente pesquisa surgiu da necessidade de analisar as possibilidades de materializa??o do princ?pio da dignidade da pessoa humana no momento do cumprimento das penas privativas de liberdade, diante da constata??o de que a normativa interna e internacional ditam ser esse o caminho a ser trilhado pelo sistema penitenci?rio brasileiro, por?m, na pr?tica, reina a indignidade, a falta de assist?ncia, a superlota??o, o crime, enfim, a barb?rie. O trabalho analisar? duas vertentes ? guisa de se efetivar o referido princ?pio: a ?tica da responsabiliza??o do Estado, tanto em ?mbito interno, como internacionalmente, diante de sua omiss?o hist?rica em dar cumprimento ? Constitui??o, aos tratados internacionais e ?s leis; bem como apontando o caminho da ado??o de m?todos alternativos de execu??o penal, trazendo ? baila um estudo de caso o chamado m?todo apaqueano . Com esse desiderato, primeiramente, trar? considera??es sobre o processo de consolida??o do princ?pio da dignidade da pessoa humana, seu conceito e conte?do essencial. Outrossim, abordar? a evolu??o hist?rica e filos?fica das penas privativas de liberdade. Em seguida, far-se-? uma abordagem sobre a legisla??o constitucional e infraconstitucional disciplinadoras do cumprimento das penas no Brasil, analisando os seus principais aspectos, com ?nfase na possibilidade de responsabiliza??o do Estado brasileiro pelo descumprimento das citadas normas. Partir-se-?, tamb?m, ? an?lise cr?tica da normativa internacional, que pro?be as penas ou tratamentos cru?is ou degradantes, abordando os tratados e conven??es de direitos humanos ratificados pelo Brasil e sua incorpora??o e efetividade no direito interno, enfatizando as formas de monitoramento e a possibilidade de responsabiliza??o internacional do pa?s pelo descumprimento das normas internacionais. Por fim, passar? ? an?lise da possibilidade real de materializa??o do princ?pio da dignidade da pessoa humana no cumprimento das penas, a partir da verifica??o de um estudo de caso o chamado m?todo da APAC (Associa??o de Prote??o e Assist?ncia aos Condenados), analisando as v?rias teorias sobre o fundamento das penas, com ?nfase em sua fun??o ressocializadora, bem como os sistemas penitenci?rios tradicionais, e a teoria adotada pelo ordenamento p?trio, no desiderato de contribuir para a melhoria da ca?tica situa??o do sistema penitenci?rio nacional

Esta tese busca analisar os limites e possibilidades do regime da responsabilidade internacional do Estado como garantia da Ordem Pública Internacional, procurando demonstrar os riscos da implementação unilateral da responsabilidade. Inicialmente, através da análise do desenvolvimento normativo do instituto da responsabilidade internacional do Estado, a partir do pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial, buscamos apontar os principais indicadores do momento de transição paradigmática do sistema internacional contemporâneo, ao revelarem-se tanto as bases de identidade desse sistema quanto os traços de transformação que o atravessam. Partimos da hipótese de que as mudanças normativas operadas no instituto da responsabilidade internacional, no período em estudo, têm sido orientadas, em sua maioria, no mesmo sentido das transformações valorativas verificadas no âmbito do Direito Internacional Público como um todo. O que, já adiantamos, significa dizer, em apertada síntese, mudanças no sentido de um direito interestatal ? relacional e bilateral ? para um direito da comunidade internacional no seu conjunto. Tendo, então, em mente a realidade de descentralização em que se concretizam as normas internacionais, nossa segunda hipótese é de que esses avanços normativos não têm par no plano institucional e que essa lacuna gera à comunidade internacional os riscos da implementação unilateral da responsabilidade. Especificamente, analisamos o conceito, os valores, a legitimidade e as consequências substanciais e instrumentais do instituto da responsabilidade internacional do Estado como garantia da ordem pública internacional, focando a projeção da noção de comunidade internacional no seu regime, e os obstáculos normativos e sistêmicos que a sua proteção enfrenta em um sistema internacional descentralizado.