The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of litigiousness on the information role of accounting conservatism. Prior literature documents the information role of accounting conservatism, measured by the positive association between earnings conservatism and information asymmetry between inside managers and outside investors. Prior literature also demonstrates that shareholder litigation concerns motivate managers and auditors to be conservative in preparing financial statements because conservatism shields managers and auditors from allegations that they overstated earnings and net assets. In a more litigious environment, both managers and auditors have incentives to be more sensitive to expected litigation costs, which increase with the level of information asymmetry. I hypothesize that higher levels of litigiousness enhance the information role of accounting conservatism. Overall empirical results are generally consistent with the hypothesis. / Thesis (Ph.D, Management) -- Queen's University, 2010-09-29 17:59:20.556

This thesis explores contemporary Crown - First Nations relationships in British Columbia through a comparative analysis of the Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement and the court decision in Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia. The comparative analysis considers First Nations’ claims to land, rights and jurisdiction entering the processes of treaty and litigation with respect to how the claims are modified as a result. The reduction of land and limitations placed on claims through treaty and trial are indicative of the quality of the relationships the provincial Crown pursues with First Nations. Given the historic injustices of denying Aboriginal rights and title in BC, the province’s history of colonization requires a new relationship to be just and equitable. The Crown’s pursuit of economic certainty overwhelms the potential for justice to be achieved, which are both fundamental aspects requiring balance for a healthy relationship to be established. The outcome of the analysis reveals the Crown’s ongoing colonization of First Nations in British Columbia. As a result, this thesis attempts to offer a decolonized view of these relationships and some solutions for moving forward by placing the onus of responsibility squarely on the people of British Columbia to demand change from our provincial government. / Graduate

PhD / Access to justice is an important human right that ensures adequate redress for harm, and which consequently helps deter future wrongdoing. Without access to justice citizens are precluded from the full enjoyment of their economic and social entitlements. The cost of litigation is a significant impediment to access to justice. Although the courts have attempted to increase access to justice by broadening the range of available dispute resolution options and by improving productivity through the implementation of case flow management systems, the cost of prosecuting claims remains disproportionately high and unaffordable for most small to medium sized claimholders. Legal claim assignment to parties able to aggregate claims and to apply their expertise as litigation entrepreneurs to deal with claim prosecution efficiently is one means of redressing the imbalance between the cost of claim prosecution to individual claimholders compared to the value of their claims. However, the well-entrenched doctrines of maintenance and champerty prohibit legal claim assignment. The continued resort to the doctrines of maintenance and champerty despite a strong and independent modern judiciary reflects distaste for claim commodification. However, the advent of litigation funding and its acceptance by the High Court of Australia in Campbell’s Cash and Carry v Fostif Pty Ltd (and to some extent United Kingdom and United States courts) on access to justice grounds has challenged conventional maintenance and champerty dogma. Together with other measures such as the introduction of conditional fee agreements that shift the cost of funding access to justice from the public to the private purse, the resistance to full claim alienability has been significantly weakened. The thesis argues that full claim alienability is favoured on normative and efficiency grounds and examines developments in Australia, England and the United States, which portend toward claim commodification. In addition, the thesis examines regulatory instruments required to ensure that the present partial claim market and the potential full claim market operates fairly and efficiently. It also considers how claim commodification may affect the relationship between legal practitioners and claim holders. [Please note: For any information on access to the full text please conact the author.]

Magister Legum - LLM / Civil litigation is the primary method of dispute resolution in the South African civil justice system. This process is characterised by a number of shortcomings which include the adversarial nature of the process which often creates further conflict between disputing parties and often results in permanently destroyed relationships between them. Further shortcomings include the highly complex, costly and time-consuming nature of civil litigation. These shortcomings infringe on the constitutional imperative of access to justice for South Africans, particularly for the indigent members of society. In addition, court rolls have become overburdened due to the rapidly increasing volume of litigation at court. This often results in extensive waiting periods before matters are heard at court and further infringes the attainment of access to justice. While progress has been made in enhancing the civil justice system over the years, the aforementioned shortcomings prevail. In recent years the South African government has introduced the concept of mandatory court based mediation to the civil justice system with the view of promoting access to justice and enhancing the civil justice system. In a nutshell, mandatory court based mediation refers a civil dispute to mediation once an appearance to defend is entered at court, in order to attempt the settlement of the matter. In the event of the dispute not being resolved, the matter is then referred back to the conventional litigation process for resolution. Mandatory court based mediation, while controversial and bearing valid criticism; aims to promote access to justice and reconciliation between aggrieved parties and remedies a number of the shortcomings currently plaguing the South African civil justice system. In answering the research question of whether this ADR process is suitable to implement in South Africa in order to remedy the shortcomings of its civil justice system, the following aspects are considered in this thesis: the benefits, advantages, and the constitutionality of mandatory court based mediation, as well as the criticisms and challenges of the process. South Africa may have an adversarial civil justice system, but is no stranger to the practice of mediation. Within South African civil law a number of fields have mentioned mediation as the preferred method of dispute resolution over years. These areas of law will be highlighted in this thesis. Internationally, the jurisdiction of the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria will also be highlighted. This analysis is done in order to assess the implementation and function of a mediation system, as a preferred method of dispute resolution, across all areas of civil law within an adversarial civil justice system. The current civil justice system in South Africa needs to be remedied due to its negative impact on civil disputants and the nation of South Africa in a broader sense. This thesis does not suggest that mandatory court based mediation is a panacea for all ills plaguing the country’s civil justice system. However, this ADR process may suit South Africa and its implementation may make a considerable remedial contribution and possibly significantly enhance its civil justice system.

A medical negligence case presented to the court is based on averments of neglected duty of care of the defending doctor, a duty owed in accordance with the law of delict, and alternatively and/or accumulatively averments that the contractual agreement between the complainant and the defending doctor was not honoured. In order to prove failure of duty of care and/or breach of agreement, the complainant bears the onus of proof to present to the court reliable medical evidence that would enable the court to reach a decision. The courts have ruled for and against many plaintiffs throughout the years, setting the standards and yardsticks for the requirements of medical negligence. The value or lack thereof of the medical evidence presented came under the magnifying glass in the case of Michael vs Linksfield Park Clinic (Pty) Ltd 2001 (3) SA 1188 SCA and the court indicated the necessity for a "collective mind" from the medical profession. Brilliant legal writers published on this topic and the search and need created this dissertation. The study sets as goal to scrutinize the quality of medical evidence in general, and more specific the Michael-case. From a wide perspective medical evidence was researched, and the term evidence-based medicine led the study to an existing "collective mind" of the medical profession. The study investigated the history and development of evidence-based medicine in order to evaluate whether it can be seen as the "collective mind" of the medical profession. Satisfied that the "collective mind" was found the study tested the available medical evidence, randomly searched, against specific medical issues in the Michael-case and the study compiled substantial medical evidence to work with. An independent expert was consulted and the medical evidence was scrutinized with commentary, explanation and the basis formulated for negligence. The Michael-case was deconstructed and subsequently reconstructed, and the outcome predictably different, based on sound medical evidence. The study explained and warned against exploitation of the statistical data and incorrect interpretation of results. The study concluded that the court as the ultimate trier of the facts should determine whether the medical evidence presented to the court forms part of the "collective mind", and whether it complied with logical principles and reasoning prior to reaching a decision. General notes: <ul> <lo>1. Wikipedia and e-medicine was used as first search and easy reference and not for court purposes or proper reference;</lo> <lo>2. Note that the dissertation has a legal component and medical component and the references in the Bibliography is split under legal and medical references;</lo> <lo>3. Note all the chapter regarding the Michael-case reference to: epinephrine=adrenaline; nor-epinephrine=nor-adrenaline; propranolol=propanolol (American spelling versus the English spelling, both accepted in South Africa);</lo> <lo>4. The spelling of nomenclature like anaesthetist versus anesthetist, gynaecologist versus gynecologist; paediatrist versus pediatrist etc are used inconsistently as it is once again the American spelling versus the British spelling, which are accepted in South Africa.</lo> </ul> / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Public Law / unrestricted

With the development of society, we get into situations where it is also necessary to protect what cannot be touched. We begin to get into a situation where we protect what cannot be reached, which is intangible rights. If we look into the past, the first kind of intangible right could be God's blessing as we can learn about it in the Bible. Many years later, the issue of electric current is solved, where the electric current is only taken as an accessory to the main thing, the metal wire, which is the electric conductor. In today's world, however, electricity is a separate thing, but it cannot be touched, touched even though it is all around us and it is a universally transformable source of energy. The same issue arises in the area of protection of rights arising from intellectual activity and implemented also in intangible form. The protection of intangible law and its one particular part - patent (patent protection) is the main interest of this work. Intangible rights are protected by individual states around the world when interactions between owners or violators of individual rights around the world occur very often. The dissertation on Patent Litigation with an International Element deals with that part of the interaction between the proprietors and infringers of patent-protected rights,...

The increasing use of litigation as a tool to influence land management decisions has been documented within the Forest Service. The Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), which allows successful litigants to recover attorney fees and other legal expenses from the federal government, has come under much scrutiny in discussions surrounding Forest Service litigation. In spite of increasing interest surrounding the relationship between litigation directed at land management agencies and the EAJA, no empirical research had ever attempted to examine this issue. This two part exploratory study used records obtained from land management agencies through the Freedom of Information Act and publicly available tax return records to examine several aspects of the Equal Access to Justice Act's role in land management litigation. According to agency records, the Forest Service paid out over $6 million in EAJA awards from 1999 through 2005. Agency records also showed that the Bureau of Land Management paid over $2.5 million dollars in EAJA awards from 1991 through 2005. The National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were unable to provide usable records regarding the amount of fees paid by each respective agency. The study also found that the entities receiving the largest number of EAJA awards were all tax-exempt environmental organizations. Interestingly, ten of the fourteen organizations that were examined for having received multiple EAJA awards also appear on Gambino et al.'s (under review) list of frequent Forest Service litigators. While this finding suggests that the EAJA may be providing a monetary incentive for these organizations to institute litigation against land management agencies, further research is needed to understand the degree to which this is happening. / Master of Science

Yes / This chapter explores climate change cases from South Africa and Nigeria through a legal opportunity structures (LOS) lens. Understanding the effects of LOS is critical for sustaining climate litigation momentum across countries. Further, the academic literature on climate litigation hardly covers gender issues, even though women’s vulnerability to adverse climate change impacts and limited access to resources for adaptation are widely acknowledged. The receptivity of the existing LOS to women’s unique experiences affects their ability to engage in climate litigation and prospects for accessing climate justice through the courts. The chapter, therefore, undertakes a gender-sensitive analysis of the relevant literature, laws and decisions of courts from South Africa and Nigeria to conceptualize the LOS for climate litigation.

This research presents a comprehensive narrative of the development of slavery in early Indiana history. It chronicles the evolution from a French system of slavery to one influenced by Virginian legal code. In exploring the nature of the practiced slavery and the obstacles to slavery’s implementation, the evidence demonstrates that while Indiana did practice slavery, the state was never at risk of developing a plantation-style slave society. The 1820 Indiana Supreme Court case Polly v. Lasselle, which officially ended any legal form of slavery in the state, exemplifies the evolution of slavery and the constantly changing power relationship between owner and slave. By means of previously unused primary sources, this thesis creates a new account of the court case and places it within the context of Indiana’s slavery history. / Department of History

Sammanfattning Titel: Revisionskommittéers påverkan på hållbarhetsrapporters tillförlitlighet: En kvantitativ studie på 298 börsnoterade företag i en low-litigation kontext. Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå i ämnet företagsekonomi (kandidatexamen). Författare: Albin Eriksson, Philip Lindholm Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2022-05-31 Syfte: Förekomsten av hållbarhetsrapportering externt granskad av tredje part har, i tidigare studier tolkats som väsentligt hos större företag, eftersom de i dess intressenters ögon önskar framstå som tillförlitliga och legitima. Detta eftersom revisorer som granskar rapporteringen kännetecknas av ett oberoende gentemot verksamheten. Då tidigare studier endast utförts inom en institutionell kontext kännetecknad av hög risk för stämning vid felaktiga beslut blir det intressant att jämföra dessa resultat med en miljö där granskare har friare tyglar. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka huruvida revisionskommittéers granskning av hållbarhetsrapporteringen påverkar dess tillförlitlighet i en annan institutionell kontext, nämligen en lägre litigationsnivå än hos den befintliga litteraturen inom ämnet.   Metod: Studien baseras på den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin med en hypotetisk-deduktiv ansats. Studien har en kvantitativ strategi där 298 börsnoterade företag ligger till grund för sekundärdata genererad från databasen Thomson Reuters Eikon. Vidare har datamaterialet bearbetats och analyserats i statistikprogrammet SPSS.     Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat påvisar ett positivt samband mellan revisionskommittéers förekomst och hållbarhetsrapporters tillförlitlighet. Vi finner även att finansiell expertis inom revisionskommittéer har ett positivt samband med hållbarhetsrapporters tillförlitlighet. Revisionskommittéernas oberoende inom studiens institutionella kontext indikeras ha ett negativt samband med hållbarhetsrapporters tillförlitlighet.   Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar till att fylla forskningsgapet för revisionskommittéernas påverkan på hållbarhetsrapporteringen inom en low-litigation kontext. Studien gynnar även litteraturen om sambandet mellan revisionskommittéers karaktärsdrag och hållbarhetsrapporters tillförlitlighet, samtidigt som den avser ligga till grund för framtida forskning. Resultatet bidrar med värdefull teoretisk information till den företagsekonomiska forskningen gällande sambandet mellan extern granskning och företagens legitimitet.    Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till framtida forskning är att utföra en liknande typ av studie i denna institutionella kontext där fler av revisionskommittéernas främsta karaktärsdrag tas i åtanke, eftersom det möjligtvis kan innebära en annorlunda påverkan på tillförlitligheten.   Nyckelord: SRA, hållbarhetsrapportering, revisionskommittéer och low-litigation / Abstract Title: Audit committee impact on the credibility of sustainability reporting: A quantitative study of 298 public companies in a low-litigation context. Level: Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration  Authors: Albin Eriksson, Philip Lindholm Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Date: 2022-05-31 Aim: The existence of externally assured sustainability reporting by a third party, have in previous studies been interpreted as essential by bigger companies since they, in their stakeholder’s eyes, wish to appear as reliable and legitimate. This because the auditors that review the reporting are characterized by an independence towards the company. Since previous studies have only been implemented within an institutional context characterized by greater risk in case of wrongdoings it becomes interesting to compare these results with an environment where auditors have more space to act. The purpose of this study is therefore to examine whether audit committees review of sustainability reporting affects its reliability in a different institutional context, namely a lower litigation level than in the subject's existing literature.   Method: The study is based on the positivist philosophy of research with a hypothetical-deductive approach. The study has a quantitative strategy where 298 listed companies are the basis for secondary data generated from the database Thomson Reuters Eikon. Furthermore, the data material has been processed and analyzed in the statistical program SPSS.    Result and Conclusions: The results of the study show a positive relationship between the audit committees external review and the reliability of sustainability reports. We also find that financial expertise within audit committees is positively related to the reliability of sustainability reports. The independence of the audit committees within the institutional context of the study is indicated to have a negative relationship with the reliability of sustainability reports.   Contribution of the thesis: The study fills the research gap for audit committees impact on sustainability reporting in a low-litigation context. The study also benefits the literature on the relationship between the characteristics of audit committees and the reliability of sustainability reports, at the same time as it intends to form the basis for future research. The results contribute valuable theoretical information to the business economics research regarding the connection between external review and the company’s legitimacy.   Suggestions for future research: Suggestions for further research are to carry out a similar type of study within this institutional context where several of the audit committees main characteristics are taken into account, as this may have a different impact on reliability.   Key words: SRA, sustainability reporting, audit committees and low-litigation