This study offers the so-called ”Choice-Based Perspective” of the choice-of-law question or “CBP”. Drawing on the legal philosophy of Immanuel Kant and through careful evaluation of comprehensive theory of Kant’s follower- Friedrich Carl von Savigny, CBP offers a purely private conception of the subject which rejects the conventional wisdom that choice-of-law has to be grounded on the principle of states’ sovereignty. Furthermore, it will be argued that the proposed approach holds much sway in practice, for the normative underpinnings of CBP are already embedded in many traditional and contemporary choice-of-law rules, doctrines, and concepts.

The "throwaway society" and the resulting effect on the environment combined with the exploitation of natural resources have resulted in a global environmental crisis. As a response to this crisis a concept developed that is known as sustainable development (SD). The concept of SD that is accepted world-wide is guided by a set of principles (Agenda 21) that had been officially launched at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. After the 1994 political transition in South Africa the government implemented widespread environmental policy and law reforms as a response to the global environmental crisis and the global trend towards SD. This study was undertaken to assess the existing environmental management (EM) principles within environmental policy and law in South Africa. EM in South Africa operates within the framework of Integrated Environmental Management (IEM) but it was discovered during the study that there are not only one set of EM principles but a few within South African environmental policy and law. This study attempted to identify and sort these different sets of principles and then to measure it against the international standard of Agenda 21. It was concluded that EM in South Africa within the framework of IEM is an adequate response to the world-wide trend towards SD. Unfortunately the outcome that was hoped for in South Africa was slower than anticipated. It didn't seem as if the environmental law and policy reforms had an impact at grassroots level. Two possible scenarios were presented (1) it's failure to be effectively implemented at grassroots level or (2) that the principles of SD in itself are unsound and therefore ineffective. It was concluded that some of the normative assumptions of SD are unsound and contribute to the environmental crisis. The approach of Christian stewardship was presented as a possible alternative. / Thesis (M. Environmental Science)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Šiame darbe atliktas ES teisės viršenybės principo pripažinimo tyrimas ES teisėje ir valstybių narių nacionalinėje teisėje, taip pat Lietuvos Respublikos teisėje. Pirmoje šio darbo dalyje atliktas ES teisės viršenybės principo ES teisėje tyrimas. Atskleista ES teisės viršenybės principo prigimtis ES teisėje, aptarta ETT praktika plėtojant ES teisės viršenybės principo koncepciją ir suformuluota ES teisės viršenybės principo ES teisėje samprata šiandien, parodanti ES teisės viršenybės principo pripažinimo valstybėse narėse maksimalią apimtį. Antroje šio darbo dalyje atliktas ES teisės viršenybės principo pripažinimo valstybių narių nacionalinėje teisėje tyrimas ir nustatytas ES teisės viršenybės principo pripažinimo lygis tiriamosiose valstybėse narėse. / This is research of European Union (EU) law's supremacy principle and fulfilled analysis nature of this principle and development of EU law's supremacy in EU and recognizing it on domestic law systems of member states and in Lithuania’s law system. EU law's supremacy principal acknowledging process of member states indicates that the constitutional basis of EC law supremacy principle should be on the basis of national constitutional law by the members of the EU, and the main actors who invoke this principle are national courts, especially Constitutional Courts of member states. The research of this job shows what level of acknowledging process took place in some member states. This level is result of assessment national constitutional provisions and judicial practice. One group of member states have a good constitutional basis and recognizing practice in the national courts i.e. United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland. Another group of member states have sufficient constitutional basis and recognizing practice in the national courts i.e. Austria, Netherlands and Greece and. Next group of member states have satisfactory or insufficient constitutional basis and recognizing practice in the national courts i.e. Belgium and Luxemburg Member countries of the same group like, Slovenia ant Portugal have satisfactory constitutional basis but partly recognizing judicial practice. Lithuania is taking a special place between Luxemburg or Belgium and Czech Republic, because Lithuania has a... [to full text]

A concept of a well-posed problem was initially introduced by J. Hadamard in 1923, who expressed the idea that every mathematical model should have a unique solution, stable with respect to noise in the input data. If at least one of those properties is violated, the problem is ill-posed (and unstable). There are numerous examples of ill- posed problems in computational mathematics and applications. Classical numerical algorithms, when used for an ill-posed model, turn out to be divergent. Hence one has to develop special regularization techniques, which take advantage of an a priori information (normally available), in order to solve an ill-posed problem in a stable fashion. In this thesis, theoretical and numerical investigation of Tikhonov's (variational) regularization is presented. The regularization parameter is computed by the discrepancy principle of Morozov, and a first-kind integral equation is used for numerical simulations.

Evolutionary psychology explains and predicts human behaviour based on its adaptive value. Some apparently non-adaptive behaviours such as humans’ devotion to music can be explained by sexual selection of costly signals, since it takes time and effort to learn to play an instrument well. Here, participants rated pictures of persons of the opposite sex that were said to play a piece of music that was heard while watching each picture. The music performances were either of low, medium, or high level of skill, and a better performance was predicted to lead to higher ratings of partner attractiveness because it is more costly. No effect of the music was found, except that women rated men as less desirable for a long-term relationships when the skill level was high than when it was medium. / Evolutionspsykologiska teorier förklarar och predicerar mänskligt beteende utifrån dess adaptiva värde. Vissa uppenbart icke-adaptiva beteenden, som människans hängivenhet till musik, kan förklaras som sexuell selektion av kostsamma signaler, eftersom det kräver tid och möda att lära sig bemästra ett instrument. Deltagare fick skatta bilder på personer av motsatt kön som påstods spela det musikstycke som hördes medan man tittade på varje bild. Musikutförandet var antingen av låg, medel, eller hög skicklighet, och ett bättre utförande förväntades ge högre skattningar av partnerattraktivitet eftersom det är mer kostsamt. Ingen effekt av musiken förelåg, förutom att kvinnorna skattade män som mindre attraktiva för ett längre förhållande när skicklighetsnivån var hög jämfört med när den var medelhög.

Darbo tikslas. Įvertinti pacientų nuomonę apie konfidencialumo principo taikymą gydymo įstaigoje. Uždaviniai. Įvertinti pacientų informuotumą apie konfidencialumo principo taikymą sveikatos priežiūros įstaigoje. Išaiškinti pacientų požiūrį į konfidencialumo principo taikymą sveikatos priežiūros įstaigoje ir nustatyti ryšį su pacientų lytimi ir išsimokslinimu. Tyrimo metodika. N sveikatos priežiūros įstaigoje atlikta anoniminė anketinė 303 pacientų apklausa (atsako dažnis – 86,6 proc.) Duomenų analizei naudotas SPSS 13.0 statistinės analizės paketas. Diagramos ir lentelės parengtos Microsoft Excel 2007 programa. Rezultatai. 56,8 proc. tyrimo dalyvių teigė, jog perskaitė visas pasirašyti pateiktas formas, 28,7 proc. respondentų tvirtino, kad perskaitė kai kurias jiems pateiktas informavimo/sutiki-mo formas. 66,7 proc. respondentų teigė, kad prieš pasirašydami visiškai aiškiai žinojo dėl ko duoda sutikimą, 19,1 proc. respondentų prisipažino, jog kai kas buvo neaišku, ir 14,2 proc. respondentų nurodė, jog nesuprato su kuo sutinka, tačiau pasirašė, nes taip reikia. 52,5 proc. skaičiusių informavimo formas respondentų nurodė, jog pateiktoje informuoto sutikimo formoje buvo aiškūs visi teiginiai, 36,7 proc. respondentų dauguma teiginių buvo aiškūs. Mažiau nei pusė respondentų (45,9 proc.) manė, jog informacija apie ligą ir medicininius tyrimus yra įslaptinta, su šiuo teiginiu nesutiko 26,1 proc. respondentų. Nustatytas statistiškai reikšmingas ryšys tarp pacientų išsimokslinimo ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. To evaluate patients' opinion about the application of confidentiality principle in medical institution. Objectives. To evaluate patients' awareness about the application of confidentiality principle in health care institution. To find out patients‘ attitude towards the application of confidentiality principle in health care institution and to determine its relationship with patients‘ gender and education. Methods. An anonymous survey of 303 patients using questionnaires (response frequency – 86.6 %) ¬was carried out in the health care institution N. Data analysis used the SPSS 13.0 statistical analysis package. Charts and tables were prepared using Microsoft Excel 2007. Results. 56.8 % of the survey participants told that they had read all the forms presented to be signed, 28.7 % of the respondents claimed that they had read some of the forms of information/consent presented to be signed. 66.7 % of the respondents affirmed, that before signing they knew absolutely clearly why they had given their consent, 19.1 % of the respondents admitted that some things were unclear, and 14.2 % of the respondents told that they had not understood why they had given their consent; however, they had signed the form because it was necessary. 52.5 % of the respondents who had read the forms of information claimed that all the propositions of the form of informed consent were clear, 36.7 % of the respondents had understood most of the propositions. Less than half of the... [to full text]

We introduce the notion of coupling distances on the space of Lévy measures in order to quantify rates of convergence towards a limiting Lévy jump diffusion in terms of its characteristic triplet, in particular in terms of the tail of the Lévy measure. The main result yields an estimate of the Wasserstein-Kantorovich-Rubinstein distance on path space between two Lévy diffusions in terms of the couping distances. We want to apply this to obtain precise rates of convergence for Markov chain approximations and a statistical goodness-of-fit test for low-dimensional conceptual climate models with paleoclimatic data.

Pastaruoju metu Lietuvoje norminių aktų leidybos procese pradeda vyrauti poįstatyminiai aktai, kurie papildo ar patikslina įstatymus. Tai neretai sukelia grėsmę pažeisti teisėtumą. Teisėtumo principas reikalauja, kad valstybės institucijos, kurdamos teisės aktus, neviršytų savo kompetencijos, laikytųsi kiekvienai teisės aktų rūšiai nustatytos tų aktų priėmimo ir išleidimo tvarkos (procedūrų) ir subordinacijos pagal juridinę galią: Seimo priimami įstatymai turi neprieštarauti Konstitucijai, o Prezidento dekretai, Vyriausybės nutarimai, kitų valstybės institucijų teisės aktai – Konstitucijai ir įstatymams. Šis principas teisinėje valstybėje reiškia ne tik formos, bet ir turinio teisėtumą - konkretus teisės aktas turi neprieštarauti ne tik aukštesnę juridinę galią turinčiam teisės aktui, bet ir pagrindinėms žmogaus teisėms, jis neturi įtvirtinti įstatymų leidėjo savivalės tų teisių atžvilgiu. Teisė konstatuoti tokį prieštaravimą suteikta Konstituciniam ir administraciniam teismams. / The principle of legality claims that the State Institutions, when legislating the Acts of Law, shall not overstep its competence, shall observe the established procedure for the adoption and promulgation of the Acts of Law of every type and the subordination according to legal power. The Laws being adopted by the Seimas shall be in conformity with the Constitution, but the Decrees of the President, the Resolutions of the Government, the Acts of Law of other State Institutions shall be in conformity with the Constitution and Legislation. This study covers the theoretical and practical aspects for the investigation of the legality of the Statutory Administrative Acts. The conception of the principle of legality, the implementation and protection of this principle in public administration are analysed on the theoretical level. By applying the methods of documentation analyses and comparative investigation the Acts of Law of the Republic of Lithuania as well as foreign countries, regulating the investigation of the legality of the Statutory Administrative Acts, are analysed. The essence, types and process of this investigation are defined. The practice of the Constitutional and Administrative Courts of the Republic of Lithuania in the lawsuits with respect to the legality of Statutory Administrative Acts is analysed on practical level. By applying the method of empirical investigation it is pursued to highlight particular general attributes and regularities of the practice of... [to full text]

Darbo tema – laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principas tarptautinėje teisėje ir jo įgyvendinimo ribos. Darbo tikslas - išanalizuoti ir įvertinti esminius laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principo reglamentavimo tarptautinėje teisėje bei realizavimo teorinius ir praktinius aspektus. Pirmoje darbo dalyje nagrinėjame šio principo evoliuciją tarptautinėje teisėje. Laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principo kilmė siejama su Amerikos ir Prancūzijos revoliucijomis ir idėja, kad valdžia remiasi tautos valia. Po Pirmojo pasaulinio karo jis tapo JAV prezidento Woodrow Wilson idealu, perbraižant Europos žemėlapį, tačiau nebuvo taikomas nuosekliai. Kadangi Europos imperijų suskaldymas ir naujų tautinių valstybių sukūrimas buvo įtakojamas ekonominių interesų, istorinių pretenzijų ir strateginių išskaičiavimų, laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principą iki Antrojo Pasaulinio karo pabaigos galime vertinti tik kaip politinę deklaraciją. Laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principas teisės statusą įgijo Jungtinių Tautų režime dekolonizacijos kontekste. Nors Jungtinių Tautų chartijoje įtvinta tik labai abstrakti šio principo formuluotė, jo ribas apibrėžia vėlesnės Generalinės Asamblėjos rezoliucijos. Šaltojo karo pabaiga privertė persvarstyti analizuojamo principo turinį. Tapo akivaizdu, kad apsisprendimo teisė peržengė dekolonizacijos ribas, tačiau iškilo naujų klausimų dėl to, kam priklauso šis principas bei, ar jis apima teisę atsiskirti. Antroje darbo dalyje analizuojame laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principo apimtį... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The topic of the paper is the principle of self-determination of peoples in international law and the limits of its implementation. The aim of the paper is to analyze and evaluate theoretical and practical aspects of regulation and implementation of the principle of self-determination of peoples. In the first part of the paper we examine the evolution of the principle in international law. The origin of the principle of self-determination of peoples is connected with the American and French revolutions in late XVIII century and the idea that government derives from the will of people. After the First World War the principle became the ideal of USA president Woodrow Wilson and it was used in redrawing the map of Europe, its practical application was inconsistent though. Since the dismemberment of European empires and the creation of the new national states were based on economic interests, historical claims and strategic calculations we can think of the principle of self-determination of peoples till the Second World War as the political declaration only. The principle of self-determination of peoples got the status of the right of international law under the regime of United Nations in the context of decolonization. Though the formulation of the principle in the Charter of United Nations is abstract, its content is clarified by the resolutions of the General Assembly. The scope of the principle was revised after the Cold War. It became obviously that the right of... [to full text]

Principle of self-determination of peoples is one of the issues of international law, which is complicated. International commentators agree that the content of the principle is unclear. The same should be said about the borders of implementation of the principle. There are a number of legal acts on the question, however the two problems remain. This master thesis was aimed to analyze and to reveal the purport of the principle of self-determination of peoples and the borders of implementation. / Laisvas tautų apsisprendimo principas tarptautinėje teisėje yra priskiriamas sudėtingesniems klausimams. Mokslininkai analizavę principą pabrėžia, kad sunku yra atskleisti principo esmę, nes ji yra labai neapibrėžta. Sunku apibrėžti ir aiškias principo taikymo ribas. Nors yra priimta daug teisinių dokumentų, kurie reglamentuoja laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principo taikymą, jie neatskleidžia principo esmės bei mažai prisideda prie ribų nustatymo. Šio darbo tikslas buvo išanalizuoti ir atskleisti laisvo tautų apsisprendimo principo esmę bei jo taikymo ribas.