Yes / The emergence of globalisation has promoted human rights education, the media and scholarly works have drawn attention to the issue of the rule of law and mob justice activities constantly recurring in developing countries. The paper examines the effects of mob justice on the rule of law and democratisation in Africa using Ghana as a case study. The paper is of the view that mob justice has both negative and positive effects on the rule of law and democratisation in Ghana. This is because the legal and criminal justice systems in some societies are seen by citizens as illegitimate as they fail to punish suspected criminals appropriately; thus, negatively destroying democracy and the image of the State. Positively, mob justice serves as a wake-up call for the State to take its responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens seriously. The paper draws on international human rights law in the light of international legal instruments, such as the UDHR, ICCPR, and African Charter, as well as the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and employs mainly the Tylerian procedural justice perspective, as well as Liberal democratic theory. It uses theoretical, critically analytical and qualitative empirical evidence (based on semi-structured interviews from purposive sampling of 15 expert opinions and relevant organisations with a keen interest in the subject matter) for the analysis. / Ghana Scholarship Board funded the research on the Rule of Law & Mob Justice in Ghana.

The Guantanamo Bay detention facility has long been subject of controversy, particularly concerning the treatment of detainees and the balance between human rights considerations and national security. This thesis explores what role human rights concerns are given in the rhetoric of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama in the context of Guantanamo Bay. Specifically, it examines to what extent their rhetoric aligns with Rule of Law versus Realism argumentation. Through a qualitative content analysis, the research illustrates how the alignment to the different theoretical frameworks either prioritizes or neglects human rights concerns. The analysis shows that Obama´s rhetoric places a consistent emphasis on the Rule of Law principles, giving human rights concerns a more balanced role, whereas Bush had a stronger emphasis on Realism principles, giving less weight to human rights. The thesis suggests that future research could explore the implicit meanings embedded in presidential rhetoric and the possible consequences of the priorities they signal.

Thesis (MA )--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The issue of democratic consolidation has become an important field of study in relation to developing states, especially with regards to Southern Africa. The region’s history of liberation struggles and the emergence of liberation movements as ruling parties are vital factors to take into account when investigating democracy and, more specifically, democratic consolidation in these countries. However, there are only a few comparative studies that have looked at the effects of liberation movement governance on democracy. Therefore, in this study two case studies – Zimbabwe and South Africa – are compared in an effort to offer more insight into this topic. The focus of the study was placed on how the behavior of liberation movement governments has affected the rule of law in order to assess their impact on democratic consolidation in general. This study follows the premise of studies in political behavior that actors’ attitudes (in this case, liberation movements’ political cultures) affect their behavior or actions that in turn have an influence on democratic institutions that eventually impacts democratic stability. In order to investigate this, the two case studies were compared and discussed in terms of the following themes: firstly, the respective liberation struggles and transitions to majority rule; secondly, the political cultures that have developed within ZANU-PF and the ANC during the liberation struggles; and lastly, the effect of the two parties’ behavior – informed by the political cultures – on the rule of law, a central feature of democratic consolidation. The findings indicate that in Zimbabwe, the rule of law disintegrated and democracy faltered largely due to the behavior of ZANU-PF. In South Africa, on the other hand, the rule of law has so far been upheld and the prospects for democratic consolidation seem more positive than in the case of Zimbabwe. In the last few years, though, the ruling ANC has shown tendencies that could prove to be detrimental to the future of democracy in South Africa. The ANC and ZANU-PF have both exhibited an authoritarian political culture, a desire to capture the state, tendencies towards centralization of power and the delegitimation of opposition. However, perhaps the key explanation for the protection of the rule of law in South Africa and the disintegration thereof in Zimbabwe has less to do with the political culture than the constraining influence of the international context with a renewed focus on democracy and human rights and internal factors such as the constitution, civil society and a robust media. Furthermore, Zimbabwe experienced a watershed moment in the 2000 with the constitutional referendum which the Mugabe regime lost. With the loss of the referendum, ZANU-PF’s democratic credentials were tested and it failed. In South Africa, such a watershed moment has not happened yet – the ANC’s democratic credentials have yet to be tested like this. Therefore, the future of democracy is still uncertain even though in comparison with Zimbabwe, the prospects of democratic survival seem to be more positive. In conclusion, it is not possible to claim that liberation movement governance in general negatively affects democratic consolidation. The findings of the study indicate that this has definitely been the case in Zimbabwe, but so far not in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die kwessie van demokratiese konsolidasie het ‘n belangrike veld van studie geword in verband met ontwikkelende lande, veral met betrekking tot Suider-Afrika. Die gebied se geskiedenis van bevrydingstryde en die opkoms van vryheidsbewegings as regerende partye is belangrike faktore om in ag te neem wanneer demokrasie en, meer spesifiek, demokratiese konsolidasie ondersoek word. Tog is daar sover net ‘n paar vergelykende studies wat gekyk het na die effekte van bevrydingsbewegings se regeerkunde op demokrasie. Gevolglik, in hierdie studie is twee gevallestudies – Zimbabwe en Suid-Afrika – vergelyk in ‘n poging om meer insig te bied met betrekking tot hierdie onderwerp. Die fokus van die studie is geplaas op hoe die gedrag van regerende bevrydingsbewegings die oppergesag van die reg beïnvloed in ‘n poging om te bepaal hoe hulle demokratiese konsolidasie in die algemeen affekteer. Die studie volg die veronderstelling van studies in politieke gedrag dat akteurs se houdings (in hierdie geval die politieke kulture van die bevrydingsbewegings) beïnvloed hul gedrag of aksies wat weer ‘n invloed het op demokratiese instellings wat uiteindelik ‘n effek het op demokratiese stabiliteit. Om dit te ondersoek is die twee gevallestudies vergelyk en bespreek met betrekking tot die volgende: eerstens, die onderskeidelike vryheidstryde en oorgange tot meerderheidsregerings; tweedens, die politieke kulture wat ontwikkel het binne ZANU-PF en die ANC gedurende die vryheidstryde; en laastens, die effek van die twee partye se gedrag – geïnspireer deur die politieke kulture – op die oppergesag van die reg, ‘n sleutel kenmerk van demokratiese konsolidasie. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat die oppergesag van die reg in Zimbabwe in duie gestort het en demokrasie gefaal het grootliks as gevolg van ZANU-PF se gedrag. In Suid-Afrika, aan die anderkant, is die oppergesag van die reg sover gehandhaaf en die vooruitsigte vir demokratiese konsolidasie blyk om meer positief te wees as in die geval van Zimbabwe. Tog het die ANC oor die laaste paar jaar tendense getoon wat skadelik kan wees vir die toekoms van demokrasie in Suid-Afrika. Die ANC en ZANU-PF het beide ‘n outoritêre politieke kultuur geopenbaar, ‘n begeerte om beheer oor die staat oor te neem, tendense tot die sentralisering van mag en om opposisie te ondermyn. Alhoewel, die moontlike sleutel verklaring vir die beskerming van die oppergesag van die reg in Suid-Afrika en die disintegrering daarvan in Zimbabwe minder te doen het met die politieke kultuur as die beperkende invloed van die internasionale konteks met ‘n hernude fokus op demokrasie en menseregte en interne faktore soos die grondwet, die burgerlike samelewing en ‘n robuuste media. Verder, Zimbabwe het ‘n keerpunt beleef in 2000 met die konstitusionele referendum wat die Mugabe regime verloor het. Met die verlies van die referendum, is ZANU-PF se demokratiese getuigskrifte getoets en dit het gefaal. Suid-Afrika het nog nie so ‘n keerpunt beleef nie – die ANC se demokratiese getuigskrifte moet nog op so ‘n wyse getoets word. Daarom is die toekoms van demokrasie steeds onseker, maar in vergelyking met Zimbabwe, blyk dit dat die vooruitsigte vir demokratiese oorlewing meer positief is. Ter slotte, is dit nie moontlik om te verklaar dat bevrydingbewegings se regeerkunde demokratiese konsolidasie oor die algemeen negatief beïnvloed nie. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat dit definitief die geval in Zimbabwe is, maar sover nie in Suid-Afrika nie.

L'existence de mécanismes efficaces de contrôle de l'activité administrative est une problématique commune aux pays européens. Le contrôle des juges y apparaît fondamental. Il est un gage de la soumission de l'administration au droit, via le respect du principe de légalité. Le rôle qu'ils jouent ne selimite toutefois pas à cette simple fonction. C'est ce que tend à démontrer une étude comparée globale du recours pour excès de pouvoir français et la judicial review anglaise. Alors que chacun de ces deux mécanismes apparaît comme une forme limitée de contrôle de la légalité, ils ont en réalité une portée plus étendue. Sous l'effet du développement des contraintes pesant sur l'action administrative, conséquence de l'enrichissement normatif des ordres juridiques, le rôle des juges s'accroît. La place qu'ils occupent au sein des institutions nationales doit être clairement définie, afin d'en assurer la légitimité.N'étant plus uniquement les garants de la volonté d'un Parlement de plus en plus contraint, les juges voient les fondements de leur rôle être renouvelés. La liberté dont ils disposent va croissante. Ce mouvement révèle leur double figure : tantôt acteurs du contrôle de légalité, et principal outil de soumission de l'administration à un droit en constant développement, ils sont également un moteur de ce mouvement. Cela leur permet d'en fixer les limites afin de ne pas scléroser l'activité administrative, elle aussi porteuse d'une légitimité propre. L'étude comparée du recours pour excès de pouvoir et de la judicial review permet la mise en lumière de cette dualité : les juges en définissent les différentes facettes et participent ainsi activement à la définition de leur propre rôle. / The existence of efficient mechanisms of control for administrative activity is a common problem in European countries. Judicial control is of primary importance. It is a guarentee of the respect of law by public authorities, through the principle of legality. But, the role of judges is not only defined by this function. This can be demonstrated by a global comparison of the French recours pour excès de pouvoir and the English judicial review. While both mechanisms seem to allow a limited control of legality, the picture is not as simple. Because of the development of the strains on administrative action, due to the normative enrichment of legal orders, the role of the judiciary is extending. The position of judges within national institutions has to be clearly defined, in order to guarantee their legitimacy.As they can no longer be described as protectors of the will of Parliament, the foundations of their role is reassessed. Their discretionary power is increasing. It reveals their dualiaty: they are active in the control of legality, and as such they are the main instrument of the submission of public authorities to a developing legality, and they are also actors of this movment. As such, they draw limits in order not to ossify administrative activity, which is also legitimate. The comparision between the recours pour excès de pouvoir and judicial review can reveal this duality : the judges define its various aspects and actively participate to the definition of their own role.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The following study examines whether there are contending interpretations of the rule of law present within the South African democracy. The study proposes that the rule of law forms part of the societal understanding of democracy and everyday life. Rule of law is defined in terms of mental models which influence how stakeholders conceive and define institutions. Rule of law is more than a mere institutional guarantee or set of rules — rule of law is understood as a component of a specific culture of understanding. It is shown that conceptions of rule of law have a long history in western society and have been influenced by both liberal and social ideals. Contemporary conceptions of the rule of law are tightly bound with specific notions of liberal democracy. It is hypothesised that there are distinctly identifiable opinions, beliefs and views of the rule of law present in South African democracy, and that these can be systematically described at the hand of a conceptual typology. The conceptual typology developed, identifies two contending interpretations of the rule of law, namely liberal and social rule of law. Liberal rule of law emphasises the status of the individual, moral plurality and the creation and maintenance of a rule-based society of the future. In contrast, social rule of law places emphasis on the status of the community, a single communally defined conception of the moral good and places greater emphasis on righting past injustices. Other publications that address the themes of democracy and the rule of law in South Africa are also examined in order to determine whether there is congruence between the conceptual typology developed in this study and other works. It is found that the conceptual typology is congruent with other works that depict the African National Congress’s conception of democracy, equality and liberty. These congruencies validate and strengthen the conceptual typology developed in this study. The conceptual typology is subsequently applied to a specific court case, the AfriForum v Malema hate speech case. The conceptual typology is found to be sufficiently accurate in analysing contending beliefs associated with the rule of law as expressed in this court case and identifies the African National Congress’s conception of the rule of law as falling under the social rule of law and AfriForum’s conception as aligning to the liberal rule of law. It is concluded that the conceptual typology can be empirically validated at the hand of the selected case. The conceptual typology is therefore validated with other works (conceptually) and with a specific case (empirically). It is concluded that the conceptual typology provides a clear, robust, concise and comprehensive analytical description of values and beliefs associated with the rule of law in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek of daar uiteenlopende en teenstrydige interpretasies oor die oppergesag van die reg teenwoordig is binne die Suid Afrikaanse demokrasie. Die studie stel voor dat die oppergesag van die reg deel uitmaak van die wyse waarop alledaagse samelewingsinteraskies, asook demokrasie, verstaan word. Die oppergesag van die reg word gedefinieer in terme van kognitiewe modelle, wat die belanghebbende partye se konsepsie van hierdie instelling beïnvloed. Die oppergesag van die reg word dus as element van spesifieke kulturele begrip vertolk en meer as institusionele element, wat die behoud van reëls waarborg, beskou. Dit word gewys dat konsepsies van die oppergesag van die reg lang geskiedenis in westerse samelewing het en dat dit deur liberale en sosiale ideale beïnvloed is. Kontemporêre konsepsies van die oppergesag van die reg het noue bande met die liberale demokrasie. Die hipotese is dat daar afsonderlik identifiseerbare opinies, oortuigings en sieninge van die oppergesag van die reg teenwoordig is in die Suid Afrikaanse demokrasie, en dat hierdie opinies sistematies aan die hand van konseptuele tipologie beskryf kan word. Die konseptuele tipologie wat ontwikkel word in hierdie studie identifiseer twee konsepsies van die oppergesag van die reg, naamlik die liberale- en die sosiale oppergesag van die reg. Liberale oppergesag van die reg plaas klem op die status van die individu, morele pluraliteit en die skep en handhawing van reëlsgebaseerde toekomsgerigte samelewing. Hierteenoor word die sosiale oppergesag van die reg gekontrasteer wat klem plaas op die status van gemeenskap of groep, enkele kommunale gedefinieerde konsepsie van die morele doelwit voortsit terwyl die klem geplaas word op die regstelling van ongeregtighede van die verlede. Ander publikasies wat die temas van demokrasie en oppergesag van die reg in Suid Afrika aanspreek, word ook bestudeer om sodoende ooreenkomste tussen die konseptuele tipologie wat hier ontwikkel word, en die bestaande literatuur vas te stel. Daar word gevind dat die konseptuele tipologie wel ooreenkomste met ander werke, wat die African National Congress se konsepsies van demokrasie, gelykheid en vryheid bestudeer, vind. Die ooreenkomste valideer en versterk die konseptuele tipologie. Die konseptuele tipologie word ook toegepas op spesifieke hofsaak, naamlik die AfriForum v Malema haatspraaksaak. Daar word gevind dat die konseptuele tipologie wel akkurate analise van teenstrydige opinies, wat geassosieer word met die oppergesag van die reg, moontlik maak. Die African National Congress se konsepsie word in die kategorie van die sosiale oppergesag van die reg geplaas terwyl AfriForum se siening in die kategorie van die liberale oppergesag van die reg geplaas word. Dit word bevind dat die konseptuele tipologie voldoen aan empiriese validasie aan die hand van geselekteerde saak. Die konseptuele tipologie word daarvolgens gevalideer met ander werke (konseptueel), asook met spesifieke gevallestudie (empiries). Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat die konseptuele tipologie duidelike, robuuste, bondige en omvattende analitiese beskrywing van die waardes en oortuigings, wat geassosieer word met die oppergesag van reg in Suid Afrika, beskryf.

Thesis (LLD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Human rights denials have more characterised Rwandan history than their promotion and protection. When the Rwandan State emerged from Tutsi domination and colonialism, many Rwandans hoped that the era of liberty had at least dawned. But the reality has been a total disappointment and replicas of earlier abuses have emerged, despite the ratification by Rwanda of most international human rights instruments. This dissertation is premised on the assumption that Rwanda has failed as a democratic constitutional State, and the whole socio-economic-political system has gone wrong. Chapter one argues that disequilibrium was built into the Rwandan system before colonisation and evangelisation. There was a 'consensus' that Tutsis were a superior minority race, able to govern and dominate, well organised and accepted by their Hutu subjects. The colonists and the Catholic Church exploited this injustice for their indirect rule. In a world evolving towards the international human rights system, this had a very precarious foundation in Rwanda. Indeed, poor management of changes due to evangelisation, education and market economy led to the denial of human dignity. It exacerbated division in favour of Hutus rather than reinforcing national unity. Chapter two considers the Hutu regime as a failure of a democratic constitutional State in the postcolonial era, despite the promise to serve the interests of all Rwandans through democracy and respect for human rights. In a one-party State, a handful of Hutus have monopolised power and resources. The institutional infrastructure for the management of the State and protection of human rights was set up to safeguard the interests of the ruling group only and oppress the rest of the population. The Hutu government, particularly, took revenge on Tutsis that they killed, forced into exile and denied access to public affairs. Hutu opponents, real or imaginary, and people from other regions than that of the President were also denied such access. Separation of powers was purposely just a theory, whence a non-independent judiciary, interference of the executive in the functioning of other branches of government and abuse of legislative power became the reality. In order to perpetuate the ruling group's hegemony, civil society was hindered, while states of emergency were used to deny the right to life, liberty and the security of the person. Many other rights were also denied regardless of whether the denial was a legacy of the past or just a result of the undemocratic nature of the State and the underdevelopment of the country. The Hutu regime's failure to promote national unity resulted in a genocide which took the lives of many Tutsis and Hutus. Whereas the current Tutsi government presented itself as committed to democracy and human rights, Chapter three argues that it was a mutatis mutandis replica of the Hutu rule. Indeed, the State system and resources have been captured by a group of Tutsis while other Tutsis have been left without hope and Hutus have become second-class citizens, whence justice and national unity are in jeopardy. By avoiding to tackle the fundamental issue of nation-statehood, the United Nations have failed to maintain peace and security. The failure to condemn Ugandan aggression against Rwanda, the forced repatriation of refugees, and the non-prosecution of Tutsis involved in crimes against humanity have proved the demise of international law and the maintenance of the culture of impunity in Rwanda. The author nonetheless argues that respect for human rights and establishment of the rule of law are still possible through a process of reconciliation and reconstruction. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die geskiedenis van Rwanda word meer deur die miskenning van menseregte as erkenning en beskerming daarvan gekenmerk. Toe die Rwandese Staat onder Tutsi oorheersing en kolonialisme uit verrys, het baie Rwandese gehoop dat die tydperk van vryheid ten minste aangebreek het, maar die werklikheid was algeheel teleurstellend en weergawes van vroeëre misbruike het weer tevore getree, ten spyte daarvan dat Rwanda die meeste internasionale werktuie vir menseregte bekragtig het. Hierdie verhandeling berus op die aanname dat Rwanda as 'n demokratiese grondwetlike staat misluk het en dat die sosio-ekonomies-politieke stelsel geheel-en-al verkeerd geloop het. Hoofstuk een argumenteer dat 'n wanbalans voor die kolonisasie en evangelisasie van die land reeds in die Rwandese stelsel ingebou is. Daar was 'konsensus' waarvolgens Tutsis beskou is as 'n superieure minderheidsras wat in staat was om te regeer en te oorheers, wat goed georganiseer was en deur hul Hutu onderdane aanvaar is. Die koloniste en die Katolieke Kerk het hierdie onreg ten voordeel van hul indirekte heerskappy uitgebuit. In 'n wêreld wat op pad was na 'n internasionale menseregtestelsel was die grondslag wat hiervoor in Rwanda gelê is uiters onseker. Swak bestuur van veranderinge wat deur evangelisasie, opvoeding en 'n mark-ekonomie teweeggebring is, het in werklikheid tot miskenning van menseregte gelei. Dit het skeiding tot voordeel van die Hutus vererger, eerder as om nasionale eenheid te versterk. Hoofstuk twee kyk na die Hutu regime as 'n mislukte demokratiese konstitusionele staat in die postkoloniale era, ten spyte van die belofte om die belange van alle Rwandese deur demokrasie en eerbied vir menseregte te dien. In die eenpartystaat het 'n handjievol Hutus die mag en hulpbronne gemonopoliseer. Die institusionele infrastruktuur vir die bestuur van die Staat is opgestel om die belange van die heersersgroep te beveilig en die res van die bevolking te onderdruk. Die Hutu regering het hul veralop Tutsis gewreek deur hulle te vermoor, tot ballingskap te dryf en hul toegang tot openbare sake te weier. Hutu teenstanders, werklik of vermeend, en mense vanaf ander streke as die waarvan die President afkomstig was, is ook van sodanige toegang weerhou. Die verspreiding van mag was doelbewus niks meer as teoreties nie, vandaar die nie-onafhanklikheid van die regbank, inmenging by die funksionering van ander vertakkings van die regering deur die uitvoerende gesag en die misbruik van die wetgewende gesag. In die poging om die regerende groep se hegemonie te bestendig, is die burgerlike samelewing belemmer en is daar van noodtoestande gebruik gemaak om die reg tot lewe, vryheid en die veiligheid van die persoon aan te tas. Baie ander regte is ook geweier, ongeag of die weiering daarvan as gevolg van die nalatenskap van die verlede of die ondemokratiese aard van die Staat en die onderontwikkeldheid van die land moontlik was. Die feit dat die Hutu regering ten opsigte van die bevordering van nasionale eenheid misluk het, het gelei na In menseslagting wat die lewens van vele Tutsis en Hutus geëis het. Terwyl die huidige Tutsi regering homself as verbonde tot demokrasie en menseregte voordoen, argumenteer Hoofstuk drie dat die regering bloot 'n mutatis mutandi weergawe van die Hutu regering is. In werklikheid is die staatsisteem en die hulpbronne deur 'n groep Tutsis gebuit, die res van die Tutsis is sonder hoop gelaat en die Hutus is tot tweederangse burgers gemaak, wat vrede en sekuriteit in gevaar stel. Met die ontwyking van die grondliggende kwessie van nasieskap, het die Verenigde Volke ten opsigte van die handhawing van vrede en sekuriteit gefaal. Die onvermoë om Uganda se aggressie teenoor Rwanda te verdoem, die gedwonge repatriasie van vlugtelinge en die gebrek aan vervolging van Tutsis wat skuldig is aan misdade teen die mensheid het die afstanddoening van internasionale wetgewing en die ondersteuning van die kultuur van straffeloosheid in Rwanda bewys. Desnieteenstaande argumenteer die skrywer dat respek vir menseregte en die instelling van regsoewereiniteit nog steeds deur middel van 'n proses van versoening en heropbouing in Rwanda moontlik gemaak kan word.

The present thesis seeks to problematize the UN discourse within transitional justice. Many scholars have pointed out that the discourse has been normalised and that is why it is in need for deconstruction. The study aims to critically analyse how justice and reconciliation are understood in the field. For the purpose of the study Derrida’s concepts on justice and forgiveness have been chosen as theoretical frameworks. The method of study is a deconstructive analysis, based on Derrida’s notion of deconstruction. The method implies analysis of language of the research material, i.e. four UN reports regarding transitional justice from 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The study has shown, firstly, that the rule of law concept is closely connected with the idea of justice and, secondly, justice is often reduced to accountability. That in turn explains the dominance of the juridical instruments in transitional justice processes. Apart from this, based on Derrida’s concept of forgiveness, reconciliation and mechanisms applied represent a conditional forgiveness, seeking to re-establish normality. Another problem is that reconciliation is not sufficiently approached in the reports. Nevertheless, the history of the transitional justice development has shown that there is a potential for further changes and that is why it necessary to continue question the established norms.   Finally, deconstruction analysis has proved to be an adequate method for analysing transitional justice discourses and contributed to a nuanced analysis. The use of two languages, English and Russian versions of the reports allowed to identify and visualise some conceptual constructions that could otherwise have been missing.

The main question in this thesis is what kind of considerations political parties in the Swedish parliament have made between individual freedoms and state power in matters concerning information technology. Hence, it relates to a central and never ending debate about the proper relationship between the individual rights of citizens and protection of their personal integrity vis-à-vis state power and the interest of society in general, and in particular how this is affected by the rapid development of information technology. Four cases of legislative processes about information technology are analyzed. These cases concern parliamentary debates regarding the secrecy act (sekretesslagen) in 1980 (first debate), three debates concerning the personal data act (personuppgiftslagen) in 1998-99, three debates concerning the surveillance and crime prevention act (lag om hemlig rumsavlyssning & åtgärder för att förhindra vissa särskilt allvarliga brott med mera) in 2006-07 and three debates concerning the national defence radio establishment act (FRA & lag om signalspaning) in 2007-09. An analytical model is developed that includes two ideal types, individual freedom and state power, for the study and categorization of the parties and their positions in each debate. Thus, parties are categorized according to their proximity to the ideal types. The study illustrates that the majority of parties have a tendency to compromise between values constituting the two ideal types; they choose a so called hybrid position in between individual freedom and state power. The exception to this pattern is the Green Party and the Left Party that tend to choose a position close to individual freedom. Three hypotheses are tested. The first implies that parties tend to position themselves in-between the ideal type positions of individual freedom and state power (hybrid positions). This hypothesis gets strong support as hybrid positions are the most common outcome. The second hypothesis infers that a party has a tendency to support state power when in government, but individual freedom when in opposition. This hypothesis also gets empirical support, as parties, when in government, tend increasingly to support values related to state power, but support is somewhat weaker than for the first hypothesis. Finally, the third hypothesis implies that September 11 2001 was a critical moment in relation to how parties deal with values related to individual freedom and state power, i.e. parties were expected generally to be more disposed to support state power after than before September 11. This gets some support as most parties show this tendency. In parliamentary debates after September 11 the Social Democrats, the Moderate Party and the Liberal Party have been more disposed to position themselves close to the value of state power. On the other hand, the Green Party and the Left Party have not changed their positons. One reason could be that neither of these two parties were in government during the studied years

Le principe de légalité de l’impôt, en tant que traduction au plan juridique du principe de consentement de l’impôt et principe fondamental du droit fiscal, est universellement reconnu par des pays démocratiques. Ce principe consistant à limiter le pouvoir de l’exécutif en matière fiscale et protéger des droits fondamentaux du contribuable en tant que citoyen, joue un rôle crucial pour l’établissement de la hiérarchie des normes dans un Etat de droit. Pourtant, ce principe n’est reconnu que de manière partielle et imprécise dans le droit chinois. Nous avons conviction que l’application effective de ce principe permettra non seulement d’améliorer l’efficacité de la gestion des impôts, mais aussi de diminuer les tensions et d’améliorer les relations entre l’administration fiscale et le contribuable. L’application de ce principe doit se réaliser autour de deux axes : l’un consiste en l’établissement des normes fiscales essentielles par la loi afin de délimiter le pouvoir réglementaire en matière fiscale, et l’autre en la mise en œuvre effective de ces normes dans les procédures fiscales afin de protéger les droits du contribuable. Pour le premier, l’abrogation de ces habilitations nous paraît fort souhaitable et indispensable pour régler le problème de l’incompétence négative du législateur chinois et celui du déclassement des normes fiscales dans le pays. Pour ce dernier, il est nécessaire de révéler les illégalités et les irrégularités commises dans l’exécution de la loi fiscale qui menacent sérieusement l’application effective du principe de légalité de l’impôt en Chine, que ce soit dans les procédures d’imposition ou dans les procédures contentieuses. / The principle of legality of the tax, being a translation of the taxation consent in a legal background, is universally recognized by democratic countries. This principle, consisting to limit the taxation power of the government and to protect the fundamental rights of citizen, plays a crucial role to establish a hierarchy of legal rules. However, this principle is recognized only partially and vaguely in China. We have conviction that the effective application of this principle will not only improve the efficiency of the management of the taxes, but also calm down the tensions and to improve the relationship between the administration and tax payers.The application of this principle must be carried out around two axes: one consists in the establishment of taxation rules principally by law in order to limit the power of regulation of government, the other in effective application of the legal rules in taxation, in order to protect the tax payer’s rights. For the first one, abrogation of delegations of legislative power appears desirable and necessary to settle the problem of negligence of legislator’s competence, as well as the depreciation of the tax norms in China. And as for the second one, it is necessary to notice the illegality and irregularities in the execution of the legal rules, which is an obstacle to apply this principle either in the taxation in the proceedings.

A presente pesquisa partiu da constatação de que as transformações pelas quais passa o mundo geram conseqüências em todos os ramos do conhecimento. O estudo foca as mudanças econômicas, filosóficas, sociais e políticas e seus efeitos na prestação da tutela jurisdicional, notadamente no que se refere aos direitos trabalhistas. Assim, inicia demonstrando os contornos do Estado liberal de direito, passa pelo Estado social e chega à crise desse Estado de bem-estar social. A principal apreensão feita em cada capítulo se refere ao modo como o juiz desempenhou suas funções na efetivação dos direitos trabalhistas, para compreender seu papel no Estado da atualidade. A partir da década de 1970 inicia-se a referida crise do modelo de Estado social. Isso ocorre em razão da intensificação do liberalismo, agora neoliberalismo, pela reestruturação produtiva pela qual os países passam, pela globalização e pela formação de uma sociedade de massas. Além disso, tem início um franco processo de tentativa de desregulamentação e flexibilização dos direitos trabalhistas, bem como de diminuição da importância do Estado. Por tais razões, buscamos defender a importância de o magistrado conhecer a realidade em que atua, a fim de entendê-la e inserir-se no contexto de vida dos jurisdicionados. Dessa forma, cremos que será possível maior amplitude de efetivação dos direitos trabalhistas. Os instrumentos utilizados pelo juiz são encontrados dentro do próprio ordenamento jurídico e são justificados pela adequada e profunda fundamentação das decisões. De fato, buscamos mostrar que o juiz pode utilizar-se de mecanismos simples disponibilizados pelo próprio sistema jurídico, ou advindos da criatividade jurídica, para realizar sua função social. Interpretar e aplicar o direito de forma vinculada ao contexto histórico no qual se inserem as partes da demanda. Com esta finalidade é que a tese caminha por essa evolução da filosofia, da sociedade, da política, da economia, da ciência do direito e da própria aplicação do direito ao caso concreto. Enfim, pretende-se demonstrar que a qualidade da prestação jurisdicional e o nível de efetivação dos direitos trabalhistas em tempos de crise do Estado estão intimamente ligados à qualificação ética, intelectual e humana dos juízes, que devem adotar uma posição ativa no desempenho de suas funções. Ativo, porém, no sentido de o juiz estar preparado para extrair do ordenamento jurídico o que é juridicamente válido para fundamentar suas decisões e efetivar os direitos trabalhistas. / This survey came out of the realization that the changes the world undergoes affect all areas of knowledge. The paper concentrates on economical, philosophical, social and political changes and their effects in the temporary relief, specifically in relation to the labor laws. Thus, it starts displaying the outline of the liberal rule of law; it goes through the social State and gets to the crisis of this social welfare State. The major concern in each section regards the way the justice performed his functions in bringing about the labor rights, as a means of understanding his role in the State today. As of the 1970s, the aforementioned crisis of the social State model is formed. This is due to the enhancement of liberalism, currently referred to as neo-liberalism, to the productive restructuring that has affected most countries, to the globalization and the formation of a mass society. Aside from that, one can perceive the birth of a clear process that aims at experiencing deregulation and flexibility of labor laws and the loss of importance of the State. Therefore, we aim at defending how important it is for the Justice to be familiar with the reality on which his work is grounded, so he can understand it and include it in the context of the partys life. Therefore, we believe that it will be possible to reach broader effectiveness of the labor rights. The legal tools used by justices will be found within the legal system itself and find grounds on the appropriate and profound basis of decisions. In fact, we aim at showing that the justice can make use of simple mechanisms that are available within the legal system itself, or of those derived from the legal creativity, to accomplish his social role. To interpret and use the right linked with the historical context containing parts of the demand. Aiming at this purpose, the thesis moves through this evolution of the philosophy, society, politics, economics, legal science and of the own application of the Law to the concrete case. At last, we intend to show that the quality of the legal service and the level of effectiveness of the labor rights during State crisis are closely connected to the ethical, intellectual and human qualification of the justices who should chose to adopt an active position on the development of their functions. We say active, however, in the sense that the justice should be prepared to extract from the legal disposition, which is legally enforceable to ground his decisions and to effect the labor laws.