Face à l’ampleur de la contrefaçon des œuvres sur Internet et à la crise de légitimité du droit de la propriété littéraire et artistique qui l’accompagne, il est permis de s’interroger sur les moyens de lutter. La recherche d’une solution miracle, d’une solution unique à la contrefaçon sur Internet est illusoire, elle n’est d’ailleurs pas souhaitable. À la complexité du phénomène doivent être opposées des réponses multiples destinées à former un maillage pour protéger la propriété littéraire et artistique sur Internet. Une telle réponse plurielle existe aujourd’hui et elle doit être encouragée. C’est en effet de la combinaison de ces outils, de leur pluralité et de leur diversité, dont découlera une meilleure protection. Ainsi la protection résulte aujourd’hui à la fois des acteurs institutionnels, que sont le législateur et le juge, et des acteurs privés. De cette manière, elle devient progressivement l’affaire de tous, ce que nous ne pouvons qu’approuver. La protection imposée par la loi et le juge a dû se réinventer avec Internet, s’adapter à ce phénomène avec plus ou moins de succès. La loi a ainsi multiplié les outils, elle a innové en proposant de nouvelles approches telles que la prévention (notamment à travers la Hadopi) et la responsabilisation des acteurs du numérique (particulièrement avec l’articleL. 336-2 du Code de la propriété intellectuelle). Le juge est, quant à lui, à la recherche d’un équilibre. Il est aujourd’hui réticent à condamner les internautes et davantage enclin à responsabiliser les intermédiaires techniques qu’à les sanctionner. La protection imposée n’est pas parfaite, elle peut être améliorée, corrigée. Elle est aussi complétée par une protection spontanée issue des acteurs privés. Elle se manifeste d’abord à travers le recours aux contrats : la question de la protection du droit de la propriété littéraire et artistique contre la contrefaçon hier absente de ces derniers, y a fait son apparition avec la généralisation d’Internet. Le contrat n’est toutefois pas toujours à la hauteur des attentes placées en lui et souffre de limites qui peuvent être corrigées dans une certaine mesure. Les titulaires de droits et les acteurs du numérique innovent également en ayant recours à des instruments de droit souple comme la charte ou le code de bonne conduite. Certains acteurs du numérique vont même plus loin en proposant, de leur propre initiative, des moyens de protection, plus ou moins efficaces, contre la contrefaçon (déclassement, retrait de mots-clés). L’ensemble de ces outils constitue un maillage qui n’est pas parfait, que nous nous proposons de corriger, mais qui est nécessaire pour l’amélioration de la protection contre la contrefaçon sur Internet. / Considering the amount of counterfeit pieces of work on the Internet, and faced with the resulting legitimacy crisis within the literary and artistic property rights, we may wonder about the strategies for fighting online counterfeiting. It would not be realistic, nor advisable, actually, to be looking for a miracle cure, a unique anti-counterfeiting solution. The complexity of this phenomenon should be addressed with multiple responses. They should be designed to create a network that would protect literary and artistic property on the Internet. It is indeed the combination of these tools, their variety, and their diversity that will lead to a more effective protection. Therefore, today, this protection results from both institutional actors, such as the legislator or the judge, and private actors. Gradually, everybody is concerned by the matter and that is a fact that we can but approve of. With the development of the Internet, the protection dictated by the law and the judge has had to re-shape itself. It has more or less successfully adapted itself to this new phenomenon. The law has produced more tools, and offered new approaches such as prevention, through Hadopi, for example, or making of the actors of the digital industry aware of their responsibilities (especially through the following article L. 336-2 of the Intellectual Property Code). As for the judge, he is seeking a balance. He is now unwilling to sentence the Internet users, and he is more prone to make the technical intermediaries aware of their responsibilities than to punish them. This dictated protection is not perfect, it could be improved and revised. It is supplemented by a voluntary protection which the private actors provide. This protection is first visible through the use of contracts. The protection of literary and artistic property rights against counterfeiting did not use to be included in these contracts before, but it has now appeared in them since the Internet has begun to spread. However, the contract does not always live up to the expectations placed on it. It has limitations that can only be fixed to a certain extent. Rightholders and actors of the digital industry are also innovating: they resort to soft legal instruments such as the code of conduct. Some actors go even further and voluntarily offer more or less effective protection means against counterfeiting (downgrading, keyword removal) .All of these tools form a network, which is not perfect and which we are proposing to revise, but that is a key component to the improvement of the protection against counterfeiting online.

La qualité des soins a progressivement été intégrée dans l’ordre juridique français. Elle est désormais reconnue de manière indirecte comme un droit du patient et un objectif à atteindre pour les professionnels et les établissements de santé.Toutefois, le champ de la qualité des soins ne bénéficie pas d’un cadre juridique propre. Un droit souple de la qualité des soins a parallèlement émergé pour répondre principalement à l’inadaptation du droit dur à ce domaine et plus largement à la pratique médicale au regard notamment de la rapidité de son évolution. Ces « instruments » de droit souple se distinguent des règles de droit dur, traditionnellement définies comme obligatoires et assorties d’un régime de sanctions de l’autorité publique.Le champ de la qualité des soins obéit ainsi à un régime normatif gradué s’étendant du droit dur au droit souple, ce qui implique désormais de définir l’articulation entre les différents dispositifs et leurs effets juridiques.En effet, l’amélioration de la qualité des soins est également freinée par la surproduction des dispositifs et la crainte des professionnels de voir leur responsabilité engagée à la suite de leur participation à ces démarches.Des évolutions réglementaires, organisationnelles et opérationnelles visant d’une part à élaborer un régime juridique dédié aux données issues de ces démarches et, d’autre part, à préciser les rôles et compétences de chaque acteur afin notamment de coordonner l’ensemble des dispositifs semblent indispensables. En revanche, une législation spécifique portant sur la protection des professionnels n’est pas souhaitable. / Quality of care has gradually been incorporated into French law. It is now recognized indirectly as a patient's right and a goal for professionals and health institutions to achieve.However, the quality of care domain does not have its own legal framework. Soft law concerning care quality has emerged in parallel as a principle response to the hard law’s inadequacy in this domain, and to a wider extent, with special regard to the fast evolution in medical practice. These « soft law » instruments are different from their hard law counterparts which are traditionally defined as mandatory and are accompanied by a regime of sanctions issued by public authority.In this way the care quality domain conforms to a graduated regulatory system which extends from hard law to soft law. This now entails defining the articulation between the different instruments and their legal effects.In fact, improvements to care quality are being slowed by the overproduction of measures and professionals’ fears of being held liable as a result of their participation in these processes.It seems indispensable that regulatory, organizational, and operational changes should both target the development of a legal regime dedicated to data from these approaches, as well as the clarification of the roles and skills of each player especially as concerns the entirety of the measures. In contrast, specific legislation targeting the protection of professionals is not desirable.

L’objet de cette thèse est « la gouvernance de la société par actions simplifiée (SAS) ». La SAS vient de fêter ses 20 ans. Par ailleurs, la gouvernance est un thème qui prend de plus en plus de place dans le milieu des entreprises. Ce sont deux notions récentes qu’il convient de définir. La SAS, ne connait pas de modèle unique puisque son régime souple lui donne la possibilité d’avoir une multitude d’organisations en son sein. Elle varie en fonction de la taille et de l'activité de la société. La gouvernance, peut être traitée sous deux angles. Le premier est le sens classique de la gouvernance, qui se limite à l’étude de la direction au sens strict du terme. Le second, est le sens moderne de la gouvernance, à savoir le nouveau thème de gouvernement d'entreprise. Cette dernière notion est plus large et comprend un ensemble de principes issus autant du droit dur que du droit souple. Elle a trouvé un cadre au sein des sociétés cotées avec le développement de codes de gouvernement d'entreprise. Ce cadre n’existant pas dans les sociétés non cotées, il convient de le définir. La SAS est, à cet égard, un excellent outil d'adaptation puisque la flexibilité de son régime permet d'ajuster son organisation dans la recherche d’une « bonne gouvernance ». L'objet de cette thèse est de proposer un modèle de gouvernance propre au caractère "protéiforme" de la SAS. / The subject of this thesis is « the governance of the « société par actions simplifiée » (SAS) ». The SAS has just celebrated its 20 years old. The governance is also a new concept which is growing within companies. Both concepts must be defined. The “SAS” has no single model. Its flexible legal structure allows different types of organisation. Its organisation varies throughout the activity and the size of the company. The governance, can be approached from two perspectives: the first one is a traditional approach which is the study of the management of the company, in its strictest definition. The second one is a modern approach, meaning the new concept of “corporate governance”. The latter is a wilder concept and includes legal (hard law) and non-legal (soft law) principles. This new concept has already its framework within listed companies (i.e Corporate Governance Code). However, within non listed companies such framework does not exist. In this context, the flexibility of the “SAS” is an excellent tool to adapt its organisation in the quest of a “good corporate governance”. This study proposes a governance model adapted to the SAS which is a "multifaceted" company.

The aim of the thesis is to explore how national street-level bureaucrats perceive their role when implementing EU soft law in a Europeanised environment. Existing studies have focused on the role perception of public servants working within implementation of EU hard law, or being diplomats or working on ministerial level. These studies find that there is an additional EU servant role perception, beyond the national servant role perception. It provides the theoretical and empirical expectation that the public servants on the street-level and within EU soft law are national servants and do not hold an additional EU role perception. The study uses theories on Europeanisation, identity and role perception, and street-level bureaucracy to further understand the case. The thesis is based on 13 semi-structured interviews to understand the role perception. The selected case is a least-likely study as it explores role perception of street-level bureaucrats within EU soft law. More precisely, the field of higher education and its internationalisation, as the study selects the Erasmus+ programme and street-level bureaucrats who work with its implementation in Sweden. This, to understand how they perceive their role when implementing an EU programme and in a Europeanised, but also national, environment. The findings of the thesis show that the street-level bureaucrats hold a national role perception but there are respondents who also present a perception of an additional EU role perception, for example five respondents who presented to be working for the EU in addition to the Higher Education Institution. Thus, it does not provide enough support for the theoretical and empirical expectations to be confirmed that street-level bureaucrats within EU soft law only hold a national servant role perception. Hence, it shows that it also exists a perception of also being an EU servant and holding loyalty to the EU.

The object of this thesis is to investigate the application of international law in municipal law, and more specifically to focus on international human rights law. A determination of the sources of international human rights law constitutes the point of departure. Treaties are the primary source of international human rights law, followed by customary law. Recent authority indicates that the formation of customary human rights law differs from that of customary international law in general. There are, however, also international documents on human rights not falling within the scope of the traditional sources as embodied in section 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. Non-binding sources of law, or soft law - most notably the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - are shown to play an important role in the formation of both treaties and custom and directly influence state practice. Theoretical explanations expounding the application of international law in the domestic law of states are examined, assessing their suitability for effective implementation of international human rights instruments. Since the application of international law in municipal law depends on, and is regulated by rules of domestic law, the relevant rules of legal systems which may, due to historical factors or regional proximity, impact on South Africa, are examined. State practice points to two primary methods of dealing with international law obligations in domestic law, namely transformation (associated with the dualist theory) or direct application (associated with the monist theory). The specific method of incorporation adopted by a state is often closely related to that state's constitutional system. The advantages and disadvantages associated with each particular method are related to the intricacies of individual legal systems. From an internationalist perspective the often misunderstood doctrine of direct application, has the advantage of making the intended protection afforded by human rights treaties to individuals directly enforceable by domestic courts with a minimum of state intervention. The position of international law in South Africa is assessed against this background. South Africa's constitutional history under British rule followed British law requiring legislative transformation of treaty obligations, but permitting customary law to be directly incorporated into common law. The position of international law became constitutionally regulated in South Africa with the introduction of a constitutional democracy. Drafting errors and practical difficulties experienced with the 1993 Constitution, were largely ironed out by the 1996 Constitution. The post-apartheid Constitutions introduced changes and new dimensions compared to the pre-1993 position of international law, including: the consideration of international law when interpreting the constitutionally protected human rights; the involvement of the legislature in the treaty-making process; and provisions for both transformation and direct application of treaties subject to the provisions of the Constitution. Customary international law is confirmed as forming part of South African law, and courts are obliged to interpret legislation in accordance with international law. An analysis of court decisions after 1993 reveals the following broad trends: (i) The impact of international law as part of South African law is still largely overlooked. (ii) The majority of references to international law by the courts are to international human rights agreements and decisions by international tribunals under section 39 of the Bill of Rights. (iii) The distinction between international law and comparable foreign case law, as directed by section 39, is often blurred. (iv) No distinction is made between international hard and soft law when deciding on human rights matters. (v) Courts have refrained from applying international human rights obligations which form part of South African law because they are self-executing or form part of customary international law. (vi) Binding international human rights obligations are only referred to for comparative purposes. (vii) The term "treaty" is interpreted in accordance with the definition of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The intention to create legally binding obligations is therefore implicit. It has been the policy of the post-apartheid South African government to ratify or accede to the major international human rights agreements as swiftly as possible. The execution of this policy has, however, met with numerous problems. As a result, South Africa has to date not become party to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights. Many treaties to which South Africa is a party have not yet been incorporated into South African law and compulsory reports on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are overdue. Despite the post-apartheid euphoria about the creation of a human rights culture in South Africa and the formal commitment by government to give effect to international human rights instruments, much remains to be done before South Africa can be regarded as formally complying with international human rights standards. / Law / LL. D. (Law)

Inicialmente, esta dissertação apresenta o marco teórico conceitual em que se situa a sociedade internacional contemporânea, as fontes tradicionais do direito internacional expostas no art. 38 do Estatuto da Corte Internacional de Justiça, as possíveis novas fontes do direito internacional atos unilaterais de Estados, atos de organizações internacionais e Soft Law. É abordado em seguida o paradigma da soberania decorrente da modificação da sociedade internacional. Os fundamentos da Responsabilidade de Proteger (R2P) são levados a uma análise sob as diversas fontes do direito internacional. A R2P não se verifica como fonte autônoma do direito internacional nos princípios gerais de direitos, nas convenções internacionais e nos meios auxiliares da doutrina e da jurisprudência. Todavia, seu enquadramento é feito em duas teorias: branda e dinâmica. Em razão de seu caráter de formação de opinio juris e da prática reiterada, a teoria branda considera a R2P uma manifestação do costume internacional. Enquanto isso, a teoria dinâmica leva em consideração a evolução do direito internacional contemporâneo, que considera a Soft Law uma fonte autônoma, bem como as manifestações da R2P. Conclui-se, então, que a teoria da R2P está sedimentada nas fontes do direito internacional contemporâneo e clássico. / Firstly this thesis presents the conceptual framework in which lies the contemporary international society, the traditional sources of International Law - exposed in art. 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the possible new sources of International Law - unilateral acts of States, international organizations and acts of Soft Law. Then, it brings forward the paradigm of sovereignty resulting from the modification of the international society. The foundations of the Responsibility to Protect are subject to an analysis emphasizing the variety of International Law sources. The R2P is not embraced as an autonomous source of International Law in the general principles, international conventions, doctrine and jurisprudence. However, its framing is analyzed in this thesis with two theories: \"mild\" and \"dynamic\". Considering the formation of opinio juris and the repeated practice, the mild theory considers R2P as a manifestation of international custom. Meanwhile, the dynamic theory takes into account the evolution of contemporary International Law, which considers Soft Law as an autonomous source, as well as the manifestations of R2P. So the conclusion is that the theory of R2P is based in the sources of contemporary and classic International Law.

Avec les scandales financiers à répétition (Maxwell, Polly Peck, Enron…) qui se sont succédé dans le milieu des sociétés cotées notamment au Royaume-Uni et aux États-Unis depuis les années 1980, le droit des sociétés n'a eu de cesse de vouloir contenir et endiguer ces dérives de l'usage d'un pouvoir bien particulier : celui des dirigeants sociaux des grandes entreprises cotées. Mais le constat est amer pour le droit des sociétés : sa faiblesse voire sa relative impuissance face à ce pouvoir que nous qualifions d' « économique », ont entraîné l'émergence d'un droit nouveau : la corporate governance. Mais ce droit qui ne rentre pas dans les catégories du droit connues, ne procède pas d'un ordre de contrainte : il relève d'un ordre juridique négocié. Nous aurons à démontrer en quoi cette corporate governance est aujourd'hui devenu un véritable système juridique, pour l'heure sui generis. En tant que système juridique, la corporate governance ne doit plus être vue comme un « infra-droit » ou seulement un droit souple, mais comme un véritable droit tout simplement : celui du pouvoir économique. / With repeating financial scandals (Maxwell, Polly Peck, Enron…) that have occurred and followed one another in the environment of listed companies in particular in the United Kingdom and in the United States since the 1980s, corporate law has never stopped wanting to contain and to curb these drifts and excesses of the use of a very particular power: that of executives and managers of large listed companies. But the report is bitter for corporate law: its weakness even its relative powerlessness facing this power that we describe and consider to be « economic », have led to the emergence of a new law: corporate governance. But this law which does not fit into the known categories of law, does not proceed of an order of constraint: it is a matter of a negotiated legal order. We shall have to demonstrate in what this corporate governance has become a real legal system today, for the moment sui generis. As a legal system, corporate governance should no longer be seen as a « sub-law » or only a soft law, but as a real and genuine law simply: that of the economic power.

<p>In a time when a host of new and untested democracies seek membership in international organisations founded on liberal norms, the question of how to include new members without jeopardizing community values has become of growing concern, particularly as the regulation of practices in sovereign states often relies on soft moral or political commitment rather than on hard legal obligation. The Council of Europe’s (CoE) monitoring of new members after entry represents a soft method of socialising newcomers. In the case of Ukraine, this process has been unusually difficult, and full of strife and open confrontation. This experience runs contrary to the belief that soft regulation is either harmonic or impossible. The aim of the thesis is to explore how a regulated process of inclusion develops over time, and to discuss how such a process can safeguard community values.</p><p>The study shows that an interactive dynamic developed between the European and the Ukrainian levels. The political struggle in Ukraine was, through the actions of the political opposition in Ukraine and the CoE’s monitors, transformed into a contest in the CoE over how to interpret Ukraine’s membership promises. European values were protected by the evolution of a mode of governance based on responsiveness to local concerns and on public discussion. In the process, the legal and political systems of the CoE and Ukraine were intertwined in ever more complex webs of dialogue. By being grounded in both the Ukrainian and European political discourses, the process was able to sustain a critical discussion on the terms of the agreement and maintain its relevance for the actors involved. The monitoring process displays how community values and autonomy of a member state can be combined in an unexpected way without resulting in a hierarchical order. This may not fulfil the requirements of the international rule of law, but it is clearly a case of soft and responsive transnational regulation of state practices.</p>

<p>The question of whether there is soft law in international law has been as much the subject of contemporary debate as whether or not there is private legal authority in the international society. The legal boundaries seem to be blurred by the process of globalisation and the recent shift in international law. The traditional definition of international law has been outdated as new forms of treaties has introduced new subject of law to the judicial arena. At the same time a supplementary map of law has been added to the cartography of international law, soft law. These correlating processes have comprehensive political and legal consequences at both the international and national levels. This essay examines and identifies soft law from a legal-political perspective and locates and explores private forms of legal authority on the map of contemporary international law. In respect to theory, it accounts for an interdisciplinary approach involving issues of both international law and international relations. In the process this study examines issues regarding the relative legal normativity and the blurring of legal authority in international law. The focus is on the legal character, the constitutive practices and the legal and political influence of soft law. It discusses the influence and power exerted by soft law over state actors in the international system and at the national level. The essay finds that soft law is of substantial relevance in the international ambit. To some extent a limited normative force of certain norms is recognized in soft law even though it is conceded that those norms would not be enforceable by an international court or other international organ. To say that it does not exist because it is not of the enforceable variety, might blind students of international law to another dimension of the landscape of international practice. Soft law does not translate to soft obligations in the reality of international society, and it seems to be some confusion surrounding the obligations conceived by it. The research here presented suggests that its political and legal power is substantial. The researched examples do not display any real private legal authority in soft law. This is because soft law is found to be a separate phenomenon from international law proper. However, soft law’s impact on national governments combined with the wider acceptance of the presence of private actors in the creation of soft law suggests that private power is noteworthy in comparison. In one of the studied examples, the soft law is concluded by private business representatives solely, but in requiring the status of soft law it is dependant on the recognition of the international and national legal bodies.</p>

In a time when a host of new and untested democracies seek membership in international organisations founded on liberal norms, the question of how to include new members without jeopardizing community values has become of growing concern, particularly as the regulation of practices in sovereign states often relies on soft moral or political commitment rather than on hard legal obligation. The Council of Europe’s (CoE) monitoring of new members after entry represents a soft method of socialising newcomers. In the case of Ukraine, this process has been unusually difficult, and full of strife and open confrontation. This experience runs contrary to the belief that soft regulation is either harmonic or impossible. The aim of the thesis is to explore how a regulated process of inclusion develops over time, and to discuss how such a process can safeguard community values. The study shows that an interactive dynamic developed between the European and the Ukrainian levels. The political struggle in Ukraine was, through the actions of the political opposition in Ukraine and the CoE’s monitors, transformed into a contest in the CoE over how to interpret Ukraine’s membership promises. European values were protected by the evolution of a mode of governance based on responsiveness to local concerns and on public discussion. In the process, the legal and political systems of the CoE and Ukraine were intertwined in ever more complex webs of dialogue. By being grounded in both the Ukrainian and European political discourses, the process was able to sustain a critical discussion on the terms of the agreement and maintain its relevance for the actors involved. The monitoring process displays how community values and autonomy of a member state can be combined in an unexpected way without resulting in a hierarchical order. This may not fulfil the requirements of the international rule of law, but it is clearly a case of soft and responsive transnational regulation of state practices.