This examination of the common law obligation of good faith in the performance and enforcement of commercial contracts in Australia seeks to achieve a number of objectives. First, to chart the historical development of the implied good faith obligation. Secondly, to identify a number of issues that remain unresolved at Australian lower court level. Thirdly, to consider five doctrinal approaches that could be adopted by the High Court when ultimately confronted by the competing claims and tensions that have proven divisive in the courts below. Fourthly, to assess each approach against three identified benchmarks. The essential thesis is that good faith should be implied, as a matter of law, in commercial contracts that are relational in nature with an additional call being made for the High Court to explicitly recognise that the underlying basis of the implied good faith obligation is the reasonable expectations of the contractual parties. This approach is the one approach that satisfies all three benchmarks and provides the most satisfactory resolution of the issues that presently bedevil the commercial good faith debate in Australia.

The thesis in question is titled “Readjusting Orthodoxy”. It constitutes a discourse in UK constitutional law although legal theoretic, historical, politicial, philosophical, and EU-related complementary themes are also present. It is founded upon, and driven by, two fundamental, inter-related premises. First, that it is the orthodox reading of the UK Constitution which best describes and explains the present constitutional arrangement: the UK Parliament is a sovereign institution sitting at the apex of the UK Constitution and vested with the right to make and unmake any law whatsoever. In the second place, that, notwithstanding the above, this very reading of the UK Constitution is currently deficient in terms of internal cohesion, is plagued by ingrained anachronistic dogmas and enjoys only a limited adaptability. From these premises emerges a third proposition; namely, that the UK constitutional discourse as a whole would stand to lose greatly should alternative constitutional theories that are less suited to describe and explain the current constitutional arrangement replace the orthodox reading of the Constitution by exploiting these conspicuous drawbacks. Thus, the present treatise argues that the orthodox reading should after critical evaluation be readjusted in the various ways to be proposed so as to be rendered coherent, consistent, impervious to the numerous challenges it currently faces and, ultimately, capable of continuing to offer the canonical account of the ever-changing UK Constitution.

The dissertation deals with legal, accounting and taxation aspects of liquidation of trading corporations. Based on an analysis, it evaluates aspects in the liquidation process of trading corporations under the conditions of the Czech Republic´s legislation. It provides an outline of the liquidation process and the liquidator´s activities, it points out legislative changes and hazard moments of the liquidation process.

An important change wrought by the post-1994 South African Constitutions is the attempt to have South Africa recognised as a democratic and sovereign state in the "family of nations." The new Constitutions make extensive reference to the state's international obligations and represent an endeavour to [re]define the status of international law vis-a-vis national law. Some provisions utilise international law in the interpretation and formulation of national jurisprudence and represent an [albeit not totally successful] endeavour to attain greater harmonisation between international and national law. This is an attempt to systematize the various criticisms levelled against these provisions to date, and to highlight certain interpretational difficulties and problems that present themselves in the process. The distinction between the various terminologies and branches of international law is also taken to task. Lastly, this paper attempts to determine the extent to which international law is applied at national level under the post-1994 constitutions. / Jurisprudence / LL. M.

The bulk of the matrimonial property regimes operating in Botswana were inherited from the country's colonial past. Since independence there ha'> not been any realistic attempt to reform them. The thesis set out to appraisal the legal regimes governing the determination of matrimonial property on divorce to ascertain their efficacy in realising the legitimate aspiration of married couples. Comparisons were made with similar countries to determine how these have tackled problems relating to determination of matrimonial property on divorce. The study found that where there is a dispute about matrimonial property in marriages out of community, the courts have no discretion to readjust the rights of the parties. This situation adversely affect nonworking wives who spent most of their time looking after their husbands and children without being able to acquire capital assets. Recognition is not given to such domestic contribution to the welfare of the family. It was also found that the exercise of the marital power by husbands of marriages in community of property deprives wives of those marriages the right to administer the joint estate. The patriarchal nature of customary law, which governs the majority of disputes about matrimonial property, discriminates against women. Consequently, the following, inter alia, are suggested as reform measures. (a) The courts should be g1ven a wide discretionary power, circumscribed by statutory guidelines, to reallocate matrimonial property on divorce irrespective of the matrimonial property regime that governs the marriage. TI1e underlying principle should be equality of sharing but this may be departed from where the circumstances of the particular case warrant it (b) A spouse's domestic contribution towards the welfare of the family should be recognised. (c) The marital power of husbands should be abolished. (d) The provisions of the Matrimonial Causes Act should be made applicable to customary marriages. / Private Law / LL.D.

A brief analysis of South African Law relating to intoxication as a defence prior to 1988 is given. This is followed by an in-depth discussion and evaluation of the statutory crime created by section 1 (1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1 of 1988. Various points of criticism against the wording of section 1 (1) as well as the problems with regard to its application in practice are set out. In conclusion a draft for a new, more effective wording for section 1 (1) is given / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M. (Criminal & Procedural Law)

This study examines the role of customary courts in the delivery of justice in South Sudan. In doing so, it analyses the legal background, the hierarchy and composition of the customary courts. The considerations behind the constitutional recognition of the customary law courts in the current constitutional dispensation and the jurisdiction of customary courts are limited to customary matters and only criminal cases with a customary interface. It is noted that the customary Judges do not only exercise judicial functions but also play executive and legislative functions which contravene the constitutional principle of separation of powers. Reconciliation and compensation are noted as the major principles applied in the customary law courts. The major concern is that most practices in the customary law courts violate fundamental human rights. / Public, Constitutional and International Law / LL. M.

Le développement des relations économiques internationales et la construction d’un espace européen intégré tant d’un point de vue économique que politique a relancé le débat sur la nationalité des sociétés. La question n’est pas tant de savoir si les sociétés commerciales disposent d’une nationalité au même titre que les personnes physiques – les solutions en la matière sont depuis longtemps acceptées par la doctrine et la jurisprudence internationales – mais plutôt de déterminer comment cette notion a évolué et s’adapte aux contraintes d’une part, d’une économie de marché mondialisée et d’autre part, du droit de l’Union européenne qui bouleverse les solutions traditionnellement admises en matière de nationalité des sociétés dans les droits internes des Etats membres. Ainsi, les critères de rattachement juridique d’une société à un Etat déterminés par les règles de droit international privé de chaque Etat s’orientent inéluctablement vers le critère anglo-saxon de l’incorporation. L’apparition de nouvelles personnes morales de droit de l’UE comme la Société européenne (SE) ou la future Société privée européenne (SPE) posent également la question de la nationalité et de la loi applicable à ce type de groupement européen. Il en est de même s’agissant des groupes de sociétés dont une réglementation de leurs activités pourrait être relancée dans le cadre du droit de l’UE. / The development of international economic relations and the construction of an integrated European area, both from an economic and a political point of view, has revived the debate on the nationality of trading companies. The question is not so much whether trading companies have a nationality on an equal footing with natural persons – solutions have long been accepted by international doctrine and jurisprudence – but rather to determine how this notion has evolved and adapted to the constraints on the one hand, of a globalized market economy and, on the other hand, of European Union law which overturns the traditionally accepted solutions of nationality of trading companies into the legal systems of Member States. Thus, the criteria for the legal connection of a company to a State determined by the rules of private international law of each Member State are inevitably directed towards the Anglo-Saxon criterion of incorporation. The emergence of new European Union legal entities such as the European Company or the future European Private Company also raises the issue of nationality and the law applicable to this type of European legal entities. The same applies to groups of companies whose regulation of their activities could be revived under European Union law.

In my thesis I tried to look into the issue of state property settlement with churches. This issue stirs public opinion in our society since the mid-nineties. The first chapter endeavours to discover the fundamental principles of the performance of the church in the past. Covering from property acquisition, through its management to the semantic role of property in general. Last but not least, it tries to describe the economic situation of the largest church in Czech Republic - Roman Catholic. The second part seeks to describe the events of nationalization of church property in February 1948, under the applicable legislation from that period. It also gives some insight into other forms of expropriation. The third chapter explore insight into the legislative process of state property settlement with churches and discusses the pros and cons of the problem in general. The fourth and fifth chapter deals with the theoretical question of valuation, valuation methods or valuation regulations. The final section summarizes the control mechanisms, which will protect the recovered property from depreciation in value.

Les régimes spéciaux de sécurité sociale des fonctionnaires nourrissent la mythologie française. Leur simple évocation fait généralement l’unanimité, que l’on en parle comme d’avantages acquis, de privilèges catégoriels ou de rémanences du passé. Qualifier juridiquement la protection sociale des fonctionnaires de régime spécial de sécurité sociale présente pourtant certains biais. La notion de « régime » implique une relative cohérence d’ensemble. L’intégration dans la « sécurité sociale » induit le respect des mêmes principes et modes de fonctionnement que l’institution. Le qualificatif « spécial » laisse à penser que ledit régime entretient un rapport de spécial à commun avec le régime général. Ces trois items n’en sont pas moins contestables. La protection sociale des fonctionnaires est une construction itérative, étalée sur plus d’un siècle, où prestations et garanties reposent chacune sur une logique qui lui est propre. Un large pan de cette protection sociale consiste en une couverture administrative, endossée directement par les employeurs publics. Le régime général n’est pas le droit commun de la sécurité sociale. Cela étant dit, c’est une autre étude de la sécurité sociale en général et de la protection sociale des fonctionnaires en particulier qui peut débuter. Le tout pour conclure à une crise d’identités : c’est dans son intégration à la sécurité sociale que la protection sociale des fonctionnaires parvient le mieux à exprimer sa singularité ; mais c’est parce que la protection sociale des fonctionnaires tend à être assimilée à la sécurité sociale qu’il convient d’en admettre la relativité. / Special social security schemes for civil servants belong to the French mythology. Their mention is usually embraced by all, which is spoken of as long-acquired habits, categorical privileges or afterimages of the past. Legally qualify social protection of the civil servants of special social security schemes raise questions. The concept of « scheme » implies a relative overall consistency. The integration to the « social security » means to respect the same principles and operating modes as the rest of the institution. The adjective « special » suggests that the scheme has the same relationship to general scheme as special law to ordinary law. These three items are questionable. Social protection of the civil servants is an iterative construction, spread over more than a century, where the benefits and guarantees each based on its proper logic. A large part of this social protection consists of an administrative cover, endorsed by public employers. The general scheme is not the ordinary social security law. That being said, this is another study of social security in general and social protection of the civil servants in particular who can begin. All for finding an identity crisis: with its integration to social security, social protection of the civil servants succeeds in expressing its uniqueness; but it’s because this social protection tends to be equated with social security that relativity may be deduced from it.