El presente trabajo tiene por finalidad desarrollar el tema del control gubernamental en la Actividad Empresarial del Estado, con énfasis en la identificación de responsabilidades en materia administrativa, civil y penal de los trabajadores de las empresas del Estado, en su condición de funcionarios públicos. Cabe acotar, que el alcance del trabajo de investigación está circunscrito a las empresas del Estado del Gobierno Central, sometidas al Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento de la Actividad Empresarial -FONAFE y PETROPERU, especialmente aquellas que prestan un servicio público o realizan la gestión económica en la provisión de bienes y servicios, encontrándose excluidas las empresas estatales regionales y municipales. Asimismo, este tema es analizado desde el punto de vista del Derecho Administrativo, pues esta rama del Derecho constituye el principal instrumento del Poder del Estado, y además ha desarrollado profusamente el tema de las empresas estatales, ya que la creación de estas organizaciones responden a la decisión de la Administración Pública de actuar como empresario utilizando las formas jurídicas societarias para alcanzar sus fines públicos, aunque se ajusten más a criterios de carácter privado, en cuando a la flexibilidad y congruencia para modular la gestión productiva. Sobre este tema, específicamente se plantea que el marco legal vigente al cual se encuentran sujetas las empresas estatales tomen en cuenta su naturaleza mixta por el carácter público y privado que ostentan y que las hacen diferentes de las otras entidades de la Administración Pública; pues a partir de comprender ello, el Sistema Nacional de Control fiscalizará su gestión de modo tal que el resultado de su labor de control cautele los recursos que el Estado invirtió en sus empresas. / Tesis

This thesis examines the social mediation of a transnational educational programme, namely the University of London’s International (External) Undergraduate Laws Programme. The thesis explores the lived experiences of a variety of stakeholders – university academics, frontline teaching staff and students - in the context of historical legacy and current development. The University of London’s International (External) programmes is one of the oldest forms of distance education, and the Undergraduate Laws Programme is the second largest subscribed programme and represent the fundamental academic legal education for the legal profession in numerous countries. With the separation of teaching, assessment and award as the distinguishing feature consequential to the origins of the University of London its legacy results in multitude stakeholders with vested interests in each aspect. The thesis seeks to understand the motivations behind and implications resulting from the various stakeholders’ experiences through an analysis of their narratives gleaned from interviews and data recorded from observations. Is there a distinct identity and culture within each group of stakeholders which has developed through the evolution of the programme? Can a pattern or theory of teaching and learning unique to the programme be identified and if so, what kind of impact has that had on legal education? The possibility of identifying existing and/or emerging communities of practice within and across each group of stakeholders is a recurring theme discussed on the basis that the theory of situated learning within a community of practice is a form of active learning; an objective which the University of London has sought to actively achieve since 2005. By building an ethnography of the various stakeholders, the thesis explores a formerly under researched aspect of undergraduate legal education and acts as a prompt for future areas of research in the areas of legal and distance education.

The protection of consumers of financial services has attracted a lot of debates following the global financial crisis of 2007 to 2009. As a result, there have been series of reforms in a number of jurisdictions across the globe. Despite this development some countries still lag behind and Nigeria is no exception. This study examines the problems of consumer protection in Nigeria, with specific reference to the bank consumers. The aim is to consider whether the Nigeria consumer protection regime provides "sufficient protection to bank consumers and whether it should be reformed". The study also focuses on the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in consumer protection, its dispute resolution mechanism and the practical challenges. The test of sufficiency will be analysed and discussed, using 'consistency', 'efficiency' and 'accessibility' in order to illustrate the existing weaknesses in resolving consumer dispute. The approach in this study is doctrinal analysis. In all, the findings suggest that there is need, to reform the consumer protection regime in the banking sector and enforce laws which will address issues highlighted in the study to enable the users of banking services in Nigeria to obtain an appropriate level of protection through regulatory processes. This study, therefore, also provides a comparative analysis between United Kingdom and Nigeria, using current consumer protection framework in the United Kingdom in making proposals for the needed reforms in Nigeria. The study thus concludes with the recommendation that the current Nigerian consumer protection regime does not offer adequate protection; hence protecting consumers require a holistic approach which includes effective consumer protection framework, enforcement, coordination and cooperation from different stakeholders.

This dissertation draws on criminology, social and developmental psychology and urban sociology in order to understand how contextual, situational and individual characteristics contribute to young people's relationships with and attitudes toward the police. The study's key question is: is ethnicity salient for understanding people's views of the police in Hackney? In answering this question, I adopt Bronfenbrenner's (1979) systemic framework, which proposes that the developing individual is embedded within a complex structure of influences that shape perceptions and behaviours. This mixed-methods study examines different aspects of the relationships between the police and ethnic minorities in the London Borough of Hackney using qualitative (interviews with community leaders and focus groups with secondary school pupils) and quantitative (surveys) research methods. I explore different levels of association with the police (community and individual) based on the understanding that cultures and historical attitudes influence community/police relationships. I also explore different modes of contact (direct and vicarious) within different settings (neighbourhood and school). I examine the applicability of the 'race and ethnicity' paradigm in explaining current police/minority dynamics by taking a nuanced view of these often artificially broadened categories. I consider other influences, such us social groupings and history of migration as well as community assets of collective efficacy and organisational capacity. The empirical work presented here links knowledge construction about the police to identity processes in order to help understand communities' attitudes generally, and children's specifically. As such, it provides insight into the process of legal socialisation. I explore the relationship between general attitudes about the police (in schools under the Safer School Partnerships scheme and in neighbourhoods) and specific attitudes, including police legitimacy, treatment, performance and pupils' willingness to help them (Tyler, 2006). I find that ethnic background has a limited relationship to general attitudes toward the police, with the exception of Black African pupils, indicating that the use of knowledge about the police interacts with identity development processes for some but not for others. Age, social capital, pupils' association with crime and contact with the police are more reliably related to attitudes toward the police. Surprisingly, I find that migrant pupils and those who are recipients of free meals hold more positive attitudes to the police in school than their counterparts. I find that young people's opinions of the police are more strongly linked to school police officers' performance than fair treatment. While this is a case study, it has implications for theory, practice and policy beyond Hackney, specifically relating to police legitimacy and policing ethnic minorities and young people in ethnically diverse locales.

Values matter in both legal decision (lawmaking and lawapplying) and discourse (lawshaping and lawinfluencing). Yet, their purported subjectivity means that gaining or improving knowledge about values (whether they be epistemic, legal, moral, ethical, economic, political, cultural, social, or religious) in the context of analytic legal thought and understanding is often said to be at odds with its goal of objectivity. This phenomenon is amplified at the international level where the infusion of seemingly subjective political values by sovereigns, and the decisionmakers to whom they delegate, can, and does, interfere with an idealized and objective rule of law. The discourse on value subjectivity, and its relation to the purpose and function of the law, is particularly apparent in evolving international legal orders such as investment treaty arbitration. The primary aim of this work is to provide a new method for gaining empirical knowledge about value subjectivity that can help close a weak link in all nonpositivist (value-laden) legal theory: a weakness that has manifest itself as skepticism about the possibility of measuring value objectively enough to permit its incorporation as a necessary component of analytic jurisprudence. This work proposes a theory of configurative fairness for addressing the problem related to the development or evolution of legal regimes, and how legal regimes perceived as subjectively unfair can be remedied. Such a theory accepts the premise that perceptions of fairness matter in directing the way that legal orders develop, and that perceptions of fairness relate to the manner in which values are distributed and maximized in particular legal orders. It is posited that legal orders perceived as fair by their participants are more likely to be endorsed or accepted as legally binding (and are therefore more likely to comply with the processes and outcomes that such laws mandate). The purpose of a theory of configurative fairness is an attempt to provide a methodological bridge for improving knowledge about value in the context of legal inquiry through the employment of a technique called Q methodology: an epistemological and empirical means for the measurement and mapping of human subjectivity. It is a method that was developed in the early twentieth century by physicist-psychologist William Stephenson: the last research student of the inventor of factor analysis, Charles Spearman. What Stephenson did was to create a way for systematically measuring subjective perspectives, and although not previously used in jurisprudential thought, Q methodology will facilitate a means for the description and evaluation of shared subjectivities. In the context of law generally, and in investment treaty arbitration specifically, these are the subjectivities that manifest themselves as the conflicting perspectives about value that are omnipresent in both communicative lawshaping discourse and authoritative and controlling lawmaking and lawapplying decision. Knowledge about these shared value subjectivities among participants in investment treaty arbitration will allow the legal analyst to delineate and clarify points of overlapping consensus about the desired distribution of value as they relate to the regime-building issues of evolving legal orders. The focus for a theory of configurative fairness pertains to the identification of the various value positions that participants hold about a particular legal order and to configure those values, through its rules and principles, in a manner that is acceptable (and perceived as fair) by all of its participants. If such a value consensus can be identified, then particular rules in the legal order can be configured by decisionmakers in a way so as to satisfy participants’ shared value understandings. To engage such a theory, a means for identifying shared value subjectivities must be delineated. This work conducts a Q method study on the issues under debate relating to regime-building questions in investment treaty arbitration. The Q method study asked participants knowledgeable about investment treaty arbitration to rank-order a set of statements about the way that the values embraced by this legal order ought to be configured. The results of the study demonstrate that there is significant overlap about how participants in investment treaty arbitration perceive the desired distribution of values across the regime. The Q method study identified six distinct perspectives that represent shared subjectivities about value in the context of the development of investment treaty arbitration. The Q method study was also able to identify where there is an overlapping consensus about value distribution across the distinct perspectives. It is these areas of overlapping consensus that are most likely to reflect shared value understandings, and it is proposed that it is upon these shared value understandings that the future development of investment treaty arbitration ought to aim.

Mestrado em Direito / Law / Esta tese tem como objecto o regime da comunicação prévia, introduzido em Portugal pelo Decreto-Lei nº 29/2008, de 25 de Fevereiro, e insere-se no âmbito do combate ao planeamento fiscal abusivo. O objecto do presente estudo é examinar o contexto, as características e as principais questões fiscais que originaram e decorrem do regime da comunicação prévia e questionar se o combate ao planeamento fiscal abusivo justifica ou não uma disposição especial anti-abuso que poderá também ela ser considerada abusiva. Este estudo realiza ainda uma análise comparada desta medida especial anti-abuso, com medida idêntica no Reino Unido, país cuja Lei inspirou de forma mais expressiva a Lei Portuguesa. Este estudo centra-se na análise crítica do regime da comunicação prévia e identifica as principais questões suscitadas pelas suas regras, avalia as suas vantagens e fragilidades e retira conclusões sobre a eficácia, clareza e o rigor desta medida antiabuso. Além disso, este estudo analisa a compatibilização do regime da comunicação prévia, com o segredo profissional. Neste estudo conclui-se que é verdade que o regime da comunicação prévia, apresenta as mais diversas debilidades, devido, essencialmente, ao legislador Português, que vão desde falhas notórias de rigor e precisão, à falta de razoabilidade e ponderação, e que foram aqui, deveras, analisadas. Todavia, conclui-se também que este regime, recebendo as merecidas correcções, representará, como actualmente representa, um mecanismo de grande utilidade para a Administração Fiscal, no combate ao planeamento fiscal abusivo, que só assumindo uma posição igualmente agressiva, poderá, pelo menos para já, tentar repor a integridade do sistema fiscal, a justa distribuição do encargo tributário e a pureza da actividade económica. / This paper examines the consequences of the disclosure rule regime, introduced in Portugal by the Decree-Law no 29/2008, February, 25, in the context of the fight against aggressive tax planning. The purpose of this study is to analyse the background, characteristics and main tax questions arising from the disclosure rule regime. Moreover, this study aims to determine if the fight against the tax planning justifies or not a specific anti-avoidance rule, which may be considered aggressive. This study also presents a comparative analysis of this specific anti-avoidance rule, with the same rule in force in the United Kingdom, which has strongly inspired the Portuguese law. Focusing on the critical analysis of the disclosure rules regime, this paper identifies the main questions raised by its rules, evaluates its advantages and disadvantages and concludes on the efficiency, accuracy and transparency of this specific anti-avoidance rule. Besides that, this paper analyses the compatibility of the disclosure rule regime with the professional secrecy. Based on the analysis performed, we may conclude that the disclosure rule regim has a lot of weaknesses. The intensive analysis undertaken uncovers notorious failures of accuracy and precision and demonstrates lack of reasonableness as thoughtfulness that populates the legislation created by the Portuguese legislator. However, we may also conclude that with the deserved corrections, this regime will represent (as actually represents) a useful instrument to the Tax Authorities in the fight against abusive tax planning. Only by assuming a position equally aggressive, at least until now, the Tax Authorities may try to restore the tax system integrity, the fair distribution of taxes and the purity of the economic activity.

Mestrado em Direito / Law / O capital de risco e o financiamento bancário são duas fontes de financiamento à disposição das empresas portuguesas. O financiamento bancário constitui um dos recursos de financiamento mais procurado pelas empresas. No entanto, nos tempos que correm, as empresas deparam-se com diversas dificuldades no acesso a este instrumento. Por esta razão, torna-se necessário equacionar alternativas de financiamento, como por exemplo, o capital de risco. O presente estudo pretende avaliar, numa perspectiva qualitativa, quais os custos e os benefícios jurídicos e económicos do capital de risco e do financiamento bancário, e qual o seu impacto nas empresas portuguesas. Na prossecução destes objectivos, procedeu-se a uma contextualização jurídica destes dois tipos de financiamento. No nosso ordenamento jurídico existem diversas técnicas de concessão de crédito, que podem ser úteis para as empresas, como é o caso do leasing. No que concerne ao enquadramento legal do capital de risco, este não oferece obstáculos significativos ao desenvolvimento da actividade de capital de risco. O tratamento fiscal, em sede de benefícios fiscais, revela-se desajustado, sobretudo no que diz respeito à actividade dos business angels. Tendo por escopo o alcance efectivo dos objectivos traçados, elaborou-se um questionário que permitisse recolher a informação necessária para a análise. Este mesmo questionário visou a obtenção de dados respeitantes, particularmente, aos custos e benefícios jurídico-económicos da participação do capital de risco e do financiamento bancário nas empresas inquiridas. Por outro lado, este instrumento permitiu obter outros dados, tais como as dificuldades enfrentadas no acesso ao financiamento, a atractividade do capital de risco, entre outros, em confrontação com o financiamento bancário. Os resultados alcançados sugerem que um dos principais benefícios do capital de risco e do financiamento bancário é o reconhecimento de novas oportunidades para as empresas. De acordo com os resultados, os custos do capital de risco advêm, sobretudo, da relação entre o empreendedor e o capitalista de risco. No que concerne ao financiamento bancário, os resultados apontam que o fornecimento de garantias patrimoniais e/ou pessoais representa um dos principais custos para as empresas. A presente investigação evidencia que o capital de risco pode ser decisivo para a existência de algumas empresas. O estudo também revela que este instrumento é uma boa opção de financiamento para as empresas portuguesas, sobretudo atendendo às actuais condições de acesso ao financiamento. Não obstante, o estudo demonstra que determinados instrumentos bancários poderão ser úteis enquanto fontes complementares. Por fim, dada a reduzida dimensão da amostra, considera-se que não é representativa. Por esta razão, os resultados da investigação devem ser atendidos com precaução e carecem de ser confirmados, em pesquisas futuras, que comportem uma amostra constituída por um maior número de observações. / Venture capital and bank financing are two sources of finance at Portuguese enterprises disposal. The bank financing is one of the financing resources that is most sought by the Portuguese enterprises. However, nowadays, the enterprises face a series of difficulties in what concerns the access to this resource. Thus, it is necessary to consider financing alternatives, such as the venture capital. This study aims to evaluate, on a qualitative perspective, which are the economic and legal costs and benefits of the venture capital and of the bank financing, and also its impact on the Portuguese enterprises. In order to accomplish such objectives, both types of financing were contextualized in the national legal framework. In our legal system there are several kinds of granting loans techniques, which may be useful for the enterprises. Leasing is an example of this fact. The legal framework for the venture capital does not pose significant obstacles to the development of its activity. The fiscal treatment, mainly tax benefits, is, however, not adjusted, especially to business angels. Having as a purpose the effective attainment of the outlined objectives, a questionnaire, that allowed gathering the information needed for analysis, was prepared. This questionnaire aimed to obtain data concerning, particularly, the legal-economic costs and benefits for the participation of the venture capital and the bank financing in the inquired enterprises. On the other hand, this instrument allowed the collection of other data, such as the difficulties that were faced when attempting the access to finance and the attractiveness of venture capital, and other more, when compared to bank financing. The obtained results suggest that one of the benefits of both venture capital and bank financing is the recognition of new opportunities to enterprises. According to the obtained results, the costs of venture capital proceed mainly of the relation between the venture capitalist and the entrepreneur. In what concerns the bank financing, the results suggest that the providence of patrimonial and/or personal warranties is one of the main costs to enterprises. The present research demonstrates that venture capital can be decisive to some enterprises existence. The results also show that this instrument is a good financing option for the Portuguese enterprises, especially in the present conditions for the access to finance.

Mestrado em Direito / Law / O presente trabalho versa sobre o mecanismo processual denominado de reversão fiscal, como forma de efectivar a responsabilidade subsidiária dos gerentes e administradores. Ora, fazer uma análise deste mecanismo processual implica, obrigatoriamente, analisar a supra referida responsabilidade. Debruçar-nos-emos, assim, sobre a reversão como forma de concretizar a responsabilidade subsidiária tributária e a sua (in)aplicabilidade à epigrafada responsabilidade civil pelas multas e coimas . / This current work is about the processual mechanism entitled of tax reversion , as a way to fulfill the subsidiary liability of executive managers and administrators. Therefore, withdrawing an analysis of the above mentioned processual mechanism implies, mandatorily, to analyze the liability that the same consolidates. Let s then focus on the tax reversion as a way to consolidate the tributary subsidiary liability and its inapplicability to the inscribed civil responsibility as an outcome of fines .

No description available.

Mestrado em Direito / Law / A vida comercial, as relações próprias que se estabelecem no domínio mercantil e a estrutura complexa em que se desenrola a actividade económica suscitam, com alguma facilidade, o surgimento de situações de aparência, isto é, situações em que o que é perceptível não tem correspondência com a real situação jurídica. É, pois, a problemática da representação aparente nas relações mercantis o objecto deste estudo. São pontos obrigatórios dessa abordagem a confiança e a boa fé. De facto, a percepção do problema passa pela apreensão destes três vectores: aparência, confiança e boa fé. A aparência jurídica é o ponto de partida para a protecção daquele que está de boa fé e é a confiança que este deposita na situação de aparência que justifica a sua protecção. Pretendemos, pois, perceber que relevo é dado à aparência nas relações comerciais, os interesses em conflito, e, numa abordagem mais particular da representação aparente, analisar os mecanismos de protecção disponibilizados ao terceiro e as normas em causa. Sem a pretensão de chegar a certezas absolutas, desde logo atenta a divergência doutrinal e jurisprudencial quanto ao problema, pretendemos apreender que protecção é dada à aparência criada nas relações comerciais e em que medida se justifica e é possível a extensão da tutela do terceiro que confia no representante aparente para lá da letra da lei. / The commercial life, the relationships that establish themselves in the field and commercial complex structure that unfolds to raise economic activity, with some ease, the emergence of situations of appearance, that is, situations in which what is perceived is not matched with the actual legal situation. It is therefore apparent the issue of representation in commercial relations the subject of this study. Points of this approach are required trust and good faith. In fact, the perception of the problem is the apprehension of these three elements: appearance, confidence and good faith. The appearance is the legal starting point for the protection of that which is in good faith and is confident that this situation places on appearance that justifies its protection. We intend, therefore, to understand the importance that is given to appearance in trade relations, conflicting interests, and approach a particular representation apparently, to analyse the mechanisms of protection available to the third and the standards concerned. Without intending to reach absolute certainty from the outset given the doctrinal and jurisprudential disagreement about the problem, we intend to grasp that protection is given to the impression created in trade relations and to what extent is justified and is it possible to extend the authority of the third trust representative in apparent beyond the letter of the law.