"In the past 40 years these various procedures and outputs of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty System (UNHRTS) have gradually become sophisticated, developed and strengthened. It has made contributions to the promotion and protection of human rights. Despite its achievements, however, it also faces serious challenges and weaknesses, which induces some insider commentators to evaluate it as 'a system in crisis' and to criticise the whole system as one that urgently needs 'a complete overhaul'. From time to time, several proposals were made to improve the situation. However, the underlying problems persisted. Thus further and radical calls for re-organisation of the monitoring mechanism of the UNHRTS into a Unified and Standing Treaty Monitoring Body (USTMB) was made very recently. A further call for consolidation was made more explicit subsequently. In March 2006 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has issued a Concept Paper proposing to consolidate the current treaty monitoring bodies (TMBs) into a USTMB in an attempt to address the persistent problems the UNHTRS monitoring mechanism has been facing. A proposal regarded as too radical by many insiders of the UNHRTS. In view of the serious weaknesses of the UNHRTS monitoring mechanism, the initiated reform is a positive step. However, in seeking to introduce reform, and particularly within the UNHRTS, great caution is important not to throw the baby with water in the reform process. There is real concern about squandering, in the name of reform, the progress achieved over the last decades. In order to introduce an effective reform, it is important to be aware of [what] has worked and what has not, and make strategic choices based on these insights. In view of the proposed USTMB as a solution to the weakness of the system, balancing the reform initiative so that it will inherit the positive legacies while redressing the weakness is, therefore, a major contemporary concern." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2006. / Prepared under the supervision of Mr. E.Y. Benneh at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

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Das Demokratieprinzip ist im Völkerrecht verankert. Seine normativen Grundlagen sind zum einen das Vertragsrecht, insbesondere der Internationale Pakt über bürgerliche und politische Rechte, sowie die regionalen Verankerungen in Europa und in Amerika durch die Satzungen der jeweiligen internationaler Organisationen und ihrer Menschenrechtsinstrumente. Substantielle vertragliche Verpflichtungen ergeben sich auch aus den bilateralen Verträgen der EG. Zum anderen fußt es auf der Staatenpraxis, insbesondere im Rahmen der UNO. So ist die internationale Gemeinschaft auf die Errichtung demokratischer Strukturen verpflichtet, wenn sie staatliche Funktionen in failed states übernimmt oder den Wiederaufbau eines Staatswesens begleitet. Die Demokratieresolutionen der UNO lassen erkennen, daß alle Staaten verpflichtet sind, das Ziel der Demokratie anzustreben und erreichte demokratische Errungenschaften zu gewährleisten. Das Demokratieprinzip beinhaltet normativ die Legitimation staatlichen Handelns durch freie Wahlen und die Absicherung durch Menschenrechte, Gewaltenteilung und Rechtsstaatlichkeit. Staatliche Entscheidungen bedürfen daher einer legitimierenden Rückbindung an den frei geäußerten Willen des konstituierenden Staatsvolkes, wobei die Freiheit dieser Willensäußerung in dynamischer Perspektive die Freiheit der Willensänderung garantiert. Sowohl der Vertragsschluß als Akt staatlichen Handelns als auch der Inhalt des Vertrages bedürfen der Legitimation, und zwar über die Zeit hinweg. Das geltende Völkervertragsrecht berücksichtigt das Demokratieprinzip jedoch nur unzureichend. Die Verletzung innerstaatlichen Rechts beim Vertragsschluß kann nur eingeschränkt geltend gemacht werden. Es existiert auch kein Verfahren, mit dem die fortdauernde Legitimation eines Vertrages überprüft werden könnte. Angesichts der Zunahme von Verträgen, die innere Angelegenheiten der Gesellschaften regeln, bedarf das Spannungsverhältnis einer Lösung. Das Problem wird illustriert durch Frankreichs Ausstieg aus der NATO, Senegals Kündigung der Seerechtskonventionen, den Streit um den deutschen Atomausstieg, das Verfahren um den Donaustaudamm Gabcíkovo Nagymaros, die Frage der Vereinbarkeit von Drogenkonsumräumen mit den UN-Anti-Drogenkonventionen, das Schiedsverfahren zwischen Aminoil und Kuwait sowie der Kündigung des ABM-Vertrages durch die USA. Ein erster Ansatz zur Lösung kann in einer Neuinterpretation der völkervertragsrechtlichen Regeln liegen. So bietet sich der Grundsatz der "demokratiefreundlichen Interpretation" an. Internes Recht, das der Kontrolle der Exekutive dient, muß beim Vertragsschluß Berücksichtigung finden. Und Verträgen, die "innere Angelegenheiten" betreffen, kann ein implizites Kündigungsrecht zugebilligt werden. Der wesentliche Ansatz ist aber kautelarjuristischer Natur. Revisions-, Experimentier- und Kündigungsklauseln können bei der Abfassung von Verträgen die Vertragsbeziehung so ausgestalten, daß zukünftige Meinungsänderungen berücksichtigt werden können. Schließlich ist de lege ferenda ein Recht auf Revision, kombiniert mit einem subsidiären Kündigungsrecht, wünschenswert. Mit einem solchen Mechanismus könnten neue normative Lösungen eingeführt werden und die Legitimation bestehender Normen auf den Prüfstand gestellt werden. / International law provides for a democratic principle. It is based both on treaty law and customary law. The International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights as well as the regional treaties in Europe and the Americas - the statutes of the respective regional organisations and their human rights instruments - form a substantial body of treaty obligations toward democracy, which is complemented by bilateral treaties of the EC safeguarding democracy. State practice, especially within the framework of the UN, indicates an obligation to establish democratic structures whenever the international community takes upon itself the task of nation building in failed states. The democracy resolutions of the UN point out that all member states are obliged to strive for democracy and uphold democratic achievements so far. The normative democratic principle includes the legitimation of public affairs through free and fair elections and the guarantee of human rights, separation of powers and the rule of law. Acts of states therefore must be legitimised through the freely expressed will of the people. Under a dynamic perspective, the free will includes the possibility for changes of policy. The conclusion of treaties as an act of state as well as the content of the treaty as a rule of law need to be legitimised through the times. The current law of treaties does not acknowledge the democratic principle, however. Violations of internal law at the conclusion of a treaty can only be claimed to a limited extent. Nor does international law provide for a formal procedure to validate the on-going support for the content of the treaty. Facing an ever-growing expansion of the number of treaties dealing with the internal affairs of societies, solutions must be found. The problem is being illustrated by France's withdrawal from NATO, Senegal's withdrawal from the Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea, the dispute related to the question of the use of nuclear energy in Germany, the judgement of the ICJ in the Gabcíkovo-Nagymaros case, the question of the compatibility of drug consumption rooms with UN anti-drug conventions, the dispute settlement award in the Aminoil case and last not least the denunciation of the ABM treaty by the US. Realigning the interpretation of the law of treaties to the democratic principle is one way to deal with the problem. Interpretation of treaties should take into account the democratic principle. Internal law controlling the executive has to be complied with where conclusion of treaties is concerned. And treaties dealing with "internal affairs" can be considered to contain an implicit right of withdrawal or denunciation. The proper solution lies in respecting the democratic principle when drafting treaties, though. Clauses of revision, clauses allowing for experiments and clauses of denunciation or withdrawal help shaping a contractual relationship that can take into account changes of the political will. Last not least, a right of revision is recommended de lege ferenda, combined with a subsidiary right of denunciation or withdrawal. Such a mechanism allows for introducing new normative solutions and for validating the on-going legitimation of existing treaty rules. (See also the English summary at the end of the thesis.)

L’objectif de la présente étude est de documenter la fécondité des Indiennes inscrites au Canada en fonction du traité historique d’affiliation. Les traités historiques sont des ententes légales qui lient le gouvernement du Canada et certains membres des Premières Nations et qui décrivent, notamment, les dispositions prévues à leur égard pour compenser la cession de leurs terres. Mêmes si les traités ont principalement une fonction légale, ils regroupent aussi des individus qui partagent des caractéristiques communes sur le plan culturel, linguistique, socioéconomique, territorial et historique. À partir de données extraites du Registre des Indiens, nous avons produit l’indice synthétique de fécondité (ISF) pour chacune des populations affiliées aux traités historiques pour les périodes 1994-1998, 1999-2003 et 2004-2008. Nous voulions savoir si la fécondité des Indiennes inscrites différait en fonction du traité d’affiliation, si on observait des changements dans le temps et si de grandes tendances pouvaient être identifiées selon les régions couvertes par les traités. Des différences importantes sont relevées, particulièrement entre les traités numérotés qui couvrent les Prairies et les traités de l’est du pays. Étant donné l’absence dans le Registre des Indiens, d’informations sur les caractéristiques sociales, culturelles et économiques des populations affiliées aux différents traités, il n’est pas possible d’avancer des explications précises concernant ces écarts. Toutefois, il est possible de proposer une association entre la fécondité du moment et certaines caractéristiques des populations affiliées aux traités historiques et les dimensions géographique et historique des traités. / This research aims to document the fertility of registered Indians in Canada in relation to their affiliation with historic treaties. The historic treaties are legal agreements, between the government of Canada and certain members of the First Nations, which describe lands surrendered and related compensation. Although the treaties have mainly a legal role, they apply to Indigenous peoples sharing similar characteristics along cultural, linguistic, socioeconomic, territorial and historical lines. We used anonymized data extracted from the Indian Register to produce the total fertility rate (TFR) for the population concerned by each historic treaty for the periods 1994-1998, 1999-2003 and 2004-2008. We wanted to know if the fertility of registered Indians differed by treaty memberships, if we observed changes over time and if notable trends could be identified depending on the regions covered by the treaties. Our analyses show that important differences exist, particularly between the numbered treaties, which cover the Prairies provinces, and the treaties populations of Eastern Canada. Since the data collected by the Indian Register do not contain information on social, cultural and economic characteristics of Indigenous peoples that could explain these differences, it is not possible to develop precise explanations of these variations. However, it is possible to propose an association between the fertility rate and the geographical and historic aspects of the treaties populations.

Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls are denied their right to inherit from their husbands and fathers as a result of the operation of the indigenous law rule of male primogeniture, in terms of which an heir must be male. This violates prohibitions on gender discrimination, as well as other, more specific provisions found in international human rights treaties. However, courts in both South Africa and Zimbabwe have in recent years upheld the rule. States Parties to relevant treaties have an obligation to ensure equal inheritance rights for women and girls. In the case of South Africa, provisions of the Constitution are also relevant. After discussing the operation of the indigenous law of inheritance, the international human rights provisions violated by it, as well as the recommendations of the South African Law Commission and legislative proposals on this issue, the writer suggests that legislation should be adopted to ensure equality for women and girls, while retaining the positive aspects of indigenous law and culture. / Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law / LL. M. (Law)

The study provides a brief overview of the most important legal instruments in the international, regional and national framework on the development and promotion of children’s rights. Basically, it examines the continuous and pervasive violation of children’s rights despite the progressive instruments that have been adopted to ensure the proper and effective realization of these rights. It focuses on three different countries in Africa: South Africa, Ethiopia and Nigeria because of the value-laden nature of the progressive laws adopted by these countries in the protection of children’s rights. Specific roles and actions taken by international, regional and national monitoring bodies are highlighted to indicate their effectiveness in promoting and fulfilling rights for children. Country reports on the situation of children are examined in the context of realization of salient rights for children amidst the different judicial, political and socio-cultural settings. Emerging judgments and judicial developments that have limited and advanced the realization of rights for children in the specific country context were explored. Conclusions and recommendations are made. / Public, Constitutional, & International Law / LLM

租稅協定不僅協調各國間稅收關係並妥善劃分課稅管轄權，進而降低企業全球化經營下所面臨的租稅課徵不確定性。然而國外文獻關於租稅協定對直接投資或海外關係企業活動之成效仍有諸多爭議，且國內仍未有利用長期性個體資料來檢視租稅協定效果的研究，因此本文以 2000 年至 2013年台灣上市公司之海外關係企業的財務資料進行分析。另外，因近年各國日益重視反避稅措施與跨國間稅收的徵管合作，故本文也進一步探討利益限制條款和資訊交換的嚴謹程度對於海外關係企業營運活動之影響。 本文建構三個固定效果模型來分析不平衡追蹤資料，其中模型一分析租稅協定對於海外關係企業營運活動的影響，而模型二檢視利益限制條款是否為其中的重要因素，模型三則分析資訊交換條款的嚴格程度是否影響海外關係企業的營運規模。實證結果顯示不論是租稅協定本身、利益限制或是資訊交換皆為影響台灣上市公司海外關係企業營運活動之重要關鍵。租稅協定的生效不僅造成海外關係企業的銷售額下降，並隨著資訊交換規範越嚴格，其下降的幅度越大。最後，在細分不同產業的條件下，得歸納出租稅協定帶來的效果並不一致之結論。

Les enjeux présentés par la puissance financière des fonds souverains et les réactions politiques des pays d’accueil appellent naturellement à s’interroger sur la façon dont la fiscalité appréhende ces questions. La réponse nécessite de se placer tant sur le plan du droit interne français que sur celui de la fiscalité internationale. La présente étude procède à une analyse comparée de la fiscalité directe applicable aux fonds souverains en France et aux Etats-Unis. Cette analyse se poursuit à travers l’examen de conventions fiscales conclues par la France mais aussi par des Etats étrangers détenteurs de fonds souverains. La question de l’application des conventions fiscales aux fonds souverains est évoquée à travers l’exposé des modèles de conventions fiscales de l’OCDE et des Etats-Unis. Le statut fiscal des fonds souverains est confronté à celui des apporteurs de capitaux privés au regard de la distorsion de concurrence fiscale entre investisseurs. En l’absence de dispositions législatives précises, de doctrine administrative et de jurisprudence, ces travaux sont principalement fondés sur une interprétation des faits et du droit positif. Les solutions proposées tentent de remédier aux problématiques ainsi dégagées. / The growing number of investments made by sovereign wealth funds and the reactions of host countries has raised questions regarding the tax treatment of those public financial entities. Answering these questions implies to analyze the tax legislation on both a national and international level. In this respect this paper compares the direct taxation of sovereign wealth funds investments in France and in the United States. It is then followed by an analysis of some tax treaties signed by France as well as tax treaties signed by countries owning sovereign wealth funds. Questions related to the application of tax treaties to sovereign wealth funds are examined through the presentation of the OECD model tax convention and the United States income model tax convention. We then compare the tax status of sovereign wealth funds and private investors regarding tax competition and portfolio choices. We will see through the lack of tax regulations, guidance and the absence of court decision that this study is mainly based on an interpretation of the facts and the law as a consequence. The solutions provided in this paper aim at clarifying the issues we have identified. Hopefully this will raise further interrogations and will be followed by other studies.

1 Abstract Trademarks and their territorial limits The purpose of my thesis is to analyze the ways that are used for overcoming territorial limits of trademarks, to point out the pros and cons of these methods. Likewise, I'd like to point out the fact that the various systems of trademarks - national and international systems and system of Community trade mark are interconnected and they complete each other. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the quality of national legislation, to match the European Union standards and international standards, as well. I chose this topic, because the issue of trademarks is in my opinion very interesting, I like the fact that they can connect designers and businessmen, I am fascinated by their overlap into the art sphere, too. The topic of marks is very broad and quite specific, for understandable reasons it cannot be given so much time within the subjects taught at the Faculty. Also this was one of the reasons I chose this topic. My work is divided into six major thematic units, together there are 25 chapters, some of them are further divided into subchapters and sections. In the first part, which corresponds to the first and the second chapter, I try to out the trademarks as an institution in a wider context of intellectual property rights and industrial property...