Bibliographie sélective OHADA

The last few years have been marked by the increase in power of IFRS international accounting standards. From the full or partial adoption to the gradual convergence, many countries have displayed a strong preference for these standards. Meanwhile, the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS standard) in the context of developing countries is not trivial. We are witnessing an unprecedented clash between the authors who support the interest of these standards for developing countries, and those who conversely demonstrate that these norms are not well adapted to the context of those countries. Falling within this problematic, this thesis analyses the issues and determinants of the convergence of the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA) accounting system towards IFRS international accounting standards in view of the reforms introduced by the last revision. From a sample of 10 companies, among which two local firms, two international firms, three publicly traded companies, and three not listed other companies, we show that the current convergence towards international accounting standards follows an effect of coercitive and mimetic isomorphism. In so doing, the timely implementation of these standards in the context of Cameroon is contingent with a number of structural and environmental factors that call their pertinence into question.

On 1 July 2017, the Commission of the European Union (Commission) announced that investor state dispute settlement (ISDS) was dead. Apart from the fundamental public distrust of ISDS, its rejection by the European Union (EU) is a symptom of several underlying causes, the foremost of which is the need to protect the autonomy of the EU legal order and its right to regulate public policy objectives, as well as to avoid jurisdictional conflicts. With this backdrop EU state aid law, which enjoys public policy status, has emerged as a major example of the conflict between investor protection and the right to regulate. As state aid law imposes measures on the EU Member States that conflict with these states’ international obligations to foreign investors under bilateral investment treaties (BITs), they have become subject to claims and substantial liabilities. This dilemma can arise in any setting that involves the EU or one or more of its Member States. It also includes relations with non-EU countries, as the web of international investment agreements (IIAs) operates, in different forms, on an international scale. Therefore, this dilemma and the EU’s responses to it is analysed through the different forms in which EU state aid law appears, dependent on the EU investment policy aspect utilised as a platform for analysis. Utilising a doctrinal analysis by studying, discussing and analysing the impact of EU state aid law on the EU Member States’ BITs and EU Trade Agreements, this dissertation provides an insight into the function and logic behind international treaties involving the EU’s competition and investment policy. This is done by utilising the research question: How does the European Union (EU) state aid law affect the future of EU investment policy in a global context? Further, this thesis puts forward three arguments in which EU state aid law is affecting the future of EU investment policy in a global context. First, state aid law applies in the EU’s incorporation of clauses promoting fair competition and state aid policy in international trade agreements. Second, state aid law and policy has contributed to recent EU internal development, which led the EU Member States to terminate their bilateral agreements with each other (intra-EU BITs) by the end of 2019. Third, the EU has been working towards replacing the existing BITs between the EU’s Member States and third countries (extra-EU BITs) with the EU’s own trade agreements, which are aligned with EU legislation. Essentially, this thesis golden thread is a debate on who gets to decide on the scope of state aid law now and in the future. In other words, is it the EU that sets the borders and the status of state aid law and policy law regarding investment protection or the international investment tribunals by their legal practice? Hence, this thesis offers a glimpse of a conceivable future of EU investment policy in a global context. An analysis of the relevant literature, and observation of recent policy changes on its subject matter, as reflected in the Commission’s policy documents, the EU’s international agreements and declarations by the Member States, leads to the findings of this dissertation. A conflict situation that originated from legal conflicts within the EU, the EU experience of investment protection and state aid regarding intra-EU BITs, provided some lessons to learn for the EU organs. These lessons learned have found expression on a global scale. By incorporating fair competition and state aid policy in international trade the EU is reasserting that it is the EU that decides on state aid law and policy law regarding investment protection. Indeed, the EU is attempting to tame investment protection in such a way that fair competition and investment protection can peacefully coexist in international trade. Ultimately, the interplay of state aid and the EU’s investment policy within the internal market reflects on the external trade relations of both the Member States and the EU through this practice. Thus, state aid law affects and will continue to affect the future of EU investment policy in a global context.

Defining the applicable standards for proving and measurement of damages constitute one of the most significant issues under the law of damages. In principle, an aggrieved party, who claims compensation for damages based on contractual liability is responsible for showing the existence and the amount of losses suffered or to be suffered. Due to great importance of the issue, transnational instruments of contract law, such as UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UPICC), Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) have set out, explicitly or implicitly, special standards such as reasonable certainty, reasonably likely to occur and so on for proving damages; By contrast, the Iranian laws and regulations including the Civil Code do not set out such standards. The legal scholarship and jurisprudence have also failed to address the issue. Therefore, a comparative study of the issue with particular look at international instruments and arbitral awards could provide a reliable source of guidance. This paper analyzes the general and specific standards for proving damages and those situations that fall outside of ambit of the standards such as late payment damages. By doing so, the paper tries to open the debate in Iranian law. یکی از موضوعات قابل توجه در حوزه حقوق خسارت، تعیین استانداردهای قابل اعمال برای اثبات خسارات و میزان آن­ها است. علی القاعده، زیان‌دیده­ای که به استناد مسئولیت قراردادی برای مطالبه خسارت اقامه دعوی می­کند، بایستی اصل و میزان خسارتی را که متحمل شده یا خواهد شد، به اثبات برساند. نظر به اهمیت موضوع، اسناد فراملی مربوط به حقوق قراردادها از جمله اصول قراردادهای تجاری بین­المللی، اصول حقوق قراردادهای اروپا و پیش­نویس طرح مشترک مرجع، به صورت صریح یا ضمنی، استانداردهای مشخصی مانند قطعیت متعارف، وقوع محتمل متعارف و غیره را برای اثبات خسارت پیش­بینی کرده­اند. در مقابل، مقررات موضوعه ایران از جمله قانون مدنی؛ چنین استانداردهایی را تنظیم ننموده و موضوع نیز مورد بررسی حقوقدانان و رویه قضایی قرار نگرفته است. بنابراین، مطالعه تطبیقی موضوع با نگاهی ویژه بر اسناد بین­المللی و آرای داوری می‌تواند منبع قابل اتکایی برای طرح بحث باشد. این مقاله، استانداردهای عام و خاص اثبات اصل خسارت و میزان آن و نیز مواردی مثل خسارت تأخیر تأدیه را که خارج از قلمرو شمول این استانداردها هستند، مورد تحلیل قرار می­دهد و در نهایت تلاش دارد تا باب بحث را در حقوق ایران بگشاید.

The Southern African Development Community's (SADC) colonial legacy which introduced foreign legal traditions and the consequences of the diversity heighten the urgency for unified commercial legislation to deal with cross-border disputes.Thus, the issue is whether the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) structure can serve as a possible model for the development of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC .Despite the success of the OHADA, the author submits that the OHADA can only serve as a source of inspiration, or roadmap, providing guidance to the SADC drafters.The paper aims at demonstrating that the OHADA provides practical lessons for the development of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC.The significance of this paper lies in the contributions it makes to the development of a commercial law structure in the SADC.

This thesis examines the impact of adoption of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) on two aspects of the operation of capital markets. Firstly, the impact of adoption of IFRS on financial reporting comparability, market liquidity, and cost of capital. Secondly, the impact of adoption of IFRS on seasoned equity offering (SEO) underperformance. To examine the impact of adoption of IFRS on financial reporting comparability, market liquidity, and cost of capital, the study used meta-analysis of empirical studies published since 2000. Meta-analysis provides an objective view of the empirical results, in contrast to narrative reviews, which offer subjective conclusions. From meta-analysis of 55 empirical studies with 1,259 effect sizes, the study finds that IFRS adoption has increased financial reporting comparability, market liquidity, and reduced cost of equity. For cost of debt, a decrease is observed only for voluntary adoption. The meta-regression analysis shows how the results differ across mandatory and voluntary adoption of IFRS and that the measurement choices, type of control variables, study design, and strength of empirical results explain the variation in the observed effect of adoption of IFRS. To examine the impact of adoption of IFRS on SEO underperformance the study analyses a large sample of SEOs from 51 countries over the period 1992-2017. Given that the empirical literature on SEOs has established that information asymmetry contributes to SEO underperformance, it is important to assess whether adoption of IFRS has reduced the uncertainties surrounding SEOs and, thus, subsequent underperformance. The study employs a control sample of non-IFRS adoption countries and applies a difference-in-difference (DiD) design to test for the incremental change for IFRS adoption countries over non-IFRS adoption countries. The study finds that SEO underperformance reduces for IFRS adopters relative to non-IFRS adopters in the post-adoption period. The reduction in SEO underperformance is influenced by increased disclosure, increased comparability, and number of accounting changes. The study also finds that the impact of adoption of IFRS on SEO underperformance exists only for firms in countries with strong enforcement, and is conditional on the implementation credibility of countries. The findings are robust to the application of a different measure of SEO underperformance. Overall, the study suggests that IFRS has had a positive impact on capital markets. However, increased disclosure, comparability, and credible implementation play important roles in realising the benefits of adoption of IFRS. Thus, policymakers of weak enforcement countries are encouraged to strengthen their institutional environment in order to reap the benefits that adoption of IFRS can provide to their capital market.

This study examines and critiques New Zealand intellectual property protection for industrial designs, taking into account that many New Zealand industrial design owners outsource manufacture of their designs to China. Industrial design, which refers to improving the aesthetics of products to increase their marketability, is evolving conceptually and practically. In New Zealand, copyright and registered design laws each protect, respectively, the visual expression and the “eye appeal” of an original design. As design practices evolve with advances in technology however, it is increasingly evident that industrial design is about more than just visual expression or “eye appeal”. Many designers are not focusing solely on product stylisation and decoration, but on the provision of a more holistic product experience for the consumer. The development process of industrial designs from concept to marketable product is also changing, with many New Zealand industrial design owners employing increasingly efficient design development strategies. The fast-paced, cost-effective infrastructure of China is often utilised by New Zealand businesses for the manufacture of industrial designs. This study therefore sought to determine how to appropriately protect New Zealand industrial designs, in light of: a. foreseeable advances in technology; and b. the fact that many New Zealand industrial designs are manufactured in China. To answer these questions, this study examined and analysed New Zealand’s copyright and registered design laws, taking into account not only existing protections, but also factors that are likely to be of significant relevance in the future, such as the impact on industrial design from developments in 3D printing and virtual reality. The Chinese intellectual property regime for industrial designs was also examined because China is a major trading partner and often, as noted, the locus of manufacture. The study included an empirical investigation, in the form of interviews with designers and design academics as well as legal practitioners specialising in intellectual property law. The input of the interviewees, together with the legal analysis, informed a series of suggestions and recommendations for New Zealand policy and its law-makers regarding how industrial design protection can be improved. A key finding of this study was that existing legal protections do not appropriately protect increasingly holistic designs, as well as new types of designs emerging from developing fields such as virtual reality. In assessing the appropriateness of protection, the interests of industrial design owners were balanced against the public interest in protecting the public domain. It is suggested that to achieve equilibrium copyright law should be expanded to protect design expressions for all senses. Moreover, new categories of copyright protected works should be introduced to accommodate emerging design. The definition of design in registered design law should also be reconceptualised in order to acknowledge new types of designs and evolving design practices. Industrial design owners who outsource manufacturing to China can protect their designs via copyright as well as design patent. However, enforcement of intellectual property protection is unsatisfactory in many areas of China. Therefore, New Zealand industrial design owners should also employ non-legal protection strategies. Interviews with successful businesses, in the course of the empirical investigation for this study, revealed that the leveraging of existing relationships of those with already established operations in China, and intentionally splitting an industrial design’s component parts for manufacture among several factories in different locations, are useful strategies to employ.

Most OECD countries’ value-added tax (VAT) systems apply reduced VAT rates to a selection of expenditure items in order to achieve distributional goals, and – to a lesser extent – social, cultural and employment-related goals. This thesis investigates the distributional effects of the VAT in OECD countries, and the merits of using reduced VAT rates to achieve distributional goals. The research adopts a microsimulation modelling approach that draws on household expenditure microdata from household budget surveys for an unprecedented 27 OECD countries. A consistent microsimulation methodology is adopted to ensure cross-country comparability of results. Non-behavioural VAT microsimulation models are first built to examine the overall distributional impact of the current VAT systems in each country. The research assesses the competing methodological approaches used in previous studies, highlighting the misleading effect of savings patterns on cross-sectional analysis when VAT burdens are measured relative to income. Measuring VAT burdens relative to expenditure – thereby removing the influence of savings – is found to provide a more reliable picture of the distributional impact of the VAT. On this basis, the VAT is found to be either roughly proportional or slightly progressive in most of the 27 OECD countries examined. Nevertheless, results for a small number of countries (Chile, Hungary, Latvia and New Zealand) highlight that broad-based VAT systems that have few reduced VAT rates or exemptions can produce a small degree of regressivity. Results also show that even a roughly proportional VAT can still have significant equity implications for the poor – potentially pushing some households into poverty. Behavioural VAT microsimulation models are then built for 23 OECD countries to investigate whether reduced VAT rates are an effective way to support poorer households, and whether the use of targeted cash transfers would be more effective. The behavioural microsimulation methodology follows the Linear Expenditure System based approach of Creedy and Sleeman (2006). Complementing this approach, a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System (QUAIDS) is estimated specifically for New Zealand, thereby providing the first estimates of a QUAIDS model based on New Zealand data. Simulation results show that, as a whole, the reduced VAT rates present in most OECD countries tend to have a small progressive impact. However, despite this progressivity, reduced VAT rates are shown to be a highly ineffective mechanism for targeting support to poorer households: not only do rich households benefit from reduced rates, but they benefit more in aggregate terms than poor households do. When looking at reduced VAT rates applied to specific products, results are found to vary considerably. Reduced VAT rates specifically introduced to support the poor (such as reduced rates on food consumed at home and domestic utilities) are generally found to have a progressive impact, though rich households still receive a larger aggregate benefit than poor households. In contrast, reduced VAT rates introduced to address non-distributional goals (such as reduced rates on restaurants, hotels, and cultural and social expenditure) often have a regressive impact. Additional simulation results show that an income-tested cash transfer will better target support to poorer households than reduced VAT rates in all countries. Furthermore, even a universal cash transfer is found to better target poorer households than reduced VAT rates. However, results also show that it is very difficult for an income-tested cash transfer to fully compensate all poor households for the removal of reduced VAT rates. This is due to the significant variation in the underlying consumption patterns across households. While a small number of poor households lose out from replacing reduced VAT rates with targeted cash transfers, those that receive support are instead determined by income and family characteristics as opposed to consumption tastes – thereby increasing horizontal equity. Furthermore, many households are lifted out of poverty as revenue previously transferred to richer households is now transferred to poorer households. These results empirically confirm the theoretical expectation that, where available, direct mechanisms (whether via the income tax or benefit system) will better achieve distributional goals than reduced VAT rates. Countries that currently employ reduced VAT rates to achieve distributional goals should therefore consider removing these reduced rates and adjusting their income tax or benefit systems to achieve these distributional goals instead. Countries should also consider removing reduced VAT rates aimed at non-distributional goals where a more effective instrument is available to achieve the particular policy goal. At a minimum, the merits of these reduced VAT rates should be reassessed in light of their negative distributional impact.

Recognizing the immense potential for greater Chinese investment promotion and its contribution to Ethiopia’s industrialization and acknowledging the gaps, this paper aims to conduct a rigorous research through analysis of secondary sources and qualitative survey of Chinese enterprise doing business in Ethiopia in various sectors. In this regard, the key policy questions that this study tries to answer are ‘the involvement in and the contribution to Ethiopia’s industrialization and the challenges and opportunities they face. Hence, the overall objective of this research will be to (i) assess the trends in Chinese enterprises involvement in Ethiopia’s industrialization for the last decade, (ii) inform both the Chinese government and Ethiopian government on key business barriers and market failures that are constraining Chinese business entry and growth in Ethiopia; (iii) investigate the immense untapped investment potential from China that can be attracted and opportunities that Ethiopia could offer to Chinese investors; and (iv) propose policy options on how to address the challenges and thereby maximize the opportunities to enhance Chinese investment towards Ethiopia’s industrialization.

Liability insurance concerns an insured’s insurance of its legal liability towards a third party for the latter’s loss. This specialised type of insurance is rather neglected in South African insurance law. There is a lack of understanding of the intricacies of liability insurance and its unique challenges. This flows primarily from its complex nature as third-party insurance, which involves legal obligations between multiple parties, and a lack of statutory regulation of the distinctive contractual aspects of liability insurance. Furthermore, limited authority exists on contentious legal aspects as a result of the relatively small number of judicial decisions in this field of law. It is also evident that liability insurance constantly evolves as new grounds of liability emerge and new insurance products develop in response to the changing demands of society. The rise of consumerism and the increase in third-party claims amplify the economic significance of the law of liability insurance in South Africa. A substantial knowledge gap remains in our jurisprudence, irrespective of the recent introduction of new statutory instruments aimed at regulating insurance practice in general. These reforms have not as yet been applied critically to liability insurance, and no specialised legislation in South Africa regulates aspects of this branch of insurance as is the case with microinsurance. The focus in this thesis is on two main issues: the insurer’s duty effectively to indemnify the insured, and the insurer’s defence and settlement of third-party claims brought against the insured. As a subsidiary theme, this thesis analyses legal uncertainties that may persist during pre-contractual negotiations, the liability insurance contract lifecycle, and even after the expiry of the contract. Legal challenges can be addressed by novel and creative application of the national law. Potential solutions can be gleaned from the other progressive jurisdictions reviewed – English and Belgian law. It is evident that this research may prompt Parliament to develop specific rules and regulations for liability insurance contract law. This thesis includes a check list of some of the most important disclosure duties for procuring liability insurance cover, its operation, and claims processes.

When a dispute arises in relation to an act, person or property that is connected to more than one country, such dispute is governed by the rules of private international law, more commonly referred to as the “conflict of laws”.1 The term conflict of laws essentially means that the dispute in question will be governed by the national law of a country while having a connection to a foreign country,2 and is relevant to this discussion as the election of non-state law is an important aspect found within private international law. In order to determine whether or not such laws may be applied, courts usually look at the conflict of laws rules of that particular country... <br>LL.M. (International Commercial Law)

This thesis proposed for the reform of Africa’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) landscape through the establishment of a Pan-African Investment Court (PAIC) as a mechanism for the resolution of Investor-State Disputes. This proposal is influenced by the findings of my investigation on the functioning of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) through the deployment of Investor-State Arbitration to resolve Investor-State Disputes between African states and foreign investors. This research is motivated by the criticisms of the Arbitration mechanism by a broad spectrum of constituencies within international investment law. These criticisms are primarily anchored on the legitimacy crises of ISDS, a dissatisfactory notion that denounces the deployment of the private mechanism and privity of contract ingrained investment arbitration framework to resolve publicly-inclined investor-state disputes. Ancillary to this critical holy grail are further dissatisfactions on the practical functionality of investment arbitration in aspects of high volume of cases against developing states, lack of diversity in the appointment of arbitrators and curtailment of sovereignty of host states through the intrusion of provisions of International Investment Agreements on legitimate internal decision-making powers. Consequently, this thesis investigated the practical functioning of ISDS in African states. After the study of the experiences of Egypt, South Africa and Tanzania; it was found that the legitimacy crises of ISDS also impacts on African states, and does not support their socio-economic and sustainable developmental aspirations. As a remedy, I proposed for a reform to an Investment Court System (ICS) through the establishment of a Pan-African Investment Court (PAIC). An evaluation of this recommendation was conducted that evidenced potential challenges that may mitigate its feasibility, thus leading to the advancement of two secondary reform alternatives vis the reform and retention of the current investor-state arbitration framework and engagement in innovative treaty-making practices by African states. To the best of my knowledge, this thesis has not been previously submitted in any higher institution or published by another person. The contents of this thesis are my ideas. Where the materials of others were used, due acknowledgement and reference was provided. Acknowledgements

Although integrated reporting emphasizes the contemporaneous relationship between financial and non-financial capitals, its primary purpose is to explain how an organization creates value over time. This is similar to the purpose of management commentary, which is part of a general-purpose financial report. We compare and contrast the information requirements of an integrated report with the type of information that supplements the primary financial information in general purpose financial reports, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We examine whether the information in those reports is intended to be forward-looking and predictive, whether non-financial capitals can (and should) be monetized in order to facilitate integration, and whether the reporting boundary should be drawn in different ways to serve different purposes. We find that the International Integrated Reporting Framework and IFRS do not serve different purposes or apply different approaches, but that – in essence – they are competing frameworks. While IFRS has highly developed standards for reporting financial capital, neither has a well-developed approach for reporting any other capital.

Please refer to full text to view abstract. <br>LL.M. (Commercial Law)

The internet and digital technologies have irreversibly changed the way we find and consume news. Legacy news organisations, publishers of newspapers, have moved to the internet. In the online news environment, however, they are no longer the exclusive suppliers of news. New digital intermediaries have emerged, search engines and news aggregators in particular. They select and display links and fragments of press publishers’ content as a part of their services, without seeking the news organisations’ prior consent. To shield themselves from exploitation by digital intermediaries, press publishers have begun to seek legal protection, and called for the introduction of a new right under the umbrella of copyright and related rights. Following these calls, the press publishers’ right was introduced into the EU copyright framework by the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market in 2019.

Abstract available in PDF.

There are many employment positions in the labour market that could be filled by the disabled of whom most, given the right environment, could be productive in the workplace. However, there are employers who still labour under the misconception that Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are unqualified and unproductive although their participation in the workplace could contribute to the national economy, while restoring their dignity and social integration. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) entered into force on 3 May 2008. The CRPD is the first international legally binding treaty aimed specifically at protecting the rights of PWDs. It is expected of ratifying States Parties to either amend their domestic existing laws or to enact new legislation in order to meet their obligations, as set out in the CRPD. In 2008, South Africa ratified the CRPD and the Optional Protocol, thus committing itself to the provisions relating to, inter alia, workplace integration. Article 26 of the Convention mandates States Parties to take effective and appropriate measures to enable PWDs to attain and maintain maximum independence, physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and to ensure their social inclusion. Article 27 stipulates, inter alia, that States Parties shall safeguard and promote the realisation of the right to work, including those who incur a disability during the course of employment. Legislation should make provision for, inter alia the following: • enable PWDs to have effective access to general technical and vocational guidance programmes; • placement services and continued vocational training; • promote employment opportunities and career advancement; • assistance in sourcing, obtaining, maintaining and returning to work; and • reasonable accommodation in the workplace as well as vocational and professional rehabilitation. Although the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 was amended recently to include rehabilitation, re-integration and return to work (RTW) as part of its objectives, it will be argued that South Africa needs to initiate targeted legislation and policies that make disability management functions mandatory. Employers’ obligations need to be set out clearly in the Act, because, as it stands, the following lacunae exist: • There is no obligation to appoint Case Managers; • Dismissal protection is not provided for; • The regulation of negative incentives to assist with RTW compliance is lacking; and • The roles of different stakeholders in the RTW process require clarification. Without South Africa having an appropriate and detailed RTW framework, ill or injured employees stand the risk of losing their jobs and becoming dependent on family members and/or disability grants. Against this background, a comparative analysis of international and regional law and the RTW practices of two foreign jurisdictions were made. This enabled the author to devise recommendations and identify the roles of the government, employers, employees and Case Managers. The primary objective of this thesis is to determine how and to what extent regional and international standards and RTW programmes in other countries could assist in developing and amending the current legislative and policy framework in South Africa to promote the RTW of disabled employees.

This paper analyses financial inclusion in Africa focusing on the role of political business cycles and pricing behaviour of banks. We employ a sample of 330 banks operating in 29 African countries to test for two related hypotheses. Panel fixed and random effects were estimated for the period 2002 to 2013. The regression results that ensued suggests first that loan price increases in pre-election and election years. Building on this result and employing various specifications of financial inclusion, the second results suggest that, high bank loan prices in election years tend to increase financial access more, compared to non-election years, and that, high deposit price reduces financial usage but increases financial access in election years, compared to non-election years. By extension, these results have important policy implications for policymakers.

That intellectual property is the creation of ideas in the form of new discoveries, literary works, and works of art, symbols, names and images used in trade. Of course, intellectual property is closely related to the world of commerce because its emergence is triggered by the desires of the members of the World Intellectual Property Organization who want to protect their economies in the era of free trade. In this case how the form of protection of intellectual property rights in the perspective of international trade, it can be seen that basically the laws and or regulations in every country in the world are different and each country has the right to implement its own legal rules in the jurisdiction of their country.

With the developments happening globally that are aimed at curbing base erosion and profit shifting by multinationals, improving the resolution of transfer pricing disputes has been identified as one of the key issues. This thesis investigates the challenges uniquely faced by African countries that militate against the use of the OECD transfer pricing dispute resolution mechanisms. The thesis starts by reflecting on the effect of transfer pricing manipulation by multinational enterprises in Africa in particular. Transfer pricing manipulation is one of the causes of the so-called tax gap, which is, the gap between anticipated and actual revenue collection. The aggression by revenue authorities against transfer pricing manipulation in order to close this gap has triggered a lot of transfer pricing adjustments. These adjustments have resulted in multiple transfer pricing disputes. In the analysis of the adopted OECD dispute resolution mechanisms, the thesis focuses on the effectiveness of the mutual agreement procedure (MAP), the advance pricing arrangement (APA) and the mandatory binding arbitration (MBA). It identifies the problems that result in the failure of or the delay in the resolution of many transfer pricing disputes by analysing the domestic frameworks that exist in four African countries namely: South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana. The thesis identifies problems such as the absence of a tax treaty network within the African continent, the use of underdeveloped double tax agreements and the lack of commitment from African countries to subscribe to and ratify multilateral conventions. These problems delay or stifle the resolution of tax treaty disputes. They also cause uncertainty for taxpayers and lead to continued tax avoidance by multinational enterprises that essentially avoid paying tax in African countries where the economic activities of these enterprises take place. The thesis also identifies the importance of other OECD supporting tools such as the exchange of tax information in the resolution of transfer pricing disputes. It focuses on tools such as country by country reports, the master file, the local file and simultaneous tax examination as covered by the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The thesis contributes to the resolution of the identified problems with transfer pricing dispute resolution in Africa by recommending certain improvements that can be effected. These recommendations entail, regarding the MAP, the expansion of tax treaty networks by African countries and the establishment of a Tax Treaty Dispute Resolution Committee by ATAF. Regarding the APA, it is recommended that African countries should sign the multilateral instrument (MLI) and make use of advance tax rulings (ATRs) as alternatives. With respect to the MBA, this thesis recommends that African countries should use optional arbitration by effectively using article 25(4) of the OECD Model tax convention (MTC). It also recommends that African countries must enhance their tax transparency by ratifying multilateral conventions that seek to address international tax co-operation and to improve compliance with transfer pricing documentation requirements in order to make the resolution of transfer pricing disputes more effective.

This study explores the liability associated with the use of autonomous vehicles. With the increase in efforts by automobile industries to manufacture driverless cars, the issue of liability occupies the front seat of the discussion. A major benefit of autonomous and connected vehicles is their potential to ameliorate, if not eradicate, avoidable accidents on roads. Currently, it is estimated that 90% of road accidents are caused by human error. The epoch of driverless vehicles, where the narrative will drastically change, is upon us. This means a shift away from human liability to machine liability, since these technologies have in-built algorithms to ensure autonomous decisions by the vehicle. Product liability becomes crucial in the wake of driverless cars. The gradual and ultimate shift of liability from the traditional human driver to the machine ‘driver’ coupled with the cross-border sale of driverless vehicles provide justification for scholarly attention. Accidents may now be attributed to technological error and not human mistake. Conflict of law issues become central in instances where manufacturers and users live in different parts of the world... <br>LL.M. (International Commercial Law)