Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Enfant terrible du droit des contrats, le contrat de franchise entretient des rapports tumultueux avec le droit de la concurrence. L'effet cumulatif induit par la franchise peut faire craindre une domination du marché et une dépendance des franchisés, comme des partenaires du réseau. Ces effets anticoncurrentiels sont cependant contrebalancés par les effets positifs de ce mode d'organisation sur la concurrence. En effet, la mise en œuvre d'un savoir-faire éprouvé transforme les franchisés en meilleurs compétiteurs sur le marché, leur permettant de développer une concurrence plus efficace. L'approche du contrat de franchise par le droit de la concurrence n'est est pas moins empreinte de vigilance. Le droit de la concurrence s'attache à minimiser l'influence de la franchise dans les relations entre les parties au contrat. Ainsi, tant le droit des concentrations que le droit des ententes visent à éliminer toute influence excessive du franchiseur sur la conduite des affaires du franchisé. Dans les rapports entre les tiers e le réseau, le droit de la concurrence peine cependant à donner une pleine consistance juridique à ce dernier, notamment s'agissant du problème de la revente parallèle. Le réseau n'est finalement pris en considération par le droit de la concurrence que pour en juguler l'impact sur les tiers.

The aim of this thesis is to examine several issues that banks confront in emerging and less developed economies such as SME financing and bank governance mechanisms. We first provide an overview of the level of bank SME financing in an economy where banks are mandated by law to lend to SMEs. We find large banks, foreign-owned, and well-managed ones to have low small firm financing exposures. Using a newly-gathered survey data of Philippine banks, we find that all banks perceive the SME market to be profitable. However, banks lend less to SMEs because of their opacity and that lending technologies are largely underdeveloped to serve small firms. Moreover, our results show that credit scoring and factoring are the arms-length lending technologies that are most suited to small firm lending. Examining the impact of income diversification on profitability on Philippine commercial banks, we find smaller banks, foreign banks and banks that lend less to SMEs to derive larger gains from a shift towards non-interest income. Investigating the effects of different governance mechanisms on bank risk taking in an economy where foreign ownership restrictions exist, our results indicate that minority foreign owners have a positive impact on bank performance, particularly, at lower levels of control manifested by dominant domestic shareholders. We also tackle the impact of ownership concentration on bank risk in less developed economies using an institutional approach. The results show that an increase in ownership concentration is associated with higher risk but better quality of institutions mitigates the negative impact of ownership concentration, notably in reducing credit risk. L'objectif de cette thèse est d’examiner les problèmes des banques dans les pays émergents et moins développés, tel que le financement des PME et les mécanismes de gouvernance bancaire. Nous étudions l’état de financement bancaire des PME dans un pays où les banques sont obligées d’allouer une part de leurs prêts aux PME. Nous trouvons que les grandes banques et les banques étrangères allouent moins de crédits aux PME. En utilisant un sondage que nous avons réalisé auprès des banques philippines, nos résultats montrent que le secteur des PME est perçu comme un marché rentable. Les banques sont contraintes à prêter aux petites entreprises à cause de l’opacité de ces PME. Le credit scoring et le factoring sont les techniques de financement les plus adaptées pour financer les petites entreprises. En examinant l’impact de la diversification du revenu sur la rentabilité des banques commerciales, nous trouvons que les banques étrangères et les petites banques bénéficient de l’augmentation des revenus hors intérêts. Nous testons l’impact des actionnaires étrangers minoritaires sur le risque bancaire dans un pays où les actions détenues par les étrangers sont limitées. Nous trouvons que les banques domestiques peuvent diminuer leurs créances douteuses lorsque le droit de vote des actionnaires minoritaires étrangers augmente. L’étude de la structure actionnariale des banques dans les pays moins développés montre qu’une augmentation de la concentration de la structure actionnariale est associée à un niveau de risque plus élevé. Toutefois, de meilleures institutions peuvent atténuer l’impact de la concentration de la structure actionnariale en réduisant le risque de crédit.

Cette thèse a pour objet de déterminer à quelles conditions l’arbitre international, saisi d’un litige relatif à un contrat de joint venture sino-étrangère, est susceptible d’apporter une solution aux cocontractants et une contribution à la construction du droit de l’arbitrage des investissements étrangers en Chine. L’examen des conditions d’accès à l’arbitrage et de la détermination et de la mise en oeuvre, par l’arbitre international, des règles de droit permettra de cerner les limites du caractère véritablement international de l’arbitrage auquel est soumis le contrat de joint venture sino-étrangère. La limitation de l’autonomie des parties en droit chinois de l’arbitrage et en droit international privé chinois impose des contraintes à l’arbitre international, siégeant en Chine ou à l’étranger tant pour apprécier la validité de la clause compromissoire et l’existence et l’étendue ratione personae et ratione materiae du consentement à l’arbitrage, que pour déterminer et appliquer les règles de droit auxquelles est soumis le litige. L’examen des solutions apportées par l’arbitre international permettra d’apprécier son apport substantiel à la clarification des conditions de formation du contrat de joint venture sino-étrangère, qu’il s’agisse des conditions de fond, tirées de la qualification des parties et de l’existence et de la sincérité de leur consentement au contrat de joint venture, que des conditions de forme, tirées de l’approbation des contrats d’investissement. Cet apport est confirmé en matière d’obligations des parties, par la reconnaissance et la diversification des obligations pécuniaires, de participation et de coopération auxquelles sont tenus les associés de l’entreprise commune

Post-independent Cameroon has grappled with the problem of systemic violation of civil and political rights (CPR) despite a transition from single party dictatorship to multiparty democracy in the 1990s. Various legislative measures including the adoption of a supposedly ‘rights friendly’ constitution in 1996 have done little to ameliorate that problem. This thesis adopts a concept of constitutionalism, based on contemporary international standards, to analyse the problem of CPR violations from the perspective of the constitutional arrangements in Cameroon. It examines the system of separation of powers, the method of securing judicial independence and the mechanisms for judicial review. The argument is made that the problem can be attributed in part to the predominant influence of the French civil law system in Cameroon’s bijural legal system. Although for historical reasons, Cameroon operates both the English common law and the French civil law, constitutional developments have continued to be influenced by the latter which lends itself to practices that are not sufficiently supportive of constitutionalism as defined herein. The thesis, however, goes further to explore how the constitutional system could be reinforced to provide a more conducive framework for the protection and enhancement of CPR. Drawing on two strands of arguments, one highlighting features of the common law system that can be more supportive of constitutionalism and the other which highlights the value of indigenous antecedents of constitutionalism, the thesis proposes the development of a contextual model which is more reflective of Cameroon’s peculiar legal and socio-political circumstances. It proposes what is described as an Optimal Integrative Approach (OIA) as a framework for developing a contextual model, more conducive for the protection and enhancement of CPR in Cameroon.

The use of temporary employment services as a means to achieve flexibility in die labour market led to various complications due to a lack of proper regulation. The atypical formation of the triangular employment relationship, limited rights and less favourable employment conditions of the temporary employees, multiple authority figures and their liabilities under various circumstances and the impact thereof on such employee’ collective bargaining rights caused legal uncertainty in the absence of sufficient legislation to govern it. Temporary employment agencies developed certain methods in order to evade the restrictive labour legislation and employer duties imposed on them, namely by making use of automatic termination clauses (resolutive conditions) and by categorising the temporary employee as an independent contractor. Last mentioned would effectively exclude the temporary employee from labour legislation and the protection it provides. In reaction to abovementioned problems, trade unions have been objecting to the use of temporary employment agencies and went as far as demanding the total ban thereof. This raised the question in the South African Government whether said agencies should indeed be banned. The other option is a less restrictive approach and entails the attempt to regulate these agencies by amending the current labour legislation in order to accommodate temporary employment services. In light of the fact that various proposals to amend the current South African labour legislation (especially with regard to temporary employment services) have been published in the Government Gazette, it can be deduced that the social partners ultimately chose to regulate temporary employment agencies rather than ban them altogether. From an early stage the International Labour Organisation (ILO) provided rules and regulations for the management of employment agencies in general by way of conventions and recommendations. In 1997, in order to give effect to the labour standards identified by it, the ILO brought the Private Employment Agencies Convention into existence. This document could be applied to all temporary employment agencies on an international level. This document provides for administrative regulations, the duties of the agency and the client as well as the rights of the temporary employees concerned. The ILO recommends that all of its member states incorporate the principles contained within this document in their own legislation. Temporary employment services are also used in other legal systems. For purposes of this study, the English law (United Kingdom (UK)) and the Namibian law will be scrutinised. Similar issues to those recognised in the South African law have been identified in these countries. However, each has approached said problems in different ways. The Namibian Government banned the conducting and provision of these services by way of legislation in 2007. The constitutionality of the ban has however been questioned by the Supreme Court of Namibia, after which it had been found to infringe upon the fundamental freedom to carry on any business, trade or occupation. The ban was struck down as unconstitutional. The Namibian Government has since promulgated new legislation in which it removed the ban and replaced it with numerous amendments providing for the regulation of temporary employment services. Since 1973 the UK has been promulgating various instruments for the thorough regulation of temporary employment agencies. These instruments provide for the management of temporary employment agencies and the rights of the employees involved. The relevant legislative instruments have been updated regularly with the purpose of ensuring that the needs of all the parties concerned are met. The UK, as a member state of the European Union (EU), (which has also been providing for the regulation of temporary employment services in various directives), promulgated legislation specifically with the aim to give effect to the principles in the mentioned directives. By way of doctrines and the creation of a third category ―worker‖ the UK has been attempting to prevent any loopholes in their legal system with regard to temporary employment services and the rights of the employees involved. The aim of this study is to investigate all the important complications experienced with temporary employment agencies in order to indicate the impact the atypical circumstances have on the rights of the temporary employees. The degree to which, if at all, the South African law complies with the preferred labour standards identified by the ILO will be pointed out. A comparative study will be conducted, first by ascertaining in detail how the comparable issues in the UK and Namibian law are dealt with, and second by identifying which aspects in these legal systems could be of value to the South African law. Finally the potential effectiveness of the proposed amendments to the South African labour legislation will be analysed, during which recommendations for the unresolved issues will be provided. The recommendations are mainly aimed at achieving sufficient rights and legal certainty for the temporary employees associated with temporary employment agencies.

Cette thèse se propose d'analyser l'accès à la justice civile pour les victimes de violations de droits de l'homme commises par des entreprises multinationales, au regard des règles de compétence internationale des tribunaux de international privé en matière de responsabilité civile délictuelle. La recherche mettra en exergue la double fonction que peuvent endosser les règles de compétence de droit international privé dans ce domaine, en assurant, d'une part, un accès effectif à la justice et à la réparation pour les victimes de tels abus, et en participant, d'autre part à l'effort de régulation des entreprises multinationales sur le plan global.

This thesis investigates how International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) come to act within an organizational context. In particular, the thesis explores how the requirements for goodwill accounting and leasing influence organizational calculative practices, transforming and shaping operations management. Drawing on actor-network theory, this study moves away from a priori distinctions, following the construction and mobilization of accounting numbers across institutionalized boundaries within and around the organization. The empirical investigation took place in a large, worldwide active media group that is listed on a European stock exchange. The group is a particular interesting setting because of its diverse business structure and its German code-law accounting roots. Business combinations are a major growth factor within the industry and a high degree of decentralization in the organization placed responsibility for investment decisions at low hierarchical levels. Goodwill accounting and impairment testing were therefore highly significant calculative practices in the group. The study finds that the constitutive role of the financial reporting standards in the organization both solves tensions and dilemmas around the number and creates new ones when crucial interests are lost in translation. These tensions and dilemmas arise between the aim of standardization and closure for the construction of a legitimate value of the future, and the aim to mobilize numbers in order to motivate and create value for a future. Originally intended for the financial representation of organizational substance and performance, the standards become associated with operations management activities, helping to create the faithful records that sum up the organization. This interrelation helps to close concern around the representation of the future in a ‘fair’ value by distributing the calculative practices over a wide network of actors spanning inside and outside the organization. However, the relationship also forces a connection between calculations and ambitions that otherwise would have preferred to stay separate. This thesis offers a new perspective on IFRS implementation by emphasizing organizational activities. Through a focus on integration and the link between financial and management accounting, the ‘implementation problems’ highlighted in previous literature gain a refined theorization. When taking organizational practice seriously, integration becomes a process that may find temporal stability but will never be final. In the process, conflicts might be solved but new dilemmas will arise. In turn, concepts like decision usefulness, comparability and earnings management cannot exist in a stable form but are rather constructed in networks that disregard commonly assumed boundaries inside and around the organization.

It is widely acknowledged that entrepreneurial companies play a key role in shaping a local economy. Entrepreneurial companies are a source of growth and innovation for an industry and provide jobs for the local population. However, entrepreneurs of high growth oriented companies rarely have the capital to finance their innovative ideas themselves and therefore also have to accept the risks associated with assessing and acquiring the necessary finance resources from other investors. The goal of this dissertation is to study the impact of venture capital (VC) finance on such entrepreneurial finance decisions. Although VC investors are a highly focused and specialized kind of investors that offer a wide range of differentiated services, it is to date still unclear how VC investors may reduce agency costs for other potential investors. The first study of this dissertation studies the effect of VC finance and associated VC ownership for finance decisions from other investors who have the potential to invest in these companies. This study demonstrates that VC ownership results into a larger supply of finance for the entrepreneurial company. Second, I find that VC ownership results into an even larger positive effect on capital investment decisions from equity investors as VC finance is typically also associated with the implementation of an equity-oriented corporate governance mechanism in entrepreneurial companies. VC ownership does not have an effect on the supply of finance from financial debt investors, however. Nevertheless, I find that debt finance is equally available for companies with VC ownership as compared to companies without VC ownership, which is a surprising result given the high risk associated with high growth companies that raise VC finance. Another important finding of this study is that the positive effect of VC ownership is stronger for repeated VC finance versus non-repeated VC finance. In fact, these results indicate that the effect of VC finance for entrepreneurial companies’ finance decisions is considerably larger if VC investors commit to further finance the company. The second study of this dissertation extends the first study and explores the effect of VC ownership on entrepreneurial finance decisions in different institutional settings. Although the effect of VC ownership is not limited to one specific institutional context, this study shows that its impact on entrepreneurial finance decisions is stronger in countries with a better quality of law enforcement and in countries where the entrepreneur is able to obtain a fresh start after bankruptcy. Specifically, in countries with a better enforcement of law, VC investors are more effective in reducing agency problems between entrepreneurs and potential investors. The attractiveness of a fresh start after bankruptcy will also be higher for an entrepreneur who raised VC finance, as VC investors focus more on maximizing the value of their portfolio rather than on the survival of individual firms. The third study acknowledges the fact that VC investors are not all equal and explores which VC investor types have more bargaining power versus the entrepreneur and how such differences in VC investor bargaining power affect company valuations in VC investment rounds. VC investor bargaining power is important because company valuations are the outcome of negotiations between the VC investor and the entrepreneur. We show that university VC firms and government VC firms negotiate lower valuations compared with independent VC firms. The proprietary deal flow of university VC firms and the limited competition in niche markets in which government VC firms compete will directly increase their bargaining power versus the entrepreneur, which these VC investor types then further exploit by negotiating lower company valuations compared with independent VC investors. Although differences in VC investor type did not affect entrepreneurial finance decisions in the first and second study, they do affect the equity stake that an entrepreneur will have to give up in order to raise VC finance and in order to a have a greater access to entrepreneurial finance from potential investors in the future.

This thesis comparatively analyses the SA income tax general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) in s 80A-L of the Income Tax Act 58/1962 and similar rules in Australia, Canada, the UK and the judicial doctrines in the US and the UK. It is argued that, while the SA GAAR may serve as a deterrent, it is going to have limited efficacy against impermissible tax avoidance due to the uncertainty it creates. It is argued that uncertainty will cause judicial activism to protect permissible tax avoidance, extensive and inconsistent judicial interpretation and confusion amongst taxpayers and SARS as to what constitutes permissible or impermissible tax avoidance. This thesis ends by recommending certain amendments, based on the comparative analysis, to the SA GAAR which can reduce uncertainty and thus improve it efficacy.

In a region where there is diversity of laws, the author maintains that law reform is a catalyst for investment and development. This thesis aims at demonstrating that OHADA provides practical lessons for the development of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC. This is following OHADA’s success in developing uniform commercial rules that are directly applicable in the contracting states. To achieve this, the thesis uses a “structured focused comparison” methodology that allows for two separate, but structurally linked accounts of the structures of both organisations. In exploring the structures of both organisations, the thesis endeavours to: determine whether there is the need for the development of a commercial law structure in the SADC; whether such a structure can be developed within the current SADC structure and whether OHADA can serve as a possible model for the SADC. The findings show that no part of the African continent has witnessed regional legal reform on the scale of that initiated by OHADA. It equally reveals the absence of a uniform commercial law structure in the SADC and the lack of supranational structures to adopt full panoply of business laws and to preserve the uniformity of laws in the member states. The findings from this thesis provide evidence that there is the need forthe development of a commercial law structure in the SADC and improvement of the current SADC structure. There is no doubt that thi swould do away with legal uncertainty in cross-border commercial transactions among SADC states.

The Tanzanian private sector is growing, partly due to the state’s efforts to conform to the global economy. As the economy expands and the National Microfinance Policy of 2001 is realised, more and more credit has been made available to consumers. As a direct consequence of the increase of credit, the number of over- indebted consumers in Tanzania is on the rise. The current debt relief system is regulated by the Tanzanian Bankruptcy Act no. 9 of 1930, a piece of colonial legislation. Unfortunately this law is ineffective, costly and outdated. Some of the problems identified in this study with this debt relief regime include the lack of a cost- effective alternative to bankruptcy and its total reliance on the judiciary, an institution that is itself overburdened and requires reform. The purpose of this study is to make recommendations for the reform of the current debt relief system and propose a debt relief dispensation for consumer debtors in Tanzania that will efficiently cure over- indebtedness. A wide comparative investigation was undertaken in this study of selected common law, civil and mixed legal systems that have substantial experience with the boom in over-indebted consumers now facing Tanzania. A number of solutions were borrowed from these systems that may potentially solve Tanzania’s debt relief problem. One of the main findings of this thesis is that, over time, developed jurisdictions that rely on credit in the private sector appear to be converging on the same type of procedures and moderate philosophies for consumer debt relief. These include less judicial supervision for debt relief procedures, less freedom of choice for over-indebted consumers when it comes to the type of procedures available, and mandatory surplus income repayments for debtors who can afford it. In order to address the problems of the Tanzanian debt relief system, this thesis proposes a complete overhaul of the administration of debt relief procedures in Tanzania and the introduction of a combined alternative to bankruptcy that consists of three joint procedures. A number of amendments are also proposed for the Bankruptcy Act no.9 of 1930. This thesis states the status of legal developments as they were in the selected jurisdictions on 31 December 2012.

This study is concerned with integration efforts on the African continent. This study sets out to investigate the politico-legal and economic impediments to regional and continental integration efforts in Africa. The documents, processes, and organs of the African Union, as the main continental organisation, are the focal point of this study. In order to achieve this, the study primarily adopted a qualitative approach since the literature involved in this work could not be reduced to a quantitative concept. The study ensured that the premises and the conclusions in this work conform to the principles of reliability and validity and in addition the elimination of bias in this was curtailed by validation and triangulation. This was achieved by the fact that the arguments in this work were not only based on qualitative arguments but, where possible, quantitative data was brought in to validate/ triangulate the qualitative arguments. Evidently, the study would have been incomplete if it did not discuss and evaluate the many regional economic communities that have been established to further the objectives of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. One of the major premises that this study discovers is that there is a direct and demonstrable relationship between democracy and economic progress; genuine and sustainable development has to be fostered primarily by securing peace and stability on the African continent. Some of the other key findings of the study include that; a) the ultimate goal of the African Union is full political and economic integration leading to the United States of Africa; b) overlapping memberships to a custom unions are highly detrimental to the state since it has to subscribe resources and political will to two or more different arrangements. c) overlapping memberships cause confusion, inertia and most importantly legal uncertainty thereby stifling trade liberalisation efforts; d) many African states still guard their sovereignty closely and that many perceive that yielding their sovereignty to a continental body is tantamount to losing their independence; e) the African Union infrastructure still lacks supra-national and national institutions that are capable of implementing its values; f) the African Union infrastructure does not contain an institutionalised mechanism for the promotion and management of Union affairs at national level; g) the NEPAD initiatives, the APRM process and the functions of the Peace and Security Council play a positive role in African politico-legal and economic development. It has however been shown that these mechanisms are more reactive than preventative and as such intervene too late in the internal affairs of member states; h) armed conflicts cause a reduction in the per-capita Gross Domestic Product growth rate of a nation experiencing a civil war/ conflicts. i) the African Union has regressed from the original timelines of the African Economic Community. The highest regression being Phase 2 which involves the most critical element of strengthening of African regional integration arrangements and the harmonisation of policies concerned. A thirteen (13) year postponement is noted in this regard. j) Africa's poor intra-trade performance is also attributed to the limited progress among African countries in fostering structural transformation. This structural transformation relates to the building of roads, bridges, railway lines and power grids; In order for the African continent to re-position itself in an attempt to harness the benefits of regional integration, some of the recommendations that the study makes are that; a) the African Union grant supra-national status to institutions of the Union for the equitable and speedy attainment of integration; b) the Union and member states should as soon as possible create mechanisms with decision making powers to manage Union affairs at regional and national level; c) the operationalization of the Pan African Parliament should be pursued with the utmost determination to bring the Parliament to full functionality as a Continental legislative body; d) the operationalization of the African Court of Justice and Human Rights be completed as soon as possible in order to allow the body to function as a fully-fledged continental judiciary. This will ensure that the development of integration jurisprudence from an international law perspective is not delayed. The Court will also pursue the enforcement of Human rights norms and practices; e) the Union should further lead the continent in the following sectors with clear and predictable deliverables; i) the establishment and upgrading of regional land, air, and other means of transportation and communication; ii) the creation of a cross-border power and energy generation and distribution network; iii) the establishment, advancement, and diversification of regional financial and commodity markets; iv) the establishment of a regional higher education system by facilitating wider access through specialization in regional integration; The study further acknowledges that these recommendations are not conclusive since the study of regional integration is still at its infancy and many other ideas on how to strengthen African regional integration still await discovery.

The Zimbabwean economy rapidly declined over the past two decades. A record hyperinflationary environment and a collapse of the financial service sector coupled by lack of external lines of credit created a difficult operating environment for corporate businesses. Businesses thus either closed down operations or resorted to survival strategies. Corporate mergers and acquisitions emerged as natural favoured strategies in implementing survival corporate restructuring transactions. However, the success of such strategies largely depends on the effectiveness of the merger regulatory framework, that is, its ability to promote beneficial corporate restructuring transactions on one hand and to maintain the competitive structure of the market on the other hand. This research analyses the current merger regulatory framework in Zimbabwe and assesses whether it is suited to promote beneficial corporate restructuring transactions implemented through mergers and acquisitions without unnecessarily distorting the competitive structure of the market. Employing the failing firm doctrine as the focal point, the research identified a number of shortcomings within the current merger regulatory framework that impacts upon its ability to effectively promote beneficial corporate mergers and acquisitions without sacrificing the competitive market structure. Selected comparative jurisdictions were used to draw various lessons for Zimbabwe. The aim of the comparative study was not to provide an exhaustive analysis of these jurisdictions but to identify specific arrears that can be used to develop and suggest an effective merger regulatory framework for Zimbabwe. In order to remedy the identified shortcomings inherent within the current Zimbabwean merger regulatory framework, this thesis proposes a number of amendments to the current Competition Act [Chapter 7:01] of 1996. These proposed amendments are aimed at bringing clarity, flexibility and strengthening the merger regulatory framework including the institutions tasked with such. The research is primarily a legal analysis of the Zimbabwean merger regulating statute and its implications on any decisions made by the competition authority. As such, the thesis states the status of legal development in Zimbabwe and the selected comparative jurisdictions as of 31 July 2013.

Ticari hayatta sıklıkla karşılaşılan hukuki işlemler ve özellikle sözleşmeler dolayısıyla borç ilişkileri ortaya çıkmaktadır. Borç ilişkisi ise sözleşmenin taraflarını alacaklı veya borçlu konuma getirmektedir. Ticari hayatın baş aktörlerinden olan tacir; borç ilişkisinde alacaklı tarafta yer aldığında, alacağını elde edememe kaygısını taşıyabilir. Bu kaygıyı minimize etmek amacıyla borçludan bir güvence istemesi tabidir. Bu bağlamda tacir, ipotek veya rehin ile alacağını güvence altına almaya çalışabilir. Ancak gerek ipotek ve rehin tesis edilebilecek unsurların sınırlı olması gerekse bu işlemlerin fazla masraflı olması nedeniyle tacir ayni teminatlardan daha çok şahsi teminatlara yönelmektedir. Kefalet sözleşmesi ise en sık başvurulan şahsi teminatlardan biridir. Çünkü genellikle dostane ilişkilere dayanmaktadır. Dolayısıyla kefalet sözleşmesi ticari hayatın vazgeçilmez unsurlarındandır. 01.07.2012 tarihinde yürürlüğe giren 6098 sayılı Türk Borçlar Kanunu ile borçlar hukuku alanında, yine aynı tarihte yürürlüğe giren 6102 sayılı Türk Ticaret Kanunu ile de ticaret hukuku alanında reform sayılabilecek değişimler yaşanmıştır. Her iki Kanundaki değişimler gerek ticari iş, ticari işletme, ticaret ortaklıkları ve dolayısıyla tacire ilişkin hükümleri ve gerekse kefalet sözleşmesi başta olmak üzere teminat sözleşmelerini yeni bir yapılanmaya götürmüştür. Bu çerçevede çalışmada; Türk Ticaret Kanunu ve Türk Borçlar Kanunu'nda yapılan reform değişiklikler harmanının ticari işlerde kefalet sözleşmesine ve kefile yansımaları ele alınmıştır. Konu, gerçek kişi tacir-tüzel kişi tacir ayrımı doğrultusunda incelenip ticari işlerde kefalet sözleşmesi düzenlendiğinde, sözleşmenin durumu ve tacirlerin sorumlulukları değerlendirilmiştir. Değerlendirme yapılırken, tüzel kişi tacir sıfatına sahip olan ticaret ortaklıkları, ticari işletme işleten dernekler ve vakıflar, ticari şekilde işletilmek üzere kurulan kamu tüzel kişileri ve ayrıca bankaların kefalet sözleşmesindeki konumu, durumu ve sorumluluğu yenilenen hükümler ışığında irdelenmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Kefalet Sözleşmesi, Kefil, Sorumluluk, Tacir, Ticari İş. Relations of loan rise due to legal transactions and especially contracts which are frequently experienced in business life. Relations of loan put contracting parties either debtor or creditor positions. When trader, who is one of the main actors of business life, is on creditor side; might have concern about not collecting the debt. And it is quite natural that he can ask for security to minimize this concern. In this regard, trader could secure his claim by hypothec and pleadings. However, trader heads for personal guarantee rather than real security as both the components which can establish hypothec and pleading are limited and these transactions are too costly. Suretyship contract is one of the most chosen personal guarantees. Because, it relies on amicable terms. So, suretyship contract is one of the indispensable components of business life. Turkish Code of Obligations, Law Number 6098 which came into force on 01.07.2012 and Turkish Commercial Code, Law Number 6102 which entered in force on the same date are the changes which can be called as reforms. With changes in both laws, not only commercial affair, business organization, business partnership and accordingly the terms as to trader, but also contract of guarantees, particularly suretyship contracts were re-structured. Within this scope in this study, changes in Turkish Commercial Code and Turkish Code of Obligations and their influence on surety and suretyship contracts in business affairs are interpreted. Subject is assessed in line with difference between real person trader and legal person trader and when suretyship contract is drawn up in business affairs, condition of contract and responsibilities of traders are handled. The business partnerships which have legal person trader title, associations and foundations which run business organizations, the public entities established to be operated commercially, and position, condition and responsibility of banks in suretyship contracts are addressed in the light of renewed terms.

There is enough evidence on how climate change consequences will adversely affect Africa despite the fact that it is the continent that has least contributed to the problem. The international climate change regime recognises Africa's vulnerability to climate change and provides for special treatment under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the UNFCCC). Thus, the international climate change regime presents an opportunity for African countries to adapt and mitigate the consequences of climate change through the UNFCCC mechanism. However, the international climate change legal regime has not been able to adequately assist African countries to address the consequences of climate change under the vulnerability principle. Although the current international climate change regime requires developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Africa needs to take steps itself to address the problem, because it is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change. The African Union (AU) could play a great role in ensuring that the international climate change regime addresses the consequences of climate change in the region. This could be done through fostering strong African common positions during international climate change negotiations. A strong common position could strengthen African bargaining power and might result in more funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer for adaptation and mitigation programmes under the UNFCCC-Kyoto Conference of Parties. However, reaching a strong common position requires the cooperation of the AU member states. In this context, African regional integration is an opportunity for the AU to foster such cooperation among member states. The Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (the Abuja Treaty), the Constitutive Act of the AU and the Protocol on the Relations between the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) prioritise regional economic integration and call for states' cooperation, but the call has not yet been heeded. To realise deep and viable African integration, there must be a well-structured institutional and legal framework that defines the relationship between the AU, the AEC and the RECs. African regional integration is also seen as an avenue whereby the AU can create its own regional climate-change regime. In this regard, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is examined in order to assess whether it adequately integrates climate change issues. This study finds that although Africa is most vulnerable to the consequences of climate change, the AU's and RECs' normative framework on climate change is weak and inadequate to address the problem. The Framework should integrate climate change issues in order to achieve sustainable development. The AU should also ensure that member states ratify the relevant treaties and protocols (the Maputo Nature Convention and the Protocol establishing the African Court of Justice and Human Rights) that have not yet been ratified in order that they may become operational. The Maputo Nature Convention puts sustainable development in the forefront of attention as a reaction to the potentially conflicting environmental and developmental challenges facing the continent (such as climate change), but it is not yet in force. This work finds that human rights law can strengthen the AU's role in addressing climate change through its normative framework. The human rights approach to climate change under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Banjul Charter) is a viable avenue because human rights law forms the basis for states' responsibility based on human rights obligations and principles. The extraterritorial application of the Banjul Charter presents an avenue for AU institutions such as the Human Rights Commission and the African Human Rights Court to curb the effects of climate change through a human rights lens. The future of the AU is presented within the context of a set of recommendations that identify strong African regional integration as an avenue through which the AU can foster the cooperation of member states to address the consequences of climate change in the AU's and RECs' normative frameworks. General recommendations are made on the need for the international climate change regime to pay more attention to issues of funding, capacity building and technology development and transfer on the basis of the vulnerability principle and in relation to the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Also, the AU needs to strengthen its legal and institutional structures to ensure deep African integration that is capable of addressing common challenges such as the consequences of climate change.

Tarafların sözleşmeden kaynaklanan sorumluluklarını kararlaştırılan zamanda ifa etmemeleri birtakım sorunlara sebep olmaktadır. Özellikle davaların kısa sürede sonuçlandırılamaması, zarar ve kusurun ispatı gibi güçlükler alacaklıyı borcun ifasını sağlayacak arayışlara sevk etmektedir. Cezai şart günümüzde borçlar hukukunda, ticaret hukukunda, iş hukukunda ve medeni hukukta geniş uygulama alanına sahiptir. Tarafların kolay bir şekilde ve kendi iradeleriyle istedikleri gibi kararlaştırabilmeleri cezai şartın sıklıkla başvurulan hukuki işlem olmasının en önemli nedenlerindendir. Borçluyu ifaya zorlama, zararın tazmin edilmesi ve alacağın teminat altına alınması gibi birçok temel işlevi olan cezai şart borçlunun, asıl borcunu ilerde hiç veya gereği gibi ifa etmemesi ya da geç ifa etmesi durumunda, alacaklıya ödemeyi önceden taahhüt ettiği edimdir. Cezâî şart anlaşmasından doğan borç, asıl borca bağlı feri bir borçtur. Bu bakımdan asıl borç yoksa cezai şartın varlığından bahsedilemez. Ancak ifa zamanından sonra cezai şart, niteliği veya miktarı bakımından bağımsız bir edim haline dönüşür. ?Sözleşmelerde Cezai Şart? konulu çalışmamız, üç bölümden oluşmaktadır. Giriş kısmında çalışmanın önemi, amacı, yöntemi, kaynakları ve değerlendirme metodu hakkında bilgi verilmiştir. Birinci bölümde hem modern hukuk hem de İslam hukukuna göre sözleşme, şart ve cezai şart kavramları incelenmiş, cezai şartın konusu, amacı, benzer kavramlarla ilişkisi ve çeşitleri araştırılmış, hukuki niteliği, unsurları ve muaccel olmasının şartları tespit edilmiş, İslâm hukukuna göre para borçlarında ve diğer borçlarda cezai şartın hükmü tahlil edilmiştir. İkinci bölümde amacı bakımından sınıflandırılan sözleşmelere cezai şartın etkisi araştırılmıştır. Bu bağlamda sözleşme çeşidi hakkında kısa bilgi verilmiş İslâm hukukçularının görüşleri delilleriyle birlikte tespit edilmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde cezai şartın tadili, iptali ve sona ermesi başlığı altında, modern hukukla mukayeseli olarak cezai şart miktarının indirilmesinin veya artırılmasının kriterleri tespit edilmiş, cezâî şartın iptali ve sona ermesi konusu araştırılmıştır. Sonuç kısmında ise `Sözleşmelerde Cezai Şart? konulu çalışmadan elde ettiğimiz neticeler ifade edilmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: İslâm Hukuku, Cezai şart, Borç, Faiz, Zarar. Not performing the responsibilities of two partners on a stated time causes some problems. Especially not ending of the lawsuits in short time and difficulties such as proving of damage and negligence lead to searching to provide executing of debt. Penal clause has a large practice field in law of obligations, trade law, labour law and civil law. Deciding of the partners easily and with their own freedom is one of the most important causes commonly applied process of penal clause. Penal clause having many functions such as forcing to excuting, reimbursing of damage and ensuring the credit is an action that commits to pay to the creditor in case of not performing of the borrower at all in the future. The debt from penal clause contract is a secondary one belonging to the principal debt. So, in the absence of original debt, it is not a case to talk about penal clause. But after the time of execution, penal clause transforms into an independant action. The study titled 'The Penal clause in Contracts' consists of three sections. In the introductory section In the introductory chapter the information has been presented about the goal, the method, resources evaulation method of the study. In the first section, the conditions of the contract and the concept of penal clause have been searched according to both modern law and islamic law and also the subject of penal clause has been examined in terms of its goal and relations with similar concepts and types and also judicial qualification and conditios for being executory and the provision of penal clause with currency debtsand another type of debts according islamic law. In the second section the effects of penal clause to the contracts classified in the respect of the goals have been researched. In this sense a short information has been given about the types of contract and the thoughts of islamic lawyers have been examined. In the third section under the title of remodelling and ending of penal clause, the criteria of the decrease or increase of the quantitity of penal clause in contrast with modern law have been examined and the issue of cancellation and ending of penal clause has been searched. In the conclusion part of the study , the results obtained by the study titled penal clause in contracts have been stated. Key Words: Islamic Law, Penal Clause, Loan, Interest, Los

The thesis considers the approaches followed by the European Union with the Brussels Regime, the federal system of the United States of America under the ‘full faith and credit clause’; the inter-state recognition scheme under the Australia and New Zealand Trans- Tasman judicial system; as well as the convention-approach of the Latin American States. It finds that the most suitable approach for the SACU is the negotiation and adoption by all SACU Member States of a multilateral convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, comparable to the 1971 Convention of the Hague Conference on Private International Law; the EU Brussels I Regulation and the Latin-American Montevideo Convention, as complemented by the La Paz Convention. It is imperative that a proposed convention should not merely duplicate previous efforts, but should be drafted in the light of the legal, political and socio-economic characteristics of the SACU Member States. The current legislative provisions in force in SACU Member States are compared and analysed, and the comparison and analysis form the basis of a proposal for a future instrument on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments for the region. A recommended draft text for a proposed Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments for the SACU is included. This draft text could form the basis for future negotiations by SACU Member States

"Bu çalışma, markanın hükümsüzlüğü ve hükümsüzlüğün hukuki sonuçlarını mukayeseli hukukla karşılaştırmak suretiyle incelemeyi amaçlar. İnceleme 3 bölüm-den oluşmaktadır. Marka kavramı ve benzer kavramlarla karşılaştırılması başlıklı birinci bölümde: Markanın tarihçesi ve marka hakkındaki hukuki gelişmeler, teori-ler, markanın iktisabına ilişkin sistemler, markanın tanımı, türler, işlevi ve sınıfları ile markanın benzer kavramlarla karşılaştırılması konuları; markanın Hükümsüz-lük Halleri başlıklı ikinci bölümde: Hükümsüzlük ve iptal kavramları, mutlak ret nedenleri, nispi ret nedenleri ve markanın tescil edilmesinden sonra ortaya çıkan di-ğer hükümsüzlük nedenleri ile KHK da öngörülmemesine rağmen, Tasarıda düzen-lenen ve bizce de hükümsüzlük nedeni olarak kabul edilmesi gereken bazı haller; Hükümsüzlük davası ve hükümsüzlüğün hukuki sonuçları başlıklı üçüncü bölümde ise: hükümsüzlük davasının niteliği ve özellikleri, tarafları, deliller ve değerlendiril-mesi ile resen araştırma sorunu ve hükümsüzlük kararının etkileri ayrıntılı olarak incelenmiş ve gerekli değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. This study aims at examining the invalidity of trademark and legal conse-quences of invalidity through comparative law. The study is divided into three chapters. The first chapter with the heading of Trademark Concept and It’s Comparison with Similar Concepts reviews the history of trademark and legal evolution of trademark, theories, trademark acquisition systems, definition of trademark, types of trademark, functions and classifications and comparison of trademark with similar concepts; then, the second chapter with the heading of Reasons of Invalidity of Trademark reviews the concepts of invalidity and annulment, absolute refusal reasons, relative refusal reasons and other reasons that can appear after registration of trademark and many reasons, in our opinion, that should be accepted as reasons for invalidity despite those are not foreseen in Decree Law, many further reasons for annullment that are stated in Draft Law as we also share the same opinion; while, finally, the third chapter with the heading of Suit of Invalidity and Legal Consequences of Invalidity reviews in detail, the nature of suit of invalidity and its properties, the parties, proofs and its as-sessment, courts duty of ex-officio assessment, and effects of court verdict for invalidity. Then, necessary evaluations were made at the end of the study."