Bibliographie sélective OHADA

The Law of International Maritime Boundaries is characterized by an evolution that can be noticed at many levels. These levels include the application of equitable principles, the criteria for delimitation, the basis of title, the techniques, the methods and the applicable law. This legal evolution, which is deep-rooted in a case by case approach has not always led to greater predictability and consistency of the judicial and arbitral decisions. One should keep in mind the fact that each case is a unicum. From the 1969 pioneer North Continental Shelf Case to recent decisions, the position of the I.C.J. is well-established: there is not one method of delimitation which is predetermined or privileged, which takes priority or which is of mandatory application. The ultimate goal consists in drawing an equitable maritime boundary between coastal States. In Jan Mayen Case (Denmark/ Norway Case 1993), the I.C.J. made two major developments by considering in one hand the equidistance provision first codified at article 6 of Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf as a provisional method of delimitation. On the other hand, the Court gave notable effect to socio-economic factors which, prior to that case, had been constantly dismissed because of their subjectivity, variability and momentary nature (Tunisia/ Libya Case 1982). Regarding the basis of the title, progress from natural prolongation as the traditional basis of the title to 200 miles distance from the shoreline as the new basis of the title (Libya/ Malta Case 1985) should be noted. As for the application of equitable principles, one can say that they are progressively losing their variability. For the judge, in fact, equitable principles must be of an objective nature based mainly on coastal geography in order to be of general application. With regard to applicable law issues, besides the 1958 Geneva Convention, States now have recourse to the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, States practice, jurisprudence, and rules of customary international law. In respect of that law which is evolving with its uncertainties, we have tried to lay stress on the contributions of African States to its development. We wanted to verify to what extent those States have played a significant part in the progressive development of the Law of the Sea in general and particularly with regard the law of maritime boundary delimitation. We have emphasized in the first part of our analysis, the evolution of the law of maritime boundaries. In the second part, we have analysed in two steps African contributions. We have concluded that African Coastal States should, as much as possible and in line with the trend to peaceful cooperation at sea in Africa, avoid resolving disputes through litigation. After having defined their maritime priorities, policies and strategies, States should use diplomatic negotiations to settle their maritime boundary disputes. They can also, as a supplementary approach, set up Joint Development Zones or provide for Joint Exploitation of their marine resources as an interim approach to disputes resolution. We have analyzed the legal implications of such regimes in the prospective case between Ivory Coast and Ghana. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This work considers two broad aspects of consumer law, namely, substantive and practical protection of consumer rights. The former examines the law on consumer protection as contained in the statute books and judicial decisions. The latter deals withthe law in practice. This considers the practical implementation of the various laws on consumer protection by the operative agencies. It also examines the practical effects of these laws on the level of consumer protection. The work is divided into ten chapters.Chapter one gives a survey of consumer protection in different jurisdictions. It also states the research problems, objectives of the study, hypotheses, scope, signi ticance of the work, conceptual frame work and literature review.Chapter two discusses the methodology adopted in this work. Chapter three considers the laws gov.erning dealings in regulated products. These products are food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, bottled water, chemicals and hazardous products. It is seen from this chapter that the law makes reasonable provtsfc;ns on the control of regulated products. In contrast, the level of practical protection bas remained low due to weak enforcement system.Chapter four examines the laws which impose further restrictions on dealings in drugs. This reveals that the law adequately controls dealings in drugs . But like the case of laws considered in the preceding chapter, implementation of the statutory provisions remains a problem.Chapter jive examines the functions and activities of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria whose duty it is to prescribe and ensure compliance with product standards. Like the cases of the agencies discussed in the previous chapters, a major problem facing the organisation is the ineffective implementation of its standards.Chapter six discusses the civil liability of an offender to the victim. This chapter reveals that a person whose product causes injury to the person or property of another, is civilly liable to that other person. His liability is without prejudice to his criminalliability. Chapter seven examines the course of action open to a claimant who is not in privity of contract with the defendant. This chapter reveals that such a claimant can sue in the tort of negligence. But his chances of success are greatly limited by the restrictive meaning accorded the term "product defect" in tort law. Proof of negligence also constitutes an almost insurmountable obstacle. The chapter concludes that as a way of getting round the problem of proof of negligence, there is need to introduce strict product liability in selected cases particularly in the fields of pharmaceuticals and articles of food. Chapter eight examines the contractual rights of a consumer/purchaser. This chapter shows that action in contract is of immense benefit to the claimant because he does not have to prove negligence on the part of the other contracting party. In addition, liability is strict since an exercise of due care will not absolve the offender. But this course of action is of limited application because it is not available ta a consumer who is not also the buyer of the product. This chapter concludes like the preceding one that the only solution ta the basic contract requirements is the introduction of strict liability in selected areas. Chapter nine analyses the data on the practical implementation of consumer laws, while chapter ten summarises our research findings and proffers some suggestions.

Little attention is paid to the civil remedies available when infringement of a trade mark or the right to goodwill occurs. Yet, for the owners of ~uch rights, these remedies are of much greater importance than theoretical considerations regarding the nature of the rights or what constitutes their infringement. This thesis analyses the civil remedies for trade mark infringement granted by the South African Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993. In the South African context, any consideration of civil remedies is rendered problematic by the attempted graft of English remedies onto a legal system with a different common-law background. It is, therefore, essential first to trace the English origin and application of these remedies, and then to determine whether each remedy is acceptable in terms of the South African common law. This is necessary, as our courts have previously rejected or adapted English remedies which were unknown to our common law but which Parliament introduced in legislation. The remedies of interdict (or injunction) in final and interlocutory form, compensatory damages, reasonable royalties, and delivery up are analysed from a substantive law and a procedural perspective. The procedural innovation of an inquiry as to damages is also considered. In respect of each remedy, (1) the English roots and development of the remedy are traced; (2) differences of approach in two other Commonwealth jurisdictions, Australia and Canada, are highlighted; (3) the development of the South African equivalent is detailed; and (4) suggestions for the future implementation of the remedy in South Africa are made. In the penultimate chapter, our common law and legislation (including the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 108 of 1996 ) are measured against the requirements of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Recommendations for the effective utilization of each remedy in South Africa are then made. They include suggestions for legislative amendment in respect of delivery up and an inquiry as to damages, and the introduction of statutory damages as an further civil remedy.

This is a collection of essays about the restraint of trade doctrine as laid down in the courts of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth. Generally, I will not give an account of the restraint of trade doctrine in the United States of America, for even although each individual state (apart from the civil jurisdictions California and Louisiana) and the federation itself, has a common law system, for reasons peculiar to those jurisdictions, the restraint of trade case law there has become so vast and so confused as to be unsuitable for my purposes. More importantly, however, the common law restraint of trade doctrine in the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth has been laid down by courts without any significant consideration of the state of the law in the United States. Davies v Davies (1887) 36 Ch D 359, 370 by contrast, the period during which the Privy Council operated as a supra national court of final appeal has resulted in considerable harmony in the doctrine within the British Commonwealth. Even now the House of Lords is influential in Australia and Canada and the influence is increasingly reciprocal. By way of an exception I will discuss the purposes of the anti-trust legislation in the United States. This is necessary because I intend to show that the common law restraint of trade doctrine was not able to be, and was never intended to be, a means of regulating the economy in contradistinction to the United States anti-trust legislation and related legislation in the British Commonwealth. This account is not merely a description of the law relating to the restraint of trade doctrine although I do purport to describe the law. There are other accounts of the restraint of trade doctrine which do that well. Accounts of the restraint of trade doctrine include: Matthews & Adler, The Law Relating to Covenants in Restraints of Trade (London, 2nd ed 1907); Sanderson, Restraint of Trade in English law (London, 1926); Heydon, The Restraint of Trade Doctrine (London, 1971); Trebilcock, The Common Law of Restraint of Trade; A Legal and Economic Analysis (Toronto, 1986); Dean, The Law of Trade Secrets (Sydney, 1990); Mehigan & Griffiths, Restraint of Trade and Business Secrets: Law & Practice (London, 2nd ed 1991); Holdsworth, History of English Law IV (3rd ed, 1945) 343-54, 373-9; VIII (2nd ed, 1937) 56-42. There are other, less detailed accounts in contract law textbooks. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe aspects of the doctrine as it developed between the medieval period and the twentieth century and then to use that account as a basis for an analysis of how the law has taken a number of paths during the twentieth century which cannot be justified by the rules and their justifications which existed in the law prior to that time. Such a development has had important consequences for the restraint of trade doctrine and even the law in general, most of which have been detrimental. I do not intend to give a continuous historical narrative covering the whole of the doctrine. The history has been described before. For example, I do not intend to give a discrete account of the process by which the absolute rule against general restraints of trade gave way to the rule of reason, although I do mention this process where relevant for other purposes. The history, so far as it is relevant, is integrated into each chapter. I will argue that historically the restraint of trade doctrine was a rule or complex of rules, of a certain form and content. The form and content of the rule are important because they bear on the meaning of the class term "restraint of trade" which is an element of the rule. The meaning of that term began to change around the year 1890. Beginning first with certain classes of trade combination, courts began to classify as restraints of trade covenants which did not in fact restrain trade. Then the courts similarly treated the exclusive dealing contract and certain forms of property transaction. Another trend in the law which added to the confusion about the meaning of restraint of trade was the failure by the courts to make definitive findings one way or another as to whether a particular covenant was in restraint of trade. The courts were then faced with a dilemma. The law required a court to refuse to enforce a covenant in restraint of trade unless the covenantee could justify the restraint by presenting evidence to the court from which the courts could assess whether or not that particular restraint was within the reason for the restraint of trade doctrine or not. Such considerations were entirely inapt in the case of covenants which, in accordance with the traditional view, did not restrain trade. Yet if the courts did not validate these contracts, catastrophic consequences would have followed for the parties to such contracts and, indeed, to contract as an institution. To solve the dilemma the courts began to interpret the famous statement of the restraint of trade doctrine by Lord Macnaghten in Nordenfelt v Maxim Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Co [1894] AC 535, 565 (HL) literally, rather than contextually. Ultimately this has resulted in the obscuring of the rule underlying the restraint of trade doctrine itself. There were many minor confusions along the way. It is important that the doctrine is coherent and its use consistent with its justifications because it is still a fruitful cause of legal change. In the last year the force of the rule has caused a radical restructuring of Association Football in Europe Bosman’s case. The rule has even penetrated the collective consciousness of the community at large. The broad thrust of the development and the detail will be outlined in the next thirteen chapters.

Theorising again about a topic that has already received a great deal of scientific attention may be viewed, to use some well known words of Camus, as "the ultimately absurd act" (Camus, 1975). Precisely in order to avoid, when dealing with a classic topic, falling into the absurd, or what is only slightly better, into the banal, it is necessary to use afresh methodological and conceptual tools. This should allow one to pose new questions and, finally, open up new intellectual perspectives. Conversely, the distance that one is to cover needs to be not too far removed from current paradigms. Otherwise one may fall into a different kind of trap -that of offering a contribution which is interesting but totally useless, as it were, for the purpose of shedding new light on the ongoing debate. In fact the main trigger for embarking on this project was a reaction to what were current legal critiques of the principle of subsidiarity at a given moment. Though I conceded that a critical outlook should be taken as regards subsidiarity, and no mere review of the principle in legal-technical terms, the standard critique left me with the bitter taste of scientific dissatisfaction. In my view it seemed, at best, to entirely miss the point as regards the issues, that were raised by the introduction of subsidiarity into the constitutional order of the Community, which, in turn, implied that the answers that were given were also clearly unsuitable. I therefore underwent the effort of giving an alternative critical reading of the principle of subsidiarity, the result of which constitutes the thrust of this thesis. Yet before entering into the following critique, it is important to make, by way of introduction, a number of remarks concerning (i) the genealogy of this thesis; (ii) the method; (iii) conceptual issues; (iv) the exposition of the main research hypothesis according to which this work shall be conducted; and (v) the structure of this thesis.

Come viene tradizionalmente notato, tra i pilastri di ogni moderno sistema processuale vi è il principio dell'effettività della tutela giurisdizionale, il quale principio richiede che sia garantito all'attore che può avere ragione il conseguimento pratico del bene che gli è riconosciuto dalla legge. Vi è però il pericolo che il tempo necessario allo svolgersi dei processo ordinario faccia giungere troppo tardi il provvedimento definitivo, perché nel frattempo si sono verificate circostanza tali da rendere impossibile (o più gravosa) l'attuazione pratica della sentenza di accoglimento della domanda giudiziale. Si tratta quindi di risolvere quello che è stato definito 'forse il più antico e più difficile problema pratico di ogni legislazione processuale': la necessità che il provvedimento definitivo, 'per essere praticamente efficace, sia emanato senza ritardo e la inettitudine del processo ordinario a creare senza ritardo un provvedimento definitivo'. Occorre in altri termini regolare 'uno di quei casi in cui la necessità di far presto si urta contro la necessità di far bene: affinchè il provvedimento definitivo nasca colle migliori garanzie di giustizia, esso dev’essere preceduto dal regolare e meditato svolgimento di tutta una serie di attività, al compimento delle quali è necessario un periodo, spesso non breve, di attesa; ma questa mora indispensabile al compimento dell'ordinario iter processuale rischia di rendere praticamente inefficace il provvedimento definitivo, il quale pare essere destinato, per amor di perfezione, a giunger troppo tardi, come la medicina lungamente elaborata per un ammalato già morto. Per neutralizzare il rischio di inefficacia pratica della tutela giurisdizionale derivante dalla durata fisiologica del processo ordinario, normalmente i sistemi processuali degli ordinamenti interni prevedono che il giudice possa proteggere medio tempore la posizione giuridica sostanziale dedotta in giudizio, in attesa della decisione finale. Per riferirsi all'insieme dei rimedi, di natura tipica o atipica, cui il giudice ricorre a tale scopo, nella terminologia italiana si ricorre all'espressione "provvedimenti cautelari", che può considerarsi equivalente a quelle correntemente utilizzate in ordinamenti stranieri (me sur es proviso ires, medidas cautelar es, provisionai reme dies, Vorsorgliche Rechtsschutz).

This thesis examines problems related to particular labor laws currently applied in international air transport. This analysis is framed within the context of scholarly theory and judicial practice arising from various regimes of labor law governing industrial injury, the individual contract of employment, labor-management relations, and fair treatment in the civil aviation industry. A critical survey of labor regulations operating in the international air transport industry is provided through commentary on the principles formulated by judicial decisions and the theories which underlie their reasoning, helping to clarify both substantive and procedural labor laws affecting international air transport. A critical analysis of different categories of statutory labor law governing international air transport is also provided to assess the validity of commonly-erected conflict of labor law rules, thereby revealing the inadequacy of the single rule principle in view of the unique and perplexing regulatory interests which are inherent in aviation activity. The divergence between domestic labor statutes and Treaties of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation or bilateral air transport agreements also adds a more subtle aspect to the problems explored.

Obiettivo della tesi è analizzare il significato e l'evoluzione della Politica Comunitaria Preferenziale di Cooperazione allo Sviluppo. Tale lavoro di ricerca non intende essere un 'percorso storico', uno studio cronologico dell'evoluzione delle relazioni preferenziali con gli ACP, dal Trattato di Roma al Trattato di Maastricht. Piuttosto esso si prefigge di analizzare la Politica di Cooperazione allo Sviluppo preferenziale attraverso la sua trasformazione, avvenuta nella pratica comunitaria, da una situazione 'de facto', a una situazione 'de jure'. Ovvero il passaggio da 'relazioni di cooperazione', avviate fin dalle origini del sistema comunitario (Trattato di Roma), ad una reale Politica Comunitaria di Cooperazione con il riconoscimento specifico di una competenza in tale settore in capo alla Comunità (Trattato di Maastricht).

Delineare con precisione i confini di un lavoro di ricerca può non essere cosa agevole, soprattutto se si tratta di una ricerca di natura giuridica e giuslavoristica in particolare. 1 temi che ne costituiscono l’oggetto, non sono mai del tutto astraibili dallo scenario che li circonda, e rischiano quindi, se non debitamente contestualizzati, di essere erroneamente percepiti come oggetti sospesi nel vuoto di una solo apparente compiutezza. L’analisi giuridica della contrattazione collettiva comunitaria - oggetto di questo lavoro - non costituisce in questo senso una eccezione, trattandosi anzi di una materia che soltanto artificiosamente, potrebbe essere interamente esaurita nelle scarne norme positive che ne costituiscono il quadro giuridico di riferimento. Condotta unicamente attraverso lo studio dei riferimenti normativi ad essa propri, una indagine sulla contrattazione collettiva comunitaria risulterebbe non solo e non tanto metodologicamente discutibile, quanto e soprattutto deprivata di una serie di elementi di conoscenza e di valutazione, la cui considerazione si rivela in grado di produrre un rovesciamento degli esiti inizialmente preventivabili. Il lavoro che si presenta costituisce un tentativo di recuperare la “visibilità” di tutti i molteplici fattori - giuridici, istituzionali, politici e sindacali - che, convergendo sul medesimo spazio concettuale occupato dalla contrattazione comunitaria, contribuiscono a definirne e a qualificarne i contorni. La trattazione costituisce di conseguenza il risultato di uno sforzo ricostruttivo scandito dalla continua tensione tra le esigenze di una indagine analitica e le necessità di una valutazione sintetica; tra una fecalizzazione che rischia di nascondere il contesto e una visione d’insieme nella quale la nitidezza delle linee rischia di scomparire; tra i condizionamenti inerziali di una formazione giuslavoristica attenta alla dimensione ordinamentale delle relazioni industriali, e la necessaria considerazione delle complesse trame istituzionali che, in un ordinamento “plurale” come quello comunitario, condizionano qualsiasi forma di regolazione giuridica; insomma tra lo specifico oggetto della ricerca e il complessivo scenario nel quale esso si colloca.

One of the most immediate questions that could be raised is that of the topic. Why banks?. Banks are a part of the economy which is especially prone to regulatory competition. Increasing financial globalization makes it difficult to maintain regulatory barriers and those remaining create costs that are avoided by regulatory arbitrage. Banks’ raw material is capital which is a highly mobile element. On the top of that, the longstanding experience of the US in the field, should be of some usefulness. Finally, banks are attractive since the European Union, by means of the Second Banking Directive, has undertaken a decisive step towards liberalisation. Regulatory competition in this field will be able to give us some clues into the direction of services regulation in general, and into the new institutional dimension of the Union. However, banks are only one type of financial actors. Securities and insurance industry are gradually occupying spaces traditionally reserved to banks - namely deposit collection and lending - and conversely, banks are extending their product range to cover securities and insurance activities, and are experiencing a process of disintermediation. Hence, it is increasingly impossible to distinguish among financial actors. Concentrating in one of them is just a research need in order to keep the study under manageable dimension. Still, banks remain a legally different industry because of their position in the economic gear and in the payment system. What could actually be questioned is the future of banks themselves or at least their different legal treatment In any case, the topic of financial services regulation is too large to be covered as a whole, so some subdivision is necessary. This has to be done acknowledging that divisions may not correspond to the reality of the marketplace.

La Tesis Doctoral tiene por objeto trazar el aspecto de conjunto del fenómeno de la tarjeta de crédito. Tras la delimitación de la figura, realizada a partir de la consideración de sus orígenes y evolución, y luego de tratar del marco jurídico (Derecho Positivo Español, actuaciones de la Comunidad Europea, trabajos de la comisión de las Naciones Unidas para el Derecho Mercantil internacional), se estudian sus caracteres documentales:Idoneidad Legitimadora e Intransmisibilidad. Asimismo se presta atención a las posiciones jurídicas documentalmente representadas por la tarjeta de crédito y a los procedimientos de utilización, distinguiendo entre sus modalidades básicas: las denominadas tarjetas de crédito "bilaterales" y las "trilaterales".

I examine two potential instances of rent-seeking in financial markets in the 1980s. In the first essay I test whether managers engage in political activity designed to influence federal regulation of the market for corporate control. In the second, I examine whether firms in the financial services sector attempt to affect bank deregulation. Using Federal Election Commission data, I find campaign contributions by corporate political action committees (PACs) are negatively related to levels of inside ownership, my main proxy for managerial vulnerability to hostile tender offers. Contribution patterns for firms with less than 20% insider ownership are relatively highly correlated, and differ from those of firms with greater than 20% inside ownership. Low inside ownership firms have slightly higher levels of contributions to legislators on particular House and Senate committees proposing relevant legislation. However, when I analyze the impact of contributions on legislator support for regulation I find no statistical support for a theory of vote-buying. I conclude that corporate political behavior is tied to levels of inside ownership, and comprises an alternate index of manager-shareholder conflict. Using a similar approach to analyse the financial services industry, I also find significant patterns in political action committee (PAC) campaign contributions for depository (commercial bank and thrift) and non-depository (brokerage and insurance) sectors of the financial services industry during the 98th Congress (1983-84). Contributions by depository firm PACs appear not only to purchase access to legislators serving on important banking committees crucial to their interests, but are also a significant determinant of votes for repealing sections of the Glass-Steagall Act. Nondepository contributions do not appear to influence votes directly, even though the brokerage and insurance sectors effectively lobbied House Banking Committee chairman Fernand St Germain to enforce the regulatory status quo. When I measure the rents at stake in the legislation using a two-factor market model event study approach, I find that the passage of legislation in the Senate had a positive affect on depository firm returns, implying the sector's lobbying effort was justified. However non-depository PACs lobbied just as extensively, and did not experience significant abnormal returns over the same event period, even though this round of deregulation should have been a zero-sum game between the affected sectors of the industry. I then measure the correlation between the market value impacts of new legislation and contribution amounts for individual firms within the sectors. I find rents are correlated with political activity, even for firms in the non-depository sectors.

L'intervention des personnes morales de droit public en faveur des entreprises en difficulté, due à la multiplication des procédures collectives, a été légitimée par la mise en place d'un cadre juridique et de conditions d'intervention. C'est une manifestation du droit économique qui appelle la transgression de la frontière entre le droit public et le droit privé. Celle-ci se manifeste notamment, dans la mise en œuvre de la responsabilité des personnes morales de droit public du fait de leurs interventions, par l'examen des divers fondements juridiques de leur responsabilité. D'autre part, les personnes morales de droit public sont parties à la procédure collective en tant que créancières. Elles ont à ce titre une place particulière mais leurs droits ont été modifies et le droit positif révèle un équilibre entre les intérêts publics et les intérêts privés. Par ailleurs, si les personnes morales de droit public ne peuvent être débitrices dans une procédure collective, certaines situations de fait sont analysées qui conduisent à proposer une procédure de redressement financier à leur égard. Enfin, l'interventionnisme économique de l'Etat et des collectivités locales par l'intermédiaire de sociétés de droit privé génère des difficultés d'application du droit des procédures collectives issues de l'imbrication du droit privé et du droit public et même une inapplicabilité de fait.

La loi du 25 janvier 1985 oriente clairement le droit des procédures collectives vers le sauvetage des entreprises en difficulté. Le législateur s'est donc efforce de réduire les droits des créanciers munis de suretés réelles spéciales, au nombre desquels figurent les créanciers gagistes. Il s'attaque ainsi à l'existence des suretés en favorisant leur annulation ou leur substitution par une autre garantie. Il poursuit en outre l'extinction ou l'amputation systématique des créances garanties. Enfin les créanciers nantis ne peuvent plus exercer librement leur droit de réalisation forcée du gage, encore moins leur droit de préférence, cependant ces atteintes sont compensées par l'éclatement des techniques de réalisation du gage. Celles-ci permettent d'éluder la loi du concours. Mais elles révèlent aussi d'importantes disparités entre les créanciers gagistes.

In hierdie ondersoek is daar navorsing gedoen oor die aard en rol van fisiese beheer in die sakereg met die oog daarop om dit te omskryf en die funksies daarvan te identifiseer. By die verkryging van eiendomsreg word net vereis dat die fisiese beheer wat ten aansien van die saak uitgeoefen word, effektief moet wees. Of 'n saak effektief beheer word al dan nie, word aan die hand van die heersende verkeersopvattings getoets. Hierdie verkeersmaatstawwe wat in die praktyk ten aansien van bepaalde soorte sake uitgekristalliseer het, is buigsaam en veranderlik en dit maak dit moontlik dat die reg by maatskaplike en ekonomiese veranderinge aanpas. Die funksie van fisiese beheer in gevalle van verkryging is altyd publisiteit. In die geval van die beskerming van eiendomsreg word fisiese beheer besonder breed omskryf en daar word slegs verwag dat die persoon van wie die saak teruggeeis word, genoegsame beheer daaroor moet he om dit te kan teruggee. Die funksie van beheer is hier suiwer funksioneel. By die verlies van eiendomsreg speel fisiese beheer nie juis 'n besondere rol nie aangesien die verlies van beheer nie noodwendig op die verlies of beeindiging van eiendomsreg dui nie. Wanneer dit wel ter sprake kom, is die funksie daarvan publisiteit. In die geval van die verkryging van besit en houerskap, dien daarop gelet te word dat die enigste vereiste is dat beheer effektief moet wees en dit word weer eens aan die hand van verkeersmaatstawwe bepaal. Fisiese beheer word strenger omskryf vir verkryging as vir behoud. By die beskerming van besit en houerskap is die enigste vereiste wat gestel word dat beheer vreedsaam en ongestoord moes gewees het. Wanneer beheer oor 'n saak verloor word, gaan dit gewoonlik gepaard met die verlies van besit of houerskap. Die funksie van fisiese beheer is deurgaans publisiteit. Fisiese beheer word redelik streng omskryf vir doeleindes van 'n gewone pand en daar word gewoonlik vereis dat die pandsaak gelewer en gehou moet word vir die vestiging en behoud van 'n pandreg. Die funksies van beheer is hier sekuriteit en publisiteit.

South African company law is currently the object of comprehensive review. One o f the areas under scrutiny is that of corporate governance. Control over management is vital in the interests of the company itself, its shareholders and its creditors. Effective accountability should be balanced against the need to allow those who manage a certain measure of freedom and discretion in the exercise of their function. Company directors are subject to various duties. This thesis concentrates on their fiduciary obligation. It is suggested that this sui generis obligation is owed to the company as a separate entity. Interests of other groups may sometimes merit con­ sideration. Against the background o f a com parative investigation, a "corporate opportunity" is defined as any property or economic opportunity to which the com­ pany has a claim. South African law protects a company’s claim to an opportunity if it is in the company’s line of business and if the company has justifiably been relying upon the director(s) to acquire it or to assist in its acquisition for the company. The application of established fiduciary principles suffice to resolve corporate opportunity matters. Essentially the application o f these rules amount to a determination whether the director has complied with his fundamental duty to act in the company’s best interests. There seems to be no need for a separate doctrine of corporate opportunities.' A director should only be absolved from liability on account of the company’s inability to pursue an opportunity or its rejection by the company if there was no real conflict of interest. The appropriation of corporate opportunities should not be ratifiable, both because the ratification constitutes a fraud on the minority, and because the decision to ratify cannot be regarded as being in the interests of the company. The relationship between the appropriation of corporate opportunities, misuse of confidential information and competition is investigated. These aspects fre­ quently overlap, but should be distinguished because their bases, and accordingly their appropriate remedies, may differ. Effective control may benefit by a restatement of directors’ fiduciary duties in the Companies Act. To this end certain amendments to the Act are recommended.

This dissertation is essentially a critical examination of the traditional and reformatory approaches of international bankruptcy law in Canada, England, and the United States. It highlights the shortcomings of the traditional law and the inherent limitations, contradictions, and inconsistencies of its applicable mechanism; the doctrines of private international law. The dissertation further argues that the reform schemes thus far advanced suffer from jurisdictional problems and fall short of ensuring optimal outcomes for international bankruptcy cases. Although some of these reform schemes achieve the desired equality of distribution, they unnecessarily entail a reduction in the value of distributable assets by carrying out piecemeal liquidations of local assets in order to satisfy some local claims. […] Cette thèse contient principalement une étude critique des conceptions traditionnelles et réformatrices de la loi sur la faillite internationale au Canada, en Angleterre et États-Unis. Elle éclaire les insuffisances de la loi traditionnelle ausi qua les limitations, contradictions et incohérences des mécanismes qui lui sont inhérents: les principes du droit international privé. Cette thèse soutient en outre que les plans de la reforme formulés jusque-là sont affectés par des problèmes d'organisation judiciaire et n'aboutissent pas à assurer les meilleurs résultats pour les procédures de faillite internationale. Quoique certains de ces projets de réforme réalisent l’égalité de distribution recherchée, ils entrainent une diminution inutile de la valeur des biens distribuables en provoquant des liquidations fragmentaires de biens situés sur place, en vue de satisfaire certaines réclamations locales. […]