Bibliographie sélective OHADA

The draft uniform act on contracts proposed for adoption by the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Laws in Africa ("OHADA") is a combination of continental and common-law concepts. To be effective in parts of the world where the informal sector is particularly important, for example in the 16 West and Central African states where OHADA currently operates, contract law must be particularly attentive to avoiding traps for the unwary. For this reason, enforcing gratuitous contracts may well be defensible, but requiring registration of commercial actors is not. The complexity of two OHADA laws applicable to contracts, however, increases the risk that law and norms will not overlap, creating just such a trap.

This thesis, exploring the rule of law for international rules, offers a human bond of common good between determinacy of substance and legitimacy of structure of rules in order to evaluate international obligations of States in international law on foreign investment. In an in-depth exposition of the theoretical underpinnings and practices underlying the normative structure of rules in international law, the thesis critically questions the legal reasoning embedded in—and the authority of rules borrowed from—principles and precedents or moral and political evaluations by arbitrators in interpretation of States' contractual, customary, and treaty obligations in investment arbitrations. With crucial moral, political, social and economic ramifications for the constitutional functions of States and concomitant interests of their human members implicated in the concept of expropriation in international law, the thesis provides a framework of legitimacy in a common good approach with structural criteria of recognition and coherence for the interpretation of States' obligations in investment arbitration. Coherence brings to the fore conflicting demands of justice requiring fresh evaluation divesting a general rule of its authoritative force, and recognition brings to the fore the validation of the power to engage in moral and political evaluation. Together, these structural criteria offer a common good approach of legitimacy to test the authority of States' obligations and the power of arbitrators in hard cases. By virtue of these criteria, the thesis characterizes the nature of substantive property rights of corporations and corresponding obligations of States in foreign investment as contingent and consensual in contrast with the absolute and constitutional rights of human beings in human rights. Through coherence and recognition, the thesis also portrays a supreme status for customary international law for the normative structure and substance of States' contractual or treaty obligations in the interpretation of hard cases in international law on foreign investment. The thesis espouses a new horizon for legal reasoning in foreign investment arbitration that eschews the lex lata veneer for lex ferenda propositions manufactured from precedents and principles, on the one hand, and the sheen of law for the conception of justice of investor-State arbitrators, on the other, in cases of hard confrontation between the demands of justice.

L’une des actualités intéressantes de ces deux titres de transport est la question de leur dématérialisation. Cette idée est apparue au début des années 1990, c'est-à-dire depuis le développement de l’informatique et des échanges de données via internet. En effet, que ce soit le connaissement, la lettre de transport maritime ou la lettre de transport aérien, tous les trois sont au cœur du sujet. La double question qui nous occupera est alors de savoir quels ont été les raisons et les problèmes rencontrés lors de la dématérialisation de ces titres de transport, puis de savoir si la dématérialisation du connaissement a influencé la dématérialisation de la LTA ou inversement. Ainsi, dans une première partie, il sera traité du titre de transport papier classique. La deuxième partie touchera au passage du titre de transport à l’ère électronique.

No início do novo milênio, a formação de blocos econômicos regionais foi-se apresentando como estratégia de promoção do desenvolvimento para os países periféricos. Tratando-se da África Ocidental, a integração de seus pequenos países com vista a usufruir as vantagens decorrentes desse processo resulta em última instância, a solução potencial de seus diversos problemas, e a resposta da sua marginal posição na atual globalização. São países que enfrentam malformações estruturais e situações dramáticas de pobreza e miséria produto de séculos de exploração, repartição desinteressada e agressiva de seus territórios a beneplácito da acirrada competência imperialista e da colonização posterior. Neste sentido, esta tese propõe responder duas perguntas: quais as causas do estabelecimento de uma união econômica e monetária numa região sem condições prévias e se esta integração está conduzindo ou não a seus países ao desenvolvimento. A mesma parte da hipótese de a integração regional na atualidade ser a alternativa mais viável para garantir a sustentabilidade do processo de desenvolvimento nesta região. O objetivo da tese é analisar a dinâmica regional da integração da UEMOA, que surgiu contrária à visão convencional das teorias monetárias, como estratégia do desenvolvimento, e em seguida, vincular seus resultados ao desenvolvimento econômico dos países da região. Ressalta-se que foi dada prioridade a literatura africana, não por rechaço ou demérito da produção ocidental sobre o tema, mas pelo entendimento de que, neste aspecto específico, as opiniões dos autores africanos dariam um melhor enriquecimento e uma visão mais realista sobre o tema. Conclui-se que independentemente de não seguir as diretrizes convencionais, a integração da UEMOA está sendo fundamental para o desenvolvimento de seus países, segundo a realidade da região. Portanto, sua análise deve ser realizada acorde a especificidade local, sem esquecer as conseqüências do seu passado histórico que ainda repercutem negativamente na sua situação socioeconômico. Ou seja, sua valoração não deve seguir o modelo das regiões desenvolvidas ou emergentes, mas sim desde a perspectiva das duras realidades da região.

The provisions of Ohada bankruptcy law present the control of execution of the legal settlement procedure for a company in crisis. The lawmaker of Unified Business Laws for Africa institutes different operations of control and persons in charge of these operations. However, after thorough analysis, we can discover many insufficiencies of control. In order to improve the execution of the legal settlement procedure for the safeguarding of company in crisis, it is necessary to re examine the regulation of the control.

Kurumların birleşme, bölünme, kısmi bölünme ve hisse değişimi yoluyla yeniden yapılandırılma işlemleri başta ticaret hukuku olmak üzere, rekabet hukuku, sermaye piyasası hukuku ve vergi hukuku gibi birçok hukuk dalını ilgilendiren çok disiplinli bir alandır. Ticaret hukuku, genel olarak yeniden yapılandırma işlemlerinde şirket alacaklarının ve ortaklarının haklarının korunmasını amaçlamaktayken, vergi hukuku söz konusu işlemler sonucunda ortaya çıkan kâr ile ilgilenmektedir. Yeniden yapılanma işlemlerin vergisel maliyeti, bunların önündeki en önemli engeli teşkil etmektedir. Bu sebeple, tüm hukuk sistemlerinde vergisel açıdan tarafsızlığı sağlayıcı hükümler yer almaktadır.Çalışmamızda, özellikle, üye devletler arasındaki ekonomik ilişkilerin artırılarak, ekonomik gelişmenin ve refahın sağlanması yoluyla güçlü bir topluluk yaratma amacı taşıyan Avrupa Birliği Hukuku ve Türk Hukukunda yeniden yapılandırma işlemlerinin vergisel boyutu incelenmiştir. Avrupa Birliği Mevzuatına uyum sağlama çalışmaları çerçevesinde dolaysız vergiler alanında yapılması gereken düzenlemelerden birisi de vergi kanunlarında şirketlerin bölünmesini ve hisse değişimini kolaylaştırıcı, kalıcı mahiyette hükümler getirmek olmuştur. Dolayısıyla Avrupa Birliği Birleşme mevzuatı, tam üyelik sürecindeki ülkemiz açısından önem arz etmektedir.Çalışmamızın birinci bölümünde birleşme, bölünme, kısmi bölünme ve hisse değişimi müesseselerinin kavramsal esasları, Kurumlar Vergisi Kanunu, Türk Ticaret Kanunu ve Yeni Türk Ticaret Kanunu ile ilgili Avrupa Birliği mevzuatı çerçevesinde ortaya konulmaya çalışılacaktır. İkinci bölümde, birleşme, bölünme, kısmi bölünme, aktif transferi ve hisse değişimine ilişkin temel Avrupa Birliği düzenlemesi olan Birleşme Direktifi, Avrupa Birliği Adalet Divanı kararları çerçevesinde incelenecektir. Son bölümde ise Türk vergi mevzuatındaki, birleşme, bölünme ve hisse değişimine ilişkin hükümler tereddütlü noktalara da değinilmek suretiyle ele alınacaktır. Sonuç bölümünde birleşme, bölünme, kısmi bölünme ve hisse değişimi müesseselerine ilişkin değerlendirmelerimize yer verilmiştir. Transactions concerning the restructuring of companies through mergers, divisions, partial divisions and exchanges of shares relate to a multi disciplinary domain, including commercial law, competition law, capital markets law and tax law. While commercial law generally aims at the protection of rights of company?s creditors and shareholders, tax law is mostly interested with the profit generated through these transactions. The tax cost of restructuring transactions, constitutes the main obstacle for those. For this reason, all legal systems include provisions providing tax neutrality regarding these transactions.In this study, we have analysed the tax law dimension of restructuring transactions especially in Turkish Law and Law of European Union which aims at the creation of a strong community through the development of economic relations between member states. Within the context of harmonisation to the European Union Legislation, one of the necessary regulations concerning direct taxes has been the enactment of tax law provisions enabling the division of companies and exchanges of shares thereof. Consequently, EU Merger Legislation is of utmost importance for Turkey as a candidate state.The first chapter of this study presents the conceptual basis of the transactions in question within the context of Corporate Tax Law, Commercial Law and the New Commercial Law and EU Legislation. The second chapter examines the Merger Directive within the framework of jurisprudences of European Court of Justice. The last chapter deals with problematic issues in Turkish Tax and Commercial laws. We conclude by presenting our evaluations based on previous chapters.

Haksız rekabet hukuku, ticarî hayatın gerektirdiği dürüstlüğü sağlamak ve rekabet etme serbestîsini bu yönden sınırlamak amacıyla ortaya çıkmıştır. İlk olarak, haksız rekabet eyleminden zarar gören rakiplerin menfaatleri(ekonomik kişilikleri) korunmuştur. Daha sonra, rakibin kişiliği ile doğrudan bağlantısı bulunmayan ve hattâ rakip olmayanların menfaatlerinin de(müşteri, tüketici) zarar görebildiği farklı haksız rekabet eylemlerinin ortaya çıkması neticesinde, dürüst rekabetin temin edilmesinde, sadece rakiplerin değil; toplumun(tüketici dahil) da menfaatinin bulunduğu kabul edilmiştir. Bu yaklaşım, haksız rekabet hukuku ile korunan menfaat çevresinin genişlemesine zemin oluşturmuştur.Kartel kanunlarının etkisiyle, haksız rekabet hukukunun da tıpkı rekabetin korunması hukuku gibi, rekabet serbestisini ve rekabeti kurum olarak koruduğu, bu sebeple, ekonomik düzenin gerçekleşmesine katkıda bulunduğu ve ekonomi politikaları ile ilgisinin olduğu ileri sürülmüş ve uygulama alanının genişletilmesi önerilmişse de, bu görüşler kalıcı olamamıştır.Haksız rekabet ile ilgili düzenlemelerin(1986 tarihli İsviçre Haksız Rekabete Karşı Kanunu, 2004 tarihli Alman Haksız Rekabet Kanunu ve Temmuz 2012'de yürürlüğe girecek olan 6102 sayılı Türk Ticaret Kanunu'nun haksız rekabetle ilgili hükümleri) amacı, tüm ilgililerin lehine dürüst ve bozulmamış rekabeti temin etmektir. "Bozulmamış rekabet" kavramından, piyasa ekonomisi kurumu olarak rekabetin bozulması anlaşılmamalıdır. Haksız rekabet hukuku, dürüstlük kurallarına aykırı davranışın, ilgili mal ya da hizmetin tedavülü ile bağlantısı olan çevrelerin pazar davranışını ve böylelikle pazara katılanlar arasındaki ilişkileri etkileyip etkilemediği ile ilgilenir. Davranışın ya da kullanılan yöntemin, salt aldatıcı nitelikte olmasından hareketle haksız rekabet teşkil ettiği söylenemez. Bu nedenle, haksız rekabetle ilgili düzenlemelerin amacının, pazara katılanlar bakımından dürüst ve bozulmamış rekabetin temini olarak yorumlanması gerektiğini düşünüyoruz.Öte yandan, belli bir pazar gücüne sahip teşebbüslerin, piyasa yapısı üzerinde, rekabeti bütünüyle ya da önemli ölçüde ortadan kaldırabilecek düzeydeki uygulamaları, haksız rekabet hukukunun uygulama alanı içerisinde değerlendirilemez. Pazar gücünün denetimi ve piyasa yapısının korunması, münhasıran rekabetin korunması hukukunun konularıdır. Dolayısıyla, haksız rekabet hukuku ve rekabetin korunması hukuku, farklı açılardan rekabet kurumunun korunmasına hizmet etmektedir. Unfair competition law aims at assuring fairness in commercial affairs and restricting the freedom of competition from this respect. Firstly, the interests(the economic personality) of competitors who were damaged by the unfair competition act were protected. Next, as a result of different unfair competition acts which are not directly related to the personality of the competitor and even by which the interests of non-competitors might be damaged(client, consumer), it has been accepted that not only the competitors, but, also the public(including consumer) has an interest on the assurance of fair competition. This approach has established a basis for the enlargement of the scope of protected interests.Under the influence of cartel laws, it has been claimed that, like competition law, unfair competition law protects the freedom of competition and the competition itself as an institution and therefore, unfair competition law contributes to the settlement of economic order and has a relation with economy policies and its scope of application should be extended. Nonetheless, this idea did not remain.The aim of the unfair competition rules(Swiss Code Against Unfair Competition, German Act Against Unfair Competition and the provisions on unfair competition of Turkish Commercial Code which shall enter into force by July 2012) is in favour of all concerned parties, to assure fair and undistorted competition. By the concept of "undistorted competition", it should not be understood the distortion of competition as an institution of market economy. Unfair competition law is concerned with whether the unfair conduct influences or not the market behaviour of the milieu, which is related to the exchange of the concerned good or service, and eventually the relations between market participants. The conduct or the applied method could not be qualified as unfair competition, solely by its deceptive nature. For this reason, the aim of the unfair competition rules should be interpreted as the assurance of fair and undistorted competition with respect to the market participants.However, the practices of enterprises with certain market power, which could annihilate, completely or to a considerable extent, the competition in the market could not be treated in scope of unfair competition law. The control of market power and the protection of market structure are exclusively the matters of competition law. Therefore, unfair competition law and competition law serve to the protection of competition as an institution from different aspects.

Tezimizin amacı, ortaklığın anayasası niteliğinde sayılan anasözleşmedeki değişikliklerin, hangi temel esaslar dahilinde yapılabileceğini ortaya koymak, değişikliğin şekli, kapsamı, usulü, sınırları ve sonuçları konusundaki mevzuat hükümlerini, doktrin görüşleri ve uygulama sorunları ile birlikte incelemektir. Çalışmamızda, ayrı birer tez konusu yapılmış veya yapılabilecek ayrıntılar içeren, esas sermaye artırımı, sermaye azaltımı gibi özel anasözleşme değişiklikleri tek tek incelenmek yerine, tüm anasözleşme değişikliklerinde geçerli olan temel esaslar incelenmeye çalışılmış, esas sermaye artırımı ve azaltımına özgü ve genel değişikliklerden farklı olan özel düzenlemeler kapsam dışı bırakılmıştır. 1 Temmuz 2012 tarihinde yürürlüğe girecek olan Yeni Türk Ticaret Kanununun konumuzla ilgili hükümleri de 6762 Sayılı Türk Ticaret Kanunu hükümleri ile karşılaştırmalı olarak tezimizde incelenmiştir. Üç ana bölümden oluşan tezimizin ilk bölümünde anasözleşme kavramı ve hukuki niteliği üzerinde durulmuş ve Alman, İsviçre, Türk öğretisindeki görüşler doğrultusunda anasözleşmenin hukuki niteliği konusunda bir sonuca varılmaya çalışılmıştır. Anasözleşme değişikliği konusunda çıkış noktamız olan anasözleşme içeriği de yine bu bölümde TTK ve YTTK hükümleri karşılaştırmalı olarak ele alınarak incelenmiştir. İkinci bölümde, öncelikle değişiklik kavramı üzerinde durulmuş ve hangi tür değişikliklerin anasözleşme değişikliği kapsamında değerlendirilmesi gerektiği tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Değişiklik usul ve şartları konusu ise, değişiklik metninin hazırlanması, gerekiyorsa Sanayi ve Ticaret Bakanlığından izin alınması, değişikliğin genel kurulda karara bağlanması, imtiyazlı paysahiplerinin onayı ile ticaret siciline tescil ve ilan alt başlıkları çerçevesinde ele alınmıştır. Çalışmamızın son bölümü anasözleşme değişikliğinin sınırları ve denetimine ayrılmıştır. Bu kapsamda özellikle vazgeçilmez ve müktesep haklarla, imtiyazlı paylardan doğan hakların anasözleşme değişikliklerine çizmiş oldukları sınırlar kanun hükümleri kapsamında tespit edilmeye çalışılmıştır. Aynı bölümde, anasözleşme değişikliğinin hükümsüzlüğü ve denetimi başlığı altında, yokluk, butlan, iptal edilebilirlik ve askıda hükümsüzlük halleri üzerinde genel hatlarıyla durulmuştur. The purpose of this thesis is to put forward the main principles through which the amendments in the main contract, considered to be the constitution of partnership, could be made and to analyze provisions of the legislation together with doctrinal views and implementation issues regarding the form, scope, procedures (mode), limits and results of amendment.In this study, rather than focusing on specific main contract amendments with details that have been or could be the subject of a separate thesis such as the increase or reduction in authorized capital, the basic principles that apply to all main contract amendments were analyzed and the arrangements specific to increase and reduction in authorized capital and special arrangements, which are different from general amendments, were left out of the scope of the study.The relevant provisions of the new Turkish Commercial Code, which will come into force on 1 July 2012, are examined in this thesis in comparison with the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Law No. 6762. This thesis is consists of three main parts. In the first part, the emphasis is on the concept of main contract and its legal attributes; and in accordance with the legal opinions stemming from the German, Swiss and Turkish doctrines the first part tries to reach a conclusion regarding the legal attributes of the main contract.The content of the main contract, which is the point of departure regarding the main contract amendment, is also analyzed in this part by means of discussing the provisions of the TCL in comparison with that of the NTCC. The second part primarily focused on the concept of amendment and sought to determine what kind of amendments should be evaluated within the scope of main contract amendment.The issue of procedures and conditions for the amendment is elaborated under the subheadings: the preparation of the text of amendment, (if necessary) the authorization from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the decree for the amendment in the general assembly, registration at the trade registry and promulgation with the approval of the privileged shareholders.The last part of the thesis is on the limits and supervision of main contract amendment. Within this context, this part tried to determine the limits stipulated for the main contract amendments under the provisions of the law particularly by indispensable and vested rights as well as the rights incurred from concessional shares. Within the same part, under the heading/title of invalidity of the main contract amendment the cases of absence, voidness, revocation and pending invalidity have been analyzed in general terms.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the legal effects of state succession on cultural property. This is not a new topic of international law. Indeed, the attempts to provide a legal framework for the cultural aspects of state succession have been undertaken in international practice and legal scholarship since at least the mid-nineteenth century. Initially, these were strictly bound to the origin of the European nation-state, determining its territorial boundaries accordingly to ethnic and cultural divisions. However, the concept of cultural property in international law has evolved towards a broader, more human-oriented idea of cultural heritage. Such a conceptual shift has occurred in the last fifty years, marked by the gradual recognition of the fundamental role performed by cultural manifestations in the preservation of human dignity and the continuous development of all mankind. This study discusses to what extent the practice and the theory of state succession reflect this evolution. It attempts to reconstruct the principles regulating interstate arrangements with regard to such matters, contextualizing them in a broad historical and geographical framework. Particular attention has been paid to the question of state succession to international cultural heritage obligations. This piece of work explores their content, sources and status in state succession. It explains that nowadays the preservation and enjoyment of cultural heritage do not constitute the exclusive concern of state sovereignty. On the contrary, such values are of general interest to the international community as a whole. Therefore, the study advocates a new doctrinal approach, based both on the principles of international cultural heritage law and human rights law. This implies the limitation of the contractual freedom of states in the matter of cultural agreements, in favour of the continuity of international cultural heritage obligations in cases of state succession. Finally, the study proposes a list of guiding principles relating to the succession of states in respect of tangible cultural heritage, which may contribute to the further development of international practice.

Que peut-on dire, en réponse à la question de l’application effective des actes uniformes dans l’espace Ohada? La réponse à cette interrogation a permis la signature par Jimmy Kodo de L’application des actes uniformes de l’Ohada, ouvrage de référence qui nous introduit ici dans l’univers de la jurisprudence Ohada. Docteur en droit privé, l’auteur dans ce document a choisi de se laisser guider essentiellement par la jurisprudence afin de révéler au lecteur, l’état de la pratique du droit Ohada. Cette marque d’originalité et la particularité de l’analyse semblent être à la base de ce qui lui a valu d’être qualifié en préface par Barthélémy Mercadal, d’ouvrage « soigné, bien ordonné et précis »1. Ce livre est utile au praticien du droit car, l’analyse jurisprudentielle touche un ensemble de questions pratiques majeures2. Son utilité pour le monde universitaire se ressent par le caractère clair de l’écriture, la cohérence du plan d’analyse et la profondeur, voire la précision des résultats obtenus. Le politique n’est pas non plus demeuré en reste des cibles de cet ouvrage pour qui il est une alerte à élargir le rôle de la CCJA3 (Cour Commune de Justice et d’arbitrage) dans le processus d’unification du droit en Afrique.

Le processus de règlement des litiges par la voie de l’arbitrage a nourri des ambitions économiques énormes dans les sphères juridiques où ce mécanisme a été instauré. L’efficacité de ce processus qui signifie entre autre un processus ayant abouti à une application, voire une exécution effective des protagonistes est un gage de la réalisation de ces ambitions. Or, ce processus peut être compromis du fait de l’annulation de la sentence arbitrale par un juge dont l’intervention dans le processus peut soit le renforcer, soit l’annihiler fondamentalement. Cette situation explique dans une large mesure les raisons pour lesquelles la doctrine juridique se place en faveur d’une collaboration solide entre la justice publique et la justice privée de l’arbitrage. Comment cette question de l’annulation de la sentence arbitrale est abordée dans les sphères juridiques du Québec et de l’Ohada? Quels sont les effets juridiques issus de la comparaison de cette situation dans chacune de ces sphères? Telle se présente la substance de cette recherche dont la méthode comparative est alimentée par le paradigme de l’herméneutique juridique et son corollaire le pluralisme juridique. Les résultats issus du dialogue comparatif devraient participer à une amélioration des situations problématiques décelées dans les sphères concernées. The rule process of lawsuits based on arbitration has filled out huge economic ambitions related to judicial spheres where this mechanism has been established. The efficiency of this process, which among others, has led to an application, indeed a real execution of the protagonists, is somewhat a guarantee to the fulfilment of these ambitions. However, this process can be compromised because of the cancellation of the arbitral sentence by a judge whose intervention in the process can either reinforce it or destroy it. This situation mainly explains the reasons why the juridical doctrine is in favour of a solid collaboration. How do the juridical sphere of Quebec and Ohada tackle this issue of the cancellation of the arbitral sentence? What are the juridical effects stemmed from the comparism of this situation in both spheres? The way the substance of this research appears and whose comparative method is fed by the paradigm of the juridical hermeneutics and its juridical pluralism corollary. The results stemmed from the comparative dialog should participate in improving problematic situations detected in the applied spheres.

La présente thèse renvoie à un essai théorique et comparatif sur le concept d'illicéité en matière de responsabilité civile extracontractuelle pour le fait personnel. L'impérieuse nécessité d'une étude de l'illicéité se déduit de la volonté de reconnaître explicitement un tel concept et de le concevoir comme un fait générateur de responsabilité civile extracontractuelle dans le système québécois, c'est-à-dire de lui conférer une autonomie et une fonctionnalité propres. Une telle reconnaissance de l'illicéité apparaît sans conteste novatrice dans la doctrine juridique québécoise et exige une clarification de notions périphériques à l'illicite, que ce soit l'illégalité ou la faute. Le Titre premier se confine à poser les assises dogmatiques de l'illicéité au regard de sa signification et des acteurs en présence, dans la sphère civiliste de la responsabilité extracontracruelle pour le fait personnel. Il poursuit un objectif essentiel de clarification : d'abord, l'identification des couches conceptuelles de l'illicéité dans ses prédicats objectif et subjectif; ensuite, son sens envisagé du point de vue de l'auteur responsable et que l'on doit réfuter du point de vue de la victime exclusivement. Le Titre second ouvre la voie à un questionnement sur l'opportunité d'introduire la notion d'illicéité dans le système québécois de la responsabilité civile extracontractuelle pour le fait personnel. Il est alors indispensable d'investiguer dans des traditions juridiques civilistes helvétique et française qui manient le concept afin d'appuyer sa reconnaissance dans notre droit. Il poursuit un dessein primordial d'innovation qui consiste à jauger les avantages et les obstacles dirimants à la reconnaissance d'une portée normative propre de l'illicite.

<p>This thesis analyzes the concept of corporate residence, with particular reference to the law in the UK and Canada. It explores why corporate residence is relevant in tax policy, how corporate residence is understood in law, and how revenue authorities respond to the use and alleged 'abuse' of residence rules. Part I argues that the residence of taxpayers generally (individual or corporate) remains a relevant factor in international tax design, that taxation of corporations on the basis of residence has some justification, but that there is a disjunction between meaningful residence-based taxation and current definitions of corporate residence in domestic law and tax treaties. The formulations of residence based on incorporation, central management and control, and place of effective management, particularly as applied to multinational enterprises, are considered and are found to be deficient. Part II critically analyzes the major policy responses of the UK and Canadian governments to the exploitation of corporate residence. It argues that key legislative and administrative responses to international tax avoidance activities, for both outbound and inbound investment, are purportedly based on the acceptance of formal corporate residence yet undermine that concept in an effort to impose tax or refuse treaty relief based on where economic interests actually exist. The responses considered are the application of controlled foreign companies legislation to offshore subsidiaries, the invocation of treaty anti-abuse rules with respect to offshore intermediaries, and the use of overarching general anti-avoidance measures to challenge varied structures that rely on offshore entities. These haphazard anti-avoidance rules are overlaid with revenue authorities' indignation at the motivations that underlie many corporate relocations. It is argued that a more coherent approach would be to focus on the objective reality or unreality of corporate establishment, by reformulating corporate residence in domestic law and tax treaties.</p>