Bibliographie sélective OHADA

The title of this contribution concerns the sovereignty of OHADA’s States as a solution or a problem of juridical integration. In our analysis, we consider that the States of the OHADA’s area are the main actors of this integration. In fact, the States express their sovereignty towards organs and tools of OHADA. In one hand, the way States express their sovereignty enable to have the same law amongst OHADA’s States. In another hand, by allowing any State to have his own criminal law (as far as sanctions are concerned) the aim of integration (unification) has been jeopardized. The solution of this problem is to have the same penal approach.

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. Key Words: Suretyship Contract, Surety, Responsibility, Trader, Commercial Affair.

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."

L’entreprise sociale et solidaire est aujourd’hui reconnue comme un modèle efficace pour mener un projet économique commun dans le respect des personnes. La coopérative, qui est l’une des formes que peut revêtir cette entreprise, répond parfaitement à cette attente car elle autorise la mise en place d’une structure juridique responsable, fondée sur l’application de principes éthiques. Néanmoins, le statut de la coopérative est appelé à évoluer afin de s’adapter au mieux à l’environnement économique dans lequel elle est appelée à s’intégrer. Il est donc nécessaire d’analyser avec un regard nouveau la coopérative pour en faire résolument un outil privilégié de l’économie sociale et solidaire.

The security cession of the rights under life policies marries two separate areas of the law: The Law of cession and the Law of Insurance. This makes for a complex union since varying common law and statutory principles ����ind application, and in reality trade practices also play a role. In theory a cession in securitatem debiti may take one of two possible constructions, namely a pledge or a fiduciary security cession, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Disparity arose when judicial preference was given to the pledge construction while academics preferred the other. The problem, however, was larger than a disagreement as to the better construction. The underlying problem was that there was a lack regarding clarity as to the practical operation of security cession of life policies, in addition to the problems surrounding the construction thereof. As a solution to this problem some academics have suggested legislative intervention. The South African Law Reform Commission, nevertheless, advised against it in 1991 and was of the opinion that the issue was one which our courts would eventually solve. In the 22 years since then, our courts have merely confirmed its preference for the pledge construction. The intricacies of security cessions of life policies have seen no further judicial development. It is probable that the courts do not have enough practical information at hand to advance this area of the law. An investigation into the operation of such cessions in practice was thus necessary. The outcome of the practical investigation reveals that legislative intervention is indeed a viable solution especially since the issues are too complex for the courts to solve. As part of this work, legislation has been drafted and it is recommended that this is inserted into the Security by Means of Movable Property Act .

Le 10 décembre 2010, l’Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du droit des affaires (Ohada) a adopté un nouvel acte uniforme relatif au droit des coopératives. Au cours des travaux préparatoires, il avait été convenu de définir des règles particulières applicables aux coopératives financières (ou coopératives d’épargne et de crédit, Coopec), dont la désorganisation aurait été à l’origine de la réglementation même des coopératives. Curieusement, elles ont progressivement été extraites du texte et ne figurent pas dans la version finale de l’acte uniforme. L’objectif de cet article est de porter une analyse critique sur cette éviction par le législateur Ohada tant du point de vue de la place de ces organisations dans la société que sous l’angle de l’appréciation du procédé d’uniformisation du droit par l’organisation, qui se trouve ici réduit.

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has defined operational risk, legal risk and compliance risk. However, the definitions might not be adequate for countries with a hybrid legal system, such as South Africa. This study aims to provide a practical solution to the problems faced by countries with a hybrid legal system wishing to comply with the Basel Committee’s standards. It is argued that compliance, compliance risk and regulatory risk should all be viewed as constituent components of legal risk, and in turn necessarily also of operational risk in a hybrid legal system. Legal risk is a wide concept which includes all aspects of a legal system, while compliance risk is a narrower concept which only includes the codified aspects of a legal system. Legal risk therefore includes compliance risk. However, the opposite is not true as compliance risk does not include legal risk, and the two concepts are decidedly shown not to be synonymous in a mixed legal system.

The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the process of direct tax integration in the European Union (EU) has been widely discussed in the academic literature, while another important actor, the European Commission, has attracted much less attention. The Commission’s input is commonly perceived to be limited to the right of legislative initiative. This study questions such an oversimplified interpretation and draws a more nuanced picture of EU tax harmonisation by integrating an analysis of the complex regulatory approaches adopted by the Commission for the establishment and smooth functioning of the Internal Market. It is argued that the past decade brought a notable change in the Court-dominated pattern of direct tax integration. This change is apparent first in the evolution of enforcement strategies under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU; and second, in the increased reliance upon non-binding regulatory measures. Both developments have strengthened the role of the Commission, supplying it with more possibilities for influencing national direct tax systems, despite the reluctance of Member States to agree upon legislative harmonisation. Against this background, the procedural and substantive problems associated with these instruments require closer examination. The normative scope of this research covers the key procedural problems related to the infringement procedure and non-binding regulatory measures. The empirical component explores the Commission’s enforcement and coordination practices, drawing particular attention to two case studies: the tax treatment of losses in cross-border situations and exit taxation. Following the analysis of enforcement and coordination in the field of direct taxation, the study argues the need and proposes potential solutions for (i) the developing of a more comprehensive procedural framework for the infringement procedure and non-binding regulatory acts; (ii) the strengthening of accountability mechanisms; and (iii) the enhancing of the effectiveness of their application.

The objectives of this research paper are: to examine the status of collective agreements under the common law; highlight impacts of statutory intervention on common law perception of collective agreements, and discuss how the National industrial Court (NIC) and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as altered) have broadened the horizon of enforceability of collective agreements in Nigeria. Reliance is placed principally on statutes, judicial decisions, textbooks written by learned authors as well as international best standard and practices championed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and practices in some foreign jurisdictions. The findings of the research were that under the common law, collective agreements are ordinarily not binding, they are considered as a ‘gentleman's agreement‘, a product of a trade unionist's pressure, binding only in honour or on the goodwill of the parties thereto, unless and until it is incorporated expressly or impliedly into the contract of employment. However, statutory intervention has slightly altered the common law notion of collective agreements, e.g. where the Minister of Labour and Productivity is empowered to declare, by order, that part or the whole of an agreement deposited in his office is binding on the parties. Furthermore, with the enactment of the NIC Act and the listing of the NIC in the 1999 Constitution as a superior court of record (following the alteration of the Constitution, necessitated by the N.U.E.E. V BPE case), the Court now has exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate on a wide range of labour matters, industrial relations and application of international best practices such as the standard and principles of the International Labour Organization (ILO), and practices in foreign jurisdictions. It has been argued that the enforceability of collective agreements is in tandem with international best practices, which the NIC can readily give effect to, if it is pleaded and established/ proved as a fact. This has invariability expanded the frontiers of enforceability of such agreements. Therefore, the common law position on the status of collective agreements has been rendered otiose and obsolete, giving way to the sparkling provisions of enforceability guaranteed by the NIC Act and the Constitution respectively. Notwithstanding, it is highly recommended that parties to a collective agreement should expressly state their intention whether or not to be bound; the duration of the agreement should be stated and whether, and when, it should, be reviewed; experts and other stakeholders should be properly consulted before an agreement is entered into; an arbitration clause may be included in case a party breaches its own part of the agreement. Industrial democracy ought to be promoted in all sectors. Strikes and lock outs should be used only as a last resort for enforcing compliance with a collective agreement, because these industrial actions cause devastating effects on the economy and on the lives of the citizenry generally.