Browsing by Title
Now showing items 936-955 of 3676
-
(2020)In March 2016, the EU and Turkey agreed on ending irregular migration from Turkey to the EU through the adoption of the EU-Turkey Statement. Even though the EU-Turkey Statement has been one of the key measures of implementing the EU’s external asylum and migration policy, the legal nature of the measure is far from clear. This became apparent when three asylum seekers brought an action of annulment in accordance with Article 263 to the General Court of the European Union and challenged the legality of the EU-Turkey Statement. The General Court found that the EU-Turkey Statement was not an EU measure, but a measure between the Member States and Turkey, and therefore it did not have jurisdiction to review the matter. The cases were appealed to the ECJ that rejected the appeals as inadmissible. The thesis assesses the legal nature of the EU-Turkey Statement under EU law. The research question of the thesis is whether the statement is an EU measure or a Member State measure. The thesis asks if it is possible for the Member States to make commitments with third states in the field of EU exclusive competence and to involve the EU institutions in the process, yet leaving the instrument itself out of reach of the CJEU and the Treaties. The method of the thesis is legal dogmatic research. The thesis aims to answer its research question through assessing case law of the CJEU on external competence of the Member States and on the possibilities of the Member States to confer powers to the EU institutions outside the Treaties. The thesis concludes that the adoption of the EU-Turkey Statement by the Member States was against CJEU case law especially concerning the principal of conferral and the principle of sincere cooperation. This is because significant parts of the fields where the statement is applied is under EU’s exclusive competence. CJEU case law also forbids the EU institutions to participate in Member State action that encroaches on EU’s exclusive competence. When the General Court did not consider these questions that follow from the CJEU’s interpretation of the Treaties, its orders that became final led to the creation of an inconsistent legal situation of EU law. Through the assessment of the EU-Turkey Statement, the thesis brings forward the development that has led to agreements adopted in accordance with Article 218 TFEU being replaced with informal agreements. The other conclusion of the thesis is that the bypassing of the procedural rules of the Treaties on the conclusion of agreements leads to the weakening of legal guarantees of the Treaties, especially when commitments are made similarly as in the EU-Turkey Statement. The thesis suggest that the assigning of measures that implement EU policies, and that are intended to be binding, as unofficial agreements of the Member States can lead to a development where it is increasingly difficult for the CJEU to make sure that the law is observed in the interpretation and application of the Treaties. Even though the General Court orders are final, the ECJ has not reviewed the EU-Turkey Statement in substance. It is therefore possible that the Court will still rule on the question of the EU-Turkey Statement or a similar measure. The thesis suggests that the partly incoherent state of EU law can be solved using the meta-teleological approached used by the CJEU. By recognizing the connection of a single decision to the entire system of EU law and its development, it is possible to avoid the risk of a creation of a parallel legal sphere, where EU policies are applied, but legal protection is not available.
-
(2024)This research examines the relationship between Market Abuse Regulation, specifically in the context of inside information and insider dealing, and corruption prevention in in the European Union. One of the primary objectives of MAR is to enhance the integrity of the financial markets in the EU, and in this research the corruption aspect of integrity is examined from the perspective of inside information, insider dealing, and potential conflicts of interests for public officials. To form a comprehensive understanding of what types of corruption prevention mechanisms are in place, the disclosure requirements and enforcement of the insider dealing provisions are examined as well. As corruption is mainly considered from a public law and public interest perspective, this research combines elements of legal theory and different corruption detection mechanisms to traditional legal dogmatics in its methodology. The combining elements of insider dealing prohibition and corruption further promote this line of research and the choice of methodology. The aim of this research is to find whether the corruption prevention tools should be considered in a wider context to enable the MAR to reach its goal of achieving integrity, and what are the principles the insider dealing prohibition is based on to highlight its common ground to corruption prevention. The current European framework on corruption does currently cover conflicts of interests or financial interests of public officials in Member States in a harmonized manner, and the national regimes severely lack enforcement. As the current framework is under review, the suggestion made this research is that the private sector corruption risk relating to financial markets and specifically insider dealing would be better considered when building up the failed integrity through better tools for anti-corruption. Furthermore, harmonization of disclosure requirements for conflicts of interests on financial matters for public officials could provide better trust and transparency for financial markets and increase the competitiveness of the European financial markets.
-
(2016)Tutkielma käsittelee yrityksen maksukyvyttömyyteen jollakin tavoin kytkeytyvien riitojen välityskelpoisuutta, välityssopimuksen sitovuutta insolvenssitilanteessa, insolvenssimenettelyn aloittamisen mahdollisia vaikutuksia vireillä olevaan välimiesmenettelyyn sekä insolvenssioikeuteen liittyvän välitystuomion tunnustamista ja täytäntöönpanoa koskevia kysymyksiä. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää tavoitteiltaan poikkeavien ja osittain keskenään jopa ristiriitaisten menettelysäännösten yhteentörmäyksestä aiheutuvia ongelmakohtia ja kuvata tällä hetkellä vallitsevaa oikeustilaa. Tutkielma käsittelee edellä esitettyjä kysymyksiä tilanteessa, jossa välimiesmenettelyn osapuoli asetetaan insolvenssimenettelyyn välimiesmenettelyn aloittamisen jälkeen, mutta ennen kuin välitystuomioistuin on antanut ratkaisun asiassa. Tutkielmassa luodaan yleiskatsaus tärkeimpiin kysymystä koskeviin säädöksiin. Insolvenssimenettelyn ja kansainvälisen välimiesmenettelyn vuorovaikutusta ja konflikteja tutkitaan kansallisten lakien keskinäisen poikkeavuuden sekä asiaa käsittelevien kansallisten säädösten tai sopimusten puutteellisuudesta johtuen myös pintapuoleisesti kansallisella tasolla vertailemalla eri maiden oikeuskäytäntöä ja säädöksiä toisiinsa. Menettelyiden jo lähtökohtaisesta vastakkainasettelusta johtuen on selvää, että toista menettelyä koskeville säännöksille tulee yksittäistapauksessa tapauksen ominaispiirteiden perusteella antaa etusija, sillä keskenään ristiriitaiset säännökset eivät lähtökohtaisesti salli välimiesmenettelyn läpivientiä insolvenssimenettelyn aloittamisesta huolimatta ilman, että insolvenssimenettelyllä olisi mitään vaikutusta välimiesmenettelyyn. Tutkielmassa pohditaan insolvenssimenettelyn aloittamisen vaikutusta välimiesmenettelyn prosessiin, minkä säännösten perusteella menettelyn etusijaa koskevat ratkaisut tavataan tehdä ja kuinka ratkaisuun ohjaavat säännöt vaihtelevat eri valtioiden välillä.
-
(2021)Kommersiella avtal med en lång framtidsutsikt har en förhöjd risk för förändrade omständigheter som kan orsaka konflikter mellan avtalsparter. I en sådan situation är viktigt för parterna att lösa denna konflikt på ett sätt som möjliggör ett fortsatt avtalsförhållande. Tidigare rättslitteratur klarlägger medlingens karaktärsdrag, fördelar och utmaningar, samt i viss mån de olika modellreglerna parterna kan använda sig av. Det råder ändå brist på material om dessa aspekter från perspektivet av konfliktparterna i ett långvarigt kommersiellt avtalsförhållande, samt vilka medlingens huvudsakliga rättsverkan är. Syftet med denna avhandling är att framlägga och analysera de huvudsakliga aspekter som kommersiella konfliktparter bör överväga när de argumenterar för och emot ändamålsenligheten av institutionell medling som konfliktlösningsmetod. Denna undersökning möjliggör besvarande av frågan om institutionell medling är ändamålsenligt i en kommersiell konflikt, särskilt med beaktan av strävan efter ett fortsatt avtalsförhållande. I arbetet används den rättsdogmatiska metoden. Eftersom institutionell medling till stor del genomförs utanför lagen, består de främsta källorna av rättslitteratur och medlingsinstitutioners modellregler och -avtal. Både inledandet och avslutandet av medling har genom arbetet visat sig ha flera rättsverkan, bland annat på möjligheten att avsluta medling och inleda övrig konfliktlösning, att stadfästa ett förlikningsavtal och göra det verkställbart samt medlingens sekretess. Parterna kan avtala om flera av dessa faktorer inom ramen för medlingens flexibilitet och parternas självbestämmanderätt, vilket är en stor fördel. En annan fördel är medlingens erbjudande av en möjlighet att skräddarsy förfarandet enligt parternas intressen och behov samt att själva skapa en framtidsfokuserad lösning. Detta talar för medling som en god konfliktlösningsmetod, så länge som dess utmaningar, bland annat osäkerhet och bristande rättssäkerhet, tas i beaktan. Detta förblir ändå endast spekulation om inte medling ökar i användning, så att vägledande praxis skapas och involverade parter får kunskap om förfarandet. Eftersom det inte är lagstiftning som styr medling, lär praxis och kunskap främst uppkomma genom en faktisk användning av medling.
-
(2022)I avhandlingen behandlas diskussionen om integrationsklausuler som förts i finländsk rättslitteratur. Integrationsklausuler har ofta behandlats som bifrågor i mycket olika framställningar - och följaktligen olika infallsvinklar - varför helhetsbilden i åtskilliga hänseenden framstår som tvetydig. Syftet med denna avhandling är att närmare belysa integrationsklausulens ställning i finländsk avtalsrätt. Avhandlingen inleds med en sammanställning och systematisering av det som framförts om integrationsklausuler. Utgående från nämnda systematisering diskuteras sedan finländsk avtalstolkning i syfte att belysa hur vad för inverkan integrationsklausuler har på tolkningen. Avslutningsvis behandlas integrationsklausuler utgående från den materiella allmänna avtalsrätten. Slutsatsen är att tröskeln för åsidosättande av en integrationsklausul i ett heltäckande kommersiellt avtal närmast kommer på frågan ifall ett upprätthållande av klausulen skulle strida mot tvingande avtalsrätt eller i begränsade fall – i avtal som fordrar särskild lojalitet avtalsparterna emellan – ifall lojalitetsplikten motiverar det.
-
(2020)This thesis is about Intellectual Property and Financial Markets Law in comparative context – differences and similarities between the European Union and the United States in Patent Law, Copyright Law, Trademark Law, Banking Law, and Securities Law. Therefore, the covered areas of law are: Differences and similarities between the European Union and the United States in financial markets law: banking law, and securities law. Differences and similarities between the European Union and the United States in intellectual property law: patent law, copyright law, and trademark law. The thesis offers a fairly comprehensive yet summarized analysis of the differences and similarities of the EU and the U.S. in the fields of financial markets law and intellectual property law. This thesis can serve as a general overview to business people, policy makers, lawyers and judges dealing with the covered areas of law. For instance, corporate lawyers considering whether to initiate the IPO process in the U.S. or within the EU in his/her client’s behalf, companies considering the pros and cons of either filing for a patent in the U.S. or in an EU member state, and so forth could find the insights from this comparative study useful. This 80 pages thesis does not naturally replace seeking legal advice from experts in financial markets law and intellectual property law, since all the nuances of financial markets law and intellectual property law could not be covered in this study. This thesis can also be useful for legal scholars since the approach adopted in this study to include more than a legal concept or field of law exemplifies that conducting comparison on a wider scale, ‘meso-level comparison’, can be a fruitful approach to gain an overall picture of the differences and similarities of fields of law while enabling comparisons both within regions/countries as well as within fields of law themselves. Such additional comparative aspect can under some circumstances lead to unanticipated yet useful insights that might have otherwise been overlooked. For example, due to this approach one of the findings of this study among others includes that similarities in financial markets law and intellectual property law are partly explained by international harmonization efforts.
-
(2018)The thesis considers the intellectual property protection of software in Europe and in the US, which is increasingly important subject as the world is globalizing and digitalizing. The special nature of software has challenges the intellectual property rights. The current protection of software is based on copyright protection but in this thesis, two other options are considered: software patents and open source software. Software patents provide strong protection for software whereas the purpose of the open source licensing is to weaken the protection of software to release it to the free use. These two mechanisms are almost opposites and have been under heated conversation in the past decade. The aim of the thesis is to consider which would be the better protection method for software in the future, software patents or the use of the open source licensing. Software patents are hardly new legal instruments to protect software. Actually, the first form of protection for software was patent. After personal computers were introduced in the 1970s, the patenting of software was not reasonable and the copyright protection of software emerged. However, patents are effective instruments to protect innovations like software and in past decades software patents have started to emerge again, especially in the US. At the European level, software patents have been considered but high risks relating to them have been recognized as well. Software patents may potentially hinder innovations by creating pitfalls for programmers; lead to monopolies; jeopardize open source software; and lead to problems when too many patent rights are granted to too many actors would threaten the innovation and development of software. Unlike software patents, open source software is based on the idea that software should be available for everyone to use, copy, modify and distribute. Open source licensing is a relatively new idea, it has existed only a few decades. The open source software license is based on the copyright law which determines the relationship between the copyright holder and the users. The license terms determine how the user can use the open source software. The most usual open source software licenses can be categorized as free-for-all, keep-open and share-alike licenses. Open source software for example has an increasingly important role when developing cloud based business models, big data, OS alternatives and the Internet of Things. Both software patents and open source software have its potential and weaknesses. One of the problems is that these to increasingly common mechanisms are partly incompatible. The challenging task is to determine the degree and method of the protection for software and at the same time preserve competition and the creation of new innovations.
-
(2016)Human rights law and intellectual property law are separate clusters of legal system and distinguish itself with unlike characteristics. In contrary to the human rights law system, international intellectual property regime makes it obvious that intellectual property rights have commercial character and are meant to safeguard both authors’ and creators’ economic interests and technical advancement of societies. Even more, international human rights concerned bodies have explicitly established that intellectual property rights are not human rights. However, an opinion that intellectual property rights should nevertheless be treated as human rights, or intellectual property rights regime should be human rights oriented, or human rights framework should be introduced to intellectual property rights system are found within legal academy. The rationale behind the attempt to treat intellectual property rights as human rights seems to be unreasonable. Naturally, a question of the reason of such obstinate wish occurs. As psychoanalysis promise to explain human mind and human behaviour, the psychoanalytic approach will be invoked when analysing why intellectual property rights are craved as human rights. Psychoanalysis believes that the subject is constituted of three registers of physical subjectivity – the real, the symbolic and the imaginary. Each register corresponds with realms in parallel space distorting subject’s inner unity. Fragmented nature of the subject locates over conscious and unconscious mind, causing anxiety and sentencing the subject to chase aspirations that are unattainable. Moreover, as desires come from unconscious realm, the subject is not capable of perceiving what he really wants. He tries to find an answer by producing new desires over and over again but as one need is satisfied, the mysterious demand from the unconsciousness attaches to another need creating the never ending circle of need, demand desire triad and the subject of desire himself. As a result, the need to treat intellectual property rights as human rights is an outcome of an attempt to satisfy the desiring unconsciousness. Human rights language falsely promises ideal picture of universality, inalienability and equality tempting the subject to seek for it. The subject’s real nature believes that equating intellectual property rights with human rights will bring him to the ideal state with his desired imaginary perfection and, at the same, allow experiencing primal pleasure in unconscious state. This thesis reveals that the idea of treating intellectual property rights as human rights is a mere call from human unconsciousness when seeking for comfort of imaginary perfection within human ego.
-
(2015)Pro gradu -tutkielmassani tarkastellaan ja vertaillaan rikosoikeudellista tahallisuutta ja sen alarajaa eri valtioiden oikeusjärjestelmissä, erityisesti kahden vakavan rikostyypin, seksuaali- ja henkirikosten kohdalla. Tutkielmaani varten olen keskittynyt tarkastelemaan ja vertailemaan Suomen ja Ruotsin, Saksan ja Alankomaiden sekä Englannin ja Yhdysvaltojen oikeusjärjestelmissä käytettyä rikosoikeudellista tahallisuutta käsitteineen sekä näissä maissa rangaistavaksi säädettyjä tahallisia seksuaali- ja henkirikoksia niiden tunnusmerkistössä kuvaillun teon tekijän tahallisuudelta edellyttämine vaatimuksineen. Tutkielmassani olen vertaillut tahallisuutta muun muassa lapseen kohdistuvissa seksuaalirikoksissa, HIV-tartuntaan liittyvissä rikoksissa sekä niin sanottua venäläistä rulettia koskevissa henkirikoksissa. Tahallisuuden alarajalla on usein hyvin merkityksellinen asema teon rikosoikeudellisen arvioinnin osalta. Kuten olen tutkielmassani havainnut, pääsääntö rikosoikeudessa usein on, että teot ovat rangaistavia vain tahallisina. Osa teoista on rangaistavia myös tuottamuksellisina, esimerkiksi toisen henkilön surmaaminen ilman tahallisuutta on silti tuomittavissa kuolemantuottamuksena. Englannissa osa rikoksista on jopa säädetty ankaran vastuun alaisiksi, jolloin jo pelkkä laissa kuvatun teon suorittaminen riittää rikosvastuuseen ilman erityisiä tietoisuus- tai tahtovaatimuksia. Tällaisia tekoja ovat muun muassa seksuaalirikokset alle 13- vuotiaita lapsia kohtaan. Tarkastelemissani oikeusjärjestelmissä useimmista teoista ei kuitenkaan ole säädetty rangaistavaksi tällaisia tahallisuutta alempia vastineita, jolloin tahallisuuden alaraja on myös rikosoikeudellisen vastuun alaraja ja sen merkitys korostuu. Tarkastelemissani oikeusjärjestelmissä tahallisuuden alarajalla on omat painopisteensä tietoisuuden ja tahtomisen osalta. Erityisesti Saksassa on esitetty alarajasta erilaisia teorioita, joista nykyään vallassa on korkeimman tuomioistuimen BGH:n käyttämä malli, jossa lähes mikä tahansa todennäköisyys riittää, jos tekijä on hyväksynyt siihen liittyvän seurauksen. Henkirikoksissa alaraja on kuitenkin korkeammalla. Alankomaissa on painotettu tilastollisia todennäköisyyksiä ja asetettu esimerkiksi HIV-tapauksista annettaville tuomioille korkeampi kynnys kuin Saksassa, mutta vaadittu todennäköisyys on kuitenkin alempi kuin Suomessa. Englannissa on annettu moraalisille ja muille lain ulkopuolisille sosiaalisille ulottuvuuksille selkeästi enemmän painoarvoa kuin muissa tarkastelemissani maissa. Englannissa ja Yhdysvalloissa käytetty recklessness-käsite myös vastaa vain osittain muiden tarkastelemieni maiden dolus eventualis -tahallisuuden tasoa. Ruotsi on siirtynyt 2000-luvulla käyttämään tekijän välinpitämättömyyteen perustuvaa tahallisuutta, josta Suomessakin on ollut keskustelua. Suomen korkein oikeus on kuitenkin pitäytynyt ratkaisuissaan siinä, että tekijän tulee olla mieltänyt sekä seuraus että olosuhteet varsin todennäköisiksi.
-
International Courts: Challenges New and Old : A Deconstruction on the Work of International Courts (2021)In this Master’s thesis, “International Courts: Challenges New and Old - A Deconstruction on the Work of International Courts”, the aim is to critically appraise some characteristics of international courts that seem to hinder their impact and be problematic to their legitimacy. It presupposes that these features are hidden by the conventional legend-building narratives on international courts. To deconstruct this framework in which they operate, the thesis focuses on three features it argues are connected: the type of justice international courts provide; the democratic legitimacy vacuum in which they operate and the effect of fragmentation and the proliferation of international courts. The inspirations for the thesis notably stem from the remarks that other institutions have raised in popularity in tackling issues of international justice, and from the observation that the issues faced by international courts have, to some extent, remained similar for over a century. The thesis also accepts as a starting point that legal theory on the international field lags behind reality and has struggled to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework under which international courts operate. In order to locate the questions to be asked and to provide an explanation of their need and perceived benefits, the thesis first lays out the historical context of the emergence of international courts on the international stage. This historical context is argued to be closely connected to the legend-building narratives on international courts. Next, in chapter three, inspired by the notion of micro and macro justice, the thesis then makes observations on the kind of justice international courts actually can and should aim for and the results they can achieve. It argues that international courts are limited in the type of justice they can provide, and thus unable to alone reach the goals they were created to fulfil. In chapter four, the thesis then notes that the democratic legitimacy of international courts has been considered questionable from their very appearance, an issue argued to be of relevance still today, not least to the glaring lack of a global demos. It is thus observed that due to the reality of the international field, international courts have had to take the role of a norm-creator. The thesis argues that none of the traditional counter-arguments to this problematic feature can be held satisfactory. Further, it is asserted that the absence of a legislative causes problems to international courts both as an interpreter and as a norm-creator. Finally, the thesis then moves on to a more recent development in chapter five, namely legal fragmentation and the proliferation of international courts. While these make the international legal field more complex, create overlapping systems and thus potential power struggles, it is argued that this phenomenon also further affects the issue of democratic legitimacy and the justice provided by international courts. This happens notably because they lessen the control of states on the newly established norms and institutions. Further, while fragmentation might aid international courts in focusing on micro justice, it complicates their norm-creating process. As a conclusion, the thesis summarises the problems it claims are caused by the framework in which international courts operate and how they differ from the legend-building narrative. Additionally, it restates a few possible modest paths of development to tackle each of the noted problems, although it is argued that to truly solve the encountered issues, the establishment of an international legislative would be required. Due to the research question and the multiplicity of issues treated, the methods used in the thesis are a combination of critical analysis with theoretical and historical approaches, with an end-goal to provide a critical legal study on the impact of international courts.
-
(2024)Historically, wartime rape has largely been ignored as a ‘women’s issue’ in international law and condoned as something that ‘just happens’ in war. In the 1990s, however, the sexual violence perpetrated in the conflicts in Yugoslavia and Rwanda awoke the international community to condemn the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. This paper will examine the nature of wartime rape, especially so-called ‘tactical’ rape, and the international law applicable to it. It will be argued that the law remains inadequate, the approach taken is too narrow, and that the harm of rape is mischaracterised in its emphasis on the harm done to the community, carrying with it a number of problematic implications related to both gender and ethnicity. Specifically, the paper advances the argument that the problematic notion of ‘honour’ remains implicit in the law today.
-
(2024)Plastic pollution is a major global environmental challenge that does not spare any corner of the globe. It has been recognised that the earlier international legal framework to address the problem has not been comprehensive or effective. Thus, now, there is a new plastics treaty under negotiations at the United Nations. In Nairobi, where the third round of negotiations was held, activists were demanding decisionmakers to stop waste colonialism. The demand is related to the fact that plastic pollution is most visible in developing countries where waste management systems are inefficient or not existing, even though most of such waste is generated in developed countries. Despite efforts to reduce their exports of plastic waste, developed economies have remained exporters of their plastic waste to developing economies. Thus, this master’s thesis aims to study how colonial structures in international law are contributing to today’s global environmental challenges; and how international law produces waste colonialism. Theoretically, this master’s thesis belongs under an umbrella of law and globalisation; and is based on socio-legal, historical, and comparative approaches to international law.
-
(2023)Finland has recently announced its intentions to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This research will overview what the decision to apply and to join means for Finland from an international law perspective. The main purpose of NATO is to exercise its designated collective defense ideology through the means laid out in the North Atlantic Treaty. However, the organization operates outside the treaty’s scope based on provisions laid out in soft law declarations. The implications of what operations fall within the scope of the North Atlantic Treaty and what operations are outside the hard law scope are examined in this research. Previous instances of the use of force by the organization in out-of-scope circumstances, as well as other possible deficiencies in the North Atlantic Treaty, are covered in this research. While the examination of the possible deficiencies in the North Atlantic Treaty serves its purpose for due diligence regarding Finland joining the alliance, the discussion is also aimed toward the organization as a whole for the consideration of the possible need to amend the North Atlantic Treaty whether or not Finland will be joining NATO. The following research question guides the research: “What are the legally binding rights and obligations a NATO member state gains after accession, and what does Finland need to consider in the eyes of international law based on NATO’s past actions and inactions?”
-
(2014)The first migration due to severe changes in climate date back to centuries ago. However, in the past, climatic factors have not been as significant as the climate change we are currently experiencing. Sea level rise, frequency of the extreme weather, and drought and water scarcity are main impacts of climate change on humans’ lives. In most vulnerable places, these effects lead to disasters which may force millions of inhabitants to leave their usual homelands. Some studies estimate that over the course of this century, more than 200 million people will be displaced, temporarily or permanently, as a result of climate change. This thesis primarily aims to demonstrate that whether the existing refugee protection system is able to provide protection for climate change refugees. Given the specific requirements of the protection of this emerging group of refugees, this thesis demonstrates that the current refugee protection instruments, both in a regional or international level, seem incapable to cover climate change-induced displaced persons. Therefore, a number of different academic proposals have been drafted to provide protection for climate change refugees. Amendment to the existing instruments, adaptation of a protocol, or creation of an independent framework are common categories of these protective proposals. As the second question of this thesis, a few numbers of proposed frameworks are examined to point out their strengths and weaknesses.
-
(2015)International legal status of Jerusalem has been controversial topic for a long time. The thesis covers the historical background for the application of legal rules. The author maintains that Israel fought a defensive war in 1948 and 1967, while propounding the pro-Arab narrative of history. secondly, the thesis expounds major views concerning the status of Jerusalem: 1) the all of former mandated territory of Palestine belongs to Palestinians 2) international legal regime applies to Jerusalem on basis of the Partition Resolution 181 3) the sovereignty of jerusalem is currently in abeyance 4) Israel holds the title to the whole of Jerusalem. The thesis evaluates the weaknesses and strenghts of these views and comes to a tentative conclusion. First, the Partition Resolution and international legal resime is not binding in international law, since UN General Assembly resolutions are generally only recommendations. Second, the view that all of Israel belongs to Palestinians is flawed because the Balfour Declaration has been generally accepted as valid and Israel fought a defensive war. Moreover, Israel has been generally recognized as a state. The question of sovereingty has to be separately considered in relation to East- and West Jerusalem. While in West Jerusalem Israel has stronger claim of sovereingty based on defensive conquest, right of self-determination and Balfour Declaration, the title is not without problems. However, it seems that Israel has strongest relative claim to West Jerusalem. With regard to East Jerusalem, the topic is even more controversial. Many Security Council Resolutions do not recognize Israeli sovereingty over East Jerusalem. Moreover, the Wall case pointed that in East Jerusalem Palestinians have stronger claim of self-determination. It is not clear however how the self-determination is to be applied to Jerusalem question: Whether Jerusalem should be seen as a one unit comprising whole of Jerusalem (where Jews have had majority since nineteenth century) or should the Armistice Demarcation Line or the Green Line considered a dividing line for the application of the right to self-determination, because the Armistice Treaty between Jordan and Israel expressly provides that the Armistice Lines are not to be treated as permanent international borders and do not settle issues of sovereingty. As a tentative conclusion, East Jerusalem is disputed territory (as it very difficult to say who hold the title). As for Security Council Resolution 242, the Resolution does not demand automatic withdrawal of Israeli troops to prewar lines. The borders are to be recognized and secure.
-
(2023)Den här magisteravhandlingen behandlar hur kortvarigt distansarbete beskattas i internationella situationer. I och med att distansarbete har ökat i popularitet så har även fler anställda börjat överväga att arbeta för en kort tid utomlandsifrån och kombinera arbete med nöje. Syftet med den här avhandlingen är att granska vilka regler som påverkar kortvarigt distansarbete i ett annat land, hur skattskyldigheten i ett land och ens hemviststat enligt skatteavtal påverkar beskattningen samt vilka faktorer som kan påverka ens skattskyldighet och hemviststat. Avhandlingen är uppbyggt kring utgångspunkten att Finland är antingen arbetsstaten eller hemviststaten, och forskningsfrågan är hur olika längders vistelse p.g.a. distansarbete i ett annat land påverkar beskattningen av individens inkomst, samt vilka faktorer som inverkar på det här. Avhandlingen grundar sig på rättsdogmatisk forskning och analyserar finländsk lagstiftning kombinerat med Skatteförvaltningens instruktioner och finsk rättspraxis. Detta är sedan kombinerat med skatteavtalsrätt. Eftersom internationell skatterätt bygger sig på lokala lagar och separat anpassade skatteavtal så finns det inte ett generellt svar för hur beskattningen ska gå till i alla länder. Man kan dock säga att generellt har arbetsstaten rätt att beskatta inkomst som förtjänats där, men undantag kan göras med hjälp av skatteavtalens 183 dagars regel, individens skattskyldighet, hemviststat eller arbetsgivarens hemviststat.
-
(2019)Activities in outer space are governed at an international level, above all, by international space law. As for treaty law, there are five United Nations treaties on outer space, all drew up during 1960’s and 1970’s. The first one of them is the Outer Space Treaty. Out of the five space treaties, the Outer Space Treaty has been ratified or acceded to the most. By 2019, the treaty had over a hundred States Parties to it whereas the most recent one of them, the Moon Agreement has only 18. These two treaties contain relevant provisions when it comes to the topic of the present thesis, space resource utilization. According to article I of the Outer Space Treaty, outer space and celestial bodies are free for exploration and use by all states. However, such freedoms are not absolute. One of the limitations can be found in article II of the treaty, known as the nonappropriation principle. The Moon Agreement echoes these principles but is a bit more specific than the Outer Space Treaty by further declaring that any areas of celestial bodies or natural resources in place are not subject to ownership rights unless there is an international regime saying otherwise (Art. 11(3) MOON). So far, there is no such regime, and the legal significance of the Moon Agreement is rather limited as it lacks binding force upon majority of states. Nonetheless, the question of property rights and the right of ownership over space resources is a relevant one. Whether one can extract such resources and do, more or less, whatever one pleases with them once removed from their original place is subject to controversy. The scope of freedom of use in relation to the non-appropriation principle remains ambiguous when it comes to space resource utilization. The research problem of the thesis is to study the formation of the United States’ position within the context of indeterminate space law. The United States is a state party to the Outer Space Treaty, but not to the Moon Agreement. It was the first country to enact a domestic law dealing with space resource utilization – the U.S. Act 2015. The Act sets out a national framework for commercial space resource utilization including an ownership regime regarding space resources obtained by U.S. citizens. An accompanying report notes that the state’s stand has long been that “the right to remove, take possession, and use in-situ natural resources from celestial bodies” and “the right of exploitation” are allowed under freedom of use granted in the Outer Space Treaty. It is further reported that the state has taken this position while being aware that there is no uniform understanding among states on the interpretation of the relevant principles and that, contrary to the United States, some regard the non-appropriation principle precluding exploitation of space resources and private property rights over such resources. Space resource utilization may have seemed like a distant future throughout the negotiating history of the Outer Space Treaty and the Moon Agreement, but the privatization and commercialization in the space sector in general was well anticipated by the United States. The state made clear that private sector involvement in the space arena is expected and shall be permitted. Article 11 of the Moon Agreement was held risky with regard to the interests of the private sector, and the agreement was left unratified in the United States. Therefore, the issue of space resource utilization rests upon the general principles of the Outer Space Treaty. At the hearings of July 1980, where the Moon Agreement was discussed before the U.S. Senate Committee, the representative of the Department of State addressed that the state’s position was that space resource utilization was allowed under the Outer Space Treaty whether for scientific investigation, or sustaining of missions in outer space, or for commercial purposes. The purpose of the U.S. Act is to give effect to the provisions of the Outer Space Treaty through a national law stating that private entities may use space resources in accordance with the treaty. The aim of the Act was to promote the development of space resource industry by decreasing legal uncertainties. When the Act was under preparation it was suggested that eventually the issue of space resource utilization would require solution on an international level as a state cannot make unilateral promises on how such issues will be dealt with on an international plane. However, the U.S. Act appears as a logical addition in the continuum, which dates back at least to July 1980 when the representative of the Department of State declared the states’ position on space resource utilization being allowed under the principle of free use.
-
(2016)The present thesis examines the privacy concerns raised from the friction of two dimensions: protection of personal data on the one hand, and technological innovation on the other. In order to address the different challenges that blockchain technology poses to the GDPR, the article provides a simplistic description of the complex blockchain architectures and functionalities. The main legal issue to be assessed is the determination of roles of all the personal actors involved in the personal data processing conducted through distributed ledgers within a corporate context. From a privacy perspective, it is necessary to establish a clear allocation of responsibilities and liabilities in order to preserve the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects and avoid data protection breaches. The purpose of this work is to discover how private organisations can perform privacy compliant international data transfers made through blockchain technology. The legal research is done in the light of the current European Data Protection Regulation and the existing guidance provided by the European Data Protection Authorities, having regard of the relevant legal doctrine. Finally, the thesis concludes arguing that the valid GDPR is a sufficient and technologically neutral legal instrument able to guarantee an appropriate privacy protection to the data subjects, whose personal data has been transferred globally through blockchains, by effectively defining the elements of compliance deriving from the processing of personal data in a business environment.
-
(2017)This thesis explores EU Member States competence to conclude an international convention governing multimodal transport liability, namely the Rotterdam Rules, which has been drafted by UNCITRAL and has been opened for signatures in 2009. There are several international maritime conventions currently in force and therefore possibly applicable for a contract of carriage, and this has been considered as one of the obstacles for boosting multimodal transport including a sea leg. If the Rotterdam Rules will enter into force it will be the first binding universal regime governing multimodal transport liability. 25 ratifications are required in order to the convention to enter into force. At the time of writing only 3 states have ratified the Rules, Spain being the only EU Member State so far. The main concern is whether the Member States ratifying the Rotterdam Rules would risk a treaty conflict stemming from EU law. This will be elaborated through the EU Treaties and from the position of an EU Member State. In order to have an understanding on the topic and the related problems, the thesis begins with an introductory part on the background, context and objectives of the Rotterdam Rules as well as some general remarks on the current state of affairs in Europe. The theoretical perspectives will cover international law considerations based on the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties as well as international maritime conventions from The Hague Rules to the pending Rotterdam Rules. Treaties on the European Union will be elaborated on the parts relevant for exercising competence in the area of transport. The possibility that EU would join the Rotterdam Rules along with the Member States is also discussed. While the Treaties may not provide comprehensive answer to the competence questions, relevant case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union will be elaborated also. The Union is becoming increasingly active in transport matters. The Commission has already issued several White Papers in the field of transport. Strategic plans have been made and expert groups established for planning a regional transport regime. It will be argued that the competence of the EU has considerably expanded through the judicial activism of the Union institutions and the Court of Justice. Although the Lisbon Treaty was aimed to clarify the competence questions, the attempt was not very successful. Many ambiguities are left and these would require further clarification. The Commission and the Court have often taken a rather protective stand. The EU law shall prevail over anything else. The Union values such as unity and coherence have been used as a recourse to concerted action. Also based on the case-law it seems evident that the principles of EU law such as the duty of loyal cooperation have at times been interpreted so as to render shared competence meaningless. As the case-law suggests there are obvious risks for the Member States autonomous action. Even if the Member States possess competence they may be pre-empted to act. Under the shared competence the Member States may only exercise their competence to the extent that the Union has not exercised its competence or has ceased exercising its competence. At the moment the Union has not exercised its competence on the area of multimodal transport liability, it is therefore contended that for the time being the competence lies with the Member States. The main argument of the thesis is that there is no treaty conflict foreseeable between the Rotterdam Rules and the Treaties. But there is a risk of conflict anyway. The conflict would stem from diverging interests and thus be a clash of values. If the Union would choose not to conclude the Rotterdam Rules but rather continue developing its own regime, this may be a problem for those Member States who have concluded the Rotterdam Rules. Of course on the condition that the Rotterdam Rules eventually enter into force. The poor record of signatures may imply that the Member States are not confident on their competence but it may also imply dissatisfaction with the substance of the Rotterdam Rules. It is recommended that the Member States cooperate with the Union institutions in order to avoid conflicts. A mixed agreement would be one option but that may entail practical problems as it leaves the competence questions intact. Lastly it will be elaborated whether a universal regime on the multimodal transport is achievable at all.
-
(2015)Immateriella rättigheter har en speciell karaktär och dess drag måste beaktas då man väljer en tvistlösningsmetod. Immateriella rättigheter är till sin natur ofta kortvariga, internationella och av ett ekonomiskt (högt) värde bara så länge som rättigheten kan användas till fullo. Immateriella rättigheter kan på dagens marknad anses vara ett företags allra viktigaste tillgång. Då företagens ekonomiska tillgångar nuförtiden innefattar betydande immateriella rättigheter blir även de immateriella rättigheterna föremål för kommersiella tvister mellan företag. Dessutom är de kommersiella tvisterna allt oftare internationella och utbredda mellan parter runt om i världen. Det har blivit en global trend att lösa immaterialrättsliga tvister i skiljeförfarande. Således uppstår frågan om hur bra skiljeförfarandet lämpar sig på internationella immaterialrättsliga tvister. I avhandlingen undersöks skiljeförfarandets lämplighet som tvistlösningsmetod på internationella immaterialrättstvister genom att granska de av WIPO utgjorda speciella skiljeförfarandereglerna. Efter en kort inblick i gällande rättsregler och relevanta internationella konventioner analyseras skiljeförfarandets fördelar och nackdelar i förhållande till en domstolsprocess. Vidare lyfts fram de fördelar och det specialförfarande som WIPO skapat. I den andra delen av avhandlingen behandlas möjligheten om att börja använda skiljeförfarandet som ett första alternativ vid val av tvistlösningsmetod. Liknande automatiska skiljeförfarandesystem tas upp för att analysera möjligheten av en analogisk tillämpning på sagda immaterialrättsliga tvister. Avslutningsvis utreds möjligheten om ett skiljeförfarande som antagande i immaterialrättsliga tvister samt tas upp det frågor och problem skapandet av ett dylikt system innebär.
Now showing items 936-955 of 3676