Thesis Survey

THESES SURVEY RECENSION DES THESES I. Doctoral Theses/Theses de doctorat Ebow P. Bondzi-Simpson, The International Regulation of Relationships between Transnational Corporations and Host States: Conceptual Analyses and an Inquiry into Attempts at Codification and Control, University of Toronto In this study, a juridical examination is made of the relationships between transnational corporations (TNCs) and host states, especially developing countries as hosts. It notes the positive contributions that TNCs make to host states and encourages this trend. But more especially, it notes the tensions that have existed between them and endeavours to provide legal responses that take into account the legitimate interests of these two main actors. A harmonization approach is adopted in developing the said responses. Some of the specific subjects that have received attention, and for which responses have been provided, include: the scope of the right to renegotiate investment contracts; the conditions for reference of international investment disputes to international dispute settlement machinery; closing loop-holes on transfer pricing practices; providing more certain and uniform consumer and environmental protection standards, and restricting the grounds for nationalization of foreign property and assessing appropriate compensation therefor. However, while the thesis attempts to develop some juridical responses to regulate some of the inhospitable features of foreign direct investment, it must also be pointed out that the increasingly developing country hosts are seeking to attract foreign investors on reasonable terms. Indeed, many developing countries - as well as former socialist countries - are becoming market-oriented in their policies, either voluntarily or subject to domestic pressures or pressures from international business concerns or even from multilateral agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the International Bank for Recon- struction and Development (IBRD). All of these developments, however, are fully consistent with the harmonization approach adopted in the thesis. This study is undertaken against the backdrop of international law and rela- tions. Some important developments within which this study may be posited include the (supposed) challenges to certain (conventional) doctrines of international law such as nationalization and compensation; the concept of the new international economic order; the global-village view of the world today which demonstrates both the extent to which national actions have international 1992] THESES SURVEY 1173 dimensions and the extent to which international intercourse has national impact; the promotion and protection of international investment; the increased importance of regional and multilateral institutions; and the development of codes of conduct and other international standards to regulate the activities of their addressees. By the jurisprudence advanced - and the exercise in progressive development of international investment law that is undertaken - the thesis makes a contribution to the general theory of legal relationships between TNCs and host states. At the same time, a commitment is maintained to two principles: (i) the integrity of states (which includes safeguarding them against a mortgaging of their rights to or interests in the maximum possible degree of economic development and a recognition of and respect for their national objectives and sys- tems); and (ii) the promotion of international intercourse (which in the international economic field includes promoting and protecting foreign investment). The objective of this study, therefore, is not to revisit the controversy about the legal relationships between TNCs and host states but, rather, to contribute to the resolution of those controversies. This is done, first, by advocating that certain normative principles be established more firmly in the mainstream of international law, and second, by supporting the multilateral agencies - partic- ularly the UN Commission and Centre on TNCs, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, and the International Centre for the Settlement of Invest- ment Disputes - that seek to promote more harmonious arrangements in the matter of international investments. Jean-Carol Boucher, De la Commission de police du Quebec au Comitj de d~ontologie policire (Evolution du mandat), Universit6 Laval R~sum6 non disponible/no abstract available Andr6 Braen, Le droit maritime au Quebec, Institut de droit compare, UniversitO McGill L'industrie maritime joue un r61e important dans l'6conomie qu~b~coise. Ses entreprises sont nombreuses et vari6es. La pr6sente 6tude porte sur l'identification du droit qui leur est applicable ainsi que des sources de ce droit. De par sa nature, le droit maritime se rattache en grande partie au syst~me de droit privY. Lorsqu'un litige maritime nait au Qudbec, quelle place peut, au niveau de sa solution, pr6tendre y occuper le droit maritime et quels sont ses rapports avec le droit priv6, notamment le droit civil ? L'identification des sources du droit applicable dans un tel cas est un processus complexe du fait de l'existence de deux facteurs particuliers, tsavoir le f~d6ralisme et le bijuridisme. L'objet de cette these vise donc l'Alaboration du cadre th~orique n~cessaire la fois pour repfrer les sources du droit applicable et pour en d6gager le contenu. Dans une 1174 REVUE DE DROIT DE McGILL [Vol. 37 premiere partie, l'auteur fait ressortir le caract~re diversifi6 des activitrs de Fin- dustrie maritime. Puis, il analyse les sources historiques et actuelles du droit applicable aujourd'hui au Qubec. A cet 6gard, il remet en question la perti- nence d'appliquer les r~gles de la common law dans un litige maritime de droit priv6 au Qubec. En particulier, il soul~ve le bien-fond6 sur le plan juridique de l'approche adoptre par la Cour supreme du Canada qui, pour des raisons d'uni- formisation du droit maritime au Canada, a conclu l'application de ces r~gles. Dans la seconde partie, l'auteur analyse les r~gles qui ont traditionnellement compos6 le droit maritime. I1les met en relation avec celles du droit civil. Pour d6gager le contenu des r~gles applicables lorsqu'elles drivent du dioit com- mun, l'auteur adopte une approche comparative entre le droit civil et la common law. Kathy-Ann Brown, The State of the Deep Seabed Beyond NationalJurisdic- tion: Legal and PoliticalRealities, Osgoode Hall Law School The primary issue of this thesis is the status of the deep seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. The focus of the debate is on the legal significance of the common heritage of humankind. The discussion examines the status of this neologism as a general principle of international law and a rule of customary law. It also addresses the influence of other important concepts in the law of the sea in defining a universal regime to govern the abyssal plains. The focus is, however, part and parcel of a greater concern as to the use of traditional notions of freedom and justice in preserving existing power structures. It is clear that innovative yet realistic initiatives must be pursued to ensure a more just and stable interdependent international society. The methodology used seeks to appropriate the wisdom of the past, and so repeatedly turns to history: the history of traditional concepts associated with the seabed; and the history of the freedoms asserted in relation to the seas and as regards the global laissez-faireeconomy. Principles of justice, equity and reasonableness provide the means for challenging the legitimacy of all rules of law, and are the criteria used to evaluate proposals for resolving the common heritage dispute. The analysis highlights the value of the sources of international law as evi- denced in the realpolitikin addition to the pronouncements of the World Court. Significantly, due regard is paid to the work of the Preparatory Commission on the Law of the Sea which is still attempting to iron out a universally acceptable regime in keeping with that proposed in Part XI of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. An alternative to negotiation as the route to conflict resolution is litigation. As such, the merits of an appeal to the International Court of Justice are assessed. Additionally, what remains for the moment a largely hypothetical venture is pursued in further examining the possibility of a role for municipal courts in the preservation of the common heritage of humankind. The basic hope is that among the things common to humanity is a spirit of reasonableness, and that it is this which will govern the deep seabed. 1992] RECENSION DES THESES 1175 Mary Condon, Ideas and Regulatory Practice: The Ontario Securities Com- mission: 1945-1978, University of Toronto This thesis uses the history of securities regulation in Ontario between 1945 and 1978 as a case study to explore two central issues: first, the role of ideas in regulation and second, the relationship between regulation and securities markets. The claims made about these two issues are the following. First, the regulatory process involves dispute over and negotiation of the significance and meaning of ideas. This negotiation is undertaken by actors, including orga- nisations, regulators and individuals, interested in the outcome of regulatory deliberations. To fully understand the relationship between interests and regulatory outcomes, sensitivity to the influence of ideas on both the positions of inter- est groups and regulatory

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