La cronémimca de reuniones multipartitas en videoconferencia : Observaciones en torno al silencio de la fase de preparación

En este estudio se examinan los silencios que aparecen durante la fase de preparación de dieciocho reuniones multipartitas por videoconferencia. Partiendo de la metodología del Análisis Conversacional, el análisis del material muestra que la duración de los silencios entre turnos se reduce considerablemente en dos momentos cruciales de la interacción en línea. Esto a su vez confirma la existencia de tres etapas diferenciadas en la preparación: etapa inicial, etapa de transición y etapa audiovisual, en cada una de las cuales los silencios presentan unas características concretas. Se muestra que en el chat escrito también se producen intervalos y lapsos y que el nivel de tolerancia de los participantes hacia el silencio varía en cada una de las etapas, lo cual puede relacionarse con su nivel de atención y disponibilidad. Se sugiere un estándar máximo aproximado para los intervalos que ocurren en la etapa de transición y se demuestra que, en el canal audio-oral, el límite de tolerancia se sitúa por encima de los tres segundos de duración. Por último, este estudio pone de manifiesto la aparición de diferentes ritmos cronémicos a lo largo de la preparación en videoconferencia, donde elementos como la apertura de la cámara web parecen poseer una gran relevancia interaccional.

Análisis de la participación política de la mujer indígena por circunscripción especial para Senado 1991-2014 Mecanismos, alcances y límites

Esta investigación se enfoca en la participación política al Senado de las mujeres indígenas en Colombia por circunscripción especial desde 1991 a 2014. A partir de una contextualización que permite ubicar el papel de las mujeres dentro del movimiento indígena, presenta los mecanismos adoptados por la Constitución de 1991, de la Ley de Cuotas y de la Ley de Partidos, para asegurar una presencia indígena en el Senado y garantizar una participación política paritaria. Posteriormente, muestra y analiza, con base en resultados electorales y en testimonios de lideresas indígenas, que dichos instrumentos han quedado ineficientes para hacer posible la elección de mujeres indígenas al Senado.

Essays on Innovative Activity and the Protection of Innovations

This dissertation looks at three widely accepted assumptions about how the patent system works: patent documents disclose inventions; this disclosure happens quickly, and patent owners are able to enforce patents. The first chapter estimates the effect of stronger trade secret protection on the number of patented innovations. When firms find it easier to protect business information, there is less need for patent protection, and accordingly less need for the disclosure of technical information that is required by patent law. The novel finding is that when it is easier to keep innovations, there is not only a reduction in the number of patents but also a sizeable reduction in disclosed knowledge per patent. The chapter then shows how this endogeneity of the amount of knowledge per patent can affect the measurement of innovation using patent data. The second chapter develops a game-theoretic model to study how the introduction of fee-shifting in US patent litigation would influence firms’ patenting propensities. When the defeated party to a lawsuit has to bear not only their own cost but also the legal expenditure of the winning party, manufacturing firms in the model unambiguously reduce patenting, with small firms affected the most. For fee-shifting to have the same effect as in Europe, the US legal system would require shifting of a much smaller share of fees. Lessons from European patent litigation may, therefore, have only limited applicability in the US case. The third chapter contains a theoretical analysis of the influence of delayed disclosure of patent applications by the patent office. Such a delay is a feature of most patent systems around the world but has so far not attracted analytical scrutiny. This delay may give firms various kinds of strategic (non-)disclosure incentives when they are competing for more than a single innovation.

La reducción de las donaciones inoficiosas en el Derecho español. Una contribución al estudio de la sucesión necesaria.

La llamada sucesión necesaria plantea una serie de problemas que atienden a la tutela del legitimario, en cuyo ámbito la reducción de las disposiciones inoficiosas y, en particular la que atiende a los actos inter vivos del causante, adquiere una gran importancia. Importancia que es particularmente relevante en el ordenamiento jurídico español, en el que la acción de reducción, si bien prevista por el Derecho positivo, no está completamente regulada en la norma, subsistiendo, por ello, múltiples cuestiones sin resolver. La presente investigación busca profundizar en el régimen jurídico de la donación inoficiosa tal y como lo recoge el Código civil español, enriqueciéndolo con las aportaciones de la doctrina italiana, cuya solidez interpretativa puede servir de referencia para una eventual reforma del Derecho castellano. Con este objetivo, la presente investigación se centra, entre otros puntos, sobre la configuración histórica de la acción de reducción; el concepto de donación inoficiosa; las operaciones de cálculo de la legítima; la naturaleza jurídica de la acción de reducción y la valoración del bien donado a los efectos de reducción. Finalmente, estudia la validez de las “cláusulas de reducción in valorem”, por medio del as cuales el donante puede autorizar al donatario para que conserve el bien objeto de la donación, entregando al legitimario una cantidad de dinero. En conclusión, la presente tesis permite individuar las características del acto impugnable mediante la acción de reducción de donaciones y las líneas esenciales de la reducción como categoría de ineficacia, lo que a su vez favorecer la resolución de algunos problemas de aplicación de la reducción de donaciones que se encuentran en el ordenamiento español. La investigación, además, permite formular algunas propuestas “de lege ferenda” a fin de agilizar la práctica de la reducción y reducir la litigiosidad, salvaguardando los intereses de legitimario y donatario.

Judicial Specialisation in Intellectual Property: the Unified Patent Court as a Model of Specialised Court

The aim of this thesis is to discuss and develop the Unified Patent Court project to account for the role it could play in implementing judicial specialisation in the Intellectual Property field. To provide an original contribution to the existing literature on the topic, this work addresses the issue of how the Unified Patent Court could relate to the other forms of judicial specialisation already operating in the European Union context. This study presents a systematic assessment of the not-yet-operational Unified Patent Court within the EU judicial system, which has recently shown a trend towards being developed outside the institutional framework of the European Union Court of Justice. The objective is to understand to what extent the planned implementation of the Unified Patent Court could succeed in responding to the need for specialisation and in being compliant with the EU legal and constitutional framework. Using the Unified Patent Court as a case study, it is argued that specialised courts in the field of Intellectual Property have a significant role to play in the European judicial system and offer an adequate response to the growing complexity of business operations and relations. The significance of this study is to analyse whether the UPC can still be considered as an appropriate solution to unify the European patent litigation system. The research considers the significant deficiencies, which risks having a negative effect on the European Union institutional procedures. In this perspective, this work aims to make a contribution in identifying the potential negative consequences of this reform. It also focuses on considering different alternatives for a European patent system, which could effectively promote innovation in Europe.

Reconciling the Irreconcilable? Sovereign Debt Restructuring and the Principles of International Law. A Law and Economics Perspective

This Thesis focuses on the principles of international law relevant to the resolution of legal disputes arising from sovereign insolvency conflicts. It attempts to contribute to the “incremental” approach literature by identifying principles, justifying their application in litigation and assessing whether they may help to reconcile the trade-offs prevalent in that context. For that purpose, this Thesis distinguishes between two different types of principles. First, it investigates the “Principles of Public International Law” (henceforth, “PIL principles”). Said category refers to norms of the law of nations which can be considered functionally and structurally similar to domestic constitutional principles (i.e., that can be regarded as “optimization” or “prima facie” requirements). This Thesis underscores the PIL principles protecting the interests of the creditors and citizens as well as the “public interest”, arguing that decision makers face a trade-off between these principles in the context of restructurings. Secondly, this Thesis inquires into the “general principles of domestic law” (henceforth, “GPDs”) which can be applied in sovereign debt restructuring. Two GPDs are identified: a “stay” on litigation and a “cram down” on dissenting creditors’ claims. Although both principles have been identified by the prior literature, this work advances a small but significant “twist” in the methodology used for that purpose: it relies exclusively on functional and comparative analysis. Moreover, this work justifies the application of said GPDs for two jurisdictions: New York and Germany. Finally, it posits that those GPDs can help to mitigate the trade-offs between PIL principles, thus reconciling the interests at stake.

Access to climate justice: the main procedural hurdles, and possible solutions, within the italian legal framework and the IBA Model Statute

The thesis deals with standing and justiciability in climate litigation against governments and the private sector. The first part addresses the impacts of climate change on human rights, the major developments in international climate law, and the historical reasons for climate litigation. The second part analyses several cases, divided into categories. It then draws to a comparative conclusion with regard to each category. The third part deals with the Italian legal tradition on standing and justiciability – starting from the historical roots of such rules. The fourth part introduces the ‘Model Statute’ drafted by the International Bar Association, arguing that the 'ratio legis' of this proposal could be implemented in Italy or the EU. The thesis develops arguments, based on the existing legal framework, to help plaintiffs establish standing and justiciability in proceedings pending before Italian courts. It further proposes the idea that 'citizen suits' are consistent with the Italian and EU legal tradition and that the EU could rely on citizen suits to privately enforce its climate law and policies under the ‘European Green Deal.’

Interfaces between national and EU law: time limits in cross-border civil proceedings and their impact on the free circulation of judgments

The thesis aims at exploring possible legal solutions to remove the obstacles to the free circulation of judgments in the civil justice area that arise from the remarkably diverging national rules on procedural time limits. As shown by the case-law of the CJEU, time limits have recently come under closer scrutiny. The interplay between national and EU law illustrates that time limits raise significant deficiencies connected with the right to a fair trial under Art. 6 ECHR and Art. 47 CFR – e.g. the effective recovery of claims, effective judicial protection, effective cross-border enforcement of judgments – which negatively impact EU cross-border civil litigation. In order to overcome some of the weaknesses of the current legal framework governing the cross-border enforcement of judgments and strengthen the parties’ fundamental procedural rights the PhD thesis intends to determine whether and, to what extent time limits can be harmonised at EU level. EU action on time limits would indeed favour the speed, efficiency and proportionality of cross-border proceedings without sacrificing the fairness of the judicial process and the equality of the parties