代物清偿制度的发现与构建

文章针对以物抵债这一在司法实践中常见的现象,通过制度梳理,发现其中的代物清偿规则,明确界定代物清偿的本质在于受领他种给付以清偿原负担的给付。他种给付的债的原因仍在于原来的债之关系。代物清偿合同性质上是一种诺成合同,而非要物合同。代物清偿不同于为了担保而给付,也不同于新债清偿。如果对于以物抵债协议的性质若有疑义,应遵循有利于债权人解释的规则,解释为新债清偿对债权人更为有利,所以,应解释为新债清偿。如果债务人依照约定,交付标的物,即可以发生清偿的效力,债之关系消灭。但如果所提供的标的物有物的瑕疵或权利瑕疵,债权人可以要求债务人承担瑕疵担保责任。债权人还可以请求回复到原债之关系上,并要求回复原债之关系上的担保等从权利。     

Does political connection influence corporate financial decisions in unstable political environment?

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of political connection on the cost of debt, the cost of equity and the investment level in an unstable political environment. We use a sample of 55 Tunisian listed firms during the post-revolution period (2011–2018) and we apply a generalized least square (GLS) approach to test our hypotheses. Findings highlight that political connections increase the corporate financial costs and reduce the investment level. Furthermore, in an additional analysis, we show on the one hand that political instability negatively affects the investment and affects positively the cost of debt and the cost of equity. On the other hand, we make evidence that the political instability level negatively affects the relation between the political connection and the cost of debt. The contribution is, to the best of our knowledge, the absence of studies conducted in Tunisia countries examining the impact of political connection on the financial cost and investment level in an unstable political environment such as Tunisia.     

Assessing the background levels of body fluids on hands

Forensic scientists are often asked to assist the court by evaluating the significance of finding body fluids on the hands of an individual; however, there is an absence of published data regarding the background levels of body fluids on hands. Whilst the scientist can use casework experience to inform the courts on the significance of the results, it would be advantageous to have data which could assist with this interpretation. This study was designed to ascertain the background levels of blood, semen, saliva, hairs/fibres and staining/debris on hands in the general population by sampling from delegates attending a scientific conference.The findings suggest that approximately one third of the population would be expected to have hairs or fibres on their hands and that females are more likely to have visible staining on their hands than males. Presumptive tests for blood and semen yielded negative results in all samples; however, almost 2 % of the samples were found to contain a very low number of sperm heads. In contrast, the majority of samples tested positive for the presence of saliva using the presumptive Phadebas® amylase test. The data supports the caution applied by forensic practitioners when evaluating the presence of saliva detected using the presumptive Phadebas® amylase test based on the lack of specificity and indicates that the RSID™-Saliva test would be more suitable to use.