Herdis Thorgeirsdottir

Journalism Worthy of the Name. A Human Rights Perspective on Freedom within the Press.

Datum för disputation: 21 mars 2003
Fakultetsopponent: professor Kevin Boyle, University of Essex
Ämne: Folkrätt

Abstract

There is much tension between the conception of the press as a private enterprise subject to the logic of the market and the press as an instrument of democracy. One of the broken promises of democracy is the failure of the market in guaranteeing a vigorous political debate. The European Court of Human Rights has ascribed to the press the vital role of Public Watchdog, making it incumbent on it to bring fulfilment to the public’s right to know. The subject of this study is ‘freedom within the press’, the nature and limits of the protection afforded to the journalistic imparting process, which has been a neglected area of research. How are journalists to carry out the fiduciary duty of the press when the situation within the media is like an ‘iron cage’, reflected in the vast power asymmetry between the press as a corporate actor with immense power to shape public opinion and the Public Watchdog composed of individual journalists whose professional freedoms are wholly dependant on corporate contexts. The analysis draws strength from the classical defenders of freedom of speech, Milton and Mill, to show that at the dawn of the 21st century, an almost insurmountable obstacle is inherent in the intertwined alliance between big business and public authorities resulting in the widespread phenomena of self-censorship within the media. Instead of enlightening the public and inspiring the individual the press may be conducing to an inert public and individual cowardice antithetical to the objectives of human dignity and democracy. The core of the problem is that prima facie the infringement of freedom within the media is not exercised on legal premises and cannot therefore be solved within the legal framework. The operation of the press in society is conditioned by three types of regulation, legal regulation, market regulation and self-regulation. Legal regulation does not adequately presuppose the impact of the latter as it is based on the assumption that press freedom is mainly a negative liberty. The book explores the affirmative side of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is one of the most advanced forms of any kind of international legal processes, in guaranteeing press freedom that is not merely illusory but practical and effective so that the press can live up to its positive requirements. Convention jurisprudence has not only influenced domestic courts of the Contracting Parties but also the legislators of the Member States. In an era of globalization dominant media operators wield such power in their own domestic markets to impede national regulators in resorting to interventionist media policies to secure journalistic freedoms. The Convention jurisprudence represents a kind of European ius commune, which is here set in context of an analysis reflecting the problems and values at issue and offering recommendations to close the gap between a situation threatening democratic ideals and public-spirited journalism permeating all aspects of society.

Urban Rydin

Inkomst av näringsfastighet i enskild näringsverk-samhet. Arbetsinkomst eller kapitalinkomst?

Datum för disputation: den 31 oktober 2003
Fakultetsopponent: Roger Persson Österman, Stockholms universitet
Ämne: Finansrätt

Abstract

I samband med 1990 års skattereform förändrades den allmänna inkomstskatten i grunden. Bl.a. infördes skilda skatteskalor för arbetsinkomster och kapitalinkomster. Inkomster som genereras av arbete beskattas progressivt med 45-75 % men avkastning av kapital proportionellt med 30 %. Allokering av inkomst till respektive inkomstkategori har därför stor betydelse i skattesystemet. De flesta företag i Sverige bedrivs som enskild näringsverksamhet och baseras relativt ofta på fastigheter. Kunskapen om beskattningsreglerna för dessa Sveriges minsta företag är trots deras stora betydelse i näringslivet relativt låg. Denna bok skall hjälpa till att bota denna brist. Den behandlar indelningen av fastigheter i privatbostadsfastighet eller näringsfastighet, vidare indelningen i aktiv och passiv näringsverksamhet och slutligen återföring av vissa avdrag vid avyttring av fastigheter. De många därmed sammanhängande frågorna har alla sin grund i den numera tudelade inkomstbeskattningen. Undersökningen påvisar vissa brister i dagens lagstiftning. Till exempel utgör passiv näringsverksamhet i huvudsak en kapitalinkomst som beskattas som arbetsinkomst. Vidare bygger återföringsreglerna på grundtanken att de löpande avdragen är felaktiga. En av slutsatserna i avhandlingen är att denna grundtanke är felaktig och att mycket därför talar för att justeringar i stället bör ske vid vinstberäkningen.

In English

Since the tax reform of 1990 the Swedish tax system separates earned income and capital income. On earned income such as "income from business" taxes and fees leads to a total margin tax burden that vary between 45 and 75 %. This margin effect can be compared to the 30 % proportional income tax on capital income. The allocation of income to earned income or capital income is therefore an important part of the Swedish tax system. This dissertation deals with special rules for the purpose of allocating income between the two categories of income. The topic is to study and analyse three parts of the Swedish tax system for real estate used either a simple firm or in a simple company. All three parts stem from the dualistic income tax system. The first set of rules is about the classification of real estate. For income tax purposes real estate in Sweden is classified as either private residential property (privatbostadsfastighet) or commercial real property (näringsfastighet); the income from the first category is taxed as capital income and income from the second category as business income. The second set of rules concerns activity classification. Following the 1994 business tax reform all private business carried out in Sweden by a person liable to taxation may be either active or passive. The third and last set of rules deals with depreciation carry back and repair carry back as business income when commercial real property is sold. These rules only exist because of the capital income taxation of capital gains.