Public and International Law

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A critical discussion on the role of Aid for Trade in the realization of the MDG 8 with regards to Ghana and Nigeria.
(2013) Pillay, Chanelle Fairlene.; Stevens, Clydenia Edwina.
No abstract available.
The effect of the agreement on agriculture on the relationship between South Africa and the European Union.
(2016) Deeplal, Nikhiel.; Stevens, Clydenia Edwina.
Abstract not available.
The human rights jurisdiction of the SADC tribunal and the East African Court of Justice : legal and political implications.
(2016) Tembo, Simbarashe.; Gevers, Christopher Carl.
Sub-regional Economic Communities have increasingly become important in the promotion, protection, and human rights in Africa. Sub-regional human rights courts potentially bring international justice closer to victims in their respective regions. However, there is a debate surrounding the acquisition of human rights jurisdiction by the SADC Tribunal and the East African Court of Justice through broad purposive interpretation of their respective treaties. Many scholars however agree that the judges correctly afforded human rights jurisdiction to both Courts. They argue that human rights jurisdiction is an incident of the principles rule of law, democracy and good governance, which find meaning within the ambit of both treaties. The cases of Mike Campbell v The Republic of Zimbabwe, in the SADC Tribunal, and Katabazi v The Secretary General of the EAC, in the EACJ resulted in the conferment of human rights jurisdiction on both Courts. Even though these cases were fundamentally similar, they received varying responses from their respective Sub-regional Economic Communities. This work critically analyses the human rights jurisdiction of these Courts and unpacks these different reactions. The SADC Tribunal is currently suspended and a New Protocol to establish a new Tribunal without human rights jurisdiction was adopted. By using Roux’s theory of ‘tactical adjudication’, it aims to show how the negative reaction to the SADC Tribunal’s judgment might have been avoided or mitigated, thereby maintaining its institutional security.
Cultural practices and reproductive health rights of women : a comparative study of South Africa and Nigeria.
(2017) Eniola, Bolanle Oluwakemi.; Mubangizi, John Cantius.
This study involved a critical comparison of cultural practices and the reproductive health rights of women in South Africa and Nigeria. The two countries are characterised by cultural diversity. They have assented to some international instruments on the protection of the reproductive health rights of women, but have different frameworks aimed at the protection of the reproductive health rights of women. The notable difference in the approach of the two countries to the promotion and protection of the reproductive health rights of women is that South Africa has a more developed constitutional approach channelled towards the protection of women‟s reproductive autonomy. Apart from being signatories to international treaties on the protection of women‟s reproductive health, South Africa and Nigeria have different frameworks for the protection of women‟s reproductive autonomy. While South Africa has muster political will to domesticate these treaties, the case is different in Nigeria as it finds it difficult to domesticate these international instruments. However, despite South Africa‟s domestication of the international instruments and Nigeria‟s ratification of the instruments, coupled with their legal and legislative frameworks on women‟s reproductive health rights of women, women in these countries are constrained by various cultural norms from realising these rights. Desktop research was conducted to gain a robust understanding of cultural practices and the reproductive health rights of women in South Africa and Nigeria. The study relied on primary and secondary sources of information. It reviewed the existing literatures on cultural practices and the reproductive health rights of women in both countries. As well as the various international and regional instruments on the promotion and protection of women‟s reproductive health right. The information gathered from these sources was subjected to content analysis. The study revealed that that despite the frameworks adopted by the two countries on the protection of the reproductive health rights of women, reproductive health rights of women in both countries are still violated through some cultural practices. The cultural practices are so entrenched in the various communities in both South Africa and Nigeria that it is difficult to adopt laws to protect the reproductive health rights of women. According to the study, women themselves contribute to the furtherance of the cultural practices. This is because most of the instruments protecting these rights are ineffective. The study further revealed that the laws of some countries do not promote the enforcement of international instruments in their domestic courts – unless such instruments are domesticated. According to the study, while South Africa has demonstrated political will to protect women‟s reproductive health rights, Nigeria lacks the political will to domesticate the international instruments. Furthermore, in Nigeria, the pluralist legal system also affects the realisation of the reproductive health rights of women as the system creates geographical disparities in the realisation of these rights. It is recommended that the Nigerian government demonstrate commitment to domesticating the various treaties on women‟s reproductive health rights to which the country has assented. Furthermore, both countries should provide human rights education to enlighten both men and women on the need to protect these rights. Finally, to fully enjoy these rights, where there is a conflict between the various cultural practices and women‟s reproductive health rights, in line with international norms and standards on the protection of women‟s rights, women‟s reproductive health rights should take precedence.
International trade law: the legal status of World Trade Organization laws on anti-dumping and intellectual property in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
(2019) Kamusasa, Walter Kuzivakwashe.; Soni, Sheetal Jacqueline.
Abstract available in PDF.
Battered, dejected, ejected and rejected: the rights of HIV positive women to be protected from violence in Eswatini.
(2020) Mavundla, Simangele Daisy.; Strode, Ann Elaine.; Essack, Zaynab.
Eswatini has, as of 2018, the highest prevalence of HIV and AIDS in the world. The prevalence has continued to rise, climbing from 21 per cent of the population in 2016 to over 27 per cent in 2018. Violence against women (VAW) is also on the increase, attributed to the prevalence of gender inequality in the country. Research has shown a viable link between HIV and VAW. This is because women are most often powerless and have no voice, agency or control over their lives and bodies. Due to gender inequality, women may be unable to negotiate condom use with their husbands or partners. Women's refusal of males' sexual advances often leads to their violation, underscoring the link between VAW and HIV and AIDS. However, in Eswatini, the implications of this link have not been adequately investigated; hence, the need to investigate women's experiences of VAW to find out how well the legal and policy frameworks of Eswatini respond to VAW. The study answers the following essential questions: What are the experiences of women living with HIV (WLH) regarding violence? Is the Eswatini legal and policy framework cognisant of the nexus between VAW and HIV? How does the legal framework protect HIV positive women from VAW and its consequences in light of international law? This study found that violence against HIV positive women was multifaceted and involved a wide range of perpetrators. As such, WLH experienced many forms of violence, including stigma and discrimination. Perpetrators of violence against WLH originated from the home front – (private sphere) and then were found in the public sphere. Intimate partners, and family members, as well as community members and healthcare workers, were implicated in violating WLH in one way or another. The findings of this study confirmed that violence and HIV were inextricably interconnected at many levels and that legal remedies were inadequate, to the extent that women did not generally rely on them. Some of the inadequacies included the fact that the laws on marital and cohabiting relationships offered little protection in conflict with the provision in the Constitution provides that 'women have the right to equal treatment with men'. This study argues that Eswatini's social context provides fertile ground for HIV and VAW and their interaction to thrive. It further contends that violence against WLH is a public health concern requiring a public health response. It concludes that violence against WLH is indeed a human rights violation, which requires a human rights response.
Immunity before foreign and domestic tribunals.
(2020) Emedi, Yolanda Lohelo.; Goosen, Samantha.; Soni, Sheetal Jacqueline.
Under customary international law, many high-ranking state officials enjoyed exemption from prosecution by foreign criminal or civil jurisdictions for crimes committed. However, with the advent of the International Criminal Court, whether personal immunity as a valid defence exists before international and domestic tribunals remains questionable. This research interrogates the extent to which a sitting head of state charged with an international crime can rely on personal immunity. The study analyses the leading case of the former Sudanese head of state; Al-Bashir from 2009, by the Pre-trial Chamber of the ICC and the involvement of other independent states in this process and the developments made answering the question of whether immunity remains. This study addresses the conflicting tensions that states have faced, not only This study addresses the conflicting tensions that states have faced, not only in terms of articles 27 and 98 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (hereafter Rome Statute), but also other conflicting obligations which have made successful execution of arrest and prosecution difficult. These include membership of the African Union as well as the lack of capacity and structure of member states to execute such requests. In addition, the fact that heads of state may no longer enjoy immunity, whether personal or otherwise, threatens the very sovereignty of states. Based on the findings of this study, it can be stated that personal immunity accorded to a head of state can no longer be raised as a valid defence before an international tribunal. However, the same cannot be said of foreign domestic tribunals. This study concludes that a sitting head of state charged for breaking the rules of international law can be subjected to the jurisdiction of the any tribunal, more so if the official is said to have vacated the office.

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