bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of the 1992 Constitution on Family Rights in Ghana
Authors: Ekow Daniels W. C.
Published: July 2009

One of the important characteristics of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, is the prominence it gives to the constitutional protection of the rights of men, women and children who live for a larger part of their lives as families. Although there are passing references to the family, that word is not defined by the Constitution, but the absence of a definition need not be regarded as evidence of non-recognition of the concept of family in Ghana society. Few will disagree widi the proposition that the basis of every society from the most primitive to the most complicated is the family. As an institution it is of great antiquity.
Constitution-Making in Situations of Extreme Crisis: the Case of Rwanda and Burundi
Authors: Reyntjens Filip
Published: July 2009

The small East-Central African countries of Rwanda and Burundi have been in the news lately because of the extreme violence they have been and are experiencing. While many observers have interpreted these conflicts in strictly ethnic terms, pitting Hutu against Tutsi, they are in fact political: at stake is power, the control over the state as a principal means of accumulation and reproduction of a social class. This struggle in the context of profound destabilization has given rise to extraordinary forms of constitutional engineering, which have attempted to legitimize the assumption of power by small minorities.
African Courts, the Settlement of Investment Disputes and the Enforcement of Awards
Authors: Agyemang Augustus A.
Published: July 2009

An indication of the reluctance of some African states to submit to international arbitration when investment disputes arise under investment contracts providing for international arbitration of disputes is to be found in their insistence that such disputes should be settled by their national courts. For instance, Article 35 of the Oil Code of Madagascar provides for the exclusive jurisdiction of the Madagascar Courts in respect of disputes arising under the Code. In theLibyan Nationalisation Cases, Libya was insistent that only its national courts could settle the arbitrations. In theHoliday Inns Arbitrationand the case ofSociété Ltd., Benvenuti & Bonfant, the Moroccan and Congolese Governments respectively contended that only their national courts could settle certain aspects of the investment disputes they were parties to. This article considers the extent to which this insistence is reflected in investment contracts and the suitability of African courts for settling investment disputes and enforcing awards.
The Freedom Charter and Ethnicity— towards a Communitarian South African Society
Authors: Sanders A. J. G. M.
Published: July 2009

At national as well as international level the South African Freedom Charter has become a symbol of the long-standing struggle against apartheid. In this essay the emphasis will be on the charter's provisions relating to ethnicity. The question of ethnicity is a crucial one, for on its solution depends the outcome of the economic and other social problems which trouble South African society.

The 1955 Freedom Charter, which was the outcome of a joint venture of the African National Congress (A.N.C.), the South African Indian Congress, the South African Coloured People's Organisation and the predominantly European South African Congress of Democrats, suggests a unitary, participatory welfare state, which will acccord equal rights to all “national groups and races”.

For the A.N.C., the senior partner in the “Congress Alliance”, the reference in the charter to “national groups and races” soon became a major headache. Could it be said that the charter lent support to the creation of “four nations”? A number of people within the A.N.C. feared that much. Prominent among them were the “Africanists” who in April 1959 broke away from the A.N.C, and formed the Pan-Africanist Congress (P.A.C.) “Charterists” and “Africanists” are still at loggerheads, but the A.N.C.'s “Revolutionary Programme” of 1969 and its “Constitutional Guidelines for a Democratic
Evidence in Rape Cases in Four Southern African Countries
Authors: Armstrong Alice
Published: July 2009

Evidentiary rules applicable to rape and other sexual offence cases, inherited from nineteenth-century England and based on Victorian notions of women's behaviour, are alive and well in twentieth-century southern Africa. These are the cautionary rules which require a trial judge to warn him or herself of the danger of convicting a rape accused without corroboration, or independent evidence supporting the testimony of the complainant. These rules are applied because the evidence of the complainant in a sexual case is considered to be “suspect”: she is variously said to be prone to lie for reasons of her own, prone to fantasy, and prone to exaggerate. Although the cautionary rule of corroboration is still applied in many countries, most progressive and feminist thinkers consider them to be “a lingering insult to women”. In this article I will canvass the cautionary rules on evidence in sexual cases in southern Africa and attempt to show that they are not only based on outmoded stereotypes, but are also particularly unsuitable to southern Africa.
Nigerian Citizenship Law: A Current Perspective
Authors: Okoli K. C.
Published: July 2009

Since 1979, there have been significant changes in the law relating to citizenship in Nigeria. These changes came with the enactment in that year of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979. The citizenship provisions of the 1979 Constitution have been slightly modified and reenacted in the 1989 Constitution which will come into effect on October 1, 1992. In this article, we shall examine the current Nigerian law on citizenship as ordained by the 1979 Constitution as well as the changes introduced by the 1989 Constitution. This will be done against the background of the historical development of citizenship laws in the country prior to, and since independence on October 1, 1960.
The Winds of Change. Political and Constitutional Evolution in Francophone Africa, 1990–1991
Authors: Reyntjens Filip
Published: July 2009

“Never in my lifetime”: it has always been a risky sentence for political leaders, as the former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith knows only too well. The astonishingly rapid evolution in Africa today has made the phrase sound almost suicidal. Zaire's President Mobutu, for instance, claimed at the beginning of 1990 that “never in my lifetime will there be multi-partyism in Zaire”; after he was forced to announce the lifting of all restrictions on 9 October of the same year, more than 100 political parties had become active by the beginning of 1991 and Mobutu's own prospects for political survival now seem increasingly slim. He is just one of the many heads of state in French-speaking Africa who have been forced into performing a drastic U-turn during 1990.

Both single party rule and socialism have come under increasing strain over the last year. In Francophone Africa in particular, virtually no country has been untouched by the wave of political reform. A combination of factors accounts for this spectacular evolution.
The Constitution of Namibia: an Overview
Authors: Cottrell Jill
Published: July 2009

Namibia finally achieved independence on 21 March, 1990, after a long struggle and many false hopes and setbacks. In a nutshell: the territory was colonized by Germany. It was seized by South African forces during the First World War, and then made the subject of a League of Nations Mandate, administered by South Africa, after the war. Following the Second World War, South Africa tried to incorporate the territory, a move resisted by the United Nations. In 1966 the International Court of Justice denied standing to Ethiopia and Liberia to allege breaches of the mandate. However, shortly thereafter the UN voted to terminate the mandate. At about the same time the South West African People's Organization (SWAPO) launched its armed struggle. South Africa's response to these developments was to implement plans for the closer integration of the territory into the South African state, and into the system of apartheid. As a result, a system of native authorities, based on ethnicity, was introduced.

In 1975 the “Turnhalle” talks were started which, although rejected by most of the black groups, led to the establishment of a constituent Assembly. During the same period, a “Contract Group” of Western Nations began to negotiate with South Africa over a settlement for Namibia. The ultimate proposals were accepted by the UN, SWAPO and South Africa, and the plans were recognized by UN Resolution 435. But immediately thereafter problems began to arise, and talks about implementation stopped and started for a number of years.
Nigeria's New Constitution for 1992: The third Republic
Authors: Read James S.
Published: July 2009

The 1979 Constitution of Nigeria was widely acclaimed as a boldly innovative attempt to introduce structures for democratic government which were new to the Commonwealth. These included the adoption of an American-style separation of legislative and executive powers, albeit with many distinctive elements, to replace the “Westminster model” which had been so productive of tension and conflict at both federal and regional levels under the Independence Constitution of 1960 and the Constitution of the First Republic (1963–66). The executive presidency also represented continuity with the realities of military government (1966–79). Although that transition from the Whitehall to the White House model in the Second Republic (1979–83) proved a short-lived experiment, the problems which precipitated the military coup of 31 December, 1983, or were cited as justifying it, were not attributed to defects in the basic constitutional structures but rather to the ways in which they had been operated by the politicians elected to office—many of whom, as survivors from the previous political era, were more familiar with “Westminster” than “Washington” Now a new generation of constitution-makers has affirmed, on behalf of the nation, its confidence in the basic scheme adopted in 1979: indeed, the new Constitution, enacted in 1989 for implementation in 1992, closely reproduces the structure and most of the detailed provisions of the 1979 Constitution; yet such similarity belies fundamental changes in the political system now in process of restoration.
Application of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights by domestic courts in Africa
Authors: Viljoen Frans
Published: July 2009

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights1 (hereinafter the “African Charter” or “Charter”) was adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Assembly of Heads of State and Government in 1981. It entered into force on 21 October, 1986, after a majority of OAU member states had ratified the Charter. At present, 52 of the 53 member states have become parties: the only non-ratifying state is Eritrea.
The legal relationship between multinational oil companies and the Sudan: problems and prospects
Authors: Abusharaf Adila
Published: July 2009

Multinational oil corporations (MNOCs) are a strategically important group of multinational corporations (MNCs). There are now many MNOCs operating in both the private and public sectors with remarkably diverse characters, strategies and objectives. Handling large budgets, revenue and capital, and complex advanced technology, they are responsible for exploration, crude oil production, refining, and distribution. These very capacities enable MNOCs to make a number of positive contributions to the economic growth and development of the developing oil-producing countries in which they operate. In that regard, MNOCs engage extensively in joint marketing operations with their host countries in various parts of the world, and foreign funds injected by MNOCs' operations relieve the shortage of financial capital and make greater production possible.
Human rights in the cultural traditions and social practice of the Igbo of south-eastern Nigeria
Authors: Ejidike Okey Martin
Published: July 2009

One of the crucial theoretical problems confronting human rights is the perception of its historical derivation related to the universal or relative character of the rights declared. Limited views on the origin of the concept are widespread and easily exploited to stymie die quest for human rights. Cultural-monopolist derivations of its origin have fed relativist but apologist arguments in developing countries. A cultural-universalist conception is not only possible but preferable. A contrary position would both contradict and deter the cause of human rights. To arrogate the concept to some groups, cultures and civilizations to die exclusion of others would be deleterious to the momentum toward universal consensus on human rights in at least two major ways. It would harden or ossify divisive tendencies and provide ammunition for apologist justification of violations.
Over a Hundred Years of a National Legal System in Ghana
Authors: Asante Samuel K. B.
Published: July 2009

On 1976, Ghana celebrated the centenary of the establishment of its Supreme Court. But this was more than a centenary of a supreme court. It was in fact the celebration of a hundred years of a national legal system. During the past century, Ghana has operated a pluralistic legal system encompassing English and other Western juristic ideas and procedures on the one hand, and Ghana's own indigenous laws on the other. The burden of this paper is to undertake an appraisal of the efficacy of this legal heritage and to consider the challenge which this legacy poses. The emphasis is not so much on the historical or analytical description of the nation's legal heritage as on a functional review of the totality of Ghana's legal experience in the light of the prevailing social and economic conditions. More precisely, to what extent have the Ghanaian courts and legislative bodies succeeded in moulding both the received law and the indigenous customary law to respond to the pressing social and economic needs of the country? Is there in fact a peculiarly Ghanaian legal tradition?

The first Supreme Court was established in 1853, but its jurisdiction was confined to the coastal settlements and it could not pretend to be a national institution. The modern Ghanaian legal system was inaugurated by the Supreme Court Ordinance, 1876, which not only established a national judicial system but also prescribed the law and procedure to be applied in this court system.
The Functions of the Law of Torts in Africa
Authors: Cottrell Jill
Published: July 2009

Professor Allott observed nearly a quarter of century ago:

“There can be no justification (other than inertia) for the continued application of the unreformed English law of torts in modern African countries”.

There is no doubt that he was right; there is equally no doubt that it is still substantially the unreformed law which is applied. Certainly there has been very little in the way of legislative change. This paper is not concerned mainly with this question, but with what uses African litigants and their lawyers have found for this exotic field of law, and also, to some extent, with the further question of how far the law has proved fitted for the tasks.

A glance at legal periodicals in the United Kingdom and even more so in the USA indicates that there is something of a ferment in tort scholarship. We find writers asking questions like “Does tort have a future?” While at the same time others demand that tort take on new roles. By way of complete contrast, it might appear from African legal literature that the law of tort is of virtually no significance. There are very few books and journal articles are relatively rare. It attracts even less attention from those who write on law and development.

It has been said of the Antipodean law of tort that it “does not, in general, reflect the Australian outback and its pastoral economy, nor New Zealand's earthquakes, volcanoes and glaciers, nor exemplify an Australian or New Zealand ethos”.
Land Policy: A Framework for Analysis and Action
Authors: McAuslan Patrick
Published: July 2009

I chose the topic of land and land policy as my contribution to this collection of essays in honour of Tony Allott because it seemed to me that there are certain parallels between the role of land in society and the role of Tony Allott in the development of the study of African Law and indeed of the study of the law of pre-literate societies by lawyers in the United Kingdom. Land is central to the workings of any society, but especially is this so in respect of pre-literate societies and societies subjected to the impact of colonialism. So too has Tony's work been central to the growth of our understanding of the workings of customary law in African society and the manifold problems created by the impact of received law i.e. for the most part Western Europe law brought by the colonial powers, on customary law and society. Those of us who began our careers of law teaching and legal scholarship in Africa owe a great debt to Tony for his pioneering work in the field and for his tireless efforts to promote African legal scholarship. In going beyond Africa as I do in this essay, I am once again following in Tony's path for he long ago realised that law in Africa is a part only of the great family of law in the developing world and one can no more isolate African legal scholarship from that world than one can isolate land from the society of which it is a part. It is to this that I now turn.
The law and practice of customary arbitration in Nigeria: Agu v. Ikewibe and applicable law issues revisited
Authors: Igbokwe Virtus Chitoo
Published: July 2009

“Reservations about any concept do not automatically discredit it but allow for healthy and open debate to take place… the discussions that can arise from any such criticism, constructive or otherwise, can often lead to a greater awareness of the values of the system and ways in which it can be strengthened and made more effective in the interests of the general public.”

This article critically examines the controversies surrounding the law and practice of customary arbitration in Nigeria against the background of the decision of the Nigerian Supreme Court inAgu v. Ikewibe. The case law on customary arbitration is briefly reviewed with a view to demonstrating that prior to theAgucase, there existed a divergence of opinion among judges on some fundamental principles of the law and practice of customary arbitration in Nigeria, particularly with respect to the right of the parties to withdraw at any stage of the arbitration proceedings or even after the award is rendered. The article disagrees with the views of some judges and learned scholars that theres no distinction between customary arbitration and other consensus-oriented dispute resolution methods such as negotiation and conciliation. In disagreeing with these views, it is argued that in distinguishing customary arbitration from negotiation or conciliaion, the nature of the decision-making process should be of paramount consideration. It will further be argued that the binding nature or enforcement of the decisions of a judicial or quasi-judicial body differs from society to society. These enforcement mechanisms should not be divorced from the social relationships existing in a particular society. In conclusion, the article endorces the decision of the Supreme Court inAgu v. Ikewibeas the correct restatement of the law and practice of customary arbitration in Nigeria.
Codification of Customary Law
Authors: Bennett T. W. , Vermeulen T.
Published: July 2009

During the past 50 years, the study of African customary law has been enthusiastically pursued. The growing awareness of this subject has, at the same time, stimulated a critical awareness of the problem of its place in the legal system of an African state. With the attitudes of modern African nations, the place of customary law is necessarily an ambiguous one. Because the colonial governments' application of customary law and European law was determined, primarily, by the race of the litigants, this was frequently perceived as discriminatory and, hence, antithetical to the views of African nationalism. On the other hand, it is true that customary law, the law of the African people, reflects the traditional African culture, whereas the imported systems of Western European law reflect European values and attitudes. At an even more fundamental level, customary law is regarded as representing the old social order. As such, it is often perceived to be in opposition to the new social order represented by the European legal systems. The latter are usually more in keeping with the demands of modern society, particularly in the public and commercial sphere, whereas customary law is suited, rather, to the simple, face-to-face societies of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Effect of Registration of Title Upon Customary Land Rights in Kenya
Authors: Coldham Simon
Published: July 2009

When the State of Emergency was declared in 1952, most Africans in Kenya were living on the land in tribal reserves known as Native Land Units. Land rights within the Land Units were governed by native law and custom, though the demand for individual titles was strong, particularly in the Kikuyu Land Unit. However, administrators were divided about the desirability of hastening the demise of traditional institutions and concentrated their efforts on promoting agricultural development by taking measures against soil erosion and encouraging farmers to consolidate their holdings. It was only when large-scale compulsory land consolidation schemes were initiated in the mid-fifties among the Kikuyu that serious consideration was given to the nature of the title which the owner of a consolidated holding would acquire. Many people saw customary law as an obstacle to agricultural development (after all, the customary law relating to the allocation and inheritance of land was largely responsible for the considerable fragmentation of holdings that had occurred) and recommended that it be replaced by a system based on the registration of individual titles.
Land Problems in Some Peri-Urban Villages in Botswana and Problems of Conception, Description and Transformation of “Tribal” Land Tenure
Authors: Ng'ong'ola Clement
Published: July 2009

In Botswana, as in several other African countries with a similar historical experience, a dual or plural land tenure system was carried over from the colonial era. The bulk of the land falls within the category of “tribal land”. It is predominantly held and occupied by indigenous peoples under customary notions of land tenure. The State also holds as “State land” a fairly significant proportion which fell under the category of “Crown lands” during the colonial era. A tiny proportion now falls within the category of “freehold land”. This is predominantly held and occupied in conformity with common law notions and conceptions imported into the country with colonial rule. To some extent both State land and freehold land are held under or governed by “received law”, in contradistinction to tribal land which is largely held under customary law.

In 1968, barely two years after independence, the Botswana parliament enacted legislation which attempted to reform customary land tenure by replacing existing customary or tribal institutions of land control and administration with statutory land boards. These started operating in 1970, and it soon became apparent from early assessments that even this limited and cautious programme of reform would not escape some of the problems associated with land transformation exercises elsewhere in Africa.
Myth and reality of law, language and international organization in Africa: the case of African Economic Community
Authors: Ajulo Sunday Babalola
Published: July 2009

The contemporary African international community is afflicted by a linguistic dilemma. On the one hand, the African elites are constrained to accept the imperative of adopting the inherited colonial languages in order to gain easy access to the global international community currently dominated by the linguistic condominium of the erstwhile imperial powers. On the other hand, these African elites, propelled by nationalistic sentiments, express in legal instruments a sanguine hope of promoting their indigenous tongues to the rank of official/working languages, not only on the national, but also on the continental scale. This would appear necessary in order to avoid cultural or linguistic suicide. However, in concept and practice, the whole idea seems to have remained in the realm of myth.
Right to a clean environment: the case for the people of oil-producing communities in the Nigerian delta
Authors: Okonmah Patrick D.
Published: July 2009

Commercial exploration and exploitation of Nigeria's petroleum resources began in 1956 when large deposits of hydrocarbon were discovered at Oloibiri in the present Rivers State of Nigeria. Since the delivery of the first consignment of crude oil to Europe in 1958, activities in Nigeria's oil industry have witnessed a dramatic increase. As the sixth largest producer in OPEC, Nigeria contributes nearly two million barrels of crude petroleum to the global oil market. Petrodollars from the sale of crude oil in the last four decades have brought a phenomenal change in the country's economy. Ironically, the oil industry, which has brought development to many parts of Nigeria, has become a source of misery to the people of oil-producing communities whose existence is now threatened by the scourge of oil pollution.
Rights and duties of refugees under municipal law in Tanzania: examining a proposed new legislation
Authors: Peter Chris Maina
Published: July 2009

“We have to be realistic and hard-headed about this problem of refugees. We have in particular, to recognise that it is not getting smaller.”

Julius K. Nyerere
Void Assessments to Income Tax in Nigeria
Authors: Elegido J. M.
Published: July 2009

Many Nigerian decisions in tax cases have firmly established the possibility of raising the defence of lack of jurisdiction in the assessment in an action for recovery of tax. This development has resulted from decisions of the courts and has led to a significant shift from the practice in the U.K. There— aside from the possibility of applying in rather exceptional cases for judicial review—the consideration of any issues, whether of fact or of law, as to the merits of an assessment is confined to appeals before the Commissioners with further appeal to the High Court on points of law. This apparently technical difference has had great practical importance. Recourse to the courts for the purpose of tax recovery has become more difficult for the Revenue and this has encouraged the development of extra-judicial methods of tax collection.

A study of those Nigerian decisions that have established, extended and applied this doctrine, and of its consequences, should be of interest in other anglophone African countries. The income tax statutes of many such countries are basically similar due to their common descent from a “Model Ordinance” prepared in the U.K. in 1922. Decisions of the Nigerian Courts on the construction of provisions of the Nigerian tax statutes are of persuasive authority in other Commonwealth countries with similar provisions in their own tax enactments.

This paper first provides a broad outline of the Nigerian legislation on tax assessments, appeals and collection in order to facilitate the understanding of the points discussed later.
Colonial Policy and the Highlands of Kenya, 1934–1944
Authors: Coldham Simon
Published: July 2009

The idea that certain highland areas of the East Africa Protectorate should be reserved for European settlement dates effectively from the appointment of Sir Charles Eliot as Commissioner in 1901. Although a number of European settlers had arrived in the Protectorate in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was generally felt in official circles that the country was not suitable for European settlement, but that Indian settlement, on the other hand, should be actively encouraged. Eliot, however, took the view that, while Indians should be allowed to settle in the low-lying areas near Lake Victoria and along the coastal strip, the Highlands were pre-eminently suitable for European settlement and indeed should be specifically reserved for that purpose. In May 1903 he instructed his Land Officer not to grant rural land in the Highlands to Indians and thus laid the basis of the White Highlands policy.
Chieftaincy jurisdication and the muddle of constitutional interpretation in Ghana
Authors: Kludze A. K. P.
Published: July 2009

The Supreme Court of Ghana, in The Ghana Bar Association v. The Attorney General, has unanimously decided that, even under the 1992 Constitution, High Court and the Court of Appeal have no jurisdiction in chieftaincy matters. Even if this decision itself is correct, it is nevertheless premised on highly questionable legal propositions and dicta which strike at the foundations of several otherwise settled principles and canons of construction.
Political Self Determination Within the Context of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights
Authors: Addo Michael K.
Published: July 2009

In 1981, after nearly three years of drafting and deliberations, the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments of the Organisation of African Unity (O.A.U.) at its 18th Session adopted a regional human rights instrument— The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. Recent documentation indicate that an adequate number of ratifications have been received to bring the Charter into force. There has so far however not been any test of its provisions. Nevertheless this article will be devoted to a legal examination and in other ways to a speculative analysis of an aspect of one of the human and/or peoples' rights sought to be guaranteed in the Charter—the right to political self determination. This of course means that the very narrow scope of this paper will hardly touch on the economic aspects of self determination, which is also provided for in the Charter.
The New Constitution of Nigeria, 1979: “The Washington Model”?
Authors: Read James S.
Published: July 2009

The end of almost fourteen years of military government, with the restoration of civilian rule in Nigeria on 1st October, 1979, would inevitably have been a landmark of great significance for Africa and the Commonwealth. What has given it quite exceptional importance is the fact that Nigeria, turning its back on Westminster, has chosen to adopt a new constitutional structure which can aptly be regarded as a version of “the Washington model”. This appears as a striking and innovative departure among Commonwealth constitutions which, despite the proliferation of republican systems, including executive presidencies and, in Africa, the spread of one-party models, generally preserve—in theory at least—certain basic features of “the Westminster model”: hence the preference for a parliamentary executive, in many states combined with presidential rule, however unrealistic in practice the notion of ministerial responsibility to parliament may have become. The new Nigerian Constitution has no place for such terms as “parliament”, “cabinet” or “prime minister”, yet the transition from the Westminster to a Washington model is a logical, predictable one likely to prompt imitation elsewhere: indeed, the new Constitution of Ghana, where military government also came to an end in 1979, has taken the same path.
Acquisition of Oil Rights under Contractual Joint Ventures in Nigeria
Authors: Atsegbua Lawrence
Published: July 2009

This article inquires critically into the different modes of acquisition of oil rights in Nigeria by international oil companies (IOCs) under contractual joint ventures. These contractual joint ventures are either production sharing or service contracts.
Constraining Factors to the Adoption of Kiswahili as a Language of the Law in Tanzania
Authors: Rwezaura B.
Published: July 2009

The political and economic problems of language policy in modern Africa have continued as a reminder of the unforgettable historical fact of European colonialism. Today there are two major regions of Africa known as Anglophone and Francophone Africa. Much as many African leaders would have wished to discard the language of the former colonial power and substitute an indigenous language, this has proved problematic because in many cases there is not a single widely-spoken local language. In some cases any attempt to raise the status of one indigenous language into a national language would have provoked wasteful inter-ethnic conflict.
Zimbabwe: Drawing a Line Through the past
Authors: Carver Richard
Published: July 2009

“We were trying to kill each other; that's what the war was about. What I am concerned with now is that my public statements should be believed when I say that I have drawn a line through the past.” (Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, on retaining the head of Rhodesian intelligence in charge of Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organization).

“Nothing the police are doing now is new. The police have learned all their bad habits from the Rhodesian police. The beatings, the electric shock …” (former Rhodesian police officer).
Reflections on Some Judicial Decisions on the Construction of the Nigerian Land Use Act
Authors: Sholanke Oladipo O.
Published: July 2009

For this exercise, three of the many new decisions of Nigerian courts on the interpretation of some provisions of the Nigerian Land Use Act have been chosen. Two of the decisions were delivered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria while one was by a Court of Appeal in Nigeria.
Environmental Management in Uganda: The Importance of Property Law and Local Government in Wetlands Conservation
Authors: Richardson Benjamin J.
Published: July 2009

The development of strategies for the conservation and wise use of wetlands in Uganda is significant for what it reveals about how law contributes to the sustainable management of natural resources in poor countries in general. The highly inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral management requirements of wetlands make this issue one of the most challenging, and wetlands constitute today the single most important environmental issue being addressed by the Ugandan government. As part of this effort, the legal frameworks for property rights and local government are being overhauled so as to provide a sounder basis for environmental management in this field. This article analyses the Ugandan approach to wetlands management and the role of property rights and local government in the environmental policy-making process.
Forest Protection and the Rights of Cocoa Farmers in Western Ghana
Authors: England Philippa
Published: July 2009

The history of illegal farming activities in certain forest reserves in the Western Region of Ghana demonstrates the magnitude of the problems facing conservationists, administrators and forestry personnel i n developing countries. The objective of this article is to explore briefly some of those problems and to reflect on the value of a human rights approach to environmental protection in the light of events in Western Ghana. First, the article presents evidence of the scale of illegal farming i n some forest reserves in the Western Region, before discussing the various initiatives taken since the 1960s to reserve and protect forest land in this Region. The administrative, legal and political obstacles to their success are highlighted as is the role played by competing interest groups. The implications of this analysis for the concept of environmental rights is then briefly discussed and alternative proposals for tackling this problem suggested.
Legal Change in Africa: evidence from oil-related litigation in Nigeria
Authors: Frynas Jedrzej George
Published: July 2009

There has been a significant rise in litigation between oil companies and those affected by oil operations in Nigerian courts. In the period 1981–86, 24 compensation claims against Shell went to court in Nigeria. In early 1998, Shell was reportedly involved in over 500 pending court cases in Nigeria, out of which 70 per cent, or roughly 350 cases, dealt with oil spills, the other 30 per cent, or 150 cases, dealt mostly with other types of damage from oil operations, contracts, employment and taxation. In the whole of the 1980s, Chevron reportedly had only up to c. 50 court cases in Nigeria. In early 1998, Chevron was involved in over 200 cases, of which 80–90 per cent, or roughly 160–180 cases, dealt with oil spills, other types of damage from oil operations or land acquisition for oil operations. This substantial increase cannot be solely ascribed to expanding oil operations. There are various indications that an increase in the quantity of oil-related litigation was accompanied by legal change. In the 1990s, a number of high profile cases have been won by the local people in the oil-producing areas, notably Shell v. Farah, in which c. 4.6 million Naira (c. US$210,000 according to the official exchange rate) was awarded as damages to the plaintiffs.
Individual and NGO participation in human rights litigation before the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights: lessons from the European and Inter-American Courts of Human Rights
Authors: Mohamed Abdelsalam A.
Published: July 2009

In terms of article 6(1) of the Protocol Establishing the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights, the Court may entitle both relevant non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with observer status before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission), and individuals to institute directly before it, urgent cases or cases of serious, systematic or massive violations of human rights. In deciding the admissibility of cases brought under article 6(1), the Court may request the opinion of the Commission which must give its opinion as soon as possible. Additionally, article 25(2) of the Protocol provides that the Court may receive written and oral evidence and other representations including expert testimony and it shall make a decision based on such evidence and representations.
The Development of Swaziland's Constitution: Monarchical Responses to Modern Challenges
Authors: Baloro John
Published: July 2009

At independence in 1968, the monarchy in Swaziland did not suffer the fate of traditional rulers in most of independent Africa whose powers were severely curtailed and subordinated to those of the nationalist leaders. In Swaziland, the King's pre-eminence as the head of the ruling Dlamini clan was constitutionally enshrined within the overall set-up of a constitutional monarchy. The monarchy's control over the strategic resources of the country such as land and mineral resources was also entrenched in the Constitution. Furthermore, the domination of the political scene by the royalist party, the Imbokodvo National Movement, consolidated the King's political powers far beyond what was possibly intended under the dispensation of a constitutional monarchy. As soon as the opposition gained three seats in Parliament, this was seen as a challenge to the power, prestige and authority of the King. It then became easy for the 1968 Independence Constitution to be targeted as a colonial imposition lacking authority as a source of legitimate governance in the country.
La Communauté Économique de L'Afrique de L'Ouest
Authors: Tamboura A.
Published: July 2009

Il y a deux ans, presque jour pour jour, le 21 mai 1970, les Chefs des États membres de l'Union Douanière des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest signaient à Bamako le Protocole d'Accord portant création de la Communauté Économique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
Recent experiences in South Africa and Ethiopia to accommodate cultural diversity: a regained interest in the right of self-determination
Authors: Henrard Kristin , Smis Stefaan
Published: July 2009

This article examines the right to self-determination and the various constitutional mechanisms that can be used to accommodate cultural diversity. Using the South African and Ethiopian constitutions as case-studies, it concludes that it is possible to respect the principle of equality and the right to identity of "population groups" in a way which will pre-empt calls for external self-determination, and it suggests that the mechanisms used in these two countries may serve as a model elsewhere in Africa and beyond.
South African land reform
Authors: Carey Miller D. L. , Pope Anne
Published: July 2009

This article looks at the essential features and the effects of the South African land reform initiatives launched in the mid-1990s. After examining the context in which these initiatives have taken place, it deals separately with the three subprogrammes of land reform, namely, land restitution, land redistribution and land tenure reform. It discusses two particular features of the programme: its provision of title to millions of South Africans and its adjustment of the correlative position between the landowner and the holder of a lesser possessory or occupational right.
Matrilineal Family Law and Custom in Malawi: a Comparison of Two Systems
Authors: Roberts Simon
Published: July 2009

The Tonga are situated in the Nkata Bay area of the Northern Province while the Lomwe are grouped round Chiradzulu and Mlanje in the Southern Province. Both tribes have a matrilineal system of succession, but in many other respects their tribal laws and customs diverge. This discussion will be confined to family law and custom.
The defence of bona fide claim of right in Nigeria
Authors: Okonkwo C. O.
Published: July 2009

The trend of some Nigerian decisions where the defence of honest claim of right is raised is disturbing and shows a lack of proper appreciation of its scope. The defence is contained in section 23 of the Criminal Code which provides as follows:

“A person is not criminally responsible, as for an offence relating to property, for an act done or omitted to be done by him with respect to any property in the exercise of an honest claim of right and without intention to defraud”.

This defence applies to all offences relating to property: stealing, robbery, demanding property with menaces, malicious damage to property etc. But it features more in theft offences than in other offences relating to property.
A comparative study of the legal profession in East Africa
Authors: Ross S. D.
Published: July 2009

When Lord Denning made his Report on Legal Education in Africa in 1961,2 there were very few African lawyers in Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda.3 During the 1960's the number of African lawyers in these countries rapidly increased. The public sector has been largely Africanized, but the private sector of the profession remains predominantly non-African.4 The 1970's will see an even more rapid increase in the number of African lawyers.5 This increase and the departure of numerous non-African lawyers,6 will bring about almost complete Africanization of the profession by 1980.7
A History of the Adoption of Codes of Criminal Law and Procedure in British Colonial Africa, 1876–1935
Authors: Morris H. F.
Published: July 2009

This article is a survey of the process whereby codes of criminal law and procedure, having their origin in English law, were introduced into the British colonies and protectorates lying between the Sahara and the Zambesi. Such a survey, covering so large an area and period of time, must needs here be brief, but certain salient points emerge clearly from it. A codified body of criminal law and procedure, replacing the English common law and statutes of general application (as modified piecemeal by local Ordinances), had a great appeal to administrators, government law officers, judges and magistrates, and, whatever their differing views as to the respective merits of codes on the Indian, or more purely English, model, they were virtually all agreed that the introduction of such codes was an essential measure of reform. This is hardly surprising in view of the difficulties experienced by judicial officers, of whom the majority were the lay magistrates of the administrative service, in applying the uncodified English law without an adequate supply of text-books or English law reports.
The Lomé Convention and The International Law of Development: A Concretisation of The New International Economic Order?
Authors: Benedek Wolfgang
Published: July 2009

At the beginning of the 1980s the North–South dialogue seems to have lost much of its momentum. The prevalent feeling is characterised by frustration about the dialogue's practical achievements, by growing cynicism as to its possibilities and by little hope in regard to new initiatives. The reasons for this view are manifold: the failure of major international conferences, the set-back in the negotiations on new international instruments, the standstill at the global level because of the hesitation of some countries, in particular the United States, which is reconsidering its development policy, and the deterioration of the social and economic situation in most developing countries. Given the growing economic difficulties in many industrialised states, the international climate for the necessary restructuring of the international economic order seems to have gradually worsened. This situation led the Brandt Commission to include in its report a proposal for a North–South summit conference of a limited number of heads of states or governments so as to create a new political impetus. This proposal materialised in the summit conference at Cancun, Mexico, convened by the Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and the Mexican President Lopes Portillo. One of the hoped-for results of the Cancun summit was to reach consensus on the opening of a “global round of negotiations”, which would provide the framework for a comprehensive effort within the United Nations towards a New International Economic Order (N.I.E.O.).
The Tort of Negligence in Nigeria
Authors: Cottrell Jill
Published: July 2009

Academic disputation continues as to whether Nigerian courts are bound to apply English decisions subsequent to 1900. From a practical point of view, however, such decisions are treated as authorities which ought to be followed unless there is strong reason to the contrary. In the area of tort, only when the question of damages has arisen have judges in Nigeria shown conspicuous signs of independence. For practical purposes, therefore, one may treat the Nigerian law of tort as being identical with that of England except where the latter has been modified by statute. The tort of negligence has, of course, been little affected by legislation in England. The most important legislative change, relating to apportionment of damages in contributory negligence cases, has been adopted in all parts of Nigeria. In the Northern States, however, the doctrine of common employment is still in force, and only Lagos has legislation based on the Occupiers' Liability Act, 1957.