Policing in a failing state: An impossible mission

by | Aug 10, 2024 | SACJ, SACJ V37 I1 2024

Policing in a failing state: An impossible mission

Author: David Masiloane

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: DLitt et Phil (Unisa); Professor, Department of Police Practice, Unisa
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 37 Issue 1, p. 84 – 102
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v37/i1a4

Abstract

The political interference and poor governance lead to a weak police service that fails to provide safety and security to communities. This exposes people to crime and criminality and makes them lose trust in the police, compelling them to take the law into their own hands. A weak state paralyses the police, and a paralysed police service reflect a weak state. This study analysed books, articles, and print and electronic media to determine whether South Africa exhibits some of the characteristics of a failing state, and what impact this has on the police and policing in the country. The failure of the state at any level – such as the inability of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to speedily disburse financial aid to students, municipalities’ incapacity to render services to communities, and the police’s powerlessness in dealing with high crime rates – leads to public discontent, anger and frustration, which tend to be expressed through violent protests. The policing of these protests is often criticised as being either indecisive or brutal, thus presenting a continuous challenge to police leadership on how to strike a sensitive balance between indecisiveness and brutality.

The Prosecutor v Dominic Ongwen case before the International Criminal Court: A Twail-er’s perspective

by | Aug 10, 2024 | SACJ, SACJ V37 I1 2024

The Prosecutor v Dominic Ongwen case before the International Criminal Court: A Twail-er’s perspective

Author: Linda Mushoriwa

ISSN: 1996-2118
Affiliations: LLB (University of Zimbabwe) LLM (Unisa) PhD (University of KwaZulu-Natal); Researcher, African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice, University of the Western Cape
Source: South African Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 37 Issue 1, p. 103 – 126
https://doi.org/10.47348/SACJ/v37/i1a5

Abstract

This paper explores whether the International Criminal Court (ICC or ‘the court’) has lived up to the expectation of being an effective and universal mechanism of international criminal justice and accountability, by using the judgment of the Prosecutor v Dominic Ongwen as a case study. Ongwen was convicted by the court’s Trial Chamber (TC) IX in February 2021, on 61 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated in Northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005, and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment. The Appeals Chamber (AC) confirmed both the conviction and sentence in a judgment rendered on 15 December 2022. It will be argued from a Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL) perspective, that the court missed an opportunity to improve its institutional legitimacy, considering the legitimacy deficit stemming from claims by African states that the ICC is biased against Africa. The paper will also argue that the court missed an opportunity to improve its own decision-making by expanding its source material to include sources from the Global South.

A Critical Review of Jurisprudence on the Adjudication of Presidential Election Petitions in Africa

by | Jul 28, 2024 | JCLA, JCLA V11 I1 2024

A Critical Review of Jurisprudence on the Adjudication of Presidential Election Petitions in Africa

Author: Justice Mavedzenge

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: PhD Constitutional Law (UCT), LLM Constitutional and Administrative Law (UCT), LLB (UNISA), BA (MSU). Adjunct Senior Lecturer of Public Law Research Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Town
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 11 Issue 1, p. 1 – 30
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v11/i1a1

Abstract

A survey of jurisprudence on the adjudication of presidential election petitions in Africa yields different and sometimes confusing results on the legal approaches that are being applied by courts in different jurisdictions to determine the standard of proof which a petitioner must discharge and the nature of violations which a petitioner must prove in order for the court to vitiate an election. This is despite the fact that most of these countries share similar legal frameworks in the sense that their rules of evidence are similar while their constitutions require elections to be conducted in a way which adheres to the principles of universal suffrage, free suffrage, equal suffrage and secret suffrage. The emergence of divergent views and positions among courts which operate on the basis of a similar legal framework reflects a lack of coherence in the emerging African jurisprudence on the adjudication of presidential election petitions. What then is the appropriate standard of proof which the petitioner must discharge in a presidential election petition, and what kind of violations should a petitioner prove in order for the court to vitiate an election? In an attempt to contribute towards strengthening the role of the courts in resolving election disputes, this paper suggests that the approach to be taken by courts when adjudicating election petitions should very much depend on the case that has been presented by the petitioner. Where the petitioner is alleging irregularities and is claiming that those irregularities affected the results of the election, the question that must be examined by the court is the extent to which the results were affected. Where the petitioner’s challenge is directed at the integrity of the election process, the question to be examined by the court should be the extent to which the integrity of the process was violated.

A Comparative Analysis of the Right to Protest Under the Nigerian Public Order Act and the South African Regulation of Gatherings Act

by | Jul 28, 2024 | JCLA, JCLA V11 I1 2024

A Comparative Analysis of the Right to Protest Under the Nigerian Public Order Act and the South African Regulation of Gatherings Act

Author: Cyril Ekeke

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: LLB, BL (Nigeria) LLM, LLD (Pretoria), Senior Lecturer, Federal College of Education, Rivers State, Nigeria
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 11 Issue 1, p. 31 – 83
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v11/i1a2

Abstract

The handling of the #EndSARS protests in 2020 and 2021 by the Nigerian authorities has once again brought to the fore the restriction of the right to protest in Nigeria, and in Africa as a whole, and the need to compare the right to protest under various African jurisdictions. Protest can be the catalyst for positive change in the social, political, economic and cultural life of a country, and therefore the right to protest is guaranteed under international, regional African and domestic human rights legal frameworks. In Nigeria, the Public Order Act of 1990 is designed to give effect to the provisions of the Constitution in terms of the appropriate and peaceful conduct of protests. Likewise in South Africa, the Regulation of Gatherings Act 205 of 1993 regulates the holding of public gatherings and demonstrations, in alignment with the provisions of the Constitution. This paper applies doctrinal methodology to undertake a comparative study of the right to protest under the Nigerian Public Order Act and the South African Regulation of Gatherings Act, specifically because South Africa has seen a groundswell of protests in the past few years with minimal restrictions. This paper finds that despite some shortfalls in the Regulation of Gatherings Act, it is a more potent law than the Public Order Act in ensuring the right to protest. This paper further argues that the robustness of the Regulation of Gatherings Act could serve as a template for strengthening the Nigerian Public Order Act to fully guarantee the right to protest in Nigeria.

Tobacco Labelling and Advertising Rules: Lessons from Other Countries for Zimbabwe

by | Jul 28, 2024 | JCLA, JCLA V11 I1 2024

Tobacco Labelling and Advertising Rules: Lessons from Other Countries for Zimbabwe

Author: Christopher Munguma

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: LLB (Zimbabwe), LLM (Africa University, Zimbabwe), DPhil Intellectual Property candidate, Lecturer at Africa University, Zimbabwe
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 11 Issue 1, p. 56 – 83
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v11/i1a3

Abstract

This paper analysed the approach that has been taken by four countries in controlling tobacco usage through advertising and labelling rules. The paper is a documentary analysis and literature review of primary and secondary legal sources. The paper considered the national approaches adopted by the Commonwealth of Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), Thailand and Zimbabwe. The first three nations were used as examples that can offer lessons to Zimbabwe on how international tobacco control obligations are met. Australia and the UK were the first two countries to adopt plain packaging and hence offer some best practices. Thailand, on the other hand, was the first developing country to adopt plain packaging rules. Thailand’s case shows that developing countries can also adopt sound tobacco control rules. The Australian law led to several national and international legal challenges that were resolved in favour of Australia. The legal domestic challenges against standardised packaging in the United Kingdom were also resolved in favour of the British government. It was established in the study that, despite acceding to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), the Zimbabwean national legal framework is not yet compliant with the FCTC international treaty obligations. The laws of Zimbabwe are scanty and leave a lot of gaps in the control framework which have been exploited by tobacco manufacturers. This is unsatisfactory and calls for action on the part of the government.

Lecture Critique De La Loi Camerounaise Relative a La Recherche Medicale Impliquant La Personne Humaine

by | Jul 28, 2024 | JCLA, JCLA V11 I1 2024

Lecture Critique De La Loi Camerounaise Relative a La Recherche Medicale Impliquant La Personne Humaine

Author: Sylvie Ngamaleu Djuiko

ISSN: 2521-2605
Affiliations: Enseignante à la Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques, Université de Yaoundé II (CAMEROUN)
Source: Journal of Comparative Law in Africa, Volume 11 Issue 1, p. 84 – 118
https://doi.org/10.47348/JCLA/v11/i1a4

Abstract

The use of humans for medical research raises sensitive issues, as a number of interests may come into conflict, and human dignity may be threatened. Hence, there is a need to protect research participants. For this reason, the mere existence of the new law is a step forward in that it fills a legislative gap. But this is not its only merit, as the law attempts to strike a balance between the interests involved by prohibiting certain practices and requiring the free and informed consent of research participants, even for research conducted on cadavers.

Tax Instruments for the Mining Sector: Profitbased Taxes Versus Production-Based Taxes

Tax Instruments for the Mining Sector: Profitbased Taxes Versus Production-Based Taxes

by | Jul 3, 2024 | AMTJ, AMTJ 2024 I1

Tax Instruments for the Mining Sector: Profitbased Taxes Versus Production-Based Taxes

Author: Kalo Achille Sanou

ISSN: 2709-8575
Affiliations: Université Clermont-Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, CERDI, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France
Source: African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal, Volume 4, Issue 1 (2024), p. 1–17
https://doi.org/10.47348/AMTJ/V4/i1a1

Download PDF

Share

Cite this article

Sanou, K A
Tax Instruments for the Mining Sector: Profitbased Taxes Versus Production-Based Taxes
African Multidisciplinary Tax Journal Volume 4, Issue 1 (2024) p. 1–17
https://doi.org/10.47348/AMTJ/V4/i1a1

Abstract

The sharing of mining rents is a particular challenge for African countries. To explain the determinants of profit-based and production-based taxes, we use a panel of 22 gold-producing countries in Africa between 2000 and 2020 using the ordinary least squares (OLS) method controlled for time and country fixed effects. Our empirical results show that the road distance between the capital of the country and its relevant port is an important indicator in the choice of rent taxation instruments. The road distance between the capital of a country and its relevant port tends to reduce the average effective tax rate (AETR) through the share of profit-based taxes in AETR. Thus, countries that do not have direct access to the sea should favour production-based taxes over profit-based taxes in the taxation of mining rents.