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Chaotic land ownership records shock Ghana's supreme court
Chaotic land ownership records shock Ghana's supreme court

A recent dispute over the rightful owner of a plot of land in Ghana has led the country's highest court to ask why people who sell the same land to several buyers in fradulent deals, are not prosecuted. The judges also expressed their shock at the state of Ghana's records from which it is often impossible to tell the rightful owners of plots of land. They said such chaos, combined with uncertainty about whether property deals are valid, would deter also foreign investors.

Judicial independence infringed when Uganda's Chief Justice has to 'plead' for funds - constitutional court
Judicial independence infringed when Uganda's Chief Justice has to 'plead' for funds - constitutional court

Uganda’s constitutional court has found that the independence of the country’s judiciary is in jeopardy because of the way the budget of this arm of government is handled. In one of its most significant decisions under the present constitution, the court said the system made the judiciary very much the junior branch in the three arms of government, and often reduced the Chief Justice ‘to pleading for funds from the executive’. A unanimous court of five judges set time-tables for major changes to the present situation so as to protect judicial administrative independence. The court also had strong criticism for the other arms of government whose argument, presented in court, seemed to ‘trivialise the importance of the judiciary’.

Just 34, but he has already spent over half his life in a Kenyan jail
Just 34, but he has already spent over half his life in a Kenyan jail

The case of Thomas Odede, arrested for murder aged just 12, illustrates how easy it is for children to be forgotten once they land in jail. Following his conviction he was detained in prison ‘at the President’s pleasure’. But after 19 years he asked the courts for help, claiming such an open-ended ‘sentence’ was unconstitutional.

Senior Zimbabwean judge, Francis Bere, at misconduct tribunal
Senior Zimbabwean judge, Francis Bere, at misconduct tribunal

A respected senior member of Zimbabwe's judiciary is being investigated for alleged misconduct, for the second time in little over a year. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed a tribunal to investigate the allegations against him and, surrounded by considerable publicity, the tribunal members have been sworn in. The allegations against the judge concern a phone call he made to a lawyer. While the lawyer says the call included remarks to the effect that he should settle a civil dispute involving relatives of the judge, the judge himself says the call was 'purely social.'

African lawyers protest as colleagues targeted by police, judiciary
African lawyers protest as colleagues targeted by police, judiciary

International lawyers’ organisations have reacted with shock to news that colleagues in four African countries have been targeted by the judiciary, the police or other state officials, in a way that has stopped them carrying out their work -  all without a proper opportunity to be heard.

Should South Africa's top court hear a torture dispute implicating Equatorial Guinea's vice president?
Should South Africa's top court hear a torture dispute implicating Equatorial Guinea's vice president?

Teodorin Obiang, vice president of Equatorial Guinea (EG), a country regarded as one of the most corrupt in the world, wants South Africa’s top court to halt a R70m legal claim being brought against him there. The claim, by a South African businessman, is for damages relating to his wrongful arrest and detention in EG between 2013 – 2015, under conditions so appalling that they amount to torture under international law. Obiang is asking the Constitutional Court to hear his challenge to a decision of a full bench of the high court in SA after three judges said the damages claim against him could go ahead.

Record mysteriously disappears: what should a court do?
Record mysteriously disappears: what should a court do?

Out of the blue, and after serving nearly 16 years of his 30-year sentence, a prisoner in one of Zimbabwe’s maximum security jails applied for bail pending an appeal. But there were two problems: there was no appeal pending - and there could be no appeal since all the records had mysteriously disappeared. Not even the name of the trial magistrate could be found. What was the high court to do?

New website of the Seychelles' judiciary to 'help ensure open justice'
New website of the Seychelles' judiciary to 'help ensure open justice'

The judiciary of Seychelles has launched a new website, providing access to the judgments of its courts as well as giving the judiciary a more human face. It is intended to help the public with provide resources as well as information. Everything the public needs to know about accessing legal aid, for example, can be found there, while for lawyers all the Practice Directions now become available in a single place

Angolan lawyer’s arrest, torture condemned by SADC Lawyers’ Association
Angolan lawyer’s arrest, torture condemned by SADC Lawyers’ Association

Angolan lawyers are in uproar over an incident in which one of their profession was detained, tortured and charged by police. According to a statement by the Southern African Develoment Community Lawyers' Association, the lawyer, Eugenio Marcolino, had been appearing in court when the police detained him.

Eritrea 'slave labourers' - Canada's highest court allows claim to be heard in Canada
Eritrea 'slave labourers' - Canada's highest court allows claim to be heard in Canada

In a widely-hailed new decision, Canada’s supreme court has ruled that Eritrean workers, allegedly forced by the state to provide slave labour to a Canadian-owned mine in Eritrea, may sue the mining company in the Canadian courts. Vancouver-based company, Nevsun, has been operating a mining outfit in Eritrea, using local workers. In terms of the new supreme court decision, these miners may now sue Nevsun, in Canada and under Canadian law, for the conditions under which they say they were made to work. The three Eritreans claiming against Nevsun say they worked in the mine against their will. They claim they constantly feared torture and other punishment. One of the three said he was ‘abducted at gunpoint’ from the mine, held in solitary confinement, tortured, and given electric shocks.  Apart from the impact on the workers (who must now prove their working conditions and that Nevsun was aware of these conditions) the decision is also important because it shows the highest court in Canada developing the law of that country to take account of customary international law. The court’s majority said there were no Canadian laws that conflicted with the adoption of customary international law as part of Canada’s common law. On the contrary, the government had adopted policies to ensure that ‘Canadian companies operating abroad respect these norms’. ‘In the absence of any contrary law, the customary international law norms raised by the Eritrean workers form part of the Canadian common law and potentially apply to Nevsun,’ said the court.

Indian widow’s plight ‘shocks conscience of the court’
Indian widow’s plight ‘shocks conscience of the court’

In Africa, as in India, land rights, access to and ownership of land are a major concern. It is often the most poor and vulnerable that suffer the worst when these rights are not respected. And if you are an unlettered woman, on your own, you could find yourself and your rights disappearing altogether. Take the case of Vidya Devi who lives in India’s Himachal Pradesh state. More than half a century ago, the state took her land away from her for a road – but to this day she has been paid not a cent for it, even though the state was legally obliged to pay compensation. It is cases like that this that we need to remember when marking International Women's Day.

Africa's women struggle to gain abortion rights; USA women struggle to keep them
Africa's women struggle to gain abortion rights; USA women struggle to keep them

Most African states still struggle over the right to an early, safe, legal abortion and as a result the number of women dying from illegal terminations continues to increase at an alarming rate. However, in the United States, where women thought that this right had been established decades ago, it is now under serious threat, with the principle established in Roe v Wade under systematic attack in the courts and the states' legislatures. Just last week the Supreme Court heard argument in the latest state bid to undermine that right.

Sudan: does it care a damn?
Sudan: does it care a damn?

The highest court in the United States has just heard argument in a case that could have far-reaching implications for Sudan and perhaps for other countries said to be sponsoring terrorism. It concerns amendments to a key piece of US legislation and whether these amendments could apply retroactively, in this case to Sudan. That state has withdrawn from the litigation, refusing to participate in any way. However, if the court finds the law applies, Sudan could be liable to damages running into billions of US dollars for compensation to victims of terror bombings and their families. Judgment on the question has been reserved, but in the course of argument when the matter came to the US Supreme Court last week, counsel appearing for Sudan let slip an ‘utterance’ seldom heard in such a conservative, formal environment: he said ‘damn’. A quick check shows that a member of South Africa’s highest court has gone even further, putting the word into a formal decision of that court.

Namibia's anti-graft body targets counsel from South Africa

Namibia’s Anti-Corruption Commission, already sharply censured by the high court for going beyond powers allowed it by law (see 'When the Shepherd becomes a Wolf' on this website), is now coming in for even wider criticism. This time it’s for serving a summons on counsel for the accused – in court and during a hearing related to the ‘Fishrot’ scandal that has stunned Namibia. The scandal involves allegations of international bribery and corruption for access to Namibian fishing waters. Last week, South African counsel, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, appearing in the high court, Windhoek, on behalf of suspects in the matter, was served with a summons from the ACC demanding that he explain a payment he had received from Namibia’s national fishing corporation, Fishcor, in 2018, and given just an hour to answer. The SADC-Lawyers Association has issued a strongly worded statement on the incident, and the Namibian government has subsequently apologised to Ngcukaitobi. It is not the first time that counsel for the Fishrot accused have run into trouble with the Namibian authorities: late last year, two South African advocates were arrested, held in police cells and prevented from appearing to argue in court as they did not have the required work permits.

Kenya and Botswana: why were their recent sodomy judgments so different?
Kenya and Botswana: why were their recent sodomy judgments so different?

In this post from the website of the International Association of Constitutional Law , blogger Aditendra Singh of the National Law University, Delhi, compares two similar cases from Kenya and Botswana. He poses the question: What made the courts adjudicate the matters so differently?

When the shepherd becomes a wolf
When the shepherd becomes a wolf

Top-ranking Namibians implicated in international corruption related to the country’s lucrative fishing industry, have failed to have the search and seizure warrants issued against them set aside. Among the targets of the warrants applied for by the anti-corruption commission were the former minister of fisheries and marine resources and the former minister of justice. But the judge hearing the matter was highly critical of aspects of the commission’s behaviour. One of the complaints against the commission in relation to the warrants was that certain of the documents were ‘privileged and confidential’. The anti-corruption commission said the documents were ‘confidential but not privileged’ and there was thus no reason for them not to be seized and used in the matter – an attitude that the judge said ‘horrified’ him. The judge said it ‘boggles the mind’ that the commission did not follow the law that applied in a case where privilege was claimed. The commission’s behaviour amounted to ‘a shepherd becoming a wolf’ and in this regard, the commission’s officers acted ‘despicably’.

Law reporting at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights: Aspirations and Challenges (Part II)

In this second of a two-part blog, legal scholar Yuzuki Nagakoshi reflects on recent training at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Offered jointly by the  African Legal Information Institute , the  Judicial Institute for Africa , based at the University of Cape Town, and by  Kenya Law , the course was intended to provide a comprehensive theoretical and practical training in traditional and digital law reporting. Participants comprised legal research, registry and judicial staff of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the East African Court of Justice.

Law reporting at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights: Aspirations and Challenges (Part I)
Law reporting at the African Court on Human and People’s Rights: Aspirations and Challenges (Part I)

In this first of a two-part blog, legal scholar Yuzuki Nagakoshi reflects on recent training at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. Offered jointly by the African Legal Information Institute , the Judicial Institute for Africa , based at the University of Cape Town, and by Kenya Law , the course was intended to provide a comprehensive theoretical and practical training in traditional and digital law reporting. Participants comprised legal research, registry and judicial staff of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and the East African Court of Justice.

Democracy an expensive business - Malawi court
Democracy an expensive business - Malawi court

Malawi’s judicial decision that the country’s ‘Tippex’ election be re-run, has survived its first crucial challenge. The original dispute, heard as a constitutional matter by the high court, concerned the validity of national polls held in May 2019. Earlier this month, five judges ordered that the elections be held again because of widespread irregularities including the blanking out of official records with correction fluid. Last week the court heard and decided an application for this judgment to be suspended, pending a challenge in the Supreme Court of Appeal. Peter Mutharika, who emerged from the now discredited elections as Malawi’s President, gave a number of reasons for why the decision should be put on hold until the apex court has re-considered the judgment. His legal team said it would waste a lot of money to prepare and perhaps even hold a second round of elections, only to find that the appeal court overturned the original decision. Refusing the application for suspension, the judges commented: ‘The view of this court is that democracy is an inherently expensive process.’

Prisoner, jailed for indecent assault, loses civil action over extended imprisonment
Prisoner, jailed for indecent assault, loses civil action over extended imprisonment

A prisoner, convicted of indecent assault by the Eswatini courts, has tried to sue the magistrate who presided in his case, claiming he was kept in prison five months longer than his sentence. And indeed, he was kept in prison for extra time. But this was in terms of a high court review of his original sentence. Moreover, as the high court hearing the civil case pointed out, the magistrate who ordered the additional time in prison was acting in her official capacity, and the constitution stipulates that a judicial officer is immune from claims for anything done in the exercise of the judicial power. It’s an important reminder about judicial power. But why did it require a year for the court to deliver its decision?

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