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Zambia's human rights defender, Laura Miti, awarded Scottish university fellowship

Long-time Zambian human rights defender, Laura Miti, has joined a Russian human rights activist, Konstantin Baranov, for a three-month fellowship at the University of Dundee. It's intended to give fellows a break from constant work at the forefront of human rights struggles. Instead, they take time-out for research, reflection on what they have been doing and interaction with students and staff of the university as well as government officials and members of Scottish civil society.

No more child brides says Tanzania's highest court
No more child brides says Tanzania's highest court

Children’s rights and the rights of girls in particular took a major step forward in Tanzania this week: The Court of Appeal has delivered a judgment upholding a 2016 landmark high court decision holding that neither girls and boys may marry before 18. The appeal court also agreed that provisions to the contrary in the Law of Marriage Act were unconstitutional. It is a particularly important step for the courts as the number of child brides in Tanzania is among the highest in the world.

Don’t like a court judgment? Just change the law, why don’t you?
Don’t like a court judgment? Just change the law, why don’t you?

Everyone who attended the Jifa training course on environmental law earlier this year will remember Judge Brian Preston. Chief judge of the New South Wales land and environment court, he had remarkable insights into the subject of environmental law and the role of the courts in making environmental rights real. But now the NSW government is taking on a major decision he gave earlier this year in which he cited climate change, among other issues, for turning down a planned coal mine. In reaction, the NSW government has decided to introduce a new law saying that greenhouse gas emissions can’t be considered by the courts in deciding whether to approve mines.

Cabinet Minister ignored 'God-given blessing' - Lesotho court
Cabinet Minister ignored 'God-given blessing' - Lesotho court

The Lesotho courts, already embroiled in a scandal-ridden series of cases involving the Acting Chief Justice, the Prime Minister and others, have now had to intervene in what has been held to be the unlawful action of the Minister of Local Government and Chieftainship. At the end of July,  Litsoane Litsoane disbanded the Maseru City Council’s tender board, citing certain ‘irregularities’. But Judge Molefi Makara has now set aside the decision because the tender board members, including Maseru’s mayor and her deputy, had not been given a chance to put their views on the issue. The judge described this as ‘disregarding the God-given blessing upon (all) mankind that a person should be heard before any adverse decision is taken.’ This dispute, and the action involving the ACJ, come as the judiciary struggles with a widespread perception that certain politicians feel entitled to have judges ‘on their side’ in the decisions they make.

Copyright & A2K Issues - 21 October 2019

This is a free online international Information Service covering various topics, including copyright, plagiarism and other IP matters, Open Access, open publishing, open learning resources, institutional repositories, scholarly communication, digitization and library matters, mobile technologies, issues affecting access to knowledge (A2K), particularly in developing countries; WTO and WIPO treaties and matters; Free Trade Agreements and TRIPS Plus; useful websites, conference alerts, etc.  Archives are available at:  http://www.africanlii.org/content/copyright-a2k-information .  If you would like to subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, this newsletter, please do so at:  http://lists.wits.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/copyrightanda2kinfo    or email  Denise.Nicholson@wits.ac.za  only (N.B. PLEASE DO NOT SEND TO WHOLE MAILING LIST)

All three top posts in Zambia’s judiciary held by women – Chief Justice Irene Mambilima
All three top posts in Zambia’s judiciary held by women – Chief Justice Irene Mambilima

As many African states struggle to increase the number of women on the bench and in leadership positions, one country in particular can boast of the substantial progress it has made in this area. Zambia’s Chief Justice Irene Mambilima spoke about the issue in a speech she delivered last week. She disclosed that all of the three top judicial posts are now held by women.

Champion of Ugandan judicial independence dies
Champion of Ugandan judicial independence dies

A champion of judicial integrity and independence in Uganda, retired Supreme Court justice, Wilson Nattubu Tsekooko, has died. He was 76.

15 y.o. jailed for life. Now African Court orders reparations for 'lost youth'
15 y.o. jailed for life. Now African Court orders reparations for 'lost youth'

Two cases involving convictions and heavy sentences for rape have been heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Both cases originate in Tanzania and both show that legal rights of the accused were not observed by the state. In one, the accused was not given free legal representation though he faced a mandatory 30 years behind bars. In the other, an appeal was filed three days after sentence, but it took almost 16 years before the authorities provided the records needed for the appeal.

Tanzania's court of appeal overturns decision that found parts of electoral law invalid
Tanzania's court of appeal overturns decision that found parts of electoral law invalid

A landmark High Court judgment on Tanzania’s electoral law has just been set aside by five judges of the country’s Court of Appeal. At stake was a provision that allowed officials appointed by the President to become returning officers, acting on behalf of the electoral agency, during elections. Earlier this year, three High Court judges found the provision unconstitutional, saying it infringed the independence of the National Electoral Commission, the body intended to oversee elections in an impartial manner. Now the Court of Appeal has overturned the original decision, saying there are enough safety measures in place to make sure that the officers act with independence.

Copyright & A2K Issues - 15 October 2019

This is a free online international Information Service covering various topics, including copyright, plagiarism and other IP matters, Open Access, open publishing, open learning resources, institutional repositories, scholarly communication, digitization and library matters, mobile technologies, issues affecting access to knowledge (A2K), particularly in developing countries; WTO and WIPO treaties and matters; Free Trade Agreements and TRIPS Plus; useful websites, conference alerts, etc.  Archives are available at:  http://www.africanlii.org/content/copyright-a2k-information .  If you would like to subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, this newsletter, please do so at:  http://lists.wits.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/copyrightanda2kinfo    or email  Denise.Nicholson@wits.ac.za  only (N.B. PLEASE DO NOT SEND TO WHOLE MAILING LIST)

Lesotho Constitutional Court Repeals Criminal Defamation and Reaffirms Freedom of the Press

FREEDOM of the press and other media, as well as the safety of journalists, were all given a boost this week with a major new decision by Lesotho’s constitutional court. Three judges sitting in the high court’s constitutional division – Moroke Mokhesi, ‘Maseforo Mahase and Teboho Moiloa – have found that criminal defamation, long used as a threat against journalists and the media, is unconstitutional. This decision adds Lesotho to the growing list of African jurisdictions where criminal defamation has been repealed.

We can’t change death penalty - Tanzanian high court
We can’t change death penalty - Tanzanian high court

A full bench of three high court judges has re-affirmed that the mandatory death penalty in Tanzania is constitutionally valid. No new factors had been given to the court to indicate that anything had changed since the last time the issue was considered by the judiciary, said the judges, so they could not vary the previous decisions or rehear the issue ‘on the same facts’. But, they said, the issue could be taken to the highest court via review if the petitioners felt strongly about the matter.

Thai judge shoots himself in court: protest at ‘political interference’
Thai judge shoots himself in court: protest at ‘political interference’

When Thai judge Khanakorn Pianchana reached the end of the judgment in a case he had been hearing, he read out a statement. He next walked from the bench to bow before a portrait of Thai King, Maha Vajiralongkorn. Then he took a pistol from his pocket and shot himself. He was immediately rushed to hospital where he is now reported as out of danger. But what caused the judge to take such dramatic and potentially fatal action?

Witchcraft trial adds 7 more to Tanzania's death row
Witchcraft trial adds 7 more to Tanzania's death row

A recent witchcraft trial in Tanzania has led to a further seven people being added to the well over 500 convicts believed to be on death row. The case illustrates the difficult position in which Tanzanian courts find themselves: the death penalty is still applicable to murder and a few other serious offences and just three months ago the high court declared it was unable to change the law in relation to the death penalty. This despite the country’s president, John Magufuli, declaring that he would be unable to sign the documents required for anyone to be actually executed. He would find it just too difficult to do so, he said. So, while capital punishment has not been carried out for the last 25 years, the courts continue to pass the death penalty, and the numbers of condemned prisoners continues to grow.

Both Lesotho's top judges facing suspension
Both Lesotho's top judges facing suspension

Lesotho continues to prove itself highly unstable in relation to the judiciary and its tenure of office. More threats of suspension, inquiries related to impeachment and other disciplinary steps against top judges have been issued in Lesotho than in any other country in the region. This week, new action was launched against the Acting Chief Justice as well as against the President of the Court of Appeal (for the second time in two months this year, and following a successful impeachment process in 2016 from which he bounced back). All this while the Chief Justice continues in a state of limbo following her suspension a year ago on grounds widely suspected to relate to politics.

Recognition of customary Marriages Amendment Bill, 2019
Recognition of customary Marriages Amendment Bill, 2019

The South African government is amending the law concerning customary marriages to bring it in line with constitutional jurisprudence. On 24 July 2019, Cabinet approved the submission of the  Recognition of Customary Marriages Amendment Bill of 2019  to Parliament.  The Bill is currently under consideration by the National Assembly. Fasken candidate attorney Mr. Selby Mathebula writes about these changes.

Poaching case victory highlights prosecution challenges
Poaching case victory highlights prosecution challenges

Three judges of Tanzania’s highest court have confirmed conviction and sentence of a Chinese national, Song Lei, after 11 rhino horn were found in a ‘secret chamber’ of his Toyota Hilux. However, the court upheld the acquittal of three other men who were with him at the time. This follows the widely welcomed arrest, trial and initial conviction of all four as well as the tough sentences imposed on them in 2016. Among those most elated by the initial conviction were members of the Lusaka Agreement Task Force (LATF). That task force, from seven countries in the region, had worked with Interpol to bring the four men to trial. Since then, however, two appeals have reduced the success of the LATF operation in relation to the four accused, underlining just how difficult it is to secure convictions in such cases.

Judges critical of Lesotho Parliament's work, punt constitutional changes
Judges critical of Lesotho Parliament's work, punt constitutional changes

Lesotho’s current political bosses – and the country’s economy – have been dealt a new blow. The high court of Lesotho, sitting as a constitutional court, has ruled that plans for dealing with repayment of generous government-guaranteed loans made to two categories of officials, are discriminatory and unconstitutional. Everyone who was given such a loan will now have to be treated in the same way, with the government paying all remaining loans back to the bank, in full. The court also made a strong but unexpected call for constitutional changes that would ‘more meaningfully’ separate the legislature from the executive. The three judges further complained about the escalating number of cases that came before the courts challenging the validity of regulations. It was so bad that the judiciary was justified in feeling sceptical about whether parliament did its work properly in overseeing such regulations, the court said.

Kenyan judge declares Rastafarianism a religion: but what’s its history?
Kenyan judge declares Rastafarianism a religion: but what’s its history?

On the very first day at her new school, the confused 15-year-old Kenyan girl was told to go home. She was not to return until her rastas (dreadlocks) were shaved off.

Statute vs Statue: when judges become art critics
Statute vs Statue: when judges become art critics

Kenya’s constitution says that the currency of that country ‘shall not’ bear the 'portrait' of any individual. So, when new bank notes were issued earlier this year, depicting the Kenyatta International Convention Centre with Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, clearly distinguishable, seated alongside the building, the question arose whether the new notes were constitutional. Two of the presiding judges felt they had to solve the legal conundrum by deciding whether the bank notes bore a ‘portrait’ of Kenyatta  - or if it was just a picture of a statue.

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