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Appeal court throws out one-sided racism case
Appeal court throws out one-sided racism case

Allegations of apartheid-style discrimination made by a group of doctors against an internationally-linked medical research institute have been questioned by Kenya’s court of appeal. The court overturned an earlier decision by the high court that found the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) infringed the doctors’ rights to equality, dignity and property among others. The findings were particularly serious because, on the strength of them, the high court judge had also awarded significant damages against KEMRI to each of the doctors. The medics were involved as PhD candidates with the KEMRI Wellcome Trust Research Programme linked to Oxford University and their initial application alleged that local black doctors were providing the equivalent of intellectual slave labour to white researchers. The appeal court has now dismissed the original application and the damages award, saying the high court had considered the evidence of only one side in the matter, resulting in a “patent injustice”.

Liberia’s “tardiness” over money laundering investigations “condemned” by West African regional court
Liberia’s “tardiness” over money laundering investigations “condemned” by West African regional court

Judges of the West African regional court have joined the fight against money laundering. They have delivered a major new decision permitting the Liberian government’s continued freezing of an account through which vast sums of money have been moving back and forth. This despite the account-holders allegedly not having carried out a single business activity. At the same time, however, the court was not afraid to hold that government to account, criticising it for tardy investigation of the matter. The new judgment is also significant for clarifying an ambiguity that has troubled the court’s jurisprudence for some time and has given rise to contradictory decisions.

"Mind boggling" to resolve status of Swazi industrial courts
"Mind boggling" to resolve status of Swazi industrial courts

The Swazi courts have been battling to resolve the question of where the judges of the industrial court and the industrial court of appeal fit into the court hierarchy. In a long, complex and technical decision, that country’s highest court has laid down the law: the two industrial courts are inferior in the legal hierarchy to the high court and the supreme court, not equal to them. In a unanimous decision, five judges of the supreme court have sorted out the problem, but not without an immense struggle, for while they stress that the intention of the law makers has to be respected, that “intention” was clearly exceedingly difficult to fathom. “Mind-boggling”, in fact, to use the supreme court’s own words.

East African Law Society in plan to ease serious tensions between Rwanda, Uganda
East African Law Society in plan to ease serious tensions between Rwanda, Uganda

The 17 000-strong East African Law Society has this week thrown its weight behind efforts to reduce growing antagonism between Rwanda and Uganda. Under its new president, Willy Rubeya, the society has offered to help with mediation, so that the border between the neighbours may be fully opened again and tensions eased.

Copyright & A2K Issues - 8 March 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)

Eviction from communal land only by chief or traditional authority - court
Eviction from communal land only by chief or traditional authority - court

A small-scale farmer in the far north of Namibia wanted to evict his cousin from the same piece of land because the cousin was ignoring conditions aimed at protecting the highly-sensitive veld. But Judge Shafimana Ueitele found that the land occupation right did not give exclusivity – or the right to evict anyone from the land. Instead, that right belongs to the local chief or traditional authority.

Shock "advice" by International Court of Justice on another forgotten African colony
Shock "advice" by International Court of Justice on another forgotten African colony

For tourists and investors, particularly those from South Africa, Mauritius is often seen as a quiet paradise, politically stable and a model of both democracy and humane economic development. Now, thanks to a new advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, Mauritius – geographically part of Africa – has also been placed right at the forefront of an international political row that has its origins in the period of high colonialism and that involves the USA and its crucial defence strategies, the UK and the United Nations. The bottom line? - the ICJ tells the UK that holding on to islands that rightly belong to Mauritius, is colonial and illegal. It cannot continue and all UN members are obliged to help implement a plan to end it.

Challenging culture of impunity in Kenya
Challenging culture of impunity in Kenya

Three former university professors have brought a claim in Kenya’s high court asking for restitution for human rights infringements. They seem to be part of a trend to end the culture of impunity in Kenya. The three had been detained and tortured under a previous government, and now, more than 30 years later, wanted recognition of what had happened, plus compensation for how their lives had been ruined by the unlawful action against them. The professors’ court challenge was not the first in Kenya in which compensation was demanded for human rights abuses under the previous regime and the courts now seem more comfortable about agreeing to hear matters arising from decades ago. Going on previous experience, however, I wonder how long the professors will have to wait for the damages awarded by the courts, to be paid.

Judges on warpath against drug scourge
Judges on warpath against drug scourge

Two new decisions from the High Court in Namibia show judges on the warpath against drugs and drug dealing. The distinctly tougher line follows a watershed judgment late last year (2018). As I wrote at the time, through that strongly-worded landmark decision the Namibian courts gave notice that they were intent on a serious change to the way they handle cases involving drugs and drug dealing. Judge President Petrus Damaseb and Judge Christie Liebenberg said in that earlier decision that crimes involving drugs and dealing would no longer be tolerated and that sentences would now be ‘appropriately severe’. The fruits of that decision can now be seen in two new cases, the first full judgments reported on the subject in 2019. In one, a man’s 10-year sentence for drug-related offices has been confirmed on appeal. And in a second case, the High Court has upheld a magistrate’s decision refusing bail to two accused in a high-profile case involving suspected drug importation.

Don’t use “constitution” as a “mantra”, Malawi’s supreme court warns
Don’t use “constitution” as a “mantra”, Malawi’s supreme court warns

Malawi’s former agriculture minister, George Chaponda, was a key figure in that country’s “Maizegate” scandal around the importation of maize from Zambia to replenish stocks that had allegedly fallen low. Public criticism of apparent corruption led to a presidential commission of inquiry and then to high court action to have Chaponda stand down during the inquiry. Though the high court initially ordered Chaponda’s suspension, the supreme court has just ruled that it was wrong to do so, and that the judge had ignored binding precedent. The judgment was important for clarifying Malawi’s approach to judicial review. It has also taken an in-depth look at presidential prerogative among other issues.