Articles - AfricanLII

FOREIGN JUDGES ON LESOTHO BENCH SLAM POLITICAL INTERFERENCE IN JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

20 April 2018
Carmel Rickard

AN EXTRAORDINARY new high court judgment from Lesotho highlights a serious problem in that country’s judicial and executive arms: every one of the last four permanent appointments to head Lesotho’s highest court has ended in scandal, with political interference playing a major role.

Clean air vs industrial development: Durban court case explained

20 April 2018
AfricanLII

South Durban environmental alliance brings case to court. What is the right balance between economic development and environmental protection? This is the issue raised in a court battle over a new industrial development in south Durban.

Uganda: Judicial Independence Reaffirmed

20 April 2018
Carmel Rickard

JUDGES of Uganda’s constitutional court have come to the rescue of two judicial colleagues: the two judges of that country’s industrial court were appointed for a five-year term, while the constitution says judges must have permanent, pensionable appointments. The two judges petitioned the court for help after they had no satisfaction when they raised the matter with the attorney-general. The court agreed that it was unconstitutional to appoint judges for a short-term period and that this could impact on judicial independence. But while the constitutional court decision is an important reaffirmation of basic principles entrenching the independence of the judiciary, Carmel Rickard suggests that the costs order – each party to bear its own costs even though the two judges were successful – could act as a deterrent in the future to private parties wanting to challenge unconstitutional acts or legislation.

South Africa: Customary Initiation Bill, 2018

20 April 2018
Mariya Badeva-Bright

The South African Parliament will soon consider a new Customary Initiation Bill.

Copyright & A2K Issues - 29 March 2018

30 March 2018
Denise Nicholson

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. If you would like to subscribe to, or unsubscribe from, this newsletter, please email Denise.Nicholson@wits.ac.za

Kenyan court of appeal ruling

19 March 2018
Carmel Rickard

THE legal battle over the ongoing failures of Kenya’s government to obey court orders has taken a fresh turn. In a new and significant ruling, the court of appeal has refused an official petition: high ranking Kenyan officials asked the appeal court to stay high court directions that activist lawyer Miguna Miguna be allowed to return home. As Carmel Rickard explains, this follows last month’s high court orders that Miguna, deported to Canada in flagrant defiance of judges’ instructions, must be brought back at government expense and on a date of his choosing.