Rape is one of the most heinous and degrading crimes that exist. It attacks the victim's sense of human dignity and self-worth. Some argue that the crime of rape is akin to that of torture. The issue of rape is one that is experienced around the world; however, South Africa is one of the highest countries affected. This paper argues that South Africa is in contravention of its international obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, specifically with regards to the crime of rape and its relation to the crime of torture. This paper aims to prove the above statement through, first establishing a link between the crimes of rape and torture and that that this link is applicable in both international law and South African law. This paper will proceed to show that there are obligations, stemming from both international and domestic laws, on South Africa to take positive steps in preventing the crime of rape among private persons. This paper will demonstrate that through failing its obligation of due diligence in this regard, the state of South Africa fails to comply with the duties imposed upon it by international law.

Includes bibliographical references. / The Brundtland Report also defines sustainable development as “a process of change in which the use of resources, the directions of investments, the orientation of technological developments, and institutional change all enhance the potential to meet human needs both today and tomorrow.” This vague and broad definition relies on the notion that the world’s environment is a system where actions in one country can affect life on other continents. Examples of this include the 2010 Icelandic volcano eruption that affected air quality and travel in Europe, and the recent radiation detected in the United States after the earthquake and subsequent radiation leaks in Japan. The definition also implies that practically every aspect of our lives can have some effect, or can be relevant to, achieving a sustainable development goal. Most forms of production and consumption, key aspects of international trade, affect and can harm the environment. Thus, the issue is less about stopping these actions and more about making them less harmful to the environment and humankind. There will always be tension between forms of economic activity and environmental protection. However, trade is only one of many economic activities, and the WTO cannot be solely responsible for all aspects of the promotion of sustainable development and environmental protection. At its most general definition, international trade is the “economic interaction among different nations involving the exchange of goods and services.” It can lead to both economic growth and development. At its core, international trade involves the basic concept of supply and demand. Human needs and desires drive what will be in demand. This demand drives the need for a supply of that resource. Thus, the real question is what aspects of the current trading system, including the WTO, can be enhanced or changed to promote sustainable development. This paper aims to examine the relationship between the WTO and sustainable development. It further seeks to evaluate the ways in which the relationship has been successful and the ways in which it has been hindered. Finally, this paper looks to the future and suggests ways to enhance and change this relationship and more effectively protect the environment through the WTO.

The problem of piracy and armed robbery at sea has sharply risen in the last decades. As a result, shipping companies, governments, insurances and maritime organisations have tried to approach the problem in different ways, the employment of private maritime security companies being one of them. State navies do not have enough resources to cover the vast areas of the high seas. As a result, armed security teams are exercising traditional State functions to protect vessels from being attacked. This study aims to find the legal foundations in international public law for the employment of armed guards on-board of commercial or private vessels. Furthermore, legal questions about the seizing of pirates, the use of force, criminal jurisdiction on-board of ships and the carrying of weapons will be scrutinized. For this purpose, the applicability of the Geneva Conventions and other key documents of the international humanitarian law will be analysed such as the Montreux Document and the Draft International Convention on the Regulation, Oversight and Monitoring of Private Military and Security Companies. Moreover, relevant aspects of the UNCLOS rules will be highlighted. An additional chapter will review existing international and regional soft law standards, mainly developed by the shipping and the security industry. The analysis concludes that international law has not yet developed distinct rules for the use of private maritime security companies. Especially the UNCLOS does not deal with private actors in the fight against piracy at all. As a result, national law remains responsible for the creation of a comprehensive set of rules concerning the employment and the conduct of maritime security guards. In addition, the vast number of soft law guidance and standards are missing enforceable and effective mechanisms and cannot yet be seen as an alternative for national regulations.

Pas de résumé en français / Pas de résumé en anglais

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<p>Sammanfattning</p><p>Detta är en rättsdogmatisk utredning om Eskilstuna kommuns befogenhet att lämna ekonomiskt bidrag till Mälardalens högskola. Syftet är att utreda huruvida kommunallagen medger att en kommun lämnar ekonomiskt bidrag till en högskola med staten som huvudman. Sveriges kommuner har en viss självbestämmanderätt som är lagstadgad, dock sätter kommunallagen 2:1 gränser för vilka angelägenheter en kommun får engagera sig i. Paragrafen ställer krav på att det finns allmänintresse hos kommunmedborgarna för att kommunen ska kunna engagera sig i angelägenheten, att det finns en anknytning till kommunens område och medlemmar, samt att det är en angelägenhet som inte ankommer på någon annan att sköta. I uppsatsen visas Eskilstuna kommuns ekonomiska bidrag till Mälardalens högskola och dessa jämförs med gällande rättspraxis genom ekonomiska beräkningar. Den rättsliga regleringen av hur en kommunmedlem överklagar ett kommunalt beslut genom laglighetsprövning redovisas. Efter att rättsområdet gällande ekonomiska bidrag från kommuner till en statlig högskola granskats genom praxis kommer författaren fram till slutsatsen att det inte finns någon begränsning per se i kommunallagen att lämna ekonomiska bidrag till en högskola. Dock är rättsläget ytterst osäkert hur stora belopp som är befogade, då det i varje enskilt fall måste visas på kommunalt allmänintresse och allmännytta samt att det finns en lokal anknytning som står i proportion till bidragets storlek.</p>

As of 1 December 2009 the Treaty of Lisbon came into force. The Treaty brings along several changes for the physical structure of the EU. There are no changes aimed directly towards procurement, however the Treaty of Lisbon might prove to include changes of major impact. Article 3 (3) NEU includes a change to how the inner market shall be achieved. The Treaty text has gone from an inner market based on competition to include a “social economic market”, however there is no indication of what this means from a procurement perspective. The inner market and procurement had difficulties already before the entry of the Lisbon Treaty. There was arguments as regards to how fair a state could intervene trough public procurement to achieve positive social effects. The CJEU has persistently held that the inner market shall be built by the help of the inner market and competition. The Commission has during the last years started to express a different opinion than the CJEU with regards to low value procurements. The legislators has also shown a great interest for the SME’s and ensured more leeway for these companies to receive help form the member states. The ECJ has however made it difficult to support further than the actual startup phase of an SME. The European Parliament is critical to the Commissions work with regards to measures supporting the member states and ignoring the CJEU. The EU Parliament fears the consequences a more protectionist approach might have on the development of a free inner market and express concern for the legal uncertainty developed trough the lack of attention to the procurement market when introducing the “social market economy” with the Treaty of Lisbon. The EU Parliament and the CJEU might have to adjust their opinion on competition within the inner market towards the Commissions opinion. The thesis does however conclude that an inclusion of the de minis principle in the test for equality of suppliers might be all that will be done to clarify this legal uncertainty. / No formal opposition.

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