The Companies Act of 2008 (the Act) has revolutionised the corporate law landscape in South Africa. The Act has been drafted with the specific intention of promoting access to the economy and of ensuring that cumbersome and costly procedures are (to a large extent) a thing of the past. These objects are a necessity when striving to ensure that South Africa's alarming inequality is abated. One of the central features of the 2008 Act is the introduction of business rescue, a procedure which represents a blatant attempt at striving to preserve ailing companies. The Act states that one of the main objects with regards to business rescue is ensuring that the procedure balances the competing interests involved. The purpose of this thesis therefore is to consider to what extent the 2008 Act has been able to achieve this. This will be done by analysing the rights given to employees, shareholders and creditors. This thesis will argue that though the procedure is a step in the right direction, it has failed to strike a proper balance by overly empowering employees and conversely leaving shareholders somewhat impotent. This thesis will also argue that some of the mechanisms employed, though they may be admirable in what they strive to achieve, leave far too much doubt as to their practicality. The overall conclusion reached is that a major overhaul is not required in order to rid this much needed procedure of its flaws.

Business rescue regime has led to dramatic improvement in ailing organizations across the globe in recent years. This work critically examines current South African business rescue option in the context of her role in the SADC sub-region. A robust model, taking into consideration, the legal, socio-cultural, political and economic diversity of SADC members is proposed. It is believed that the model can serve as a template for other regions in the continent.

Includes bibliographical references. / Preventing cartels from forming or detecting and punishing existing cartels should therefore be an important task in every country. This paper shows how South Africa and the United Kingdom deal with this task by introducing criminal sanctions into their competition law for individuals engaging in cartel conduct. As the criminal law is the ultima ratio of a constitutional state, its introduction into competition law needs some justification. In the context of competition law, criminal law is not designed to punish the offender retrospectively but to deter people from cartel conduct according to the utilitarian approach.

Includes bibliographical references. / Foreign investment is one of the key elements of economic development in Nigeria. Yet the process of regulating it is challenging and problematic, particularly in the northern parts of Nigeria where people prefer informal investments and tend to ignore the necessary laws governing investments. Today in Nigeria as in most African countries, there are many investors, most of them from Asia, who are very insensitive to the rule of law. They invest and carry out business in Nigeria and particularly northern Nigeria often in breach of investment laws. Nigerian investment regulatory laws were made to provide security and protection of investors’ interests, but these laws are ignored due to their technicality. There is no doubt that the regulatory environment for investment will work better and more securely when there is a system of compliance. The dissertation will focus on the theoretical and practical analysis of investment security laws in Nigeria, and not the root of investment as a concept itself which is beyond the scope of this work.

Does the effective disbandment of the SADC Tribunal and its mooted resurrection in a largely diminished capacity spell the end of any possibility of developing a supranational organ capable of adjudicating on disputes between SADC members, as well as disputes between natural persons and Member states as was originally envisioned in Article 15 of the Protocol on Tribunal & Rules Thereof ("the Protocol")? Background The basis of the research question stems from the effective disbandment of the SADC Tribunal arguably as a result of the Republic of Zimbabwe's controversial land redistribution program and the recent developments surrounding the SADC Tribunal following the redrafting of the Protocol ("the New Protocol") by the Ministers of Justice of each Member State. The disbandment in essence being as a result of the land reform program adopted by the Zimbabwean Government in 2000 which raised various issues both politically and socially, however it was the legal issues brought on by the litigation which ensued that caused the most debate. In Mike Campbell (Pvt) Ltd. and Others v. Republic of Zimbabwe (2008) SADCT 2/2007 ("the Campbell Case") the SADC Tribunal held that the Zimbabwean Government should pay the applicants fair compensation for their expropriated land, take all necessary measures to protect the possession, occupation, and ownership of the land and ensure that no action was taken to evict the farmers or interfere with their peaceful residence of their properties. Subsequent to the SADC Tribunal's finding as mentioned above, the applicants sought to have the SADC Tribunals rulings registered as an order of court in Zimbabwe in Gramara (Pvt) Ltd v. Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe (HC 33/09) [2010] ZWHHC [Harare High Court] which was dismissed by Zimbabwe's High Court. There is no doubt that the SADC Tribunals ruling in the Campbell Case and the prospective ramifications a ruling of that nature could have on each SADC states government policy reverberated through the office walls of each head of state. The Ruling showcasing perhaps a lack of appreciation with regards to what far reaching implications of subordinating a measure of sovereignty to a supranational body could have on government policy. In any case, subsequent to the Tribunals ruling in the Campbell Case followed an onslaught by the government of Zimbabwe regarding the Tribunals jurisdiction and its impartiality, all in an attempt to deligitimatise the institution. This onslaught succeeded in having the Tribunal disbanded, however in the wake of this a new Tribunal has been mooted to take its place. A New Protocol is currently being debated amongst regional leaders. The developments surrounding the SADC Tribunal following the signature of the New Protocol by 9 heads of state, is of concern considering the fact that Articles 14 and 35 of the New Protocol substantially moderate the jurisdiction and applicable law of the SADC Tribunal. The legal text in its current format is likely to vastly diminish the effectiveness of the SADC Tribunal reducing it to nothing more than a paper tiger. The research this paper intends on focusing on shall be with regards to what lessons can be learnt from the disbandment of the SADC tribunal by the SADC member states, with a view to establishing a supranational organism capable of adjudicating conflicts between member states whilst being cognizant of member states undertakings to observe human rights. Whilst also looking at the weaknesses of the old Tribunal, insofar as transposing a Eurocentric model into Africa , which has conditions not ideal for such a model.

Export Processing Zones (EPZs) have become rather popular trade and investment policy instruments used by governments to promote trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The trend of establishing EPZs was started by the creation of the Shannon Free Zone in late 1950s in Ireland, a zone that now boosts over 100 international manufacturing companies. It was the success of this first zone that encouraged many countries to create their own EPZs in the hope that the incentives would encourage industrial development. The World Bank regards the increasing introduction of EPZs as a signal of a country's departure from import substitution towards an export-oriented economy.

The contractual nature of arbitration as a form of alternative dispute resolution in the context of cross-border/international disputes traditionally emphasises confidentiality as one of the fundamental characteristics of international arbitration. Confidentiality is often assumed to be a common feature and advantage of international commercial arbitration, and the privacy of arbitral proceedings has facilitated and encouraged recourse to arbitration. However, the issue of confidentiality has a different dimension and is limited in the context of international investment and trade disputes. The participation of States, State entities, sub-divisions and agencies in international disputes shifts the emphasis from privacy and confidentiality to transparency and accountability. This study analyses the role of confidentiality in investor-State arbitration, noting that confidentiality is not always preserved in many respects and stages throughout the arbitration proceedings. The paper considers the issues that challenge the legal effectiveness of confidentiality in international investor-State arbitration and the development towards transparency. In particular, the paper examines the participation of non-disputing/third parties in investor-State arbitration, the different approaches of major arbitral institutions towards the issue of confidentiality, and the arguments for and against confidentiality in relation to transparency. It concludes by making recommendations in the context of the development of investor-State arbitration.

The narrative has changed. It is no longer 'Africa is rising' but 'Africa has risen'. Africa's economic potential is being sung from all corners of the world. One would think that the continent would undergo another 'scramble for Africa' following on from this economic boom. However, it is also clear that all this growth and foreign investment into African development cannot be embraced in the absence of proper commercial institutional structures and policy guidelines in the areas of corporate governance. While these structures may already exist to some degree, the areas of greatest concern are those of enforcement and regulation. This dissertation therefore examines the case for strengthening the regulation and enforcement mechanisms of corporate governance in Africa using Zambia as a case study. After an analysis of the law and the institutional framework surrounding corporate governance in Zambia, it becomes evident that the current self-regulatory system is weak and inadequate in terms of ensuring compliance: this shortcoming ultimately makes its raison d'être futile. A method of comparative law will be used to evaluate other models of enforcement and regulation by internationally recognised corporate governance codes and legislation in the United Kingdom, United States of America, South Africa and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The objective is to try to answer the questions of what measures work well and to what extent; this information is used to ascertain which model would be suitable for Zambia to address the problems of regulation and enforcement. It should be noted however from the outset that this paper does not advocate for a 'copy and paste' modus operandi in responding to the challenges of corporate governance in Zambia. There is no one formula to answer economic corporate governance issues but these policies which have been successful elsewhere can be used as a basis to create an organic formulae that would ultimately be suitable for Zambia, taking into account the issues that are unique to its business culture, fiscal policies and economic growth among others.

Islamic banks were minimally affected by the global financial crisis of 2008. This is largely attributed to their firm and sound economic principles. This has made Islamic finance a feasible alternative system of banking especially in pursuit of financial inclusion. Uganda like most third world countries has grappled with the challenge of access to credit with a big unbanked population. One of the reasons espoused in this paper for this problem has been high cost of credit access caused by prohibitively high interest rates that discourage people from attaining loans for their entrepreneurial ventures. Since Islamic banking is an interest free based mode of finance, it could have the key to unlocking the door to an inclusive economy. However, there is a desire for dedicated research and efforts from the authorities to develop an effective legal and regulatory framework for Islamic financial industry in Uganda. Attempts should be made to modify the existing structure to provide better products and quality service within the ambit of Islamic laws. While interest based banking has taken hundreds of years to mature to the level where it is today, expecting the same maturity from Islamic banking in its nascent stage will be overly ambitious. To develop an economic system truly reflective of the sacred principles of Islam, all stakeholders should understand the limitations at this stage and work towards its advancement.

Alternative dispute resolution is often proven to be an effective and preferable means of resolving dismissal disputes. A coherent and cooperative working environment is not always possible in the developing workplace today. Thus, it is critical that an employer and employee are able to resort to effective means of dispute resolution when conflicts arise. The adjudicating system of the courts is notorious for being tedious, expensive and often too legalistic for employment disputes; public arbitration aims to curtail these difficulties by providing an efficient, cost-effective and informal dispute resolution service. Public arbitration bodies seek to overcome the challenges posed by court proceedings by resolving disputes within a specific timeframe, providing applicants with a cost-free service and reducing informalities, in part by limiting the need for legal representation during proceedings. As South Africa was once a colony of Britain, South Africa and England have a historical link which makes them appropriate comparators when determining progression. Based on their similar approach to dispute resolution through arbitration, it is possible to consider the extent to which each country’s employment arbitration service, ACAS in England and the CCMA in South Africa, has achieved its objectives. This dissertation evaluates the use of public arbitration in resolving dismissal disputes in England and South Africa. As a comparative study, it concentrates on and compares the efficiency, accessibility and informality of each country’s employment dispute resolution system, with a particular focus on dismissal disputes. The analysis presented in this dissertation was able to determine the need for improvement in both arbitration systems. It is observed that the deficiencies found in the CCMA can be resolved by learning from the strengths of ACAS, and vice versa. Although each arbitration body aims to provide resolution with the least amount of formalities, both systems can improve their operations by using client feedback and implementing rigorous quality control measures. These recommendations aim to set out ways to improve the effectiveness of each system with the intention of conducting dismissal disputes as succinctly as possible.