International criminal justice can have intended and unintended impact on the legitimacy of quasi-state entities (QSEs). ‘Quasi-state entity’ is a novel concept introduced to distinguish actors in statehood conflicts that aspire to statehood, fulfil statehood functions to a greater or lesser degree, including, notably, the capacity and willingness to employ organised, restrained coercive violence, but which lack the status of sovereign statehood. QSEs overlap with, but are importantly and conceptually distinct from, nationalist movements, de facto states and rebels or insurgents. Legitimacy is a prerequisite for success, both for QSEs and for state entities. The legitimacy of an entity, its institutions and actions, in a certain constituency, at a certain moment, is difficult to ascertain, in its positive form. Legitimacy is best gauged by its actual or potential absence, at moments where an entity faces legitimacy crises, and where impact can be gauged through empirical observation of behaviour and in changing narratives and counter-narratives of legitimacy. International criminal procedures present direct legitimacy challenges for QSEs and (or) their adversaries. Legitimacy crises reveal both intended and unintended effects of international criminal justice on the legitimacy – and, so, the success, of QSEs.

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Under traditional international law governed by the concept of state sovereignty, any alleged responsibility for international wrongdoings used to be attributed to the state alone. Indeed, the role of an individual in traditional international law was marginalized. This position of an individual in international law began to change from the 20th century. Responsibility of individuals for breaches of international law started to be addressed in a relatively new branch of international law: international criminal law. International criminal law qualifies certain types of conduct as crimes under international law incurring individual criminal responsibility. In this context, the 20th century witnessed development of various international and hybrid judicial mechanisms for prosecution of individuals who commit these crimes. What if these individuals happen to be heads of state? The principle of individual criminal responsibility for crimes under international law is firmly established. However, the enforcement of this principle can, in some circumstances, be frustrated by operation of another well established principle, immunity of a Head of State based largely on the notions of sovereign equality of states.

The implementation of restorative justice in schools has been widely accepted as a constructive measure towards improving many positive school behaviours, limiting negative school behaviours, and thus preventing future conflict (Gonzalez, 2012). Evaluations consistently point to increased attendance, better marks, less victimisation and conflict incidents overall in schools with RA-based policies (Kokotsaki, 2013; Morrison, 2002). Additionally, researchers and restorative advocates state there are a number of positive psychological outcomes, including improved individual well-being (Starbuck, n.d.). However, the main limitation stemming from these varied research paradigms is that there is a lack of consensus on what should be evaluated (the outcome) and how this is being achieved (the process). The use of Restorative Approaches (RA) in education is a rapidly expanding practice; its inception began with a shift from using Restorative Justice (RJ) within the Criminal Justice System (CJS ), expanding into schools in the early 1990s (Skinns, et. al., 2009); it has since been adopted worldwide. In the UK, The National Standards for Youth Justice (2009) states that all Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) have a duty to maximize victim involvement and integrate restorative processes across all YOT intervention strategies (Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorate, 2012). However, the commitment to these National Standards varies across regional YOTs. Nevertheless, Lord McNally observed that a few YOTs have delivered RJ through novel routes - including within the school system in some local authorities - in an effort to apply “early interventions with young people” (Restorative Justice Council, 2015, pg. 3). The introduction of RA into schools has most commonly been delivered through private training organisations; however, in the current research the impetus for implementation stems from the local Youth Offending Team. Hence, the current research will explore the implementation of restorative programmes in three schools (located in two separate local authorities) through the efforts of the local YOTs.

This study describes the 'lived experience' of drink driving in Lagos from the perspective of law enforcement officers. The study explored the reasons why Lagosians/Nigerians drink and drive and focuses on law enforcement officers' perceptions of driving under the influence of alcohol, the challenges they face and how they meet the challenges. The research adopts a phenomenological approach both in terms of its orientation and its design and methods. The participants in the study were all adults: two commercial drivers, two health workers, and nine members of the public took part in semi-structured interviews. Fifteen law enforcement officers took part in focus group discussions and twenty eight law enforcement officers took part in semi-structured interviews; they were all serving male officers. Data collection took place in Lagos state/Nigeria in two phases; in the first phase the data collection took place over a period of two months. In the second phase, the data collection took place over a period of six months and this included compilation of field notes, and participant observation at motor terminuses (parks) and at the stop and search road blocks set up by law enforcement officers throughout Lagos state. A total of 56 digital tape recorded interviews were carried out during the field work. Through the process of hermeneutic interpretation, themes were identified and used to describe perceptions of the phenomenon of driving under the influence of alcohol and the structure of the 'lived experience' of law enforcement officers. The findings illustrate how wider cultural, economic and social factors impact on law enforcement officers` perceptions of their roles and on their ability to carry out their responsibilities effectively. They emphasise the importance of role legitimacy, feelings of role adequacy and the need for role support to establish a strong professional identity within the police forces. The findings also revealed problems arising from the structure of the police force and from the internal uncertainties within the profession regarding roles and responsibilities in relation to driving under the influence of alcohol enforcement. The research raises questions about drink driving policy and highlights the need for a strong enforcement policy and for better deterrent measures to be taken against offenders. It also emphasises the need for educational campaigns about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, and the establishment and enforcement of maximum legally permissible blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels for drivers.

This thesis draws on the insights of rape myth scholarship and also critical responses to battered women who kill to argue that trial outcomes in child death cases may have been influenced by mothering myths. It argues that in order to understand the reasons for wrongful convictions in such cases, we must look beyond the issue of flawed expert evidence, namely to possibly stereotypical interpretations of maternal behaviours around the time the children died. Notwithstanding the difficulties in reading across from rape trials to child death cases, and that both rape myth acceptance research and the carceral approach have been challenged, Gerger et al’s definition of a rape myth is adapted here to theorise a mothering myth. Child death cases are interrogated to identify evidence admitted of maternal behaviours, and using the theorisation of a mothering myth, this thesis suggests that if fixed beliefs were used to interpret maternal behaviours, biased inferences may have been made. Little evidence of the probative value of such material has been identified. This thesis therefore examines why evidence of maternal behaviour was admitted and whether mothering myths may have informed aspects of child death cases including admissibility, the absence of judicial directions and jury deliberations. Options to limit the extent to which juries in future child death cases can rely on mothering myths are considered, and proposals for new judicial directions are made. A roadmap of empirical research is proposed to test the suggested analogies between rape myths and mothering myths, drawing on the methodological insights of rape myth work.

This thesis answers the question of how effective Kuwait and the Kuwaiti legal system have been in addressing, preventing, and combating human trafficking in the context of both international law and the application of Islamic Sharia Law (ISL). The thesis is concerned with trafficking in persons with a particular focus on trafficking to exploit labour in Kuwait as compared to the five other Arab countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC countries are parties to the main international instrument that governs trafficking, namely the United Nations Trafficking Protocol 2000 (UNTP). The GCC countries also have ISL as one of their main sources of law. With particular reference to Kuwait in the context of the Gulf region, this thesis examines how national, international, and religious legal frameworks impact the fight against trafficking in the region, and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of current laws, such as anti-trafficking laws and labour laws. It also seeks to demonstrate the links between the principles of international law and ISL, as such an overlap can provide the basis for further reform in relation to the prevention of trafficking and increased protection for victims. The thesis also discusses trafficking in persons and labour exploitation in the context of criminal justice. The UK was selected as an example of a country that has addressed trafficking, in particular labour exploitation and how Kuwait can learn from the UK. The thesis also assesses the effectiveness of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in combating trafficking in persons, in particular women and children, which is recognised by Article 7(2) of the statute under the definition of an act of enslavement in the context of crimes against humanity. The thesis concludes by making recommendations for change at the national, regional, and international levels to strengthen cooperation in combating trafficking in persons, which is the modern form of slavery.

Human Trafficking is a global phenomenon which represents an obdurate and serious problem in Malaysia, which is a destination, source and transit country for forced labour and sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is difficult to eradicate as were former slavery practices, since it manifests itself in complicated and multi-layered forms, often committed by the clandestine and sophisticated groups of perpetrators. Realising its menace, the international community has taken constructive moves to address the problem by agreeing on a comprehensive international treaty in the form of the Trafficking Protocol 2000 reflecting the 3P paradigm – to prevent, prosecute and protect. The main focus of this research is to critically analyse the Malaysian policy and the legal provision responding to human trafficking in the light of international law. It investigates the human trafficking problems, and the relevant policy, strategy as well as laws in addressing human trafficking in Malaysia based on the premise that the anti-human trafficking strategy and laws should be concurrent with the international treaty. It identifies shortcomings in the implementation in terms of fairness and effectiveness. Such shortfalls are due to various reasons including the lack of empathy, knowledge, training and resources. The problem is aggravated by the practices of corruption, hence creating obstacles in the policy and legal implementation process. While this research aims to review the policy and laws in Malaysia, it also makes some reference to the policy and laws governing human trafficking in England and Wales to identify progressive ideas for Malaysia’s adoption. This research also argues that the values of the effectiveness and fairness within the implementation of the policy and laws in Malaysia must be adhered to so as to enable the human trafficking problems to be addressed appropriately in the long run.

The responsibility to protect people against international crimes was introduced to international law scholarship after the endorsement of this newly evolving concept in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document by the UN General Assembly. The approval of the possibility of military intervention in the case of sovereign states being unable or unwilling to bear their primary responsibility to protect their own people has become a matter of controversy ever since. The cornerstone of this controversy resides in two issues. First is the positive obligation of the international community to coercively encounter perpetrations of international crimes. Second is how military intervention, as a naturally destructive phenomenon, can be conducted to save people to the degree possible and cause less harm. Moreover, apart from coercive measures, there is a less appreciated aspect of this concept that needs to be scrutinised. The non-coercive measure of the application of the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in the case of responsibility to protect situations, although it seems less political, its contribution to the promotion of this concept is deeply contested. The Libyan uprising and the prompt military intervention to save threatened Libyans by the international community in 2011 were accompanied by reference of the case of Libya to the ICC through Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973, both of which were pursued on the basis of the trajectory of responsibility to protect in international law. This study, as the first legal appreciation of responsibility to protect in the case of Libya, explores whether the case of Libya was a case of responsibility to protect. If the answer is positive, then was the application of both coercive and non-coercive measures appropriate to the principal promise of this concept? Furthermore, if there were any shortcomings in the application of the measures, concerning the aftermath of intervention, what legal lacunas exist that are still in need of attention? Finally, the study at hand attempts to propose certain legal improvements for the better application of the complementary responsibility of the international community in implementing the promise of responsibility to protect.