The formation of the African Union (AU) holds great promise for Africa with regard to development. It also brings a new dimension to human rights in Africa, with the creation of the African Court. However, the OAUs legacy of human rights supervision and the development of democracy lacks in many areas. Europe, however, has manifested itself into an entity capable of trans-border cooperation and has been able to sustain this over a long period of time. What the OAU has accomplished in this regard is not compatible with the current status of international law theory and practise. There is a need then for change in these areas, and what better opportunity is there, than for a new dispensation in regional governance to apply to relevant policies and programmes to effect this change? This dissertation will endeavour to present a study of how the European legacy in Africa worked to the latter's detriment over the past five or six decades since decolonisation. Yet, there are lessons that may be learnt from Europe's unification that can be successfully implemented in Africa. Further, by analysing the weaknesses of Africa's current system of human rights supervision, and rectifying or reforming them, much may be accomplished in the advancement of the system. Therefore reformation of the system will be discussed at length. However, the success of the system will be evidenced by the commitment of its component members. Thus far the status quo in Africa reflects unwillingness on the part of the state to surrender its sovereignty. This was one of the reasons for the impotence of the OAU. Will the AU be able to overcome this condition? The onus remains on the state to shore up their commitments to the treaties which they have ratified, and to deliver on the promises they have made, because there are solutions, and whether or not they are implemented ultimately depends on the AU. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of Natal, 2003.

Magister Legum - LLM (Criminal Justice and Procedure) / Since 2009, the first permanent international criminal court's operation is known to be marked by diplomatic tension between the African Union (AU) and the ICC. A host of African member states have called for African states parties to withdraw en masse from the International Criminal Court (ICC). On the 19th October 2016, South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, without prior parliamentary approval, deposited an official notice of withdrawal from the ICC in terms of Article 127(1) of the Rome Statute. The Pretoria High Court, however, in Democratic Alliance v Minister of International Relations ruled the notice instrument to be "unconstitutional and invalid." This research paper evaluates South Africa's unsuccessful proposed withdrawal, against the backdrop of AU and ICC tensions. Accordingly, the paper critically evaluates South Africa's reasons for a proposed ICC withdrawal, its subsequent failure and the domestic and international implications of either a future successful withdrawal or South Africa's continued membership. The paper's findings conclude that South Africa's attempted withdrawal was primarily based on the diplomatic breakdown between South Africa and the ICC which arose out of the states party's non-cooperation with an arrest warrant for Sudan's sitting head of state, President Omar Al-Bashir, at the 25th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly in Johannesburg, June 2015. It is presented, that South Africa's proposed withdrawal was premature and that any future withdrawal from the ICC will have far-reaching legal and political ramifications. Further, this study reaffirms the need for the country's continued contribution to building a stronger, effective and more universal framework of international criminal justice, domestically and from within the ICC.

The African Union’s role in the formulation and the implementation of the Arusha Agreement in Burundi has been hailed as a hall mark of success for the organisation’s conflict management on the continent. A decade and a half later Burundi once again finds itself at the precipice of civil war due to the controversy surrounding President Pierre Nkurunziza’s election to a third term in office in 2015. At the time of writing, the mediation efforts are tethering on the brink of failure. The African Union’s response to the political crisis in Burundi has been characterised by policy incoherence, reversals and ineffectiveness as member states have not committed to a particular strategy. This study explores the underlying factors that resulted in the failure of the African Union’s mediation efforts in Burundi by analysing the contingency framework for mediation by Bercovitch Anagnoson and Wille (1991: 11) with specific reference to the eight context variables. The study seeks to understand the failure of mediation in the context of the African Union’s previous success in mediating the signing of the Arusha Agreement. The study reveals that the competing and contradictory narratives surrounding the mediation and the conflict played a significant role in influencing the outcome of the mediation. The study concludes that mediation remains a relevant conflict management strategy for the African Union. The normative framework of the regional organisation however must be shifted to reconceptualise the principle of sovereignty in responding to electoral based conflicts.

This study examines the extent to which Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principles are embedded in the African Union’s interventionist framework. The AU has been heralded as a trailblazer of R2P, enshrining its attendant principles in the Union’s 2000 Constitutive Act, five years before the emerging norm’s adoption by world leaders at the 2005 World Summit. However, in the case of the recent humanitarian crisis in Libya, and the UN Security Council’s subsequent intervention during 2011, the AU failed to invoke R2P, jettisoning Article 4(h) of its own Constitutive Act and insisting on a negotiated solution to the crisis. This position placed the Union on a collision course with several other regional organisations, notably the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation which assumed a leading role in the implementation of the UNSC mandate to intervene. The AU’s actions also placed into question the rhetoric-reality nexus of its responsibility to protect. At issue is thus the matter of norm localisation, and whether lack thereof and/or other challenges are inhibiting consolidation of R2P within the AU’s security culture. The study therefore traces the institutionalisation of the guiding tenets of R2P within the evolving AU Peace and Security Architecture, and investigates the operationalisation thereof (arguably the most contentious dimension to the global discourse on R2P) in the case of the 2011 UNSC intervention in Libya. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Political Sciences / Unrestricted

M.A. (Applied Linguistics) / Much research has focused on general strategy use during simultaneous interpreting (SI), while little research has been conducted on how interpreters’ choice of strategies relates to source text (ST) delivery speed (DS). Hence, it is unclear whether interpreters use the same strategies when confronted with fast speech, average speech, and slow speech; or, whether they use different strategies under these three conditions. This research argues that interpreters use specific strategies to cope with the different ST delivery speed during simultaneous interpreting within the Pan-African Parliament (PAP). The PAP consists of delegates from African countries with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In order to facilitate communication in this multilingual setting, the PAP has adopted six official working languages. However, the latter still do not resolve institutional communication barriers; hence the need for such services as simultaneous interpreting. The PAP is situated in Midrand, South Africa, and plays an important role in African politics. It offers SI in English and French. Nevertheless, no previous studies on simultaneous interpreting have been conducted at the PAP. Thus, through empirical research based on primary data consisting of recordings of simultaneous interpreting in French and English at the PAP, this study examines interpreters’ use of strategies. The main focus of the study is the strategies for fast, average, and slow delivery speed identified by Gile (1995), during actual interpreting at the PAP The study categorises these interpreting strategies into meaning-based (lexical dissimilarity) or form-based (lexical similarity) and indicates those that are more appropriate for each DS during SI. By differentiating the various strategies used by interpreters to deal with all three ST delivery speeds, this study creates an awareness about and clarifies how certain interpreting conditions, such as speed, affect interpreters’ coping tactics. In particular, the study demonstrates that the faster the speed, the more form-based (FB) the strategies will be; and, the slower the speed, the more interpreters will resort to meaning-based (MB) strategies. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that strategies that lead to meaning-based interpreting are more successful than the others which lead to a form-based interpreting.

Doctor Legum - LLD / The need to harmonise laws in Africa has grown in importance in view of the envisaged African common market. Economic integration cannot flourish without an effective regional legal framework. There is fragmentation in trade mark protection in Africa as evidenced by the existing two sub-regional organisations namely, the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) and the Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle (OAPI). The absence of a single regional legal framework has resulted in African countries not having a coherent strategy for advancing their common interests in regional and multilateral negotiations. African countries have acceded to agreements which do not reflect their interests such as Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). African countries have also been signing Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) which contain higher intellectual property protection standards than the minimum standards prescribed by TRIPS. The purpose of this study is to formulate a proposal for the integration of trade mark laws in Africa, with a view to strengthening the regional legal framework. A consolidated regional position, based on an integrated legal framework, will strengthen Africa’s participation in negotiations. This will in turn ensure greater regard for, and better protection of, Africa’s interests and concerns. Trade mark laws are important as they can hinder or promote trade. Harmonised trade mark laws will create legal and commercial certainty as well as predictability, which is crucial for the promotion of trade and foreign direct investment. The central argument advanced is that the areas of convergence in the laws under study and in the way the laws are interpreted can form the basis for the harmonisation of Africa’s trade mark laws.

Magister Legum - LLM / In 2014, the African Union (AU) adopted the African Charter on the Values and Principles of Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development (the African Charter on Decentralisation). The Charter is a first of its kind to provide a decentralisation framework for local government on the African continent. It seeks to use local government as a vehicle for improving the livelihoods of people on the African continent. Member States of the AU will only be bound by the African Charter on Decentralisation once they have ratified it. The actual impact of the Charter to improve the livelihood of people on the African continent is unknown. This research paper provides a critical analysis of the Charter in order to establish its potential. The analysis is undertaken against the background of the international literature on decentralisation and 'best' practices on local government. / South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI)

The research investigate the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) from a leadership and governance perspective in the African public services. The research was initiated with a historiography to map out efforts that were made to unify the continent against slavery and colonialism, which were primary factors responsible for Africa’s underdevelopment and poverty. National, regional and sub regional organisations have been formed to forge collective action against colonisation and the marginalisation of the continent. Each of the organisations, indicating their achievements and challenges has been discussed in this research. The research has revealed that there was a common denominator in most organisations, which revolved around creating a better continent for the African people and to restore their dignity as a people. The need for unity in Africa has received more attention, especially when Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was transformed into the African Union (AU), which focuses on development, democratic rule and good governance to tackle poverty, marginalisation and underdevelopment in the continent. What is evident in this research is the fact that African leaders are now seeking African solutions to the problems that have plagued the continent for decades. African leaders recognise that transplanted policies and initiatives are responsible for Africa’s dependency syndrome and marginalisation in the development process. The research has pointed out that Africans should lead the process of African development because they are the custodians of the needs of their citizens. In order to satisfy and provide essential services and goods to their citizens African leaders should exercise effective and responsible leadership, and good governance principles in order to implement policies that would create a better life for all on the continent. In order to ensure that African public services implement appropriate policies, a monitoring mechanism has been instituted, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) through which countries are evaluated and assessed on compliance with good governance and development objectives to provide essential goods and services to the African people. The New Economic Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as the vehicle of the AU has set out development objectives and priorities, which should be implemented by national, regional, and sub-regional organisations, therefore countries would be monitored to ensure that they comply with the aims and mandate of the AU. Effective leadership and good governance would ensure cost effective delivery of services and the provision of goods by public services. African leaders want to create genuine partnership with their citizens and international communities to ensure that poverty is eradicated and the needs of Africans are satisfied. Africa requires strong and effective leaders who identify and work for their people at all costs through proper utilisation and management of public resources for the benefit of all. Recommendations have been made for consideration by African leaders in their endeavour to create a better life for the African people based on effective leadership, the rule of law and good governance. Africans know what is best for them and therefore they should engage in collective action to achieve the African Development Goals. / Thesis (PhD (Public Affairs))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / unrestricted

This thesis concentrates on the new role of African union (AU) as regional player in conflict resolution in Africa. Created in 2000 as heritage organisation after the not very successfull Organisation of african unity, AU took several measures in order to become a more effective actor in collective security and better suited for conflict resolution. In order to evaluate the perspectives and viability of AU as regional player in the security dimension, the thesis evaluates the case of the conflict in Darfur where AU plays a leading role in the efforts of the international community. Based on the theoretical framework of conflict resolution theory, it concentrates on the role of AU as regional player in conflict resolution and gives a glace into the topic of african regional organisations and their role in conflict resolution.

Magister Legum - LLM / The aim of this mini-thesis is to examine the inconsistency in the implementation of the responsibility to protect (RTP) principle during armed conflicts with specific focus on the case of Libya and Darfur. Furthermore the mini-thesis scrutinizes the criteria which are utilized universally and questions whether the principle is determined by factors such as economics, politics and location depending on each crisis. The significance of this minithesis derives from the need to make a contribution to the new interventionism debate and contribute to the growing literature on the doctrine of the RTP especially when it comes to the inconsistencies during its application which seems to be on the rise especially in the African continent. The mini-thesis was guided by the following assumption that there are inconsistencies when it comes to the application of the RTP under humanitarian law. The mini-thesis also embarks on an enquiry into the legal aspects of the RTP doctrine and the legal status of humanitarian intervention. It is worth noting that the RTP doctrine does not concentrate on every human rights violation or abuse of power, even when these are very serious as in the case of Sudan. It certainly does not empower or establish an obligation on the international community to respond by over-riding the offending state’s sovereignty. The initial intention of the RTP was aimed at preventing mass attacks or large scale violations involving genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. It is greatly disappointing to note that the international community at large tends to overlook the more severe crises which have more casualties and turn their eyes on less serious humanitarian crises. This raises concern about the extent of the inconsistency in the application of the RTP. The question that begs an answer therefore is why intervene in Libya and not Darfur? In conclusion to this mini-thesis I came to the realization that inconsistencies within the application of the RTP exist because humanitarian intervention under the RTP has a massive political element which affects implementation. The RTP is often used as a justification for states to act in conflicts when there is no domestic support for more direct political intervention. Thus, I believe that intervention can never be completely humanitarian driven until the five RTP precautionary principles are used as a guideline or criteria for interventions.