Adding something new to the understanding of To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), which is considered a twentieth-century classic, would be nearly impossible if not for the outlook of new historicism. Through a new historicist analysis of Harper Lee’s literary text parallel to non-fictional texts relating to the American justice system and civil rights, this essay explores how race affects U.S. institutions and society. Lee’s novel is contextualized by delving into the American South of the 1930s, American society and politics in the1960s and the racial landscape in America today, connecting them through the experiences of racial bias within the justice system and the civil rights movement. The essay explores the racial and cultural norms that governed the American justice system at the set time of the story. It analyzes the time of publication and the American society in which the novel made such an impact on the racial debate. Finally, it looks at the impact of the novel and its connection to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the Black Lives Matter movement and readers today. In the spirit of new historicism, the mechanisms of racism and how they affect the population, both the oppressors and the oppressed, is highlighted showing parallels between Lee’s fictional world and American society over time. Through the experiences of the characters, the structures of racism translate to a time and place where the Black Lives Matter movement has infused new life to the civil rights movement worldwide. Looking at retellings of the historical Scottsboro trials, which inspired the story unfolding in To Kill a Mockingbird in light of the justice system, Maycomb county and its inhabitants serves as guides into the racial norms that is ingrained in American society and politics. The results reveal a society where racial segregation is constantly reinforced by legal, economical, and social barriers, despite constitutional efforts to level the playing field for all American citizens.

The widening of access to Higher Education (HE) with a concomitant call for more accountability in the HE sector locally and globally, has altered the former elitist status of the university and impacted the professional standing, autonomy, and working conditions of lecturers negatively. Lecturers are increasingly held to account for providing quality teaching and delivering employable graduates. Yet their work environment has been characterised by poor support, dwindling resources, lack of recognition and reward for teaching efforts and excellence, and absence of legal protection when failing to fulfil the undefined yet high accountability expectations in their teaching-related work. This state of affairs has had an inevitable influence on lecturers’ perceived security in their labour environment. The overarching purpose of this study was therefore to generate guidelines to improve the existing juridical foundation for accountability of South African (SA) HE lecturers with a view to enhance their security in their employment context. In order to assist in the fulfilment of this central purpose, the study aimed to develop understanding of how lecturers perceive their accountability and security in light of diverse teaching-related responsibilities and vagueness in terms of expected conduct; and the protection (or lack of protection) of their rights and professional status. An international perspective on these issues was imperative to shed some light on how regulation elsewhere could improve practices in the SA context. While SA lecturers are equally entitled to all the rights stipulated in the Bill of Rights, they are also subject to and accountable for upholding the provisions of the SA Constitution and derived labour legislation relevant within the HE environment. The founding values of the Constitution, namely equality, human dignity and the protection of human rights and related freedoms, form not only the basic standard for measuring lecturer conduct, but also the legal basis for challenging policy, system or conduct that might threaten constitutional or labour rights. Yet, despite the existing juridical foundation for the regulation of accountability and rights protection of SA lecturers, comprising the SA Constitution, general labour and HE legislation, there is an absence of HE-specific teaching-related accountability regulation, resulting in lecturer insecurity regarding expected conduct, professional recognition and support, and accountability expectations in their teaching-related work. In comparison, a number of Australian legal imperatives, including the Commonwealth of Australia Learning and Teaching Council’s standard for quality teaching with corresponding quality indicators, provide for more clearly defined teaching-related accountability regulation. In addition, the Mission Based Compacts, the Threshold Standards, and the national Modern Award for the Higher Education Industry, afford Australian lecturers the protection of HE-specific rights relevant to enhance security in their unique work environment. These legal imperatives proved to be significant for informing the improved juridical foundation for lecturer teaching-related accountability in the SA context to enhance the security of the SA lecturer. With a focus on the development of in-depth understanding of the phenomena of lecturer accountability and security via the perspectives and interpretations of lecturers themselves, the empirical study was grounded in an inductive qualitative methodology from an interpretive-phenomenological perspective. To ensure richness of descriptive data, lecturers actively involved in undergraduate teaching at three different local, and one Australian university, were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The analysis and interpretation of the interview data included a comparative component to explore perceptions of lecturer accountability regulation and security protection in an Australian context with a view to identify inadequate legal provisioning for these phenomena in the SA HE environment. From the data analysis and interpretation, seven meaningful themes were identified, associated with either lecturer accountability or lecturer security. The findings offered not only a clear delineation of internal and external lecturer teaching-related accountability, but also a comprehensive definition of lecturer professional security that was found wanting in all legal sources and other literature studied for this thesis. Moreover, in realisation of the primary aim of this study, twelve significant guidelines are presented to establish an improved juridical foundation for lecturer accountability that will enhance lecturer security in the SA Higher Education context. Amongst these are: the development of a clear delineation of teaching-related roles and responsibilities articulated for different academic post levels; the establishment of a professional HE teaching-oriented career path affording professional recognition via a professional body for lecturers, and requiring continuous professional teaching development; and the development of minimum conditions of employment unique to the work of the HE lecturer. / PhD (Education Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The widening of access to Higher Education (HE) with a concomitant call for more accountability in the HE sector locally and globally, has altered the former elitist status of the university and impacted the professional standing, autonomy, and working conditions of lecturers negatively. Lecturers are increasingly held to account for providing quality teaching and delivering employable graduates. Yet their work environment has been characterised by poor support, dwindling resources, lack of recognition and reward for teaching efforts and excellence, and absence of legal protection when failing to fulfil the undefined yet high accountability expectations in their teaching-related work. This state of affairs has had an inevitable influence on lecturers’ perceived security in their labour environment. The overarching purpose of this study was therefore to generate guidelines to improve the existing juridical foundation for accountability of South African (SA) HE lecturers with a view to enhance their security in their employment context. In order to assist in the fulfilment of this central purpose, the study aimed to develop understanding of how lecturers perceive their accountability and security in light of diverse teaching-related responsibilities and vagueness in terms of expected conduct; and the protection (or lack of protection) of their rights and professional status. An international perspective on these issues was imperative to shed some light on how regulation elsewhere could improve practices in the SA context. While SA lecturers are equally entitled to all the rights stipulated in the Bill of Rights, they are also subject to and accountable for upholding the provisions of the SA Constitution and derived labour legislation relevant within the HE environment. The founding values of the Constitution, namely equality, human dignity and the protection of human rights and related freedoms, form not only the basic standard for measuring lecturer conduct, but also the legal basis for challenging policy, system or conduct that might threaten constitutional or labour rights. Yet, despite the existing juridical foundation for the regulation of accountability and rights protection of SA lecturers, comprising the SA Constitution, general labour and HE legislation, there is an absence of HE-specific teaching-related accountability regulation, resulting in lecturer insecurity regarding expected conduct, professional recognition and support, and accountability expectations in their teaching-related work. In comparison, a number of Australian legal imperatives, including the Commonwealth of Australia Learning and Teaching Council’s standard for quality teaching with corresponding quality indicators, provide for more clearly defined teaching-related accountability regulation. In addition, the Mission Based Compacts, the Threshold Standards, and the national Modern Award for the Higher Education Industry, afford Australian lecturers the protection of HE-specific rights relevant to enhance security in their unique work environment. These legal imperatives proved to be significant for informing the improved juridical foundation for lecturer teaching-related accountability in the SA context to enhance the security of the SA lecturer. With a focus on the development of in-depth understanding of the phenomena of lecturer accountability and security via the perspectives and interpretations of lecturers themselves, the empirical study was grounded in an inductive qualitative methodology from an interpretive-phenomenological perspective. To ensure richness of descriptive data, lecturers actively involved in undergraduate teaching at three different local, and one Australian university, were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. The analysis and interpretation of the interview data included a comparative component to explore perceptions of lecturer accountability regulation and security protection in an Australian context with a view to identify inadequate legal provisioning for these phenomena in the SA HE environment. From the data analysis and interpretation, seven meaningful themes were identified, associated with either lecturer accountability or lecturer security. The findings offered not only a clear delineation of internal and external lecturer teaching-related accountability, but also a comprehensive definition of lecturer professional security that was found wanting in all legal sources and other literature studied for this thesis. Moreover, in realisation of the primary aim of this study, twelve significant guidelines are presented to establish an improved juridical foundation for lecturer accountability that will enhance lecturer security in the SA Higher Education context. Amongst these are: the development of a clear delineation of teaching-related roles and responsibilities articulated for different academic post levels; the establishment of a professional HE teaching-oriented career path affording professional recognition via a professional body for lecturers, and requiring continuous professional teaching development; and the development of minimum conditions of employment unique to the work of the HE lecturer. / PhD (Education Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees every person a fair trial; the right to a fair trial right trial must begin and conclude within a reasonable time and without undue delay. Internationally the same guarantees and protections are available to unconvicted suspects. However, the South African criminal justice system lacks behind internationally and falls short of promoting these guarantees. Investigation was done on delays in commencing and finalising trials in light of constitutional provisions, the consequence and the impact of the delay with discussion on prison conditions and overcrowding with reference to the Constitutiton, legislation and case law. Delayed trial, prison overcrowding and poor prison conditions are still an issue in South Africa and there needs to be positive change to enforce and practice prescribed directives. South Africa‟s justice system through its servants, need to do more to gain a higher status of having a constitutionally democratic country that fully promotes‟ rights of detainees. / Criminal & Procedural Law / LLM

我國憲法學者多數認為外國人雖為基本權主體，但依照權利性質說，並不享有國際遷徙自由，從而國家可任意地拒絕其入境、居留或驅逐出境。最主要的理由在於，依照國際法，主權可自由決定是否允許外國人入境及課予入境條件。從而，主權也可自由設計入出境管理制度，那麼藉此箝制外國人言論、宗教或學術自由等基本權利，並非不可想像，甚至我國亦有實例發生。雖然，憲法學者也指出國家應儘量尊重外國人的入出境，亦不得任意藉此任意侵害其他基本權利。不過，既然外國人沒有作為憲法權利的國際遷徙自由，即難以對抗立法者藉由入管制度造成的侵害，更抹滅全球化時代下外國人國際遷徙活動本身具有的各種意義與功能。 有鑑於此，本文一方面嘗試跨足國際法，檢視現行國際人權法對外國人國際遷徙的保障程度，並回溯國際法古典著作探尋主權與國際遷徙自由的軌跡；另一方面，分析現行憲法學說之不足，藉由與國際法的對話成果，嘗試重新構築憲法保障外國人國際遷徙自由的體系。之後探討國家於限制外國人的國際遷徙自由時，應如何遵循法律保留原則、比例原則與正當法律程序，並提供救濟管道，始合乎憲法第23條之意旨。經由憲法基本權保障機制的確立，最後進一步檢討現行入出國及移民法，提出建言。 / The study is intended for elaborating on the freedom of international movement for aliens. First of all, the author examines the protected area of international movement for aliens under current international law and explores the classics of international law in order to research into the entangling relationship between sovereignty and freedom of international movement. In addition, the author analyzes constitutional doctrines at the present times and their inadequacy by applying international law. Meanwhile, what this article does attempt to do is to provide a new framework of the protected area of freedom of international movement for aliens under constitutional law. Also, in an effort to protect the freedom of international movement for aliens, the author discusses how to apply principles of non-delegation and proportionality and due process of law appropriately to prevent state power from violating it. Finally, the author examines immigration law and offers suggestions.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees every person a fair trial; the right to a fair trial right trial must begin and conclude within a reasonable time and without undue delay. Internationally the same guarantees and protections are available to unconvicted suspects. However, the South African criminal justice system lacks behind internationally and falls short of promoting these guarantees. Investigation was done on delays in commencing and finalising trials in light of constitutional provisions, the consequence and the impact of the delay with discussion on prison conditions and overcrowding with reference to the Constitutiton, legislation and case law. Delayed trial, prison overcrowding and poor prison conditions are still an issue in South Africa and there needs to be positive change to enforce and practice prescribed directives. South Africa‟s justice system through its servants, need to do more to gain a higher status of having a constitutionally democratic country that fully promotes‟ rights of detainees. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LLM

On observe des disparités importantes en matière de santé entre les Autochtones et les non-Autochtones au Canada. Ces inégalités démontrent l’importance d’agir afin de décoloniser les systèmes de santé canadiens et nous amène à nous demander si une approche fondée sur les droits pourrait constituer une solution efficace pour améliorer la situation. Ce mémoire vise donc à déterminer s’il existe, dans le contexte juridique canadien, un droit autochtone à la santé qui permettrait aux peuples autochtones de présenter leurs revendications et d’assurer l’imputabilité des gouvernements canadiens. Pour y répondre, nous analysons d’abord les disparités en matière de santé à partir des données épidémiologiques disponibles et de la théorie des déterminants fondamentaux de la santé. Nous procédons ensuite à une analyse du droit constitutionnel canadien et du droit international afin de déterminer la mesure dans laquelle ils pourraient servir à la revendication d’un droit à la santé par les peuples autochtones dans le contexte juridique national. Ce mémoire délimite quatre fondements juridiques potentiels rattachés à l’article 35 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982 qui pourraient fonder un droit autochtone à la santé : 1) le droit à l’autonomie gouvernementale; 2) les droits issus de traités; 3) les droits ancestraux spécifiques; et 4) les droits ancestraux génériques fondés sur la normativité internationale. Une approche fondée sur les développements jurisprudentiels récents en matière de droit de la personne favorise aussi une compréhension approfondie de l’étendue des obligations des gouvernements canadiens envers les peuples autochtones en matière de santé. Cela nous mène à conclure que le droit canadien ne permet pas d’établir l’existence d’un droit à la santé absolu pour les Autochtones, mais qu’un tel droit peut néanmoins exister sous certaines formes plus spécifiques qui répondent au besoin de prévisibilité du droit. / There are significant health disparities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in Canada. These inequalities highlight the importance of decolonizing Canadian health care systems and lead us to wonder whether a rights-based approach could constitute an effective solution to improve the situation. This thesis therefore aims to determine whether there exists, in the Canadian legal context, an Aboriginal right to health that would allow Aboriginal peoples to articulate their claims and ensure the accountability of Canadian governments. To answer this, we first analyze health disparities based on available epidemiological data and the theory of fundamental determinants of health. We then proceed to an analysis of Canadian constitutional law and international law to determine the extent to which they could be used for the assertion of a right to health by Indigenous peoples in the national legal context. This thesis delineates four potential legal bases flowing from section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, that could serve as a basis for argument in support of an existing Aboriginal right to health: 1) self-government rights; 2) treaty rights; 3) specific Aboriginal rights; and 4) generic Aboriginal rights based on international normativity. An approach grounded in recent human rights case law developments also serves to foster greater understanding of the extent of Canadian governments' obligations towards Indigenous peoples with respect to health. This analysis leads us to conclude that Canadian law do not support the existence of an unlimited right to health for Aboriginal peoples, but that such rights can nevertheless exist in more specific forms that respect the need for legal predictability.

Cotutelle avec l'Université de Bordeaux en France. / Cette thèse analyse la controverse ayant opposé, en 2020 dans l’affaire Québec inc., les juges de la Cour suprême du Canada au sujet du rôle du droit international et du droit comparé dans l’interprétation de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés. Elle atteste de la montée en puissance inédite d’une préférence pour une attitude de repli national au détriment d’une valorisation de l’ouverture sur le monde dans l’interprétation des droits et libertés constitutionnels et quasi-constitutionnels des Canadiens. Plus précisément, grâce à l’approche dworkinienne du droit comme pratique interprétative, sont examinées successivement les deux philosophies judicaires concurrentes exprimées en 2020, la compréhension différente par les juges des règles d’interprétation existantes de la Charte ainsi que la pratique judiciaire observable depuis 2014 pour démontrer que la position soutenue par la majorité dans Québec inc. constitue davantage un retournement de situation qu’une suite cohérente de l’œuvre jurisprudentielle écrite depuis 1982 par les juges du plus haut tribunal canadien. Au-delà de la contribution à l’avancement des connaissances s’agissant de l’évolution du rôle du droit international et du droit comparé dans l’interprétation des droits constitutionnels et quasi-constitutionnels des Canadiens, cette recherche doctorale témoigne de la possibilité de voir l’emporter de manière fulgurante des formes de résistance au transnational, y compris dans des contextes juridiques et culturels largement favorables à l’internationalisation et à la mondialisation du travail du juge constitutionnel. Enfin, d’un point de vue méthodologique, elle démontre l’apport, tout comme les limites, de la réalisation d’études juridiques empiriques pour enrichir un discours de connaissance critique sur la pratique judiciaire. / This thesis analyzes the controversy that opposed in 2020, in the Quebec inc. case, the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the role of international law and comparative law in the interpretation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It attests to the unprecedented rise of a preference for an attitude of national withdrawal to the detriment of a valorization of openness to the world in the interpretation of the constitutional and quasi-constitutional rights and freedoms of Canadians. More precisely, thanks to the Dworkinian approach to law as an interpretative practice, the two competing judicial philosophies expressed in 2020, the different understanding by the judges of the existing rules of interpretation of the Charter as well as the judicial practice observable since 2014 are successively examined to demonstrate that the position supported by the majority in Québec inc. constitutes more of a reversal of the situation than a coherent continuation of the jurisprudential work written since 1982 by the judges of the highest Canadian court. Beyond the contribution to the advancement of knowledge regarding the evolution of the role of international law and comparative law in the interpretation of the constitutional and quasi-constitutional rights of Canadians, this doctoral research demonstrates the possibility of see forms of resistance to the transnational prevail in a dazzling manner, including in legal and cultural contexts largely favorable to the internationalization and globalization of the work of the constitutional judge. Finally, from a methodological point of view, it demonstrates the contribution, as well as the limits, of carrying out empirical legal studies to enrich a discourse of critical knowledge on judicial practice.

The scourge of HIV/AIDS is ravaging our communities; many children have lost their parents to this pandemic. The death of parents because of this pandemic has resulted in the emergence of a new phenomenon of child-headed households. This paper seeks to examine the rights of children in child-headed households as entrenched in section 28(1)(b) and (c) of the Constitution. Once the rights of children in child-headed households are ascertained, the state’s duty to give effect to these rights is investigated. In the analysis of the rights, the socio-economic rights jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court is considered. The paper further argues that the state gives effect to the rights of children in child-headed households through legislation and policy. As such, the paper takes a closer look at the legislation and policies that seek to give effect to the rights of children in child-headed households as enumerated in section 28(1)(b) and (c) and gaps in that legislation and policy are highlighted. In conclusion, proposals are made that will assist the state to give effect to the rights of children in child-headed households as set out in the Constitution. / Private Law / LL.M.

A tension arises whenever the South African private law fails to meet constitutional right norms. To remedy a deficiency, two law-making options are available. The first is for the judiciary to develop or change private law principles and rules in order to provide protection for the implicated constitutional norm. The second is for the judiciary to enforce an obligation upon Parliament to enact legislation to amend or replace existing private law rights and obligations so as to safeguard the norm against interference from a private individual or entity. The former is the more conventional option, but, in recent years, the law reports record an increasing reliance on the legislative duty to protect constitutional right norms in private legal relationships. The thesis investigates the extent to which the latter phenomenon - which will be described as a 'pivot towards legislative remedies' - exists, and the circumstances in which the courts pivot towards legislative remedies rather than developing private law of their own accord. The thesis finds that legislative schemes that give effect to constitutional rights are likely to contain an array of benefits that are absent from or reduced in the judicial law-making process. The judicial pivot towards legislative remedies is thus a strategy to enhance the process through which conflicting rights are resolved, as it allows for the constitutional rebuilding of private law in a way that the judiciary is unable to do on its own. Importantly, however, theories of judicial deference do not explain the pivot. On the contrary, the courts have exercised a strict level of control over the legislative law-making pathway. Through either statutory interpretation or the review of legislation, the courts require legislation to contain the essentials of the judicial law-making framework. From this perspective, the judicial law-making process produces the floor of the rebuilding project and the legislative law-making process enhances that framework.