This research is centered on carrying out a comparison between the current court systems (with particular reference to structures) in Nigeria and South Africa. A pertinent question that comes to bear in relation to court systems, is whether the current court structure in South Africa should be adopted by Nigeria? The response to this question is vital for the avoidance of the adoption of a court structure by Nigeria basically for the reason of its seeming successful implementation in South Africa without giving credence to other factors like the salient distinctiveness of their experiences and the legal systems that operate in both countries which I addressed in the dissertation. In this dissertation, I specifically concentrated on the various courts currently adopted by each country. In chapters three and four, I indentified and examined all the courts in the current court structure of each country, their composition, role, jurisdictions, operations, and other related means of adjudication vis a vis tribunals, arbitrations and even the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I carried out a comparative analysis in chapter five between the Nigerian and South African court systems with particular reference to the structures of the courts to indentify the strengths and weaknesses of each structure and the indirect and direct threatened reorganizations i.e the proposed reforms in the two countries and their likely effects and repercussions in the enhancement of justice delivery. Prior to looking at the structures of the courts, I generally looked at the role of the judiciary in both countries and their application of judicial concepts like independence of the judiciary, doctrine of judicial precedents and principles of natural justice. I briefly looked at the history of both legal systems and the evolution of their court structures, the current make up of each legal system, which includes their form of government, democratic set ups and the interrelatedness of each organ of government with the judiciary. The relevance of looking at these legal conceptions is merely to create a background understanding and the appreciation of the makeup and contents of the courts in both countries on which the research is centered. In carrying out a comparative analysis of the courts of these two countries I identified their similarities and differences and concluded by making findings and proposals towards a more effective court system for Nigeria. In my conclusion in chapter six, I made observations, suggestions and proffered solutions for the way forward towards achieving a more viable court structure for Nigeria by adopting some strong points from South African court structure. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Public Law / unrestricted

This research investigates the changing relationship between the courts and the news media in Australia. While providing a broad historical context for this relationship, it focuses specifically on the past decade and the significant changes in communications practice within many Australian court jurisdictions. The study critically examines the role of public information officers (PIOs) in the Australian court system from 1993. It also investigates debates around experimentation with television cameras in Australian courts. It further critically examines other initiatives, undertaken by the courts through the PIO, including the development of court-media liaison committees, judgment summaries, websites and standardised request forms. This investigation brings together a range of perspectives about the court-media relationship. The findings are based on responses from 32 semi-structured interviews, conducted across seven jurisdictions in Australia over 28 months. Those interviewed include judges, PIOs, television reporters, news directors and newspaper reporters. The findings show overwhelming support for the role of PIO in facilitating access, improving communication, fostering a better understanding between the courts and the media and enhancing accuracy in court reportage. They indicate that those jurisdictions with PIOs in office are better at meeting the needs of the news media than the single jurisdiction that does not employ a PIO. In contrast, the issue of television camera access to courts has been marked by inconsistencies across the different groups of respondents. While the courts have generally been proactive in this area, news directors are ambivalent, even dismissive, about advancing moves. Progress has been slow, to the point of stalling in this area. This research is positioned within a field described as 'under-researched' and 'incompletely theorized'. It deals with uncharted research territory, particularly in the analysis of how the news media perceive their own role in the court-media interface. In delving into how the courts and media intersect, it forces an analysis of open justice and investigates the practice, policy, theoretical and philosophical assumptions and traditions of this relationship. Central to any relationship with the media is the source-reporter connection and this is analysed in the context of courts. It is argued that, consistent with the relatively low-level of analysis into the courts-media interface in general, sources on the court round have been inconsistent and disparate, reinforcing problems and irregularities for reporters on the round. Theories of sources as bureaucratic channels of information and primary definers of news provide a theoretical position for the emergence of the PIO. Critical elements that underpin the research are the importance of the media as presenting the courts to the wider community, through open justice, as well as the news media's role as the Fourth Estate in monitoring all aspects of society, including the judiciary and the courts. While the courts and the media must work together, they must also remain separate if the are to function effectively within a democracy. The investigation concludes that they should have 'separate but interlocking functions' in the public sphere. The research is framed around ideas of courts as part of the public sphere. It argues that developments aimed at enhancing communication between courts and the media have also improved the position of courts within that sphere. The intersections are viewed through concepts of ideal speech, communicative action and shared lifeworld. Individually and collectively, these provide a solid 'best practice' approach to how courts and the media can work together. These ideas are shown as a cycle of communication, represented as a communication model between courts, media and the public. Whilst originating from the work of Jurgen Habermas, these ideas have evolved to include a variety of perspectives and have, in this thesis, been employed to provide the theoretical framework for an analysis of the changing court-media interface.

This sociological thesis has focus om men´s violence against women, both general and domestic. My aim is to examine how the Swedish court system portrays women as victims and men as offenders in cases with men´s violence against women. I also have a special focus on the perspective of the construction of gender. I executed the thesis by using two qualitive methods; thematic content analysis and observations. The empirical material consisted mainly of court case documents but also of the field notes I took during the observations of two court hearings. My theoretical framework consists of the gender system by Yvonne Hirdman (2003) which mainly describes the different societal positions of power men and women possess and what consequences it has. I’ve also used a victim discourse which examines how victims are expected to act, and react, in connection to be a victim of crime. The thesis showed that the court system in my material maintains stereotypical gender norms regarding the theory of the gender system. It showed considerations based on men´s superior positions and women´s subordinate positions according to the same system. It also showed that the female victims are expected to react according to what the court system see suitable; which in my analyzed cases meant a display of the correct feelings. If the correct feelings were not present, it could affect the outcome of the trial.

For the last two to three decades there has been an on-going legitimacy debate surrounding Investment Treaty Arbitration. States, scholars and public opinion argue that reform is needed. The European Union proposes the reform of Investor-State Arbitration through the creation of an Investment Court System. This is exemplified by recent European Union negotiated trade agreements such as the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement. This thesis discusses whether an Investment Court System is a step towards solving the legitimacy concerns or whether an Investment Court System will thrust Investor-State Arbitration into the relative unknown, exacerbating the validity questions enveloping Investor-State Arbitration. The thesis observes the criticisms raised by eminent scholars, States and campaigners against Investor-State Arbitration and the reforms proposed by the European Union Commission and European Union Parliament, in the form of an Investment Court System. Finally, the study looks briefly at how certain countries who have become disenfranchised with Investor-State Arbitration are approaching reform internationally, and comparatively discusses whether these options would be more beneficial to the Investor-State Arbitration community, rather than the European Union proposed Investment Court System.

Hosting 22 percent of the world’s prison population, the United States is the number one country in the world regarding incarceration rates where 1 in 109 adults are locked up behinds bars and about two-thirds of offenders will recidivate within three years of their release (Durose, Coope, & Snyder, 2014; Kaeble, Glaze, Tsoutis, & Minton, 2016; U.S. Census Bureau, 2015; Walmsley, 2013). Sweden has one of the lowest recidivism and incarceration rates in the world where only 29 percent reoffend and 1 in 2,278 of their total population is behind bars (Kriminalvården, 2017; The World Bank, 2016). The purpose of this study is to understand the underlying reasons to these differences by comparing the U.S. and Swedish criminal justice systems and to find possible solutions of improvement to diminish the incarceration, recidivism, and crime rates in the U.S. Specifically, the policing, court, and correctional systems will be further compared.

Television shows, in particular CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, have captured the attention of the majority of Americans. As a consequence of these shows, the "CSI effect" has evolved. The CSI effect primarily occurs when people watch crime or law related shows resulting in them gaining an unrealistic expectation of what they think should occur in real trials. This is a concern for prospective jurors who take part in criminal trials. This thesis will reveal how the CSI effect has swept the nation. A large part of this study will be devoted to illustrating how the CSI effect has had an impact on jurors, criminals and the American court system. This thesis will shed light on how television has the power to alter a juror's mind, even if it is a decision that could completely change the defendant's life. This thesis will also examine how legal professionals have strategically begun to mention the CSI effect during their trials in court. Nowadays, it is an ordinary procedure for attorneys, during voir dire, to question prospective jurors about their television viewing habits, as it pertains to CSI. This study will also examine how the producers of CSI discount the effect in its entirety. The creators believe that their creation has been a helpful milestone in the evolution of our criminal justice system.

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European Commission's Reform Proposal Concerning The Investment Dispute Settlement Mechanism: Comparative Analysis In November 2015, during negotiations with the USA about the investment chapter of TTIP, the European Commission presented US delegates with a text which significantly differs from the traditional model of ISDS. Commission's reform proposal is a reaction to the current criticism directed towards the legitimacy of investment arbitration and to the demands for its thorough reform or even removal from the TTIP draft text. The Commission introduced the proposal after the public consultation opened in connection with the criticism of ISDS attracted significant public interest. This thesis aims to analyze the Commission's proposal and determine whether the Commission has introduced a sound proposal which would be capable of replacing the traditional concept of ISDS. The thesis further examines whether there are smaller or larger differences between the Commission's proposal and traditional ISDS and whether the Commission could have taken a different approach to some issues. After the first chapter dedicated to the criticism of investment arbitration and the results of the public consultation, the thesis analyses the Commission's proposal. Most attention is given to its procedural aspects,...

中共自文革後鄧小平掌權起，開始調整國內外作為與態度，不再盲從於意識形態爭鬥，漸納入國際體系規範中，注重國家實質利益追求。在銳意於自身改革同時，如何塑造一個安全環境，凝聚一個俾利於經濟與國家建設發展氛圍，即賴於制定一套符合前述對外關係政策，此一為中共近年來積極推動「睦鄰外交」濫觴。而一個國家外交政策與涉外制度往往受該國傳統政治思想觀念影響，中國是具有數千年傳承古國，曾長期在歷史上有輝煌、重要地位，如何在過去經驗中尋找未來出路，似成為可能選項。 中國過去2000多年所成就在東亞區域之長期優勢與霸權維繫，多賴於儒術「仁道」、「尊王」思維衍生之「朝貢體系」外交政策，藉由國際義務承擔、經濟利益供給、文明教化傳輸與自我實力信任、展現等措施所構建成熟；對應現今中共睦鄰外交中所強調「與鄰為善、與鄰為伴」、「做負責任大國」、落實「睦鄰、安鄰、富鄰」等政策作為，在精神與策略上似與過去推動「朝貢體系」相關聯，本文即從朝貢的體系架構與理論，就中國歷代施行「朝貢外交」在政治、經濟上的發展與難處，對應中共「睦鄰外交」之意涵與實踐過程，試圖觀察、探究這項涉外關係轉變對中共國家利益影響之可能性，並期預想睦鄰政策實踐中將面臨何種問題與困境。 / Chinese Communist Party after the Great Cultural Revolution Deng Xiaoping is in power,starts to adjust the domestic and foreign, achievement and the manner.The Chinese Communist Party which does not follow blindly in the ideology battle,gradually integrates in the international system standard, and pays great attention to the nationally essence benefit pursuit.While having firm will in their own reform, how to mold a security environment, and how to condense one to enable the economical and the national construction development atmosphere to be favorable, namely, in formulating a complete set for conforming to the fore-mentioned foreign relation policy. This is the positive impetus for the Chinese Communist Party in recent years to push “good-neighborly diplomacy” source.But a national foreign policy and the foreign system will often be influenced by this national traditionally political thinking. China is a country which has quite an inheritance of long history for several thousand years, and owns for a long time magnificent as well as the important position in the history. Then, how to seek an outlet in the future from the past experience seems to become the possible option. For more than past 2000 years, China has maintained quite an achievement in the East Asian region of long-term superiority and hegemony; which depends in the Confucianist method “ humanity” and “the kernel said that”, “reveres the king”, the thoughts which give rise to the system of paying tribute for the foreign policy. China constructs its maturity in diplomacy by means of undertaking international obligations,supplying the economic interests, transiting the civilized enlightenment and confidence in its own potentiality as well as development and so forth.The correspondence nowadays in the Chinese Communist Party good-neighborliness diplomacy stresses “friendly toward the neighbour countries”, “the partners to the neighbour countries”, and “being the responsible great nation”, to carry out “good-neighborliness, stabilized neighbour, and the rich neighbour” and so on. Such policy achievements resemble in the spirit and the strategy the past impels which are connected with their “tributary system”.In this article, we are attempting to observe and inquire into how the China’s foreign relation transform will probably influence its national interest in view of the construction of its tributary system and theory in previous dynasties and its economical development and difficulty in execution as well as the meaning and practice process in present Communist China’s good neighbourly diplomacy. Also,we are expecting to predict what kind of questions and difficult position which their policy execution of good-neighbourly diplomacy will face.

The main objective of this thesis is to map present system of business law in China, identify key factors, that formed and determine its present shape and compare theoretic form with reality, so that this thesis may become a basis for further exploring and studying of Chinese system of business law. The thesis is divided into four sections. Topic of the first section are sources of business law, their hierarchy and scope. Second part describes various types of business entities and their legal forms. Third part describes current state of contract law, while the fourth part studies various means of solving commercial disputes. Scope of this thesis does not cover business law in Taiwan and special administrative regions of Hong-Kong and Macau.