Magister Legum - LLM / South Africa

Magister Legum - LLM / The new Kenyan constitution has introduced an immediate monist approach of implementing international legal standards. Accordingly, the transformation from dual to monism will necessitate a discussion of theories of incorporation of international instruments into national laws. This will set the basis of what method Kenya should follow. This paper attempts to address potential procedural problems with implementing the Rome Statute in a new monist Kenya and will argue that as a precautionary measure during the country’s transition any deviation, by the court, from national law will require articulation and justification under an international framework. It will include a review of the Kenyan International Crimes Act 2003 (ICA) and its adoption into the domestic law of Kenya. It will also include examination of previous situations where domestic courts have applied international law standards in domestic trials before and after the monist Constitution of 2010. This paper aims at assessing the key challenges to the effective implementation of the Rome Statute in Kenya both objectively and substantively. It examines the challenges facing the Kenyan courts in relation to the exercise of universal jurisdiction and the criminalization of international crimes. It will seek to point out the weaknesses and conflict between the Kenyan constitution, The International Crimes Act and the Rome Statute. The ICA was silent on some aspects of the Rome Statute and the paper will attempt to discuss these issues and what they portend in the implementation of the Rome statute in monism. It will also discuss the effect of the new constitution on the practical operation of the Rome Statue. The operational capacity of institutions mandated with practical implementation of the Rome Statute will be examined. It will further seek to ascertain whether the laws and policies reflect Kenya’s commitment to international criminal justice. By way of conclusion, the paper will create a possible inventory of issues, which might arise in Kenya’s prosecution of International crimes under the Rome Statute, and suggestions on how such issues could best be addressed.

This study seeks to flesh out a theory of national application of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). It does so by seeking to provide an answer to the research question, ‘what is the proper role of the domestic courts in the application of the European Convention?’ By relying upon the examples of French, German, and UK law, the study argues that it is not true in descriptive terms, nor desirable in normative terms, that the domestic courts take an approach to the ECHR based upon friction and assertion of sovereignty. This study argues instead that domestic application of the ECHR is built on the attainment of certain aims. These aims are inferred, in the main, from the domestic courts’ jurisprudence, such as it relates to four central ECHR doctrines, and they are: the doctrines of evolutionary interpretation; proportionality; the margin of appreciation; and autonomous concepts. On the basis of an analysis of this jurisprudence, the four aims are identified as being, first, honouring the principle of pacta sunt servanda; secondly, the safeguarding of human rights based upon the insight that human rights are a paramount good to be pursued; thirdly, the aim of positive, as opposed to negative, rights diversity; and, fourthly, the aim that conclusions reached on the domestic level of one state must be capable of being universalized. The approach of the domestic courts to the application of the ECHR can be explained on the basis of the domestic courts’ wish to attain these four aims. The proper role played by the domestic courts, the study argues, is one in which they are willing to give a lead to Strasbourg as well as to be led, in both, to use the wording of the Preamble of the ECHR, ‘the maintenance’ and in the ‘further realisation’ of the Convention rights.

1 Abstract Spread of International Law into Decision-Making Practice of Domestic Authorities In principle international law does not impose its subjects how to achieve compliance with its international legal obligations within their jurisdiction. However, for the effectiveness of international law in each country it is the approach of legislative, executive and judiciary authorities to international obligations that is vital. The thesis focuses mainly on the judiciary, while the issues of international law application by the domestic courts have not yet been at full length described. Part One is an introduction which describes the subject of the work methodology and terminology used in its processing. The first main aim of the thesis was to examine in detail legal rules for the application of international law as they result from both constitutional and ordinary law. These rules constitute a framework within which institutions applying international law deal with it. The third part of the thesis is mainly dedicated to fulfilment of the first main aim, it is entitled The Current Application of International Law by National Authorities of the Independent Czech Republic and the Development of this Legislation. But partially also the second part, entitled Historical Development of Binding Force of International...

"The domestic courts have not been able to enforce international human rights in Mozambique and there are no institutions to address the concerns of victims of human rights abuses. A limited number of NGO's operating in the field of human rights play a role, which is not significant considering the number. Several factors, for example, the lack of knowledge of international human rights instruments by the people in charge of administration of justice such as judges, prosecutors, or even lawyers and legal assistants, may explain this. The present paper is an attempt to explore why the international human rights norms are not enforced in the Mozambican legal system; this will be done in a comparison with the situation [in] Ghana. ... This paper is structured in five chapters. Chapter one is the introductory chapter, it essentially introduces the topic, discusses the manner in which the research will be caried out, namely the methodological approach used, literature review, objectives of the study and its limitations, [and] last but not least, it outlines the research questions and the hypothesis. Chapter two gives the definitions of the main concepts used in this paper; it goes further in discussing the relationship between national law and international law focusing [on] the theories of monism and dualism. It also analyses the constitutional provisions dealing with international law in the Mozambican and Ghanaian legal order in the light of the monist and dualist theories. Chapter three discusses the sources of international human rights law and their implications [for] the enforcement of internationl human rights law in domestic courts. It goes further by discussing the principles governing domestic applicability of international human rights law and finally discusses the obstacles to the enforcement. Chapter four is the case study of this paper: it analyses how international human rights law is enforced by domestic courts in Mozambique and Ghana and several other aspects around the judiciary and the international human rights law training. Chapter five finally draws conclusions and gives recommendations on what should be done to ensure the enforcement of international human rights law in domestic courts." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Prepared under the supervision of Professor Kofi Quashigah at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Existing research on states and human rights focuses primarily on international treaty ratification, post-treaty rating systems, and ad hoc reports on adherence in individual countries. Additionally, the literature is characterized by disproportionate attention to certain rights to the neglect of others, thereby painting an incomplete and potentially inaccurate picture of a state’s practice and implementation of human rights. Consequently, the extant literature too frequently disregards key domestic and international factors as determinants of cross-national variation in the implementation and protection of human rights, and it instead generates paradoxical claims about human rights and state behavior. With Europe as its empirical focus, this study tests one assertion that state strength relative to societal actors impacts the frequency of cases heard at the European Court of Human Rights. Findings suggest that state strength indeed plays a role in the overall number of cases from member states in the European human rights system.