Within the framework of international trade liberalization which has given rise to considerable thought about the fundamental contribution of cultural diversity to sustainable development, we explore the upholding of the educational rights of recognized linguistic minorities and of the aboriginal and treaty rights of First Nations under the Constitution Act, 1982. We examine these rights in the light of relevant judgments of the Supreme Court of Canada in order to confirm our initial hypothesis that the highest court in the land can show governments here and abroad the steps to take to ensure that the cultural rights specific to some communities and the citizenship common to the population as a whole can coexist in a free and democratic nation. / Our analysis shows that, while relying on the historical, equality and cultural-based justification of the existence of these rights, the Court favours an approach centred on three fundamental principles: the duty of the State to act equitably in the "best interest" of cultural minorities through a flexible approach to the interpretation of established rights; a fair participation in the management of and access to resources by minority groups; and finally, the fostering of social cohesion in order for unity in diversity to be maintained through a reconciliation of existing rights which must be achieved, first and foremost, by political discussion aimed at finding durable solutions. / From a cultural sustainable development perspective, the specific cultural rights of minority groups must thus favour a common citizenship within a context of respect for cultural diversity, while still being compatible with and promoting the values of a liberal democracy.

This study first provides general background on the public education system of Quebec, and the Canadian and Quebec legal systems. Legal background information includes: the classification of Canadian laws; the Common Law and Civil Law traditions of law, and the definitions of sources of law of each tradition; Quebec's bijurisdictional legal system; the court system of Quebec; Constitutional sources of law; and, the role of the Judiciary in Canadian education. / This thesis is a documentary study of the sources of law which establish language of instruction rights in Quebec. Its purpose is to assist educators, students of education, and other lay persons of law to gain understanding of the legal bases upon which the Judiciary formulate decisions in matters of language of instruction. Common Law and Civil Law legislative and case law sources, which are applicable to Quebec, are identified and examined, and relevant sources presented. / In addition to providing a summary for Common Law sources, and for Civil Law sources, a chronological summary is given, which reveals six main periods in the development of language of instruction provisions in Quebec. / The conclusion is that the primary sources of law for language of instruction in Quebec are: s. 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867, and case law thereunder; and, the judicial interpretation and provisions of s. 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982. Future case law in Quebec may reveal s. 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982 to be the most significant source of law for the preservation of minority English language instruction, institutions, and rights of management and control.

This thesis examines creditors' use of the oppression remedy under the Canada Business Corporations Act and its provincial equivalents from historical and critical perspectives, assesses the consequences of the increasing willingness of Canadian courts to make the remedy available to creditors and concludes by offering some solutions to the problems that are identified. Part I traces the historical development of the oppression remedy, first in the United Kingdom and then in common law Canada. Next, the current state of the law relating to the oppression remedy is briefly examined, followed by a review of recent developments with respect to the use of the oppression remedy by creditors. Part II is a critical review of the evolving law with respect to creditors' use of the oppression remedy. This part of the thesis focuses on: (i) the relationship and potential conflict between the oppression remedy and other available remedies; and (ii) the impact of creditors' uses of the oppression remedy on the relationship between the corporation and its other stakeholders, including issues of shareholders' and directors' liability. In Part III, it is argued that the present use of the oppression remedy by creditors is not being developed in a coherent and principled manner. Certain guidelines are offered to provide the courts with reasonable controls on and principles to guide the use of the oppression remedy by creditors. In particular, it is argued that the oppression remedy should not be available to creditors when there are, either under corporate legislation or other, general legislation, appropriate remedies already available. The result would be that the oppression remedy should be available to creditors only in the limited category of cases where the creditor has no other effective remedy and the conditions for the use of the oppression remedy are met.

In the context of globalization, the idea of place is reputed to be losing its footing. This thesis explores the implications of these developments with respect to the way that place is constructed in law by focusing on tensions between the concept of jurisdiction and the ways that the contexts of law overspill it, threatening to engulf comparative analysis. Central to the idea that jurisdiction is losing its familiar moorings is the implication that other forms of thinking about legal normativity are emerging as more commonsensical alternatives to the state-based idea of jurisdiction that emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The thesis explores this hypothesis by bringing elements of the discipline of comparative law (conventionally state based) into play with elements of the discipline of legal anthropology (conventionally culture based). The focus for this theoretical intrigue is an Gitano population in the South of Spain that served as the fieldwork locale for seven months of ethnographic fieldwork carried out in 1995. Investigations are centered on the theme of family law. Familiar notions of state and culture, and the legal sensibilities associated with each, are examined through exploring the interplay between local expressions of Gitanitude in Jerez de la Frontera and regional, national, international, and global forces that structure legal sensibilities in the area. The first chapter explores the interplay by focusing on the context surrounding Spain's reforms to family law in the 1980s. The familiar frontiers of the state are prodded through this analysis. The second chapter then explores the frontiers of culture through an examination of a variety of expressions of Gitanitude in Spain. The third chapter brings modified versions of state and culture together in a reconceptualisation of family law. As a whole, the thesis suggests a new way of approaching the problematic relationship between context and the disciplines of comparative law an

This study documents a process of planned social change. In 1967, the Canadian government appointed the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (RCSW) following a campaign mounted by a coalition of women's groups to promote women's rights. The Commission helped to define the status of women as a legitimate social problem, recommended changes in social policy, and helped to mobilize a constituency which pressed the government to implement the recommendations. The existence of an organized and vocal women's movement strengthened the Commission's demand for "simple justice." / The Report of the Commission was tabled in 1970, and the government responded to it by creating a federal policy system for promoting women's rights. The study assesses the different outcomes of the 167 RCSW recommendations over a ten-year period and it discusses the relationships between the women's movement, a governmental commission of inquiry (RCSW), and public policy on the status of women in Canada.

Street children in Central America are largely denied protection of their human rights. They live in difficult situations of poverty, inappropriate work and neglect, and thus are not able to enjoy most of their rights and basic needs. / The international framework for children's human rights law, composed primarily of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the principles inherent to it, can be described as based on a doctrine of integral protection, a notion developed primarily by Central American legal scholars. At the same time, however, most Central American states ignore their obligations to conform their domestic legislation to these standards. / This thesis is meant to provide Central American countries with guidelines captured by a model referred to as UPPP2. Its main objective is for States to acknowledge that the plight of street children needs to be understood; prevented by adequate domestic legislation; and requires protection by effective implementation and provision of justice.

Typescript. / Bibliography: leaves 175-180. / Photocopy. / Microfilm. / xii, 180 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Child participation and the right of children to be heard in matters that directly affect them, including in judicial and administrative matters, is a right that is entrenched in a number of international and regional instruments. This right is also entrenched in the South African Constitution that provides for children to be legally represented, at State expense, in civil proceedings affecting them and this includes divorce proceedings. However, this constitutional right is limited to those circumstances where a substantial injustice would otherwise result should such legal representation not be afforded. This thesis examined how the voices of children can be heard during divorce proceedings and makes recommendations as to when children involved in divorce proceedings should be granted legal representation at State expense.

The main objectives of this study were to identify the role that customary law and traditional leadership can play, without compromising their current positions or future recognition through legislation, in creating a better life for their constituents. The study analysed diverse issues such as legislative reform, the future role and functions of traditional leaders, training needs of traditional leaders, and the impact of a possible lack of commitment by national and provincial government on the training of traditional leaders to fulfill their functions within the ambit of the Constitution.

The aim of this study was to critically examined the juvenile justice system with regard to the theory of restorative justice as a better alternative to the punitive system that recognizes the rights of children as human rights is in line with the convention on the rights of the child. This research looked at punishment as a penal option, which the court imposes on a person for committing a crime. By means of a case study with regards to the One Stop Youth Justice Centre in Port Elizabeth, this study argued that the restorative method of dealing with youth offenders is a better alternative in contrast to the punitive system.