To overcome gender bias and long-standing inequalities, more than 110 countries worldwide are reported to practice gender quotas in some form. Nonetheless, electoral quotas are not uncontroversial, despite their political appeal and common adoption. Critics note that such measures run a danger of bringing to office individuals who lack the necessary qualifications and who may then be easily manipulated. Supporters in comparison argue that empowering members of groups who have historically been disadvantaged can result in more inclusive processes of policy-making - drawing in those previously excluded and enhancing the universality of legislative perspectives. This can change the outcomes from political decision-making to the extent that it improves access to public goods by those who had earlier been excluded or marginalised. The majority of comparative literature on women’s representation has argued that more inclusive and diverse legislatures are fundamental for the democratic legitimacy of elected bodies, primarily because they provide a voice for historically underrepresented groups. Studies also suggest that female participation in legislative processes helped to overcome gender bias in access to specific services and that female legislators tended to allocate more funds to causes important to women. In light of these arguments, the question remains one to discuss and opine on: are specific gender quotas the adequate instrument to give women access to power in order to achieve the ultimate goal of gender equal participation in decision-making processes? Furthermore, this dissertation aims to answer the question whether electoral gender quotas have an impact on policy outcomes enhancing women’s life and on women’s representation in a broader sense.

Includes bibliographical references. / The paper's aim is to convey an understanding of the complex interface between the Brussels I Regulation and arbitration and to analyse and evaluate possible ways to improve their interaction. In doing so, it gives at first a brief overview about the history and the scope of the Brussels I Regulation and about the laws most important to arbitration. Moreover, the reasons behind the exclusion of arbitration from the Brussels I Regulation will be explained. Following, the paper points out the interface between the two fields and illustrates the problems which occur in this context and how the courts and academia have responded. The proposed changes from the Heidelberg Report on the Green Paper to the recently published Proposal will be introduced and finally evaluated. The paper will end with a concrete suggestion on how the Brussels I Regulation should be amended in order to keep the attractiveness of the EU countries as a place of arbitration.

Includes bibliographical references. / It is most appropriate to open an exploration of the human rights of older persons with the poignant words of Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations, in a statement to the Second World Assembly on Aging in Madrid: I turned 64 today. I therefore feel empowered to quote a Beatles' song that asks, on behalf of all older persons, and I quote: Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64? I trust the answer is yes, older people will be provided for, and yes, older people will be needed in the twenty-first century.

The quest for 'security' and the practices aimed at creating this on a literal and a figurative level is a common human striving. The people whom we task and entrust with providing this security are increasingly part of a combination of both public police and private security agents. Whilst the public police have been the focus of a large body of research, the volume of research in the field of private security is relatively thin. Given the robust growth of the private security sector in both developed and developing countries, combined with the dearth of research involving fieldwork in the private security industry, this research aims to fill a part of this knowledge gap. Specifically, this dissertation aims to address an even less-investigated research question - that of how the providers of private security think about and undertake their work of creating 'security'. In other words, it explores their mentalities. This exploration of the mentalities of those who provide private security will be undertaken through an exploratory case study, using the concept of nodal governance as the framing analytic. This case study focusses on a suburban security company operating in the southern suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa.

The history of land dispossession in South Africa affected communities in the former homelands in multiple ways. The laws used to implement policies of segregation and dispossession undermined the rights to land held by black South Africans living in the countryside. Women living in these communities suffered under the dual burden of diminished status in the eyes of the law and landlessness. This history has shaped the current reality of women living on communal land in rural South Africa and has influenced the development and security of their land rights. In the context of a Constitutionally protected right to secure tenure, this dissertation discusses relevant literature, past legislative interventions and present-day laws, bills and policies in order to foreground the powerful role of framing in determining whose land rights are recognised and protected. Drawing on further literature and empirical research I discuss the interaction between top down approaches to framing laws and the assignment of status, an aspect that is crucial for black women. I discuss this alongside the lived experiences of women claiming residential land in a rural Eastern Cape community in order to foreground the inherent shortcomings of such top down approaches and their inability to fully recognise and protect the land rights of rural women.

Includes bibliographical references. / “Section 4 in the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (the PAJA) is a great achievement for South African administrative law, and its very presence in the PAJA is likely to have a positive effect on the rate and quality of participation in administrative decision-making. Despite the accuracy of this statement, how costly is public participation to efficient administrative action? In terms of section 4 of the PAJA, in cases where an administrative action materially and adversely affects the rights of the public, to give effect to the right to procedurally fair administrative action, an administrator, must decide whether to hold a public inquiry, follow a notice and comment procedure, follow both a public inquiry and notice and comment procedure, or where an administrator is empowered by any empowering provision, follow a procedure which is fair but different or to follow any procedure that gives effect to section 3 of the PAJA. However, if reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances, an administrator may depart from the requirement to involve the public in the administrative decision. In determining whether a departure from the public participation procedure is reasonable and justifiable, several factors must be taken in account; one such factor is the need to promote an efficient administration and good governance. To what degree should the public accept this departure? The PAJA’s preamble sets out its purpose, which is to promote an efficient administration and good governance, and create a culture of accountability, openness and transparency in the public administration. It can thus be said that an efficient administration is an important aspect of just administrative action. This paper considers the instances where public bodies departed from the requirements of section 4 of the PAJA through a proper assessment of case law and case studies. It considers practical examples of administrative action by South African public entities and instances where the public participation process affected the efficiency of the administrator and the consequences thereof. This paper seeks to answer the question ‘Why is creating a culture of transparency and public participation so important to lawful, reasonable and procedural fair administrative action?’

This paper seeks to investigate the legal structures and sources which provide for the obligations of the state to facilitate public participation in the realisation of socio-economic rights. The paper further explores the different interpretations of the notion of public participation in an attempt to critique and interrogate which kind of public participation actually allows for communities to meaningfully participate in the processes of the state to realise socio-economic rights. The paper will argue that the effectiveness of the state in facilitating public participation in its affairs depends on the notion of public participation adopted in a particular state. It will further argue that the effectiveness of such participation by communities is dependent on the understanding that meaningful spaces for participation occur through power contestations. Participation may mean very little for the realisation of socio-economic rights if the power of the state over citizens is not challenged and contested in spaces of participation. The paper will argue that for public participation to be meaningful in the realisation of socio-economic rights, it needs to occur in spaces in which the state will not have too much power over citizens to an extent that their participation is just for display. It will further argue that it is how people are perceived by the state and how they perceive themselves as citizens which determines their ability to challenge the state's power in spaces of participation. When communities are treated as citizens because of the rights they have, public participation processes to discuss the provision of basic services are then facilitated with the understanding of how communities can partner with the state with influence and power that is required to take decisions to realise their rights. It is submitted that part of the frustration with the exclusion in spaces where socio-economic rights enforcement decisions are taken is created by how South Africans as citizens are not always treated as rights bearers who can challenge the state. The exclusion of communities from planning for service delivery by the state has become internalised by some communities as part of the rules of the game of governance. Such internalised exclusion is a major contributing factor in the increased frustration with slow service delivery and a government that is unaccountable to the people. The paper will argue that for public participation to be an effective tool in the realisation of socio-economic rights taking into account the theories of power, space and citizenship there is a need for public education on how communities can demand a responsive behaviour from the state beyond protests. There is further need for state officials for example to attend workshops on their obligations to facilitate public participation in planning for the realisation of socio-economic rights when they take office. The paper will further argue that, in order for public participation to be effective in contributing to the realisation of socio-economic rights, Chapter 9 institutions also need to play a more active and visible role in communities and assist to hold the state accountable to facilitate public participation as that is one of the most important factors in the realisation socio-economic rights. The paper will argue that, although public participation is but one tool in the arsenal of tools to facilitate the realisation of socio-economic rights, it is important for many reasons. It is important for the manner in which it creates a space for decisions to be taken in an inclusive manner. The involvement of communities in the decision making processes of the state also legitimises the decisions so taken. Meaningful and inclusive public participation allows for a situation in which various options are put on the table in dialogues between the state and communities so that when a particular outcome is reached it could be what is best for those communities as other perspectives are heard and discussed.

One of the hallmarks of the last decade has undoubtedly been the rise to prominence of a group of five emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - that have come to be known collectively as the ‘BRICS bloc'. As a direct result of the increasingly prominent role of the BRICS bloc in global politics and economics, there has been a consequent increasing demand for improved infrastructure within these rapidly industrialising powers. This has compelled multilateral development banks to develop innovative funding solutions. Among these mechanisms is project finance, a relatively novel legal and financial structure typically used to fund public and private capital-intensive facilities and utilities. Multilateral development banks' (MDBs) participation in large-scale public-sector infrastructure projects financing is primarily governed by the loan agreements they conclude with governments, other financial institutions, and private sector entities. However, projects of this nature have predictably widespread effects, particularly on stakeholders not party to the contractual scheme – they frequently involve resettlement of local populations, transformation of indigenous lands, deforestation, pollution, and employment of labour for heavy industrial tasks. This far-reaching impact has necessitated increased accountability for MDBs' financing practices, particularly where the actions of MBD lenders impact on human rights and have broader social and environmental effects. This thesis examines two mechanisms to achieve accountability. The first of these solutions lifts the veil and entails reconceptualisation of how MDBs are held accountable at domestic level by reconfiguring the role of domestic judicial forums. The second is the formation of what is termed an independent ‘super mechanism', an international body which would be created by agreement among all participating multilateral development banks and would serve to provide effective oversight and enhanced accountability. This thesis ultimately focuses on advancing a novel contribution on the establishment of a super mechanism and it does so with reference to the interface between global administrative law principles and domestic administrative law principles. It addresses how supranational regulatory mechanisms should render the exercise of discretion and authority at the international level more transparent and accountable for the benefit of stakeholders in the developing world. The thesis formulates four benchmark criteria against which the development of an effective and successful super mechanism should be measured, it should: (i) be empowered with jurisdiction to conduct comprehensive investigations; (ii) provide remedies that are effective; (iii) be empowered to monitor and enforce remedies and corrective measures at MDBs; and (iv) operate in a manner that does not directly or indirectly contribute to undermining the national sovereignty of developing states. The thesis takes this further by examining how a super mechanism aligns with the core objectives and values of the BRICS bloc, and then advances a proposal to establish a BRICS super mechanism. It does this with reference to the practical challenges that may arise around the implementation of a BRICS-specific super mechanism, and it interrogates measures that the bloc has already implemented that may mitigate some of the theorised challenges.

This thesis examines the interface between development policy and the regulation of environment and climate change in developing countries, focusing on Malawi, its relevant policy and legislation. The central argument is that development, as adopted in Malawi and elsewhere in the developing world, carries power and knowledge asymmetries that structure risks and marginalises those on the periphery of policy discourse. As one commentator has observed, to be developed is to be enslaved by these discourses, including by the regulatory architecture that anchor these development narratives. This has negative implications for the application of equity norms despite its recognition in the Malawi Constitution as the basis for policy making. The thesis observes that a majority of people are marginalized and immiserated by the geographies and histories of vulnerability associated with dominant development paradigms. The applicable regulatory frameworks are not able to address this inequity primarily because they serve these paradigms. The climate change phenomenon has further exposed and exacerbated the limitations of the regulatory framework to deliver equitable development. But it has also provided an opportunity to address marginalisation mainly because the climate problem threatens all sectors regardless of interests, geography or history and, consequently, requires equity to be at the centre of the policy response. The thesis argues that in the Malawian context, a primary consideration in the design of a responsive environment and climate change regulatory framework is to understand and apply the development ethos as an empowering commitment based on the humanity and dignity of all Malawians as the Malawi Constitution mandates. Such an understanding of development essentially prioritizes the welfare and interests of the individual, the community and the state. The thesis highlights the utility of the right to development and its ethical, social justice and moral imperatives to reimagine human rights as ethical demands, rather than the current reliance on the juridical model. The thesis calls upon environmental human rights discourse to embrace equity norms and focus on those who are marginalized and vulnerable rather than the dominant juridical model of human rights jurisprudence that focuses on individual entitlements. The thesis further argues that the climate change problem has the potential to facilitate diverse participation in environmental regulation by emphasising the development losses associated with climate change. Focussing on climate justice can infuse equity norms to facilitate responsive environment and climate change regulation. It can also give voice to environmental institutions and galvanize regulatory capacity across sectors that have been marginalised in development regulation. The thesis argues that policy and legislation must address epistemic injustices inherent in the dominant development and environmental governance paradigms by engagement and contestation with lived realities of affected communities. This requires new ways of making policy and legislation which go beyond constituency representation and harnessing living customary norms that recognize and respond to geographies and histories of marginalisation and vulnerabilities.

Article 26(4) of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees the right to abortion in these circumstances: ‘where there is danger to the life of the mother; where there is danger to the health of the mother; if there is need for emergency treatment of any kind; and if allowed by any other written law.' Accordingly, this dissertation argues that the jurisprudence of international and regional human rights bodies demonstrates that the right to abortion is a justiciable human right. Therefore, it probes whether Kenya is honouring her state obligation to respect, promote and fulfil the right to abortion as a human right as guaranteed in the Constitution and international law obligations. Furthermore, it analyses Kenyan law and policy on the right to abortion and assesses whether Kenya's law on abortion is a barrier to the effective realization of the right to abortion. To investigate whether safe abortion is accessible to Kenyan women and a realizable human right in Kenya, the dissertation examines the Constitution, legislation and government policies on access to abortion vis-à-vis the reality and experiences of Kenyan women accessing safe abortion. The dissertation finds that the subsisting contradiction between the constitution and the penal code provisions on access to abortion reinforced by inconsistent policies from the government of Kenya continues to exacerbate unsafe abortion in Kenya thus hindering the effective realisation of the right to abortion in Kenya. The study compares how South Africa, has implemented its progressive law on the right to abortion and the insights that Kenya could draw from the South African experience.The study concludes by appealing to Kenya to ensure the effective realisation of the right to abortion by revoking the punitive clauses of the penal code, aligning laws and government policies with Article 26(4) of the Constitution, enacting the Reproductive Healthcare Bill that will expand access to abortion and educating Kenyans on the current permissive legal provisions on access to safe abortion.