Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS) / Fast track land reform in Zimbabwe has caused a raging debate drawing a lot of attention to the re-distribution programme. The invasion of commercial farms had a bearing on agricultural production, food security, security of tenure, rule of law and respect for property rights. This thesis examines the implications of such a frayed land reform resulting in strained donor and government relations. The crux of the argument is that land reform is harmful and damaging when the rule of law is flouted, directly impacting on social and power relations at grassroots level. These strained relations result from a lack of commitment by government, external donors and white commercial farmers to correct land injustices from the colonial period and ineffective agencies of restraint. This thesis will test these perceptions and views basing on the experiences of the grassroots people. It will also attempt to test whether the land question in Zimbabwe has finally been resolved or there are still aspects to it that need attention, since land reform is often viewed in moral and political terms. Was poverty alleviation prioritized in fast track land reform by giving land to the landless poor; to help redress population imbalances or meant to reward those who struggled for liberation? The thesis attempts to answer the question of ‘equity’ or restructuring of access over production and ownership of land. It then questions the equity trump card as touted by the government. Did the government commit another injustice while trying to redress past injustices by overlooking the rightful claimants in favour of entrenching state power? This thesis contributes to the raging debate on fast track land reform in Zimbabwe, using the case study of UMguza resettlement scheme.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The primary basis of this construction is that one of the roles of the judiciary is that of enhancing and protecting human rights. This is an important function which is best implemented through judicial independence. Across Africa and most notably in Zimbabwe, political interference has been noted as a factor that limits judicial independence. The judiciary‘s lack of independence has made it impossible for it to protect human rights in Zimbabwe. This signifies that a new approach to judicial protection of human rights in the country is required. Constitutional reform could be the appropriate legal tool to achieve this objective. Zimbabwe has undertaken constitutional reforms which may help in addressing the human rights situation in the country. These reforms have captured legal principles which will ensure an improvement in the human rights situation. Key to the reforms, has been the independence of the judiciary. The Constitution guarantees the independence of the judiciary. Despite such guarantees there are a number of challenges with regards to this independence. The aim of this research is to show what measures need to be taken for the judiciary to adequately protect human rights and to establish other measures that can be taken to address the human rights issues in Zimbabwe

La procéduralisation des droits substantiels est un phénomène désormais incontournable du système conventionnel qui ne cesse de se développer et de s’étendre. Néologisme d’origine doctrinale, cette notion semble pourtant difficilement saisissable. La procéduralisation des droits substantiels appelle en ce sens différentes interrogations liées tant à sa définition qu’à sesimplications pour le mécanisme conventionnel. Que désigne cette notion complexe et hétérogène ? Comment le juge a-t-il réussi à la mettre en place alors que ce procédé était initialement totalement absent du texte de la Convention ? À quoi est-elle destinée ? L’hypothèse retenue est que la procéduralisation des droits substantiels est une technique juridique spécifique au sein du mécanisme conventionnel, qui permet au juge d’atteindre une meilleure effectivité des droits. Toutefois, loin d’être limitée à ce seul cadre, la procéduralisation s’avère inscrite au contraire dans une dimension beaucoup plus vaste touchant à des aspects institutionnels en étant au service de la réalisation d’un projet politique particulier. / The “procéduralisation” - or procedural processing - of substantial rights has become an unavoidable phenomenon in the conventional system and it keeps growing and spreading. Originally a doctrinal concept, this neologism seems somehow hard to grasp. The “procéduralisation” of substantial rights raises many questions about both its definition and implications for the conventional process. What is this complex and heterogeneous notion refering to ? How did the judge succeed to establish it, whereas this process was initially totally ignored by the European Convention ? What is it intended for ? We argue that the “procéduralisation” of substantial rights is a specific legal technique in the European case law, which enables the judge to achieve a better effectiveness for the rights. Nevertheless, the “procéduralisation” is not bounded inside this framework, but has proven on the contrary to fit into a much wider dimension related to institutional questions, being dedicated to the fulfilment of a specific political project.

Over time, news about Africa has not been encouraging, whether in relation to poverty; incessant and sporadic conflicts; ineffective leadership; or in relation to the failure of the continent to develop in spite of the vast natural resources with which it is endowed. The failure of good governance in Africa epitomises the plight of the continent, and is the result of many factors including; diverse ethnic divisions across the continent, imposition of foreign systems through colonialisation, to name a few. This thesis also identifies an important factor which is the challenge to the rule of law on the continent. For the rule of law to be established in a society, the law first has to be an integral part of the society, and has to be legitimate, and internalised by the society. For laws and the law-making processes to be legitimate, there needs to be the consent and participation of the people which the law seeks to bind. This is lacking in most African countries where laws are often vestiges of the colonial era, and where the post-colonial law-making mechanisms have not induced confidence. These situations have led to a deficit in the legitimacy of the law in Africa, and the inability of such laws to structure and govern the people; because the people have more often than not been excluded from the law-making process, nor given their consent to be bound by the laws. The resultant effect of these realities is that the laws generally lack legitimacy and are adhered to only when sanctions are attached. This thesis investigates the Constitution as the foundational law in two former British colonies in Africa, namely Nigeria and South Africa and in particular, the way in which it is made; the resultant legitimacy, and the effects on the peoples’ response and interaction with the law. This is in order to draw a nexus between the lack of legitimacy of laws in Africa (as evidenced in the constitution making processes), and the challenges faced by the rule of law on the continent, using the cases of Nigeria and South Africa. / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Public Law / unrestricted

This treatise was undertaken to critically analyse the new general anti avoidance rules (new GAAR) as set out in sections 80A to 80L of the Income Tax Act1. A discussion on the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance was performed in the first chapter. The goals of this treatise were then set out. An analysis of the requirements for the application of the new GAAR was performed in the second chapter. The courts have historically reviewed the circumstances surrounding an arrangement when determining whether tax avoidance has occurred. The new GAAR requires the individual steps of an arrangement to be reviewed in isolation. Secondly, the courts have historically held that the purpose test, when determining the taxpayer‘s purpose, was subjective. The wording of the new GAAR indicates that this test is now objective. Thirdly, the courts have historically viewed the abnormality of an arrangement based of the surrounding circumstances. The wording of the new GAAR requires an objective view of the arrangement. An analysis of the secondary provisions contained in sections 80I, 80B and 80J of the new GAAR was performed in the third chapter. With regards to section 80B, it was submitted that the Commissioner should issue an Interpretation Note detailing all the methods ―he deems appropriate.

There are some conflicting arguments for the categorization of different variables considered to be important democratic components. On the one side there are those who are advocates for a distinction of a political order and a democratic political order where components such as rule of law resides in the political order. The other side argues that the substantive side has such a large effect on democracy that especially the variable of rule of law should be counted as a democratic political variable. The theoretical idea is that a primary political order is separate and enables the establishment of a democratic political order. What this study seeks to do is to analyze the effects of the two distinctions to determine if a separation of the two is the best option or if they should be merged into one singular distinction or dimension. The primary method for conducting the study is statistical analysis with quantitative data and the aim is to make a generalizable result and conclusion.

The thesis explains the need for a high level of transparency in the state administration on a concrete example of administrative practice - using of hedge commands by the financial administration. For explanation, the hedge command is is the ultima ratio tool in the area of the tax administration. The topic was widely publicized and, in particular, the cases of liquidation effects of the hedge commands on some entrepreneurs and cases where the courts decided against financial administration. The mistrust that has arisen in using of this tool is considered a public-political problem in the text. The thesis examines the trustworthiness of the state institution in connection with the degree of transparency. It deals with the influence of the bureaucracy on the state administration, with the accountability of the state officials and with the concept of good governance, on which the need for transparency proves. The multiple case study in the empirical part of the thesis presents five selected critical cases of the use of the hedge command, when the courts decided in favor of the companies. A document analysis was used to describe the cases, especially court judgments, also news and reports. The expert survey then offers a view of experts on the given issue. The primary data was obtained through eight...

Fundamental Questions of the Conception of Civil Procedure Abstract The dissertation deals with fundamental questions of the conception of civil procedure (civil contentious litigation). In order to deal with these questions, a system of fundamental questions is presented, serving as a prism for evaluation of the conception of the Czech civil procedure de lege lata and de lege ferenda. These fundamental questions are divided into fundamental questions of the conception of civil procedure largo sensu and stricto sensu. A deductive approached is employed, advancing the research from more general questions (i.e. inter alia character of contemporary democratic state based on rule of law and role of civil procedure within such state, a notion of civil procedure) to more particular questions (i.e. inter alia character of the relation between the court and the parties to the dispute, instruments of the court). The questions gradually narrow the space for the conceptions of civil procedure. Three general conceptions of civil procedure are distinguished. These are liberal, social and cooperative conceptions of civil procedure. Subsequently, special conceptions of civil procedure are distinguished, these do not deal with the relation between the court and the parties comprehensively (these are: conception based on...

The diploma thesis deals mainly with four topics - the rule of law, democracy, the democratic state governed by the rule of law and its real form in the Czech Republic during the global pandemic of COVID-19. The development of the rule of law, democracy and the democratic state governed by the rule of law continues and is influenced by the challenges that arise over time. The original formal conception of the rule of law was focused primarily on the observance of the rule of law, while the material conception already takes into account certain value aspects and fundamental human rights. Today's form of democracy differs significantly from its original ancient Greek definition. It was originally intended to be applied to small homogeneous units in which individuals would participate in voting on all important matters. Over time, however, it began to apply to large nation states, which required the adoption of the institute of council. A democratic state governed by the rule of law is a concept based on the dynamic balancing of the components between which a certain tension may arise. Its ideal is fulfilled by a situation where its individual aspects are continually improved in the most balanced way possible. All these the above-mentioned institutes have been affected by the global pandemic of...

Hong Kong, the Special Administrative Region under “one country, two systems”, is also one region that have been under two different rulers, which returned to China 1997 after 150 years of British colonial rule. The purpose of this study is to examine if the democracy in Hong Kong differs between British and Chinese rule. The empirical material about Hong Kong will be analysed through civil society, political society and through the rule of law under British and Chinese governance. With 23 years each, from the period 1974-2020, and with a theoretical framework of criteria needed to fulfill a democracy, this study will reach a conclusion. Although the British and the Chinese had different ways of governing Hong Kong, they both received the same level of democracy. / Statsvetenskapliga institutionen, Umeå Universitet