This thesis deals with a very important issue in government, i.e. the process of procuring goods and services. The state is the biggest consumer of goods and services in South Africa and with the increasing privatisation of government services, the ambit of procurement is expanding.<br /> <br /> Government procurement is afforded constitutional status in South Africa. Section 217 of the Constitution provides that the state must contract for goods or services in a manner which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. This does not prevent the state from using procurement as a policy instrument, i.e. to, for example, address past discriminatory policies and practices. Legislation must furthermore be enacted to make provision for the use of procurement as a policy tool.<br /> <br /> A number of statutes have been enacted to reflect the constitutional status of government procurement in South Africa. In addition to these statutes, government procurement decisions and procedures are regulated by the common law, in particular, the law of contract and the law of delict. The general rules of constitutional and administrative law also apply to government procurement.<br /> This thesis evaluates the way in which the legal regime in South Africa collectively gives effect to section 217 of the Constitution. First, the constitutional standard against which the elements of the legal regime can be measured is set out. In doing so, meaning is given to the different principles in section 217 (fairness, equity, transparency, competitiveness and cost-effectiveness) and attention is given to the legal nature of the principles and the relationship that exists between the different principles. The focus then shifts to how the principles are given effect to in legislation / how the courts give meaning to the different principles / whether there is compliance with the principles throughout the procurement process, i.e. from the time that the decision is made to procure goods or services until the conclusion of a contract and completion of contractual performances / and whether adequate provision is made for the effective enforcement of the principles in practice.<br /> <br /> It is argued that aside from a few shortcomings, the legal regime in South Africa generally gives adequate effect to section 217 of the Constitution. Not only has the procurement procedures and decisions of the state been constitutionalised, section 217 can be said to capture the most essential elements of a good procurement system. The principles of fairness, transparency and value for money, in particular, are generally regarded as the cornerstone of good procurement practices. The principles in section 217 will furthermore form part of South Africa&rsquo / s government procurement system for a very long period of time. The state will therefore always have to take serious account of the principles in section 217 and ensure compliance therewith.

The judiciary in Kenya has been progressively viewed as subservient to the executive, an upholder of state power and a poor protector of citizens’ rights. The rejection of the judiciary as an independent and impartial arbiter of disputes was a major contributor to the post-election violence experienced in December 2007 which resulted in anarchy and massive loss of lives and property. This thesis contends that there is a contextually symbiotic link between separation of powers, judicial independence and the rule of law. While focusing on the relationship between the judiciary and the executive, the research highlights the dangers of failure to maintain the appropriate balance of power between the executive, judiciary and the legislature, its ramifications to judicial independence and the rule of law. By analysing secondary data and using Kenya as a case study, this relationship is chronologically traced from the pre-colonial, colonial, independence and post-independence periods. An examination of successive constitutions exposes gaps and weaknesses in constitutional provisions guaranteeing judicial independence. Instances of violation are discussed with examples as confirmation that such protection was minimal, weak and not respected in practice. A high degree of executive intrusion, influence and control was evident inter alia in appointments, removal, funding and administration. Cumulatively, these factors contributed to the erosion of personal and institutional independence leading to drastic loss of confidence. Opportunities in terms of implemented reforms, especially the newly promulgated Constitution of Kenya 2010 are scrutinised. The thesis concludes that even though complete independence from the executive cannot be achieved nor is it desirable, more robust constitutional protection of judicial independence, coupled with a high degree of autonomy can be a strong guardian against violation. New threats are discovered. Further research, constitutional amendments and use of non-legal initiatives are proposed as key for future judicial reform.

Afrikaans text. / Public, Constitutional, and International / LLM

Text in Afrikaans / Constitutional, International and Indigenous Law / LLM

In this thesis I argue that First Amendment free speech and exercise claims do not grant religious business owners the ability to bypass statutes that prohibit discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity grounds in areas of public accommodations. My arguments focus on the constitutional claims made in the case Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Furthermore, I determine that Congress can rely on both the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment to pass legislation that prohibits discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity grounds in areas of public accommodations. I argue that despite the Court’s holding in the Civil Rights Cases, Congress can regulate discrimination by private actors, not just state sponsored discrimination, through the Fourteenth Amendment. I analyze the potential avenues religious business owners can use to undermine both state and federal antidiscrimination statutes and have their discriminatory practices legally sanctioned. I conclude by arguing that religious exemptions do not belong in antidiscrimination statutes.

The scholarly consensus on the political foundations of independent constitutional review – that it invariably stems from electoral and inter-branch competition – has been weakened by recent empirical discoveries which demonstrated that constitutional courts in a number of authoritarian states are actually more activist than previously assumed. This dissertation examines this phenomenon using the case of Hong Kong, an authoritarian polity first under the sovereignty of Britain and then of China. It is widely believed that the competence of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal – a cosmopolitan common law final appellate court – to strike down legislative and executive acts, and its ability to induce the regime’s compliance with its rulings, is intrinsic to the Basic Law, just as it is in liberal democracies. Nevertheless, two interrelated anomalous phenomena – the Court’s repeated issuance of activist rulings with near-complete impunity, and the continuing forbearance of China’s foremost constitutional authority, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), faced with the Court’s aggressive assertions – necessitates careful explanation. This dissertation proposes an explanatory Constitutional Investment Theory, which highlights the similarities between “investment” in constitutional review and investment in financial assets, to explain the activation, consolidation, and ascendancy of independent constitutional review in authoritarian settings. It shows how strong incentives to signal its ideological commitment to the “One Country, Two Systems” scheme, both internationally and domestically, first drove the NPCSC to acquiesce in the Court’s self-aggrandisement; how internal divisions within and external opposition to the Hong Kong regime have rendered retaliation a costly option; and how the Court’s strategic resolution of the Basic Law’s ambiguities has encouraged continuous political investment in its jurisdiction and autonomy. Altogether, these have contributed to the formation of a dynamic equilibrium of constitution control, under which the Court and the NPCSC dynamically developed their own jurisprudence within their respective bailiwicks.

The dynamic interpretation of EU citizenship as a 'fundamental status of all Member State nationals' has opened the door for more horizontal conceptions of equality in European Union law. At the same time, the meaning and purpose of equal treatment in the case of economically inactive and dependent EU citizens has remained ambiguous. The objective of this study is to clarify what normative justifications, other than to eradicate the obstacles to the internal market, can be offered for more just and equal relationships between EU citizens within the existing constitutional order of the EU. What defines EU citizenship as an equal status is how those individuals who hold this status are treated in relation to one another. The thesis discusses in detail how the rationale for discrimination analysis under Article 18 TFEU has changed in parallel with the evolution of EU citizenship. The question of how unlawful discrimination differs from legitimate differential treatment under the so-called 'real link' case law leads to a more theoretical question of what philosophical justifications underlie the EU principle of equality. The democratic theory of equality is used to support the argument that the current bias in favour of 'activity' at the expense of ‘status’ in EU equality law is rooted in a narrow and individualistic view of agency. The thesis, then, argues that recognizing the inherent connection between EU citizens' agency and their subjectivity can provide a justification for a more relational conception of equality even in the absence of a full democratic pedigree in EU law. This analysis contributes a perspective which is usually not there by examining how EU citizenship can benefit from the psycho-dynamic theories of subjectivity that underlie the feminist critique of 'citizenship as agency'.

La structure de la réglementation des valeurs mobilières au Canada fait périodiquement l'objet d'un débat public et une des questions sous-jacentes est celle du partage des compétences législatives prévu par la Constitution canadienne. Le débat a été relancé en 2003 par la recommandation d'un comité de personnes averties de centraliser cette réglementation au fédéral. Les provinces, sauf l'Ontario, demeurent opposées à l'idée, préférant plutôt l'harmonisation réglementaire. Pour alléger le fardeau réglementaire des émetteurs, elles tentent également de mettre en oeuvre un « régime de passeport ». Ce débat présente la question comme un jeu à somme nulle, occultant ainsi certains principes fondamentaux du fédéralisme: innovation provinciale dans une union économique nationale. Dans ce mémoire, nous proposons donc une structure réglementaire, basée sur la théorie de la concurrence intergouvernementale, qui s'harmonise avec les compétences du gouvernement fédéral et des provinces tout en optimisant leurs atouts respectifs. / Public debate over the structure of Canada's securities regulation occurs periodically, with the constitution al division of powers being one of its underlying issues. The debate was reignited in 2003 when a Wise Persons Committee recommended that securities be regulated centrally by the federal government. The provinces, other than Ontario, maintain their opposition to this proposai, seeking instead regulatory harmonization. To alleviate the regulatory burden on issuers, the provinces are also implementing a "passport system". However, the debate appears to present the alternatives as a zero-sum game, thereby overlooking some of federalism's fundamental principles: provincial innovation, within a national economic union. This thesis proposes a regulatory structure, based on the theory of intergovernmental competition, that remains in harmony with the constitutional powers of the federal government and the provinces, while optimizing their respective strengths.

Resume The goal of this paper is to describe the situation of churches and religious societies with respect to the legal system, through the changes that affected the Czech legal systém throughout the recent half of the century. Because it is impossible to fully deal with the entirety of the history of state and law over the century, it will focus on the developments during the totalitarian regime of the Communist party and on the results thereof. The main goal is therefore to make a comparison, this will be a comparativistic endeavor, and there will not only statutes and legal documents be described, but also the practical applications of these statutes and documents, and there will be focus on theoretical and constitutional basis behind the laws. Unfortunately, with the constrains of the current format, it is impossible to fully describe even one era of Czech statehood, therefore there will be an arbitrary selection of topics on which the facts will be demonstrated and from which they will be extrapolated. The other topics will only be adressed to in a general manner. Also, it is not possible to include in full the divergent approaches of law towards the various individual churches. Some of those differences can be shown, in part, but not all of them, fully. The paper therefore needs to focus of one...

It is often accentuated - not only by legal scholars, but also by political scientists - that law, politics, and society in the modern West have been marked by the increasing power of the judge. Therefore in my thesis I have decided to describe the current problems in the constitutional judiciary, including the issue of the so-called goverment of judges (or judicial tyranny) and the role of constitutional courts and judges in modern society. Needless to say, my work is based on extensive use of the fundamental book "Constitutional Courts and Democratic Values: A European Perspective" written by Victor Ferreres Comella, which provides the most detailed analytic description of the centralized model of constitutional review currently available. My thesis consists of an introduction, four chapters and a final conclusion. In the first chapter, the history of Czechoslovak and Czech constitutional judiciary is described from the beginning in the 1920s to the birth of the Czech Republic in the 1990s. In the second part of my thesis, the models of constitutional judiciary in contemporary world in brief are dealt with. French, American and German model are characterized and the specific way in which they function is investigated. In the third chapter I focus on the so-called problem of judical republic,...