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The master graduation paper analyses the subject “Implementation of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the protection of National Minorities by the Republic of Lithuania”. The goal of the graduation paper is to define implementation problems of the Framework Convention and to find possible solutions. At the first chapter a problem of defining a national minority in the international law and domestic law of the Republic of Lithuania is discussed. Since there is no definition of a national minority in the international law, it is being identified through analysis of international documents, traveaux préparatoires, expert opinions and doctrine. It is also analysed, if a notion in the domestic law is compatible with a conception in the international law. At the second chapter the main provisions of the Framework Convention are overviewed. Rights and freedoms of persons belonging to national minorities are analysed according to the case-law of the Advisory Committee of Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. Due to this analysis the main problems of implementation of the Framework Convention by Member States are identified. Moreover, the best practises according to the opinion of the Advisory Committee are presented, which may be used while protecting national minorities in Lithuania. At the third chapter implementation of the Framework Convention by the Republic of Lithuania is discussed. According to the analysis of the Advisory Committee the main problems of... [to full text]

<p>The research conducted has been undertaken to engage the stakeholders to explore the possibility of establishing workplace forums. The gains of workplace forums with respect to sharing decision making is a distinct advantage both business and labour seemingly do not realise because of a continued resolve to negotiate conditions of service annually exclusively. The research was undertaken by designing an interview questionnaire for distribution. The population for this research includes a cross section of employers from the industry in the Western Cape, parties to the Hairdressing Beauty and Cosmetology Bargaining Council, the Employers Organisation and the Employees Organisation or Trade Union. The criteria set for the questionnaire anticipate responses of respondents to the challenges before and after the possible incorporation of section 84 of the Act Finally the research results indicate that the parties to a collective agreement in this industry still gravitate towards distributive collective bargaining by negotiating salaries, wages and conditions of employment in Bargaining Councils.</p>

The United Nations charter-based human rights apparatus has long been plagued by concerns of politicization. This pervasive issue first brought the demise of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2006 and led to the creation of an entirely new entity, the United Nations Human Rights Council, in the hope of answering the concerns of the international community. Although major reforms were undertaken, politicization is now once again cited as one of the main issues of the new Council. In this essay, we identify the source of politicization as the intergovernmental nature of these human rights bodies, and suggest that mitigation of this issue is possible through the reform of the Council’s membership. The creation of a mixed expert-state body will allow for a more functional, depoliticized body in the protection and promotion of human rights.

The United Nations charter-based human rights apparatus has long been plagued by concerns of politicization. This pervasive issue first brought the demise of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2006 and led to the creation of an entirely new entity, the United Nations Human Rights Council, in the hope of answering the concerns of the international community. Although major reforms were undertaken, politicization is now once again cited as one of the main issues of the new Council. In this essay, we identify the source of politicization as the intergovernmental nature of these human rights bodies, and suggest that mitigation of this issue is possible through the reform of the Council’s membership. The creation of a mixed expert-state body will allow for a more functional, depoliticized body in the protection and promotion of human rights.

The objective of this dissertation is to clarify Calvin's thought and attitude towards the papacy by tracing the development of his critique of the bishop of Rome throughout his career. Chapter One introduces the state of research on Calvin's critique of the papacy in the last century. This brief examination reveals that studies on Calvin's critique are hampered by a lack of historical treatment of the development of Calvin's thought as well as biased by the ecumenical assumptions of some of the researchers. Our thesis is that Calvin did reject the pope's primacy absolutely and this is based on the pope's relation to the true doctrine of the gospel and to Christ. This apparently simple conclusion, however, can only be arrived at by studying Calvin's thought in its historical development, exploring his attitude and the themes and reasons of his criticism of the papacy in each phase. Upon reading and rereading of Calvin' s works relating to his critique of the papacy the thesis organises Calvin's critique into five phases in which his conflicts with the papacy progresses from one stage to another. Chapter Two explores the earliest period of Calvin's reform career. It confirms not only that there were already latent conflicts in Calvin' s mind against the papacy, but also that the chief concerns evident in his later critique of the papacy were already present. Chapter Three studies how Calvin came into open conflicts with the papacy through his correspondence with his friend du Tillet and Cardinal Sadoleto. It also recounts how Calvin reshaped the purpose of his 1536 Institutio to enable editions from 1539 onwards to become a theological platform against his opponents. Chapter Four investigates how Calvin's conflicts with the papacy intensified. It demonstrates the importance of Calvin's participation in the colloquies of 1540-41 for leading the reformer to concentrate his effort to refute the primacy of the Roman see. This reaches its fulfilment in his publication of the highly important 1543 Institutio in which Calvin rejects the primacy of the pope comprehensively. Chapter Five examines a stage of climactic conflicts. It culminates in his unforgiving rejection of the pope in his Antidote to the Council of Trent. But this stage also reveals surprising information about Calvin's 'concessions' to the papacy, yet without compromising his consistent rejection of papal primacy. Chapter Six delineates the limits of Calvin's ecumenical vision and recounts the unbending attitude of the reformer towards the pope at the end of his life. In all these chapters we find consistent reasons explaining Calvin's absolute rejection of the primacy of the pope. At the same time we also detect that there is a form of papacy that could have been acceptable to Calvin. Therefore in the last chapter, apart from linking up the connections of Calvin' s criticism of the papacy in its historical development, a theological interpretation is given of the complexities of these seemingly incompatible ideas, and we also attempt to draw out the ecumenical implications of Calvin's criticism.

This thesis comprises four empirical papers, each devoted to a specific topic in local political economics. Paper one and two evaluate the importance of the mayor position to the future electoral success of the mayor’s party. In the first paper, the focus is on the party’s electoral outcome in subsequent mayoral elections, while the second paper is concerned with the interdependencies between the mayor’s office and elections on other levels of government. The third paper investigates the causal effect of individual parties on policy in the context of German town council politics. The objective is to measure the impact of political representation in a proportional election system on core fiscal decisions of the municipalities. The final paper studies the specific concerns when using population thresholds in regression discontinuity designs for causal inference (in the German case). The analysis reviews the German evidence on the link between the size of the legislation and government spending. / <p>Diss. Stockholm :  Stockholm School of Economics, 2011. Introduction together with 4 papers.</p>

South Africa faces major challenges for public service delivery to its citizens. It is crucial to monitor service delivery needs through effective governance and service administration. Local government is the key functionary of the delivery and development of transformational South Africa. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) is a conditional grant to municipalities and it complements the equitable share grant for local government. South African municipalities participating in the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) programme are required to establish or share project management units (PMUs). The former Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) issued guidelines known as MIG Guidelines (2004) for the establishment of the PMUs. The Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework (MIIF) covers the maintenance of roads. The framework for the delivery of municipal infrastructure is based on Chapter 3, section 41 (j) of the Constitution. The purpose of this study is to explore the functioning of the PMU on the basis of the theories of project management and the MIG Guidelines, and to identify its service delivery function with regard to road maintenance. The main contribution of this study is to provide a framework and guidelines for the PMU to extend its further development with regard to the maintenance of roads. / Thesis (Master of Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

South Africa faces major challenges for public service delivery to its citizens. It is crucial to monitor service delivery needs through effective governance and service administration. Local government is the key functionary of the delivery and development of transformational South Africa. The Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) is a conditional grant to municipalities and it complements the equitable share grant for local government. South African municipalities participating in the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) programme are required to establish or share project management units (PMUs). The former Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) issued guidelines known as MIG Guidelines (2004) for the establishment of the PMUs. The Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework (MIIF) covers the maintenance of roads. The framework for the delivery of municipal infrastructure is based on Chapter 3, section 41 (j) of the Constitution. The purpose of this study is to explore the functioning of the PMU on the basis of the theories of project management and the MIG Guidelines, and to identify its service delivery function with regard to road maintenance. The main contribution of this study is to provide a framework and guidelines for the PMU to extend its further development with regard to the maintenance of roads. / Thesis (Master of Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.