The problem The purposes of this study were (1) to review the history of school-district recall laws in California, (2) to enumerate the legal steps in the recall process, (3) to survey a school district where recall election had taken place, and (4) to present community feelings and effects. Procedure A search was made of all laws and official records pertaining to school trustees' recall elections in California. A questionnaire designed to elicit respondent attitudes and feelings was mailed to all who voted in the school district recall election of December 3rd, 1970. A preliminary number of questionnaires were mailed first to determine the quality of the questionnaire and responses. Post office boxes were rented in the two most popular communities for a better percentage response. Within two weeks after the complete mailing of questionnaires, 33 percent returns were received. The responses to the twenty questions were then tabulated with explanations of each. The open-end questions, to supplement the overall analysis of the survey, and a map of the school district showing voting precincts, percentage graphs, and other relevant information giving a cross reference to the tabular aspect of the survey were used. Findings Selected findings are: 1. The California State Legislature developed a body of law to remove members of school district trustees by recall. 2. Procedures for initiating a recall movement are set down by state law in both the election and school codes. 3. A few highly motivated, well-organized people can initiate a successful recall election. 4. In a small school district with small populated communities, a word-of-mouth, door-to-door campaign by proponents of a recall, can win an election. This method is considerably more effective than any media. 5. Proponents of a recall movement generally put forth considerably more effort than do opponents. 6. Older people are more interested in School Board of Trustee recall elections than younger people. 7. That after a two-year elapse of a successful recall movement the feelings of discontent and suspicion toward members of the school board are still evident. Conclusions 1. Electors in a newly created city located within an old established school district might be more apt to initiate a recall movement than those of an older town. 2. Any area within a school district voting a very high percentage in favor of the recall can win the recall election. 3. School board members up far recall were not well known by the majority of the electors. 4. Removing members’ f'rorn a school board by recall, where exact reasons were in doubt, has lasting effects in the school district. Recommendations 1. All members of a School Board of Trustees should make themselves and their actions known in the district in order to eliminate the necessity for recall. 2. Issues in a recall movemeny should be completely explained to the voters especially by members up for recall. 3. School-board members should be positively responsive to new land and housing developments within the school district. 4. A non-partial committee, possibly from the State Department of Education, be formed to recommend steps that might be taken by a community and school district to eliminate the necessity of a recall election. 5. Leaders of all communities should be encouraged to attend school-board meetings regularly to recognize school problems as they develop and search for means of solutions. Critique Research information on this subject is limited. However, this dissertation points out that recall of School Board of trustees in California is of importance. Because a community can initiate recalls, changes within a school district may take such a form that could drastically reshape the whole school program.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) involves striving for balance between environmental, social and economic performances of business. Encouraged by growing pressure for transparency and accountability in business, CSR constitutes an overall contribution of business to sustainable development; hence, healthy business requires a healthy community. The research asks if the law can assist CSR to deliver sustainable development to the underdeveloped but oil-rich Niger Delta, establishing areas of good practice whereby oil companies support the region's economy and social needs through their CSR activities. However, regulations do bring about social change thus business are obliged to obey the laws, codes of good practice and initiatives. Although CSR is not business' primary responsibilities, business can encourage poverty reduction and societal development. The analysis of Nigerian oil production laws reveals that court interpretations regarding rising number of oil-related litigations and procedures of settlements, neglects of oil commuities and compensation payments have become difficult. While the outcomes of Joint Venture Arrangement (JVAs) crucially affect CSR performance, the need for reforms is necessary. Using the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) criteria, the analysis of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC)'s CSR performance in Nigeria reveals that while improvements are needed in some areas including envitonmental and human rights protections, consultation and dialogue, overall, the research shows that the company positively affects the region. The research establishes that through effective enforcement, the law can assist CSR to deliver sustainable societal development. It is concluded that until CSR is made compulsory supported by legislations to guide businesses, the full gains of CSR cannot be achieved. Hence, the research offers a detailed novel definition of CSR to make businesses become more liable as the existing model allows them to act voluntarily. Using novel models, the research demonstrates how sustainable development can be attained through CSR and considering compulsory legislations, enforcement, compliance, stakeholders' integration, consultation, dialoge and prolific partnerships. The research also offers Government Social Responsibility (GSR), a concept to further governments' commitments to their citizens.

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Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Thesis (LLD)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Jurisprudence / LLD / Unrestricted

This thesis studies the evolution of the war prerogative in England from 1600-2010. It traces the historical theory and practice of the war prerogative and proposes reform of the constitutional arrangements for its exercise. It addresses three key questions. First, what have writers on political and constitutional theory said about the constitutional arrangements for the war prerogative, and, in particular, what justifications have been advanced for those arrangements? Secondly, in practice, has the executive in fact possessed sole and exclusive powers over war and the deployment of force, or have Parliament and the courts had a role to play in their exercise and scrutiny? Thirdly, are there better ways to organise our constitutional arrangements for the war prerogative, to enable a more substantive role for Parliament (particularly the House of Commons) in its exercise and scrutiny? On the first question, I show that orthodox theoretical and political discourses have continuously asserted the executive’s exclusive power over war, but the justifications advanced for that arrangement have changed over time. Those changes reflect the varying influence of different political theories at different times. On the second question, I find that, contrary to orthodox theoretical and political discourses, Parliament has played an active and substantive role in the exercise and scrutiny of the war prerogative. The courts have refused to intervene in the exercise of the war prerogative, but have been more ready to intervene in cases involving the exercise of powers incidental to the war prerogative. On the third question, I argue that reform of the constitutional arrangements for the war prerogative is necessary and desirable. I recommend the use of ‘institutional mechanisms’, which are small-scale rules and institutional arrangements, within existing institutions, which aim to promote certain normative goals. In particular, I propose a statute which would impose conditions on the executive’s exercise of its war prerogative. I argue that these proposals show that, through careful institutional design, democratic values, national security and operational efficiency can each be reconciled and promoted.

This thesis explores the U.S.-Pakistani relationship in the War on Terror in an effort to better understand the U.S.-Pakistani power dynamic. In particular, this thesis analyzes the United States’ relationship with Pakistan via a Hobbesian understanding of social contract theory: a state’s right to sovereignty. It then utilizes this framework to analyze the U.S. use of drones on Pakistani soil. This paper suggests a protectionist model has been adopted by the United States, thereby making these drone strikes violations of the social contract. As a result, this paper argues that because of this, the United States will have to uphold the state’s responsibility to protect in order to maintain their social contracts with other states.

The judicial system of Poland is at the forefront of public, constitutional, political and legal debates of the European Union. Different aspects of rule of law in Poland, such as independence of judges, their right to irremovability, the alleged intention of the government to occupy and impact Polish judicial sector are discussed among academics. The aim of this research conducted throughout the thesis is to add complete and all-inclusive analysis of the recent judgment of European Court of Justice (hereinafter: "ECJ") regarding lowering retirement age of judges to the ongoing academic literature. Furthermore, before reaching that conclusion, providing the reader with the review of Polish political debate, the responses of European Union institutions and analysis of the necessity of the reform for Polish judicial system. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The central argument of this work is that the level of aggression of judges sitting in vulnerable courts is a function of their attempt to protect the institutional security of such courts. I argue that in contexts characterised by a lack of a culture of judicial independence, by high levels of judicial delegitimisation, and a high level of public visibility of judicial affairs, judges will attempt to simultaneously construct public support and avoid political conflicts with the Government. As a result, judicial decisions are driven by judges’ calculations of both the public’s reaction and the Government’s reaction to their rulings. I claim the level of aggression of judges’ interventions will increase when the Government's tolerance to decisions against its preferences was is higher and the public appears to be more supportive. I empirically test this theory using the case of Argentine Supreme Court Justices between July 2004 and September 2010. The findings confirm the theoretical expectations according to which judges are simultaneously concerned with the construction of public support and the avoidance of conflicts with the Government. In addition, my study shows three relevant patterns in terms of judicial behaviour. First, the Justices increased their level of aggression by using different modes of involvement when the public appeared to be more supportive and the Government’s tolerance higher during the period under study. Second, the decreased level of aggression occurred by altering the features of the same remedy in response to the political conditions in which decisions were issued. Third, existing legal constraints prevented Justices from being more aggressive.

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,...

When Donald Trump took the stage as the Republican presidential nominee at the Republican National Convention in July 2016, he made a historical appeal to LGBTQ Americans: to the boisterous applause of a Republican audience, he promised "to protect LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology." Utilizing this historical moment as an indicator of shifting political views around LGBTQ rights in the Republican Party and the US nation-state as a whole, this paper links contemporary iterations of the War on Terror to the legalization of same-sex marriage in June 2015. Connecting same-sex marriage to the US nation-building project, I argue that the "dignity" newly available to certain queer folks via the institution of marriage makes possible an articulation of queer-defensibility that services a Republican investment in the aging War on Terror and the sustained targeting and hyper-surveillance of Muslims globally.