The South African Refugees Act1 makes a distinction between an asylum seeker and a refugee. The Act defines an asylum seeker as “a person who is seeking recognition as a refugee in the Republic”. A refugee on the other hand, is a person “who has been granted asylum” in the Republic.2 The legal position in South Africa is that before a person is recognized as a refugee, he or she is protected by the Bill of Rights to a certain extent. In the case of Lawyers for Human Rights v Minister of Home Affairs the Constitutional court confirmed that the protection afforded by the Bill of Rights applies to everyone, including illegal foreigners and asylum seekers.3 This means that asylum seekers and refugees are entitled to most of the rights in the Constitution except those specifically reserved for citizens. Practically though, a refugee enjoys more rights than an asylum seeker. It is therefore in the interest of asylum seekers to have their status as refugees determined. The process of applying for refugee status can be a challenge for those seeking refuge in the Republic of South Africa. For applicants coming from non-English speaking countries, language barrier can also present its own challenges. In terms of the Refugees Act, the first application is to the Refugee Reception Officer at the refugee reception office. The application must be made in person.4 When an asylum seeker is deemed fit to qualify for asylum, he or she will be issued with a permit in terms of section 22 of the Refugees Act. The permit allows the asylum seeker to temporarily reside in South Africa until the finalisation of the asylum claim. This permit does not mean that the asylum seeker is already recognised as a refugee. The permit is an indication that the asylum seeker’s application as a refugee is not yet finalised. The application is considered finalised when it has gone through the hearing before the Status Determination Officer and any review or appeal following from that decision. It is the Refugee Status Determination Officer who will grant asylum or reject the application.5 For people applying for refugee status, the determination by the Status Determination Officer may in itself mark the beginning of the process to be repatriated back to the country they were running away from in the first place. An aggrieved applicant can also apply to have the adverse decision reviewed or even lodge an appeal in accordance with the provisions of the Refugees Act.6 For as long as the application is still pending, the government cannot deport any asylum seeker. An asylum seeker who enters the Republic of South Africa, either through a port of entry or illegally faces many challenges before he or she could reach a refugee reception office. Those who come in through a port of entry face being turned away by Immigration Officers due to lack of documentation. Often, asylum seekers find it hard to reach the refugee reception offices as there is no co-operation between the Immigration Officers, the South African Police Service and the functionaries in the refugee reception offices. To make things worse, the Immigration Amendment Act has reduced the days from fourteen to five, for asylum seekers without valid documentations to reach any refugee reception office. Since refugee reception offices are located only in five cities in the country, these have conditioned asylum seekers and refugees to stay and make their living in those cities as they are required to make frequent renewal of their permit. The closure of some of the refugee reception offices like the Johannesburg refugee reception office has caused a major concern to asylum seekers and refugees. This persistent closure of refugee reception offices may be seen as a further persecution in the eyes of asylum seekers and refugees. The inability of the different functionaries to differentiate between asylum seekers and economic migrants adds to the problem concerning the process of refugee status determination. Instead of seeking to identify people in need of protection from persecution or events seriously disturbing public order, the process is used as an immigration control and this causes more people to be turned away or returned to countries where their lives may be at risk. The communication between the asylum seeker and all the functionaries of the Department of Home Affairs is very important. The lack of professional interpretation functionaries to help asylum seekers who need interpretation contributes to the problems asylum seekers face. Often, asylum seekers have to provide their own interpreters if the Department is unable to do so. The purpose of the study is to investigate the status determination process from a South African perspective and to make recommendations which will try to resolve the problem(s) identified. / Public, Constitutional, & International / LLM

Thesis (LLM)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of regulating surrogacy in the light of the existing legal position and the relevant moral aspects. It is now medically possible for one woman to bear a child, which is not genetically related to her, on behalf of another person. Currently the law makes no specific provision for the regulation of surrogate motherhood. The key problem in this regard is that the existing law is applicable to surrogate motherhood, inter alia because surrogacy is brought about by artificial insemination and because the intended parents can only acquire parental authority by way of adoption. The final recommendation is a Surrogacy Act for South Africa. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part is an analysis of the relevant moral and social aspects relating to surrogacy in order to justify the above-mentioned act morally. Commercial surrogacy, the genetic tie between parent and child, the differences between surrogacy and adoption, the question as to who is a parent and surrogacy for convenience are analysed. Despite all the arguments that can be made in favour of or against these moral issues in a vacuum, these arguments will be irrelevant in cases where the child is already born. In such a case the only relevant concern will be what is in the child's best interest. In the second part of the thesis the existing legal position is analysed. This includes an examination of the applicable legislation, the impact of the Constitution, the South African Law Commission's proposed bill on surrogate motherhood and the customary law. Although the relevant legislation does not specifically provide for surrogacy, it remains applicable. This is extremely problematic for the parties involved. The Bill of Rights is applicable to all law and binds the Legislature. Therefore the main principles of the Constitution will have to be embodied in the proposed regulatory Act. Although the Law Commission's proposed bill is a well formulated document, one shortcoming that has been identified is that it is not constitutionally justifiable. The customary law has several practices which are analogous to surrogacy. The right to culture, which is entrenched in the Constitution, has the effect that these practices cannot be outlawed. However, should it not be consistent with the Constitution, it can be held to be invalid. The conclusion which is reached is that surrogacy can be morally and constitutionally justifiable if it is regulated properly. It is therefore proposed that an Act be formulated to regulate these relevant issues. Such a proposed Act is included in part three of the thesis. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek die moontlikheid om surrogaatmoederskap te reguleer as gevolg van die feit dat dit nou vir 'n vrou moontlik is om 'n kind, wat nie geneties aan haar verwant is nie, vir 'n ander te baar. Die reg maak nie spesifiek vir die regulering van surrogaatmoederskap voorsiening nie. Die kernprobleem in hierdie verband is dat die bestaande reg wel van toepassing daarop is, vanweë onder andere die feit dat surrogaatmoederskap teweeggebring word deur middel van kunsmatige bevrugting. Wetgewing wat kunsmatige bevrugting reguleer is gevolglik van toepassing, hoewel dit nie geskryf was met die oog op surrogaatmoederskap in die besonder nie. Die doel van die studie is gevolglik om te ondersoek hoe surrogaatmoederskap gereguleer kan word gegewe die bestaande regsposisie en relevante morele oorwegings. Die tesis kan in drie afdelings verdeel word. Die eerste bestaan uit 'n analise van die morele aspekte wat by surrogaatmoederskap ter sprake is. Dit is nodig om hierdie aangeleenthede te analiseer ten einde 'n voorgestelde wet moreel regverdigbaar te maak. Kommersiële surrogaatmoederskap, die genetiese band tussen ouer en kind, die verskille tussen surrogasie en aanneming, die vraag na die identiteit van die ouer en surrogaatmoederskap vir gerief word geanaliseer. Ten spyte van al die morele argumente wat gemaak kan word voordat 'n kind gebore is, is hierdie argumente van weinig belang waar die kind reeds gebore is. In so 'n geval is dit slegs die beste belang van die kind wat oorweeg moet word. Die bestaande regsposisie word in die tweede deel van die tesis ontleed. Dit sluit 'n ontleding van die relevante wetgewing, die oorweging van die impak van die Grondwet, 'n analise van die Suid-Afrikaanse Regskommissie se Voorgestelde Wetsontwerp op Surrogaatmoederskap en 'n evaluering van die inheemse reg in. Die gevolgtrekking wat gemaak word is dat die bestaande wetgewing nie uitdruklik vir surrogaatmoederskap voorsiening maak nie, maar wel daarop van toepassing kan wees. Dit veroorsaak verskeie probleme vir die betrokke partye. Die Grondwet het 'n drastiese impak op die regulering van surrogaatmoederskap en sal in ag geneem moet word indien 'n surrogaatmoederskapswet voorgestel word. Die Regskommissie se voorgestelde wetsontwerp is 'n goed geformuleerde dokument, maar moet aangepas word ten einde grondwetlik regverdigbaar te wees. Daar is verskeie gebruike in die inheemse reg wat analoog aan surrogaatmoederskap is. Die reg op kultuur, wat grondwetlik verskans is, het tot gevolg dat partye, op wie die inheemse reg van toepassing is, die reg het om hierdie gebruike na te volg. Indien die praktyke egter strydig met die Grondwet is, kan dit ongeldig verklaar word. Derdens word 'n wet voorgestelom surrogaatmoederskap te reguleer. Die gevolgtrekking waartoe gekom word, is dat surrogaatmoederskap moreel en grondwetlik regverdigbaar kan wees indien dit behoorlik gereguleer word.

This dissertation contrasts the development of Indian and non-Indian water development. Indian water rights, although based upon long-standing legal principles, have had a minimal impact on the actual development of Indian water resources. As a result, Indian water resources remain largely undeveloped. In contrast, non-Indian water development has proceeded at a rapid pace. A tripartite alliance of congressional subcommittees, federal agencies, and water user interest groups have provided the political support for continued high-level funding for non-Indian water projects. In the American west, where water must be diverted to be used, Indians and non-Indians are competitors for both water and water projects. Until recently Indians could not compete effectively in the political milieu of water policy. However, changes in approach, methods, and political conditions have made Indian tribes more competitive in the struggle for water rights and water projects.

<p>This thesis discussed the subjects of bioprospecting and the protection of traditional knowledge. At first the international approach to the subjects was elaborately discussed. The focus was on the respective provisions of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the related Bonn Guidelines, stressing the matter of access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization. Enclosed in this discussion was the examination of different legislatory approaches to tackle the subject with an emphasis on national intellectual property rights laws and the role and potential merit of national registers of and databases for specific traditional knowledge. The way national legislators have implemented the concerned obligations of the convention, and their peculiarities as for example the restriction of scope of law to indigenous biological resources, was exemplified with the respective Bolivian, South African as well as Indian laws.</p>

<p>It is within the context of the persistent feminisation of the HIV and AIDS pandemic that this study, based on the normative provisions of the African Women's Protocol, focused on gender, sex and sexuality in the context of HIV and AIDS. The regime of the African Women's Protocol embodies a framework that can be utilised to combat HIV/AIDS amongst women in Africa by addressing some of the most important issues that need to be tackled if women are to live through this epidemic.</p>

<p>This thesis was written in the contemplation of the idea that, it is only through protection of the traditional knowledge in African local societies where these societies can rip the benefit of its commercialization and non-commercialization. It was thus centered on the emphasis that, while the African countries are still insisting on the need to have amendments done to the TRIPS Agreement, they should also establish regulations in their domestic laws to protect traditional knowledge from being pirated. This emphasis was mainly raised at this time due to the wide spread of bio-piracy in African local societies by the Western Multinational Pharmaceutical Corporations.</p>

The thesis focused on how the advent of children's rights, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), has impacted on the subject of juvenile justice and embarked on a practical examination of law reform in this regard in an African context. The focus was placed on a number of African countries that have embarked on or completed child law reform in the aftermath of ratification of the CRC. The case studies in this thesis were Ghana (1998-2003), Kenya (1993-2001), Namibia (1994 to date), Lesotho (2003 to date), South Africa (1997 to date) and Uganda (1992-1996).

No abstract available.

No description available.

Private-Law Aspects of Czech Alien Law This thesis is dedicated to Czech alien law regulations in the context of their private law aspects. Alien law is a set of legal norms concerning the legal status of foreign citizens in a territory of a certain state. In general, it is understood as different treatment of aliens than the citizens of that state, a possibility of such treatment, or providing certain advantages to the foreigners. The foundation of this work is a detailed analysis of the material status of foreigners in the scope of their individual and property rights, including a foreigner as a party to a civil suit. Main focus of the thesis is on the description of individual institution and law principles regarding international private and procedural law, taking into account a future regulation from a new norm in international private law. In particular, emphasis is put on an analysis of equal treatment of foreigners, possibilities of refusal of such treatment, principles of reciprocity in the formal and material sense, conditions of the foreigner's claim to be relieved from judicial fees, eligibility of the foreigner as a party to a suit, etc. Special focus has been given to the matters closely related to alien law, such as the definition of an alien, dual citizenship, habitual residence etc....