<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 is an exploration of how indigenous knowledge has emerged as a subject within Australian intellectual property law. It uses the context of copyright law to illustrate this development. The work presents an analysis of the political, social and cultural intersections that influence legal possibilities and effect practical expectations of the law in this area. The dilemma of protecting indigenous knowledge resonates with tensions that characterise intellectual property as a whole. The metaphysical dimensions of intellectual property have always been insecure but these difficulties come to the fore with the identification of boundaries and markers that establish property in indigenous subject matter. While intellectual property law is always managing difference, the politics of law are more transparent when managing indigenous concerns. Rather than assume the naturalness of the category of indigenous knowledge within law, this work interrogates the politics of its construction precisely as a ???special??? category. Employing a multidisciplinary methodology, engaging theories of governmental rationality that draws upon the scholarship of Michel Foucault to appreciate strategies of managing and directing knowledge, the thesis considers how the politics of law is infused by cultural, political, bureaucratic and individual factors. Key elements in Australia that have pushed the law to consider expressions of indigenous knowledge in intellectual property can be located in changing political environments, governmental intervention through strategic reports, cultural sensitivity articulated in case law and innovative instances of individual agency. The intersection of these elements reveals a dynamic that exerts influence in the shape the law takes.

The thesis examines different forms of Australian setter-nationalism, and their impact upon settler/indigenous relations. I examine the way that the development of specific forms of settler national consciousness has influenced the treatment of, thought about, and feeling towards the indigenous as a people or peoples. I claim that discourses of the nation operate, in an ongoing way, as shaping forces in everyday and public policy responses to the collective situation of Australia's indigenous peoples, and to the perception of their place in Australian society.

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This thesis makes a unique contribution in exploring the relationship between international legal commitments and women's poverty. Three normative arguments underpin this thesis. First, that poverty is a gender-based phenomenon. Second, that gender-based poverty is a obstacle to human rights. Third, if the promise of human rights is to be realised for all people it is necessary to move gender-based poverty into the realm of international human rights law. The ideal place to theorise on the relationship between human rights and gender-based poverty is CEDAW. Notwithstanding that CEDAW addresses civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and negative cultural attitudes on women, there is no substantive provision in CEDAW requiring State to ameliorate gender-based poverty. The first part of my thesis argues that this gap can be overcome by an evolutionary interpretation of CEDAW. I make the argument, that equality and non-discrimination, two norms that permeate all of CEDAW, can be interpreted to incorporate the harms of gender-based poverty comprehensively into the treaty framework. I use public international law interpretative framework and the Committee's own work to demonstrate that the commitment to eliminating discrimination against women and achieving gender equality in CEDAW necessarily requires State to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of women in poverty. The second part of thesis shifts to examine how this interpretation can be integrated into the work of the Committee. To ensure a coherent and comprehensive approach to gender-based poverty that is consistent with my proposed interpretation of CEDAW in I propose: (i) modifications to the State reporting guidelines and (ii) a comprehensive General Recommendation on women and poverty. This thesis lays the necessary theoretical and practical groundwork so that the Committee and other relevant national and international actors can hold States accountable for women in poverty's human rights.

HIV/AIDS has been an obstacle to socio-economic development and a major cause of loss of human life. It has also caused vast inequities and frustration to the public health sector. One of the significant efforts made by the public health sector to combat the epidemic is the implementation of a mandatory HIV/AIDS testing policy to scale-up HIV treatment. This dissertation examines the impact of this policy on the human rights of people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Coercive government policies aimed at controlling the AIDS pandemic often infringe on the rights of individuals known to be or suspected of living with HIV/AIDS and this decreases the effectiveness of public health measures. The research methodology involved the study of written literature and a comparative literature study of the law and practice obtaining in South Africa, Uganda and Canada. It revealed that voluntary testing is effective and suitable in South Africa. This dissertation aimed to show that any public health approach that aims to achieve a comprehensive prevention strategy must be consistent with respect for human rights as enshrined in regional and international human rights law. Public health and human rights should, therefore, not be regarded as opposing forces; rather they should be seen as a unified system of protection of human welfare under the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. The solution to the crisis lies not only in testing every single person but also requires a shift of focus to more pressing issues that include gender equality, stigma and discrimination; prioritizing human rights, institutional capacity and resources; and an end to extreme poverty. A human rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS testing, such as the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) is recommended. Therefore, failure to adhere to the core principles of testing - which are informed consent, counselling and confidentiality of the test result - will only hinder the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The rights of those affected by HIV/AIDS need to be protected in order to address public health imperatives. This can be done through the use of the law as an instrument of social change as well as education and awareness. Key words, HIV/AIDS, mandatory testing, Voluntary Counselling and Testing, public health, human rights-based approach.

Sports law in South Africa is a field requiring exciting and intensive research. With so many sporting codes changing their status to professional sport, intensive research on the legal implications pertaining to each professional sporting code has also become necessary. Professional rugby in South Africa has grown into a multimillion rand industry. It is an industry whose role players need specialized legal advice on a multitude of issues. This dissertation addresses the legal issues arising out of the situation where a professional player is injured, during practice or a game, due to the intentional or negligent action of another. The medico-legal aspects of rugby, relating to causation and proof of injuries are an indispensable element of proving liability where rugby injuries are concerned. These aspects are crucial in assessing the criminal and delictual liability of players, coaches, referees, team physicians and even the union concerned. The problem of rugby violence, causing injury, is addressed by both the criminal law and the law of delict with the issue of consent being central to this discussion. Furthermore, the labour law implications can be far-reaching for both the player and the employer union due to the unique features of sport as an industry. All role players in professional rugby will have to cooperate with the legal community to ensure that a practical body of law is established in order to make rugby a safer sport for all concerned and to protect the professional player from unnecessary, incapacitating injury.

The demand for domestic services has increased globally during the last two decades and today domestic workers constitute a large portion of the workforce, especially in developing countries. Yet domestic work is undervalued and poorly regulated, and many domestic workers are underpaid and unprotected. This has been recognised by international organisations, such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The struggle of domestic workers has lead to improvements to their rights and conditions in many countries. Yet working conditions and wages remain poor in many countries, including South Africa. This booklet sheds light on this problem. There are 888 000 domestic workers in South Africa, which accounts for 7% of total formal employment (Labour Force Survey, May 2010). The vast majority of these workers do not belong to a trade union and do not partake in collective bargaining or are unaware of their rights to bargain and to join trade unions. The South African Domestic Services and Allied Workers Union (SADSAWU) is a trade union for domestic workers in South Africa and campaigns for the improvement of rights and conditions of domestic workers. It recognises that it is not as powerful as it could be and it would have a bigger influence on the legislating authorities if there were more members which were strongly organised. There are numerous difficulties to organise domestic workers, some are related to the education level of the workers and some lies within the nature of the work (many are live-in workers and therefore have no contact with other domestic workers as a natural part of their work). However, SADSAWU has over many years built up a lot of experience and developed a solid vision to build a strong domestic workers movement, and is therefore well placed to fight these difficulties. This booklet also serves as an organising tool for domestic workers. The aim is to raise awareness of the rights of domestic workers and to encourage workers to organise.

Most scholars claim that international human rights norms embodied in formal international declarations and treaties have an important impact on domestic political interests and governmental practices. This reasoning about the impact of global human rights is often applied to the post-apartheid South African immigration and refugee policies. While I acknowledge that the ratification of United Nations Conventions on refugees has altered the traditional sovereignty considerations of South Africa towards asylum seekers, I take issue with the claims that South African refugee and asylum policies are primarily motivated and based on humanitarian considerations. Instead, I argue that these policies are based on sovereign considerations and strategic foreign policy interests. As a result this sovereign interests of South Africa to study has sought to demonstrate that largely explain decisions on the part accept or reject refugees. Although norms diffusion, international advocacy networks, and prestige factors have made a big impact, in practice the refugee policy has continued to reflect South Africa's strategic interests and domestic considerations at all levels. However, I have not argued that South Africa should overlook its national and foreign interests and abide by international human rights norms regardless of the cost of doing so. I have only sought to demonstrate that refugee protection is more when powerful national interests find it conducive to manage the destabilizing refugee flows.

M.A. (Social Work) / Please refer to full text to view abstract