Text in Afrikaans. / Die definisie van 'n huwelik tref 'n onderskeid tussen heteroseksuele en homoseksuele lewensmetgeselle ten opsigte van die bevoegdheid om te trou. Hierdie onderskeid op grond van seksuele georiënteerdheid mag moontlik ongrondwetlik wees. Voorts is daar 'n menigte regte en verpligtinge wat outomaties uit huweliksluiting spruit, maar nie outomaties op lewensverhoudings van toepassing is nie. Hierdie onderskeid op grond van huwelikstaat mag eweneens moontlik teen die bepalings van die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika, 1996 indruis. Hierdie studie is gevolglik daarop toegespits om ondersoek in te stel na die grondwetlikheid van hierdie twee onderskeide. Die ondersoek word geloods met verwysing na relevante wetgewing en regspraak. 'n Bondige oorsig van fundamentele regte word as agtergrond verskaf. Na afhandeling van die ondersoek word daar aandag geskenk aan die huidige en voorgestelde toekomstige erkenning en regulering van lewensverhoudings in die Suid-Afrikaanse reg, waarna die bevindings saamgevat en krities beoordeel word. SUMMARY The definition of marriage differentiates between heterosexual and homosexual life partners with regard to the capacity to marry. This differentiation on account of sexual orientation may possibly be unconstitutional. Furthermore there are a multitude of rights and obligations that automatically flow from marriage, which are not automatically applicable to life partnerships. This differentiation on account of marital status may also violate the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Accordingly this study is aimed at investigating the constitutionality of these two differentiations. The investigation is conducted with reference to relevant legislation and case law. A concise overview of fundamental rights is provided as background. In conclusion of the investigation, attention is paid to the present recognition and regulation of domestic partnerships in South African law, after which the findings are summarised and evaluated critically. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.

Text in Afrikaans / By ontbinding van 'n huwelik buite gemeenskap van goed beskik die hof oor 'n diskresionere bevoegdheid om 'n herverdeling van bates van die onderskeie boedels te gelas. Die voorvereiste, naamlik 'n bydrae tot die instandhouding of vergroting van die boedel van die ander en die uitleg van die bewoording van die wet bring egter mee dat die hof se diskresie om 'n billike herverdeling te beveel ingekort is. Bydrae behoort op gelyke vlak tesarne met al die relevante faktore 'n rol te speel. Huwelikswangedrag behoort 'n beperkte rol te speel by herverdelingsbevele. In sekere gevalle sal dit egter onbillik wees om skuld as faktor te ignoreer. Die skuld van die party teen wie die verdeling gevra word behoort nie 'n rol te speel nie. Sekere wetswysiginge is nodig ten einde die doel van die wet, naamlik bereiking van geregtigheid tussen die partye, te bewerkstellig. / On dissolution of a maniage out of commwrity of property the court has discretionary power to order a distribution of the assets of the different estates. The precondition, namely a contribution to the maintenance or increase of the estate of the other, and the interpretation of the words of the act, however, results in a curtailment of the court's discretion to order a just and equitable distribution. Contribution should play a role on the same level as all the other relevant factors. Misconduct should play a restricted role in a redistribution order. However, in certain cases it would be inequitable to ignore misconduct as a factor. The misconduct of the party against whom the redistribution is sought should not play a role. Certain amendments of the act are necessary to achieve the aim of the act, namely the attaining of equity between the parties. / Private Law / LL. M.

Generally, traditional "marriages" according to Islamic custom are void in South African law because they are potentially polygynous and do not comply with the formalities prescribed by the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 . A valid concern for those who oppose polygyny is that it may enforce and promote gender inequality in that it is practised in patriarchal Muslim societies. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 contains numerous provisions aimed at combating gender inequalities, and these could be used to justify the policy of non-recognition. On the other hand, the Constitution has ushered in an era of tolerance and empathy; and the equality and religion clauses could be used to ensure that polygynous marriages are no longer ignored. This study will examine the tensions between Muslim personal law and clauses in the Constitution which have led to calls for the reformation and codification of Muslim personal law. / Private Law / LL. M.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Mainz, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Text in Afrikaans / By ontbinding van 'n huwelik buite gemeenskap van goed beskik die hof oor 'n diskresionere bevoegdheid om 'n herverdeling van bates van die onderskeie boedels te gelas. Die voorvereiste, naamlik 'n bydrae tot die instandhouding of vergroting van die boedel van die ander en die uitleg van die bewoording van die wet bring egter mee dat die hof se diskresie om 'n billike herverdeling te beveel ingekort is. Bydrae behoort op gelyke vlak tesarne met al die relevante faktore 'n rol te speel. Huwelikswangedrag behoort 'n beperkte rol te speel by herverdelingsbevele. In sekere gevalle sal dit egter onbillik wees om skuld as faktor te ignoreer. Die skuld van die party teen wie die verdeling gevra word behoort nie 'n rol te speel nie. Sekere wetswysiginge is nodig ten einde die doel van die wet, naamlik bereiking van geregtigheid tussen die partye, te bewerkstellig. / On dissolution of a maniage out of commwrity of property the court has discretionary power to order a distribution of the assets of the different estates. The precondition, namely a contribution to the maintenance or increase of the estate of the other, and the interpretation of the words of the act, however, results in a curtailment of the court's discretion to order a just and equitable distribution. Contribution should play a role on the same level as all the other relevant factors. Misconduct should play a restricted role in a redistribution order. However, in certain cases it would be inequitable to ignore misconduct as a factor. The misconduct of the party against whom the redistribution is sought should not play a role. Certain amendments of the act are necessary to achieve the aim of the act, namely the attaining of equity between the parties. / Private Law / LL. M.

Generally, traditional "marriages" according to Islamic custom are void in South African law because they are potentially polygynous and do not comply with the formalities prescribed by the Marriage Act 25 of 1961 . A valid concern for those who oppose polygyny is that it may enforce and promote gender inequality in that it is practised in patriarchal Muslim societies. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 contains numerous provisions aimed at combating gender inequalities, and these could be used to justify the policy of non-recognition. On the other hand, the Constitution has ushered in an era of tolerance and empathy; and the equality and religion clauses could be used to ensure that polygynous marriages are no longer ignored. This study will examine the tensions between Muslim personal law and clauses in the Constitution which have led to calls for the reformation and codification of Muslim personal law. / Private Law / LL. M.

The general objective of the study is to assess the role of culture and traditions as stumbling blocks in the legal reform that would lead to the decriminalization of same-sex sexual intercourse. Focuses on the sodomy laws in Africa with specific reference to Uganda. Compares the Ugandan and South African legal regimes. Uganda is chosen because it represents one of the African countries where same-sex unions are specifically prohibited by the Constitution. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Prof Pierre de Vos of the Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town South Africa. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

When the Supreme Court grants new rights, public awareness is a crucial part of enforcement. Gerald N. Rosenberg and Michael J. Klarman famously criticized minority rights organizations for attempting to gain new rights through the judiciary. The crux of their argument relied heavily on the American media's scanty coverage of Court issues and subsequent low public awareness of Court cases. Using the 2013 United States v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry rulings as a case study, I suggest that the media environment has changed so much since Rosenberg and Klarman were writing that their theories warrant reconsideration. Minority rights groups now have access to social media, a potentially powerful tool with which to educate the public about the Supreme Court and new rights granted by the Court.

This dissertation consists of three essays in applied microeconomics.The first chapter investigates the effect of coroner partisanship on COVID-19 death reporting. The politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has raised questions about the integrity and accuracy of death reporting, particularly in jurisdictions with elected, partisan coroners. Using mortality data from the CDC and manually collected data on county-level death certification systems and coroner party affiliation where applicable, I examine the parallel systems of appointed medical examiners and elected coroners and analyze the effect of partisanship on reported COVID-19 deaths. Cross-sectional comparisons do not seem to suggest counties with coroners report fewer deaths than those with medical examiners, and difference-in-differences specifications reveal limited evidence of a statistically significant but not economically meaningful effect of partisanship on reported COVID death counts. The second chapter examines the effect of new information on lead water pipes on housing prices. In 2016, the Water and Sewer Authority of Washington, DC released an online map that contains information on lead service lines (LSLs) for all properties in the district. Using the release as a natural experiment, I estimate the effect of the new information on prices of properties with and without LSLs. Recent literature has found that housing lead reduction policies such as remediation mandates have significant price effects. In DC, while the map’s release was followed by a marked increase in requests for water lead tests, neither a difference-in-differences model nor a repeat sales model captures a significant divergence between housing prices of the two types of properties after the release, implying the housing market response to the information was limited. The second chapter considers the effect of the marriage tax subsidy on the marriage decision of same-sex couples. The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on United States v. Windsor in June 2013 compelled the federal government to recognize state-sanctioned same-sex marriages, including for tax purposes. The switch in the income tax filing status for same-sex couples meant that the marriage penalty or subsidy as a result of joint filing became a relevant factor that may enter couples’ marriage decisions. I construct a sample of married and cohabiting same-sex couples in 2012 and 2014 from public-use data of the American Community Survey. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, I do not find evidence that same-sex couples who would earn a higher marriage subsidy became more likely to marry after the Supreme Court ruling.

Cette thèse de doctorat étudie les mouvements LGBT en Belgique, en France et en Espagne à travers une double comparaison (entre les cas et à travers le temps) qui intègre également les échanges et influences transnationaux et internationaux. Elle examine l’émergence et le développement de la revendication d’ouverture du mariage civil aux couples de même sexe dans ces pays, analysant les convergences en termes de contenu des demandes et de timing des mobilisations. Par conséquent, elle porte sur des convergences au niveau des mouvements sociaux, à l’inverse de la majeure partie de la littérature, qui se concentre sur les convergences de politiques publiques. Cette situation impose de construire une grille d’analyse basée sur la littérature sur les mouvements sociaux, les politiques publiques et les relations internationales (influence des normes internationales). Le développement des revendications relatives au droit au mariage a été retracé de manière généalogique depuis la fin des années 1980. La comparaison repose sur la méthode du most different systems design et un travail empirique important combinant analyse documentaire et entretiens a été réalisé. Cette thèse confirme l’importance de l’étude des échanges et des influences internationaux et transnationaux pour comprendre la politique domestique et insiste sur l’influence cruciale du réseautage transnational sur les revendications des mouvements sociaux. Elle révèle aussi quelques cas de diffusion entre mouvements sociaux et montre comment des caractéristiques et des contraintes communes peuvent inciter les mouvements sociaux à formuler des revendications similaires. Par ailleurs, les discours en faveur du droit au mariage ont été analysés avec soin. L’émergence de cette revendication a aussi été mise en perspective sur le plan historique, ce qui implique de réfléchir aux modalités de transformation des mouvements LGBT au cours des trente dernières années. Pour terminer, la notion de citoyenneté sexuelle a été interrogée et la manière dont l’accès à la citoyenneté a été posé a été examinée à partir du concept de resignification proposé par Judith Butler. <p><p><p>This dissertation looks at LGBT movements in Belgium, France and Spain through a double comparison (between cases and through time), which also takes into account transnational and international exchanges and influences. It investigates the simultaneous emergence and development of same-sex marriage claims in these countries, examining convergences in the content of the claims and the timing of protest. Therefore, it looks at convergences at the level of social movements, unlike most of the literature, which focuses on convergences in public policies. This specific research interests implies building an analytical model based on the literature on social movements, public policies and international relations (influence of international norms). It has also required a genealogical account of the development of same-sex marriage claims in each country from the end of the eighties until now. The comparison is based on the most different systems design method, and an extensive field work combining archives analysis and interviews has been carried out. This dissertation confirms the importance of taking into account international and transnational exchanges and influences to understand domestic politics, and insists on the crucial influence of transnational networking on social movements claims. It also discloses some cases of diffusion between social movements and shows how common characteristics and constraints may induce social movements to make similar but independent decisions. Discourses in favour of same-sex marriage have been carefully analysed, and the emergence of this claim has been put into a historical perspective. This implies a reflection on the transformations of the LGBT movement over the last thirty years. Finally, this dissertation interrogates the notion of sexual citizenship and examines the specific mechanisms through which access to citizenship has been proposed, discussing Judith Butler’s concept of resignification. <p><p> / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished