Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Lausanne, 1936. / Includes text of the law in French and Spanish. Includes bibliographical references.

Originally presented as the author's thesis, Madrid. / Bibliography: p. 406-418.

Zugl.: Hamburg, Universiẗat, Diss., 1999.

Berlin, Techn. Universiẗat, Diss., 2005. / Dateiformat: tgz, Dateien im PDF-Format.

No description available.

Nigerian divorce laws and the divorce litigation process pose severe psychological, social-cultural, economic, and legal problems for families going through divorce in Nigeria. This thesis argues that divorce mediation may be able to ameliorate the harsh effects of these laws and process. This thesis seeks to achieve the following objectives: (1) To determine if the divorce mediation process can achieve the goals of a good divorce process, (2) To determine if the divorce mediation process can provide solutions to the myriad of unique problems which face families going through divorce in Nigeria, and (3) To determine the possibility of incorporating divorce mediation into the family dispute resolution system in Nigeria through an institutionalized divorce mediation program at the government-funded citizens' mediation centres. These objectives are achieved through an in-depth review of the customary and statutory laws regulating marriage and divorce in Nigeria as well as a review of the divorce litigation process in Nigeria. This thesis employs both desk and empirical research methods. It examines legislation, policy documents and academic treatises on divorce and divorce mediation. It also utilizes semistructured interviews to examine the Citizens' Rights and Mediation Centre, Enugu State, to determine its viability as a vehicle for the institutionalization of divorce mediation in Nigeria. The thesis finds that indeed divorce mediation achieves the aims of good divorce law. It further finds that while the divorce mediation process is not a panacea, its features lend themselves easily to the resolution of the myriad of problems which face families going through divorce in Nigeria. It also finds that divorce mediation can be incorporated into the Nigerian family dispute resolution system through an institutionalized divorce mediation program at the state-funded citizens' mediation centres present in several states in the country. It concludes that incorporating divorce mediation into the family dispute resolution system in Nigeria will ameliorate some of the harsh effects of the current divorce system. It offers short and long term proposals for the institutionalization of divorce mediation in Nigeria.

This thesis discusses the following: 1. That, while advertising practitioners employ various levels of scientific endeavour (particularly strategic insight development, but also research, demographic data collection, and other objective tools of the trade), its final output is ultimately nonscientific, i.e. subjective creative ideation. (In this way, advertising is not dissimilar to the classic ‘art' of propaganda.) 2. That, for reasons of business necessity, creative ego and a latent form of ‘inferiority complex' the advertising industry describes its work in presentations to more scientifically-orientated clients as a more scientific proposition. 3. That, in contrast, as evidenced by the physical production process of the advertising idea (post the client presentation) – as well as in industry texts, award ceremonies, and selected case studies – advertising practitioners effectively acknowledge the subjective nature of their work. 4. That further evidence of this scientific ‘terministic screen' (Burke 1950, pp. 26-27) is also revealed in the failure of some television commercials to profitably ‘connect' as intended with an audience – thus undermining claims to the objective approach that preceded these commercials. 5. That, possibly, as is implied in at least one ethnographic case study, not even clients are necessarily convinced by advertising science: the ‘screen' may be a two-way mirror. 6. That there is, more broadly, a constant dialectic between right-brained creativity and the left-brained business project. 7. That this tension is a microcosm of the capitalist enterprise, and, in an increasing number of present examples, is perversely reflected in the advertising industry's output as anti-capitalist brand messaging. 8. That it is possible to think of advertising as a sub-set of a more consumer-orientated ‘design'. 6 9. That, admittedly within limited confines of my research, there is a tantalising indication that, generally, advertising artefacts were historically more logos-led, are currently more pathos-led, and may in future benefit from a more ethos-led orientation.

This dissertation addresses the most neglected form of sexual violence in Kenya - marital rape. Drawing from prevailing statistics and testimonies by survivors, it confirms the existence of marital rape in Kenya and delves deeper into the prevailing social and legal dynamics that condone it. On examining the existing legal framework governing sexual violence in Kenya, the finding is that there is no law that explicitly criminalises marital rape. Marital rape is a human rights issue as it curtails women‟s enjoyment of their right to equality and dignity. This dissertation argues that Kenya has a duty to honour her State obligations under international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfill human rights. The dissertation concludes that by not criminalising marital rape, Kenya has failed to satisfy her treaty obligations under International Human Rights Law. The dissertation further draws insights from other jurisdictions‟ legal responses to marital rape through a comparative study of South Africa, India and Australia. The main recommendation of this dissertation is that Kenya should explicitly criminalise marital rape in order to respect, protect and fulfill her human rights obligations pertinent to women. Moreover, it is recommended that a comprehensive response to marital rape requires the State to embrace both legal and extra-legal reforms that will not only criminalise but ultimately combat marital rape in the long term.

Judges of formal courts in Nigeria and South Africa do not easily have access to the contents of customary law they are required to apply in the course of adjudication and this has been a major challenge. This thesis examines the processes that courts adopt in the ascertainment and application of living customary law in Nigeria and South Africa in order to discover factors that influence the ascertainment and application of customary law. This research is qualitative in nature and utilises both doctrinal and empirical methods to make its findings. It examines the conceptualization of customary law in the context of the research against positivist and pluralist theories and analyses the doctrine of judicial discretion against relevant theories on how it impacts on the ascertainment and application process. The thesis also examines the current laws and procedures that regulate this exercise to discover how it contributes to what is ascertained by the court. For its primary sources, it utilised data obtained from the semistructured interviews conducted, and, records of proceedings of cases on customary law heard by the formal courts in Nigeria and South Africa within a fifteen-year period. The secondary and tertiary sources utilised include text books, journal articles, official reports and publications, and other literature. It identifies factors within the purview of institutional, substantive, procedural, socio-economic and political factors, as well as other factors that influence how judges exercise discretion in the ascertainment and application of living customary law. The thesis states that these factors contribute in varying degrees, to enhance or impede the ascertainment and application of living customary law by these formal courts. It therefore proposes the consideration of these factors in the policies that seek to develop measures that would enhance the ascertainment and application of living customary law by the formal courts in Nigeria and South Africa.