La justice est un attribut fondamental de l’Etat moderne. Elle assure, dans unesociété démocratique, la sauvegarde de l’édifice normatif ainsi que la protection des droitset libertés. Une justice indépendante et efficace est un symbole de l’Etat de droit. Ellerévèle la réalité de la séparation des pouvoirs et consacre le règne du droit. Maisl’efficacité de tout appareil judiciaire dépend de la nature et de l’ampleur des moyens dontil dispose. Or, dans nombre d’Etats francophones, le système judiciaire connaît denombreuses faiblesses, liées tantôt aux avatars des processus de stabilisationdémocratique, tantôt aux situations plus fragiles de sortie de crise. La question durenforcement des capacités des institutions judiciaires se trouve ainsi posée. Et c’est surcette base que l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) a investi, depuisune trentaine d’années, le champ de la coopération juridique et judiciaire. Ayant inscrit lapromotion de la démocratie au coeur de son action politique, la Francophonie a pris desengagements forts et développé, en s’appuyant sur ses réseaux institutionnels, desprogrammes destinés à accompagner ses Etats membres dans le renforcement descapacités de leurs systèmes de justice. Cet engagement est perceptible dans le corpusnormatif de l’Organisation. Il marque la ferme volonté des Etats francophones d’ancrerleurs relations dans un cadre de coopération, attaché à la protection des droitsfondamentaux et à la régulation des pouvoirs majoritaires. La justice est donc désormaisérigée en priorité dans le champ des préoccupations francophones. Elle y est saisie tantaux niveaux national et international que dans sa dimension transitionnelle. / Justice is a fundamental attribute of modern States. In a democratic society, itguarantees the safeguard of the standard-setting framework as well as the protection ofrights. An independent and effective justice is a symbol of the rule of law. It illustrates theseparation of powers and establishes the primacy of law. But the efficiency of any judicialsystem depends on the nature and the extent of the resources at its disposal. Yet, inmany Francophone countries, the judicial system faces many weaknesses, sometimesrelated to the avatars of democratic stabilisation processes, sometimes to more fragilepost-crisis situations. So the question of the capacity development of the judicialinstitutions arises. For thirty years, the International Organization of La Francophonie(OIF) has entered the legal and judicial cooperation field on this basis. By including thepromotion of democracy at the heart of its political action, the OIF has indeed made strongcommitments and developed programs aimed at accompanying its member States in thecapacity development of their justice systems, thanks to its institutional networks. Thiscommitment can be seen in several statements of the Organization. It demonstrates thewill of the Francophone States to anchor their relationships in a cooperation framework,dedicated to the protection of fundamental rights and the regulation of majorities’ powers.Today, justice is consequently established as a priority in Francophone concerns. It isentered in both national and international level and in its transitional dimension

This dissertation is a study of the role of Gustavo Gutiérrez as a public pastor in the 1980s and 1990s in Peru. His collaboration with the Lima newspaper La República from the early 1980s gave him a figurative pulpit from which he addressed the Peruvian public on specific occasions. The fundamental question in the dissertation is: How did Gutiérrez respond as pastor to the Peruvian public and how did he express his pastoral concern? The study analyses materials that has not been object for previous studies, such as theological essays and articles in newspapers and periodicals. With inspiration from discourse analysis four discourses have been identified in Gutiérrez’ texts.  These discourses interact and through this interaction Gutiérrez formulates his pastoral message. For the socio-political analysis two political discourses are used, the radical and the liberal. The radical political discourse deals with justice for the poor and liberation from oppression as a condition for peace and harmony in society, which are in focus for the liberal political discourse. With the Catholic theological discourse Gutiérrez sets the socio-political analysis in relation to Catholic doctrine and through the pastoral theological discourse he gives reason for hope and inspiration to action. As an advocate for a theology of life, Gutiérrez urges those who read and listen to him to break the pattern of death and opt for this theology of life. In his role as pastor, Gutiérrez speaks words of comfort and encouragement but also words of admonition and warning to those in power who have the capacity to transform society.

An important change wrought by the post-1994 South African Constitutions is the attempt to have South Africa recognised as a democratic and sovereign state in the "family of nations." The new Constitutions make extensive reference to the state's international obligations and represent an endeavour to [re]define the status of international law vis-a-vis national law. Some provisions utilise international law in the interpretation and formulation of national jurisprudence and represent an [albeit not totally successful] endeavour to attain greater harmonisation between international and national law. This is an attempt to systematize the various criticisms levelled against these provisions to date, and to highlight certain interpretational difficulties and problems that present themselves in the process. The distinction between the various terminologies and branches of international law is also taken to task. Lastly, this paper attempts to determine the extent to which international law is applied at national level under the post-1994 constitutions. / Jurisprudence / LL. M.

M.A. / The present study explores experiences of loss, disconnection, truth, hurting, healing, non-forgiveness and forgiveness associated with the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using a social constructionist perspective, the concepts of truth and forgiveness are explored through a theoretical background to psychology and subsequently in the stories and reflections of individuals who participated in the Commission. The issue of truth has been central to debates across the broader intellectual landscape, as well as to the theory and practice of psychology. In the following study, the historical shift from more modernist conceptions of truth to postmodern views is explored through a brief overview of the philosophy of science. These perspectives are explored further in the epistemological shifts underlying therapeutic endeavours and methodology in the field of psychology. Approaches to therapy in South Africa are subsequently reviewed, focusing particularly on positions of truth adopted by the profession in this context. The themes of truth, reconciliation, healing and hurting in the discourse surrounding the Commission are subsequently explored further. This discussion includes some of the literature regarding experiences of people who have been involved with the Commission. Following this, the narratives from interviews held with a group of mothers who attended the Truth Commission and one of the journalists working with the Commission are included. These narratives are related to participants' experiences in having attended/been involved with the Truth Commission and their experiences around truth and forgiveness. A qualitative, reflexive approach to the interviews and analysis thereof, is used. In conclusion, reflections on the process are included. These reflections present a dialectic between the importance of the ongoing nature of the journey in this multi-dimensional context, as well as the author's perspective on the need for the notion of absolute truth in this journeying.

This thesis examines the experience of loss in Anne Landsman’s novels The Devil’s Chimney (1997) and The Rowing Lesson (2008), and Rachel Zadok’s Gem Squash Tokoloshe (2005). Positing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as an impetus for emerging literary traditions within contemporary South African fiction, the argument begins by evaluating the reasons for the TRC’s widespread impact, and considers the role that the individual author may play within a culture which is undergoing dramatic socio-political upheavals. Through theoretical explication, close reading, and textual comparison, the argument initiates a dialogue between psychoanalysis and literary analysis, differentiating between two primary modes of experiencing loss, namely traumatic and nostalgic memory. Out of these sets of concerns, the thesis seeks to understand the inextricability of body, memory and landscape, and interrogates the deployment of these tropes within the contexts of traumatic and nostalgic loss, examining each author’s nuanced invocation. A central tenet of the argument is a consideration, moreover, of how the dialogic imagination has shaped storytelling, and whether or not narrative may provide therapeutic affect for either author or reader. The study concludes with an interpretation of the changing shape of literary expression within South Africa.

This thesis is a work of Christian theology. Its purpose is twofold: firstly to develop an adequate understanding of reconciliation at the level of peoples and nations; and secondly to make a practical contribution to resolving the problems in Australia for the welfare of all the peoples, and of the land itself. The history of the relationships between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia has left many problems, and no matter what the non-Indigenous people try to do, the Indigenous peoples of Australia continue to experience themselves as being in a state of siege. Trying to understand what is happening, and what can be done to resolve the problems for the peoples of Australia and the land, have been the implicit drivers for the theological development in this thesis. This thesis argues that the present generation in any trans-generational dispute is likely to continue to sin in ways that are shaped by the sins of the past, which explains why Indigenous peoples in Australia find themselves in a stage of siege, even when the non-Indigenous peoples are trying to pursue policies which they believe are for the welfare of all. The only way to resolve this is for the peoples of Australia to seek reconciliation. In particular, the non-Indigenous peoples need to repent, both of their own sins, and the sins of their forebears. Reconciliation processes have become part of the international political landscape. However, there are real concerns about the justice of pursuing reconciliation. An important part of the theological development of this thesis is therefore to show that pursuing reconciliation establishes justice. It is shown that the nature of justice, and of repentance, can only be established by pursuing reconciliation. Reconciliation is possible because God has made it possible, and is working in the world to bring reconciliation. Because land is an essential part of Indigenous identity in Australia, the history of land in court cases and legislation in Australia over the past half century forms an important case study in this work. It is shown that, although there was significant repentance within the non-Indigenous legal system in Australia, the degree of repentance available through that legal system is inherently limited, and so a more radical approach is needed in order to seek reconciliation in Australia. A final chapter considers what the non-Indigenous people of Australia need to do in order to repent.