The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

This paper is mainly anchored in assemblies and parades handled by police agency¡¨. First of all, assemblies and parades are the basic human rights protected by our constitution. The purpose of the police¡¦s involvement in the handling of those activities is to safeguard citizens¡¦ exercise of their rights. Secondly, from analysis of practical cases and through verification of experimental activities and modification of theories, reasonable and proper principles of handling such activities can be submitted as a reference for policemen¡¦s law enforcement and education and training. Finally, the study discusses the contents and regulations of the Law of Parade and Demonstration. It also provides directions of modification of the law through theories and experiments in order to make the law more perfect, protect human rights granted by the constitution, and further inspire people¡¦s law-abiding spirit. From my practical experiences in handling assemblies and parades over the years in police organizations of basic level and this study, the author found that the cases of assemblies and parades in Kaohsiung City during the period from 2001 to 2005 were different in their types. Case-by-case analysis, examination of evidence and deductive method were adopted to examine if the police adhere to the principles of ¡§protecting lawful assemblies¡¨, ¡§banning unlawful assemblies, and ¡§imposing sanction against violence¡§, and if they take the positions of ¡§To rule by law¡¨, ¡§administrative neutrality¡¨ and ¡§strict enforcement of law¡¨ at the same time. If not, the results will turn out to be different. In recent years, people¡¦s political consciousness has been rising and the assertion of individual rights and interests has aroused more and more attention. Besides, the two-party system has almost taken shape in Taiwan. Consequently, assemblies and parades become normal in today¡¦s plural and diversified society. The police should know how to play the role of law enforcement and protector correctly. To achieve the goal, the policemen should accumulate their practical experiences and carry out case analysis continuously. By combining ¡§theories¡¨ with ¡§practices¡¨ together, this study reflects the advantages and disadvantages of the police in handling assemblies and parades at current stage, and point out the direction of amendment to the present Law of Parade and Demonstration. Finally, this study submits one set of concrete and feasible plan for the police agency to follow, and I hope that the plan will be helpful in handling assemblies and parades in the future.

Pagrindinė kliūtis taikyti valstybei civilinę atsakomybę ilgą laiką buvo valstybės imuniteto (arba suvereno imuniteto, arba įstatymų leidėjo imuniteto) doktrina, kuri neleidžia taikyti valstybei deliktinės atsakomybės už viešojoje srityje atliktus veiksmus. Šis principas kildinamas iš anglų karalių teisės. Šiandien imuniteto egzistavimą bandoma teisinti valstybės turto apsaugos svarba, siekiu užtikrinti valdžių padalijimo principo veikimą, institucijos, turinčios kompetenciją nagrinėti bylas prieš valstybę (ar įstatymų leidėją), nebuvimu, adekvačių teisių gynimo būdų egzistavimu, išrinktų valdžios atstovų pozicijos stiprinimu bei tradicija. Viduramžiška imuniteto doktrina yra nesuderinama demokratinių valstybių principais, tad turi būti visiškai pašalinta. Lietuvos Teismų praktika šios doktrinos egzistavimo Lietuvoje nepripažįsta. Įstatymų leidėju paprastai laikomas subjektas, kuriam suteikta galia pareikšti galutinę ir neginčijamą valią dėl įstatymo priėmimo. Lietuvoje įstatymų leidėju laikomas Parlamentas bei Tauta. Įstatymų leidėjo kompetenciją ir diskreciją riboja Konstitucijoje nustatyti bei prisiimti tarptautiniai įsipareigojimai. Tarptautinių sutarčių pagrindu, pavyzdžiui, EŽTK, Lietuva yra įsipareigojusi užtikrinti pagrindines teises asmenims, esantiems jos jurisdikcijoje. Įstatymas, pažeidžiantis tokią tarptautinę sutartį, laikytinas neteisėtu, tačiau nacionalinė teisė jokiai institucijai nėra suteikusi kompetencijos tikrinti įstatymų atitikimą tarptautinėms... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / A main let to apply tort liability to the state is the principle of sovereign immunity (or state immunity; or legislator immunity), derived from Medieval English law, which says that government is immune from tort liability. Today remains of sovereign immunity doctrine usually is justified by: the importance of protecting government treasuries; separation of powers; the absence of authority for suits against the government; the existence of adequate alternative remedies; strengthening the position of elected politicians; and tradition. The doctrine of immunity is inconsistent with the main principles, recognized by democratic countries, so has no place in democracy and should be repealed entirely. The legislator is a subject, who has a right to make a final and unchallenged decision in the law making process. In Lithuania there are two legislators: the Parliament (Seimas) and the Nation. Competence and discretionary powers of legislature are limited by the Constitution and obligations of the state under the international and European Community law. By international contracts, such as European Convention of Human rights, Lithuania is obliged to confer the main rights to individuals in its jurisdiction. The national law that violates such provisions must be held unlawful, but there are no national institutions that have a competence to state that violation. Individuals may get remedy only if the European Court of Human Rights states the violation; in the same judgment the Court... [to full text]

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the development of the notion of property concept since the promulgation of the Constitution of South Africa 108 of 1996 with special reference to the influence of statutory developments and especially the influence of Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998. In the preamble to the Constitution it is made very clear that the injustices of the past are recognised and that it is endeavoured to rectify the division of the past and that all efforts are to be made to build a future that is characterised for the acknowledgement of human rights, democracy, equality and peaceful co-existence. In the Bill of Rights the right to property is acknowledged as a fundamental right and is it also mentioned that the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights. Before the Constitution common law protection for ownership was well established, but no statutory protection for ownership existed. The effect of the property clause (section 25) of the Constitution was that not only ownership, but also other rights to property protected. The property clause prescribes that no one may be deprived of his property, except in terms of law of general application, and no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property. No fundamental right is absolute with the effect that conflict may arise between the different clauses of the Bill of Rights. A typical example may be where the rights of an owner of immovable come into conflict with another person's right to housing. It must, however, always be borne in mind that no fundamental right is absolute that it is possible, under certain circumstances, to limit a fundamental right. This limitation may also occur in the case of property rights. Certain statutory developments took place since the promulgation of the Constitution. The most important of these developments is of course the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998. In terms of this Act it is required that certain formalities are to be fulfilled before an unlawful occupier may be evicted from property. The relevant part of the Act is the definition of an illegal occupier. Despite the fact that it was decided in several court cases that an illegal occupier does not include a person who previously had permission to occupy the property, it was decided by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Ndlovu v Ngcobo : Bekker v Jika that the act is applicable to such occupiers and specifically to lessees who's lease agreements have expired or a mortgagor who's mortgage has been foreclosed and who now refuses to vacate the property in question. The key findings are that the property concept has developed drastically since the Constitution. In regard to statutory development the most important development was the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act which was found to be applicable to all unlawful occupiers of property, regardless of the fact that the occupiers may previously have occupied the property lawfully. The Legal Amendment Bill is to rectify this in order to ensure that the Prevention of lllegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act will no longer be applicable to such occupiers and specifically to lessees who's lease agreements have expired or mortgagors who's bond have been called up and who now refuse to vacate the property in question This amendment will bring the (often) conflicting fundamental rights to property and housing into a greater degree of harmony, even though it will not solve all problems. It is the duty of the State to address this and all other potential conflict between different fundamental rights. The method used in this dissertation was the analytical study of statutes, court cases and articles in legal magazines. / Thesis (LL.M. (Estate Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Iki 2003 m. LR BK normose buvo numatytas, tik žmogaus laisvės pasirinkti buvimo vieta varžymas. Tuo tarpu kėsinimasis i žmogaus laisvę pasirinkti, elgesio varianta LR BK išvis nebuvo reglamentuotas. 2003 m. įsigaliojus naujam Baudžiamajam kodeksui, jo 148 str. buvo numatyta nauja nusikalstamos veikos sudėtis - žmogaus veiksmų laisvės varžymas. Naujas požiūris į žmogaus laisvę atitiko visuomeninių santykių realijas ir tarptautinius Lietuvos įsipareigojimus, tačiau šios normos taikymas tapo problematiškas dėl jos naujumo ir požymiu neaiškumo. Šiame darbe atskleidžiama žmogaus veiksmu laisvės samprata įvairiu istoriniu laikotarpiu. Pateiktas šios sampratos filosofinis ir teisinis aiškinimas. Aptariamos teisinės žmogaus veiksmų laisvės sampratos ištakos, teisinio apibrėžtumo būtinumas ir įstatyminis šios sampratos reglamentavimas, ne tik Lietuvos, bet ir užsienio šalių baudžiamuosiuose įstatymuose, bei tarptautiniuose teisės aktuose. Nurodomi žmogaus veiksmų laisvės sampratos teisinio reglamentavimo trūkumai Lietuvos baudžiamuosiuose įstatymuose. Darbe pateikta šiuo metu galiojančios LR BK 148 str. normos objektyviųjų ir subjektyviųjų požymių analizė. Šios normos teisinio vertinimo ypatumai atskleisti analizuojant ryšius su kitomis, savo sudėties požymiais panašiomis nusikalstamomis veikomis. Normos teisinio įvertinimo problemos aptariamos ne tik moksliniu, teisminiu aiškinimu, tačiau panaudota ir teismų praktikos pavyzdžiai. Darbe pateikta žmogaus veiksmų laisvės varžymo normos... [to full text] / Until the year 2003, only the restriction on a person’s freedom to choose the place of residence was provided for in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, whereas the infringement of a person’s freedom of action was not regulated at all. In 2003, when the new Criminal Code became effective, a new criminal act – the restriction on a person’s freedom of action was established in Article 148 of the Code. A new approach towards the freedom of a person was in line with the currently existing public relations and international Lithuanian covenant but the application of this norm was quite complicated due to the fact that it was new and its elements were not clearly defined. This paper reveals the understanding of a person’s freedom of action in various historical periods. A philosophical and legal definition and explanation of this concept is presented here. The beginnings of legal understanding of a person’s freedom of action, the necessity for a legal definition and statutory regulation of this concept not only in the Lithuanian but also in foreign criminal laws and international legal acts are discussed. The shortcomings of legal regulation of the concept of a person’s freedom of actions in the Lithuanian criminal laws are highlighted. The analysis of objective and subjective elements of the norm, stipulated in the currently effective Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Lithuania, is presented in this paper. The specific features of legal appraisal... [to full text]

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Magister Legum - LLM

The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the development of the notion of property concept since the promulgation of the Constitution of South Africa 108 of 1996 with special reference to the influence of statutory developments and especially the influence of Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998. In the preamble to the Constitution it is made very clear that the injustices of the past are recognised and that it is endeavoured to rectify the division of the past and that all efforts are to be made to build a future that is characterised for the acknowledgement of human rights, democracy, equality and peaceful co-existence. In the Bill of Rights the right to property is acknowledged as a fundamental right and is it also mentioned that the state must respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights. Before the Constitution common law protection for ownership was well established, but no statutory protection for ownership existed. The effect of the property clause (section 25) of the Constitution was that not only ownership, but also other rights to property protected. The property clause prescribes that no one may be deprived of his property, except in terms of law of general application, and no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property. No fundamental right is absolute with the effect that conflict may arise between the different clauses of the Bill of Rights. A typical example may be where the rights of an owner of immovable come into conflict with another person's right to housing. It must, however, always be borne in mind that no fundamental right is absolute that it is possible, under certain circumstances, to limit a fundamental right. This limitation may also occur in the case of property rights. Certain statutory developments took place since the promulgation of the Constitution. The most important of these developments is of course the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998. In terms of this Act it is required that certain formalities are to be fulfilled before an unlawful occupier may be evicted from property. The relevant part of the Act is the definition of an illegal occupier. Despite the fact that it was decided in several court cases that an illegal occupier does not include a person who previously had permission to occupy the property, it was decided by the Supreme Court of Appeal in Ndlovu v Ngcobo : Bekker v Jika that the act is applicable to such occupiers and specifically to lessees who's lease agreements have expired or a mortgagor who's mortgage has been foreclosed and who now refuses to vacate the property in question. The key findings are that the property concept has developed drastically since the Constitution. In regard to statutory development the most important development was the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act which was found to be applicable to all unlawful occupiers of property, regardless of the fact that the occupiers may previously have occupied the property lawfully. The Legal Amendment Bill is to rectify this in order to ensure that the Prevention of lllegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act will no longer be applicable to such occupiers and specifically to lessees who's lease agreements have expired or mortgagors who's bond have been called up and who now refuse to vacate the property in question This amendment will bring the (often) conflicting fundamental rights to property and housing into a greater degree of harmony, even though it will not solve all problems. It is the duty of the State to address this and all other potential conflict between different fundamental rights. The method used in this dissertation was the analytical study of statutes, court cases and articles in legal magazines. / Thesis (LL.M. (Estate Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

Doctor Legum - LLD / The research problem of this study is the jurisprudential inconsistency in the application of the right in section 26(3) of the South African Constitution's Bill of Rights. The inconsistency is due to inadequate conceptualisation of the substantive requirements of meaningful engagement (ME) by the South African Constitutional Court (ConCourt). The central argument is that the development of a community engagement model based on the substantive requirements of ME will enhance the application of section 26(3). This study commences by illustrating the disempowering nature to the squatters of the apartheid evictions in South Africa. To tighten influx control, the apartheid regime introduced a battery of laws that disempowered the squatters. The apartheid-induced disempowerment of the squatters penetrated into the democratic dispensation. In the examination of the normative context of evictions post-1994, this study identifies six primary drivers for substantive involvement of the occupiers during evictions. The six primary drivers seek to address the disempowering trajectory during evictions.