Pre-constitutional state of customary law in South Africa

Customary law is often criticized for being in conflict with human rights norms, mainly on the grounds that it tends not to emphasize gender equality and discriminate against women. Although customary law has not in the past emphasized equality between men and women, it cannot be regarded as completely in conflict with human rights1. As already stated, one of the principles of human rights is equality between the sexes. Customary law has the same aim as human rights, which is the protection of human dignity2. The conflict may be largely caused by the fact that, ideologically, African customary law is communal or socialist in approach, whereas human rights are based on the premise that a person has rights by virtue of his or her being an individual human being. Now that we in South Africa have a bill of rights and yet we will still have customary law, the question has been and is still being posed whether customary law is not in conflict with universal human rights. The reason for this is that one of the values that underpin our Constitution is equality.3 Customary law on the other hand does not insist on complete equality in every respect. In particular section 9 of the 1996 Constitution provides for equality before the law and for equal protection and benefit of the law, which entails the full and equal enjoyment of all the rights and freedoms. It further proscribes unfair discrimination based on the listed grounds although it allows steps to promote or advance people or categories of persons who have been disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.     

POLICE DISCRETION AT THE ARRESTING STAGE OF TERRORISM CRIMINAL SUSPECT： EFFORT OF INDONESIAN POLICE IN COMBATING TERRORISM CRIME

The police arresting action that should be done to the suspect of terrorism determined by the understanding about the prevailing law and morality and standard operational procedure, the authority should not oppose with human rights in order to determine the abuse in the police discretion at the arrest stage. In the criminal law enforcement practice related with the terrorism arrest has occurred abuse of authorities if not based on rationality and the understanding and implementation of true legal norms that will influence the law enforcement. The effort to eradicate the terrorism criminal offense should be followed by executive policy formulation as the clear, firm and measured fixed criminal procedure law so each power usage in the police action, especially firearms can be answered based on human rights, police code of conduct, basic principle on the use of force and firearms. The paper attempts to describe and analyse the police discretion power as defined on the Act No. 2 Year 2002 concerning Indonesian National Police particularly at the arresting stage terrorism criminal suspect in the effort of combating terrorism crime in the country.     

THE POLICE INVESTIGATOR＇S AUTHORITY TO ISSUE PROVISION LETTER OF INVESTIGATION CANCELLATION： ITS URGENCY IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF INDONESIAN CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

According to integrated criminal justice system, Police is the gatekeeper of the Indonesian criminal justice system or the pioneer State＇s institution and agency in criminal law enforcement. Consequently, when public are disappointed with law enforcement, attention will firstly be directed to the police. Hence, according to the Direction of the Chief State＇s Police No. KEP/3 7/X/2008 concerning the Accelerated Program of the Indonesian Police Transformation towards independent, professional and accountable police, all levels of police structure are ordered to be able to change the paradigm of the police services as soon as possible. In addition to that, police investigators have published some letters of Investigation Cancellation Order （SP3） as it is a part of police＇ authority stipulated in the Code of Criminal Procedure （KUHAP） and the Law No. 2 Year 2002. However, there are still abundant of cases to solve. Consequently, there should be policy regulating the authority of investigators to issue Provision Letter of Investigation Cancellation （SKP2）. This modest article attempts to describe philosophical foundation of the urgency of police authority to issue SKP2 and the juridical implication covers the law enforcement effort, strenghthening the realization of duties and responsibility of the police investigators in settling cases and facilitating the effort to attain the goals of the law namely justice, usefulness, and legal certainty, as well as assisting to search and find the substantially truth by paying attention to the protection of human rights.     

AN EVALUATION OF THE CHINESE LEGAL SYSTEM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The philosophy of binary purpose in conjunction with a holistic approach reflects sustainable development.These ideas are in accordance with Chinese traditional philosophy and culture,as well as the contemporary economic and social development.It calls for the central government's support to achieve sustainable development at the initial stage.However,in the long run,this approach has drawbacks which are concealed Thus,prompt adjustment is needed.In the relationship between the systems of sustainable development and democracy,human rights,sovereign equality of states,and sustainable development are approbated by the Chinese law system.The bottleneck of sustainable development is linked to its ideological system.Integration is related to the bottleneck of binary purposes,good governance,public participation,and human rights.The government-oriented mechanism has a time element that is related to the bottleneck of utilitarianism and basic economic law.For China's sustainable development,breaking the bottleneck to improve the system and seizing the opportunity to make innovations are of great significance.     

LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON INDIRECT SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE： FROMA PERSPECTIVE OF IMPROVING THE LAW OF CHINA ON NON-SEX DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN IN WORKING LIFE

Equal rights to work between men and women are recognized as fundamental human rights by many international conventions including the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Also, constitutions of many countries recognize equal rights to work as basic constitutional rights. But women all over the world still face numerous kinds of sex discrimination, including direct sex discrimination and indirect sex discrimination, especially in working life. Indirect sex discrimination against women in working life undermines women＇s equal rights to work in a covert way, which is just as harmful as direct sex discrimination and should be prohibited by law.     

＂With faces hidden while the walls were tightening＂： Applying international human rights standards to forensic psychology

This paper considers the relationship between forensic psychology and international human rights standards （and about the relationship between mental disability law and such standards in general）, especially in the contexts of the sorts of cases in which forensic psychologists are involved, the special issues in the context of nations with developing economies, and the relevance of international mental health norms. I conclude by focusing on the use of therapeutic jurisprudence as an interpretive tool, and offering suggestions as to how the practice of forensic psychologists can and should best incorporate international human rights standards and principles in their work.     

THE PROCEDURE OF PLEA BARGAINING IN ROMANIA A NEGOTIATION OR JUST A FORMAL INSTITUTION？ THE COMMON LAW SYSTEM

Entry into force of the law No. 202/2010 regarding some measures to accelerate the settlement of the process, already raises a number of problems of interpretation. According to the Explanatory Memorandum of Law 202/2010 states that： ＂Unlike the other laws, the law No. 202/2010 comes into Romanian legislative with the aim of speeding criminal proceedings as well as to prepare the implementation of the new codes, some of the regulations contained in future coding being found in this law.＂ In this respect, in the explanatory memorandum to the bill, it was noted that ＂from the major failures of justice in Romania, the harshest criticism was the lack of celerity in solving cases. ＂ As often judicial procedures prove to be heavy, formal, expensive and lengthy, it was recognized that judicial effectiveness of justice consists, largely, in the speed with which the rights and obligations enshrined in judgments are part of the juridical circuit, thus ensuring the stability of legal relations to be decided. The introduction of simplified procedure of admission of guilt in the Criminal Code, now in force, was justified in the explanatory memorandum, among others, by Article 6 paragraphs 3 letter d） of the European Convention which guarantees the defendant the right to examine or have examined witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses under the same conditions as witnesses against him. This right has a relative character,＂ the defendant may give up his pursuit before an independent and impartial tribunal, and elect to be tried based on the evidence administrated in criminal prosecution. In this respect, the Strasbourg Court stipulated that the defendant has the opportunity to waive the right guaranteed by Article 6 paragraph 3 letters d） of the European Convention and, consequently, he cannot claim that this right was violated, if the sentencing court based its decision on the statement made during prosecution of a witness （anonymously） in whose defendant waived hear     

BREACH OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY NIGERIAN POLICE IN THE PERFORMANCE OF ITS FUNCTIONS＂ NEED FOR A REFORM

Nigerian Police is charged with the responsibility of upholding the law and ensuring order is kept within the polity. It is however observed that the police in carrying out its functions constantly abuses the rights of the citizens which are considered as natural rights and very fundamental to every human existence. This study aims at examining the roles of the police in Nigeria and the various ways and the rights of citizens are being encroached upon by the said police. The legal standards prescribed for the operations of Nigerian police are measured against the international standards as a parameter in order to determine the weak points of the Nigerian standards. Suggestions are therefore made on how Nigerian police can be more humane in carrying out its functions.     

EGYPT＇S PUBLIC PROTEST LAW 2013： A BOOST TO FREEDOM OR A FURTHER RESTRICTION？

On November 24, 2013, Egypt＇s signed into law - the Public Protest interim President Adly Mansour Law after it was proposed by the interim government, and soon it became the main concern in Egypt due to claim that after the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi and of the Muslim Brotherhood, the country is currently ruled by a military-backed government that seeks to restrict freedom and rights in order to introduce a new authoritarian-military rule. The government promoted the law by arguing that it aims to maintain stability and security in Egypt＇s streets and that it only targets factional protest movements and saboteurs. Nevertheless, the law has been widely criticized by human rights groups as well as rights and political activists who say it restricts freedom of speech and that it is an attempt to completely ban the right to protest, not to regulate it as the government claims.     

THE OMBUDSMAN AND THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN EUROPE： CASE STUDY OF ITALIAN ＂CIVIC DEFENDER＂

The paper is centered on the Ombudsman＇s role in the defense of individual human rights. The institution of the Ombudsman is based on the idea that citizens should be entitled to complain against specific acts and behaviors of their rulers and that their complaints should be investigated by an independent body. In Europe, the establishment of a specific office to investigate citizen complaints against public bureaucracy is relatively recent,     

LAW SCHOOLS AS DEPOSITARIES OF THE IDEA OF HUMAN RIGHTS -- FROM TOTALITARIANISM TO YOUNG DEMOCRACY （AS EXEMPLIFIED BY POLAND）

The role, which the higher training institutes （universities） played under the totalitarian communist regime, maintaining and developing the idea of human rights, can hardly be overestimated. In non-democratic political .systems, the human rights——understood as certain fundamental and inalienable rights each human being is vested in---have always been regarded as a threat to the existing legal and social order. It is for that very reason that the promotion of human rights under the totalitarian systems is either forbidden or greatly limited.     

REHABILITATION POLICY IN THE LEGAL PROTECTION OF CHILD AND RAPED WOMEN AS VICTIMS

The research focused on identifying the rules or norms of positive law, relating to Article 64 paragraph （3） letter a of Act No.23 of 2002 carried through rehabilitation efforts, both within the institution and outside the institution. The treatment between the rights of offenders and the rights of victims is equal in the criminal justice system. Positive in criminal law today is more emphasis on the protection of non-physical rehabilitation of order been done ＂in abstracto＂ or indirectly acoords legal system in Indonesia embraces the Civil Law svstem,     

＂Common knowledge＂ and the legal construction of race： Constructions of white people through U.S. expansionism,naturalization and immigration law

This article takes as a starting point, key claims from studies of the invention of the human category ＂white＂ during the late Seventeenth Century in Colonial North America： that ＂white＂ reflecting a unique group of humanity was an invention deployed to divide laborers; that white people were by law assigned greater material value and rendered more valuable; and that those who were seen as white were thought to be like the British and believed to be superior to those seen as nonwhite. Each of these claims will be briefly reviewed. Building upon the foundation of whiteness studies in law and history, this article explores what Ian F. Haney Lopez identifies as the ＂common knowledge＂ of race, the legal standard established within naturalization prerequisite cases in order to determine whether one was racially ＂white＂ by law. This article works to bridge the ideas revealed through studies of the invention of white people within Colonial North America and this legal standard that emerged in the 1920s. U.S. expansionism, immigration and naturalization law in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries provide critical areas of inquiry for the developing understanding of the ＂common knowledge＂ of race and the role of law in the construction of race.     

CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT IN BURUNDI： A CASE STUDY OF PROTECTION OF REFUGEES AND IDPS IN POST-CONFLICT RECONCILIATION AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Violations of human rights and genocide in Burundi are among the most contentious issues which continue to attract the attention of academic discourse. This paper is concerned with the question of human rights violations in Burundi from a historical and comparative perspective. It seeks to trace the root causes of Burundi＇s sullied human rights record over 52 years since independence from Belgium in 1962, the role of the military in human rights violations, including mass killings of civilians and extra-judicial executions of political opponents and the fact that the post- conflict constitutional architecture has not succeeded in establishing accountability and responsibility for these violations; in providing truth, justice and reparations to the victims and in putting an end to the culture of impunity which seems to be entrenched in Burundian society. Moreover, by analyzing critically the results from interviewing 113 Burundians and 16 non-Burundians, this paper argues that there will be no political stability enduring peace without addressing these issues in a comprehensive manner.     

24th IVR world congress： Global harmony and rule of law

XIV World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy will be held in Beijing on September 15-20, 2009. The main theme of the 24th IVR World Congress is ＂global harmony and rule of law＂. The concept of harmony has figured prominently in both eastern and western philosophical traditions, and can be interpreted to describe the developmental goals of many societies. Unlike the more often invoked concept of ＂＇globalization＂, ＂global harmony＂ captures many of our shared ideals concerning the relationships among countries, cultures, and legal systems, as well as between human kind and nature. By proposing to examine the role of the rule of law in promoting global harmony, the hosts of the 24th IVR World Congress hope not only to give greater voice to traditions and contemporary thinking in non-western cultures, but also to suggest new dimensions of collaboration among eastern and western scholars.     

TOWARDS A NEW CONCESSIONS REGIME IN THE EU： ABOUT THE MERITS AND SHORTCOMINGS OF THE CONCESSIONS＇ DIRECTIVE

The European Commission published a proposal at the end of2011 for a self-standing directive on the awarding of concessions in the context of the revision of the public procurement framework. With the aim of harmonizing rules and developing minimum standards based on the EU primary law and ECJ case law, the purpose of the proposed directive was, according to the Commission, to ensure more transparency and legal certainty in all Member States in awarding concessions and enhance the development of PPPs （Public-Private Partnerships） 1 However, negotiations on the proposal for a concessions directive proved to be difficult. The text2 finally adopted on February 26, 2014 stems from three compromises： 1. Within the European Commission, between a fully fledged approach and a so-called ＂light approach ＂; 2. within the Council between Member States in favor of a detailed directive for the sake of easy transposition, and Member States reluctant to the very directive, whose added value was challenged either by fear of amending their own existing national legislation on concessions or, conversely, by fear of putting at risk existing contracts awarded without open tender; 3. within the European Parliament, as the rather technical issue of public procurement became a politically driven debate on both the principle of subsidiarity and the legitimacy of private operators to manage services of general interest. As a result of a complex deal brokered by the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament, the main merit of the directive is its existence. In the light of the numerous exclusions to its scope, it remains to be seen whether some of its promising provisions regarding the definition, the award and the life of concessions will facilitate on the ground the development of transparent, performing concessions projects. At the end of the day, options to be embraced by the Member States for the transposition of the concessions directive will be a key element in the success and use of the new legal concessions reg     

Culture diversity and environmental protection

Just as human rights advocates have tended to place only civil and political rights onto their agendas, environmentalists have tended to focus primarily on natural resource preservation without addressing human impacts of environment abuse. As a result, victims of environment degradation are unprotected by the laws and mechanisms established to address human rights abuse. This paper will offer a brief comparative analysis of the United States＇ environment policy and a case of ASEAN implanting the concept of environmental right; discuss the traditional knowledge of indigenous population and its impact upon the environment protection; and at last recommend a model system used in China in linking cultural diversity and environmental right.     

MARRIAGE LAW AND CONFUCIAN ETHICS IN THE QING DYNASTY

The Qing Dynasty is the last dynasty of all the twelve dynasties in Chinese history. Its family law embodied the Confucian conception of the integration of family, country and the world under heaven. The rule of traditional Chinese society was depicted as ＂the Rule of Propriety and Music＂ which had been established by Duke Zhou as an instrumentalist mechanism and refined by the Confucian humanistic value orientation. This rule exhibited the intricate fabric of both family and country in five-types in dressing-service, making the laws and legalities in the Qing Codes and Cases peculiar in marriage, divorce, property inheritance and heir adoption and confirmation with obvious female and juvenile discriminations. Since Confucian ethics was introduced as a remedy to the deficiency in regulation and the stereotypes of mentality in the late Zhou Dynasty, their suggestions on equal and universal moral rights have become apparent in the relative enactments and cases ever since. As a system of social regulation, the Qing Codes and Cases demonstrated validity and stability in all areas of family law as well as in their compromise with Confucian ethics in the solidarity of family, clan, country and worm where the right to live and the balance between right and duty had been always prioritized.