The African Commission on Human and People's Rights and the future African Court of Justice and Human Rights: Comparative lessons from the European Court of Human Rights

This article focuses on two regional human rights systems — the system that exists in Africa and the mechanism that exists within the Council of Europe. It examines the development and specifics of each system to determine what lessons the African Commission and the future African Court of Justice and Human Rights can learn from the European model and its Court of Human Rights. The article also examines what can be learnt from the role of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the role of the present human rights court: the African Court of Human and Peoples' Rights. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of each system and the challenges that exist for each. The article also examines the experience of the European Commission, which is no longer in existence, in addition to European Court on Human Rights, which has taken over the functions of the Commission, to determine what can be drawn from their experiences. Issues examined include the institutional strengths and weaknesses of these bodies, state compliance with the decisions of the human rights institutions and the resources available to these bodies.     

Avoiding another Brexit: the subsidiarity principle,the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Following a number of controversial judgments, the British government has been pushing for some time for a limitation of the supervisory powers of the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg. On a British proposal, the member states of the Council of Europe agreed in 2012 to include a reference to the subsidiarity principle into the Preamble of the European Convention on Human Rights. This paper describes these developments and explores the possible role of subsidiarity considerations in the context of international human rights protection.     

African research and development surveys: Highlights from the South African success story

ABSTRACT

Science and technology have a major role to play in current and future developments on the African continent as a whole. With the vast array of developmental challenges, current thinking needs to be expanded, so that technologies provide increased and enhanced solutions, such that African scientists produce an African response to the very many shared challenges affecting Africa – both as individual nations and as regards African people collectively. Key to developing an integrated science and technology network, within and across nations, is firstly to understand the extent of research and development (R&D) currently undertaken within individual territories and on the continent as a whole. In light of this, the article examines the value and importance of national surveys of research and experimental development undertaken in Africa. Within the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), many member states now have dedicated departments overseeing state science and technology (S&T) development initiatives. South Africa has the most developed science and technology system on the continent. In recent years, other SADC countries like Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia have initiated projects to measure R&D activities within their territories. Despite this, further North, R&D measurement on the continent is uncommon, both as a result and as a cause of underdevelopment.

The article explores the limited data from selected African R&D surveys in an attempt to understand measurement issues that exist and to detail the value and importance of mapping S&T systems and their applications to developmental issues in Africa. In countries like Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, where S&T systems exist, effective means of measurement need to be established, so that the power of these systems can be harnessed, shared and exploited to benefit the African people. To this end, the African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators (ASTII) initiative was set up at a meeting in Addis Ababa with the aim of delivering a survey of these countries’ R&D output and potential. This is eagerly awaited by the African S&T community.

At the forefront of African R&D measurement is the South African national R&D survey, administered by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Being an established survey, the South African team is often called upon by other African nations to support the setting up of surveys. The HSRC also trains visiting African scientists in the delivery of accurate and reliable R&D survey data. This article will, for the first time, present detailed results of the most recent South African national R&D survey (2008/2009), together with a trend analysis of historic South African R&D surveys.     

Indigenous Peoples in Commonwealth Countries: The Legacy of the Past and Present-day Struggles for Self-determination

Abstract

Although the UK has no indigenous peoples as understood by the UN, its earlier colonial policies in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Caribbean have had consequences for today’s first peoples Colonial policies that deprived the native populations of their lands, resources and self-determination were generally pursued by the independent states that came in their wake. Today the world’s indigenous peoples are looking to bring to an end their colonial-type situations and re-establish control over their lands and futures. After more than 20 years, the United Nations adopted a Declaration setting out the rights of indigenous peoples, but several Commonwealth countries were unrelenting opponents. This article looks at the colonial heritage as it affects indigenous peoples in the Commonwealth countries, some of the contemporary struggles and situations that have marked the last years, and tries to understand why countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand were the last to accept that indigenous peoples had a right to self-determination.     

理解南海共同开发与航行自由问题的新思路——基于国际法视角看南海争端的解决路径

南海共同开发与航行自由问题的明确与解决,直接关系到中国的海洋权益以及南海的未来法律秩序。尽管泰国湾地区的共同开发经验能够为中国提供借鉴,但南海主海的情况与之有很大区别。共同开发方式在国际范围内接受程度不广泛,实际效果不理想,其对南海争端的可适用程度较低。因此,应对共同开发方式在南海争端解决中的作用予以重新定位。从长远的角度出发,共同开发不能成为解决南海争端的优先选择和主要方式,即便在短期内以共同开发方式为处理南海争端的权宜之计,也应当注重构建一个合理的共同开发机制。中国对南海的"历史性权利"并未被后来的有效国际法律规范所更改或取消,这一权利不能按照《联合国海洋法公约》的架构来解读,也并不存在妨碍南海航行自由的问题。相反,倒是其他南海周边国家滥用《联合国海洋法公约》规定所提出的意在分割、控制南海的种种主张更加妨碍南海的航行自由。比较之下,中国的主张更加符合南海水域本身的性质及其适用当代海洋法之后的应然状态。