Decolonisation and comparative land reform with a special focus on Africa

Abstract

One of the principles guiding the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 was the need to eradicate colonialism and to ensure the total emancipation of African territories and its peoples. The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights adopted in 1981 grants all peoples the right to self-determination, through which to freely determine their political status and pursue their social and economic development. The last two African countries to gain independence from apartheid and white minority rule, namely Namibia and South Africa, have taken different approaches to land and tenure reform. The year 2013 marked 100 years since the enactment of the Natives Land Act 27 of 1913 in South Africa that led to the indigenous majority population having access to only 13% of the land while the white minority had access to 87% of the land. The year 1913 is also the current cut-off point for recognising land claims. The South African government has recently taken initiatives aimed at improving the pace of land reform, which currently stand at 5% of the land being transferred to black South Africans against a target of delivering 30% by 2014. While the government has called for patience in this regard, some urgent intervention is required, lest South Africans lose patience and undertake land invasions on a sustained basis.     

Environmental technology assessment for enhanced green economy transition in South Africa

Abstract

South Africa has in place policies that promote green economy and sustainable development path. For example, the National Environmental Management Act Principle 3 states that development must be socially, environmentally and economically sustainable. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) practice in South Africa was formalised in 1997 when the first set of EIA regulations were passed. The DEA EIA review report however suggested that the EIA does not contribute adequately to achieving sustainable development. To this end, a framework is outlined to incorporate the key elements of the environmental technology assessment (EnTA) to EIA, consequently strengthening the EIA process for enhancing green economy transition in the context of sustainable development. The method used consists of case studies and survey data. It is established in the article that there is a level of incorporation between some EnTA elements and issues considered in EIA. It is, however, also established that, of the twelve key elements of EnTA, institutional capacity is the least considered in the EIA. Further research is recommended to investigate the extent to which the lack of consideration for institutional capacity relates to the EIA not contributing to sustainable development.     

论《涉外民事关系法律适用法》与《民法通则》的关系

《涉外民事关系法律适用法》与《民法通则》之间的关系,涉及到我国上位法与下位法的关系、特别法与一般法的关系、新法与旧法的关系等一系列法理;也涉及到了我国宪法和《立法法》的规定。《涉外民事关系法律适用法》第二条的"特别规定"规定导致该法成为一般法,《民法通则》的一些规定成为特别法的倒置现象。而第五十一条前款的规定则是以作为普通法律的《涉外民事关系适用法》排除了作为基本法律的《民法通则》条文的适用。为了解决二者之间的法律竞合,可以有三种办法:启动修改法律的程序;启动立法解释的程序;提升《涉外民事关系法律适用法》为基本法律。     

行政强制执行时间限制与拒绝给付禁止之制度解析——评《行政强制法》第43条

《行政强制法》第43条规定关涉的行政强制执行时间限制与拒绝给付禁止之规定透射出这样的利益博弈:公民权的保障与行政权的限缩、个人利益的凸显与公共利益的隐退。由此足以解读立法者设置该条的旨意。该种立法内容设计存在正当性瑕疵:从宏观上来看,存在与该法同一章节预置规则相冲突之嫌;从微观来看,内容设计之科学性不足。基于此,行政强制执行时间与手段限制的革新应以"抑公扬私"的立法理念为导向探求行政强制执行时间的限度;从法律依据、适用条件、程序设置等方面规制拒绝给付制度。     

Stolen Art Restitution Claims and the Exhaustion of Local Remedies: How Foreign-Based Plaintiffs are Able to Succeed Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act

Stolen art restitution claims under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (“FSIA”) present unique procedural issues that implicate the history, purpose, and objectives of the FSIA. At the forefront of these issues are how foreign-based plaintiffs are able to bring suits against foreign governments or foreign citizens in US Federal Courts. Whether these foreign-based plaintiffs must exhaust local remedies in their country of origin is another issue that these kinds of suits typically have courts resolve. This article provides answers to these issues through a historical discussion of the implementation of the FSIA and an analysis of recent case law.     

The Emergence of Crime Victims as a Target Group in the Swedish Social Services Act

This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of crime victim support provisions in the Swedish Social Services Act. The findings derive from a case study of the preparatory material that prefaced the legal changes that were adopted in 2001. The result shows that the explicit purpose of the provisions was to consider measures to improve the support to crime victims. To some degree the provisions can also be explained by symbolic factors. In fact, most actors in the law-making process indicate that their motives were communicative and symbolic. Support to crime victims was presumably a complicated issue for the social democratic government. Because of the economical crisis in the early 1990s, there was no scope for reforms that implied high increased costs. Yet expanding the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender, such as toughening the penal law and promoting victim impact statements, was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the provisions in the Social Services Act the government demonstrated that support to crime victims was an important area of concern. At the same time, the provisions did not involve any increased costs or strengthen the crime victim's rights in relation to the offender. In this way, the provisions became a mediator that solved a difficult political dilemma for the government.     

美国联邦碳排放限额交易立法解析

关于建立一个全国性的碳排放限额交易计划的问题,已经在美国国会获得了强烈的政治考虑,多部联邦法律草案勾画出了未来联邦碳排放限额交易计划的基本架构,只是具体细节的设计上存在微小差异。但是,拟建联邦碳排放限额交易计划的温室气体减排潜力有限,且因难以调和的利益冲突而近期获得通过的希望渺茫。     

Outlook: The subprime lending crisis: Focus on the problem: Subprime borrowers in trouble

Abstract

Public policy should be directed at serving the large number of borrowers who have recently taken out subprime loans and who are at serious risk of losing their homes when their mortgages reset. Practicing forbearance and providing counseling for defaulting homeowners, as well as allowing them to refinance into a Federal Housing Administration loan, can be particularly helpful. Broad changes in housing programs and in the structure of the mortgage market should be considered on their merits as good or bad public policy for the long term, not simply as solutions to the subprime problem.     

Housing vouchers in the United States,great Britain,and the Netherlands: Current issues and future perspectives

Abstract

We compare the current U.S. housing voucher program with the British housing benefit and the Dutch housing allowance programs. After presenting the theory behind income‐related housing support, which underpins both the U.S. and European systems, we compare the three programs with respect to their scope (the budgeted versus the entitlement approach), the relationship between housing support and rent levels, the poverty trap, moral hazards, and administrative problems.

The United States can learn from Great Britain and the Netherlands that a full entitlement program can best promote equity, but given the present political and economic climate, it is unlikely that Congress will adopt such a program anytime soon. Great Britain and the Netherlands can learn from the United States how to design a more efficient tenant subsidy program, one that provides incentives to find less expensive units and promotes family self‐sufficiency through enhanced job‐seeking behavior.