This article highlights some of the major contributions of the new Children’s Act of Angola (Act 25/12 of 22 August 2012) to the effect that they can be used to advance children’s rights in Africa. The article advocates that although the Angolan law is in many respects similar to other African children’s statutes, its drafters added certain remarkable aspects that can be utilised to advance children’s rights in other countries in the continent. In acknowledging these innovations and the need to strengthen child laws in Africa the contribution calls on African states to learn from the Angolan experience in their quest to advance children’s rights in their own jurisdictions. Other states are also encouraged to learn from the Angolan example. |
Article |
Strengthening Child Laws in AfricaSome Examples from the New Children’s Act of Angola |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | children’s rights, instruments, law reform, good practice examples, developments or advancements |
Authors | Aquinaldo Célio Mandlate |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Article |
A Thorny Path to the SpotlightThe Rule of Law Component in EU External Policies and EU-Ukraine Relations |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | rule of law, rule of law promotion, European Union, European Neighbourhood Policy, Ukraine |
Authors | Olga Burlyuk |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The rule of law and its promotion abroad is currently at the core of EU external policies, specifically in the European neighbourhood. But has it always been the case? This article traces the rule of law component of EU external policies in general and EU–Ukraine relations as a case study, and reveals that in the last two decades the rule of law has followed a thorny path to the spotlight, emerging from a rather peripheral place in the 1990s to its currently central one. The article argues that this is a result of three processes: the legislative mainstreaming of the rule of law in the EU itself, the growing ambitiousness of EU–Ukraine relations, and the increased visibility of systemic shortcomings in rule of law application in Ukraine due to the trials of opposition politicians since 2010. The article concludes by suggesting that rule of law components of other EU bilateral relations in the European neighbourhood and beyond are subject to similar processes. |
Article |
Wrongful Testing and Its Lively Consequences |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | wrongful life, wrongful birth, comparative law, best interests of the child, balancing convictions |
Authors | W.Th. Nuninga |
AbstractAuthor's information |
In this article a consecutive comparison will be made between the approaches taken towards wrongful birth and wrongful life cases in the Netherlands and in England and Wales. The systems will be evaluated in the light of the best interests of the child, the balance struck between all moral convictions involved, and legal fairness. It will be argued that the approach taken in the Netherlands is more favourable in most respects, but could improve the balance between all moral convictions involved and could enhance legal fairness by limiting the claim for material damages to costs associated with the disability of the child. |
Article |
The Values of the European Union Legal OrderConstitutional Perspectives |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | European Union, constitutional values, jurisprudence, rule of law, treaty objectives |
Authors | Timothy Moorhead |
AbstractAuthor's information |
At the heart of the European Union legal order lie values directed collectively to the idea of European integration. As a body with significant governmental and lawmaking powers, the Union also presents itself as an institution based upon the rule of law. The Union ‘constitution’ therefore expresses both regulatory powers directed towards European integration as well as rule of law principles whose scope of application is limited by the terms of the Treaties. In this article I consider how this distinctive amalgam of values operates as a constitution for the European Union, by comparison with domestic constitutional values within the Member States. I also consider how Union constitutional demands condition and inform the legal practices of the Court of Justice. Here I identify the interpretive effects of superior Union laws – the core Treaty objectives as well as rule of law principles found within the General Principles – as of particular significance in developing the legal influences of the entire Union project of integration. |
Article |
From a Soft Law Process to Hard Law ObligationsThe Kimberley Process and Contemporary International Legislative Process |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | Kimberley Process, soft law, international law, legislative process |
Authors | Martin-Joe Ezeudu |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Ever since its creation and coming into force in 2003, the Kimberley Process has elicited a number of academic commentaries coming from different backgrounds. Legal scholars who have contributed to the commentaries, simply projected the regulatory regime as an international soft law without further analysis, based on an evaluation of the text of the agreement. This article in contrast, explores its practical effects and the manner of obligations that it imposes on its participant countries. It argues that although the regime may have been a soft law by classification, its obligations are hard and are no different from those of a conventional treaty. Those obligations enhance its juridical force, and are a factor by which the regime on its own tends to nullify the traditional criteria for distinction between hard and soft law in international jurisprudence, because it has elements of both. |
Article |
Internet Trolling and the 2011 UK RiotsThe Need for a Dualist Reform of the Constitutional, Administrative and Security Frameworks in Great Britain |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | UK riots, tort law, criminal law, dualism, Internet trolling |
Authors | Jonathan Bishop |
Abstract |
This article proposes the need for ‘dualism’ in the legal system, where civil and criminal offences are considered at the same time, and where both the person complaining and the person responding are on trial at the same time. Considered is how reforming the police and judiciary, such as by replacing the police with legal aid solicitors and giving many of their other powers to the National Crime Agency could improve outcomes for all. The perils of the current system, which treats the accused as criminals until proven not guilty, are critiqued, and suggestions for replacing this process with courts of law that treat complainant and respondent equally are made. The article discusses how such a system based on dualism might have operated during the August 2011 UK riots, where the situation had such a dramatic effect on how the social networking aspects, such as ‘Internet trolling’, affected it. |
Article |
Implementation of Better Regulation Measures in the Internal Security Draft LegislationThe Case of Estonia |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | better regulation, internal security policy, impact assessment, participation, Estonia |
Authors | Aare Kasemets and Annika Talmar-Pere |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The article analyses the implementation of better regulation measures in the internal security (IS) strategies, draft legislation and administrative routines of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior. The article includes the results of five substudies: (a) the research problem emerged from the studies of the explanatory memoranda of draft laws 2004-2009 according to which the Ministry has some deficiencies in fulfilling the better regulation requirements; (b) mapping of better regulation and internal security policy concepts; (c) content analysis of Estonian IS strategy documents; (d) systematization of Estonian IS laws; and (e) sociological e-survey of officials. Theoretical framework integrates the concepts of institutional theory, discursive democracy, realistic legisprudence and the adaptive strategic management.The main conclusions drawn by the article are as follows: the analysis of the knowledge of draft legislation and the excessive amount of laws in the IS field gives evidence of a lack of systematic regulatory impact assessment (IA); the concept of better regulation is not integrated into IS policy documents (insufficient planning and budgeting of IA); and a sociological e-survey of the officials of the Ministry indicates discontent with the management of the IA of policies and draft legislation. According to institutional analysis, this shows readiness for changes in the context of risk society challenges and adaptation with budgetary contractions. |
Article |
Negligent ProsecutionWhy Pirates Are Wreaking Havoc on International Trade and How to Stop It |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | piracy, shipping, maritime law, universal jurisdiction, Somalia |
Authors | Justin Boren |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The standard of living throughout the world has been on the rise thanks in large part to perhaps the greatest advance in the last hundred years: international trade performed by maritime traffic. Despite modern advances in shipping practice, the centuries-old problem of piracy has once again threatened advancement of international trade. Although piracy is not limited to a geographical area, the Horn of Africa has received much attention of late owing to a resurgence of pirate attacks. Using the failed state of Somalia as a base, pirates off the Horn of Africa have found piracy to be an extremely lucrative business in a part of the world ravished by famine, poverty and ongoing wars. This article calls for nations the world over to invoke universal jurisdiction and grant to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, exclusive jurisdiction over claims of piracy. In doing so, the international community will no longer turn a blind eye to a crime that affects all nations equally. |
Article |
Judicial Case Management and the Complexities of Competing Norms Occasioned by Law ReformsThe Experience in Respect of Criminal Proceedings in Botswana |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | case management, Botswana, criminal proceedings, law reform, subpoena |
Authors | Rowland J.V. Cole |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The Botswana judicial and legal system has undergone a wave of reforms over the past few years. These reforms include judicial case management, which was introduced to reduce unnecessary delays and backlog in the hearing of cases. The introduction of judicial case management necessitates a revision of the rules of court. While the rules of the courts principally relate to civil proceedings, criminal proceedings are principally regulated by the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. However, the revised rules of court contain provisions that seek to bring criminal proceedings in line with judicial case management. A number of these provisions are inconsistent with the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act. This presents problems for the implementation of these rules as the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act is superior to the rules in the hierarchy of laws. Consequently, the implementation of judicial case management in criminal proceedings may prove to be an arduous task, and urgent harmonisation of the competing provisions is required. |
Article |
The Costs and Consequences of US Drug Prohibition for the Peoples of Developing Nations |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 1 2014 |
Keywords | U.S. drug policy, drug prohibition, War on Drugs, human rights, U.N. Declaration on the Right to Development |
Authors | J. Michael Blackwell |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The widespread production and use of illicit drugs is a social phenomenon carrying enormous social, economic, and political significance. The United States stands as a vocal and forceful proponent of prohibitionist drug controls in international policymaking. However, strictly enforced US prohibitionist drug controls largely fail to effectively reduce the consumption of narcotic drugs and ultimately create a significant number of negative consequences for many peoples throughout the world. The increased violence, government corruption and community sequestration that result from the war against drugs are deleterious to economic development among rural communities in drug producing countries. In response to these concerns, this article examines the purpose, effects and consequences of the prohibitive drug controls routinely employed by the United States. Special attention is paid to an oft-overlooked repercussion of prohibitive drug controls: the marginalisation of developmental human rights for peoples in drug producing countries. |
Article |
Sir William Dale Annual LectureThe Law Commission and the Implementation of Law Reform |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2013 |
Authors | The Rt. Hon. Sir David Lloyd Jones |
Author's information |
Article |
Donors without BordersA Comparative Study of Tax Law Frameworks for Individual Cross-Border Philanthropy |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2013 |
Keywords | comparative, philanthropy, tax, deduction, international |
Authors | Joseph E. Miller, Jr. |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Under current United States tax law, individual gifts to foreign charities generally are not deductible from federal income tax as charitable contributions. A comparative study of analogous tax laws in Switzerland and the United Kingdom demonstrates that the Swiss approach generally reflects the same prohibition against tax deductions for individual gifts to foreign charities, while British law permits such deductibility for gifts to qualified charities in other EU member states, Norway, and Iceland. |
Article |
Drafting of Legislation in Compliance with Model Laws |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2013 |
Keywords | challenges, domestic legislation, model laws |
Authors | Lesedi Poloko |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Lawmaking is an essential attribute of a state. Laws differ from one country to another, and compliance with different legal rules may create problems. Uniformity of laws is an end in itself, and its value lies in its practical benefits. Interest in the quality of legislative instruments is a major concern, especially as regards the effectiveness of the national legislation. |
Article |
Linguistic Disharmony, National Language Authority and Legislative Drafting in Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2013 |
Keywords | National Language Authority, National Language of Pakistan, Legislation in Urdu, Plain Language Movement, Urdu Language |
Authors | Mazhar Ilahi |
AbstractAuthor's information |
It is quite interesting to note that first, the first language of most of the population of Pakistan remains different in different geographical regions. Secondly, Urdu, which is the second language of most of the population of Pakistan though declared to be the sole constitutional and official language, is not so accepted by all the communities resident in Pakistan. As a result, and thirdly, the laws of Pakistan are drafted in a non-native language, English, which is mostly the third language of a small fraction of the country’s population . This situation runs counter to the theme of the Plain Language Movement for writing of laws (PLM), which strives to make the laws understandable for its subjects. The problem, in reality, owes its genesis to different ethno-lingual and political issues. However, without going into much detail of these ethno-lingual and political elements, this article aims to analyse the question of the need for linguistic harmony, the main causes of lack of focus upon the same and the role of the National Language Authority (NLA) in the context. In addressing these issues the author concludes that lack of political will to handle the natural ensuing issues of the multilingual features of the Pakistani society and the (English) linguistic hegemony of the ruling elites (civil and military bureaucracy) are the two main causes of the failure of the NLA to administer Urdu as a sole national/official/legislative language of Pakistan. |
Article |
Drafting Conventions, Templates and Legislative Precedents, and their Effects on the Drafting Process and the Drafter |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 4 2013 |
Keywords | drafting conventions, templates, legislative precedents, drafter’s skill, necessary tools for effective communication of language of legislation |
Authors | Agnes Quartey Papafio |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The aim of this article is to explore whether drafting conventions, templates and legislative precedents contradict or complement the drafter’s style and if they complement the drafter’s style, the various ways in which the use of these tools achieves it. |
Article |
The Pursuit of Clarity, Precision and Unambiguity in Drafting Retrospective Legislation |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2013 |
Keywords | retrospectivity, clarity, precision, unambiguity, legislative drafting |
Authors | Elias Turatsinze |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The hypothesis of this paper is that clarity, precision and unambiguity are the essential tools for expressing retrospective intent, which is a pre-requisite for quality and validity of retrospective legislation. The main objective of this work is to show that retrospective laws are valid, if the retrospective intent is expressed in clear, precise and unambiguous words within the statute. The term retrospectivity is used broadly to describe any legislation or decision affecting pre-enacting conduct. It encompasses statutes affecting the pre-enactment events, administrative regulations or decisions which look back in time and judicial decisions that overturn prior decisions. All these areas cannot be covered in this limited piece of work. Thus, the emphasis in this work will be put on retrospectivity of statutes at the drafting stage. Although it may be referred to generally, retrospective delegated legislation is outside the scope of this work. Particular attention will be directed towards the importance of clarity, precision and unambiguity in attaining quality and validity of retrospective legislation. |
Article |
The Drafter’s Role in the Drafting Process |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2013 |
Keywords | drafter, drafting process, techniques, scrutiny |
Authors | Mico Augustin |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Every government needs legislation to cover all issues transposing obligations in the manner required by the initiator and with respect to constitutional obligations and rules that provide for the conduct of society. |
Article |
Legislative Techniques in RwandaPresent and Future |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2013 |
Keywords | legislative drafting, law-making, drafting techniques, Rwanda, quality of legislation |
Authors | Helen Xanthaki |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This report is the result of the collective work of 26 Rwandan civil servants from a number of ministries, who set out to offer the Ministry of Justice a report on legislative drafting in Rwanda. The work was undertaken under the umbrella of the Diploma in Legislative Drafting offered by the Institute for Legal Professional Development (ILPD) in Nyanza under the rectorship of Prof. Nick Johnson. The authors have used their experience of practising drafting in Rwanda, but have contributed to the report in their personal capacity: their views are personal and do not reflect those of the Government of Rwanda. |
Article |
Statutory Interpretation in Multilingual Jurisdictions |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2013 |
Keywords | drafting, multilingual, translation, interpretation, authenticity |
Authors | Odethie Birunga |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Considering that every piece of legislation is subject to legal interpretation, its practicability depends highly on successful interpretation. In any legislation drafted in more than one language, divergence in meanings of versions is not only possible, but inevitable. It is not a simple task to draft in a way so that contexts are translated and included in all different language versions so that it becomes one meaningful legislation. While relying on one version only in the course of interpreting a piece of legislation may sound a lot easier, there could be ambiguous passages which may be clarified by consulting other versions. The existence of discrepancies between the versions of legislation is neither a smooth sail in multilingual environment. |
Article |
The Principle of Ultra Vires and the Local Authorities’ Decisions in England |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2013 |
Keywords | ultra vires, administrative decisions, legislative drafting, validity and invalidity of local authority administrative decisions, misuse of discretion |
Authors | Charles Aguma |
AbstractAuthor's information |
The hypothesis of this article is that valid administrative decisions from local authorities are guaranteed via clear and precise enabling clauses in the primary legislation. The article argues that the style of drafting local authorities’ legislations influences decisions taken by local authorities. First, legislations need to be drafted in a style that clearly and precisely spells out the limits of powers of the local authorities in order to provide sufficient guidance to local authorities’ administrators to act lawfully. In attempting to exercise implied powers conferred by the imprecise enabling legislation, however, local authorities tend to go beyond intended legal powers and as a result take unreasonable, arbitrary and invalid decisions. More so, drafters rarely provide sufficient guidance about which considerations are properly relevant to the exercise of discretion and which are not. Secondly, obscure, wide and ambiguous enabling clauses in the primary legislations are substantial causes of courts’ misinterpretation of legislation as understanding the limits of the powers of the local authorities is a challenge. On the other hand, it is questionable whether the whole range of activities performed by a local authority by invoking implied powers, while exercising discretion, under the umbrella of doing anything that is calculated to facilitate or is conducive to or incidental to the discharge of any of its functions can be regarded as lawful. This article attempts to respond to that question. Although the principle of ultra vires requires the strict observance of the limits of the powers conferred in legislation, local authorities tend to invoke widely drafted provisions to perform activities that are said to be incidental to the express powers of which courts may declare invalid. |