The article examines the realization of the right to health through the African concept of ubuntu. It attempts to show that ubuntu plays or ought to play a significant role in the realization of the right to health. This argument is advanced by identifying the attributes of ubuntu relevant to the implementation of the right to health and then applying these attributes to practical scenarios to operationalize the right to health. South Africa is used as a special point of reference because of the jurisprudence on ubuntu that has emerged there since 1994.

Over the past decade, the African Union has put in place a normative framework to promote constitutional rule and, in particular, orderly constitutional transfers of power in its member states. Its Peace and Security Council opposes unconstitutional changes of government, including through the use of sanctions. The PSC systematically advocates a return to constitutional order, in particular through free and fair elections, as a remedy for unconstitutional changes of government. However, while opposing unconstitutional means of obtaining or transferring power, the AU has been generally supportive of the use of power-sharing agreements as an instrument of negotiated conflict settlement. Most power-sharing agreements do not accord with the prevailing constitutional order. This dual policy, of opposing certain types of unconstitutional change of government while advocating power-sharing agreements, poses an obvious challenge for the consistency of AU policy.

This article critically examines the jurisprudence of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the African Commission) on the right to development (RTD). Notwithstanding the controversy over the RTD, it is binding in the African human rights system and has been the focus of a number of cases that have come before the African Commission. After briefly examining the historical and theoretical framework of the RTD, the article focuses on the meaning of the right and its duty bearers at the national and international levels. After analysing several cases decided by the African Commission, the article concludes that the RTD is an important composite right that can provide scope, at both an individual and a collective level, for marginalized groups in society to assert their human rights.

Kenya's 2010 Constitution has inaugurated into the Kenyan legal framework, among other things, express constitutional recognition of the right to a clean and healthy environment. The constitutionalization of this right and the establishment of liberal provisions for the institution of judicial proceedings in the event of its infraction bear significant implications for public enforcement of environmental rights in Kenya. Hitherto, this was based on the restrictive interpretation of locus standi premised on the principles of common law. This article focuses primarily on public interest environmental litigation in Kenya. It analyses judicial treatment of public interest action for environmental claims in the past and proffers some insights on the prospects for such action under Kenya's new constitutional order. It argues that, with the provision of an explicit and permissive constitutional basis for public interest environmental litigation, it is reasonable to conclude that Kenya is tending towards greater eco-protection.

The current Ethiopian Constitution suffers from a severe lack of legitimacy. It lacks legitimacy as a result of a constitution-making process that was not inclusive, as well as the subsequent serious lack of integrity and vitality in the constitutional system. Therefore, if the ruling party, which is also the “author” of the constitution, were to lose its hegemonic position, which is predicated on its control of the security and military apparatus, there is a strong likelihood that there would be calls from significant political forces for a new constitution to be adopted. Such calls should not be heeded. Instead of adopting a new constitution, the current constitution's lack of legitimacy should be remedied by comprehensive constitutional reforms that would still maintain the basic architecture and cornerstones of the current constitution.

This article examines the legal and policy responses of the Nigerian government and other agencies to human trafficking, which is one of the central social and economic challenges facing the country today. After exploring the nature and dimensions of the practice, it argues that Nigeria's unenviable position as a country of origin, transit and destination in human trafficking, as well as the impact of the practice on the lives of the victims and adverse implications for the country's corporate image, make it imperative that effective measures are adopted to combat it. In this respect, while accepting that legal measures are important in achieving the objective, the article highlights some deficiencies in current efforts and suggests a multidimensional approach, with greater emphasis on the “push” and “pull” factors of human trafficking prevalent in the country, such as high levels of unemployment, poverty, inequality and marginalization.

Between 2009 and 2011, Malawi witnessed an increase in the use of lethal force by the police. The president urged the police to implement a “shoot to kill” policy, a move which received wide acceptance in the country but also raised concerns from human rights activists. In 2009, the Malawi High Court in R v Cheuka considered the scope of section 44 of the Police Act which governs the use of firearms by the police. Clouded by the human rights implications of the shooting which led to the case, the court misinterpreted the law by introducing principles of international law that were not expressly provided for. The court also failed to expound a comprehensive test to determine the shooter's intentions. Nevertheless, the decision sheds some light on the efficacy of the law on the use of lethal force in Malawi and the question of whether a shoot to kill policy can be reconciled with the law.

This article focuses on the extent of a company's responsibility for the criminal conduct of its employees. It considers the initial reluctance of common law courts to hold corporations criminally responsible for offences requiring mens rea, a mental element not found in artificial persons. The courts overcame this initial difficulty with recourse to the identification doctrine, which seeks to attribute to a company the fault of certain of its officers. However, the restrictiveness and inconsistencies embodied in the various judicial statements of that doctrine precipitated recourse in some jurisdictions to civil law concepts, such as respondeat superior, vicarious liability and even strict liability, to found corporate criminal responsibility. The need to streamline the scope of, if not enhance, corporate criminal liability, has engendered statutory reforms in some jurisdictions. The article considers reforms in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA, in comparison with the situation in South Africa and Lesotho.

This article argues that, with the global or cross-border nature of many corporate activities, there is an increasing need for a uniform insolvency law approach to the financial distress of a corporation in the Southern African Development Community. In doing so, the article highlights lessons the community may learn from the Insolvency Act of the Organisation for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa. Emphasis is given to that organization's success in developing a uniform insolvency act (ie one which is directly applicable in its contracting states). The article also proposes a number of recommendations.

The judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights remains a challenge in many countries. This is generally attributable to the inadequacy of a particular country's legal framework, in particular its constitutional framework. Given the importance of judicial remedies in litigation, in particular public interest litigation, this article considers possibilities for the judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights in Botswana. It discusses the institutional, legal and constitutional framework for the promotion, protection and fulfilment of socio-economic rights in the country. It also tackles the issue of whether the judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights is easily achievable when those rights are not constitutionally entrenched. The article also considers whether the absence of directive principles of state policy within Botswana's Constitution is a hindrance to the judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights in Botswana. Within that context, it highlights the possible means of judicial enforcement of socio-economic rights in Botswana.

In 1988, Nigeria's Federal Military Government promulgated the Arbitration and Conciliation Decree (now the Arbitration and Conciliation Act) to provide a unified legal framework for commercial arbitration throughout Nigeria. At the time of the decree's promulgation, the Federal Military Government had unlimited competence to legislate over any matter in, and for all parts of, Nigeria. However, under Nigeria's current constitutional democracy and federal structure of government, legislative powers are shared between the Federal Government and the respective state governments. This article investigates the constitutionality of the continued application of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act as federal legislation with application in all states of the federation.

This article addresses the issue of how the Nigerian Communications Commission, which is responsible for the independent regulation of the Nigerian telecommunications sector, could be made accountable. The need for accountability is relevant given the local context of pervasive corruption and lower expectations of accountability when compared with more mature democracies. The accountability question is analysed in terms of the traditional public accountability mechanisms of executive supervision, legislative oversight and judicial review, highlighting the limits and challenges facing the application of each traditional accountability mechanism to the commission. An extended notion of accountability, specifically the adoption of fair procedures in decision making and accountability to the public at large, are presented as feasibly complementary to traditional accountability mechanisms. Finally the article proposes an amendment to the pre-action conditions to judicial review to facilitate greater accountability.

The effective resolution of trade disputes related to Sino-African investments will have a major impact on the development of trade and investment between China and African states. Arbitration is considered the best option for the settlement of disputes between China and African states as it offers unique benefits and is both suited to the current environment in African countries and accepted by Chinese and Africans. To make full use of this dispute settlement approach, the Chinese government should take active measures to promote the knowledge of arbitral legal systems in Africa among the Chinese businesses investing or trading locally. Beijing should encourage them to settle disputes with their African counterparts through arbitration. It is also important for Chinese companies to learn about arbitration laws in African states, and choose a favourable arbitral institution and proper arbitration seat.

In LC v Peru, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women held that Peru was in breach of its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women when it denied a 13 year old girl emergency surgery as well as an abortion. This commentary discusses the human rights significance of LC v Peru, especially in relation to the advancement of abortion jurisprudence in the African region. It is submitted that LC v Peru makes an important contribution towards the development of abortion laws that are transparent and accountable to women, as well as responsive to equal protection under the law. The duty of states to operationalize LC v Peru in their domestic law is an innovative juridical resource for reforming abortion laws. This is particularly so in those regions, including the African region, where the continued criminalization of abortion serves as a significant incentive for unsafe, illegal abortion.