Magister Legum - LLM (Private Law)http://hdl.handle.net/11394/41492024-03-28T14:46:09Z2024-03-28T14:46:09ZA surrogate mother’s post-birth contact with the family formed through surrogacy: a missed opportunity for South Africa or opening pandora’s box?Ebrahim, Fatimahttp://hdl.handle.net/11394/105482023-11-15T00:02:24Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZA surrogate mother’s post-birth contact with the family formed through surrogacy: a missed opportunity for South Africa or opening pandora’s box?
Ebrahim, Fatima
This dissertation assesses the suitability of South Africa’s current framework on post-birth contact in surrogacy law and explores whether it adequately protects the interests of all parties to the surrogacy agreement. This assessment reviewed the current legislative and practical framework, and then compared it to the Verona Principles’ best practices and the position in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada where post-birth contact practices occur. The assessment found that the current framework has several deficiencies. Its law as contained in section 297(1)(d) of the Children’s Act erroneously creates a default position that excludes post-birth contact between the surrogate and her family and the child born through surrogacy, unless provision is made for its inclusion in the surrogacy agreement. Its practices were found to give precedence to the interests of commissioning parents by largely excluding post-birth contact for previously unknown surrogates and limiting the autonomy of previously known surrogates to determine the terms of such contact. This position persists as inadequate discussions appear to occur between the parties on their post-birth contact expectations due to beliefs that this contact is not permitted or it is discouraged for unknown surrogates. High courts also do not appear to probe post-birth contact provisions in surrogacy agreements or the lack thereof. This assessment also raised concerns about the perception of bias and conflict of interests due to one attorney representing and one psychologist assessing all the parties to the surrogacy agreement.
Magister Legum - LLM
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZA critical analysis of bilateral (dual) marriages in ZambiaSiyubo, Kashewe Mhttp://hdl.handle.net/11394/105442023-11-15T00:02:19Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZA critical analysis of bilateral (dual) marriages in Zambia
Siyubo, Kashewe M
In the Zambian context, marriage is one concept that has more than one definition This is because marriage can be legally contracted under two laws namely African customary law and statutory law. The former is potentially polygamous4 while the latter is monogamous. In terms of validity, a marriage that fulfills the dictates of either law becomes a valid marriage. In practice, however, those that contract their marriage under statute also fulfill the dictates of African customary law. The resultant effect is that such marriages are contracted under both laws thereby creating a ‘dual-legal’ marriage. In this research a dual marriage will conveniently be termed ‘bilateral marriage’ for ease of reference.
Magister Legum - LLM
2023-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Pan-African parliament : its promise for human rights and democracy in AfricaHirpo, Sehenhttp://hdl.handle.net/11394/103612023-07-01T00:02:20Z2006-01-01T00:00:00ZThe Pan-African parliament : its promise for human rights and democracy in Africa
Hirpo, Sehen
Since the transition of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU) there has been a notable shift in the way the organisation addresses human rights and democratisation. Particularly the OAU had been known for setting aside human rights concerns to the under resourced African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Commission) to deal with in Banjul, far away from Addis Ababa its major organs conduct their day to day activities.' However, the coming into force of the Constitutive Act of the AU and establishment of the Union had brought, at least in theory, human rights and democratic concerns to the centre. The Constitutive Act firmly and clearly provides as its objective the promotion of democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance and promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter) and other relevant human rights instruments as provided for under articles 3(g) and 3(h) of the act. It further provides under article 4(m) respect for democratic principles, human right, rule of law and good governance as one of its principles. With the establishment of the AU and mainstreaming of human rights into the work of the AU, a myriad of institutions were created that deal with human rights. Coupled with this a very broad and rather general mandate was given to these various institutions. This resulted in lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities of these institutions in relation to the promotion and protection of human rights as well as their contribution to democratisation. This in addition to posing a challenge to the aspiration of an integrated and effective approach to human rights leaves room for overlap, duplication of efforts and thus waste of already meagre resources. Unfortunately, four years since the inauguration of the AU in 2002 the roles and responsibilities of some of the major bodies tasked with promotion of human rights and democratic institutions are yet to be defined. One such institution is the Pan African Parliament (PAP). PAP owes it conception as far back as the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community (AEC or Abuja Treaty) of 3 June 1991. The Sirte Declaration of 1999 called for the establishment of the AU and also provided for the shortening of implementation of the Abuja Treaty and the immediate establishment of institutions under the Africa Economic Community (AEC) one of which was PAP.2 PAP was finally established as an organ of the AU under article 5(c) and article 17 of the Constitutive Act. These provisions were further supplemented by a Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community relating to the Pan-African Parliament (Protocol establishing PAP), which was adopted in 2001 and came into force in 2003. One of its objectives, as set out in the Protocol, relates to the promotion of the principles of human rights and democracy in Africa (Art 3(2)). However since its establishment it is unclear as to how it has been carrying out this mandate and how it intends to do so in the future.
Magister Legum - LLM
2006-01-01T00:00:00ZMaking non-state actors accountable for violations of economic rights: a case study of transnational corporations in the African contextOdongo, Godfrey Odhiambohttp://hdl.handle.net/11394/103402023-06-24T00:02:06Z2002-01-01T00:00:00ZMaking non-state actors accountable for violations of economic rights: a case study of transnational corporations in the African context
Odongo, Godfrey Odhiambo
The development of a common standard for holding governments accountable for
human rights violations represented by international human rights law (IHRL) has been
one of the major achievements of international law. However, two conspicuously narrow
foci marked and continue to mark this development. Firstly, IHRL has focused
predominantly on civil and political rights to the exclusion of economic, social and
cultural rights. Indeed, in this regard it has been observed that "of all domains were
state and inter-governmental action have failed to achieve anything more than modest
success, the development of effective measures for the prevention and remedying of
violations of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs) must surely classify as one of
the most glaring".
Magister Legum - LLM
2002-01-01T00:00:00Z