The Role of the ECOWAS in Addressing Challenges of Ineffective Regulation of Transnational Oil Corporations in Nigeria

The thesis explores the potential of a regulatory oversight role for the ECOWAS aimed at driving further effectiveness of regulatory framework for transnational corporations in Nigeria, as well as ameliorating constitutional concerns that hinder effective protection for victims of environmental pollution. It reviews constitutional failures and judicial obstacles within Nigeria that hinder effective protection of victims of environmental pollution and reviews specific regulatory concerns within the Nigerian regulatory framework which require reform. It argues that constitutional and regulatory failures in Nigeria as well as the government’s attitude towards enforcing existing regulation justify the need for a regulatory oversight framework

Planning and evaluation parameters for offshore complexes

Issues are presented for consideration in the planning and design of offshore artificial complexes. The construction of such complexes, their social, economic, and ecological impacts, and the legal-political-institutional environments within which their development could occur, are discussed. Planning, design, and construction of near-shore complexes located off the Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States is emphasized

The Regulation of International Coercion

The most significant discourse about serious threats to U.S. national security in the twenty-first century will likely concern the military capabilities and intentions of non state actors, acting either for themselves, for religious elites, or as surrogates for state sponsors.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/usnwc-newport-papers/1021/thumbnail.jp

The Small Matter of Suing Chevron

Suzana Sawyer traces Ecuador’s lawsuit against the Chevron corporation for the environmental devastation resulting from its oil drilling practices, showing how distinct legal truths were relationally composed of, with, and through crude oil

The Trail, 1976-04-16

https://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/thetrail_all/2179/thumbnail.jp

The role of courts in adjudicating human rights violations by transnational corporations

In this era of globalisation, Transnational Corporations (TNCs) operated in an accountability gap that is often leaving these entities largely unregulated in the context of human rights. While globalization has facilitated growth for such entities by lowering legal, financial and technical restrictions, a failure to agree an overarching protection mechanism and the weaknesses in current protection mechanisms creates a vacuum. This vacuum primarily exists due to inadequate legal and regulatory regimes in host states that are developing countries, and who need and seek such investment; and the general difficulties concerning the weak enforceability of international law. As a consequence, TNCs could and do commit grave human rights violations while avoiding scrutiny despite the existence of a few international, regional and institutional instruments that could hold them accountable. The efforts to fill the regulatory vacuum in which TNCs function have taken the form of ‘soft-law’ instruments, however, their purely voluntary nature and purpose in encouraging TNCs to oblige rather than holding them legally accountable appears inadequate in promoting and protecting recognised principles of human rights law. Under international law victims of corporate human rights abuses, just as any other types of victims, have the right to access an adequate remedy through recourse to judicial remedies where other informal or administrative remedial schemes are insufficient. Having an efficient and fair justice system in developing host states for the victims of corporate human rights abuses is key to ensuring access to an adequate remedy. The thesis aims at examining the role of various courts at international, regional and domestic level; in the intergovernmental, home, as well as in the developing host state, to remedy and punish human rights violations by TNCs. The reasoning underpinning the examination of judicial scrutiny acknowledges that such authorities are not an ideal forum for improving human rights mainly due to problems that prevent full access to such legal remedies. However, the existence of judicial systems and effective remedies stemming from them is nonetheless believed to remain the essential, if not an effective forum based for victims seeking redress for corporate human rights abuses. This thesis also explores the question as to adequate forum for accountability, assessing efforts made in ‘home’ states where the TNCs are headquartered, and in ‘host’ states, where they operate, and where, practice shows, many of the unremedied human rights violations persist. Although, the emphasis for host states is on potential accountability. The study uses Nigeria as case study to assess the extent of human rights violations by TNCs in developing host states, how these entities have been dealt with by the courts at domestic level, in a bid to highlight the challenges hindering access to effective remedy and justice. It proposes as a recommendation that developing countries undertake deep structural reforms, alongside vigorous involvement of several actors, including the state, related agencies, the judiciary and public interest organisations

Orchestrated Leadership Successions in Personalist Dictatorships: The 2019 Kazakh Experience

This dissertation aims to investigate the unconventional outcome of personalist succession in Kazakhstan. After an in-depth analysis of the 2019 Kazakh succession case, using process-tracing method, I present evidence that outgoing personalist dictators are not only aware of the political risks of succession, but they are possibly also learning from their peers’ experiences in orchestrating peaceful exits for themselves. This study adds to our existing knowledge of personalism’s risks for leadership successions and suggests new opportunities for future research