The history, basis and current status of the right or duty to extradite in public international and South African law

As the only internationally sanctioned means by which a fugitive offender may be returned from one state to another, extradition as public international law process has received surprisingly little attention in South African legal literature. The major trends in European extradition law are identified and a parallel is drawn with South African extradition from 1652 to the present. Extradition has a dual basis : treaty and non-treaty. Traditionally South Africa preferred treaty-based extradition, but with the adoption of the Extradition Act in 1962 this base was broadened. In a detailed analysis of section 3(2) of the Act it is shown that extradition is here in fact an act of comity. This has not always been recognised by the authorities who have confused section 3(2) comity with reciprocity. This may be ascribed to a basic misunderstanding of a reciprocal undertaking to extradite as an informally concluded treaty commitment. Most of South Africa's extradition treaties are inherited. State succession to bilateral treaties resulting from annexation and cession, devolution agreements, and dismemberment or secession is consequently traced through the various "successions in fact" occurring within South Africa from 1652-1961. Particularly within the South African courts, a misconception of the role of consent in succession has led to considerable confusion. An alternative approach to the succession process which emphasises the role of consent and gives due credit to succession as a separate international law phenomenon is proposed. Namibian succession to extradition treaties is addressed briefly. The termination of extradition treaties is examined and an assessment is made of the individual treaties appearing on the South African Treaty List culminating in a re-evaluation of states to which South Africa owes a duty to extradite and from which it may demand extradition as of right.Criminal and Procedural LawLL.D.

Prognostic model to predict postoperative acute kidney injury in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery based on a national prospective observational cohort study.

Background: Acute illness, existing co-morbidities and surgical stress response can all contribute to postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients undergoing major gastrointestinal surgery. The aim of this study was prospectively to develop a pragmatic prognostic model to stratify patients according to risk of developing AKI after major gastrointestinal surgery. Methods: This prospective multicentre cohort study included consecutive adults undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal resection, liver resection or stoma reversal in 2-week blocks over a continuous 3-month period. The primary outcome was the rate of AKI within 7 days of surgery. Bootstrap stability was used to select clinically plausible risk factors into the model. Internal model validation was carried out by bootstrap validation. Results: A total of 4544 patients were included across 173 centres in the UK and Ireland. The overall rate of AKI was 14·2 per cent (646 of 4544) and the 30-day mortality rate was 1·8 per cent (84 of 4544). Stage 1 AKI was significantly associated with 30-day mortality (unadjusted odds ratio 7·61, 95 per cent c.i. 4·49 to 12·90; P < 0·001), with increasing odds of death with each AKI stage. Six variables were selected for inclusion in the prognostic model: age, sex, ASA grade, preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate, planned open surgery and preoperative use of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker. Internal validation demonstrated good model discrimination (c-statistic 0·65). Discussion: Following major gastrointestinal surgery, AKI occurred in one in seven patients. This preoperative prognostic model identified patients at high risk of postoperative AKI. Validation in an independent data set is required to ensure generalizability

The end of queer (as we knew it): Globalization and the making of a gay-friendly South Africa

10.1080/09663690601122358Gender, Place and Culture14193-11