‘Transferring sentenced persons (offenders) to the United Kingdom: highlighting some of the human rights issues courts have had to deal with'

As at 30 September 2013 13 per cent of the prison population in England and Wales were foreign national offenders. Convicted UK nationals are also serving prison sentences in foreign jurisdictions. The UK government has taken measures such as the enactment of domestic legislation and the ratification of bilateral and multilateral agreements with other States for the specific purpose of facilitating the return of its citizens to serve their sentences at home. Many offenders have been transferred to the UK to serve their sentences. This article highlights and examines some of the human rights issues that have exercised UK courts in this endeavour

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the promotion and protection of refugees' rights

African countries have been host to and have produced refugees for decades. These refugees have fled their countries for various reasons, including political and religious reasons. Many African countries are party to the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its additional Protocol of 1967. In 1969, the Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, the major instrument that deals with the rights and duties of refugees in Africa, was adopted to address, as the name suggests, the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa which were not addressed by the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights has put in place various measures to promote and protect the rights of refugees in Africa. These measures include the organisation of seminars, seminar paper presentations by commissioners, the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, and adopting resolutions on the rights of refugees. The African Commission has also allied itself with various international human rights and humanitarian law organisations to protect the rights of refugees in Africa. It has protected the rights of refugees through its visits to different countries and through its decisions on individual communications. This article observes, inter alia, that, although the African Commission has entertained various communications dealing with the rights of refugees in Africa, the arguments of the parties to those communications as well as the decisions of the Commission have largely focused on the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and not on the 1969 OAU Convention on Refugees. The author recommends that, in matters relating to refugee' rights, the African Commission should always invoke the provisions of the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention in addition to the African Charter and, where need be, reference should be made to other refugee-related instruments.International Bibliography of the Social Science

Legal pluralism and the right to family life and the transfer of offenders who are nationals of African countries, within Africa to Africa

Globalisation has been accompanied by, inter alia, the movement of people from their countries of nationality or citizenship to other countries in search of better opportunities. Some of these people have been convicted of offences and sentenced to imprisonment in countries of which they are non-nationals. Because of the increase in the number of foreign nationals in prisons of different countries, initiatives have been taken at international, regional and national levels to transfer these offenders to their countries of nationality (administering countries) to serve sentences imposed by courts in a foreign country (sentencing countries). The effect is that the imposition of the sentence is governed by the laws of the sentencing country and the administration of the sentence is governed by the laws of the administering country. Therefore, the offender is governed by laws of different countries. Apart from the laws of the sentencing and the administering states, there are cases where these offenders are also governed by international law and in particular international human rights law. Although the rights of foreign offenders are increasingly receiving attention in the transfer discourse, one right that appears not to have been emphasised in Africa and other parts of the world is the right to family life and how seriously it should be taken by those responsible for transferring offenders before they make a decision. The purpose of this article is to argue that the right to family life should be taken seriously in deciding whether or not an offender should be transferred if the transferred offender is to be rehabilitated and ultimately reintegrated into society.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Private prosecutions and discrimination against juristic persons in South Africa: A comment on National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development & Another

Unlike countries such as the United Kingdom, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Australia, in South Africa companies and associations are not permitted to institute private prosecutions although natural persons have a right to institute private prosecutions. In National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals v Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development & Another, the applicant argued that the law which permitted natural persons to institute private prosecutions and prevented companies and associations from doing so violated section 9 of the Constitution which protects the right to equality. The court held that the discrimination in question was not unfair. In this note, the author assesses the court's reasoning and recommends that there may be a need to empower companies to institute private prosecutions in South Africa.International Bibliography of the Social Science

Making sense of the Rwandan Law Relating to Serving Life Imprisonment with Special Provisions

In October 2010, the Rwandan Law Relating to Serving Life Imprisonment with Special Provisions came into force. As the name suggests, the law is applicable to offenders sentenced to life imprisonment with special provisions. This article highlights the gaps in that law and suggests ways through which those gaps could be eliminated.International Bibliography of the Social Science

The Ugandan Transfer of Convicted Offenders Act, 2012: A commentary

Like many countries, Uganda is home to foreign nationals. The presence of foreign nationals in the prison of a country raises questions regarding their treatment. Countries are increasingly enacting legislation, ratifying or acceding to treaties, or signing agreements governing the transfer of such offenders to serve the last part of their sentences in their countries of nationality, citizenship or domicile. On 17 May 2012, the Ugandan Parliament passed the Transfer of Convicted Offenders Bill, 2007 into law. The Transfer of Convicted Offenders Act was assented to by the President of Uganda on 27 July 2012 and, once it comes into force, will regulate the transfer of convicted offenders between Uganda and other countries. The purpose of the article is to highlight the debates surrounding some provisions of the Bill, including the purpose of the Act; human rights issues, consent of offenders to transfer; the costs of the transfer; and pardon and amnesty.International Bibliography of the Social Science

International human rights law and foreign case law in interpreting constitutional rights: The Supreme Court of Uganda and the death penalty question.

On 21 January 2009, the Supreme Court of Uganda handed down a judgment in which it held that the death penalty was constitutional, that a mandatory death sentence was unconstitutional, that hanging as a mode of execution was not cruel and inhuman, and that the death row phenomenon is cruel and inhuman and therefore unconstitutional. Although the Constitution of Uganda does not empower or require the Court to refer to international law or foreign case law in interpreting the Constitution, the Court relied heavily on international human rights treaties and jurisprudence in arriving at its decision. This article has three purposes: one, to show how the Ugandan Court used international law and foreign case law in its judgment; two, to analyse the Court's orders; and third to recommend that the Constitution of Uganda be amended to empower or require courts to refer to international law and foreign case law in interpreting the country's Constitution.International Bibliography of the Social Science

Strengthening democracy through investigating, prosecuting and punishing corruption in Mauritius

There is a close relationship between democracy and corruption. Corruption has a negative effect on the functioning of political and democratic institutions. It affects the delivery of services such as education and healthcare. In order to consolidate democracy, Mauritius has adopted different measures to prevent and combat corruption. These have included the ratification of international treaties such as the United Nations (UN) Convention against Corruption, the signing of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption and the enactment of domestic law, Prevention of Corruption Act, which criminalises different corrupt activities. The purpose of this article is to discuss the jurisprudence that has emerged from courts in Mauritius interpreting and applying the different sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and to recommend ways through which the Act could be amended or interpreted to strengthen the fight against corruption

Diversion in the South African criminal justice system: emerging jurisprudence

On 1 April 2010 the South African Child Justice Act (CJA or the Act) commenced. The long title of the Act states, inter alia, that the purpose of the Act is 'to establish a criminal justice system for children, who are in conflict with the law and are accused of committing offences, in accordance with the values underpinning the Constitution and the international obligations of the Republic'. The Act provides, inter alia, that a child who has committed any offence may be diverted from the criminal justice system. Case law has started emerging from South African courts dealing with some of the sections of the Act. The purpose of this article is to highlight how courts have interpreted or applied some of the sections of the Act

Why the Supreme Court of Uganda should reject the Constitutional Court's understanding of imprisonment for life

The issue of life imprisonment is always a contentious one. Some people argue that life imprisonment should mean what it means, namely 'wholelife'. In Uganda, life imprisonment continues to mean imprisonment of 20 years. However, in 2005 the Constitutional Court ruled that life imprisonment should mean'the whole of a person's life'. This decision is not yet law, because the particular case is on appeal before the Supreme Court, which will either uphold the Constitutional Court's ruling or not. This article deals with the constitutionality of long prison sentences that the Constitutional Court suggested could be imposed to avoid prisoners being released after 20 years. It also argues that the Supreme Court should reject the Constitutional Court's ruling that life imprisonment should mean the whole of the prisoner's life. The human rights and administrative implications of 'whole-life' imprisonment are discussed in detail to support the view that life imprisonment should remain as is, that is, 20 years in prison. The author draws inspiration from other domestic jurisdictions and international law to support his argument. In particular, the author looks at jurisprudence from Germany, South Africa, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights. Where applicable, the views of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights are highlighted.International Bibliography of the Social Science