Legal Enforcement of Social Rights: Enabling Conditions and Impact Assessment

This article commends the concise and useful analysis of courts and the legal enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights given in Christian Courtis’ book, Courts and the Legal Enforcement of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Comparative Experiences of Justiciability. Yet, in order to complete the picture, a broader analysis of the enabling conditions for litigation and of the social and political impact of judicial activity in this field is required. There are a number of reasons why attempts to litigate economic, social and cultural rights may not result in judicial enforcement and why, even if enforcement is achieved in formal terms, this may not necessarily protect or fulfill the right in practice. Even when compliance is secured in terms of individuals, this may be insignificant or even detrimental to the realisation of the right from a societal perspective. While not dismissing a constructive role for courts in the enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights, it is crucial to investigate carefully who benefits from court enforcement and under what circumstances judicial enforcement is likely to advance the broader realisation of the rights and benefit those whose rights are most at risk. Assessing empirically the impact of social rights litigation is challenging and has rarely been done in a systematic fashion, but this article suggests ways in which this can be pursued

Measuring the capability to raise revenue process and output dimensions and their application to the Zambia revenue authority

The worldwide diffusion of the good governance agenda and new public management has triggered a renewed focus on state capability and, more specifically, on the capability to raise revenue in developing countries. However, the analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding of the capability to raise revenue remain underdeveloped. This article aims at filling this gap and presents a model consisting of the three process dimensions ‘information collection and processing’, ‘merit orientation’ and ‘administrative accountability’. ‘Revenue performance’ constitutes the fourth capability dimension which assesses tax administration’s output. This model is applied to the case of the Zambia Revenue Authority. The dimensions prove to be valuable not only for assessing the how much but also the how of collecting taxes. They can be a useful tool for future comparative analyses of tax administrations’ capabilities in developing countries.Die weltweite Verbreitung der Good-Governance- und New-Public-Management-Konzepte hat zu einer zunehmenden Konzentration auf staatliche Leistungsfähigkeit und, im Besonderen, auf die Leistungsfähigkeit der Steuererhebung in Entwicklungsländern geführt. Allerdings bleiben die analytischen Werkzeuge für ein umfassendes Verständnis von Leistungsfähigkeit unterentwickelt. Dieser Artikel stellt hierfür ein Modell vor, das die drei Prozess-Dimensionen „Sammeln und Verarbeiten von Informationen“, „Leistungsorientierung der Mitarbeiter“ und „Verantwortlichkeit der Verwaltung“ beinhaltet. „Einnahmeperformanz“ ist die vierte Dimension und erfasst den Output der Steuerverwaltung. Das mehrdimensionale Modell wird für die Analyse der Leistungsfähigkeit der Steuerbehörde Zambias (Zambia Revenue Authority) genutzt. Es erweist sich nicht nur für die Untersuchung des Wieviel, sondern auch des Wie des Erhebens von Steuern als wertvoll. Die vier Dimensionen können in Zukunft zur umfassenden und vergleichenden Analyse der Leistungsfähigkeit verschiedener Steuerverwaltungen in Entwicklungsländern genutzt werden

Legal Empowerment and Horizontal Inequalities after Conflict

This article explores whether legal empowerment can address horizontal inequalities in post-conflict settings, and, if so, how. It argues that legal empowerment has modest potential to reduce these inequalities. Nevertheless, there are risks that legal empowerment might contribute to a strengthening of group identities, reduction of social cohesion, and, in the worst case, triggering of conflict. It looks at how two legal empowerment programmes in Liberia navigated the tensions between equity and peace

The Role Of The Judiciary In The 2004 General Elections In Malawi

The paper analyses the central role played by the Malawian judiciary in the 2004 presidential and parliamentary elections. We argue that the judiciary assumed four crucial functions in the electoral process: it performed an accountability function, serving to “unblock the democratic channels” and secure the integrity of the electoral process (although not succeeding); it functioned as a safety-valve diffusing tension and averting violence; it served as an internal arbiter for political parties; and it provided political leverage for individuals and parties contesting the elections. Particularly in terms of the first two functions, the judiciary contributed positively to the electoral process. Nevertheless, the growing prominence of the courts in the political arena is cause for concern, reflecting a lack of trust in the political institutions. It also makes the courts vulnerable; the more political battles are channeled into the legal arena, the more tempting it becomes for the executive to assert control over the judicial branch. East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights Vol. 12 (2) 2006: pp. 279-31

Uganda's 2006 Presidental and Parliamentary Elections

This report analyses the 2006 Ugandan presidential and parliamentary election in terms of the broader process starting with the processes of setting the rule for political contestation, through the registration of voters and parties, the nomination of parties and candidates, the campaign, the voting, counting and tallying and finally, the handling of election complaints. The report examines four central institutions charged with ensuring an impartial and fair electoral process: the institutions comprising the electoral channel, the party system, parliament, and the judiciary. These four institutions are interdependent but also partly autonomous from each other. Understanding how they operate and interact is necessary in order to grasp the degree of democratic institutionalisation. The quality and impartiality of the electoral administration are key to whether an election is seen as a legitimate process for delegation of authority from citizens to representatives. In new democracies the organisation of the electoral process is often characterised by ambiguous rules and problems associated with enforcement of the rules. The political party has become a most significant actor in electoral processes and democratic governance. Parties also serve to link citizens with parliament, which represents the citizens in setting the rules of the electoral game, influencing policy decisions and acting as an institutional check on executive power. The judiciary is the ultimate interpreter of the constitutional and legal rules. The report shows how problems and irregularities at various stages of the election cycle tilted the playing field in favour of the incumbent and compromised the integrity of the 2006 elections