Electronic Theses and Dissertations (PhDs)

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A legal analysis of the complexity of race and gender disadvantage in terms of the Employement Equity Act in South Africa
(2019) Mushariwa, Muriel Tapiwa
Centuries of colonialism and Apartheid created a legacy of inequality in South Africa that the democratic Constitution, 1996, seeks to address. The constitutional mandate in section 9 of this Constitution, enacted through the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA), requires designated employers in the public and private sphere to address the inequality in the workplace through the application of affirmative action. The EEA identifies the beneficiaries of affirmative action policies as black people, women and persons with disabilities. It is clear that these constitute three distinct groups, but that it is also possible for an individual to belong to more than one of these collectives. For example, black women fall within two designated groups on the basis of race and gender, and this dual disadvantage creates a multi-layered, unique and complex type of inequality. The main aim of the EEA is to create a representative workforce, and designated employers have a duty to break down the barriers that prevent members of the designated groups from entering the workplace. Once employed, employers need to assist members of the designated groups to progress in the workplace. However, having a representative workforce does not translate into a transformed workforce. It will be argued in this thesis that a transformed workplace is representative, but also requires the breakdown of institutional norms, processes and structures that prevent the progression of members of the designated groups. The question to be asked is whether affirmative action, in its current form, is able to transform the workplace. To answer this question, it is vital that consideration be given, firstly, to the type of substantive equality that is to be achieved in the application of affirmative action. It will be shown that the aim should be a transformative substantive equality of outcome. Focus will be placed on the fact that individuals who fall within the designated groups are not equally placed in terms of their experience of disadvantage. It is submitted that consideration of differing experiences of disadvantage needs to be taken into account so as to avoid the creation of an elite middle class black, and possibly male, group, which benefits from affirmative action to the exclusion of others, thus hampering the achievement of equality in the workplace. This thesis will show that a transformative form of substantive equality of outcome needs to be applied to affirmative action in the workplace. This transformative form of substantive equality includes a situation sensitive approach to the implementation of affirmative action in the workplace. A situation sensitive approach will apply affirmative action strictly on a case by case basis with regard to the demographic profile of the specific workforce, and the employment equity policy of the particular workplace. A one size fits all approach cannot deal with the complexity of disadvantage that needs to be addressed. It will be argued that, besides a situation sensitive approach to race, gender and disability, the issues of social, political, economic and educational disadvantage are factors that should be given consideration in identifying the true beneficiaries of affirmative action. To further illustrate this point, particular attention will be given to women within the designated groups, in order to unpack the nature of disadvantage they experienced in the workplace. Two case studies, focusing on women in male dominated professions, the legal profession and the mining industry, will be used to illustrate this point. This thesis will show that ultimately, the goal of affirmative action must be seen to be to change the workplace by breaking down both the visible and invisible barriers of equality and, in doing so, create an environment where, constitutional values of equality, human dignity and freedom are truly recognized and protected.
Adequacy of Data Protection Regulation in Kenya
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Laibuta, Antony Mugambi; Zitzke, Emile
Article 31 of the Kenyan Constitution provides for the right to privacy. The Kenyan Data Protection Act, 2019 gives effect to Article 31(c) and (d) of the Constitution. This study is about whether data protection regulation in Kenya would inspire any confidence in data subjects who enjoy protection of their right to privacy under Article 31 of the Constitution. Kenya, going with the global trend, in November 2019 enacted the Data Protection Act. Before the enactment, Kenya had debated data protection Bills for over a decade. But even with the enactment of the Data Protection Act, the question remains whether this was sufficient to guarantee the right to privacy and specifically data subject rights. The main aim of this study is to determine the adequacy of data protection regulation in Kenya by responding to five questions: How has data protection evolved in Kenya? What framework should be used to determine the adequacy of data protection regulations? To what extent is the legal framework on state surveillance adequate? To what extent is the legal framework on commercial use of personal data adequate? How adequate are the available remedies in relation to data protection in Kenya? To wit, no comprehensive academic discussion has explored the history of privacy and data protection in Kenya. This study fills this gap in the academic literature. It has established, through highlighting constitutional and statutory provisions, that the right to privacy in Kenya has been in existence since Kenya gained independence from colonial rule. Conversations during the clamour for constitutional reforms shaped the current text that provides for an individual right to privacy which has been the springboard for data protection rights to be introduced. There is no immediately obvious framework that would be ideal to determine the adequacy of data protection regulation in Kenya. In light of this gap, this study has presented a simple set of questions used in day-to-day legal practice to be used as the determination-of-adequacy framework. The questions, “who?”, “why?”, “what?”, “when?”, “where?”, and “how?” are iv posed on State surveillance, surveillance capitalism, and access to effective remedies. Responses to these questions are juxtaposed with provisions of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act. The responses reveal the level of adequacy of data protection regulation in Kenya. On adequacy in State surveillance, surveillance capitalism, and availability of effective remedies, the study has revealed that while there are provisions of the law that adequately regulate the three issues, there are gaps and ambiguities that must be addressed to raise the level of adequacy and inspire confidence in data subjects. For the gaps and ambiguities, this study recommends law reforms in the form of amendments to provisions of the Kenyan Data Protection Act, Data Protection (General) Regulations, Competition Act, National Intelligence Service Act, and the Data Protection ADR Framework. This study also recommends enactment of new law including an Artificial Intelligence Act, Data Protection (Statutory Database) Regulations, and Regulations on interception of communications under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and other enabling statutes.
At the crossroads of international human rights law and international investment law: reflection on the right to development in the exercise of expropriation
(2021) Kim, Young Jae
Given the current legitimacy crisis of international law, particularly the international law of investment owing to fragmentation and the negative impact of unfettered economic development on the environment and human rights, competing claims between North and South, sovereign states and multinational corporations, and sovereign states and their nationals over development and its benefits must be effectively and legitimately reconciled before any strategy to promote development can be implemented. In this respect, the human right to sustainable development, which this thesis introduced, provides a framework in which the potential competing claims of economic value and human rights value can be reconciled. This thesis considers the interplay of international development law, international human rights law and international investment law, by reference to the evolution of a right to sustainable development. In particular, it focuses on how the international investment law regime has evolved to incorporate human rights and sustainable development, by examining expropriation as a case study. The thesis traces the concept of development as it underlines international development law, and shows how it has moved from ‘orthodox economic development’ to ‘modern human development’ by means of the evolution of the human right to sustainable development. It proceeds to contemplate the content of this human right to sustainable development, with a view to demonstrating its relevance to international investment law. Thereafter, it shows how international investment law has evolved over time, from being narrowly focused on upholding foreign investors’ interests and rights, to taking into account international human rights and the human right to sustainable development. As a concrete example of this shift in international investment law, the thesis then conducts a case study of expropriation, which illustrates the increased interaction between the three clusters of international law. In particular, the protection of foreign investors’ rights and host states’ rights to regulate foreign investment for the purpose of ensuring international human rights and sustainable development are explored through leading cases in international investment tribunals. In conclusion, it is argued that the legitimacy of the international investment law regime can be enhanced through continuing efforts of the international community to harmonise the three clusters of international law within the human right to sustainable development .
Balancing legality and certainty: the Oudekraal principles and their development
(2020) Mahlangu, Siyabonga
This thesis is a study of the Oudekraal principles and their development. In Oudekraal Estates (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town 2004 (6) SA 222 (SCA), the Supreme Court of Appeal fundamentally transformed the approach of South African law to the anomaly that an unlawful administrative act may have legal consequences. The court rejected past explanations for this phenomenon, such as the presumption of validity, the distinction between voidness and voidability, the theory of legal relativity and, where the courts have declined to set aside unlawful acts on grounds such as delay, judicial pragmatism. Instead, the court developed a principled approach by which it sought to strike a careful balance between the competing rule-of-law values of legality and certainty. Four principles emanating from this seminal judgment are identified in the thesis. These are that an unlawful act may have legal effect for so long as it has not been set aside; that the legal effect depends on whether the validity of an originating act is a precondition for the validity of the subsequent act; that an unlawful act which compels a person to do or not to do something must be valid, and a person affected by it is entitled to challenge its invalidity collaterally; and that the court reviewing an unlawful act has discretion to refuse the remedy of setting aside even if a ground of review has been established. The thesis investigates how the courts since Oudekraal have interpreted, applied and developed these four principles. It concludes that there is an interplay between the various principles. In this interplay the Constitutional Court has recently tended to emphasise the value of legality over that of certainty, resulting in a lack of clarity as to what it means for an unlawful act to have legal effect prior to its being set aside
Combating economic inequality: the strategic role of the fund management industry in promoting inclusive development in Nigeria
(2020) Yetunde, Omotuyi Opeyemi; Omotuyi, Opeyemi Yetunde
There is growing inequality in many countries around the world, and particularly in Nigeria. Recognising this global challenge, the United Nations agreed to seventeen sustainable development goals in 2015. As part of a global agenda to tackle inequality and promote inclusive development, the United Nations agreed to a specific goal to reduce inequalities among and within countries. To enable effective implementation, the United Nations calls for a global partnership, involving the public and private sector, in the achievement of the goals. This thesis highlights the state of economic inequality in Nigeria. In so doing, the thesis finds that the high rate of inequality in Nigeria is mostly as a result of poor social spending on the part of government, as well as adverse corporate impacts, resulting in poor social opportunities and outcomes for citizens. Furthermore, the thesis analysed Nigeria’s legal and regulatory provisions on issues of inequality, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the laws. The thesis finds that these laws are grossly inadequate to address the inequality challenges in Nigeria, and a complementary approach to address these challenges is needed. Since the thesis finds a significant increase in the growth of investment funds in Nigeria over the last decade, the thesis proposes the Nigerian Fund Management Industry as an avenue for improving the state of economic inequality in Nigeria, through the implementation of the principles for responsible investment
Duties of private persons and the right to equality in South Africa
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Finn, Meghan; Albertyn, Catherine
To what extent does the right to equality (and specifically, the right not to be discriminated against unfairly) give rise to duties that are borne by private persons in South African law? This question is morally, legally and politically freighted in South Africa, marked as the country is by gaping inequality and the legacies of centuries of colonial, apartheid and patriarchal oppression that was sustained by not only the government, but also in private spheres. The overall project of this thesis is to map out and normatively justify South Africa’s approach to private anti-discrimination duties in the Constitution, legislation and emerging doctrine. Most surveyed jurisdictions use a test of publicness as a threshold determination of whether an entity is an anti-discrimination duty-bearer. Conversely, in South Africa, the possible class of duty-bearers is much wider – in principle, all persons as well as the state are duty-bearers. I argue that South Africa’s approach is substantiated by a legal endorsement of substantive equality which requires a historically and contextually sensitive analysis of systemic inequalities that cut across public and private spheres. However, although the class of anti-discrimination duty-bearers is broad, this does not mean that private duties exactly mirror the duties of the state. Instead, the scope for private discrimination to be justified – i.e. found to be fair – is generally broader than when the state is the discriminator. Courts are charged with determining the balance to be struck when private actors’ rights compete. I argue that this balance must be struck within PEPUDA’s section 14 fairness enquiry, which to date has been chronically neglected by litigants and courts
Enhancing access to justice in Kenya through clinical legal education
(2021) Kotonya, Anne; Du Plessis, Riette
This thesis examines the endeavours of university law clinics towards enhancing access to justice in Kenya. It isolates the social justice function of clinics in countries with a pressing access to justice need as that of serving the indigent and orienting lawyers towards social justice in society. In exploring the interface between access to justice and legal education, it analyses the legal frameworks, distribution, structures, settings and projects of university law clinics in Kenya in relation to literature on clinical legal education (CLE). The thesis centres on the social justice mission of CLE as a way of aligning legal education with the country’s transformative constitutional framework. In this way, it capitalises on the clinics to foster transformative legal education. The thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge when it addresses the research gap on clinical legal education in Kenya and presents empirical data on the current forms of clinical programs in law schools in the country. It incorporates the voices of clinicians and student leaders and presents the challenges they encounter in their attempt to use clinics to enhance access to justice for indigent persons. The emphasis on social justice as well as the comparison with South Africa’s original clinics differentiates this thesis from the growing body of literature that centres on the pedagogical aspects of CLE. The thesis applies grounded theory, a vigorous qualitative research method to guide the collection and analysis of data. The theoretical explanation of the factors that enhance and those that resist the role of clinics in enhancing access to justice is grounded in data which was collected from purposively selected law schools. The data, obtained inductively from the interviews and focus group discussions, is also used to develop a theoretical explanation of the use of university law clinics to enhance access to justice in a transformative constitutional context. The thesis establishes a nexus between legal education and transformative constitutionalism as well as between CLE and transformative legal education. It begins by demonstrating the absence of a suitable framework for investigating the factors that resist or enhance clinics’ contribution to access to justice in a transformative constitutional setting. The thesis then locates clinics in Kenya in the context of the development of the legal profession, legal education and the constitutional history of the country. It develops a legal and institutional framework made up of a transformative constitution and legislation governing legal education, the legal profession and national legal aid schemes. Chapter three proceeds to apply this framework to Kenya and finds a legal framework based on strong constitutional foundations that in certain instances is also fragmented, inconsistent and marred by gaps. The exploration of the CLE experiences in the country is presented in chapter four. These find the curriculum, law students, academic staff and the place of clinic in the university as central to determining the form and structure of CLE in the respective institutions. The forms of clinics are reflective of the broad definitions of CLE that include Street Law and skills courses. They provide evidence of clinics that are skewed towards the social justice mission of CLE. The data also yields aspects of clinics that influence their role in access to justice. The thesis finds that clinical practice in Kenyan universities takes the form of both curriculum-based and extracurricular clinics, with the latter bearing a strong social justice orientation and the former a pedagogical one. The focus of CLE is inclined towards social justice, while its pedagogical mission remains underutilised. The thesis analyses factors that undermine the promotion of access to justice through CLE in Kenya. Identifying shortfalls in clinical practice in the country, it deduces that the clinical practices are indeed CLE but at its nascent stages. The findings are in harmony with literature that considers the twin missions of CLE as inseparable orientations that are not mutually exclusive. They show the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and legal aid legislation as providing further impetus for CLE beyond their original goals at inception. However, this impetus is not reciprocated by the policy and legal framework for legal education. In considering the dysfunction of the legal profession as the dominant institution in providing access to justice, the thesis deliberates on university law clinics as an institutional bypass for the provision of access to justice for the indigent in the country. It proposes university law clinics as the theory of change for the legal profession. The thesis makes suggestions for future research on the understanding that further steps need to be taken in Kenya to optimise both social justice and pedagogy that are the twin missions of clinical practice
Environmental spatial planning: achieving sustainable development in sensitive areas
(2019) Snyman, Louis Gerhardus; Humby, Tracy-Lynn
South Africa is at a crossroads. Near stagnant economic growth and rising levels of poverty are at the top of the political agenda. In response, the state has adopted a rapid developmental growth strategy in an attempt to build an efficient economy that makes inroads into reversing a legacy of social and economic marginalisation. In a rural context, this includes supporting large industrial developments which include extractives-related activities that exploit precious natural resources. The status quo has positioned many state-sanctioned development plans on a collision course with the sustainable utilisation of sensitive natural landscapes. It is thus vital to investigate how planners and decision-makers appropriately reconcile the seemingly conflicting environmental, social and economic considerations that constitute ‘sustainable development’. This fine balancing exercise requires tough compromises to create harmony between imperatives deeply embedded in the language of rights. The two intersectional areas of law at the centre of this debate are environmental management and spatial planning; each of which prescribe numerous tools that attempt to operationalise the balancing of the often conflicting imperatives within ecologically and culturally sensitive areas. The difficulty in managing development in sensitive areas is the application of interconnecting, yet often conflicting, legislative and governance systems. Therefore, the key research questions are: How are spatial planning and environmental management paradigms being applied in sensitive areas in South Africa? Moreover, what are the chief factors inhibiting or promoting the effective use of spatial planning and environmental management to achieve a reconciliation between development and conservation in sensitive areas? Lastly, what are the legal dimensions of these questions, if any? The purpose of this study is thus to suggest ways in which spatial planning and environmental management can be better integrated to achieve the desired outcome of sustainable development in sensitive areas. Although this is a pressing issue, little empirical research has been conducted in this specific area and previous work has failed to address the specific legal, institutional and operational obstacles that exist in creating a cohesive and inclusive system.
Five brigade atrocities in Zimbabwe: categorising international crimes and evaluating the criminal liability of perpetrators
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Malunga, Siphosami Patrick; Moyo, Khulekani
In virtually every village in the Zimbabwean provinces of Matabeleland and parts of Midlands, there are reminders of heinous atrocities perpetrated against defenceless civilians by the government between 1982 and 1987. These atrocities, commonly known as the ‘Gukurahundi,’ a moniker for the army brigade that committed them, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 000 Ndebele civilians. Many of those killed were abducted and forcibly disappeared, and their bodies thrown into mine shafts or buried secretly in shallow graves. Others were publicly executed and buried in mass graves. Thousands more were starved, tortured, raped, unlawfully detained, and their homes and belongings destroyed during the Gukurahundi operation. Survivors continue to bear physical, emotional and psychological scars while alleged high- level perpetrators continue to rely on their political incumbency to enjoy impunity and remain shielded from accountability for their crimes. This doctoral thesis addresses the existing literature gap on the legal classification of the Gukurahundi atrocities. It seeks to determine whether atrocities committed by Five Brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and other security agencies against civilians constitute international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It assesses the application of international criminal andhumanitarian law in Zimbabwe and investigates the status of the Matabeleland Conflict under international humanitarian law. Further, it explores whether alleged perpetrators can be held individually criminally responsible for Gukurahundi atrocities under international law. Finally, the thesis is expected to contribute to understanding the legal nature of Gukurahundi atrocities, the role of alleged perpetrators and the victims’ prospects for justice and accountability
Gang violence or the continuation of an armed conflict by other means: the application of international humanitarian and criminal law to gangs as an organized non-state armed group
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-06) Pose, Jorge Claudio Lema; Swart, Mia
The purpose of this thesis is to develop the applicability of International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law to a specific organized criminal group (the maras or gangs in Central America).4 This thesis considers that this criminal actor (the maras) within the gangs presents many similar aspects to traditional non-state organized armed groups. Furthermore, the thesis will explain how the maras have instrumented a level of violence that, in practical terms, has reached the threshold of an armed conflict: in summary, International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law can be applied to the maras
Interrogating the Shortcomings of the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition from a Human Rights Perspective
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Kibungu, Joseph; Meyersfeld, Bonita
Access to food entails the physical means to obtain food directly, and economic access, which is the ability to purchase food from available sources. Lack of access to food continues to deny a significant proportion of the globe, especially women and peasant farmers, a dignified life. There have been many attempts at both local and international levels to address food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).2 Most recent attempts have championed agribusinesses to solve food insecurity, with increasing agribusiness involvement from the Global North. The primary advocates of this model have been agribusinesses’ home states and international financial institutions. At face value, the injection of capital by the private sector to boost agricultural production seems like a noble idea. The proponents of this model champion it as the remaining piece in the jigsaw to accelerate food production in developing economies. They view it as the ultimate solution to ongoing food insecurity in a continent with abundant, unutilized arable land
Legal challenges of establishing jurisdiction over cloud data: addressing the gaps in South Africa’s cybercrime legislative framework
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Musoni, Melody; Klaaren, Jonathan
This thesis discusses the problems presented by the emerging technology of cloud computing during cybercrime investigations. One of the main challenges with cloud computing technologies is the lack of clarity on jurisdiction and whether law enforcement agents can exercise unilateral enforcement jurisdiction over remote cloud data. The thesis signifies the challenge by demonstrating how remote access to cloud data can potentially infringe on the sovereignty of foreign states, violate international law, and infringe on people’s privacy rights. The underlying concern with cybercrime investigations in the cloud context is that the current laws are not only territorial, but they are also outdated and lacking the ability to complement and address technological advancements. The central question discussed is whether the jurisdictional principles need to be revised to address innovative technological advancements or if the traditional principles suffice and can continue to be of application. At present, there are diverging views and approaches to dealing with cloud data jurisdiction for criminal investigation purposes. Some scholars, judges and law officers still rely on traditional jurisdictional principles and apply them to cyberspace and cloud environments. They do not see the justification to have separate laws to address activities in cyberspace. However, others advocate for the acclimatisation of new laws to meet the technological changes. Compounding this difference in opinion is the uncertainty in legal frameworks on cybercrime. Such uncertainty has left the topic vacillating between the views of territorialists and those of data exceptionalists. Similarly, South Africa’s position on this issue is unequivocal as various pieces of legislation address the issue of cloud jurisdiction differently. This makes this study of utmost importance. This thesis argues that law should be developed to address the technological changes presented by cloud computing technologies. Traditional jurisdictional principles which emphasise on geographical territory are not sufficient to address the unique features of cloud data. Pre-internet based jurisdictional principles should not be directly applied in cyberspace or cyber-environments. It is important for law to be developed in a manner which allows it to adequately address technological developments. One way of achieving this is by reformulating jurisdictional principles to conform with the emerging technologies. Apart from law, lawyers and law makers should leverage the use of other regulatory modalities such as code to regulate online conduct. Code can play the role of law which can effectively regulate cyberspaces as well as solve the data jurisdictional problem. This thesis supports the notion of reformulation of jurisdictional principles to address these challenges. In addition, it also points out the importance of reinforcing the current measures in place to address jurisdictional challenges
Procedural access to justice: enhancing access to the superior courts of Zimbabwe through reform of selected rules of civil procedure
(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Matsikidze, Rodgers; Theophilopoulos, Constantine
This thesis argues that the rules of civil procedure can enhance or inhibit access to the courts. Secondly, it argues that there is a nexus between the right of access to the court and the rules of civil procedure, in that rules of civil procedure play a critical role in providing a procedural pathway to court. Thus, in providing a mechanism for realising substantive rights, the rules of procedure become central in ensuring access to court and justice. On the other hand, this thesis argues that the rules of civil procedure governing security costs, leave to appeal and appeals, and referral of constitutional matters (herein referred to as selected rules of procedure) restrict access to court and, in turn, access to justice. This thesis argues that blanket security for costs rules restrict access to the court and can result in litigants being required to tender inhibitive security for costs. The thesis further proposes that the requirement for security for costs must be restricted only to frivolous and vexatious civil claims and appeals. In addition, it is also argued that the strict application of the rules governing appeals in the Superior Courts of Zimbabwe, which result in appeals being struck off the roll for being defective, is undesirable, and there is a need to balance the need for compliance with the rules of procedure and emphasis on unduly technical requirements which do not enhance access to justice. Thus, the thesis argues for the robust application of rules of governing appeals to ensure that appeals are largely dispensed on merits. Further, the thesis argues that the requirement for leave to appeal from the Labour Court to the Supreme Court and from the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Court is undesirable as it discriminates in favour of direct appeals from the High Court to the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe. Moreso, the requirement for leave to appeal from the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Court restricts access to justice as it unnecessarily increases litigation costs. It is, therefore, argued that the reform of leave to appeal rules, particularly removing the requirement of leave to appeal from the Labour Court of Zimbabwe to the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, increases access to justice and affords a litigant an equal opportunity as a litigant appealing from the High Court to the Supreme Court who does not require leave to appeal. In addition, it advocates for automatic appeals to the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe. Furthermore, this thesis proposes widening the appeal jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court from only being restricted to hearing constitutional matters to also hearing a matter raising an arguable point of law of general public importance. In addition, this thesis argues for more direct access, particularly on constitutional issues, as an avenue to increase access to justice. Additionally, the thesis identifies the rules governing the referral of constitutional issues from the subordinate courts of the Constitutional Court as unduly viii restrictive. There is, therefore, a need to simplify the referral of constitutional matters procedure to increase access to justice by referring constitutional matters to the Constitutional Court. Thus, this thesis focuses on the impact of the selected rules of civil procedure in the Superior Courts of Zimbabwe on court access by litigants, represented or unrepresented. The Superior Courts of Zimbabwe at the centre of this thesis are the High Court, the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. The thesis concludes that in inhibiting access to the Superior Courts of Zimbabwe, the selected rules of procedure contravene section 69(3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which provides for the right of access to the court. It is evident from the comparison made in this thesis that the framing of selected rules of procedure in South Africa and Kenya enhances access to the courts and justice. Thus, the thesis proposes reform of the law and selected rules of procedure to enhance access to the Superior Courts of Zimbabwe. The reform proposal to the selected rules of civil procedure is accompanied by a draft of reformed selected rules of civil procedure and some proposed amendments to enabling Acts of Parliament and the Constitution of Zimbabwe
The use and impact of criminal sanctions for environmental law transgressions in industrial facilities in South Africa: Determining the boundaries of overcriminalization
(2022) Strydom, Melissa
South Africa has many environmental laws that apply to industrial operations, which laws contain numerous criminal offence and penalty provisions. On conviction, criminal liability may be substantial and far-reaching, including maximum prescribed penalties of up to R5 million or R10 million or imprisonment of up to five or ten years, depending on the offence’s nature. The National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 also contains instances where additional criminal liability may be imposed. Writers have described these environmental laws as being ‘littered with new criminal offences’. Criminal law theorists express strong views against overcriminalization, describing it as ‘one of the most serious problems facing criminal law’ because although the criminal sanction should be the state’s ‘ultimate weapon against assaults threatening societal coexistence’, it ‘has become a blunt instrument through its indiscriminate use by legislatures as a tool to ensure obedience’. South African environmental law scholars have considered the criminal sanction in environmental law, but not how the landscape of criminal sanctions has changed over the years, how the criminal sanction is used against industrial facilities that contravene such laws, and what impact this has had on the operation of these facilities or effective enforcement. This research frames these considerations in terms of theories of criminalization and overcriminalization, by establishing a normative framework that can be used to assess what behaviour should be criminalized or what may indicate overcriminalization. This study analyzes changes to four selected South African environmental laws and specific offence categories and considers concluded prosecutions relating to such offences. It reflects the perspectives of 32 participants involved with environmental compliance and enforcement in South Africa, gauging their opinions on themes including criminal law as a last resort, certainty and practicality of the law and its frequent changes, the deterrent effect of criminal sanctions, and challenges in criminal enforcement. These aspects are analyzed within the normative framework to answer the overarching research question- whether the use of criminal sanctions for environmental transgressions in industrial facilities in South Africa has led to overcriminalization and when the use of the criminal sanction is appropriate and effective. The study’s recommendations aim to contribute to the more effective use of criminal sanctions through improved legislative design

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