Showing papers in "International and Comparative Law Quarterly in 1993"

The Making and Remaking of Commonwealth Constitutions

Abstract: ON the passing of its Empire, Britain left some 50 specific legacies: to every Commonwealth State, a written constitution, or the means of obtaining one. The earlier constitutions, of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, not fully sovereign States at the time, were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The post-war constitutions were formed in a different way. Parliament passed an Independence Act; but the constitutions either were drawn up in Whitehall, and made law by Order in Council, or were indigenous. We have something of a phenomenon: Whitehall lawyers must have drafted at least 33 complete and final independence constitutions during the period, to say nothing of a deluge of intermediate instruments.' And this from almost the only country in the world to be itself without a written constitution. Many of the constitutions made in London have been unmade, and made again, in far-away capitals; and a similar fate has overtaken some of the indigenous constitutions. But many have lasted. This article will attempt an assessment of the successes and failures of Commonwealth constitution-making during the past 40 years or more.

The United Kingdom' Part in the Preparation of the European Convention on Human Rights, 1950

Abstract: ON 23 September 1953 the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the European Convention on Human Rights) entered into force.2 The UK government, which had signed it on 4 November 1950, was on 8 March 1951 the first State to deposit an instrument of ratification. Despite repeated calls for the provisions of the Convention to be incorporated into UK domestic law3 and a substantial body of jurisprudence which has acknowledged its significance,4 the Convention is still in the category described recently as an "unincorporated treaty".5 The purpose of this article is not to review the intervening 40 years6 but to examine, in the particular context of legal advice tendered, the pre-ratification attitude of UK government departments and the government itself-then the Labour administration of Clement Attlee-towards the concept and formulation of such a convention. As the European Convention was not the first writing on a hitherto blank page, it is necessary to examine the part played by the United Kingdom in the wider human rights background out of which the Convention emerged.

Harmonisation of Trade Laws in the African Economic Community

Abstract: AFRICAN countries attained independence with high expectations. Most people believed that rapid progress would be made in raising incomes and improving the welfare of the African people. In the early years of independence many African countries successfully expanded their basic infrastructure and social services. After an initial period of growth, however, most economies faltered, then went into decline.' There are some exceptions but, in general, sub-Saharan Africa, as a whole, has now witnessed almost a decade of falling per capita incomes, increasing hunger and accelerating ecological degradation. The earlier progress made in social development is now being eroded. Overall, Africans are said to be almost as poor today as they were 30 years ago.) The severe economic crisis in Africa has inspired many African governments and institutions to review their strategies for development, with a view to taking measures to arrest the ever-worsening crisis.3 One such measure is the recently adopted Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. The Treaty was adopted at the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Heads of States Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, on 3 June 1991.' The Treaty establishes the African Economic Community. The objectives of the Community, as set out in Article 4 of the Treaty, are as follows: (a) to promote economic, social and cultural development and the integration of African economies in order to

Native Title to Land in Australia: Recent High Court Decisions

Abstract: tag=1 data=Native title to land in Australia: recent High Court decisions. by R.D. Lumb. tag=2 data=Lumb, R.D. tag=3 data=International and Comparative Law Quarterly, tag=4 data=42 tag=5 data=1 tag=6 data=January 1993 tag=7 data=84-100. tag=8 data=ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS%MABO tag=9 data=MURRAY ISLANDERS tag=10 data=Mabo High Court Decision. Provided by MICAH, Canberra. tag=11 data=1993/5/5 tag=12 data=93/0240 tag=13 data=CAB

Constitutional reform in south africa

Abstract: South Africa is a polygeneous country with diverse legal systems. Its large black population of 21.6 million comprises nearly 70 per cent of the total population. The black population falls principally under four major ethnic divisions: the Nguni,' Sotho,2 Shangaan-Tsonga3 and Venda.4 These are not linguistic groups; they are strictly ethnic. Each group is divided along linguistic lines.5 The next identifiable group of persons with a distinct national identity are the 5 million whites, forming 16.3 per cent of the population of the Republic. Of these, 56 per cent are Afrikaans speaking. The Afrikaners trace their origins to the Dutch East India Company and its settlement of the Cape in 1652. Almost 38 per cent of the whites are English speaking. The next sizeable group are the coloured, numbering about 3.2 million, forming 10.4 per cent of the population. They form a loose collection of