Academic literature on the topic 'Courts – Lesotho'

Abstract Since the popularization of the doctrine of separation of powers in the 18th century by Baron De Montesquieu, emerging democratic nations have continued to strive towards evolving patterns of governance that suit their internal needs with regards to the political, social and cultural peculiarities of each nation. Lesotho is no exception to this evolutionary trend, as the country transitions from a traditional monarchical to parliamentary system of government, founded on popular democracy. The 1993 Constitution of Lesotho embodies provisions that ensure the distribution of governmental powers among the three arms of government, but with due reverence to the monarch whose powers cut across each branch of government. The judiciary plays a very important role in preserving the tenets of the constitution. The courts in Lesotho have been very assertive, sometimes excessively so, by intruding into the functions of the other arms of government. This paper captures the true importance of the doctrine of separation of powers, examines the Lesotho constitutional arrangement in preserving this doctrine and calls for caution on the part of the courts as guardians of the constitutional order.

This article compares and contrasts the development of the legal systems of two British colonies that occuped almost opposite ends of the colonial judicial continuum: what in colonial times were known as the Gold Coast and Basutoland. Both became British colonies in the late nineteenth century, but followed considerably different paths to that status. In the case of the Gold Coast it followed centuries of contact between Europeans and the coastal peoples in this area of West Africa. In the case of Basutoland incorporation into the European world was a nineteenth-century phenomenon and far more rapid. Nevertheless, at the turn of the century, as indirect rule became the officially accepted wisdom as to how colonial peoples should be ruled, administrators in both colonies sought to make the chiefly order an integral part of the colony's administration and award its chiefs judicial responsibilities. In the Gold Coast, however, chiefly courts remained in competition with a highly developed British-style Supreme Court. In Basutoland there were basically only chiefly courts until late in the colonial period, which applied Sesotho customary law that was written down as the Laws of Lerotholi in 1903. The two-tier judicial system of the Gold Coast allowed far more contestation and was far more flexible and responsive to social changes than was the case in Basutoland. Incremental changes over time meant that the judicial system evolved far more smoothly than in Basutoland. When in the latter colony changes did not come ‘from above’ in the 1940s, there was a serious outbreak of ‘medicine murders’ that many observers felt was directly related to the chiefs losing their judicial role. Also, the colony's high court ruled against the validity of the Laws of Lerotholi in the controversial ‘Regency case’. Apart from being a return to comparative analyses of the impact of colonial rule on former African colonies, much in vogue in the 1960s, this study is an attempt to modify the emphasis on ‘cleavage’ and the ‘coercive’ that has characterised historians' approach to the study of colonial law.

AbstractThis article focuses on the extent of a company's responsibility for the criminal conduct of its employees. It considers the initial reluctance of common law courts to hold corporations criminally responsible for offences requiring mens rea, a mental element not found in artificial persons. The courts overcame this initial difficulty with recourse to the identification doctrine, which seeks to attribute to a company the fault of certain of its officers. However, the restrictiveness and inconsistencies embodied in the various judicial statements of that doctrine precipitated recourse in some jurisdictions to civil law concepts, such as respondeat superior, vicarious liability and even strict liability, to found corporate criminal responsibility. The need to streamline the scope of, if not enhance, corporate criminal liability, has engendered statutory reforms in some jurisdictions. The article considers reforms in Australia, the UK, Canada and the USA, in comparison with the situation in South Africa and Lesotho.

The doctrine of judicial precedent forms an integral part of the general law of Swaziland. This doctrine would be unworkable without the publication of law reports. The following is an account of the Swaziland law-reporting process.The Kingdom of Swaziland, which regained its independence on 6 September, 1968, has retained the dual structure of laws and courts which it inherited from the British administration. In terms of this structure the traditional Swazi law and Swazi courts operate under the umbrella of the general law and the ultimate control of the general law courts.The country's general law is based on the Roman–Dutch law. When the British found that Civilian system of law to be well-established on their arrival in Southern Africa, they decided to respect it. However, many elements of English law were introduced. The doctrine of judicial precedent was one of them.Even though Swaziland shares with South Africa (including its “independent homelands”), Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe a mixed general legal system which resulted from the interaction between the Roman–Dutch Civilian law and the English Common law, its general law operates independently.

This edition consists of 15 contributions – 12 articles and three case notes. In the first article, Janke Strydom and Sue-Mari Viljoen discuss the phenomenon where inner-city buildings in South Africa are unlawfully occupied, which has led to a number of legal disputes between occupiers and individual landowners. They propose measures analogous to those in England and the Netherlands to be added to the existing statutory powers of the local authorities to assist in resolving the disputes. Second, Tapiwa Warikandwa and Patrick Osode deal with the challenges the WTOs is faced with in balancing the rights of a sovereign power to freely regulate matters pertaining to health or the environment within its domestic domain with the need to maintain the sanctity of the multilateral trade order. Third, Andra le Roux-Kemp and Elsie Burger give a comparative perspective on some of the issues associated with litigating cases where the Shaken Baby Syndrome is the subject matter. Their focus is on the case law in the United States and United Kingdom. Fourth, Fatima Osman deals with the thorny issue of headscarves in South Africa, France, Turkey and Switzerland. She focuses on the reasons for the ban against their wearing and asks if the ban can be justified in the light of the human rights guaranteed to those individuals wanting to wear them. Fifth, Geo Quinot and SP (Fanus) van Tonder argue in favour of capstone courses to address some of the challenges facing legal education in general and the inadequacies of the LLB curriculum. Rolien Roos, in the sixth article, sets out to determine whether law can be regarded as a science which could be studied. She refers to the scholarly works of philosophers such as Dooyeweerd, Stafleu and Strauss and comes to the conclusion that the answer is all but straight forward. In the seventh article, Caiphas Soyapi considers the highly controversial provisions of the Traditional Courts Bill in a comparative context and recommends that the framers of the Bill should consider the situation in other jurisdictions in order to deal with some of the issues with the Bill. In the eight spot, Gerrit Ferreira and Anél Ferreira-Snyman examine the dichotomy that is created between the monist and dualist approach followed by the incorporation of international law into municipal law in the light of decisions of the South African Constitutional Court and the European Court of Justice. In the ninth article, Magda Slabbert and Darren Boome investigate the prospects of a convicted criminal who wants to become a lawyer, and in the tenth article Raheel Ahmed considers the role of “contributory intent” as a defence limiting delictual liability. In the second-last article Kananelo Mosito sets out to provide the reader with an understanding of the legal situation in Lesotho pertaining to social security and protection. Last but not least, Tamara Cohen and Lehlohonolo Matee give a comparative overview of the public servants’ right to strike in Lesotho, Botswana and South Africa.The first case note is by Tracy-Lynn Humby, who deals with the question of whether or not municipalities have the power to legislate on environmental issues such as biodiversity and conservation, as examined in the case of Le Sueur v Ethekwini Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court. The second note, by Johan Beukes and Christiaan Swart, discusses the case of Peel v Hamon J&C Engineering (Pty) Ltd, which deals with the remedy provided for in section 163 of the Companies Act (the oppression remedy). The last note is by Helen Kruuse and Julia Sloth-Nielsen, and debates the implications of Mayelane v Ngwenyama

The employer’s views have been sought on the quality of the National University of Lesotho (NUL) programmes in relation to addressing the concept of social responsibility. The employers’ views were sought through observing the quality of performance of the NUL graduates at the workplace and at the community engagements. The NUL designed programmes that are expected to address the societal needs, hence the reason why it is important to find out whether the programmes that prepared the graduates for the workplace have a successful outcome. A total of 150 employers in the Lesotho Ministries of Education and Training as well as Local Government and chieftainship in three of the ten districts of Lesotho formed the sample of the study. A two part questionnaire with four point likert scale of strongly agree and strongly disagree; highly satisfied and highly dissatisfied was designed to find out information on the employers’ perceptions on the performance of the NUL graduates in relation to social responsibility. Frequency counts analysis with descriptive statistics was employed to indicate the results of the study. Research results confirmed that the NUL programmes have deficiencies in moulding all graduates with competence in social responsibility. It was observed that there were graduates that have achieved the social responsibility skills, but there are those graduates who still require further training on the issue of social responsibility. It is therefore recommended that the NUL should periodically review its programmes in order to prepare a well rounded graduate that could be a community developer.

One way in which the practice of inclusion can be actualised in classrooms is through the use of consistent, appropriate differentiated instruction. What remains elusive, however, is insight into what teachers in different contexts think and believe about differentiation, how consistently they differentiate instruction and what challenges they experience in doing so. In the study reported on here high school classrooms in a private and a government school in Lesotho were compared in order to determine teachers’ thoughts and beliefs about differentiation, the frequency of differentiated instruction, and the challenges faced by teachers who implement this inclusive practice. Sampled teachers offered their views on what they understood differentiated instruction to be, the frequency of differentiated instruction, and identified challenges via an administered questionnaire. Data analysis was based on frequency counts and bar charts for comparative purposes. Findings indicate that private school teachers have a higher frequency of differentiated teaching practice, with time constraints indicated as the main challenge. Government school teachers had a lower frequency of differentiation, and identified a lack of resources, and the learner-teacher ratio as challenges, among others. In the study we highlighted the critical role that private schools can play in the national call for the implementation of inclusive teaching in Lesotho, in terms of active collaboration with surrounding government schools. Private schools, with their resources and access to professional development opportunities, can become catalysts in the implementation of inclusive teaching practices.

Aim of the study: The main aim of the study is to examine and pursue research regarding the history and role of law in the disintegration of the institutions of traditional leadership in South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho in order to make recommendations regarding the challenges and opportunities facing traditional authorities in these countries. The traditional systems, roles and functions of these institutions are traced from the pre-colonial era up to the period of democratic regimes in these countries. This study is based on the premises that the jurisprudence of the institution of traditional leadership is as old as mankind and that this institution is rooted in the rural soil of African communities. Research Methodology: This study is based on legal comparative research with reference to South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho. A literature survey of the most important sources dealing with history, legislation and policy documents was undertaken. Conclusion and Recommendations: The institution of traditional leadership is one of the oldest traditional institutions of governance in South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho. During the pre-colonial era traditional authorities constituted an important component in the traditional system of the administration of the traditional community. Traditions placed a great amount of responsibility on traditional leaders to look after the best interests of their communities. When the colonial government took over the reigns of these three countries, they changed the pre-colonial form and nature of traditional authorities. These colonial governments exercised control over traditional leaders and allowed minimum independence in their traditional rule. The post-colonial governments of South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho retained the institution of traditional leadership. The Constitutions of these countries provide the legal framework for the recognition and functioning of the office of traditional leaders. However, it has been noted in this study that the relationship between the traditional leaders and the governments of these countries has been a mixture of conflict and cordiality. One of the reasons for this uneasy relationship between the traditional leaders and the central governments of these countries is that the status, authority, power and functions of traditional leaders have been reduced considerably when new institutions such as Local Governments, Land Boards, District Councils and Village District Councils were given powers and functions previously exercised by traditional leaders. The post-colonial transformation of traditional leadership in these three countries has led to a steep decline in the authority of traditional leaders. In order to encourage active participation of the traditional leaders in the new democratic structures and bodies, the institution of traditional leadership must be adapted to the changing political, social and economic environments. Rural local government bodies and the national governments of these countries should not view the institutions of traditional leadership as competitors for political power. The post-colonial governments of South Africa, Botswana and Lesotho should introduce traditional leaders as equal partners in the development and advancement of rural communities. In order to achieve this goal the governments of these countries should empower and capacitate traditional leaders so that they do not become misfits in the new constitutional and democratic settlements.
Thesis (LL.D. (Indigenous Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This chapter considers the history of judicial review of the merits of arbitration awards in the courts of England. Topics discussed include arbitration before and during the nineteenth century; the English Arbitration Act 1979; the decision in The Nema, a case which concerned the possible frustration of a seven-voyage consecutive voyage charter due to a prolonged strike at the loading port; and section 69 of the English Arbitration Act 1996. The chapter concludes by referring to Lord Wilberforce’s parliamentary observation cited by Lord Steyn in Lesotho Highlands Development Authority v Impregilo SpA. The case raised an issue under section 68(2)(b) of the 1996 Act as to whether the arbitral tribunal had ‘exceed[ed] its powers’. The House of Lords held that an erroneous exercise of a power that was possessed was a mere error of law and not the same thing as acting in excess of powers that were not possessed; and that therefore the award could not be challenged. In the context of arbitration, the House of Lords was determined to allow no possibility that errors of law might be dressed up as decisions in excess of powers. That would have opened the floodgates to the opportunities for judicial intervention in the merits of disputes.

AbstractIn June 1983, I participated, as representative of the University of Mauritius, in a training course on improving teaching and learning for academics from different African universities. It took place at the Roma campus of the National University of Lesotho. One afternoon, we were introduced to a distinguished guest speaker, Professor Walter Kamba, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe.

A bench-top educational system, the Adaptive Water Treatment for Education and Research (WaTER) Laboratory, has been developed as part of a year-long capstone design project. The Adaptive WaTER Lab teaches students about the effectiveness of various water purification techniques. Stackable housings employ six different filtration and purification methods including: sediment filtration, carbon filtration, chemical disinfection, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, and ultraviolet light disinfection. Filtration pressure is supplied by a hand or foot pump, and two rechargeable batteries are required for the UV sterilization unit. The advantages and limitations of each technique are investigated, with learning performance criteria measured by knowledge of: material costs, contaminant removal or neutralization capabilities (from large sediment to bacteria and viruses to chemicals), robustness and longevity, and power requirements and efficiencies. Finally, suitable combinations of treatment techniques are studied for specific contamination issues, with the ultimate goal of producing potable water. The importance of sustainable water use is also discussed. Background information and suggested experiments are introduced through accompanying educational packets. This system has had a successful impact on undergraduate education. The metrics of success include a published journal article, an awarded EPA P3 educational grant and a pending patent for the undergraduates involved in the development of the Lab. Other undergraduates are currently involved in a design for manufacturability study. Finally, the Lab has served as a demonstration tool in a new interdisciplinary engineering course “Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development.” The Adaptive WaTER Lab has also been used in hands-on outreach to over 300 underrepresented K-12 students in the Houston area. Two high school students borrowed the original prototype of the Lab to use in an Earth Day demonstration, and one student recently worked on an individual project using the Lab. Because the Lab is portable and requires only human and solar power (to recharge the batteries via a solar backpack), it is also ideal for educational efforts in developing nations. Labs are currently being produced for outreach and donation via three international projects to install water purification systems and/or educational Labs in schools and clinics in Mexico, Lesotho and Swaziland, in collaboration with the Beyond Traditional Borders and Rice 360 health initiatives.

This report maps the African landscape of Open Science – with a focus on Open Data as a sub-set of Open Science. Data to inform the landscape study were collected through a variety of methods, including surveys, desk research, engagement with a community of practice, networking with stakeholders, participation in conferences, case study presentations, and workshops hosted. Although the majority of African countries (35 of 54) demonstrates commitment to science through its investment in research and development (R&D), academies of science, ministries of science and technology, policies, recognition of research, and participation in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), the following countries demonstrate the highest commitment and political willingness to invest in science: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to existing policies in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), the following countries have made progress towards Open Data policies: Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. Only two African countries (Kenya and South Africa) at this stage contribute 0.8% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to R&D (Research and Development), which is the closest to the AU’s (African Union’s) suggested 1%. Countries such as Lesotho and Madagascar ranked as 0%, while the R&D expenditure for 24 African countries is unknown. In addition to this, science globally has become fully dependent on stable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) infrastructure, which includes connectivity/bandwidth, high performance computing facilities and data services. This is especially applicable since countries globally are finding themselves in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is not only “about” data, but which “is” data. According to an article1 by Alan Marcus (2015) (Senior Director, Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries, World Economic Forum), “At its core, data represents a post-industrial opportunity. Its uses have unprecedented complexity, velocity and global reach. As digital communications become ubiquitous, data will rule in a world where nearly everyone and everything is connected in real time. That will require a highly reliable, secure and available infrastructure at its core, and innovation at the edge.” Every industry is affected as part of this revolution – also science. An important component of the digital transformation is “trust” – people must be able to trust that governments and all other industries (including the science sector), adequately handle and protect their data. This requires accountability on a global level, and digital industries must embrace the change and go for a higher standard of protection. “This will reassure consumers and citizens, benefitting the whole digital economy”, says Marcus. A stable and secure information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure – currently provided by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) – is key to advance collaboration in science. The AfricaConnect2 project (AfricaConnect (2012–2014) and AfricaConnect2 (2016–2018)) through establishing connectivity between National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), is planning to roll out AfricaConnect3 by the end of 2019. The concern however is that selected African governments (with the exception of a few countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and others) have low awareness of the impact the Internet has today on all societal levels, how much ICT (and the 4th Industrial Revolution) have affected research, and the added value an NREN can bring to higher education and research in addressing the respective needs, which is far more complex than simply providing connectivity. Apart from more commitment and investment in R&D, African governments – to become and remain part of the 4th Industrial Revolution – have no option other than to acknowledge and commit to the role NRENs play in advancing science towards addressing the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). For successful collaboration and direction, it is fundamental that policies within one country are aligned with one another. Alignment on continental level is crucial for the future Pan-African African Open Science Platform to be successful. Both the HIPSSA ((Harmonization of ICT Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa)3 project and WATRA (the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly)4, have made progress towards the regulation of the telecom sector, and in particular of bottlenecks which curb the development of competition among ISPs. A study under HIPSSA identified potential bottlenecks in access at an affordable price to the international capacity of submarine cables and suggested means and tools used by regulators to remedy them. Work on the recommended measures and making them operational continues in collaboration with WATRA. In addition to sufficient bandwidth and connectivity, high-performance computing facilities and services in support of data sharing are also required. The South African National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System5 (NICIS) has made great progress in planning and setting up a cyberinfrastructure ecosystem in support of collaborative science and data sharing. The regional Southern African Development Community6 (SADC) Cyber-infrastructure Framework provides a valuable roadmap towards high-speed Internet, developing human capacity and skills in ICT technologies, high- performance computing and more. The following countries have been identified as having high-performance computing facilities, some as a result of the Square Kilometre Array7 (SKA) partnership: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. More and more NRENs – especially the Level 6 NRENs 8 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and recently Zambia) – are exploring offering additional services; also in support of data sharing and transfer. The following NRENs already allow for running data-intensive applications and sharing of high-end computing assets, bio-modelling and computation on high-performance/ supercomputers: KENET (Kenya), TENET (South Africa), RENU (Uganda), ZAMREN (Zambia), EUN (Egypt) and ARN (Algeria). Fifteen higher education training institutions from eight African countries (Botswana, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania) have been identified as offering formal courses on data science. In addition to formal degrees, a number of international short courses have been developed and free international online courses are also available as an option to build capacity and integrate as part of curricula. The small number of higher education or research intensive institutions offering data science is however insufficient, and there is a desperate need for more training in data science. The CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science aim at addressing the continental need for foundational data skills across all disciplines, along with training conducted by The Carpentries 9 programme (specifically Data Carpentry 10 ). Thus far, CODATA-RDA schools in collaboration with AOSP, integrating content from Data Carpentry, were presented in Rwanda (in 2018), and during17-29 June 2019, in Ethiopia. Awareness regarding Open Science (including Open Data) is evident through the 12 Open Science-related Open Access/Open Data/Open Science declarations and agreements endorsed or signed by African governments; 200 Open Access journals from Africa registered on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); 174 Open Access institutional research repositories registered on openDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories); 33 Open Access/Open Science policies registered on ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies); 24 data repositories registered with the Registry of Data Repositories (re3data.org) (although the pilot project identified 66 research data repositories); and one data repository assigned the CoreTrustSeal. Although this is a start, far more needs to be done to align African data curation and research practices with global standards. Funding to conduct research remains a challenge. African researchers mostly fund their own research, and there are little incentives for them to make their research and accompanying data sets openly accessible. Funding and peer recognition, along with an enabling research environment conducive for research, are regarded as major incentives. The landscape report concludes with a number of concerns towards sharing research data openly, as well as challenges in terms of Open Data policy, ICT infrastructure supportive of data sharing, capacity building, lack of skills, and the need for incentives. Although great progress has been made in terms of Open Science and Open Data practices, more awareness needs to be created and further advocacy efforts are required for buy-in from African governments. A federated African Open Science Platform (AOSP) will not only encourage more collaboration among researchers in addressing the SDGs, but it will also benefit the many stakeholders identified as part of the pilot phase. The time is now, for governments in Africa, to acknowledge the important role of science in general, but specifically Open Science and Open Data, through developing and aligning the relevant policies, investing in an ICT infrastructure conducive for data sharing through committing funding to making NRENs financially sustainable, incentivising open research practices by scientists, and creating opportunities for more scientists and stakeholders across all disciplines to be trained in data management.