Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Customary law courts'

In this thesis it is intended to show, among other things, the evolution of the Ciskeian traditional African Court practice and procedure from the time of the advent of white rule up to the present day. In chapter two we show the manner in which the various Cape Governors tried to suppress the traditional court system and law by superimposing western type law and norms (repugnancy clause) on the unwilling African population. The case law discussed in chapter 3 clearly shows the problems that arose and which to a large extent, still arise in the application of the Chiefs' Civil Courts Rules. Non-compliance with these rules reveals the need both for the training of the personnel of these courts and reform of the rules governing the Chief's courts. The areas that need urgent attention have been identified and the necessary recommendations have been made.

In 1966, the High Court of Uganda legitimised the new nation's first coup d'etat. After two decades of civil war, Ugandans enacted their first popular constitution in 1995. However, the judiciary's dominant positivist ideology, Matovu's ghost, still haunts the new legal order. The author sets out this ideology's presumptions and then critiques them against an alternative, pluralist map of laws in Uganda.
The constructive analysis of recent case law (or lack thereof) that follows shows how this ideology undermines the constitution's promises of equality and freedom. This pluralist methodology is also essential to explain contemporary crises like the Lord's Resistance Army, arms proliferation in Karamoja and Museveni's "no-party" rule. In conclusion, exorcising Matovu's ghost is a priority for Ugandans and the process deserves considered thought for legal scholars advocating the "rule of law" or interventions by the International Criminal Court.

Customary law existed before the enactment of formal laws to govern the affairs of Nigerians. It started as behavioural norms that grew to be widely accepted by the community and became law. Inheritance rights are recognised under Nigerian customary law. Most customs provided for a way in which a person's properties could be distributed upon his death. However, most of these customs did not make provision for women in the distribution of a deceased estate. This disparity between the inheritance right of a man and woman was very prominent in the distribution of landed properties. Upon the demise of a man, his estate becomes family property and his eldest male child inherits it on behalf of other male members of the family. Where the deceased dies without a son, his brother inherits the estate. Notably, the Constitution did not abolish laws that existed prior to its enactment. It provides that these laws shall continue to exist subject to its provisions, the Constitution provides for its supremacy over every other law, and that the court has a duty to invalidate any law that is inconsistent with its provisions. The Court found the opportunity to alter the unfair discriminatory position against Nigerian women and develop customary law in line with Constitution in the case of Anekwe v Nwekwe. Here, the defendant (brother of the deceased) sought to evict the plaintiff (widow of the deceased and her female children) from the property of the deceased because she had no male child. He claimed that based on their customary law female children are excluded from inheriting property. The Supreme Court then invalidated this customary law of male primogeniture for being repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Although the decision of the court solved the problem of discrimination, it failed to develop customary law by invalidating only the discriminatory aspect of the customary law. Lessons can therefore be drawn from the minority decision of the South African Constitutional Court in the case of Bhe v Magistrate of Khaylistha, where recourse to developing the customary law was posited. This study will examine to what extent the court has applied customary law to bring it to conformity with the Constitution, drawing from other African countries especially South Africa. It utilises literature review and case law analysis, arguing that the court needs to review the Anekwe v Nwekwe case and make a more declarative position that brings customary law up to date with modern realities. It will recommend that the courts should in consultation with the people develop the customary law of inheritance.

Magister Legum - LLM
Sitting head of state immunity for crimes under international law has been a very controversial issue in recent times. On the one hand, the debate bears that personal immunity has been renounced for crimes under international law. On the other hand, the advocates of personal immunity claim that the principle of immunity is still persisting under customary International law. Although the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a treaty based court, it is able to extend its jurisdiction to non-state parties to the Rome Statute through a referral by the United Nations Security Council. Lacking its own enforcement body the ICC relies on the cooperation of other states for arrest and surrender of those it indicts. The extension of the court's jurisdiction to non-state parties, such as the case of Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, has led to the reluctance of state parties to the Rome Statue to effect arrest and surrender citing a 'dilemma between two conflicting obligations'. This paper analyses the legal status of personal immunity before different fora such as International tribunals, foreign domestic courts and under customary international law. It also critically examines the legal basis for the alleged conflicting obligations of state parties. The paper at the end concludes that there is no conflicting obligation for states parties to fully co-operate with the ICC and the lack of co-operation in the arrest and surrender of a sitting head of state is inconsistent with international law particularly with United Nation Charter and the Rome Statute.
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Poor and inadequate customer service is prevalent in the public sector of emerging economies. Also, limited leadership roles are ascribed to frontline employees in the sector. Improving customer service and empowering frontline employees could increase organizational effectiveness. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the problem of inadequate customer-service delivery skills and limited leadership roles for court personnel in the Lagos State Judiciary, Nigeria. The research was guided by two research questions: In what ways could the servicing experience of customers by court personnel/leaders in the Lagos State Judiciary be improved upon? and What are the lived experiences of leaders and customers in the Lagos State Judiciary System? The study participants’ were 25 court users of the Lagos State Judiciary. The data were subjected to analysis using the 4 step modified Van Kamm method by Moustakas to identify themes through exhaustive data coding and data distillation The 14 interview questions resulted in the emergence of 34 primary themes. Five overall themes emerged from thematic clusters and they were capacity building, attitude of court officials, policy changes, interaction with stakeholders and leadership training. The findings showed strong similarities between the participants’ lived experiences and experiences presented in relevant literature. The implication was that the management (leaders) of the Judiciary might benefit from this study by adopting the Folami Model for Improving Customer Servicing in the Lagos State Judiciary (FMICS – LSJ) to achieve customer service improvements. Researchers may wish in the future to explore the twin concepts of customer service and leadership styles in other contexts further to add further insight to existing literature.

Botswana has been experiencing high rates of recidivism and prison overcrowding, but the causes of these problems have not been explored. Thus, this qualitative study was conducted to investigate whether the denial of legal representation to criminal defendants tried in the customary courts is one of the causes of high rates of recidivism, prison overcrowding, or both. The main research question addressed a possible relationship between these factors and the denial of legal representation, and the study was guided by the punctuated equilibrium theory and the policy feedback theory. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with 10 released first offender prison inmates, 10 released recidivist prison inmates, and 10 professional participants from disciplines in the criminal justice system in addition to reviewing statistics and scholarly research. Data were analyzed through detailed description, categorical aggregation, direct interpretation, which led to naturalistic generalizations and patterns. The results indicated that the denial of legal representation to criminal defendants tried by customary courts appeared to contribute to both recidivism and prison overcrowding, which may undermine public safety and security. The implications of the study for positive social change include informing policy-makers of the need to reform the policy on legal representation to ensure that criminal defendants tried in the customary courts receive fair trials. The additional implications for positive social change include impacting rates of recidivism and prison overcrowding and enhancing community safety and security.

This thesis examines the process applied by international tribunals for delimiting Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and continental shelf boundaries under international law. Maritime delimitation is governed by articles 74 and 83 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which are customary international law. However, owing to the vagueness of such legal provisions, international tribunals have been developing a standard process for delimiting maritime boundaries. The delimitation process has evolved significantly since the 1969 judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in North Sea Continental Shelf. The ICJ re-stated this process in its 2009 Black Sea judgment as being constituted of three stages: first, an equidistance line is provisionally drawn; second, this line is adjusted should relevant circumstances so require; third, the overall equitableness of the boundary is evaluated by assessing the proportionality between the length of the relevant coast and the marine areas appertaining to each state. This thesis analyses each stage of the delimitation process as re-stated in Black Sea. By way of introduction, chapter 1 outlines the relevant legal provisions and the historical evolution of the delimitation process through the jurisprudence of international tribunals. Chapter 2 discusses both the notions of the relevant coast and of the relevant area, and the practical methods for their identification. Since Black Sea, international tribunals have tended to identify the relevant coast and the relevant area prior to establishing a provisional equidistance line. Chapter 3 discusses the issues concerning the drawing of the provisional equidistance line. Chapter 4 examines relevant circumstances and the methods for adjusting an equidistance line. Chapter 5 discusses proportionality. Using doctrinal legal research methodologies, this thesis aims to assess the degree of consistency in the international tribunals’ application of the three-stage delimitation process. It argues that, while great leaps forward have been made since 1969, there is still a number of unresolved issues, in relation to which this thesis endeavours to provide some workable solutions.

Première partie : La pluralité des juridictions : une pluralité assumée et organiséeTitre I : La composition de l’appareil de justiceTitre II : L’organisation des juridictions dans l’optique d’un ordre juridictionnelDeuxième partie : Le juge comorien face aux impératifs de justiceTitre I : Le respect des fondements de la justiceTitre II : Le juge comorien à la jonction d’un pluralisme désordonné
Part 1: The plurality of courts: an assumed and organized pluralityTitle I: The composition of the judicial systemTitle II: The organisation of the courts from the perspective of a jurisdictional systemPart 2: The Comorian judge facing justice dutiesTitle I: The observations of the foundation of justiceTitle II: The Comorian judge in junction of a disordered pluralism

La délimitation des frontières maritimes revêt une importance capitale pour un grand nombre États, que cela soit d’un oint de vue symbolique, culturel, stratégique ou économique. Néanmoins, le droit international conventionnel reste au mieux largement ambigu, au pire entièrement silencieux sur la question de savoir quelles sont les méthodes précises pour résoudre les éventuels différends entre États pouvant surgir lors de la délimitation de leurs espaces maritimes. Face à ces ambiguïtés et silences conventionnels et face aussi à une pratique étatique incohérente et dépourvue d’une opinio juris, c’est principalement dans leur propre vision que les juridictions internationales ont puisé la règle de l’équidistance/circonstances pertinentes, en vertu de laquelle toute délimitation maritime décidée, quel que soit l’espace maritime considéré, y inclus le plateau continental étendu, et quelle que soit la configuration côtière, débute par la construction d’une ligne d’équidistance provisoire. Cette ligne pourra éventuellement être modifiée pour tenir compte descirconstances particulières de chaque affaire dans une deuxième phase de la délimitation. En dépit de la consécration claire et – une première dans l’histoire de la CIJ – unanime de la règle de l’équidistance/circonstances pertinentes dans l’affaire de la Délimitation maritime en mer Noire en 2009, de nombreuses zones d’ombre et difficultés d’ordre technique existent dans sa mise en œuvre pratique par les cours et tribunaux internationaux, notamment en ce qui concerne le risque d’une part trop importante de subjectivité, voire d’arbitraire, particulièrement en ce qui concerne le choix des points de base et le rôle joué par la proportionnalité. De même, afin de garantir une « matérialisation » efficace de la frontière maritime décidée sur le « terrain », une collaboration étroite entre le juriste d’une part et le cartographe, l’hydrographe, le géologue et le géographe d’autre part s’impose
The delimitation of maritime boundaries is of utmost importance for many states, whether on a symbolic, cultural, strategic or economic level. Nevertheless, international treaty law is at best largely ambiguous, at worst entirely silent as to what the precise methods for resolving possible disputes that might surface during the delimitation process are. Confrontedwith these ambiguities and silences, but also with incoherent state practice devoid of any opinio juris, it is primarily from their own vision that international jurisdictions have drawn the equidistance/relevant circumstances rule, according to which, regardless of the maritime zone concerned, including the extended continental shelf, and regardless of the coastalconfiguration, every decided maritime delimitation begins with the establishment of a provisional equidistance line. This line can later be modified in a second phase of the delimitation to take into account the particular circumstances of each case. In spite of the unequivocal and – a premiere in the history of the Court – unanimous consecration of theequidistance/relevant circumstances rule by the ICJ in the Delimitation in the Black Sea case in 2009, numerous unsettled areas and technical difficulties remain in the delimitation process, notably regarding the risk of too great a degree of subjectivity, if not arbitrariness, particularly regarding the choice of the base points and the role to be played by proportionality. Likewise, in order to guarantee a smooth “materialisation” of the border on the “ground”, a close collaboration between the jurist on the one hand and the cartographer, geologist, hydrologist and geographer on the other hand is indispensable

Le régime juridique de l'Enfant Associé aux Forces et Groupes Armés âgé de plus de quinze ans auteurs d'infractions graves est incohérent. En effet, il permet à son titulaire d'obtenir le statut de combattant, sans que pour autant sa responsabilité ne soit automatiquement engagée en cas de commission d'infractions graves. Cette situation s'explique par le fait que la communauté internationale est divisée sur sa nature juridique: il est perçu en tant que victime ou criminel. Cette incertitude a pour conséquence de créer de l'insécurité juridique car il ne sais pas au préalable quel sort lui sera réservé par la Justice. Cette réalité profite au recruteur qui le pousse à commettre les crimes les plus graves. L'enfant se sent ainsi tout-puissant. Toutefois, à l'issue du conflit, il risque d'être rejeté par sa communauté l'identifiant en tant que bourreau. Sa réinsertion est donc compromise. Afin de pallier cette situation, une harmonisation de l'âge du combattant devrait être envisagée afin de clarifier son régime de responsabilité. En attendant, le stand minimal est de quinze ans. S'il n'est pas considéré comme étant trop jeune pour prendre les armes, il doit être aussi en capacité de rendre des comptes. Mais comment ? À travers la Justice Transitionnelle de manière générale et plus précisément par la création d'un Tribunal Spécial pour Enfants Auteurs d'Infractions Graves qui a pour fonction de juger ceux qui ont le plus au degré de responsabilité dans la commission des crimes. Pour les autres, il est envisagé la valorisation de mécanismes de Justice Restauratrice qui répondent à leurs besoins, à celles de leurs victimes et de leur communauté tout entière
The legal justice mechanism of the Child Associated with Armed Forces and Groups of more than fifteen years old of serious offenders is inconsistent. In fact, this kid's allowed to obtain the combatant status even if he never assumes automatically his responsibilities when he commits serious offences. It's because the international community is divided and considers him as a victim or a criminal. This uncertainty creates the effect of legal insecurity since he doesn't know how he'll be treated by Justice. This situation benefits to his recruiter who encourages him to commit the most serous crimes. The child feels almighty. But at the end of the conflict, he may probably rejected by this community who considers him as an executioner. So, his reintegration is compromise. To rectify this situation, harmonizing the age of the fighter should be a solution to clarity his accountability status. For the moment, fifteen years old appears as minimum standard. If the child isn't so youth to take arms, he can bear his accountability. But how? Whith Transitional Justice in general and more specifically the creation of a Special Court for Serious Violations which judge those who have the highest level of responsibility in the commission of the crime. For the others, we propose Restorative Justice that meet their needs, those of their victims and their entire community

Ma thèse vise en premier ressort à étudier toutes les questions juridiques concernant la ‘question arménienne’.D’abord, le sujet de l’existence des éléments du crime de génocide en 1915 au niveau du droit international conventionnel a été notre première question à étudier. Ensuite, il était indispensable d’étudier la nature du crime commis envers les Arméniens ottomans en 1915.En plus, est-ce que l’Etat Turc actuel peut-il être responsable d’un crime commis par l’Empire ottoman, selon le principe de la succession d’Etats en droit international, surtout que l’Etat Turc n’était créé qu’en 1923 ? Et en cas de l’existence de cette responsabilité, est-ce que l’Arménie a droit à l’action en responsabilité, surtout qu’au moment de la perpétration du crime, il n’y avait pas un Etat Arménien ? Les victimes étaient des ressortissants de l’Empire ottoman mais d’origine arménienne. Donc il faudra étudier la qualité de l’Arménie pour agir en justice, par des moyens judiciaires ou extrajudiciaires, vis-à-vis surtout du principe de la non-rétroactivité des traités, surtout que dans notre cas, le crime a été perpétré en 1915, alors que la Convention sur le génocide n’a été promulguée qu’en 1948.En fait, notre thèse vise en dernier ressort à rapprocher les deux pays et mettre fin réellement au conflit entre eux, à percevoir ce qui les rassemblent et non ce qui les divisent, et trouver une solution équitable et objective pour les deux pays afin de contribuer à mettre fin à leur litige historique, et cela à travers une étude réaliste, impartiale et basée sur la logique et la nature des choses et des circonstances du fait existantes
The main purpose of my thesis is to study all the legal issues concerning the 'Armenian question'.First, the existence of the elements of the crime of genocide in 1915 at the conventional international law, made our first question to consider. Then, it was necessary to study the nature of the crime committed against the Ottoman Armenians in 1915.In addition, can Turkey be responsible for a crime committed by the Ottoman Empire, according to the principle of succession of States in international law, especially that the Turkish state was created in 1923?And in case of such responsibility, has Armenia the right to maintain a lawsuit against Turkey, especially at the time of the crime, there was no Armenian state?The victims were citizens of the Ottoman Empire but of Armenian descent.Also, the quality of Armenia to take legal action, by judicial or extrajudicial processes, must be studied, regarding especially to the principle of non-retroactivity of treaties, especially that in our case, the crime was committed in 1915, while the Genocide Convention was enacted in 1948.In fact, our thesis aims ultimately to bring the two countries closer and actually try to help reach the end of the conflict between them, perceive what gather them and not what divides them, and find a fair and objective solution for both countries, in order to help put an end to their historic dispute, and that through a realistic and impartial study, based on logic and the nature of things and the circumstances of the existing

This study examines the role of customary courts in the delivery of justice in South Sudan. In doing so, it analyses the legal background, the hierarchy and composition of the customary courts. The considerations behind the constitutional recognition of the customary law courts in the current constitutional dispensation and the jurisdiction of customary courts are limited to customary matters and only criminal cases with a customary interface. It is noted that the customary Judges do not only exercise judicial functions but also play executive and legislative functions which contravene the constitutional principle of separation of powers. Reconciliation and compensation are noted as the major principles applied in the customary law courts. The major concern is that most practices in the customary law courts violate fundamental human rights.
Public, Constitutional and International Law
LLM

Historically South African law has been dominated by Western law. Indigenous law and the jural postulates which underpin that law are insufficiently accommodated in the South African legal order. The Western component of the official legal system is regarded as institutionally and politically superior and is as such perceived to be the dominant system. In contrast indigenous law is regarded as a servient system. The monopolistic control of the legal order by the Western section of the population resulted in the creation of a legal order primarily suited to its own needs. The fact that few of the values of indigenous law are reflected in the official legal system and the fact that there is a measure of conflict and tension between the fundamental precepts of indigenous law and those of Western law, gave rise to a crisis of legitimacy of the official legal system in South Africa. This in turn lead to the emergence of unofficial alternative structures for the administration of justice. Indigenous law should receive full recognition and enjoy the same status as Western law. To accomplish this, legislative measures which entrench a distorted indigenous law, limit the application of indigenous law, or affect its status in the South African legal order, should be revoked. Even in a multicultural society such as that of South Africa, there is a common nucleus of core values that are shared by the whole society. But different cultures have different conceptions of these basic values and their role in legal, political and social ordering. The Bill of Rights should give due recognition to the postulates which underscore both Western and indigenous law. This should be done by providing that the values the Bill entrenches, must be interpreted in their proper cultural perspective where circumstances so demand. But this will be possible only if the level of knowledge of indigenous law and its fundamental precepts is drastically improved.
LL.D

Defence date: 29 November 1991
Examining board: Prof. B. de Witte, I.U.E., superviseur ; Prof. L.M. Diez-Picazo, I.U.E. ; Prof. J.C. Escarras, Toulon ; Prof. A. Pizzorusso, Pise ; T. Renoux, Aix-Marseille ; Prof. M. de Villiers, Nantes
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017

The purpose of this study is to access the viability of traditional African courts in a future legal dispensation in South Africa. The research method used is a study of literature, court decisions and relevant statutes. The development of indigenous courts in South Africa is broadly outlined. As an analogy to the South African court system, the courts of Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana are used to illustrate the dual systems of courts. Rapid urbanisation is discussed to illustrate that despite the increasing urbanisation, traditional values remain inherent to South African Blacks. The salient features of indigenous courts are analysed to facilitate the development of reform measures that have to be implemented so that the courts can meet the challenge of the future.
Constitutional, International & Indigenous Law
LL.M.

Defence date: 26 June 2017
Examining Board: Prof. Corinna Unger, EUI (First Reader); Prof. Federico Romero, EUI (Second Reader); Prof. Andreas Eckert, Humboldt University Berlin (External Supervisor); Prof. Emma Hunter, University of Edinburgh (External Examiner)
This Ph.D. thesis is concerned with the way litigants of the Usambara Mountains in Tanganyika spoke and wrote about their disputes and grievances under British rule. Language and narratives are at the core of my analysis. While I will give an overview of litigation patterns of the so-called 'native courts' in the Usambara Mountains from the late 1930s to 1960, and will examine clusters of recurring cases, my main concern is not to write a social history of these courts, but a cultural one. I am interested in recurring narratives and their intellectual roots. What kind of language did the Shambaa and other African litigants use in lawsuits and the many petitions and letters that accompanied their suits? What might have influenced them in their strategic choice of language? What intellectual sources did they draw from? While I am also interested in the outcomes of cases and the success of narratives, my objective is to treat these emerging narratives as windows into specific local perspectives. Why did Shambaa litigants depart so markedly from legal language? Was the legalistic language unsuitable for a specific Shambaa understanding of the law, or were the courts themselves not perceived as places for the dispensation of justice?

In Venda with English abstract
Hei thyisisi i vhambedza thandululo ya thaidzo dza mafhungo a ṱhalano khoroni dza musanda na khothe dza muvhuso. Saizwi Ndayotewa ya Riphabuḽiki ya Afrika Tshipembe, mulayo 108 wa 1996, i tshi ṋea muṅwe na muṅwe pfanelo dza u shumisa luambo lune a lu takalela, nyambo dzoṱhe dza tshiofisi dzi tea u shumiswa u lingana kha thandululo ya thaidzo dza ṱhalano khoroni na khothe. Hei thyisisi i sumbedza nyambo dza English na Afrikaans dzi dzone dzi re na mutsindo musi hu tshi itwa thandulululo ya thaidzo dza ṱhalano ngeno luambo lwa Tshivenḓa na lwa vhaholefhali vha u pfa lu sa pfali. Nga nnḓa ha u ḓiphina nga mbofholowo ya u shumisa Tshivenḓa sa luambo lwa tshiofisi kha u amba, lu shumiswa zwenezwo fhedzi huna muṱalutshedzi wa khothe. Ngauralo, hei thyisisi i khou ita khuwelelo ya uri tshifhinga tsho swika tsha uri muvhuso u ṋee luambo lwa Tshivenḓa vhuiimo vhu eḓanaho na nyambo dza English na Afrikaans na uri ulu luambo lu shumiswevho kha thandululo ya thaidzo dza mafhungo a ṱhalano khothe dza muvhuso.
This thesis compares the conflict resolution in divorce discourse between traditional and government courts. It argues that since the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act no 108 of 1996 has given everyone the right to use the language of his or her choice, all official languages must be used equitably in conflict resolutions in divorce discourse in both traditional and government courts. Most of the Vhavenḓa, especially the elderly, cannot speak more than one official language and this is relevant in conflict resolution. This thesis contends that conflict resolution in divorce discourse is mainly dominated by English and Afrikaans while Tshivenḓa as well as sign language is not used. Instead of enjoying the freedom of utilizing Tshivenḓa as a spoken official language as used by the court interpreter. Therefore, this thesis argues that time has come that government courts accord equal status to all official languages and that Tshivenḓa language should be utilized as English and Afrikaans in conflict resolution in divorce discourse.
African languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

碩士
國立清華大學
科技法律研究所
106
International law is a collection of rules governing the international actors. The international actors primarily refer to the sovereign states but also increasingly to some international organizations and communities. Identifying an international actor is not based on its religious, ethnic or cultural background, because international law ultimately aims to become a common guidance, method, mechanism or language to all international actors. Therefore, it’s impossible to neglect the regional and special rules originating in specific regions and communities. What source of law a rule belonging to decides its power of effectiveness and biding force. The primary sources of international law are treaties and customary international laws. It is believed that there are two kinds of customary international law–general and special, the regional and special rules potentially belong to the later one. In order to substantiate this assumption, this thesis reexamines the nature of customary international law and take Islamic law as an example of a special rule belonging to special customary international law because of the obvious distinctions between Islamic law and international law. As a result, this thesis not only includes an overview of mainstream academic theory and interpretations of customary international laws in international court of justice (ICJ), but briefings of the ICJ cases containing elements of Islam. The ICJ never directly mentioned Islamic Law in the cases, and yet to apply it as a special customary international law. This thesis nevertheless intends to generalize a possible pattern of how to apply Islamic law in territory disputes through analyzing Islamic international law, Islamic property law and academic theories. More related applications and interpretations in all kinds of international judicial institutions such as international courts, international arbitral tribunals and regional judicial institutions could be expected in the future studies.

This thesis argues that judges of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’) should interpret the definition of crimes in the Rome Statute consistently with customary international law, as stipulated by the ‘principle of systemic integration’ in article 31(3)(c) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. There are three normative assumptions behind this argument. First, compliance with the principle of systemic integration will lead to greater consistency in judicial reasoning across ICC Chambers than is currently the case. Second, it will promote the ICC as a model international court whose decisions represent authoritative interpretations of customary international law, simultaneously preventing the unnecessary fragmentation of international criminal law. Third, it will facilitate the legitimate, incremental development of the law in accordance with the evolving practice and legal opinion of states. This thesis seeks to substantiate each of these normative assumptions through empirical research, qualitative case analysis, hermeneutic reasoning, and legal argumentation. While there is already strong academic support for using customary international law as an obligatory interpretive aid in the interpretation of the Rome Statute, there are significant gaps in the literature that this thesis aims to fill. To begin with, there are no empirical analyses of ICC jurisprudence to determine the extent of its compliance with the principle of systemic integration. Furthermore, there remains debate over the methodology used to identify rules of customary international law (particularly in the international criminal context) and there have been no attempts to apply the International Law Commission’s 2018 Draft Conclusions on Identification of Customary International Law to the ICC context. Finally, there are no case studies examining what ICC compliance with the principle of systemic integration might look like in practice. This thesis demonstrates that the ICC has been reluctant to comply with the principle of systemic integration. It provides an original contribution to the debate on how to identify customary rules in the international criminal context and builds on existing proposals for using custom as an obligatory aid when interpreting the definition of crimes. To illustrate this approach, this thesis focuses on the impact of using customary international humanitarian law to interpret war crimes under article 8 of the Rome Statute and provides a three-part case study on interpreting the war crime of denying a fair trial in the context of a non-international armed conflict.

This dissertation presents an analytical literature study regarding the relationship between the International Criminal Court and the proposed International Criminal Law Section of the African Court. The realisation of the International Criminal Law Section of the African Court will place itself and the International Criminal Court within the same jurisdictional sphere with regard to the adjudication of international customary law crimes with respect to its African member states. It is noteworthy to point out that this complexity is fraught with political turmoil regarding Africa, the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council. This complex issue has been acutely recognised by numerous academics and law experts. Neither the Rome Statute nor the Protocol makes any reference towards each other, leaving its respective African member states with the daunting and ambiguous task of navigating through this complexity in isolation. This dissertation aims to investigate, analyse and ultimately offer a plausible solution to this immediate concern. In order to accomplish the aforementioned, this study will firstly investigate and evaluate both constitutional treaties of both international courts, respectively. The issue pertaining to the endowment of immunity will also be separately evaluated, considering the conflicting approaches followed by both judicial institutions. Ultimately, all previous sections will be analysed in order to recommend amendments to the Protocol to align itself with international law and settled international practice. A complementarity scheme will be introduced on the basis of the progressive interpretation of positive complementarity to harmonise both courts within the same jurisdictional sphere. Lastly, this dissertation will be concluded by remarks recapitalising the main findings.
LLM, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

碩士
東吳大學
法律學系
107
The 1958 New York Convention was an important international convention, and it made a unified norm for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards to resolve the dilemma of conflicts in arbitration laws in various countries.Taiwan’s international status is quite different and it has not joined the Convention.However, the foreign trade in Taiwan is prosperous, and there are quite a lot of international trade and business disputes. So dealing with these international trade and business disputes is very important. It is also important to study whether the 1958 New York Convention is a customary international law. If the New York Convention forms customary international law, Taiwan’s court will apply it. The goal of this article is that when the Convention does not form customary international law, this article will deal with the application of the Convention in Taiwan.. This article will discuss the source and practice of international customary law in Chapter 2, international business disputes and international commercial arbitration in Chapter 3, and the analysis of the 1958 New York Convention in Chapter 4. In Chapter5, this article will discuss the international practice of the "New York Convention". The case provided by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the case of the US federal court will be discussed. In Chapter 6, the practice of the "New York Convention" in Taiwan will be discussed. The scope of the study is based on the case of the Taiwan court and attempts to find out whether Taiwan has a subjective belief in the 1958 New York Convention. Finally, in Chapter 7, the countermeasures for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitration awards when Taiwan did not join the New York Convention were put forward.

碩士
國立東華大學
企業管理學系
91
Abstract This research is focus on the “Customer Satisfaction” and “Life Style” for the Taipower residential customers, because of electricity liberalization and privatization, Taipower is going to challenge the market they never have. I hope I can offer some useful and valuable information to improve service quality and increase customer satisfaction for Taipower company. The research use questionnaire survey to collect the specific information that I need, second I use “Multivariate Analysis” and “Artificial Neural Network” to code and analyze information after it has been collected. In conclusion, there are four major points: 1. The perceptions of residential customers in I-Lan county about the service quality characteristics of Taipower company are different due to various satisfaction degree. 2. The important service quality characteristics for the Taipower residential customers, there are five very important dimensions: “Service Quality of Staff and Systems”, “Empathy”, “Service Response”, “Environment Clean and Technical Service”, and “Convenience of e-service”. 3. In the service quality dimensions of satisfaction degree, it is significant influence for the customer whole satisfaction degree by “Service Response”, “Empathy”, and “Staff Quality for the Customer Service”. 4. Life style of “Desire Chasing”, “Depend on Electrical”, “Cheerfulness and Happiness”, “Reality”, “Economical”, and “Information Collection” have effect on the conception of the Taipower residential customers. In addition, this research use “Discriminate Analysis” and “Artificial Neural Network” to identify a customer group who identify the difference in quality, The hit rate are 97.10 % and 98.87 %. The statistic results also found that artificial neural network technique got a better classification rate than discriminate analysis method. Keywords: Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction, Life Style, Multivariate Analysis , Artificial Neural Network.

Magister Legum - LLM
Even though sexual violence has always been a part and parcel of conflicts and atrocities throughout the ages, it never found any interpretation by subsequent tribunals who were responsible for prosecuting offenders.The case of The Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu was the first of its kind to give jurisprudential recognition and interpretation to sexual violence as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide respectively. This case was important for the following reasons:1. It acknowledged that sexual violence can amount to an act of genocide; 2. It acknowledged that sexual violence can amount to a crime against humanity; and 3. It was the first case to define rape within an international context.Following the case of The Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu many tribunals gave recognition to the extent of which sexual violence takes place during atrocities by correctly convicting accused for either participating in sexual violence or aiding and abetting to sexual violence. Amidst the various interpretations on what constitutes sexual violence and how it is defined, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Special Court for Sierra Leone all either conceptualised sexual violence as genocide, war crimes or/ and crimes against humanity.At the same time, the development of sexual violence as either a crime against humanity or a war crime did not end with the courts. The case of The Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu sparked a fire in the international community, which led to it paying more attention to the place of sexual violence in treaty law. Taking into account that rape is listed as a crime against humanity in both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda statutes, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the International Criminal Court statutes both list more than one form of sexual violence as a crime against humanity. It is interesting to note that the latter two treaty developments took place only after the International Criminal Tribunal conceptualised sexual violence as a crime against humanity.Thus apart from merely listing rape as a crime against humanity, the Statute establishing the Special Court for Sierra Leone, states in article 2(g) that sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy and any other form of sexual violence constitutes a crime against humanity. The Statute establishing the International Criminal Court states in article 7(1)(g) that rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity constitutes a crime against humanity. The interpretation of these acts is further guided by the ‘Elements of Crimes’ which are annexed to the International Criminal Court statute.Once again it is interesting to note that the ‘Elements of Crimes’ for these acts are similar to how the International Criminal Tribunals (both the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda tribunals) conceptualised various acts of sexual violence.On the other hand, the definition of genocide remained the same as it was defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948. This definition does not expressly mention any form of sexual violence as a form of genocide.However, once again, the trial chamber in the case of The Prosecutor v Jean-Paul Akayesu set the benchmark for sexual violence to constitute a form of genocide by way of interpretation. The definition of genocide did not subsequently change in the Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.Based on these premises, this thesis attempts to investigate the similarities and differences in sexual violence as a form of both genocide and a crime against humanity,by addressing the following question:What are the essential and practical differences between sexual violence as crimes against humanity and genocide and what is the legal effect of the differences, should there be any? Chapter 1 highlights the historical overview and developments of sexual violence as genocide and crimes against humanity, while chapter 2 investigates how sexual violence can amount to a form of genocide. Chapter 3 assesses the advances made in sexual violence as a crime against humanity, while chapter 4 importantly draws a comparative analysis between sexual violence as genocide and a crime against humanity. Chapter 4 draws this comparison by weighing up four differences and four similarities in sexual violence as genocide and a crime against humanity.Chapter 5 highlights the conclusion and provides an answer for the research question that is posed above. Here it is concluded that even though there exist multiple differences in sexual violence as crimes against humanity and genocide, there are also multiple similarities which could possibly amount to a better chance for conviction of an accused under a crime against humanity than genocide. Chapter 5 also provide possible recommendations for the consequences that might flow should sexual violence as a crime against humanity be fairly similar to sexual violence as genocide.

At the dawn of democratic rule in the period 1994–1998, South Africa concluded 15 bilateral investment treaties (BITs), mostly with European nations. Some of these treaties were concluded before the Constitution of 1996. The country has since concluded a total of 47 BITs, with the majority not in effect as they were not ratified per the required constitutional processes. The policy decision to enter into BITs was taken by the African National Congress (ANC) government, led by the late former state president Nelson Mandela. The BITs were seen as an important guarantee to attract foreign investment into the country. The aim was to provide added assurance that foreign investments were safe in a democratic South Africa after many years of international isolation and sanctions. The conventional wisdom at the time was that BITs would increase foreign investor appetite to invest and the country would experience rising levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) as a result. This would facilitate economic growth and the transition of the country into the global economy. South Africa concluded BITs with seven of the top ten investor countries. In October 2013 the South African government cancelled a number of BITs with these European countries invested in South Africa. These countries – namely Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands – complained of lack of consultation by the South Africans. On 1 November 2013 the Minister of Trade and Industry published, in Government Gazette No 36995, the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill (PPIB or Investments Bill) as the proposed primary legislative instrument for the protection of foreign investments. This created much uncertainty among many European nations as well as in the United States of America (US), who were concerned about the motivation for cancelling bilateral treaties in favour of domestic legislation. BITs had been a part of the policy instruments regulating foreign investments in the country for over 20 years. Globally these treaties have been used to regulate foreign investments in a number of areas, and to provide protection to investments such as full protection and security, guaranteed pre-establishment rights, ease of repatriation of funds, most-favoured nation, fair and equitable treatment, national treatment and efficient dispute settlement mechanisms, among other provisions. In most cases international arbitration via the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and other international arbitral mediums has been a standard provision in the treaties. This has allowed foreign investors to bypass host countries’ legal systems. The latter is believed to be a significant inducement for foreign investors, guaranteeing that should a dispute arise, or if an expropriation occurs, the investor could institute an international arbitral process against the host government. International arbitration is preferred by foreign investors for the reason that, in some cases, domestic courts may lack independence from the state, and may make partial rulings that do not protect investors. Furthermore, international arbitration processes are more efficient and produce rulings faster than domestic courts, which are usually burdened with bureaucratic procedures and limited resources. In cases where delay exacerbates injury, prompt resolution of disputes is preferable. This study evaluates the Investments Bill and the rationale applied by the government of South Africa to cancel BITs with major trade and investment partners in favour of this legislation. The thesis focuses on the Investments Bill, in light of the objective provided by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for its enactment to law. The Investments Bill is subjected to a constitutional analysis to determine its compliance therewith. Comparisons are also made between the Investments Bill provisions and the prevailing international law principles on foreign investments. The Investments Bill is then critically evaluated against emerging trends on FDI regulation on the African continent to determine its congruence or lack thereof with best practice recommendations at regional economic community (REC) and African Union (AU) level. The thesis concludes with a set of policy recommendations to the DTI on how to improve South African policies related to the regulation of foreign investments taking into account the national imperative as well as Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other broader African continental objectives of harmonisation of FDI regulation, including the Tripartite Free Trade Area (FTA) implementation. The timing of this thesis is significant for South Africa. It adds to various deliberations that are taking place as the Investments Bill is set to makes its way through the legislative approval processes in 2015. The Bill has been met with opposition from some segments of society. Others have expressed support – including several state departments, the ANC, the South African Communist Party (SACP) and other political formations. The summary of findings contained in the thesis will be presented to the DTI to influence policy directions of the state in terms of foreign investment regulations. Should the Bill be enacted, the Minister of Trade and Industry is required to promulgate the dispute resolution mechanism that will govern investment disputes. The findings of this study will be important to the determination of how such dispute resolution mechanisms may function. Furthermore, in 2010 Cabinet instructed the DTI to develop a model new-generation BIT Template to be utilised by South Africa, should a compelling reason arise to enter into bilateral agreements. The research results will assist policy-makers to develop policies that are consistent with and align with the overarching Africa strategy that has been heavily promoted by South Africa. The country faces a number of challenges, particularly those related to low economic growth, high levels of poverty, unemployment and record levels of inequality. The gap between the rich and poor, in terms of the Gini coefficient, was 0,67 based on the World Bank Development Research Group Report of 2010. It is reported as one of the highest in the world and is believed to have worsened since the dawn of democracy.
Public, Constitutional and International Law
LL. D. (Public, Constitutional and International Law)

碩士
遠東科技大學
休閒運動管理碩士學位學程
106
The study adopts qualitative research method to interview the owner of Cha Zhi Xiang, and adopts questionnaire survey to analysis consumer satisfaction with B&B. At last, we discuss the differences between the results of two methods ,and make suggestions to the B&B industry for increasing competitive advantage and sustainable management. The study included in-depth interviews and questionnaires. Part of in-depth interviews, preparations - collecting relevant information, drafting outlines; conducting pre-visiting - designing items; conducting interviews - using the (B&B) cafes most familiar to the operators; conducting interviews - in a face-to-face manner, with unlimited interview time, and finally The interview data was initially compiled and beaten into a verbatim script. We analysed the total 255 valid customer satisfaction questionnaires by t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression. The results show that the men’s satisfaction with natural landscapes around the B&B is significantly greater than the women’s and there are significant differences in satisfaction with natural landscapes around the B&B based on different living areas. In the multiple regression part, if taking the sector of basic facilities,business management and the service quality have a positive and significant impact on the basic facilities.In addition “business management” has the greater impact on “basic facilities”; the basic facilities and the service quality have a positive impact on business management, “ Infrastructure facilities have the greatest impact on “operational management”; basic, business management, and surrounding natural and ecological landscapes have positive and significant impacts on service quality, with “peripheral ecological natural landscapes” having the greatest impact on “service quality”; basic Facilities, business management and service quality have positive impacts on the surrounding ecological and natural landscapes. The “service quality” has the greatest influence on the “surrounding ecological and natural landscapes”.