While Archbishop Desmond Tutu's recent call for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to pursue the prosecution of former US President George W. Bush and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair for the 2003 invasion of Iraq may be interesting and engaging, it is not legally viable. However, I am not sure that Tutu intended the ICC to act on his recommendation. It is probably more defensible that his call was political in nature rather than legal, in a hope that the system of international criminal justice would move forward in providing mechanisms for prosecution of such situations. Unfortunately, this political push has little to no chance of gaining traction despite the best intentions of such an esteemed international figure.
Washington: The US Supreme Court began its new session on Monday by re-examining an explosive international case alleging that oil giant Shell was complicit in acts of torture by the Nigerian government. Fresh from their pivotal decision in June to uphold President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, the nine Supreme Court justices took up a case with enormously important ramifications for international human rights. The legal argument pivots on whether foreign plaintiffs have a right to file suit in American courts against US corporations accused of human rights violations, under an arcane 200-year-old statute.
Submitted by admin on Tue, 02/10/2012 - 11:30
New York: South Africa’s foreign policy is geared towards the vision of creating a better South Africa and contributing to a better Africa and a better world. It is our assertion that the above may only be fully realized where there is a global commitment to the promotion of the rule of law and the realization of human rights worldwide. We feel at home in this discussion because South Africa is a sovereign democratic state founded on specific values, which include the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, human dignity, equality and freedom.
Harare: The Zimbabwean government is planning yet another appeal against a landmark decision in a South African court, to uphold the regional Tribunal ruling that the Zim land grab was unlawful. Attorney General Johannes Tomana has said he is preparing to file an appeal at South Africa’s Constitutional Court, after the Supreme Court of Appeal last week dismissed the Zim government’s original appeal against the North Gauteng High Court decision in 2010.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, His Excellency Kadre Desire Ouedraogo, has called for greater sensitization and awareness in the Member States to improve the execution of Decisions of the Community Court of Justice. In an address read on his behalf by the Vice President of the Commission, Dr. Toga Gayewea McIntosh, at the opening of the Court’s 2012-2013 legal year in Abuja on Thursday, 27th September 2012, the President said the theme of the legal year: “The Community Court of Justice and the Effectiveness of the Implementation of ECOWAS Community Law” was most appropriate at a time when justice, human rights and good governance are high on the Community’s agenda.
Dear Minister: We request you to intervene urgently to secure the release of Professor Cyril Karabus, a South African citizen, from incarceration in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Professor Karabus is a paediatrician who has dedicated himself to public service. He worked for many years at Red Cross Children's Hospital. He was also a professor of paediatrics at the University of Cape Town. His devotion to child health exemplifies the wonderful values that South Africa promotes.
Submitted by admin on Wed, 26/09/2012 - 13:03
This briefing paper sketches the role South Africa has and might play in promoting rule of law beyond its borders and especially within the SADC region which suffers a rule of law deficit.
New York: World leaders today called on all states to recommit to the rule of law as a fundamental factor in preventing war at a United Nations summit that stressed the universality of humanitarian law and the importance of the International Criminal Court (ICC). “We reaffirm that human rights, the rule of law and democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing and that they belong to the universal and indivisible core values and principles of the United Nations,” stated the Outcome Document, adopted at Monday’s High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Rule of Law.
New York: Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentleman: I would like to begin today by telling you about an American named Chris Stevens. Chris was born in a town called Grass Valley, California, the son of a lawyer and a musician. As a young man, Chris joined the Peace Corps, and taught English in Morocco. He came to love and respect the people of North Africa and the Middle East, and he would carry that commitment throughout his life. As a diplomat, he worked from Egypt to Syria; from Saudi Arabia to Libya.
This briefing paper sketches the role South Africa has and might play in promoting rule of law beyond its borders and especially within the SADC region which suffers a rule of law deficit: Although not the focus of this paper, it is important to note that South Africa’s domestic legal system is regarded as generally sound and that domestically rule of law is well established – both to contrast the domestic situation with the role South Africa adopts abroad and to appreciate the extent to which this domestic feature might be (and is not) leveraged for international authority on the international stage.
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