During the 1980s and 1990s there were two major changes to forest management objectives in Tanzania. Firstly, it was recognized that some of the forests, notably those on mountains in the east of the country and the coastal plain, are exceptionally rich in species of restricted distribution. Recent analysis has even placed these forests amongst the most important biodiversity hotspots world-wide. Secondly, there was a recognition that communities needed to be much more involved in forest management. The Forest Act, 2002, which replaces the 1957 Forest Ordinance, tackles both of these objectives and introduces some new concepts of forest ownership. Moreover it makes arrangements for establishing a fund that promotes protection of biodiversity and sustainable development of forest resources. This note first briefly reviews the history of forest law in Tanzania and then discusses innovations introduced by the 2002 Act.

In Botswana, which has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, motor vehicle accidents have become a serious economic and social problem. The waste of human and material resources caused by the resulting deaths, bodily injuries and damage to property has for long been a matter of concern t o the government. This is particularly so because not only are financial resources diverted away from more productive purposes, but members of the public live in fear of being killed, maimed or suffering property damage with no certainty of compensation. Even motor vehicle owners are also adversely affected by the damage to their vehicles and the financially crippling risk of having to pay enormous amounts as damages.

Child labour is prevalent in both developed and developing countries and has become a global concern. This is because of the negative impacts that it has not only on the human rights and fundamental freedoms of children, but on their development and health due to possible exposure to hazardous substances. This article interrogates the magnitude of the problem of child labour in the gold mines of Uganda and seeks to highlight the gaps in the existing legal framework on the protection of Ugandan children from hazardous labour. It asserts that although poverty and a failed educational system are believed to be the root causes of child labour in Uganda, weak and inefficient laws coupled with a lack of coordination between institutions responsible for protecting the child contribute equally. Thus there is need for political will by the government of Uganda to help prevent the problem.

The Tswana peoples referred to in this paper inhabit the Bechuanaland Protectorate, where they number altogether about 270,000. In pre-European times they derived their subsistence mainly from animal husbandry and the cultivation of crops, each household producing its own food. Today they are still essentially small-scale subsistence farmers. But to satisfy the new wants developed by contact with Western civilisation over the past century, many persons also pursue new occupations, including above all temporary wage-labour for Europeans. In some areas more than half the able-bodied men are away every year working in the Union of South Africa. Their absence, often prolonged, has led to conspicuous changes in traditional customs and beliefs, and, as will be seen from some of the examples given below, has also given rise to new grounds for litigation.

The Bill of Rights is a novelty in Tanzania. As is well-known, Tanzanian Constitutions from independence to 1984 did not contain a bill of rights. Partly for this reason, legal discourse, whether in teaching or in practice, did not centre on rights issues particularly in the relationship between the state and citizen. At the Faculty of Law, University of Dar es Salaam, there developed an approach to teaching which the university calendar refers to as “the historical, socio-economic” method. The socioeconomic method emerged in contrast to the “law and development” approach which was a manifestation of the modernization theory on the legal plane. Neither of these revolved around the question of rights. Put rhetorically, “law and development” saw law essentially as an instrument of social change while the “socio-economic method” regarded law as an instrument of the ruling class. This may be a little over-simplified, but I believe broadly represents the main points of departure of, and contention between, the two schools—at least at that time at the Dar es Salaam Faculty.

As in other former British territories in Africa, the means of introducing a system of common-law rules into Botswana (then the Bechuanaland Protectorate) was the so-called “reception statute”. This was the device whereby at a particular date the laws of one country (usually England) were “received” wholesale by the colonial territory subject to various conditions contained in the reception statute itself. For Botswana, as for the other former High Commission Territories, Lesotho and Swaziland, it was not the English common law that was introduced but rather the law prevailing in the several parts of what is now South Africa. The General Law Proclamation of 19092 had the effect of introducing the Roman-Dutch law from the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Cape statutes promulgated after the date of reception were expressly declared not to be applicable in the territory, whilst amendment of the received law by local statutes was, of course, possible.

Food is essential for human survival. When the right quantity and quality is taken, it ensures growth and an adequate supply of nutrition to the body, which results in basic effectiveness in all spheres of life. Genetically modified crops have the potential to alleviate hunger and provide more food, especially in developing countries that have high levels of hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Although the debates on genetically modified crops generally focus on intellectual property, other issues include health and environmental concerns. This article examines these issues with the aim of providing holistic knowledge of the subject matter, which is important for stakeholders, particularly in developing countries, in deciding to protect plant variety rights. The article concludes that it is essential for developing countries to consider food security issues in fulfilling their obligations under the TRIPS Agreement.

This article analyses the interface between political globalization, citizenship and security threats in Africa. Political globalization is assumed to be capable of engendering inclusive citizenship; in the same way, citizenship is considered to be central to the national question in Africa. It is around citizenship that most issues of human rights revolve, both at individual and group levels. The article argues that political globalization in Africa tends to limit the meaning, essence and substance of citizenship, even if the latter is defined from a minimalist perspective of duties-rights relationships. The marginalization and/or exclusionary politics engendered by political globalization, especially for vulnerable groups such as ethnic minorities, women and youth on all fronts - political, economic and socio-cultural, amount to a gross violation of individual and group rights. Consequently, rather than engender inclusive citizenship predicated upon fairness, equality and social justice, the political globalization processes seem to have done otherwise, thereby perverting democratization and citizenship to become sources of security threats in Africa.

The former (and late lamented) Chief Justice of South Africa, Justice Ismail Mohammed, once observed that:

“The constitution of a nation is not simply a statute which mechanically defines the structures of government and the relations between the government and the governed, it is a ‘mirror of the national soul’, the identification of the ideals and aspirations of a nation, the articulation of the values binding its people and disciplining its government.”

Further, as van der Vyer has warned, “. . . a superimposed constitutional formulae or constitutional arrangements that . . . do not address the real causes of discontent, are sure to generate their own legitimacy crisis.” It follows that the development of an appropriate procedure for constitution-making is of the greatest practical importance. This short comment seeks to examine critically the much-publicized efforts in Zimbabwe to develop a new autochthonous constitution and to draw some lessons therefrom.

I chose the topic of land and land policy as my contribution to this collection of essays in honour of Tony Allott because it seemed to me that there are certain parallels between the role of land in society and the role of Tony Allott in the development of the study of African Law and indeed of the study of the law of pre-literate societies by lawyers in the United Kingdom. Land is central to the workings of any society, but especially is this so in respect of pre-literate societies and societies subjected to the impact of colonialism. So too has Tony's work been central to the growth of our understanding of the workings of customary law in African society and the manifold problems created by the impact of received law i.e. for the most part Western Europe law brought by the colonial powers, on customary law and society. Those of us who began our careers of law teaching and legal scholarship in Africa owe a great debt to Tony for his pioneering work in the field and for his tireless efforts to promote African legal scholarship. In going beyond Africa as I do in this essay, I am once again following in Tony's path for he long ago realised that law in Africa is a part only of the great family of law in the developing world and one can no more isolate African legal scholarship from that world than one can isolate land from the society of which it is a part. It is to this that I now turn.

Provision for the redemption of alienated land exists in the customary law of many African tribes. Nor is it confined to Africa. Rattray, in discussing land redemption among the Ashanti, quotes the Levitical law of the Old Testament:

“The land shall not be sold for ever for the land is mine … if thy brother be waxen poor and has sold away some of his possessions and if any of his kin come to redeem then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.”

This article argues that the lockdown imposed in Sudan due to the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the livelihood of vulnerable populations and their right to live a dignified life. It explores how emergency measures were aimed at containing the spread of the pandemic. The article argues that these measures have seriously affected the enjoyment of core economic and social rights, particularly in the context of a weak legislative framework of social protection. It concludes by arguing that Sudan's transitional government is not subject to parliamentary scrutiny and exercises legislative and executive powers that are de facto illegitimate, as they are not subject to review by the courts and because of the current suspension of constitutional organs and governance structures. This incomplete governance structure is concerning from a rule of law perspective and has prevented scrutiny of COVID-19 emergency measures, particularly those affecting the basic rights of vulnerable groups.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to exert enormous pressure on public health policies and systems, with far-reaching implications. The race for vaccines has raised important intellectual property rights issues. These are evident in the need to advance the public interest and in the obligation of governments to address the challenge of access to vaccines, especially in sub-Saharan countries like Nigeria with relatively underdeveloped healthcare and innovation ecosystems. While the Nigerian Patents and Designs Act (PDA) establishes a compulsory licence regime that affords access to patented drugs, existing public healthcare is severely challenged in providing access to new medicines. This article examines the framework for patent protection of pharmaceuticals designed to meet public health challenges, such as those presented by the pandemic. It recommends the implementation of a government use provision under the PDA, with a view to addressing the challenge of access to COVID-19 vaccines.

One of the important characteristics of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992, is the prominence it gives to the constitutional protection of the rights of men, women and children who live for a larger part of their lives as families. Although there are passing references to the family, that word is not defined by the Constitution, but the absence of a definition need not be regarded as evidence of non-recognition of the concept of family in Ghana society. Few will disagree widi the proposition that the basis of every society from the most primitive to the most complicated is the family. As an institution it is of great antiquity.

Evidentiary rules applicable to rape and other sexual offence cases, inherited from nineteenth-century England and based on Victorian notions of women's behaviour, are alive and well in twentieth-century southern Africa. These are the cautionary rules which require a trial judge to warn him or herself of the danger of convicting a rape accused without corroboration, or independent evidence supporting the testimony of the complainant. These rules are applied because the evidence of the complainant in a sexual case is considered to be “suspect”: she is variously said to be prone to lie for reasons of her own, prone to fantasy, and prone to exaggerate. Although the cautionary rule of corroboration is still applied in many countries, most progressive and feminist thinkers consider them to be “a lingering insult to women”. In this article I will canvass the cautionary rules on evidence in sexual cases in southern Africa and attempt to show that they are not only based on outmoded stereotypes, but are also particularly unsuitable to southern Africa.