In Malawi, Rastafari students are prevented from attending public schools on account of their dreadlocks. This article seeks to analyse a framework for assessing whether Rastafari qualifies as a religion under section 33 of the Constitution of Malawi. The article argues that Rastafari is a recognized religion and that its sincere adherents should have full protection under the Constitution of Malawi, as do members of other religious groups. The article discusses potential problems for Rastafari litigants in Malawi and proposes some solutions. It introduces a three prong balancing test, which has been applied in particular cases in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and makes recommendations about future interpretation of the Constitution of Malawi using this test. It examines the current interpretation of the freedom of religion in Malawi and concludes with an argument for Malawi to follow the approach taken in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Major development projects in many African countries are often financed by development partners through development aid procurement. Development partners implement specific procurement policies aimed at promoting development in countries receiving aid. This article examines the policies of development partners applicable to aid funded procurement. It argues that some development partner policies could limit the policy space available to implement prioritized development goals domestically.

A brief glance at Africa would suggest that the methods adopted to deal with conflict prevention have achieved little success. It is clear that there are complex causes of conflict and that one cannot view conflict in a narrow sense, but must take account of political, economic and social factors to truly understand its causes and process. There is evidence that human rights violations predate conflicts: thus arbitrary arrests and detentions, oppression of political opposition groups and individuals, difficulties in socio-economic conditions, and additional border controls often increase during such times. Monitoring the situation of human rights over a period of time can therefore provide indicators of impending disputes. Conversely, human rights violations are also caused by conflicts. Yet, human rights and conflicts are often dealt with separately and this is evidenced in the practice of the UN as well as the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the initiators of the UN system and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) were convinced that respect for human rights and the dignity of the individual was essential to peace and conflict prevention. Perhaps, this was a realistic assessment of events informed by the experience of the failure of interwar agreements to protect especially minorities from genocidal butchery and dehumanization. Human rights was therefore seen as a primary means of conflict prevention and of promoting peaceful coexistence. Having evolved into a formidable global moral and political language of our time, human rights has since become the battle cry of many oppressed persons or groups.

This article gives a general overview of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism known as “conciliation” and the legal framework relating to its practice in Nigeria. Using the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Conciliation as a normative framework, the article critically analyses the proposed reforms to the existing legal framework for conciliation in Nigeria which are contained in the Nigerian Federal Arbitration and Conciliation Draft Bill and exposes some of its deficiencies. It also investigates the effect of the statutes of limitation on conciliation proceedings. The article also suggests that the institutionalization of conciliation will enhance its viability as an ADR mechanism in Nigeria.

The Crown Colonies have for a long time, and for obvious reasons, been regarded as affording a suitable ground for the exercise of the efforts of codifiers, and I believe I am correct in saying that if a Colonial Chief Justice or Attorney-General wishes to gain the favour of the Colonial Office, he offers to codify the laws he helps to administer.

In the celebrated case of Savannah Bank Limited v. Ajilo the Supreme Court of Nigeria unanimously ruled that a deemed right of occupancy under section 34(2) of the Land Use Act is the same as a right of occupancy actually granted by the Governor, with all the attendant consequences. Thus, the controversy as to whether a person who is deemed to be a holder of a right of occupancy pursuant to section 34(2) of the Act requires the prior consent of the Governor before he can transfer, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of his interest in the right of occupancy, would appear to have been finally laid to rest. Such a person needs the consent of the Governor for a valid alienation of his interest.

The practice of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion has been to insist that in contracts for the transfer of technology involving Nigerian parties on the one hand and foreigners on the other, Nigerian lawmust be chosen as the law governing the obligation of the parties under the contract. This article critically examines the legality and relevance of this approach and considers in particular the relevant legislation, the doctrinal bases of choice of law and the practical implications of the choice of Nigerian law in the context of its legal development. The article concludes that the current position needs to be reviewed in that the current approach may ultimately prove harmful to foreign investment and technology in the country.

This article examines some aspects of the Company and Allied Matters Decree, 1990 with a view to showing how they affect business operations and business people. It seeks to show what positive reforms have been introduced by the Decree, in a bid to encourage business operations in Nigeria. In doing that the article will look at the formalities for the incorporation of business concerns (especially companies) and also some of the substantive rules which govern the operation of such companies.

During the academic year 1975–76 I carried out research in the Ghana National Archives to collect information on the history of the Hausaphone Muslim communities in the Gold Coast. In the course of it a number of documents came to light from the administrative files of the colonial period that showed how the Gold Coast Marriage of Mohammedans Ordinance had worked—or failed to work—and the kinds of problems it had given rise to in a typical Muslim Hausaphone zongo, that is Muslim quarter, of the southern Gold Coast.

This paper aims to describe dispute settlement processes among Yeyi, a Bantu-speaking people living in the Okavango Delta, North West Botswana. The account is contemporary and focuses on a single neighbourhood, North Valley, which lies in the floodplains in the northern half of the Delta. North Valley is a small egalitarian community which is encapsulated within a larger administrative and economic order. As part of this larger order, it is subject to a plurality of influences which intrude on it from the outside. Its population is well aware of this larger order and strives to maintain a fair measure of independence from it, particularly from Riverside, the local administrative centre. I aim to show how North Valley people actively negotiate their autonomy in a specific institutional context, that of the neighbourhood moot. I describe how they do this, by borrowing and inverting the formal legal procedures and language of the dominant Tswana culture in an effort to preserve and protect local Yeyi values and interests. Their model for Tswana legal procedures is taken mainly from Riverside where, tempered by modern influences, the local government court operates along traditional Tswana lines. With the aid of case material, I illustrate how North Valley elders adapt Tswana idioms, symbols and legal procedures to suit their local circumstances.

“A disposition of land belonging to a native in favour of a non-native or conferring on a non-native any rights over the land of a native shall not be operative unless it is in writing and unless and until it is approved by the Minister.” [Land (Law of Property and Conveyancing) Ordinance, s. 11(i).]

In this brief note, I have attempted a general survey of legal development in Nigeria between the years 1957 and 1967. The period covered is three years before independence and some seven years after.

We now leave West Africa to consider the history of the jury system in other parts of the continent and turn first to Zanzibar. This is the oldest as well as the smallest of Britain's East African possessions, and though the jury system was completely abolished there in 19492 its history prior to that is worthy of some consideration. It will be seen that the introduction of the system was due to the close ties of Zanzibar in its early days with India, and the later history of the system was greatly influenced by the example of its near neighbour Kenya. It is not surprising therefore that a system having little intrinsic justification and, as will be seen, great disadvantages, was finally abolished.

On the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, this article examines the concept of solidarity and explains its relevance today, through the lens of the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR). While stressing the potential as well as the challenges for thorough implementation of the solidarity mechanisms established by the GCR, the article argues that regional organizations may contribute to meeting the GCR objectives. This is particularly urgent for regions that are most affected by migratory flows. In proposing new ways of approaching the concept of solidarity, the article suggests that the African Union strengthen mechanisms other than the physical sharing of refugees, including pooling resources to support states experiencing large influxes of refugees. In addition to a system of financial support for refugee protection, the article also recommends that the European Union ensures safe channels for arrivals and a more robust resettlement programme, to help realize the GCR objectives.

Having been elected from the same pool from which state and federal officials have emerged, it might, on the face of it, seem rather unjustifiable to deny local government council (LGC) officials the autonomous tax imposition authority, which is ordinarily inherent in any government. But this is what the 1999 Constitution seems to have done in denying the autonomous power of rating to the LGCs, however, this constitution has used words made ambiguous by their historically varying content such that even the highest Nigerian court has been misled. The drafting has led to the impression that LGCs may “impose”, rather than merely “collect”, rates or any other such taxes by their own authority.

This article attempts to discover the character and consequences of this hermeneutic problem, the apparent misconceptions that have led to it, and the doctrinal and historical approaches the courts may adopt for its solution. In trying to appreciate or rationalize the court's misapprehension of this part of the constitution, the article suggests that the major reason is the drafter's attempt to create a three-tier federation while at the same time retaining the traditional two-tier constitutional structure for allocation of federalist power.

To return the courts to the right path, this article proffers historical approaches for clarification of the conceptual haze. It then concludes that, although the Nigerian constitution allows a delegation of rating power to LGCs, contrary to the current position of the Supreme Court, this rating authority is not autonomous.

With a view to showing that courts do not have the power to validate native law and custom, this article highlights the different roles assigned to the assent of the people governed by native law and custom, and to the court called upon to determine its judicial enforceability. It argues that customary law is validated by the assent of the people and not by courts, and that the tests contained in different statutes by which courts are permitted to intervene in the regime of customary law are tests of enforceability and not tests of validity. As a result, it argues that the term “validity test” is misleading when used in relation to the power of courts to determine the enforceability of native law and custom, and should therefore be discarded.

This article considers the current sentencing purposes in Namibia. It discusses the legislator's failure to articulate these purposes, leaving this to the judiciary, and identifies the dangers that arise from this legislative lacuna. It establishes that current sentencing purposes are fundamentally premised upon a retributivist philosophy, transplanted into Namibia during the colonial period. The article thus advocates for sentencing reform, aimed at restoring a paradigm based on African values. It does so by analysing African indigenous justice systems, using Ubuntu as an Afrocentric value. The article establishes how Ubuntu is contemporarily mirrored by restorative notions of justice that prioritize victims, offenders and the community, thereby asserting sentencing purposes that promote reconciliation, reparation and offender re-integration. In juxtaposing this with other sentencing purposes, the article critiques comparable jurisdictions that have recently incorporated restorative justice and proposes a set of draft sentencing purposes in the appendix.

Few mining countries face capacity building challenges comparable to Rwanda's. Worsened by the genocide, a 2009 report put the number of mining scientists in Rwanda at 40, fewer than four below the age of 40. The government has however recognized that local skills development is crucial to the potential of mining to contribute to the country's economic development. This has been demonstrated through a series of reforms, culminating in the mining code of 2014. This article considers two issues critical to capacity building in the mining sector: formalization of artisanal and small-scale mining and the promotion of local content / procurement. Its main thesis is that the code provides limited opportunities for local mining capacity building and its local content provisions are rather nervously worded. This is worsened by the fact that Rwanda has no freestanding local content legislation. The article calls for Rwanda to adopt such legislation, with specific provisions on local skills training.