Volume 13, Issue 1 -

The Torres Strait Treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea (“PNG”) came into force in 1985. This unique treaty, which defines the maritime, seabed and fisheries boundaries between Australia and PNG, is recognised as one of the most complex, but imaginative maritime delimitation solutions in existence. The Treaty creates a Protected Zone with a view to safeguarding the traditional way of life and livelihood of traditional inhabitants of the Torres Strait and adjacent coast of PNG. Traditional inhabitants are allowed relatively unrestricted cross-border movement into the Protected Zone for the purpose of performing traditional activities. “Traditional inhabitants” are defined by the treaty, but the relevant provision is ambiguous and the question of who is within the terms of the Treaty is highly contentious. The problem is exacerbated by the competing layers of law which govern the Strait and surrounding Borderlands, and by the dissonance between State law, customary laws, and the practical application of the Treaty. This paper looks at the meaning of “traditional inhabitants” and some of the other issues surrounding this question.

Trade-based money laundering (TBML) is a major concern in Colombia, where criminal organisations employ under-invoicing to conceal drug-trafficking proceeds. In response, Colombia imposed a compound tariff on certain Panamanian importations that were considered linked to this phenomenon. Alleging that the policy measure infringed Colombia’s tariff concessions, Panama activated the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism. The dispute revolved around Article II:1 of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade 1994. Colombia argued that this norm should be interpreted as to encompass licit trade only. Colombia looked for normative support in the investment treaty regime by establishing a parallel between undervalued imports and illegal investments. Therefore, just as investment treaty tribunals abstain from extending international legal protection to illegal investments, the WTO adjudicating bodies should not extend tariff concessions to importations linked to TBML activities. This article contends that by transplanting a more favourable doctrine of legality from the investment treaty regime to the multilateral trade regime, Colombia engaged in strategic regime shifting. Accordingly, drawing on regime complexes analysis, the article argues that by considering development a common issue-area, it is possible to articulate strategic connections between both regimes.

This article will seek to operationalize and measure rule of law primarily relying on the “Rule of Law Checklist,” developed by the Venice Commission, composed of the following five elements: (1) Legality; (2) Legal certainty; (3) Prevention of abuse or misuse of powers; (4) Equality before the law and non-discrimination; and (5) Access to Justice. Each of these elements will be operationalized in the context of Kosovo – the leading case study – with an ultimate aim of obtaining an enhanced understanding of the Rule of Law framework and its measurement in transitional contexts more generally. The underlying circumstances of the selected case are defined by an almost unparalleled involvement of the international community, in particular the UN and the EU, which forms a relatively significant part of the observable context.

Based on the literature on decentralization, this article investigates the institutional arrangement and autonomy of local governments in Tigray Regional state. It is based on two rounds of field work covering nine districts. At a formal level, local governments are autonomous units with some defined mandates including power to decide on policy issues. In reality however, local governments in the study area act more as deconcentrated than as autonomous units since their autonomy is curtailed by higher level governments and party structures. Local governments are thus extension arms of the regional state with little autonomy of their own. Institutions such as elected councils, mayors and the executive exist at the local level but there is more vertical than horizontal accountability. As a result, local Councils have not been able to ensure accountability. Thus decentralization has not resulted in popular control of local governance and local-level development as interests of the party and the local political elite prevail over popular interests. The article calls for rethinking the design of local government that would constitute a local government deal that shifts decision-making away from higher level institutions to the local level, constituting multi-stake holders having control over the affairs of local government.

The ways in which cities function and are governed matter economically. While the growing literature on ‘global cities’ shows that city governments often pursue economic competitiveness, not much work has been done on whether the formal powers and competencies of cities and towns, as well as the ways in which these are wielded, are conducive to the achievement of developmental and socio-economic objectives. This article considers the interactions and interdependencies between local government law, urban governance, developmental objectives and formal as well as informal cross-border trade between cities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. While supporting increased devolution of local government powers, it cautions that cities of SADC must take care to wield their powers in ways that ensure the economic flourishing of the majority of their inhabitants. In particular, this requires a change of mindset in relation to the municipal regulation of informal economic activity.

This article examines the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) that appear to be in tune with the tenets of sustainable development, which has received much attention at both international and municipal levels. It was found that the relevant aspects of the Constitution on sustainable development are contained in Chapter Two of the Constitution under the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy, which include environmental, economic and social objectives. The constitution provides for their non-justifiability to the effect that the court shall not entertain any question on implementation of the objectives. Therefore, constitutional basis for sustainable development in Nigeria has been whittled down. It is contended that given the importance of sustainable development to the well-being of Nigerians and the future generations, it is expedient that the provisions of Chapter Two of the constitution relevant to sustainable development be made justiciable in Nigeria.

A significant number of scholars have written about the nexus between fairness in the allocation of taxing rights in double taxation treaties and sustainable development in developing countries. These scholars have argued for expansive taxing rights for developing countries, as against the current source- restricting provisions in taxation treaties between developed and developing countries based on the OECD and UN Model taxation treaties. They have also highlighted the need for developing countries to critically assess their treaty networks, and to consider gaps in their local laws and policies that encourage revenue loss. This paper contributes to this body of knowledge by identifying provisions in Nigeria’s double taxation treaties that encourage revenue loss. It concludes by recommending amendments to Nigeria’s double taxation treaties.

This article excavates and analyses an early, feminist conversation about law that emerged from foundational texts on Gender and Development (GAD). Rather than starting from current, law-heavy GAD practices, it goes backwards to see what, if anything, some canonical texts published between 1970 and 1989 said about law. My aim is to offer an account of legally-relevant GAD theorising written before the current consensus about law reform as a tool had solidified, and – in so doing – to unsettle that consensus and identify some intellectual inheritances that might offer us an alternative way forward.

From the end of World War Two, the core methodology of law and development projects has been to transplant the best legal institutions of Western capitalism to poor and emerging economies. In many post-colonial contemporary Muslim-majority countries, such programs have not adequately engaged with local legal systems, cultures and traditions. Contrary to the restrictive modernist approach to law and development, and inspired by the Sharia , there are numerous Islamic social finance mechanisms that can be utilised for poverty alleviation and their existence is evident across Bangladesh. These cover the full spectrum of philanthropic to financing, investments and insurance built upon Sharia norms and principles. Unfortunately, the true potential of Islamic social finance is considerably constrained by the weak regulatory and policy environment. Islamic social finance does not feature in national development plans, is regulated through a patchwork framework, and operates at a negligible scale. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the existing regulatory and institutional landscape of Zakah (obligatory almsgiving), awqaf (perpetual endowments), Islamic microfinance and microtakaful (microinsurance) in Bangladesh and examines the potential and challenges for Islamic social finance to reduce poverty. Thereafter, several pertinent policy and institutional recommendations are provided to effectively modernise and advance the effectiveness of Islamic social finance institutions. The methodology employed is a mixed approach incorporating literature review, legal analysis of laws and regulation and contextual analysis and field interviews among industry stakeholders. Ultimately, while private investment and initiatives are always able to support the Islamic social finance sector, this paper focuses on the extent to which the regulatory and policy environment is a crucial enabler for widespread and sustained development impact.