The South African public procurement system is regulated by a constitutional framework and legislation applicable to all tiers of government. An interesting feature of the system is that suppliers may be excluded from government contracts for breaches of procurement or anti-corruption legislation. This article critically examines corruption-related exclusions. It is suggested that there is likely to be a number of problems with the implementation of these exclusions. First, it is not clear how effective they will be in meeting the government's anti-corruption policy. Secondly, in respect of the exclusions imposed through a non-judicial process, there are no guidelines to ensure procedural safeguards, and furthermore, these exclusions may lead to delays and costs in the procurement process – especially when it comes to deciding whether persons or firms related to an excluded firm ought to be excluded. Thirdly, there are issues regarding proportionality of the measures. Fourthly, it may be difficult to maintain a consistent approach in deciding whether to exclude under the non-judicial exclusions. In view of these, for the regime to be effective, the South African government must be prepared to bear the attendant financial and procedural burden.

This article discusses the phenomenon of forced evictions in Africa and the implications for land rights and human development. It argues that the “public interest“ justification often proffered for forced evictions by African governments is a myth. The article proposes three alternative explanations for forced evictions: (a) antiquated and inappropriate planning laws of colonial origin; (b) corruption; and (c) failure of development and land reforms. The escalating urban and rural land crises in Africa, the article argues, violate human rights with grave implications for human development and regional security. The article concludes by proposing a new policy direction based on participatory and more inclusive principles.

Despite the ratification by African states of several human rights instruments protecting the human rights of women in Africa, and the solemn commitment of the African states to eliminate all forms of discrimination and harmful practices against women, women in Africa still continue to experience human rights violations. Most African women are denied the equal enjoyment of their human rights, in particular by virtue of the lesser status ascribed to them by tradition and custom, or as a result of overt or covert discrimination. Many women in Africa experience distinct forms of discrimination due to the intersection of sex with such factors as race, language, religion, political and other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other factors, such as age, disability, marital, refugee or migrant status, resulting in compounded disadvantage. Therefore, much remains to be done to realize the human rights of women in Africa. This article examines the relationship between culture and women's human rights, and makes some recommendations for the effective realization of these rights.

Many areas in Africa facing land shortage and competition witness increasingly restricted and insecure access to land for the poor majority. Mounting evidence of reduced tenure security shows that customary systems are often unable to evolve equitably. In contrast with this crisis in customary land administration, current international land policy is witnessing renewed interest in customary tenure systems. Ghana's current land policy resonates with this international trend. This article focuses on peri-urban Kumasi, Ghana, to acquire an insight into struggles and negotiations over customary land tenure in a rapidly urbanizing area. It then tries to explain why policymakers, in Ghana and in general, do not yet seem to have reflected the crisis in customary land management in their policies. The article concludes with some recommendations as to how policymakers could respond.

This article analyses the domestication of human rights treaties in Nigeria. It points out the shortcomings of the present dualist model under the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and makes suggestions for reform. It also examines the effect of beliefs and cultural values on the effective application of human rights treaties in Nigeria.

Caught between pressure from dominant global economic actors (such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and certain states) to implement painful socio-economic reform measures, and pressure from significant numbers of their own peoples to reject these IMF/WB-style prescriptions, formally democratic “third world” governments often yield to the demands of the former to push through such reforms, sometimes at great social cost. This article utilizes a contemporary Nigerian case study to illustrate this point and to show how the curtailment of labour rights and the weakening of labour movements have formed an important part of the economic strategy of many such governments. This anti-labour rights/movements strategy is an attempt by governments to deal with the human rights contradictions that are often generated when third world countries attempt dual political and economic transitions. The article argues that the deployment of an anti-labour strategy is grounded in a new kind of “full belly thesis” that prioritizes a particular IMF/WB-friendly vision of economic development over certain kinds of political (especially labour) rights. The powerful global economic actors, who would otherwise advocate the observance of all human rights, have nevertheless found this thesis more acceptable than its earlier iteration, which was grounded in a far less IMF/WB-friendly economic vision.

The primary function of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) is to modernize and harmonize the business laws of member states. The wider objective of OHADA is to attract foreign investment into the OHADA zone and to achieve economic integration in Africa as whole, as other African countries join OHADA. However, article 42 of the treaty establishing OHADA stipulates that French is the working language of the organization. This paper argues that this provision does not facilitate the goal of economic integration in Africa and that in one member state, Cameroon, article 42 presents serious constitutional and human rights difficulties. The paper suggests that article 42 should be amended in order to make it easier for key OHADA objectives to be attained and in order to remove the serious problems created in Cameroon.

In 2005 the government of Ethiopia prepared many proclamations, regulations and guidelines dealing with biosafety, traditional knowledge and plant breeders' rights, with a view to implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Cartagena Protocol to the CBD on Biosafety (CPB), and to joining the World Trade Organization. In the course of the lengthy negotiations of the Food and Agriculture Organization International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Ethiopian government decided not to include coffee in the list, annexed to the treaty, of plants covered by the multilateral system of facilitated germplasm flows. The purpose of this paper is to analyse these texts and the potential bargaining power of Ethiopia regarding coffee germplasm transactions, after a rapid description of the general context of seed production and seed markets in Ethiopia. It concludes that policies aimed at improving germplasm and final product quality, and rewarding farmers for their contribution in this process, are paramount.

This paper considers how the law in Nigeria discriminates against women in respect of the distribution of property on divorce. It also discusses whether international or regional instruments which have been ratified by Nigeria have helped eliminate discrimination against women in this regard.

Recent events and a few judicial decisions in Nigeria show the need for a serious analytical engagement with the law relating to dead bodies. Topical issues from these cases focus on jurisdiction, the right to control the disposition of remains, and remedies available for the infringement of a burial right. While the meaning and content of sepulchral rights remain the same in Nigeria as in many industrialized nations, its prioritization is markedly different. In contrast to the highly individualized nature of burial rights in many Western legal systems, the control of sepulchral right in Nigeria is familial in character. In some circumstances, however, recourse may be had to statutory provisions that import English priority rules. While a range of remedies is available for an interference with a burial right, injunctions and declarations are the most sought after by Nigerian litigants. An expedited hearing is preferable to an interlocutory order of injunction.

This article examines the extent to which the decision to establish the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was motivated by the desire of African states to safeguard their own interests at the expense of effectively protecting human rights in Africa. Using an examination of the drafting history of the Banjul Charter and the establishment of the African Commission as a background, this article explores the potential implications for the future of human rights protection on the continent as a result of the creation of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights and its proposed merger with the African Court of Justice.