How Namibia’s apex court dealt with public opinion in its gay sex judgment
A major new judgment from a full bench of the high court in Namibia has set aside that country’s common law crimes of sodomy and unnatural sexual offences. The court found them both unconstitutional and invalid, and said they made unjustified inroads on the human...
Iconic Ugandan tree giants safe after legal victory
An important new victory from the high court in Uganda stresses the crucial role that courts can play in ensuring environmental rights. It also follows the trend in that country of courts writing decisions that respect environmental protections. Just as significant,...
Rule of law wins in Malawi legal dispute: appointment of soldier, recalled from retirement, set aside
When Malawi’s President Lazarus Chakwera appointed a new director general to lead the country’s troubled immigration department, the decision sparked a dispute over the appointee’s suitability. The department deals with issuing passports as well as with immigration,...
Ugandan law school teachers’ bold step should be applauded
Law teachers at Uganda’s Makerere University have taken a brave step: in the name of academic freedom, they have declared their unanimous support for colleagues who set a controversial constitutional law exam. The paper requires students to think critically about...
A shipwreck, lost treasure and lessons for lawyers ….
Sometimes complex litigation can mask a powerful human drama. The case of Argentum Exploration against South Africa is just such a tale. Behind arcane argument in the UK courts about whether SA had to pay salvage costs to Argentum for raising lost treasure from...
Top court scathing over irritated judge who flounced from court during hearing
A JUDGE who did the unthinkable and flounced out of a formal court sitting, apparently irritated with counsel’s line of questioning, should have agreed to stand down when an application was subsequently brought for his recusal, the supreme court of appeal (SCA) has...
Judges hear what lawyers expect from them in human rights cases
For what was almost certainly the first time in their lives, judges from across Africa have been hearing what advocates specialising in human rights work expect from them. The 20 judges, from 11 African countries, met last week for training in human rights law and...
Lesotho’s Chief Justice bars SA’s Shaun Abrahams from trial over ‘unacceptable behaviour’
Controversial advocate, Shaun Abrahams, forced from his top prosecution job in South Africa, has been hauled over the coals by Lesotho’s Chief Justice Sakoane Sakoane for his behaviour in a bitterly contested trial, and has been barred from further participation in...
Preserve your independence, court urges Namibia’s election commission
A full bench of Namibia’s high court has found that the country’s electoral commission acted unlawfully when it removed certain approved names from the list of candidates supplied by a political party and allowed other party members to replace them and be sworn-in,...
African Court tells Tanzania: your constitution violates basic rights
Africa’s premier regional court, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, has found that Tanzania’s constitution is in breach of the African Charter and other international law. This is because it provides that no one may test the results of Tanzania’s...