The political question doctrine obliges courts to set aside certain government actions and decisions from judicial review. The doctrine emerged in the United States in the early 19th Century. It first appeared in Ugandan jurisprudence in Ex parte Matovu (1966). After Matovu, the doctrine kept a relatively low profile in Uganda. However, the doctrine reemerged dramatically in the case of Centre of Health Human Rights & Development (CEHURD) and Three Others v. Attorney General. In CEHURD, the Constitutional Court of Uganda held that the political question doctrine prevented the court from reviewing government policy concerning the provision of maternal health care. Critics of the CEHURD judgment questioned the legitimacy of the political question doctrine and contend that the doctrine should not apply to matters involving human rights. Criticisms continue as the matter sits on appeal before the Supreme Court of Uganda.Notwithstanding the protestations, the political question doctrine has its rightful use and place in Uganda. The doctrine springs from a necessary limitation on judicial power and the need to honour purposeful allocations of power among the other branches over government. Thus the doctrine has a fundamental role to play in achieving separation of powers and allocating of government responsibilities. Despite its utility, the political question doctrine should not be used an excuse for the judiciary to abscond from core responsibilities or to avoid controversy. This is especially true in nations where courts are historically susceptible to political pressure. Thus it is important that Ugandan judges employing the doctrine be cognizant of its principled origins. Lastly, judges should appreciate that the political question doctrine is a flexible tool. If a court learns over time that it needs to be more or less engaged with the judicial oversight of an issue, the political question doctrine permits the court act on its knowledge. This aspect of the doctrine can be especially valuable in the unsettled context of judicial oversight and enforcement of social and economic rights.
{"title":"The Political Question Doctrine in Uganda: A Reassessment in the Wake of CEHURD","authors":"D. Dennison","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V18I1.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V18I1.13","url":null,"abstract":"The political question doctrine obliges courts to set aside certain government actions and decisions from judicial review. The doctrine emerged in the United States in the early 19th Century. It first appeared in Ugandan jurisprudence in Ex parte Matovu (1966). After Matovu, the doctrine kept a relatively low profile in Uganda. However, the doctrine reemerged dramatically in the case of Centre of Health Human Rights & Development (CEHURD) and Three Others v. Attorney General. In CEHURD, the Constitutional Court of Uganda held that the political question doctrine prevented the court from reviewing government policy concerning the provision of maternal health care. Critics of the CEHURD judgment questioned the legitimacy of the political question doctrine and contend that the doctrine should not apply to matters involving human rights. Criticisms continue as the matter sits on appeal before the Supreme Court of Uganda.Notwithstanding the protestations, the political question doctrine has its rightful use and place in Uganda. The doctrine springs from a necessary limitation on judicial power and the need to honour purposeful allocations of power among the other branches over government. Thus the doctrine has a fundamental role to play in achieving separation of powers and allocating of government responsibilities. Despite its utility, the political question doctrine should not be used an excuse for the judiciary to abscond from core responsibilities or to avoid controversy. This is especially true in nations where courts are historically susceptible to political pressure. Thus it is important that Ugandan judges employing the doctrine be cognizant of its principled origins. Lastly, judges should appreciate that the political question doctrine is a flexible tool. If a court learns over time that it needs to be more or less engaged with the judicial oversight of an issue, the political question doctrine permits the court act on its knowledge. This aspect of the doctrine can be especially valuable in the unsettled context of judicial oversight and enforcement of social and economic rights.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"92 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125864746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The pornography of 19th century Victorian society, Steven Marcus observes in The Other Victorians, gave expression to a fantasy that exactly mirrored the public ideal image of chastity in reverse reflection. As exemplary of Victorian morality, Marcus refers to an 1857 treatise on human sexuality, The Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs, by the physician William Acton. Unlike Freud, Acton maintained that healthy children hardly manifest any sexual feelings. For youngsters who give in to titillations an ill fate awaits: "His intellect has become sluggish and enfeebled, and if his evil habits are persisted in, he may end in becoming a drivelling idiot or a peevish valetudinarian."
史蒂文·马库斯在《其他维多利亚人》一书中指出，19世纪维多利亚社会的色情作品表达了一种幻想，这种幻想恰恰反映了公众理想中的贞洁形象。作为维多利亚时代道德的典范，马库斯引用了1857年医生威廉·阿克顿(William Acton)关于人类性行为的专著《生殖器官的功能和失调》(The functional and Disorders of Reproductive Organs)。与弗洛伊德不同，阿克顿认为健康的孩子几乎不会表现出任何性情感。对贪图享乐的年轻人来说，恶运就在后面等着他:“他的智力已经变得迟钝和衰弱，如果他的坏习惯坚持下去，他最终可能会成为一个喋喋不休的白痴或一个脾气暴躁的老年痴呆症患者。”
{"title":"Pornography is going on-line : the harm principle in Dutch law","authors":"C. Maris","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V17I1.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V17I1.1","url":null,"abstract":"The pornography of 19th century Victorian society, Steven Marcus observes in The Other Victorians, gave expression to a fantasy that exactly mirrored the public ideal image of chastity in reverse reflection. As exemplary of Victorian morality, Marcus refers to an 1857 treatise on human sexuality, The Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs, by the physician William Acton. Unlike Freud, Acton maintained that healthy children hardly manifest any sexual feelings. For youngsters who give in to titillations an ill fate awaits: \"His intellect has become sluggish and enfeebled, and if his evil habits are persisted in, he may end in becoming a drivelling idiot or a peevish valetudinarian.\"","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132916291","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Recently a Kenyan High court in P.A.O and others v Attorney General and another (hereinafter P.A.O) handed down a judgment in relation to sections 2, 32, and 34 of the Anti-Counterfeit Act 13 of 2008 vis-a-vis Kenya’s obligations under international human rights law and the Constitution. For many Africans, access to medicines has remained a great challenge not least because of high prices mainly due to patents on these medicines. Although recent developments across Africa have shown that modest progress has been made in realising access to medicines for people living with HIV, a great percentage of those in need of these medicines are not receiving them. One of the major obstacles to access to medicines in Africa are patents enjoyed by pharmaceutical companies on essential medicines such as antiretroviral drugs. This paper examines the decision of the Kenyan High Court in P.A.O and others v Attorney General and another in relation to the nature of states’ obligations to ensure access to medicines for their people. After highlighting the facts of the case and the holding, the authors critically evaluate the decision of the court based on three important issues - access to medicines as a human right, patents versus human rights, nature of states’ obligations in relation to access to medicines and lessons from this decision for other African countries.
{"title":"States’ Obligations in Relation to Access to Medicines: Revisiting Kenyan High Court Decision in P.A.O and Others v Attorney General and Another","authors":"E. Durojaye, G. Mirugi-Mukundi","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V17I1.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V17I1.2","url":null,"abstract":"Recently a Kenyan High court in P.A.O and others v Attorney General and another (hereinafter P.A.O) handed down a judgment in relation to sections 2, 32, and 34 of the Anti-Counterfeit Act 13 of 2008 vis-a-vis Kenya’s obligations under international human rights law and the Constitution. For many Africans, access to medicines has remained a great challenge not least because of high prices mainly due to patents on these medicines. Although recent developments across Africa have shown that modest progress has been made in realising access to medicines for people living with HIV, a great percentage of those in need of these medicines are not receiving them. One of the major obstacles to access to medicines in Africa are patents enjoyed by pharmaceutical companies on essential medicines such as antiretroviral drugs. This paper examines the decision of the Kenyan High Court in P.A.O and others v Attorney General and another in relation to the nature of states’ obligations to ensure access to medicines for their people. After highlighting the facts of the case and the holding, the authors critically evaluate the decision of the court based on three important issues - access to medicines as a human right, patents versus human rights, nature of states’ obligations in relation to access to medicines and lessons from this decision for other African countries.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129296178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The South African labour movement’s strength has often been attributed to the vitality of local democratic structures and institutionalised mechanisms of worker control that govern unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). Workers and shop-stewards continue to participate actively in local union activities and sustain democratic processes but, in an apparent contradiction, the arrival of political democracy has been associated with a decline in the intensity and vitality of local union democracy. As a result the model of union democracy is shifting from participatory to representative. This article draws on the results of the fourth leg of a longitudinal survey of COSATU members and shop-stewards and compares these results with surveys conducted in 1994, 1998 and 2003. The article explores the functioning of union democracy at the workplace and compares the attitudes of ordinary members and their elected representatives. At issue is whether this decline in the intensity of shop-floor democracy has resulted in a growing representation gap between workers and their elected representatives. The article concludes by examining the implications for union democracy of the recruitment of a large proportion of shop stewards into the South African Communist Party.
{"title":"The “hollowing-out” of trade union democracy in COSATU? Members, shop stewards and the South African Communist Party","authors":"P. Hirschsohn","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V15I1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V15I1.6","url":null,"abstract":"The South African labour movement’s strength has often been attributed to the vitality of local democratic structures and institutionalised mechanisms of worker control that govern unions affiliated to the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). Workers and shop-stewards continue to participate actively in local union activities and sustain democratic processes but, in an apparent contradiction, the arrival of political democracy has been associated with a decline in the intensity and vitality of local union democracy. As a result the model of union democracy is shifting from participatory to representative. This article draws on the results of the fourth leg of a longitudinal survey of COSATU members and shop-stewards and compares these results with surveys conducted in 1994, 1998 and 2003. The article explores the functioning of union democracy at the workplace and compares the attitudes of ordinary members and their elected representatives. At issue is whether this decline in the intensity of shop-floor democracy has resulted in a growing representation gap between workers and their elected representatives. The article concludes by examining the implications for union democracy of the recruitment of a large proportion of shop stewards into the South African Communist Party.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"197 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121452038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Globalisation is one of the leading characteristics of the world today – a world that is striving for development, democracy and the protection of human rights. There is no doubt that the relationship between globalisation and democracy is quite complex. So too is the relationship between globalisation and development. The impact of globalisation is perhaps more prominent on the African continent than elsewhere in the world. This is due to the unique circumstances and challenges that African countries have faced in the recent past and continue to face. Such challenges include poverty, hunger, armed conflicts, poor governance, crime, corruption, unemployment, low levels of education, lack of skills and resources, and the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Besides reflecting on the impact of globalisation on development and democracy, this article explores the tensions and contradictions that arise out of the relationship between these concepts. It also highlights the peculiar challenges that underlie and further complicate this relationship in African countries.
{"title":"Democracy and development in the age of globalisation","authors":"J. Mubangizi","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V14I1.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V14I1.5","url":null,"abstract":"Globalisation is one of the leading characteristics of the world today – a world that is striving for development, democracy and the protection of human rights. There is no doubt that the relationship between globalisation and democracy is quite complex. So too is the relationship between globalisation and development. \u0000 \u0000The impact of globalisation is perhaps more prominent on the African continent than elsewhere in the world. This is due to the unique circumstances and challenges that African countries have faced in the recent past and continue to face. Such challenges include poverty, hunger, armed conflicts, poor governance, crime, corruption, unemployment, low levels of education, lack of skills and resources, and the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Besides reflecting on the impact of globalisation on development and democracy, this article explores the tensions and contradictions that arise out of the relationship between these concepts. It also highlights the peculiar challenges that underlie and further complicate this relationship in African countries.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128061767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article examines forms of labour and economic opportunity created by local government in relation to waste management (refuse removal and recycling) and the kinds of vulnerabilities these generate. The authors seek to lift the “contractual veil” on outsourced municipal services and describe a typology of labour arranged along a declining gradient of formality and employment protections, with inequality and vulnerability commensurately rising toward the informal pole. The article argues for an enlarged conception of the “workplace” but also poses difficult questions of how employment protections might be extended to those at its most vulnerable and informal pole.
{"title":"Waste management and the workplace","authors":"J. Theron, M. Visser","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V14I1.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V14I1.10","url":null,"abstract":"The article examines forms of labour and economic opportunity created by local government in relation to waste management (refuse removal and recycling) and the kinds of vulnerabilities these generate. \u0000 \u0000The authors seek to lift the “contractual veil” on outsourced municipal services and describe a typology of labour arranged along a declining gradient of formality and employment protections, with inequality and vulnerability commensurately rising toward the informal pole. The article argues for an enlarged conception of the “workplace” but also poses difficult questions of how employment protections might be extended to those at its most vulnerable and informal pole.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130533698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Domestic workers form one of the most vulnerable and exploited sectors of the workforce in the world economy. In 2002 South Africa became one of relatively few countries to promulgate special legislation aimed at extending protection to domestic workers in the form of Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, South Africa. In the context of current debate about setting international standards for the domestic employment sector by means of a Convention and/or Recommendation of the International Labour Organisation, the article examines what has been achieved in South Africa over the past decade in extending legal protection to domestic workers, problems that have been encountered and possible ways in which those problems may be addressed.
{"title":"Extending the frontiers of employment regulation: The case of domestic employment in South Africa","authors":"D. D. Toit","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V14I1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V14I1.6","url":null,"abstract":"Domestic workers form one of the most vulnerable and exploited sectors of the workforce in the world economy. In 2002 South Africa became one of relatively few countries to promulgate special legislation aimed at extending protection to domestic workers in the form of Sectoral Determination 7: Domestic Worker Sector, South Africa. In the context of current debate about setting international standards for the domestic employment sector by means of a Convention and/or Recommendation of the International Labour Organisation, the article examines what has been achieved in South Africa over the past decade in extending legal protection to domestic workers, problems that have been encountered and possible ways in which those problems may be addressed.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131675132","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The idea of dualism in the South African economy, characterized by a “first” and “second” economy has come to dominate government thinking in recent years. Using the panel component of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the authors explore linkages between the formal and informal economy. Their analysis suggests that there is a high level of interaction between formal and informal work, at the lower end of the labour market. At the household level too, access to stable employment in the formal economy is associated with higher levels of earning in the informal economy. The findings have implications for poverty analysis in South Africa. Policy which views poverty as being located outside the mainstream of the economy – in the so-called ‘second’ economy – is misleading. Instead, an integrated approach which views poverty as linked to and a product of the trajectory and growth patterns of the South African economy is suggested as a more useful conceptualisation of poverty and inequality in South Africa.
{"title":"Formal-informal economy linkages: What implications for poverty in South Africa?","authors":"I. Valodia, R. Devey","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V14I1.13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V14I1.13","url":null,"abstract":"The idea of dualism in the South African economy, characterized by a “first” and “second” economy has come to dominate government thinking in recent years. Using the panel component of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), the authors explore linkages between the formal and informal economy. \u0000 \u0000Their analysis suggests that there is a high level of interaction between formal and informal work, at the lower end of the labour market. At the household level too, access to stable employment in the formal economy is associated with higher levels of earning in the informal economy. The findings have implications for poverty analysis in South Africa. Policy which views poverty as being located outside the mainstream of the economy – in the so-called ‘second’ economy – is misleading. Instead, an integrated approach which views poverty as linked to and a product of the trajectory and growth patterns of the South African economy is suggested as a more useful conceptualisation of poverty and inequality in South Africa.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"90 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128744987","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this article Aliber and Maluleke grapple with similar questions of social differentiation in their exploratory study of emergent black farmers who lease land on floundering land reform projects. Examining the partnerships between these commercially-oriented lessees and project beneficiaries through a number of case studies, the article discerns how small-sale black investors are well suited to involvement in these particularly sites. The authors not only draw attention to the complex social, institutional and commercial dynamics surrounding attempts to sustain commercial agriculture in the context of land reform projects, but warn of the limitations of attempting to revive failed projects by simply injecting additional infrastructure.
{"title":"The role of “black capital” in revitalising land reform in Limpopo, South Africa","authors":"M. Aliber, T. Maluleke","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V14I1.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V14I1.3","url":null,"abstract":"In this article Aliber and Maluleke grapple with similar questions of social differentiation in their exploratory study of emergent black farmers who lease land on floundering land reform projects. Examining the partnerships between these commercially-oriented lessees and project beneficiaries through a number of case studies, the article discerns how small-sale black investors are well suited to involvement in these particularly sites. \u0000 \u0000The authors not only draw attention to the complex social, institutional and commercial dynamics surrounding attempts to sustain commercial agriculture in the context of land reform projects, but warn of the limitations of attempting to revive failed projects by simply injecting additional infrastructure.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134631382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The author critically examines the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In recent years, it is noted, the organisation’s agenda of trade liberalisation, its perceived lack of accountability and insensitivity to human rights have attracted intense criticism. It has been asserted that provisions of WTO agreements concerning agricultural trade and intellectual property directly affect the ability of governments to fulfil their human rights obligations. Conversely, supporters of the WTO argue that by expanding global trade the organisation assists in raising living standards. While it is generally acknowledged that trade has an important role in improving livelihoods, studies indicate that trade liberalisation has not necessarily achieved this result for many WTO members. The author assesses these claims from a human rights perspective and explores the relationship between trade, human rights and development. The first part of the article, published in Volume 12(2), sketched the history and functions of the WTO, discusses the linkages between trade liberalisation, human rights and development, and assesses the human rights obligations of the WTO. It notes that most WTO Member States have assumed legal obligations through ratification of universal human rights treaties and concludes that the WTO’s trade liberalisation agenda should be more responsive to human rights. This part explores the human rights implications of two controversial WTO agreements: the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and the Agreement on Agriculture.
{"title":"Free trade or just trade? The world trade organisation, human rights and development (Part 2)","authors":"C. Lumina","doi":"10.4314/LDD.V14I1.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LDD.V14I1.9","url":null,"abstract":"The author critically examines the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In recent years, it is noted, the organisation’s agenda of trade liberalisation, its perceived lack of accountability and insensitivity to human rights have attracted intense criticism. It has been asserted that provisions of WTO agreements concerning agricultural trade and intellectual property directly affect the ability of governments to fulfil their human rights obligations. \u0000 \u0000Conversely, supporters of the WTO argue that by expanding global trade the organisation assists in raising living standards. While it is generally acknowledged that trade has an important role in improving livelihoods, studies indicate that trade liberalisation has not necessarily achieved this result for many WTO members. The author assesses these claims from a human rights perspective and explores the relationship between trade, human rights and development. The first part of the article, published in Volume 12(2), sketched the history and functions of the WTO, discusses the linkages between trade liberalisation, human rights and development, and assesses the human rights obligations of the WTO. It notes that most WTO Member States have assumed legal obligations through ratification of universal human rights treaties and concludes that the WTO’s trade liberalisation agenda should be more responsive to human rights. This part explores the human rights implications of two controversial WTO agreements: the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property and the Agreement on Agriculture.","PeriodicalId":341103,"journal":{"name":"Law, Democracy and Development","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128230169","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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