scholarly journals THE SUPREME COURT AND MANDATORY RETIREMENT: SANCTIONING THE STATUS QUO

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1 - 4) ◽  
pp. 1993
Author(s):  
Shirish Chotalia

THE SUPREME COURT AND MANDATORY RETIREMENT: SANCTIONING THE STATUS QUO

Author(s):  
Khan Hamid

This chapter begins with a brief overview of the constitutional and political history of Pakistan. It then discusses how the judiciary in general, and the Supreme Court in particular, had to function in a difficult and complex constitutional and political environment during the last sixty years. It details acts of judicial activism; efforts of lawyers throughout Pakistan to restore the status quo in the judiciary as it had existed on November 2, 2007; and the challenges faced by the restored Chief Justice and the Supreme Court.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 378-400
Author(s):  
Ruben S. P. Valfredo

This article examines the approach for the domestication of treaties in South Sudan. Such examination is undergone in light of the theories for the domestication of international law norms into the domestic legal systems of state members of the international community. The article establishes that the approach in South Sudan is not clearly indicated, and seems to be inconsistent with regard to the practice of various institutions linked to the domestication of treaties process in South Sudan. However, the article expands on two foundations: the status quo and the ‘ought to be’ approach. The article argues that the approach as it exists seems to be a monist rather than a dualist approach. This is evident from the indicators of South Sudan's constitutional, legislative and judicial settings such as the text of the Transitional Constitution of South Sudan 2011, the treaty ratification process, the practices of the National Legislative Assembly in respect of international conventions and a judicial circular issued by the Supreme Court of South Sudan. Furthermore, the article advances that the ‘as ought to exist’ approach needs to be a clearly mixed approach, partly monist and partly dualist. Such approach combines the advantages associated with each approach in one place. The article recommends that there is a need to have a well informed, well established and clear status in respect of the domestication approach guided by the various arrangements and settings highlighted above. It may also take account of the various states’ attitudes towards international law and the legal school of thought which forms the basis of South Sudan legal system. Such recommendation could be materialised via an act of parliament, a regulation or a practice manual.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Heard

In the immediate aftermath of the 2014 Senate Reform Reference, there was considerable talk about the limitations that the Supreme Court had put on Senate reform. Some political leaders expressed frustration and declared that we are left with the status quo. But, that view both misunderstands what the Court said and underestimates what can be achieved through non-constitutional means. There is much that can be done simply with the political will to change the Senate situation without resorting to constitutional amendment; senators already have the power to effect some serious reform from within. This paper focuses on an unorthodox suggestion: that substantive reforms might be achieved through changes to the Rules of the Senate governing its legislative process. With some changes to both the legislative and appointment processes, substantial improvements to the Senate are both possible and achievable. The result would be a Senate better able to perform its intended function as a chamber of sober second thought. It would also answer the most serious concerns about an appointed Senate’s role in a modern democratic system.


2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Guy Tremblay

The decisions rendered last December by the Supreme Court of Canada in Blaikie and Forest and in the Reference concerning the Senate are closely related. They curtail Canadian constitutional amending powers, especially those which were thought to have been repatriated in 1949. The reasons of the Court in these cases are commented upon and their impact is assessed. The author submits that the Supreme Court deviates from the principle of a Constitution similar to that of the United Kingdom. It gives itself too much leeway and not enough to Parliament and legislatures. But at the same time, the Supreme Court appeared to take account of constitutional propriety in construing a power which Ottawa gained unilaterally. The overall result is so favourable to the status quo that it increases the necessity for a fresh pact to be negotiated.


2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 299-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoram Rabin ◽  
Yuval Shany

AbstractThis article addresses the constitutional discourse surrounding the status of economic and social rights in Israel. It examines the principal interpretive strategies adopted by the Supreme Court with regard to the 1992 basic laws (in particular, with respect to the right to human dignity) and criticizes the Court's reluctance to apply analogous strategies to incorporate economic and social rights into Israeli constitutional law. Potential explanations for this biased approach are also critically discussed. The ensuing outcome is a constitutional imbalance in Israeli law, which perpetuates the unjustified view that economic and social rights are inherently inferior to their civil and political counterparts, and puts in question Israel's compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. At the same time, encouraging recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly the YATED and Marciano judgments, indicate growing acceptance on the part of the Court of the role of economic and social rights in Israeli constitutional law, and raise hopes for a belated judicial change of heart concerning the need to protect at least a ‘hard core’ of economic and social rights. Still, the article posits that the possibilities of promoting the constitutional status of economic and social rights through case-to-case litigation are limited and calls for the renewal of the legislation procedures of draft Basic Law: Social Rights in the Knesset.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. Christopher-Vajda
Author(s):  
Christopher Vajda

Following the expiry on 31 December 2020 of the ‘transition period’ under the UK/EU Withdrawal Agreement, the relationship between UK and EU law had changed. Whilst much EU legislation at that date will continue to apply in UK law as ‘retained EU law’ and judgments of the EU courts handed down before that date will remain binding on UK courts as ‘retained EU case law’, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court can depart from that case law. Whilst EU court judgments handed down after that date are not binding on UK courts, they may be taken into account. This article considers both the status of EU retained case law and when the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal may depart from it, and the future of EU law that is not ‘retained EU case law’ and how judgments of the European Courts and national courts of its Member States may influence UK judges in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávio Mirza Maduro

This mini-review aims to reflect upon the conditions of penitentiaries in Brazil during times of the pandemic; it also brings to discussion the recent decision by the Supreme Court of Brazil which allowed for certain detainees to carry out their sentences under house arrest; in addition, it aims to discuss how the judges on lower courts have decided in light of the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling. By outlining the conditions of imprisonment that can be observed in the jailing system, the authors seek to critically reflect upon the role of justice in the society during times of hardship. The authors begin by tracing a historical background in a concise way, in order to elucidate how situations of illnesses and bereavement have developed during the years. After that, the authors compare judicial rulings involving the current prison status quo. To conclude, the authors seek to add to the debate joining the voices who cry out for more assertive measures in the preservation of life and health of detainees and prison workers.


Author(s):  
Fatahuddin Aziz Siregar

The South Tapanuli community adopts a patrilineal kinship system so that women do not get inheritance, even if there is acquisition of property, women receive it not in their capacity as heirs but in the form of holong ni ate as confirmed in the Supreme Court Jurisprudence number 506K / Sip / 1968 dated January 22, 1969 However, on the other hand the Tapsel community underwent a process of Islamization that was quite deep, so that the customary law of South Tapanuli was also influenced by positive law including Jurisprudence which gave heir to girls later issued by the Supreme Court number 528K / Sip / 1972 dated 17 January 1973. This rule makes the practice of distributing the assets of Tapsel's community inheritance also shifts no longer according to the full provisions of adat law.This paper focuses on answering the factors that cause the shift in Batak customary inheritance in Tapsel, how the form of Batak adat inheritance shifts in Tapsel, and how the role of Islamic law in the shifting Batak customary inheritance in Tapsel. To answer this, use descriptive-analytical field research using data collection techniques in the form of observations and interviews with traditional leaders, religious leaders, judges and the community who carry out the distribution of inheritance.From this search, the authors found that the practice of inheritance in Tapsel society has shifted from adat inheritance caused by two factors, namely, First, the factor of Islamic law because Tapsel people have understood Islam well and run it in various fields of life including in the distribution of inheritance. Given that there are dozens of Islamic education institutions in Tapsel according to the author has given a pretty good understanding of Islamic law. So in general it can be said, that this change is a consequence of the Islamization process experienced by the Tapsel people. Second, is the factor of higher power or positive law because until now the community still believes that only the Religious Courts as a place to solve the problem of inheritance to obtain legal certainty.The shift to adat inheritance occurs in several patterns. The first pattern is a total change from customary form to division according to faraid, this pattern occurs in areas that are fairly Islamic, namely the Mandailing Natal region, although of course there are some people who divide in a way that is not consistent in carrying out Islamic law. The second pattern is to carry out adat law, namely in communities that are relatively strict with adat, namely in the Padang Lawas and Sipirok regions, in this area many cases seem to have carried out faraid formally but the substance still reflects the spirit of adat law. The third pattern, namely the way of division which is a combination of Islamic law and customary law, which is a fairly moderate community in the Angkola region.Islamic law has contributed by shifting the implementation of customary law to Islamic law. People who according to customary law do not receive inheritance become heirs who receive a certain portion. At first the mother did not count as an heir, then given a part 1/3 or 1/6. Istdri initially did not get any portion of the inheritance then received 1/4 or 1/8. Girls initially only have the status of olong ate, then receive a relatively large portion, which is 1/2 or 2/3.


Author(s):  
Molly Joeck

Abstract This article examines the state of Canadian refugee law since the decision of the Supreme Court in Febles v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) [2014] 3 SCR 431. Drawing upon an analysis of a set of decisions of the Immigration and Refugee Board, the administrative tribunal tasked with refugee status determination in Canada, the article seeks to determine whether administrative decision makers are heeding the guidance of Febles when excluding asylum seekers from refugee protection on the basis of serious criminality pursuant to article 1F(b) of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. In doing so, it examines the controversy around article 1F(b) since its inception across various jurisdictions and amongst academic commentators, situating Febles within that controversy in order to demonstrate that the Supreme Court’s reluctance to clearly set out the purpose underlying article 1F(b) is in step with a longstanding tendency to understand the provision as serving a gatekeeping function, that prevents criminalized non-citizens from obtaining membership in our society. It argues that by omitting to set out a clear and principled standard by which asylum seekers can be excluded from refugee protection pursuant to article 1F(b), the Supreme Court failed to live up to a thick understanding of the rule of law. It concludes by calling for a reassertion of the rule of law into exclusion decision making, both nationally and internationally, in order to ensure that the legitimacy of the international refugee law regime is maintained.


Author(s):  
Gibran van Ert

SummaryIn Spraytech v. Hudson, the Supreme Court of Canada made a bold declaration on the status of the precautionary principle in international law. While the methodology of the majority is open to criticism, the judgment is a welcome clarification of the court’s groundbreaking decision in Baker v. Canada and, building on that case, offers the prospect of a truly internationalized Canadian jurisprudence. In a postscript to this comment, the judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in Suresh v. Canada is briefly considered.


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