Since the promulgation of Uganda's new constitution in 1995, the Law Reform Comission (LRC) has had the task of revising statutory laws to conform to the new constitution. One focal point has been the drafting of a Domestic Relations Bill. The bill proposes significant changes in women's legal status within the institutions of marriage and succession. Under the new statute, for example, women would gain joint marital property rights over any assets acquired during the course of marriage. Women could use the law to challenge husbands who seek to sell property or shift assets among their wives. The bill also proposes that when a married person dies intestate, the suviving spouse(s) should be appointed administrator to the estate, unless the courts have good reason not to do so. This should facilitate widows who seek to protect their assets from relatives who perceive in death opportunities to grab property. Not suprisingly, publication of the bill generated considerable outrage among men who perceive the extension of property rights to women as a direct threat to a natural social order privileging male authority.

The last decade of the twentieht century was a period that saw a worldwide shift from state command economies and welfare states to market-driven economies. In many countries the telecommunications industry has always been seen as as strategic one and thus wwas in most cases completely in the hands of state-owned corporations. It is there fore inevitable that telecommuncations industries the world over have undergone or are undergoing dramatic transformations as governments give up, wholly or in part, ownership and control of the industry.

This article discusses the application of international human rights law by the courts in Malawi. It is divided into five parts. The first part examines the constitutional position of international law at the municipal level and will focus primarily on the position under the current Constitution of Malawi. The second discusses the relevance of international human rights law before national court, with the third part then analysing the relevance of such law in the courts. The fourth part considers the reasons for the attitude of the courts to international human rights law, whilst the final part contains some concluding remarks. The case law discussed is largely that handed down by the Supreme Court and the High Court since 1994.

This article is concerned with a specialized area of constitutional theory and practice, namely the regulation of the foreign affairs powers. Foreign affairs is a wide term which expresses more than mere relations. “Affairs” include matters and things, as well as relationships and a constitutional grant of legitimate plenary powerr. This entails that foreign affairs are matters relating to foreign countries, i.e. affairs other than domestic and, specifically, matters having to do with the interests of the home country in foreign countries. In this context, foreign affairs may be identified as a function. A function is an activity specially fitted for, appropriate to or expected of some particular type of operation because of its peculiar nature, or qualifications. The foreign affairs function, thus, as Bonfield says, may be in an activity specially fitted for, appropriate to, or expected of international relations—the interests of a state in foreign states—due to the peculiar nature or attributes of such relations. In addition, “power” may be defined as the competence to decide and act that is attached to a specific function. Hence the foreign affairs power is the competenbce to decide and act in matters having to do with the interests of the home state in foreing states. It is made up principally of the following elements: treay making, diplomatic relations, recognition of states and governments, and war and peace. Appropriate regulation of the elements of the foreign affairs power is a vital element of good governance in any particular state.

One of the most critical factors on the conclusion of an insurance contract is to determine the extent of the insurance risk or cover. This enables parties to the contract to ascertain for themselves the rights and obligations under the policy. On the one hand, the extent of insurance risk determines what is recoverable by the insured or assured on the occurrence of the insured event, and, on the other hand, what level of liability is assumed and the premiums payable to the insurer. The extent of insurance risk also determines what rememdial action, if any, may be undertaken by the insured or assured by way of taking out extra insurance, if the policy at hand is not adequate.

This article raises a number of issues, such as voting rights in general and the extent that government should go to ensure that all are able to exercise this right in a democracy. Also raised is the issue of prisoners' rights. Finally, the peculiarities of the South African prison system are at issue here too. The article will examine prisoners' voting rights in general elections. Provincial and local government elections are somewhat different and will not be discussed.

RESPONDING TO TERRORISM

The tragic events in the United States on 11 September, 2001, have brought terrorism to the forefront of the agenda of the world community. This comes at a time when there are also widespread concerns about the impact of internqational and organized crime. The need to develop effective legal responses to these problems is reflected in the UN Security Council Resolution 1373 of 28 September, 2001, which calls upon all States to adopt further measures in accordance with the relevant provisions of international law, including intyernational standards of human rights, to prevent terrorism and to strengthen international co-operation in combating terrorism. Similary, the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime seeks to “promote co-operation to prevent and combat transnational organized crime more effectively”.