CARMEL RICKARD: East Africa trade bloc in the dock
A legal wrangle in East Africa highlights how tricky it is to form a regional trade bloc when individual countries have their own economic stresses
CARMEL RICKARD: Swaziland Medical Aid Fund under fire
The Swaziland Medical Aid Fund is in hot water with the Supreme Court after it published an article found to have ‘polluted the judicial stream’
CARMEL RICKARD: Malawi leaders told to pay
A former president of Malawi and a high court judge are out of pocket after losing a personal costs case for their attempts to meddle in the judiciary
CARMEL RICKARD: A ‘just in case’ tax
Uganda’s tax authority is on the hook for the equivalent of an R87m payout, after imposing an invented ‘domestic VAT’ levy on importers
CARMEL RICKARD: Lawfare in Zimbabwe
In the ongoing matter of her fitness to hold office, judge Erica Ndewere has requested her colleagues recuse themselves from presiding over her case
CARMEL RICKARD: No justice in Zimbabwe
In circumventing due process around the suspension of a Zimbabwean judge, Emmerson Mnangagwa has blurred the line separating state powers
CARMEL RICKARD: Kenya’s tax authority told to eat its words
Kenya’s appeal court has found the country’s tax authority to be ‘unfair and unreasonable’ in a dispute over import duties four years after the fact
CARMEL RICKARD: Mind the gender gap
Canada’s women Mounties not only get their man, they now get a better deal after a court ruled that certain job-sharing provisions were discriminatory
CARMEL RICKARD: Sadc’s new tribunal lacks clout
Sadc’s new tribunal lacks the clout of its predecessor, but it’s heartening to see it set right some injustices arising from the disbanding of that body
CARMEL RICKARD: Sex and justice in UK courts
The UK courts regularly hear claims for asylum from those persecuted for their sexual orientation. An SA woman’s case is among the most recent
CARMEL RICKARD: Covid dodge defeated
Uganda’s high court has found that the minister of energy used the lockdown to bypass due process to push through a new electricity regulation
CARMEL RICKARD: Kenya’s gender battle
The chief justice has advised that parliament be dissolved after its repeated failure to give effect to a rule on gender representivity
CARMEL RICKARD: Judges must speak out against injustice
It’s concerning when judges stay silent in the face of horrific crimes, limiting their response to a mechanical interpretation of the law
CARMEL RICKARD: A legal slapp down
The Canadian supreme court has ruled against a developer for using the courtroom as a means of stifling democratic expression
CARMEL RICKARD: US gets selective in lawfare
The US decision to sanction International Criminal Court lawyers undermines an investigation into allegations of crimes by its own military in Afghanistan
CARMEL RICKARD: Collision course between executive and judiciary
Courts have set aside election results and forced a re-run in two African countries, ramping up tensions between the executive and judiciary
CARMEL RICKARD: Justice delayed as court backlogs take on monstrous proportions
A decision against a ‘virtual trial’ may have implications for the administration of justice during the pandemic — and add to backlogs in SA’s courts
CARMEL RICKARD: SA’s judiciary on the wrong side of the law
When it comes to the court of public opinion, SA’s judiciary isn’t rated particularly highly, according to an Afrobarometer survey
CARMEL RICKARD: Zimbabwe’s wall of silence
A lack of written judgments in Zimbabwean courts has serious implications for accountability and the protection of citizens’ constitutional rights
