Papers by babatunde fagbayibo
Revista Direito GV , 2024
The discussion of South Africa’s political history is incomplete without the role of music and mu... more The discussion of South Africa’s political history is incomplete without the role of music and musicians in shaping the narrative of resistance to injustice and the quest for a better society. The violence of colonialism and Apartheid, the optimistic transition to a constitutional order, and the frustration with the post-Apartheid democratic government are documented in South African songs. While other disciplines in the humanities have explored the importance of music in South Africa’s societal configuration, little attention has been given to the subject in the legal academy. As such, this article advances the argument that socially conscious songs can play a meaningful role in understanding the South African Constitution. This kind of engagement makes technical ideas and concepts relatable and enhances students’ skills to see issues from a multidimensional perspective.
Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa, 2019
Southern African Public Law, Dec 10, 2021
Challenging the results of presidential elections in courts in many African countries is largely ... more Challenging the results of presidential elections in courts in many African countries is largely a phenomenon that accompanied the fall of dictatorships and one-party regimes across Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The reintroduction of multiparty democracy entailed that elections would be genuinely contested between several candidates, with the possibility that opposition leaders could wrestle power from the incumbent leaders. Many constitutions or electoral laws adopted following this wind of change provide for the possibility of aggrieved individuals and/or entities to seek legal redress in courts of law or other quasi-judicial bodies, usually on specified grounds. This phenomenon is now compounded by the increased use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the electoral process. In the last ten years, almost all presidential election disputes in Africa have revolved around failure or alleged tampering with the ICT facilities in the electoral process. It would, therefore, seem that ICTs, although helpful in increasing efficiency in the electoral process, provide possible new and cleaner ways of stealing elections. This new development presents new challenges to courts as ICTs are often adopted by Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) without appropriate changes to the electoral laws to enhance transparency and accountability. This article analyses how the courts are facing the challenge of increased use of technology in elections and explores the way forward in terms of progressive interpretation and proactive adjudication of election matters.
Journal of Asian and African Studies, May 23, 2017
The doctrinal relationship between Nkrumahism and the African Union Agenda 2063 informs the basis... more The doctrinal relationship between Nkrumahism and the African Union Agenda 2063 informs the basis of this article. If continental supranationalism remains the end product of both processes, the question then is to what extent are intergovernmental institutions positioned to achieve this? In addressing this point, the article discusses the roles the two key intergovernmental institutions, the African Union Commission and the Pan-African Parliament, can both play in deepening the integration agenda, and more specifically, the implementation plan of Agenda 2063. The article argues that the existent configuration of both institutions prevents any meaningful advancement towards a deepened integrative agenda. It then proffers ways of counteracting this.
Comparative and International Law Journal of Southern Africa, 2019
generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it." Frantz... more generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfil it or betray it." Frantz Fanon Résumé Au centre de cette réflexion se trouve la lutte de la jeunesse africaine pour donner un nouveau sens à la démocratie que ce soit à travers les manifestations de rues ou les réseaux sociaux. En identifiant les facteurs spécifiques qui ont récemment renforcé la conscience et la visibilité de la jeunesse africaine dans la lutte pour la démocratie, la question est de savoir si de tels efforts constituent une plateforme durable pour la promotion des valeurs démocratiques sur le continent. L'article affirme que le développement technologique inégal sur le continent requiert une stratégie vaste afin de promouvoir un véritable changement sociopolitique et économique en Afrique et recommande entre autres mesures un programme de prise de conscience renforcé sur les activités de la jeunesse, le lobbying auprès des institutions gouvernementales nationales et internationales pour obtenir l'inclusion de la jeunesse dans les politiques de planification, l'engagement du secteur privé et le renforcement de la coopération entre les institutions des jeunes.
Southern African Public Law
Southern African Public Law
AJIL Unbound
Anna Saunders's article, “Constitution-Making as a Technique of International Law: Reconsider... more Anna Saunders's article, “Constitution-Making as a Technique of International Law: Reconsidering the Post-war Inheritance,” is an important addition to the literature that problematizes the idea of international constitution-making. At the heart of Saunders's critique of international constitution making—defined as the involvement of international institutions in national constitution-making processes—is the point that the parameters of what constitutes “local ownership” of the constitution-making process is detached from debates on rethinking neoliberal economic structures and material interests. As a result, constitutions in post-conflict societies fail to speak to the socio-economic realities of a people and, most importantly, diminish their agency to envision alternatives. Saunders offers a detailed historical account of why such failure, or what she refers to as “selective technicity,” has become standard practice, and then goes further to stress the imperative of reima...
AJIL Unbound, 2023
Anna Saunders's article, "Constitution-Making as a Technique of International Law: Reconsidering ... more Anna Saunders's article, "Constitution-Making as a Technique of International Law: Reconsidering the Postwar Inheritance," is an important addition to the literature that problematizes the idea of international constitutionmaking. At the heart of Saunders's critique of international constitution making-defined as the involvement of international institutions in national constitution-making processes-is the point that the parameters of what constitutes "local ownership" of the constitution-making process is detached from debates on rethinking neoliberal economic structures and material interests. As a result, constitutions in post-conflict societies fail to speak to the socioeconomic realities of a people and, most importantly, diminish their agency to envision alternatives. Saunders offers a detailed historical account of why such failure, or what she refers to as "selective technicity," has become standard practice, and then goes further to stress the imperative of reimagining the vocabulary of what constitutes "local ownership" in the context of meaningful societal transformation. In this essay, I extend Saunders's thesis to argue that if the international constitution-making process does not shed its Eurocentric gaze, we will be unable to proffer sustainable suggestions to make the process responsive to the realities of a people.
Springer International Publishing eBooks, 2022
Southern African Public Law
The Law Teacher
The idea of establishing a link between music and international law is not a topic that typically... more The idea of establishing a link between music and international law is not a topic that typically excites scholars and practitioners. In its Eurocentric/colonial or critical/decolonial posture, scholarly engagement with international law is often devoted to the so called "hard" issues such as global security, global warming, poverty, reforms of international institutions, global governance architecture etc. As such, the notion that music, in its expressive and aesthetic manifestations, can be deployed in the better understanding of and finding solutions to the so called "hard issues" of international law remain a peripheral subject. At the heart of this article is the question of how music could serve as an effective instrumental tool for rethinking the pedagogical process of international law in Africa. The article argues that socially conscious songs provide a beneficial lens and gateway to the popular understanding of the problematics of international law. Such knowledge further engenders the possibility of repurposing the applicative dimensions of international law on the continent.
African Disability Rights Yearbook
African Disability Rights Yearbook 2.2 If Mauritania has signed and ratified the CRPD, when was i... more African Disability Rights Yearbook 2.2 If Mauritania has signed and ratified the CRPD, when was its country report due? Which government department is responsible for submission of the report? Did Mauritania submit its report? If so, and if the report has been considered, indicate if there was a domestic effect of this reporting process. If not, what reasons does the relevant government department give for the delay? Mauritania's country report was due in May 2014. However, the report was only submitted in January 2017. 8 The Un Comité interministériel technique (a technical interministerial committee) is tasked with drafting reports and conducting followup of the implementation of the recommendations of the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Although Mauritania has already submitted its state report to the UN Committee, the report is yet to be considered. 9 2.3 While reporting under various other United Nation's instruments, or under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, or the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, did Mauritania also report specifically on the rights of persons with disabilities in its most recent reports? If so, were relevant 'concluding observations' adopted? If relevant, were these observations given effect to? Was mention made of disability rights in your state's UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR)? If so, what was the effect of these observations/ recommendations? UN instruments 10 Below is a summary of Mauritania's reporting under UN instruments: (a) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Prior to the submission of the 2017 periodic report, Mauritania submitted its initial report, 11 and the February 2012 combined second and third periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). 12 In these reports Mauritania reported on the issues of social security 8 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 'Reporting status for Mauritania' http://tbin ternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/countries.aspx?CountryCode=MRT&Lang=EN (accessed 12 February 2018). 9 Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 'CRPD future sessions' http://tbinter net.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1204&Lang=en
EU Global Actorness in a World of Contested Leadership, 2022
African approaches to international law encompass a variety of theoretical and processual element... more African approaches to international law encompass a variety of theoretical and processual elements that shape the way African countries, and Africa as a continent, continue to interact with the principles of international law. Over the years, certain rubrics have been employed to explain the existence of such approach. This includes the historical dimension (an exploration of the nature of precolonial Africa’s internationality), thematic focus (human rights, peace and security, environment, good governance, etc.), and the ideological discourse (Third World approaches to international law, feminist approaches to international law, postcolonial theory, critical race theory, neo-liberal approaches, Afrocentric approaches, etc.). This article aims to distill the underlying issues that shape the content and substance of African approaches to international law from established and emerging scholarship.
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Papers by babatunde fagbayibo