'Rule of Law and Politics of Anti-Corruption Campaigns in a Post-Authoritarian State- The Nigerian Case'

This article evaluates the anti-corruption campaign instituted in Nigeria following on the post-authoritarian transition in the country, with specific focus on political corruption. The anti-corruption campaign is being prosecuted within a context where law is as critical a factor as politics. This article examines whether the judiciary, in view of its accountability deficit, can offer legitimacy to the campaign. How has its questionable credentials impacted on its involvement in the campaign to sanitise public life? What has been the impact of the judicial role on the rule of law? These are some of the important questions this article seeks to answer. The inquiry in this article demonstrates how the guardian institution of the rule of law faces an uphill task in the performance of that role in a post-authoritarian context.

The European Union’s Rule of Law Promotion in its Neighbourhood: A Structural Foreign Policy Analysis. EU Diplomacy Paper 04/2013

The promotion of the rule of law has become an important dimension of the European Union’s relations towards its neighbourhood. The rule of law is, however, a complex and multifaceted notion and the EU’s rule of law promotion policy has often been criticised for being either inefficient or self-interested. This collection of short papers offers an analysis of various case studies using the analytical framework of structural foreign policy (SFP) developed by Stephan Keukeleire. It aims to promote an original analytical perspective on the EU’s foreign policy but also to critically test and further develop the SFP analytical framework. The contributions of this collection consist of the shortened version of students’ Master’s theses written at the College of Europe during the academic year 2011-2012 in the framework of the course “The EU as a Foreign Policy Actor” taught by Stephan Keukeleire, Chairholder of the TOTAL Chair of EU Foreign Policy in the Department of EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies.

The EU’s Rule of Law Initiative for Central Asia: From Initiative to More Substance? EUCAM Policy Brief No. 18, June 2011

All five Central Asian states are weak in terms of rule of law, good governance and democracy. The EU chose to devote specific attention to the rule of law through a regional initiative with Central Asian partners' participation. What is the current state of the initiative and is the EU on track?

Whose Mare? Rule of law challenges in the field of European border surveillance in the Mediterranean. CEPS Liberty and Security in Europe No. 79/January 2015

This paper examines key developments in the field of European border surveillance in the Mediterranean. By asking, ‘Whose Mare?’, we focus on rule of law challenges stemming from these developments in a post-Lisbon EU. The developments examined are the Italian Navy-led Mare Nostrum operation, the debates over European ‘exit strategies’ for this operation and the ensuing launch of the Frontex Triton joint operation (JO). The recently adopted Regulation on Frontex sea border surveillance operations is also presented as a key development to understand the rule of law challenges. Moreover, the adoption of the European Union Maritime Security Strategy (MSS) and the development of several maritime surveillance systems in the EU highlight that a wide range of actors seeks authority over this field.

Democracy and the Project of Liberal Inclusion

Democracy is a multi-dimensional concept, ranging from definitions based exclusively on institutional frameworks (for example, Held, 2005, Przeworski, Alvarez, Cheibub and Limongi, 2000) to complex and integrated measures that include political and civil rights, democratic practices, values and, finally, a diverse set of institutional arrangements in society, including welfare, education, industrial relations and the legal system (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005, Jaggers and Gurr, 1995, O'Donnell, Cullel and Iazetta, 2004). This reflects the range of and distinction between merely formal electoral democracy and genuinely 'effective liberal democracy' (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005: 149), where democracy is firmly embedded not only in its institutions but in the values of its citizenry. Evidence from cross-national research confirms that formal democratic institutions, different dimensions of effective democracy, and democratic values are indeed strongly linked (Inglehart and Welzel, 2005: 154, Jaggers and Gurr, 1995: 446). Democracy is more than just a set of institutions, rules and mechanisms: it is a set of core values engrained in the 'lived experience' of its citizens. Core values of democracies are individual autonomy and egalitarianism, tolerance of diversity, and freedom from oppression for both individuals and institutions. Democracies restrain their governments by the rule of law and grant its citizens equal access to and equal treatment by legal institutions. Among these institutions, criminal justice and the treatment of those who violated rules and regulations represent sensitive seismographs for the quality of effective democracies, and the ways how democracies realise their core values.

Speaking too soon : the sabotage of bail reform in New South Wales

Within just over one month of coming into operation in May 2014, the new Bail Act 2013 (NSW), a product of long-term law reform consideration, was reviewed and then amended after talk-back radio ‘shock jock’ and tabloid newspaper outcry over three cases. This article examines the media triggers, the main arguments of the review conducted by former New South Wales (NSW) Attorney General John Hatzistergos, and the amendments, with our analysis of the judicial interpretation of the Act thus far providing relevant background. We argue that the amendments are premature, unnecessary, create complexity and confusion, and, quite possibly, will have unintended consequences: in short, they are a mess. The whole process of reversal is an example of law and order politics driven by the shock jocks and tabloid media, the views of which, are based on fundamental misconceptions of the purpose of bail and its place in the criminal process, resulting in a conflation of accusation, guilt and punishment. Other consequences of the review and amendments process recognised in this article include the denigration of judicial expertise and lack of concern with evidence and process; the disproportionate influence of the shock jocks, tabloids and Police Association of NSW on policy formation; the practice of using retired politicians to produce ‘quick fix’ reviews; and the political failure to understand and defend fundamental legal principles that benefit us all and are central to the maintenance of a democratic society and the rule of law. The article concludes with some discussion of ways in which media and political debate might be conducted to produce more balanced outcomes.

The responsibility of intermediaries: Emerging IP protection schemes, from Content ID, to three-strikes and follow-the-money

The only effective and scalable way to regulate the actions of people on the internet is through online intermediaries. These are the institutions that facilitate communication: internet service providers, search engines, content hosts, and social networks. Governments, private firms, and civil society organisations are increasingly seeking to influence these intermediaries to take more responsibility to prevent or respond to IP infringements. Around the world, intermediaries are increasingly subject to a variety of obligations to help enforce IP rights, ranging from informal social and governmental pressure, to industry codes and private negotiated agreements, to formal legislative schemes. This paper provides an overview of this emerging shift in regulatory approaches, away from legal liability and towards increased responsibilities for intermediaries. This shift straddles two different potential futures: an optimistic set of more effective, more efficient mechanisms for regulating user behaviour, and a dystopian vision of rule by algorithm and private power, without the legitimising influence of the rule of law.

Variation in the walking time to bus stop by the degree of transit captivity

Measures of transit accessibility are important in evaluating transit services, planning for future services and investment on land use development. Existing tools measure transit accessibility using averaged walking distance or walking time to public transit. Although the mode captivity may have significant implications on one’s willingness to walk to use public transit, this has not been addressed in the literature to date. Failed to distinguish transit captive users may lead to overestimated ridership and spatial coverage of transit services. The aim of this research is to integrate the concept of transit captivity into the analysis of walking access to public transit. The conventional way of defining “captive” and “choice” transit users showed no significant difference in their walking times according to a preliminary analysis. A cluster analysis technique is used to further divide “choice” users by three main factors, namely age group, labour force status and personal income. After eliminating “true captive” users, defined as those without driver’s licence or without a car in respective household, “non-true captive” users were classified into a total of eight groups having similar socio-economic characteristics. The analysis revealed significant differences in the walking times and patterns by their level of captivity to public transit. This paper challenges the rule-of-thumb of 400m walking distance to bus stops. In average, people’s willingness to walk dropped drastically at 268m and continued to drop constantly until it reached the mark of 670m, where there was another drastic drop of 17%, which left with only 10% of the total bus riders willing to walk 670m or more. This research found that mothers working part time were the ones with lowest transit captivity and thus most sensitive to the walking time, followed by high-income earners and the elderly. The level of captivity increases when public transit users earned lesser income, such as students and students working part time.

Spatial and temporal patterns in the demersal fish community on the shelf and upper slope regions of the Gulf of Alaska

We analyzed data from National Marine Fisheries Service bottom trawl surveys carried out triennially from 1984 to 1996 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). The continental shelf and upper slope (0–500 m) of the GOA support a rich demersal fish fauna dominated by arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias), walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma), Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), and Pacific Ocean perch (Sebastes alutus). Average catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of all groundfish species combined increased with depth and had a significant peak near the shelf break at 150–200 m. Species richness and diversity had significant peaks at 200–300 m. The western GOA was characterized by higher CPUEs and lower species richness and diversity than the eastern GOA. Highest CPUEs were observed in Shelikof Strait, along the shelf break and upper slope south of Kodiak Island, and on the banks and in the gullies northeast of Kodiak Island. Significant differences in total CPUE among surveys suggest a 40% increase in total groundfish biomass between 1984 and 1996. A multivariate analysis of the CPUE of 72 groundfish taxa revealed strong gradients in species composition with depth and from east to west, and a weak but significant trend in species composition over time. The trend over time was associated with increases in the frequency of occurrence and CPUE of at least eight taxa, including skates (Rajidae), capelin (Mallotus villosus), three flatfish species, and Pacific Ocean perch, and decreases in frequency of occurrence and CPUE of several sculpin (Myoxocephalus spp.) species. Results are discussed in terms of spatial and temporal patterns in productivity and in the context of their ecological and management implications.

The study of maturational progress in the whitespotted rabbitfish (Siganus sutor) under different photoperiod and light intensity conditions

The rule of light on the timing of maturation and spawning in tropical and subtropical regions is not clear well, because the reproductive cycle in these systems is lunar synchronized. In this study, thus, the effects of different light regimes were investigated on maturational progress of whitespotted rabbitfish, Siganus sutor, the commercial species in Persian Gulf and Oman Sea. During prespawning season, 50 adult fish were randomly divided into ten 300-l tanks (n=5). The fish in control tank received indoor light condition and the fish in each other tanks were exposed to nine different combinations of photoperiod (8L: 16D, 12L: 12D, 16L: 8D) and light intensity (1000, 2000, 3000 lux). After 60 days, GSI and HSI values, serum levels of estradiol (E2), testosterone (T), 17-α hydroxyprogestrone (OHP), calcium (Ca2+) and gonad histology were evaluated for females and males. In females the GSI mean values of exposed fish increased in comparison with control except for fish were kept under 8L, 2000 lux (tank 8). These differences were significant only for fishes in tank 7 (8L, 3000 lux). In the cases of HSI, the results were converse, so that, the most of thanks showed significant decreasing than fishes reared under indoor condition. Morphology and histology study of Ovaries showed three developmental phases including 3, 4 and chiefly 5 that were parallel with GSI values. Fortheremore the serum levels of E2 was recorded between 0.54-15.8 ng/ml in different fish and their mean values were lower than control in all treatmants (P> 0.05). In males, the similar results were obtained. The GSI and HSI mean values in experimental regimes compared with control were upper and lower, respectively, except for fishes were reared in tank 1 (16L, 3000 lux). Testes histology of fishes were reared under different regimes showed signs of stage 5, since no blood vessels observed and thick milt exuded on slight pressure. The mean values of testosterone consentration in fishes were kept in tanks 1 and 6 (12L, 1000 lux) were higher and in other ones were lower than control group. It is also noted that the OHP and Ca2+ had diverse results including increasing and decreasing mean values than control. So, these factors contrary to E2 and T were not suitable to evaluation of maturity in both sexes. On the basis of ovarian structure in stage 5, oocyte development pattern in this species was group synchronous. So, increased mean of GSI versus decreased values of HSI, E2 and perhaps Ca2+ were the signs of improved maturation. But in males, reduced levels of T and similarity of testes morphology in all samples caused that GSI mean value was the only indicator for differentiating among treatments. These findings suggest that alternations were used in light regimes have been the reason of improved maturity in all treatments except fishes reared in tank 8. The ١٠٧ rule of light intensity on induction of maturity was cleared by comparision between fishes in tanks 4, 5, 6 and control group. Because day length was the same whereas fishes in tanks 4, 5 and 6 were exposed to increased light intensity compared with control. This fact verified by results was obtained from fishes in tanks 9 and especially 7, since photoperiod in this group was lower than control. So, higher intensity was considered as the reason of alternations. Contrasting with indoor condition, Induced maturity was also cleared for fishes were kept in tanks 1, 2 and 3, where both of light duration and intensity were increased. But, the rule of photoperiod was individually demonstrated when obtained results were compared with similar light intensities in other treatments. In conclusion, with comparison among different light regimes it is declared that siganids were kept under light condition of tank 2 including 16h light duration combined with 2000 lux intensity showed the best signs of sexual maturation in both sexes. On the basis of this study, setting up the spring light condition during prespawning season induces maturation in withspotted rabbitfish. This improvement not only by influence of photoperiod or light intensity, separately, but obtained through interaction between them. Thus, determination of threshold and resistance to light be recommended before exposure, although using proper regime during suitable time are necessary to achieve purposes considerably.

The application of spline wavelet transform to the determination of electroosmotic mobility in capillary electrophoresis

The rule of current change was studied during capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation process while the conductivity of the sample solution was different from that of the buffer. Using a quadratic spline wavelet of compact support, the wavelet transforms (WTs) of capillary electrophoretic currents were performed. The time corresponding to the maximum of WT coefficients was chosen as the time of current inflection to calculate electroosmotic mobility. The proposed method was suitable for different CE modes, including capillary zone electrophoresis, nonaqueous CE and micellar electrokinctic chromatography. Compared with the neutral marker method, the relative errors of the developed method for the determination of electroosmotic mobility were all below 2.5%. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Principles and prejudice: The erosion of fairness in admissibility determinations relating to historic child sexual abuse trials in Ireland

This thesis interrogates the construction of fairness to the accused in historic child sexual abuse trials in Ireland. The protection of fairness is a requirement of any trial that claims to adhere to the rule of law. Historic child sexual abuse trials, in which the charges relate to events that are alleged to have taken place decades previously, present serious challenges to the ability of the trial process to safeguard fairness. They are a litmus test of the courts’ commitment to fairness. The thesis finds that in historic abuse trials fairness to the accused has been significantly eroded and that therefore the Irish Courts have failed to respect the core of the rule of law in these most serious of prosecutions. The thesis scrutinises two bodies of case law, both of which deal with the issue of whether evidence should reach the jury. First, it examines the decisions on applications brought by defendants seeking to prohibit their trial. The courts hearing prohibition applications face a dilemma: how to ensure the defendant is not put at risk of an unfair trial, while at the same time recognising that delay in reporting is a defining feature of these cases. The thesis traces the development of the prohibition case law and tracks the shifting interpretations given to fairness by the courts. Second, the thesis examines what fairness means in the superior courts’ decisions regarding the admissibility of the following kinds of evidence, each of which presents particular challenges to the ability of the trial to safeguard fairness: evidence of multiple complainants; evidence of recovered memories and evidence of complainants’ therapeutic records. The thesis finds that in both bodies of case law the Irish courts have hollowed out the meaning of fairness. It makes proposals on how fairness might be placed at the heart of courts’ decisions on admissibility in historic abuse trials. The thesis concludes that the erosion of fairness in historic abuse trials is indicative of a move away from the liberal model of criminal justice. It cautions that unless fairness is prioritised in historic child sexual abuse trials the legitimacy of these trials and that of all Irish criminal trials will be contestable.

Towards a new model of criminal justice system in the era of globalised criminality: the biggest challenges for criminal process legislation

The main objective of this thesis is the critical analysis of the evolution of the criminal justice systems throughout the past decade, with special attention to the fight against transnational terrorism. It is evident – for any observer - that such threats and the associated risk that terrorism entails, has changed significantly throughout the past decade. This perception has generated answers – many times radical ones – by States, as they have committed themselves to warrant the safety of their populations and to ease a growing sentiment of social panic. This thesis seeks to analyse the characteristics of this new threat and the responses that States have developed in the fight against terrorism since 9/11, which have questioned some of the essential principles and values in place in their own legal systems. In such sense, freedom and security are placed into perspective throughout the analysis of the specific antiterrorist legal reforms of five different States: Israel, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. On the other hand, in light of those antiterrorist reforms, it will be questioned if it is possible to speak of the emergence of a new system of criminal justice (and of a process of a convergence between common law and civil law systems), built upon a control and preventive security framework, significantly different from traditional models. Finally, this research project has the fundamental objective to contribute to a better understanding on the economic, social and civilization costs of those legal reforms regarding human rights, the rule of law and democracy in modern States.

'Robes on Tight Ropes: The Judicialisation of Politics in Nigeria'

This account of judicialised politics in the Nigerian transition experience examines the regulation of the judiciary of the political space, through the resolution of intergovernmental contestations in a dysfunctional federation. It analyses the judicialisation of elite power disputes which have resonance for due process and the rule of law in particular and governance in general. A study of the role of the judiciary in stabilising the country, itself a pivot in the West Africa region in particular and Africa in general, is important. This is especially in view of its classification as a ‘weak state,’ despite its enormous human and natural resources. The analyses here suggest the Supreme Court has taken a strategic position in the task of democratic institutional building and the reinstitution of the rule of law in the country. This strategic measure has received the acclaim of the public. However, the account also discloses that the judiciary, in the course of its numerous interventions, has been drawn into overly political disputes that overreach its jurisprudential preferences. Of even more significance, it demonstrates that the judiciary is itself still challenged by institutional dysfunctions constituting part of the legacies of the authoritarian era. The situation leads back to the need for closer scrutiny of the judicial function in transitional societies.

The right of access to a lawyer in terrorist cases

This is a survey of the applicable international human rights standards concerning the right which alleged terrorists have to access a lawyer.