Protection of the Right to Life in Kosovo: Does the Performance of Public Authorities in Kosovo Meet the Standards Established by the Case-law of the European Court of Human Rights?

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to elucidate how public authorities in Kosovo discharge their duty to protect the right to life of individuals who are under their jurisdiction. The analysis will be predicated upon the case-law of Constitutional Court of Kosovo and on that basis actions or failure to act of other public authorities will be analyzed as well. The paper shall address questions of protection of individuals from violent actions perpetrated by private persons, protection of individuals who are under custody of public authorities, compensation of victims and temporal jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo. We shall see whether the performance of public authorities in Kosovo in relation to the right to life can withstand the standards set out by the well-established case law of the European Court of Human Rights or is it a rigid performance characterized by excessive formalism. Abstract Current constitutions of African States, such as Zambia, are a mix of traditional features, exemplified by chieftainship and customary law, and mainly of European-type ones, so they are marked by glocalization. Besides, it is no coincidence that the British protectorate of Barotseland within the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia was incorporated in the Republic of Zambia, with some privileges being granted on the basis of the 1964 Barotseland Agreement, but with no clause in the 1964 Zambian Constitution. Kaunda’s ruling party of Zambia was initially prepared to allow the process of Barotseland’s submission to Zambian rule to transpire gradually and gently, which reminds slightly of the British intervention in the Cretan autonomous State, from 1903 to 1906. The Consul General Howard against the High Commissioner of Crete managed to ‘’…let him down gently’’. In 1969 the Barotseland Agreement was terminated abruptly whilst a revival of this controversial question has recently taken place. Abstract Mamak kepala waris is the title name within a community whose role is to lead the whole community members, to handle, to manage, to observe and to be responsible to the community’s high ancestral inheritance. High ancestral inheritance is a property which owned by family member hereditary from woman side. This study aims to know the perspective of Islamic and custom law toward the position of mamak kepala waris in managing high ancestral inheritance in Minangkabau inhabitants. This study is an empirical juridical research with descriptive analysis methodology using comparative approach. The data were collected through observation, interview, and books, journals and laws theory. The result shows that the way mamak kepala waris manages the high ancestral inheritance is different with Islamic law. In Islamic law, theinheritance will be given to a son and daughter based on the Al-Qur’an and Hadiths. Meanwhile, the custom law in Minangkabau gives the inheritance to the woman lineage only.