{"title":"Covid-19: Implications for Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Africa","authors":"M. A. Lateef, A. Akinsulore","doi":"10.4236/BLR.2021.121008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/BLR.2021.121008","url":null,"abstract":"The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has undoubtedly brought a lot of disruptions into the world order—lives, livelihoods, national, and international economies and imposed what is now permeating as the “new normal” in all aspects of human activities. In Africa, the combination of severe health and economic crisis has forced governments to resort to issuing different fiscal and monetary measures as they grapple with the debilitating effects of COVID-19 pandemic on their people and economies, struggle to manage economic recessions, and prepare for a post-COVID-19 regeneration. For businesses, the impacts have not been less disruptive as the shocks and waves of uncertainties continue. As corporations battle to survive and sustain business continuity, the rates of corporate bankruptcy and insolvency mid and post COVID-19 remain speculative and uncertain. Yet the strategic roles of modern corporations in the socio-economic development of society, given the sheer volume of their economic resources alone—something that now makes some corporations more economically powerful than some states, have long been established. Drawing insights from the stakeholder’s theories of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR), this article examines the implications of COVID-19 for corporate governance and CSR, as well as the responses of corporations in Africa to deal with, support, and complement governments’ efforts in combating the pandemic’s menaces. It attempts to outline some of the challenges and significant improvements that are necessary to shape the future of corporate laws and legal reforms in Africa. The article concludes that sound corporate governance practice and corporate investment in CSR can help to shape the performance and resilience of corporations in Africa to adverse shocks such as the present COVID-19 pandemic.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123698633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
L. Ferreira, Ana Claudia Santano, Verçulina Firmino dos Santos
{"title":"Political Participation of the Brazilian Indigenous Movement and the Effectiveness of Fundamental Human Rights","authors":"L. Ferreira, Ana Claudia Santano, Verçulina Firmino dos Santos","doi":"10.4236/BLR.2021.121006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/BLR.2021.121006","url":null,"abstract":"This paper attends with the relationship between the indigenous movement and the public sphere through political participation as a means of realizing human dignity according to Brazilian and Latin American perspectives. The objective is to qualify the performance of this movement in the Brazilian public sphere through the National Council for Indigenous Policy (originally CNPI) and the prior consultation protocol provided for in ILO Convention No. 169. The levels and degrees of participation of Juan E. Diaz Bordenave and the levels of the public sphere of John Keane are considered. The exploratory and comparative study involves indirect documentation. The findings’ analysis suggests that the political participation of the indigenous movement in CNPI is limited to the meso-public sphere of spaces institutionalized by the state’s government, with little capacity for political protagonism. In contrast, the implementation of the prior consultation protocols articulates the different levels of the public sphere. It expresses greater political protagonism of Brazilian indigenous peoples, which can provide a more effective Brazilian indigenous people’s political intervention system toward gathering comprehensively fundamental human rights of different dimensions in promoting human dignity.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131237572","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Utopia or Reality: Possibility of Using the Proper Law of Contract throughout an International Commercial Arbitration Claim","authors":"K. A. A. N. Thilakarathna","doi":"10.4236/BLR.2021.121001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/BLR.2021.121001","url":null,"abstract":"International commercial arbitration has become the most favoured method of dispute resolution in the international arena since it has the capability of providing a win-win situation for the parties involved in the dispute which is not available under ordinary litigation. However, since arbitration is a matter of choice for the parties, the concept of party autonomy sometimes makes the arbitration process a difficult one to be conducted with the vigor that is found under court proceedings. One main reason for this can be seen in the multiplicity of laws that are involved in settling the dispute from the agreement to arbitrate to enforcing the claim. This article therefore looks at the possibility of adopting the proper law of contract to be applied throughout the process of arbitration in settling the dispute. Using the doctrinal approach by using international legal instruments, statues and decided case law as primary sources and using scholarly articles and books written on the subject, the results have shown that, while being highly optimistic, such an endeavour is not still possible since there is no single international legal document which deals with the whole process of arbitration and in such an absence, it seems difficult at the moment to use a single system of law throughout the arbitration process. Nevertheless, the article makes suggestions as to how such a mechanism could be implemented and the possible prospects and challenges in making this utopia a reality.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125324767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sustainable Development and the Exploitation of Bitumen in Nigeria: Assessing the Environmental Laws Faultlines","authors":"A. Akinsulore, Ogechukwu Miriam Akinsulore","doi":"10.4236/BLR.2021.121007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/BLR.2021.121007","url":null,"abstract":"A major target or the attainment of sustainable development is the maintenance of a healthy environment within the dynamics of natural resource development. In order to achieve this target, mechanisms are put in place to ensure that prior to and during the developmental process of the resource, the environment is reasonably spared of the consequences the invasive exploitation activities. This makes it important for states to put in place laws and regulations that would guarantee the attainment of sustainable development in the natural resources section of its economy. Bitumen is one of the natural resources Nigeria has commenced commercial development in order to diversify its economy from a largely oil dependent one. Study has shown that bitumen, if not carefully monitored, has a potentially more devastating environmental footprint than petroleum. This paper therefore examines two environmental statutes in Nigeria viz the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act and the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act, with the aim of ascertaining if their provisions are expansive enough to take care of bitumen’s processing requirements prior to and during development. The paper finds that these laws, in relation to bitumen development, have serious lacuna that could endanger the attainment of sustainable development in the Nigerian bitumen sector.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125407162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Critical Analysis of Prohibition of Anti-Competitive Trade Practices in Ethiopia: The Case of Arbaminch Town, Southern Ethiopia","authors":"Bogale Anja Abba, Yared Kefyalew Demarso","doi":"10.4236/BLR.2021.121013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/BLR.2021.121013","url":null,"abstract":"In a free market context, trade competition signifies a state of affairs where in sellers compete with each other to attract buyers with a view to maximizing their sales, profits and market share. Trade competition laws and policies are among the tools that can be used to bring about efficient workings of markets and alleviate market failures. This research sought to explore prohibition of anti-competitive trade practices in Ethiopia in general and particularly in Arbaminch town, Southern Ethiopia. The research has employed doctrinal approach and the data collected were analyzed qualitatively. Both primary and secondary sources of data were used. The findings of the research indicated that there is lack of effective enforcement of the existing law in the study area. There are also anti-competitive trade practices remained uncovered by the law. The current trade competition law of the country needs revision. There is also a need to establish law enforcement bodies and independent adjudicative organs at regional level including in the study area.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131273095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Redefining Personhood: A Synoptic Analysis of Human Subjectivity from Legal and Human Rights Perspectives","authors":"Parvez Sattar","doi":"10.31124/advance.13507062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.31124/advance.13507062","url":null,"abstract":"Both primary and secondary data used in analysis and evidencing the arguments made in the essay","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129532513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Judicial Activism in the World Trade Organization: A Conundrum and Selective Approach","authors":"Kiyoung Kim","doi":"10.4236/blr.2020.114050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2020.114050","url":null,"abstract":"With the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1995, the dispute settlement mechanism for international trade was greatly prepared unlike the old GATT system. It has a very different pattern from that of original GATT system. In our case, international trade is a matter of the future of nations, and in reality of the intense world economic competition, this system change may well be of concern to our government or legal experts. In this context, this paper examines the nature and problems of the WTO appeal system under the premise of the rule of law, judicial prowess, and the role of a judge. The WTO dispute settlement mechanism is based on the domestic judicial system or other international judicial systems. In contrast to this, the comparative history is only short indeed, but according to the accumulation of future precedents, it is highly possible to provide a model for the achievement of the rule of law ideals in the international community. However, due to the inherent limitations of international agreement system, the reality of appellate body is not easy. In terms of the international trade and rule of law, the role of appellate body and judges is very broad. However, in this paper, we first look at the significance and nature of the launch of WTO and furthermore; 1) the rule of law and judicial system, 2) several issues related to the nature of WTO dispute settlement mechanism, 3) the importance of judge-made law and the scope and limitations of appellate jurisdiction, 4) issues of reference materials submitted by procedures outside the process, 5) the relationship between the appellate body and political authorities. Over the review, the penetrating thoughts will be focused on judicial activism. Those points of consideration will be discussed through the approach and method on the comparative legal studies and several significant WTO precedents.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122589231","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Quest for Election and State of Emergency in Ethiopia: An Appraisal on Related Constitutional Issues in Focus","authors":"Zelalem Bekele","doi":"10.4236/blr.2020.114056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2020.114056","url":null,"abstract":"Ethiopia has been sharing the evils and vices of COVID_19, which is the deadly viral pandemic and spreading across the world without any territorial restriction. Almost every nation-state has got started responding to prevent it so as it has become highly preventive to discover its curative medicine, even vaccine till now. Accordingly, Ethiopia has enacted an emergency decree in order to ignite the possible preventive measures, amid, prohibition of mass gathering, stay-at-home, physical distancing, discontinuing any face to face teaching-learning process, etc. Due to this fact, the upcoming national election has been postponed under such elements of surprise that the election process can pay the way for further communicability of this pandemic and result the worst scenarios instead of its worthiness. This makes the sixth election period that has to be conducted every five years to get additional time of extension, which has initiated Constitution issues of how to do so i.e. the question of reason and time together. Besides, the office term of the House of People Representatives (HoPR) is also put under question by superseding it what would be the fate of the country after expiry of the parliament office since there is no room in the Constitution to extend its office term. Thus, this article is meant to analyze the appropriateness of the options put forward by the government, i.e. the dissolution of HoPR, constitutional interpretation, amendment and emergency declaration over election with other collateral issues under consideration. In doing so, strict digest of universal norms, constitutional principles and jurisprudential point of view of the state of emergency have been consulted. Aftermath, it aims to reveal the common ground for mutual consensus amicably. Finally, it has come up with emergency decree that should be the governing law with the point of no reservation once it is declared under an element of legitimate situation.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125922373","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Fundamental Articles of I.AM Cyborg Law","authors":"S. Castell","doi":"10.4236/blr.2020.114055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2020.114055","url":null,"abstract":"Author Isaac Asimov first fictionally proposed the “Three Laws of Robotics” in 1942. The word “cyborg” appeared in 1960, describing imagined beings with both artificial and biological parts. My own 1973 neologisms, “neural plug compatibility”, and “softwiring” predicted the computer software-driven future evolution of man-machine neural interconnection and synthesis. Today, Human-AI Brain Interface cyborg experiments and “brain-hacking” devices are being trialed. The growth also of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Data Analytics software and increasing instances of “Government by Algorithm” have revealed these advances as being largely unregulated, with insufficient legal frameworks. In a recent article, I noted that, with automation of legal processes and judicial decision-making being increasingly discussed, RoboJudge has all but already arrived; and I discerned also the cautionary Castell’s Second Dictum: “You cannot construct an algorithm that will reliably decide whether or not any algorithm is ethical”. With few established elements of law and jurisprudence available that readily map to the Machine Species, any new “Cyborg Law” has to be drafted on a tabula rasa basis. Cyborg Law furthermore needs to consider that by “Machine Species” could be meant one that is self-aware existentially, with a distinct legal personality, which I here christen the Intelligent Autonomous Machine (“I.AM”) Species: sum ergo cogito. This paper develops Fundamental Articles of Cyborg Law (“FACLs”) by way of setting-out putative legal text for a draft Cyborg Act 2021, constituting the first substantive attempt to develop a tangible Cyborg Law. This is work-in-progress, to which others are invited to contribute.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121762483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Legal Implications of State Government’s Control over Internally Generated Revenue of Local Government Councils in Oyo State, Nigeria","authors":"Grace Abosede Oladele","doi":"10.4236/blr.2020.114054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4236/blr.2020.114054","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the sources of internally generated revenue of Local Government Councils in Oyo State and shows that the State Government had taken over the high yielding ones. It also examines section 7 of the Local Government Law 2001 (as amended) of Oyo State which empowers the State Government to collect internally generated revenue of Local Government Councils and give them ten percent out of it. It establishes that this provision contradicts section 162 (7) of the Constitution that mandates each State to pay Local Government Councils out of its total revenue. It also shows that the provision is inconsistent with section 4 (1) of the Allocation of Revenue (Federation Account, Etc.) Act which provides that in addition to the allocation made from the Federation Account to Local Government Councils, each State must distribute ten percent of its internally generated revenue among the Local Government Councils in the State. Thus, each State Government is expected to pay ten percent of its internally generated revenue to Local Government Councils in the State and not compel them to pay their internally generated revenue into State coffer, giving them ten percent of it in return. This paper argues that section 7 of the Local Government Law 2001 is unconstitutional and has drastically reduced the income received from internally generated revenue of Local Government Councils, thereby placing them in miserable financial conditions which have retarded their developmental efforts. The paper concludes that internally generated revenue is the live wire of Local Government Councils, therefore, the Local Government Law 2001 (as amended) and other similar laws should be challenged in court and declared null and void. It also recommends autonomy for Local Government Councils so that they can absolutely control their revenue and use it judiciously for the development of their localities.","PeriodicalId":300394,"journal":{"name":"Beijing Law Review","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116311664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}