International Journal of Law and Legal Studies

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2736-1608 Vol. 13 (1), pp. 001-008, January, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The Dynamics of Fair Trials within the Indian Criminal Justice Framework: A Critical Study

Neeraj Tiwari

Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, India. E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 1 November, 2024

Abstract

Every civilised nation must have one thing common in their criminal justice administration system that is minimum fair trial rights to every accused person irrespective of his or her status. It is settled in common law and also adopted by other countries too that criminal prosecution starts with ‘presumption of innocence’ and the guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. This paper proposes to trace different dimensions of fair trial standards under Indian criminal justice system and will also focus on the role of defence counsel in the process of achieving ends of justice, as he is the only person on whom the lonesome accused can repose his trust.

Key words: Fair trial, Indian criminal justice system and defence counsel.
 

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2736-1608 Vol. 12 (11), pp. 001-011, November, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Review

Redefining Terrorism: Shifting the Focus from Criminal Events to Individual Acts in International Criminal Law

Emeka C. Adibe

Department of International Law and Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, Enugu Campus, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu, Nigeria.

Received 11 April, 2024; Accepted 30 July, 2024

Abstract

This study is born out of the conviction drawn from Tadic case (ICTY,IT-94-1-A, 15July 1999), that legitimate judicial activity proceeds on the basis of the identification of the gap or ambiguity in the law that must be resolved in the interests of justice. Terrorism has come to stay. But be it as it may, controversies exist within both domestic borders and international fora about its definition and the best strategies to effectively combat it. At every corner, embers are being fanned to dissuade, deescalate and prevent its occurrence and impact or threat to international peace and security. International law leans heavily on domestic law enforcement for the purpose of bringing to justice those accused of terrorism at both domestic and or transnational spheres. This work adopts a critical and contextual analysis of extant body of international criminal law and argues that the focus needs to shift from terrorism as a criminal event to individual acts that make an event a crime of terrorism. The essence of this is to move away from the more complex question of what constitutes terrorism, a result of which the ICC was denied jurisdiction. The trajectory resulting from this approach enables the International Criminal Court (ICC) with its extant law, the Rome Statute assume jurisdiction to prosecute these terrorist acts such as murder, mass executions, genocide, violent sexual crimes, imprisonment and torture which are within the threshold of international crimes provided in the International criminal law.

Key words: Terrorism, international criminal court, criminal law, United Nations, security council, crime, rome statute.

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2736-1608 Vol. 12 (10), pp. 001-009, October, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The Effects of Money Laundering in Enchanting Locations: The Trinidad and Tobago Experience

Lester Henry* and Shanice Moses

Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.

Received 12 December, 2023; Accepted 2 March, 2024

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between money laundering and economic growth in Trinidad and Tobago. It utilizes annual secondary time series data for the period 1990 to 2017. The proxy of fraud offences and narcotics is used to estimate the volume of money laundering. Cointegration analysis and Error Correction Modelling is employed to test the long-run and short-run relationship between money laundering and economic growth. Long-run analysis revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between fraud offences and economic growth while narcotics offences maintained a negative significant relationship with economic growth. In the short-run, estimations revealed that only fraud offences had a significant negative impact on economic growth.

Key words: Money laundering, economic growth, Trinidad Tobago, Caribbean.
 

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2736-1608 Vol. 12 (10), pp. 001-007, October, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

The Persistence of Caste-Based Violence: Analyzing Contemporary Human Rights Violations Against Dalits in India

Uttamkumar S. Bagde

Department of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Mumbai, Fort, Mumbai 400032, India.

Received 21 June, 2024; Accepted 18 August, 2024

Abstract

Indian institution of inequality is elaborately constructed in the form of caste system which has been in existence since ancient times. Dalits are traditionally lower caste people who are regarded as untouchables and are discriminated socially, economically and politically. Their human rights are regularly violated. Recent cases of Dalit human rights violations include, Jat -Dalit violence case killing 3 Dalits and 13 injured in Rajasthan, in 2015, suicide of Rohit Vemula, a Ph. D. scholar for caste discrimination in Hyderabad Central University in 2016, National crime Record Bureau recorded 33356 cases of rapes during 2018. In Unnao, Uttar Pradesh there was gang rape of 17 year old girl in June 2017 involving BJP leader and MLA and five others. Other Unnao case wherein 23 year old girl was raped, filmed and set on fire while going to court for hearing on 5th December 2019; Dr Payall Tadavi, belonging to a Dalit, Bhil sub caste of Tribal community and a post Graduate student of Topiwala National Medical College and BYZ Nair Hospital Mumbai, Maharashtra committed suicide on May 22nd 2019 as her senior colleagues continuously harassed her on caste basis. In an Honor killing case, 25 year Nandhish from dalit community fell in love with Swathi, an upper caste woman, got married and lived together. Both were murdered in December 2018 by the father of the girl and their bodies were thrown in river. 25 people were arrested on 5th January 2019 for social Boycott of SC community members from Nizamabad District in Telangana who dug and erected pillars for the Ambedkar Sangam building. A complaint was filed by a 64 year member of the tribe, Prabhaker Bhosale alleging that an accused boycotted him and few others from his community since 2010 for failing to attend the funeral of his brother Shani Shinganapur temple in Ahmednagar of Maharashtra lifts ban on women’s entry yielding to High Court of Mumbai directive in April 2016, Supreme Court in Sabarimala temple, Kerala case held in land mark judgment that Sabrimala Ayyapa temple women cannot be restricted from entering holy sites such as this temple. All these cases, besides numerous similar cases in the past, point to the fact that violence against Indian Dalits in present time is no way less rampant and horrible than reported in the past.

Key words: Untouchables, caste discrimination, Dalits, empowerment, human rights violations.
 

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2736-1608 Vol. 12 (9), pp. 001-010, September, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Review

The Intersection of polygyny and women’s reproductive rights in Nigeria

Omolade Olomola

Department of Private and Business Law, Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +2348037176520.

Accepted 13 July, 2024

Abstract

This article was guided by the identification of the challenges caused by polygyny as it relates to the reproductive health rights of women in Nigeria. Reproductive rights are not matters of choice but they are matters of life and death. Many women have died as a result of maternal morbidity and maternal mortality because they could not make informed right choices about when and how to have children. According to The National Programme Director of the Partnership for the Transforming Health System (PATHS) Nigeria is second in world maternal mortality, after India, which has the highest maternal mortality rate; and in totality contributes 10% to the world’s total maternal death. He reiterated further that statistics had also shown that Nigeria contributed only two per cent to the world population, but had one of the highest child and maternal mortality in the world. The study is conducted by examining on a comparative basis looking at the challenges of a multi-cultural country like Nigeria and what we can do to curb the upsurge of polygyny. Focus will also be on the way to protect women that are already in polygyny and to gradually discourage the practice the legislation and registration of all marriages. Legislations, case law and writings of legal scholars are compared and culture will act as a gauge. There is no doubt that Nigerian culture is far from being perfect. Culture is dynamic and the barometer for gauging any society’s progress is the extent to which it can decide on what to borrow and what to retain or throw away thus every culture needs to be liberated. This article lays a foundation for further research into reproductive right and also contributes to a better understanding of women’s rights as peculiar rights.

Key words: Patriarchy, polygyny, reproductive rights, sexual rights, sexual health, sexuality.
 

International Journal of Law and Legal Studies ISSN 2736-1608 Vol. 12 (8), pp. 001-008, August, 2024. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Review

Jurisprudential aspects of Archbishop Okeke’s ‘person-optimism’ theory: A legal framework for upholding human dignity

Maurice Okechukwu Izunwa

Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected].

Accepted 24 April, 2024

Abstract

It is in the hermeneutics of theories that the relevant foundations of socio-political and even legal progress may be established. Theories themselves are either directly postulated by their originators, or are espoused from the thoughts of great thinkers as in the present case where we try to read the „person-optimism‟ theory into Archbishop Valerian Okeke‟s thoughts and attitude to the dignities of man. In the life style, speeches, writings and administrative actions of Archbishop Okeke, one is recurrently confronted by a prodigious predilection for the sanctity, capacity, dynamism and dignity of the human person. This rare optimism characterizes the Archbishop‟s personal approach to the all too commonly disvalued human person, much as it underpins his theoretical conception of the otherwise depraved human nature. In this work, we merely try to outline the profound ethical considerations which inspire Archbishop Okeke‟s irrevocable optimism in the dignity of man, including the corresponding features of jurisprudence derivable from his general thoughts on the subject. Interestingly, from the rich thought pattern of the Archbishop, one derives a veritable theoretical foundation for positive evaluation of all legal positions and/or defenses arising from the dignity attached thereof to human nature. Accordingly, we read into and designate his ethic of human nature as „person-optimism‟ approach to reality and so build it up to a theoretical status through an aggregate of postulates. This work there upon argues that arising from the „person-optimism‟ theory of Archbishop Valerian Okeke, existing legal framework for the protection of human dignity and rights could be more positively adjusted. The substance of this work therefore is to make a case for the adoption of the „person-optimism‟ theory as a jurisprudential ground for further reviews and postulations of legal defense and/or protection of human dignity and rights especially in the Nigerian Jurisdiction. The Archbishop‟s 2007 Lenten Pastoral provides the fundamental anchor for this work.

Key words: Archbishop Okeke, optimism, „person-optimism‟ theory, human dignity.