Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
We are pleased to announce that the Faculties of Law of the University of Tilburg, Netherlands, and North West University, South Africa, are presenting a one day seminar on Legal Challenges to Regional Co-operation: The African and European Perspectives from 8:30 – 16:00 on Friday 15 January 2010 in the Council Chambers, Institutional Office, North West University, Hoffman Street, Potchefstroom, South Africa.
The purpose of the seminar is to compare experiences in the African Union and European Union and identify legal challenges facing each of these institutions. Possible sub-themes are: Institutional structures Regional local government co-operation Human Rights protection Co-operation in law enforcement and criminal justice systems Regional environmental co-operation.
Academics and practitioners are invited to attend and participate. There will be no registration fee. Tea, coffee and lunch will be provided. Participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation arrangements. There will be three or four panels and three papers per panel to give presenters and discussants adequate time for constructive engagement. Participants are requested to focus their papers and address the seminar theme. In addition to the general call for individual papers, proposals for panels will also be welcomed. The sub-themes are merely suggestions and all proposals on the main theme will be considered.
Abstracts for papers should please be sent to Professor Stephen de la Harpe (stephen.delaharpe@nwu.ac.za) by Friday, 27 November 2009.
Each presenter will be granted a maximum of twenty minutes for their presentation. A computer and LCD projector are available and presenters who wish to use Microsoft Powerpoint slides to present their papers should save their slides onto a USB drive for this purpose.
Participants are requested to complete the registration form on the next page. Please e-mail this form to stephanie.kotze@nwu.ac.za or fax it to +27 (0)18 299 1923 (for attention: Mrs. S Kotze) by 15 December 2009.
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