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Now showing 1 - 5 of 197
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    Political question doctrine in the jurisprudence of the ICJ
    (Makerere University, 2025) Adeeda, Dominic
    This study examines the political question doctrine within the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The political question doctrine, traditionally a mechanism to avoid adjudicating matters deemed inherently political and thus inappropriate for judicial resolution, poses significant challenges in the international legal context. Through a comprehensive analysis of key ICJ cases, this study explores how the ICJ has navigated the tension in the legal adjudication of politically sensitive disputes. The study highlights the ICJ’s cautious approach in addressing disputes that implicate state sovereignty, diplomatic relations, and touch critical issues of international peace and security. It argues that while the ICJ does not explicitly adopt the political question doctrine as recognized in some municipal courts, it employs avoidance reasoning to defer or limit its jurisdiction. The study also investigates the implications of the Political Question Doctrine for the legitimacy and effectiveness of international adjudication, emphasizing the balancing act between judicial impartiality and political realities. By critically assessing landmark decisions, the study contributes to a nuanced understanding of how the political question doctrine influences the ICJ’s role in maintaining international legal order and resolving contentious state disputes. Keywords: Political question doctrine, International Court of Justice, Peaceful settlement of disputes, International dispute settlement, International law.
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    Assessing compliance with the right to a clean and healthy environment in oil exploration: a case study of the Albertine Region in Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2025) Byamazima, Joshua
    This dissertation assesses compliance with the right to a clean and healthy environment in oil exploration activities in Uganda's Albertine Region. Despite constitutional and statutory recognition of environmental rights and Uganda's ratification of international environmental instruments, significant gaps persist between legal frameworks and their practical implementation in the petroleum sector. The research examines whether Uganda's legal and institutional framework ensures effective protection of environmental rights in the context of oil exploration. The study adopts a mixed-methods approach combining doctrinal legal analysis of constitutional provisions, legislation, and case law with empirical research through 45 key informant interviews, 6 focus group discussions, and analysis of environmental monitoring data collected between 2023 and 2024. Theoretical frameworks of environmental rights, environmental justice, and sustainability inform the analysis. Key findings reveal that while Uganda possesses a comprehensive legal framework recognizing environmental rights, substantial implementation deficiencies undermine effective protection. Oil exploration activities demonstrate general technical compliance with environmental standards but significant failures in procedural rights including meaningful public participation and access to environmental information. Institutional enforcement mechanisms are weakened by inadequate resources, political interference, fragmented jurisdictional mandates, and limited accountability. Affected communities, particularly women, youth, and indigenous peoples, experience adverse impacts on health, livelihoods, and cultural heritage, with limited access to remedies or compensation. The dissertation concludes that legal reforms alone are insufficient without strengthening institutional capacity, ensuring regulatory independence, enhancing transparency, and empowering affected communities through accessible accountability mechanisms. Recommendations include constitutional amendments explicitly recognizing procedural environmental rights, increased penalties for violations, establishing environmental liability frameworks, restructuring regulatory institutions as independent bodies, and implementing participatory governance mechanisms requiring community consent for projects affecting indigenous lands. These findings contribute to scholarship on environmental governance in African extractive industries and provide evidence-based policy guidance for realizing environmental rights in Uganda's petroleum sector. Keywords: environmental rights, Oil exploration, Albertine region, Uganda, Extractive industries, Environmental governance, Human rights, Sustainable development, Environmental justice, Community participation
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    International law and statehood: a case study of Catalonia
    (Makerere University, 2025) Musoke, Aidah
    This study examines the adequacy of the existing international law framework on statehood and state recognition, and the extent to which it facilitates the emergence of new states, using Catalonia as the case study. It considers the two theories of statehood and recognition, namely, declaratory and constitutive, and how they aid or fail the emergence of states in international law, the influence of international politics in modern international law, and the key players. It is further a comparison of selected jurisdictions that have successfully obtained statehood and recognition from other states, a review of the basis of their success, and lessons drawn in support of statehood and to propose suggestions for refining international law. Five main research questions were investigated, namely: i) what is the international legal framework on statehood and state recognition, ii) to what extent are the international law theories on statehood and state recognition adequate in state creation?, iii) to what extent does Catalonia’s claim for statehood adhere to the international law criteria for statehood and recognition?, iv) What is the experience of recognition for Eritrea, Kosovo and South Sudan in comparison to Catalonia?, v) what lessons can be drawn from the experience of recognition of other states? The study contends that the two theories of statehood and state recognition, i.e. declaratory and constitutive, are the foundation of international law on statehood and, to a larger extent, contradict each other, with no definitive stance on which of the two theories is accepted without exception in international law practice of states. The basis of the declaratory theory is the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States 1933 as the criteria for statehood. In contrast, the constitutive theory derives its roots from recognition. The application of the two theories in state practice is closely intertwined with the politics of international law, where states focus on state-centrism and individual states’ interests when deciding whether to recognise an emerging entity’s statehood, as well as on human rights and good governance, among others. Institutions like the United Nations and the European Union also play essential roles in international law regarding statehood and state recognition. Nonetheless, from examples of accomplishment of statehood and recognition from other jurisdictions, this study concludes that there is still a possibility of statehood for Catalonia but, this can only be attained only through dialogue and that, Spain is involved in the processes, specifically, the amendment of Articles 1, 2, 96, 148 and 155 of the Spanish Constitution to acknowledge Catalonia’s right to secession and allow a general referendum by all Spanish people.
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    Assessing the effectiveness of the international criminal court in prosecuting war crimes in Africa
    (Makerere University, 2025) Kasozi, Saleh
    The study is an analysis of the effectiveness of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in prosecuting war crimes in Africa. Given that the ICC was the Court established, among others, to prosecute war crimes as a crime of grave international concern, the study examines whether the Court has effectively played this role in Africa. Anchored in the Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) and Sovereignty theories, the study analyzed the evolution of war criminal prosecution, the peculiar nature of war crimes manifested in the African conflicts and the hinderances to the ICC prosecution efforts. These informed, in a TWAIL lens, the questions of how war criminal prosecution has evolved over time, informing the inception of the ICC, what the ICC mandate is and how TWAIL perceived such mandate; and finally, how TWAIL and sovereignty exacerbate the challenges inhibiting the ICC prosecution efforts of war criminals. To achieve the overall objective, the study used qualitative research design, specifically a doctrinal in-depth analysis, extensively examining the existing legal literature, statutes, treaties, case law, and official reports related to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its engagement in prosecuting war crimes globally and specifically in Africa. Thematic analysis was the main approach adopted in an effort to match the data with the challenges affecting the Court’s prosecution role, involving identification, organization and interpretation of patterns and themes. There were five major themes, namely: state sovereignty, states parties' cooperation with the ICC, the principle of complementarity under the ICC dispensation, jurisdiction of the ICC and immunity under international customary law in the face of ICC arrest warrants as pertinent issues underlying the ICC prosecutions. This analysis allowed the researcher to draw connections between legal principles, identify recurring patterns and gain a comprehensive understanding of the ICC's engagement in Africa. The findings were that not even TWAIL scholarship, for it had drawbacks, nor the Rome Statute have the solution to the underlying challenges to the ICC mandate, the problem being deeply entrenched in the geopolitical divide. Despite the international efforts to curb impunity for war crimes, a gap still persists. This study is an addition to the existing literature on the effectiveness of the ICC, adopting a TWAIL approach intertwined with sovereignty.
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    Statehood under international law: a case study of Palestine
    (Makerere University, 2025) Busulwa, Ivan
    The question of Palestinian statehood remains one of the most enduring and contested issues in international law and international relations. This dissertation interrogates the legal parameters of statehood under international law, situating the case of Palestine within the framework established by the Montevideo Convention, customary international law, and evolving state practice. It examines the extent to which Palestine satisfies the traditional criteria of statehood while also engaging with the role of recognition, United Nations resolutions, and membership in international organizations in shaping Palestine’s legal status. Through doctrinal analysis and a critical review of scholarly debates, the study highlights the tension between legal principle and political reality in the recognition of states. The research argues that while Palestine demonstrates substantial compliance with the normative requirements of statehood, its contested recognition and the ongoing belligerent occupation complicate its full realization of sovereignty. By using Palestine as a case study, this dissertation underscores the limitations of the current legal framework on statehood and questions whether international law, as presently constituted, is adequate to address the unique challenges posed by entities in prolonged struggles for self- determination. Ultimately, the study contends that the Palestinian case illustrates both the resilience and the shortcomings of international law in mediating between legitimacy, legality, and politics in the creation of states. Keywords: International law, Palestine