A descriptive analysis of statements taken by police officers from child complainants in sexual offence cases that examines the degree to which the form and content of the statements accord with best practice across a range of variables
- Authors: Johns, Alex
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Child sexual abuse -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Police -- South Africa Child witnesses -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3664 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002611
- Description: With over twenty thousand complaints reported annually to police of child sexual abuse in South Africa, specialist police nvestigators are practised at taking statements from child complainants. This thesis analyses the fit between actualpolice practice and that recommended by international best practice. Children are a special class of witness because of their inherent social, emotional, and cognitive immaturity, and they are universally acknowledged to be very difficult witnesses to interview without the interviewer lending a bias to the process and thereby contaminating the outcome. The first half of the thesis therefore provides a detailed account of the research basis of current international best practice and of the hallmarks of that best practice which result in reliable interview outcomes. The second half of the thesis presents a descriptive analysis of 100 police statements taken from children in the Eastern Cape who had been raped in the period between 2010 and 2012. The findings of the analysis are presented in detail and then compared to the best practice summarised from the international research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Johns, Alex
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Child sexual abuse -- Law and legislation -- South Africa Police -- South Africa Child witnesses -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3664 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002611
- Description: With over twenty thousand complaints reported annually to police of child sexual abuse in South Africa, specialist police nvestigators are practised at taking statements from child complainants. This thesis analyses the fit between actualpolice practice and that recommended by international best practice. Children are a special class of witness because of their inherent social, emotional, and cognitive immaturity, and they are universally acknowledged to be very difficult witnesses to interview without the interviewer lending a bias to the process and thereby contaminating the outcome. The first half of the thesis therefore provides a detailed account of the research basis of current international best practice and of the hallmarks of that best practice which result in reliable interview outcomes. The second half of the thesis presents a descriptive analysis of 100 police statements taken from children in the Eastern Cape who had been raped in the period between 2010 and 2012. The findings of the analysis are presented in detail and then compared to the best practice summarised from the international research.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
International law before municipal courts: the role of International Court of Justice decisions in domestic court proceedings with specific reference to United States case examples
- Authors: Mangezi, Mutsa
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: International Court of Justice -- Cases Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) International and municipal law -- United States -- Cases International law -- United States -- Cases Jurisdiction (International law) -- Cases
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3711 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007325
- Description: In the case of LaGrand (Germany v United States), the International Court of Justice held that the United States (US) had violated its international obligation to Germany under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations when it executed two German nationals without first informing them of their consular rights. The case came before the court after the United States had disregarded a preliminary ruling passed by the IC], which directed the US not to execute the German nationals pending the outcome of the ICJ case. The decision raised the issue of the effect of ICJ decisions in domestic proceedings and the effectiveness of ICJ enforcement mechanisms. This thesis considers the possibility of a role for national courts as active enforcers of ICJ decisions. It is argued that whilst evidence shows that there is no legal obligation on courts to enforce ICJ decisions, there is certainly room in international law to facilitate this development. In support of this argument, the thesis demonstrates how basic presuppositions about international law have shifted over the last few decades. This shift has been both the impetus and the result of globalisation. The case of LaGrand alongside similar cases is used to show how national courts may play an increased role in the enforcement of ICJ decisions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
- Authors: Mangezi, Mutsa
- Date: 2008
- Subjects: International Court of Justice -- Cases Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963) International and municipal law -- United States -- Cases International law -- United States -- Cases Jurisdiction (International law) -- Cases
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , LLM
- Identifier: vital:3711 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007325
- Description: In the case of LaGrand (Germany v United States), the International Court of Justice held that the United States (US) had violated its international obligation to Germany under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations when it executed two German nationals without first informing them of their consular rights. The case came before the court after the United States had disregarded a preliminary ruling passed by the IC], which directed the US not to execute the German nationals pending the outcome of the ICJ case. The decision raised the issue of the effect of ICJ decisions in domestic proceedings and the effectiveness of ICJ enforcement mechanisms. This thesis considers the possibility of a role for national courts as active enforcers of ICJ decisions. It is argued that whilst evidence shows that there is no legal obligation on courts to enforce ICJ decisions, there is certainly room in international law to facilitate this development. In support of this argument, the thesis demonstrates how basic presuppositions about international law have shifted over the last few decades. This shift has been both the impetus and the result of globalisation. The case of LaGrand alongside similar cases is used to show how national courts may play an increased role in the enforcement of ICJ decisions.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2008
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