Buying peace or building peace? AmnesBuying peace or building peace? Amnesty deals and the rising armed banditry in Northwestern Nigeria ty deals and the rising armed banditry in Northwestern Nigeria

In light of the failure of the Nigerian military in containing the bandits in the northwest, the nonmilitary solution was advanced as an alternative to address the violence. This came in the form of amnesty deals involving “financial settlement”, among others, for the bandits in exchange for peace. However, rather than containing the crisis, the amnesty deal acted in opposite direction, leading to its escalation. It is in this context that this study interrogates the changing dynamics of banditry in the region. It contends that three interrelated factors were responsible for the failure of the amnesty deals. First, the bandits are cluster groups without any identifiable central leadership, thus, amnesty for some groups only encourage the proliferation of more groups for material accumulation. Secondly, the intricate linkage between banditry in northwest and terrorism in the northeast has implication for the escalation of the crisis. Lastly, lack of commitment to the deals by bandit groups who operate transnationally without respect or recognition for national laws or governments. The study recommends a new approach through which banditry can be curbed in Nigeria. Keywords: Amnesty deal, banditry, security, northwestern Nigeria

Who Had Their Cake and Ate It? Lessons from the UK’s Withdrawal Process and its Impact on the Post-Brexit Trade Talks

This Article highlights the legal and procedural restrictions a Member States faces during its withdrawal from the EU and subsequent talks on a future trade relationship by analyzing the unprecedented case of the UK. One such restriction consists of an obligation to negotiate withdrawal as a result of the principle of sincere cooperation. Other limits derive from the withdrawal process itself, designed as it was by the European institutions on the basis of a very scant Article 50 TEU. By then comparing the three substantive pillars of the EU-UK WA—citizens’ rights, the financial settlement, and the Irish border— with the UK’s initial negotiating red lines, I offer two conclusions: That the aforementioned constraints on the withdrawing state can significantly weaken the defense of its interests during its withdrawal process and that having to agree to important issues in a first and separate stage of “orderly withdrawal” talks also diminishes the state’s bargaining power with regards to the next stage of negotiating a future partnership with the EU.

Problems of the Legal Regulation of Financial Issues of Secession Prevention within the Framework of the Territorial Structure

The article considers approaches to determining the role of legal regulation of financial issues in preventing secession and the main models of such regulation in states with different territorial structures. Risks and advantages of different models (centralized, decentralized, federal, unitary) were identified. It is shown that when resolving the financial problems of certain regions, the task of preventing secession is most successfully and on a long-term basis solved only when integrating a separate regional mechanism into a coherent national financial settlement system.

20. Taxation in Family Law

Family law practitioners must be aware of the tax implications of any financial settlement and make it tax- efficient for the client. This chapter examines the types of tax most relevant to family law. Income tax is a type of tax paid on taxable income and, the basic personal allowance, as well as the higher and further rates, are discussed. Capital gains tax (CGT) arises on disposal of an asset or the receipt of money in respect of an asset if there is a ‘chargeable gain’, and examples of these are listed, as well as the relation of CGT and sponses/civil partners/family assets. Inheritance taxand stamp duty land tax are also discussed.

The Law & Politics of Brexit: Volume II

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the withdrawal agreement concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union to create the legal framework for Brexit. Building on a prior volume, it overviews the process of Brexit negotiations that took place between the UK and the EU from 2017 to 2019. It also examines the key provisions of the Brexit deal, including the protection of citizens’ rights, the Irish border, and the financial settlement. Moreover, the book assesses the governance provisions on transition, decision-making and adjudication, and the prospects for future EU–UK trade relations. Finally, it reflects on the longer-term challenges that the implementation of the 2016 Brexit referendum poses for the UK territorial system, for British–Irish relations, as well as for the future of the EU beyond Brexit.

The Financial Settlement

This chapter explores the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement on the financial settlement — the money the UK shall pay to the EU in connection to its departure. The financial settlement for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU posed numerous challenges to both parties. For the UK, internal divisions in the ruling Conservative party made it difficult to develop a coherent position. On the one hand, Brexit hardliners saw continued contributions to the EU budget after Brexit as a betrayal of the referendum result. On the other hand, the so-called Remainers favoured maintaining close relations with the EU and paying to ensure access to its markets and various programmes. For the EU, Brexit threatened the budgetary agreement that had been carefully negotiated in the context of the 2014–2020 multi-annual financial framework. Moreover, the exit of the UK from the EU ushers in a new era. Because the UK was, despite its rebates, one of the largest net contributors to the EU budget, Brexit could impair the EU’s ability to finance some of its traditional programmes or to expand into new areas.

Brexit and the limits of Article 50 Treaty of the European Union

This article aims to analyse the limits of Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU) which expressly consecrates a Member State’s unilateral right to leave the Union. However, the provision seems to raise more questions than it answers due to the lack of concrete legal guidelines, and Brexit has underlined this reality. For example, the exit procedure contemplates the possibility of signing a withdrawal agreement with the European Union (EU), but it does not discipline its content. In our opinion, any agreement must regulate three questions: fundamental rights, financial settlement, and borders. A second limitation refers to the possibility of a Member State withdrawing its withdrawal notice. This question has recently been decided by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a manner that leaves the EU without any say in the process. Finally, the provision does not deal with the constitutional implications of withdrawal: treaty revision, institutional deadlock, and institutional representation. In sum, these critical omissions are analysed considering the relevant legal doctrine, jurisprudence, as well as the Brexit process. It also proposed that Article 50 of the TEU be amended in the future.

The Reckoning

The English government struggled for thirty years to receive restitution for the incident they had come to know as the Amboyna Massacre. This chapter traces the repercussions in the Indian Ocean and especially in Europe. In England, the English traders who had survived the conspiracy trial became the key witnesses for the East India Company. This chapter explores how these men created new lives for themselves in the wake of the trial. A central component to the success of the East India Company in securing restitution was the publication of old and new Amboyna pamphlets, as well as new illustrations, especially during the 1650s and the First Anglo-Dutch War. The Treaty of Westminster resolved all outstanding claims in 1654, but the animosities of the Amboyna crisis ensured that the English remained dissatisfied with a financial settlement alone and still looked for justice.

20. Taxation in Family Law

Family law practitioners must be aware of the tax implications of any financial settlement and make it tax- efficient for the client. This chapter examines the types of tax most relevant to family law. Income tax is a type of tax paid on taxable income and, the basic personal allowance, as well as the higher and further rates, are discussed. Capital gains tax (CGT) arises on disposal of an asset or the receipt of money in respect of an asset if there is a ‘chargeable gain’, and examples of these are listed, as well as the relation of CGT and sponses/civil partners/family assets. Inheritance taxand stamp duty land tax are also discussed.