THE SOUTH AFRICAN ACT REVISITED – SOME CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL REFLECTIONS ON LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE CENTENARY OF THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA IN 1910

Just over a hundred years ago South Africa became a politically united state governed by the South Africa Act of 1909, which constituted the first constitution for a territory comprised of the four erstwhile British colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony. This article revisits this historic constitution and attempts to revaluate its cardinal characteristics in the light of our subsequent constitutional and political development. This article also examines the constitutional and political configuration of the South Africa Act and how it came into being through a so-called National Convention and the part played by the prominent politicians and role players of the day. It examines the constitutional precedents that were available at the time. The crucial issues relating to the nature of the state that was to be established and why a unitary model and not a federation was adopted,are explained. It also considers the vexed question of the franchise and how a compromise was reached in this regard. Other important issues on which decisions had to be taken such as, inter alia, language, native and Indians affairs, are examined and evaluated. The article attempts to address certain important constitutional and political lessons that can be learnt from such an evaluation.

The Birth of Unlawful Freedom in Plato’s Laws 3

Plato’s pronouncements about political freedom in the Laws have sparked renewed interest in the literature. The present paper takes a new angle on that vexed question. It focusses on Plato’s account of the birth of unlawful freedom, or ‘theatrocracy’, at the end of book 3. By studying the transition from moderate to excessive freedom, it wishes to shed light on what sets the two apart. The paper provides a causal analysis of the key passage (700a3–701c2), suggesting four compatible and complementary explanations for the process it describes. The first is presented as the main one, but it is made more likely by the addition of the three others.

Is There Change on the B-Theory of Time?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the connection between change and the B-theory of time, sometimes also called the Scientific view of time, according to which reality is a four-dimensional spacetime manifold, where past, present and future things equally exist, and the present time and non-present times are metaphysically the same. I argue in favour of a novel response to the much-vexed question of whether there is change on the B-theory or not. In fact, B-theorists are often said to hold a ‘static’ view of time. But this far from being innocent label: if the B-theory of time presents a model of temporal reality that is static, then there is no change on the B-theory. From this, one can reasonably think as follows: of course, there is change, so the B-theory must be false. What I plan to do in this paper is to argue that in some sense there is change on the B-theory, but in some other sense, there is no change on the B-theory. To do so, I present three instances of change: Existential Change, namely the view that things change with respect to their existence over time; Qualitative Change, the view that things change with respect to how they are over time; Propositional Change, namely the view that things (i.e. propositions) change with respect to truth value over time. I argue that while there is a reading of these three instances of change that is true on the B-theory, and so there is change on the B-theory in this sense, there is a B-theoretical reading of each of them that is not true on the B-theory, and therefore there is no change on the B-theory in this other sense.

Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and “Failed” Nations: Haiti and Jewish Refugees in the 1930s

Using the field of humanitarianism as the critical locus, this essay reflects on what Haiti, called the “Republic of NGOs,” can teach us about unsettling the coloniality of being, power, and freedom if we acknowledge in our critical thought system the acts of humanitarianism this nation has performed. By pursuing the issue of agency otherwise denied to any organism—be it political or intellectual—that departs from Western paradigms, the author aims to contribute to the call on critics and historians to rethink the ideologies that have informed and continue to inform the patterns of research methodologies entrenched in various disciplines to address the vexed question of epistemic dependency. In response, the essay focuses on the episode of inter-minority solidarity between blacks and Jews when, following the 1938 Evian conference, the Haitian government offered asylum to the undesirables of Europe based on the principles of the 1804 Haitian Revolution.

Part I Legal and Practical Challenges to Traditional Trade Finance, 5 Determining a Complying Presentation in Letter of Credit Transactions: A Principled Appraisal of Current Requirements and Challenges

This chapter explores frequently neglected aspects of the vexed question of complying presentation in letter of credits operations from the perspective of Anglo-American law and a pragmatic appreciation of the International Chamber of Commerce’s codes of banking practice. In particular, it considers the existence and extent of the classes of ICC print material permissible as an aid in ascertaining the proper legal meaning and effect of a clause in the UCP 600 that lacks sufficient clarity, or even worse, if the UCP clause in dispute makes no express provision on the point at issue. The discussion then evaluates the nature of a clause in a credit calling for a draft drawn on the applicant; the legal effect of an unstipulated document in a presentation under the credit; and the rights of the beneficiary when determining the bank to which to tender documents for payment.

International Interventions

This chapter explores the relationship between state sovereignty and the vexed question of intervention. While the sovereign state has become the dominant political unit in the international system, the rights afforded to ostensibly sovereign states remain prey to power politics, and—especially in recent decades—the rise in support for international human rights. This chapter contrasts the laws governing intervention with actual state practice and notes that while international law has advanced considerably in the past hundred years—in terms of both depth and breadth—there has been little substantive change to the mechanism by which these laws are actually enforced.

Forfeiting proceeds: Civil forfeiture, the right to property and the Constitution

Civil forfeiture powers are a useful tool in the fight against crime — particularly the organised kind. They deter such crime by removing the proceeds from wrongdoers, thereby diminishing the incentives for offending. However, as the courts in South Africa have long recognised, the forfeiture powers must be calibrated to ensure a fair balance between the public interest in crime deterrence and private interests such as the right to property. Achieving this balance when forfeiting proceeds is a vexed question which this article seeks to explore. It argues that while the forfeiture of proceeds will usually be justified by the legitimate aim of crime deterrence, forfeiture should nevertheless be subject to a proportionality check. This check is arguably required by the property clause in s 25(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and is justified by the need to constrain the breadth of the powers under the Prevention of Organised Crime Act. It then explores what situations might justify refusing forfeiture of proceeds, and how the proportionality check should be applied.

User Errors: Reason, (Xeno)-Feminism and the Political Insufficiency of Ontology

This paper revisits elements of second wave feminism—in its psychoanalytic, radical, materialist, Marxist and deconstructionist aspects—the better to understand how it is we might define sexual difference today. The vexed question of sexuation, of what it means to be a woman in particular has today generated great tensions at the theoretical, legal and philosophical level. This paper is an attempt to return to aspects of the second wave—an unfinished project where many enduring feminist concerns were for the first time thoroughly and metaphysically articulated—the better to defend the importance of sexual difference. To this end, the transcendental and parallax dimensions of sexed life will be discussed, alongside a defence of the centrality of the mother to our thinking about the relevance and necessity of preserving the importance of sexual difference, not only for thought but also for political and legal life. Author(s): Ben Woodard Title (English): User Errors: Reason, (Xeno)-Feminism and the Political Insufficiency of Ontology Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 2-3 (Winter 2020) Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje Page Range: 54-68 Page Count: 15 Citation (English): Ben Woodard, “User Errors: Reason, (Xeno)-Feminism and the Political Insufficiency of Ontology,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 2-3 (Winter 2020): 54-68. Author Biography Ben Woodard, Independent Researcher Ben Woodard is an independent scholar living in Germany. His work focuses on the relationship between naturalism and idealism during the long nineteenth century. He is currently preparing a monograph on the relation of naturalism and formalism in the life sciences. His book Schelling’s Naturalism was published in 2019 by Edinburgh University Press.

Revisiting Second Wave Feminism in the Light of Recent Controversies

This paper revisits elements of second wave feminism—in its psychoanalytic, radical, materialist, Marxist and deconstructionist aspects—the better to understand how it is we might define sexual difference today. The vexed question of sexuation, of what it means to be a woman in particular has today generated great tensions at the theoretical, legal and philosophical level. This paper is an attempt to return to aspects of the second wave—an unfinished project where many enduring feminist concerns were for the first time thoroughly and metaphysically articulated—the better to defend the importance of sexual difference. To this end, the transcendental and parallax dimensions of sexed life will be discussed, alongside a defence of the centrality of the mother to our thinking about the relevance and necessity of preserving the importance of sexual difference, not only for thought but also for political and legal life. Author(s): Nina Power Title (English): Revisiting Second Wave Feminism in the Light of Recent Controversies Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 2-3 (Winter 2020) Publisher: Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities - Skopje Page Range: 28-35 Page Count: 8 Citation (English): Nina Power, “Revisiting Second Wave Feminism in the Light of Recent Controversies,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 17, No. 2-3 (Winter 2020): 28-35. Author Biography Nina Power, Independent Researcher Nina Power is a philosopher and writer, and the author of many articles on politics, feminism and culture. She is the author of One-Dimensional Woman (2009) and the forthcoming What Do Men Want? (2021). She is currently teaching at Mary Ward and has previously taught at the University of Roehampton and many other institutions

Bridging the Cultural Divide: A Study of the Published English Versions of Some of Gamal Al-Ghitani Literary Works

This research paper is an attempt to evaluate Peter Newmark's semantic and communicative approaches that are commonly adopted by translators to impart the flavor of the Egyptian culture to the Anglophone readers. The two approaches are diametrically opposed: the semantic approach involves the transfer of the text literally without any alteration: it preserves the length of sentences, position and integrity of clauses and words. It is author-oriented in the sense that it closely pursues the author's thought process and disregards the response of the target readers. This approach does not pay heed to the message of the writer and the target readers may find it difficult to digest the target text. The communicative approach, on the other hand, sets great store on the target reader and the response of the receptor. It attempts to generate a meaning that will elicit a response from the target recipients that approximates the response of the SL readers. It also advocates the equivalent-effect principle of translation which tends to rule out the predominance of words and structure. This paper attempts to address the vexed question of choosing an optimal translation approach and whether to represent the source culture in Target Text by highlighting the importance of the functional approach to translation which is based on the Skopostheorie, for it strikes a balance between Newmark's approaches by according priority to the function the translated text is intended to fulfill. Although this Skopostheorie has drawn many criticisms, some of them have been refuted; it is practically useful to adopt it provided the translator voices his/her opinion which is soundly based on his/her expertise and does not follow blindly what the commissioner/client dictates to him/her. Translation is not all about linguistic transcoding, or cultural transference, rather it is a communicative action determined by a purpose. Translators can safely produce skopos-based translation provided that they observe the principles of coherence and culture. Some of Gamal Al-Ghitani's literary works are selected to put theories into practice since they are replete with expressions that reflect the Egyptian culture hence pose a challenge to the translator.