Legal Insights
Thought leadership and scholarly perspectives on contemporary constitutional challenges, appellate litigation, and the evolving landscape of global jurisprudence.
State Immunity Before Domestic Courts: A Doctrine Under Pressure
State immunity, once a doctrine of near-absolute character, has for some decades operated on a restrictive theory. The distinction between acts iure imperii and acts iure gestionis has become the standard analytical framework, and a substantial body of state practice and judicial decision has developed around it.
Read ArticleCustomary International Law in the Constitutional Court
Section 232 of the Constitution provides that customary international law is law in the Republic unless it is inconsistent with the Constitution or an Act of Parliament. The provision, in its terms, is simple. Its operational consequences have been more complex, and a developing body of jurisprudence in the Constitutional Court has begun to articulate the framework within which the provision is to be applied.
Read ArticleInvestment Treaty Interpretation: Recovering the Diplomatic Context
Bilateral investment treaties are, in their textual form, instruments of legal protection. They guarantee specific standards of treatment — fair and equitable treatment, full protection and security, protection against expropriation without compensation — and they provide for the resolution of disputes through arbitration. Treated as legal instruments tout court, they appear to operate in a self-contained register.
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