No abstract

During the last quarter of 2003 and the first quarter of 2004, a number of banking institutions in Zimbabwe faced serious corporate governance challenges. By the end of 2004, ten banking institutions had been placed under curatorship, two were under liquidation, and one discount house had been closed. This paper seeks to discuss the nature and scope of the 2003/2004 Zimbabwean banking crisis and several measures which were taken by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) in trying to improve corporate governance practice in the Zimbabwean financial sector in the wake of banking crises of such a high magnitude. It begins with a historical background which is followed by case studies on banks which faced corporate governance challenges. It will then discuss how the RBZ responded to this banking crisis and then winds up with a conclusion.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyse World Trade Organisation (WTO) remedies from a developing country perspective, with a view to suggest reforms in the system. Design/methodology/approach -WTO members' proposals for reforming WTO remedies and WTO cases are reviewed in order to determine the need for reforms and the nature of reforms to be undertaken. Findings -WTO remedies are unfavourable to developing countries, most of which are unable to utilise them due to their weaker economies as compared to their developed country counterparts. There is no consensus on the nature of reforms to be undertaken. This paper suggests the need to synthesise the current proposals and develop various workable models. Originality/value -This paper provides proposals which may improve WTO remedies for the benefit of developing countries, thereby not only strengthening the WTO enforcement mechanism but the multilateral trading system as a whole.

In this thematic report, the authors, both members of the African Scholars for Knowledge Justice (ASK Justice) network, outline the neglect of human rights in IP policymaking; the need to end this neglect, particularly in the African context; and steps to be taken towards this goal.

Environmental deterioration remains a concern in Botswana. Despite efforts being made to address this issue by the state, more needs to be done in this regard. This is particularly interesting in the light of reports that the country is looking to draft a new constitution. Against this backdrop, this article considers whether including environmental rights in Botswana’s constitution would advance environmental protection efforts. To this end, the article relies on experiences with rights drawn from different jurisdictions across the world, as well as commentary on these experiences, to build a tool for measuring the extent to which the turn to environmental rights holds value in a given jurisdiction. Using this tool, and drawing from experiences in looking to establish environmental rights in Botswana, the article measures the extent to which including the right in the constitution would hold value in advancing Botswana’s pursuit of environmental protection objectives.