Tales of transition

Abstract

Tales of transitionIn this article the rationale o f this special issue is pro vid ed a n d the different contributions are introduced. The assumption is that there are strong similarities between the recent political a n d social transitions in South A frica and G erm any and the reactions, both emotional a n d literary, o f the people involved. Broadly, the transitions are described as a m ovement fro m external (or violent) to internal (or ideological) social control, though this must be m odified by the various constructions the contributors p u t on the transition. The main themes a n d questions o f the transitions are synthesized, highlighting the m arked similarities the different contributions reveal. The most important o f these are the relation to the past, problem s o f identity, projections o f the new a n d the internal contradictions o f nationalist discourse (which informs the process o f transition).In conclusion, the similarities a n d differences between the two transitions indicated by this special issue, are discussed. The assumption o f strong sim ilarities between the two seem s to hold, it is argued, but much more research into the m atter is needed.

The Impact of Covid-19 on the Future of Law

“…7 COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns had an impact on divorce and marriages worldwide, applications for marriage licenses declined in countries that require them, couples postponed marriages, spouses that were unhappy staying married were forced to stay together, and there were various barriers to obtaining a divorce such as earning less or no income due to lockdown and court delays or closed courts. 8 that there has been an increase in divorce and applications for divorce since lockdown. 9 Daniel 10 indicates that there are large backlogs at the courts and that in Limpopo province alone, there were 11 788 divorces outstanding at the end of 2020.…”

“…The researchers found that 454 children under 5 years of age were killed in 2009. 8 Only eight out of a total of 241 neonates (referring to a child that is 28 days old or younger) were more than six days old when they died. 9 These findings were underestimates because of the difficulty in distinguishing between infanticide (the killing of an infant within the first year of life) and other causes of death during infancy.…”

“…4 For instance, in terms of the regulations of 29 April 2020, 5 the minister in principle closed the borders of the Republic, 6 except for, in respect of the international movement of goods, "essential goods for import" 7 and certain "permitted goods for export". 8 The promulgation of COVID regulations and similar measures by many legislators in the world invites a comparison of the position of overriding mandatory rules in various conflicts instruments. This contribution compares the position of overriding mandatory rules in the proposed African Principles on the Law Applicable to International Commercial Contracts 9 with various regional, supranational and international instruments of private international law of contract.…”

“…However, civil society has increasingly shifted from calling for reform to calling for a complete dismantling of investment arbitration. 8 These calls have been growing louder as investors threaten states with investment disputes over COVID-19 related restrictions. 9 There is also growing concern that even if a COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property (IP) waiver is obtained under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, pharmaceutical companies could still claim in investment law.…”

“…The POPIA aims to give effect to the constitutional right to privacy 6 and allows the information regulator to impose fines and issue other orders against responsible parties 7 that do not comply with its legal framework. 8 The pandemic forced society to digitalise, thereby significantly increasing the processing of personal information. The national lockdowns resulted in the closing of schools, universities and offices which forced many sectors to work remotely and rely heavily on video conferencing services and cloud providers.…”