Reform Exercise Research Articles

On the meaning of bankruptcy: ‘Old–new’ lexicon in corporate insolvency law in the Commonwealth Caribbean

Several jurisdictions in the Commonwealth Caribbean have undertaken reform and modernisation of their insolvency legislation. The dominant model for the new enactments has been Canada's federal statute, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, RSC 1985, which has already been transplanted into six jurisdictions of the region. The transplantation has introduced lexicon which, while part of the vocabulary of the old statutes for personal insolvency, has, traditionally, been unfamiliar to the region's corporate insolvency law, hence the phrase, ‘“old–new” lexicon’, in the title. This article examines the meanings of some of this lexicon, particularly ‘bankruptcy’ and cognate terms, including ‘acts of bankruptcy’. The examination extends to the term ‘receiving order’, operationally related to bankruptcy. Legal interpretation of the terms is enriched in the discussion by insights from linguistics. While showing that the importation of these terms into the region's corporate insolvency law is semantically problematic, the article elucidates the signification of the terms. It points out that some of the ‘old–new’ terms may tend to reduce the efficacy in the contemplated lay administration of the statutes. It also warns that the ‘old–new’ lexicon threatens to undermine key goals of the reform exercise, suggesting a need for deeper scrutiny in the transplantation process.

Race & International Investment Law: On the Possibility of Reform and Non-retrenchment

The international investment regime is in flux. The mainstream practice of investment law and arbitration works on the basis of the regime's foundations in contract and property law. However, critical scholarship in the field has unearthed the coloniality of power that permeates both the practice of international investment law and the current reform exercise led by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group III. These critical scholars warn of the imminent reproduction and entrenchment of the systemic inequities, power asymmetries, and investment law's investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime which is skewed against post-colonial host states. The two books1 under review offer a range of thought-provoking approaches for analyzing the past, present, and future of investment law. This Review Essay categorizes these books into two modes of critical scholarship on international investment law: moderate and radical.2 In Part II, I flesh out the conceptual categories of moderate and radical critique. In Part III, I analyze the books under review through the lens of these two conceptual frameworks. In Part IV, I turn to the question of race and investment law. This Review Essay suggests that race should not be neglected in our analysis of the past, present, and, most importantly, the future of investment law—a core theme that both books under review does not engage with. Part V briefly concludes.

Implications of the imago Dei (Gn 1:26) on gender equality and agrarian land reform in Zimbabwe

The creation of humanity (Gn 1:26–2:25) marks the climatic point of the creation process because after it, God is said to have rested. A clear marker that humans are the epitome of creation is the fact that they were created in God’s image (Gn 1:26). Unlike animals, humans have the capacity to think, act with free will, exert self-control and also have a conscience. These distinctive characteristics earn humanity not only dominion over creation (Gn 1:28), but also the care towards the created order. The fact of having been created in God’s image, imago Dei, or to be godlike, is therefore associated with certain rights and responsibilities over creation. Further, being created in God’s image implies that human life itself is sacred and thus should not be terminated in any way, either by the individual themself or by any other person(s) (Gn 9:6). Given that human life is so sacred, such a rationale is invoked in the absolute prohibition on murder. Above all, being created in God’s image connotes gender equality – ‘male and female he created them’ (Gn 1:27b). In view of the land reform exercise in Zimbabwe, so much has happened, but the big question which remains is whether women have received a fair share in the land redistribution exercise. Making a womanist contextual reading of Genesis 1:26, this article seeks to reflect on the Zimbabwean land reform exercise, challenging the lack of gender inclusion in the redistribution exercise.Contribution: Given that women theology is that of liberation, empowerment and affirmation, this research makes a unique contribution to women theologies as it pushes for women’s empowerment through fair land redistribution. By tapping into the implications of having been created in God’s image, the research has successfully argued that the current situation, whereby gender gaps in land ownership are still quite large, needs to be addressed as stewardship over creation was given to both men and women.

The Impacts of Population Aging on China’s Economy

The Chinese economy had an extraordinary average GDP growth rate of 8.50 percent from 1980 to 2018. However, the implementation of one-child policy in the late 1970s has depressed the total fertility rate to below the replacement rate since 1992. China thus experienced an increasing composition of older populations in the past three decades, which puts pressure on Chinese economic growth and makes its eye-catching economic growth potentially unsustainable. This study develops an overlapping generations (OLG) model to investigate the impacts of this demographic transition in the Chinese economy. This study conducts six policy reform exercises to examine measures that could improve the sustainability of fiscal and pension systems. The simulation results indicate that a mild tax increase on either wage income or consumption does not improve the fiscal stance but creates distortionary effects on saving and consumption behaviors. Of the pension reform measures considered, the combination of extending the mandatory retirement age and cutting the replacement ratio offers the most significant improvement to pension sustainability. However, increasing the contribution rate of the working-age population has the least effect on pension sustainability and a noticeable distortionary effect on the consumption ratio and saving rate.

Framing of Land Ownership in The Herald Newspaper in Zimbabwe

The aim of this article is to critically unpack the frames through which the concept of land ownership was discussed in The Herald newspaper during the land reform exercise, also known as Third Chimurenga or “Fast Track Land Reform Exercise,” which was earnestly conducted in the period 2000–2008. The potential of the media in general, and The Herald newspaper in particular, to mould public opinion cannot be ignored. The article is guided by framing theory in its exploration of land ownership discourses in the Zimbabwean media. Framing theory refers to how the media packages and presents information to the public. Accordingly, the media highlights certain events and places them within a particular context to encourage or discourage certain interpretations. In this way, the media exercises a selective influence on how people view reality. This article argues that land, according to The Herald newspaper, belongs to the Black majority or native people of Zimbabwe, and ownership of land was legitimised generally through skin colour and place of birth. In this respect, The Herald newspaper took a positive stance toward the inevitability of the Land Reform Programme. However, it did not clearly state whether all Black people had equal access to the land or had the same right to own land. To demonstrate the above, two stories from The Herald newspaper, namely: “Land: Central to Liberation Struggle” (18 April 2005); and “Land Reform Pinnacle of the Struggle” (10 August 2004) were purposively sampled. Purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling technique used in selecting stories that have particular characteristics within a canon of newspaper stories that are of interest, and which will best enable the researcher to answer research questions. The two stories above were chosen since both focus on land ownership in Zimbabwe.

Mining the Truth: Representation of Land and Land Redistribution in Zimbabwe in the Daily News

The aim of this article is to scrutinise the way in which the concepts of land and land redistribution were discussed in the private media in Zimbabwe during the Zimbabwe land reform exercise – dubbed the “third Chimurenga” – that took place in the period 2000–2008. This study makes use of the framing theory. The framing theory is an adaptation of the agenda-setting theory and it talks about the way in which the media diverts the attention of audiences from the importance of an issue to what it wants to project; it places the issue in a field of meaning. This article firstly argues that although the ZANU-PF-led government stated that land was going to be redistributed to the landless black majority, the private media in general and the Daily News in particular reported that it was the black minority (the elite class) who obtained most of the land at the expense of the poor and middle-class black majority. Secondly, it argues that the land redistribution exercise was not meant to correct colonial land imbalances but was instead used by the ZANU-PF-led government as a means to avenge the referendum which they had lost in February 2000. The referendum was perceived as intending to change the Constitution in favour of the ZANU-PF. Lastly, this article argues that land, according to the Daily News, was supposed to be given to people (regardless of their race) who were making or going to make the land productive and not the poor, landless black majority. In order to authenticate the above claims and arguments, a number of the Daily News stories – purposively sampled during the period – will be used as examples.

Broader-based and Sectoral Bargaining Proposals in Collective Bargaining Law Reform: A Historical Review

Labour legislation regulating Canada’s private sector has incorporated forms of broaderbased or sectoral certification and bargaining (BBB) in varying degrees for decades, particularly in British Columbia and Quebec. However, BBB had not been the subject of significant post-war labour law reform discussion until the 1990s. This decade saw a wave of interest in introducing BBB arise across several jurisdictions. Originating in Ontario in the late 1980s, it spread to British Columbia as a key part of labour law reform discussions in the early and late 1990s and became a minor issue in the federal labour law reform review process later that decade. In none of these instances were BBB proposals or recommendations adopted. Since then, and until the Changing Workplaces Review (CWR) of Ontario’s Labour Relations Act (OLRA) and Employment Standards Act (ESA) commenced in 2015, private sector BBB had not been an important reform issue. BBB gained significant attention in the CWR process but was less prominent in the subsequent labour law reform processes undertaken in Alberta and British Columbia. None of these reviews have resulted in substantial BBB amendments to the labour legislation. This article traces the history of BBB as an issue in labour law reform exercises across jurisdictions in English Canada from the late 1980s to early 2019, examining the context in which these issues arose, identifying key BBB proposals, and challenges to these proposals. It concludes with an analysis of the failure of efforts to incorporate BBB proposals into labour legislation, and an assessment of the key challenges to adopting significant BBB reforms in the future.

Policy Forum: Tax Reform in Canada's 43rd Parliament—Politics, Policy, and Second-Best Choices

A minority Parliament in Ottawa will require that the government and the opposition parties search for areas of policy convergence. One area where there is potential for cooperation is action on a comprehensive review of the federal tax system, which was an election commitment by multiple political parties. There is scope for a review exercise that ultimately can enhance the efficiency and equity of the federal tax code. But such a review will need to recognize that tax policy and politics cannot be divorced from one another. This article presents a critical analysis of calls for a royal commission or adoption of the "big-bang" model for tax reform. These approaches to tax reform assume that politics is a major barrier to evidence-based tax reform and that political impulses need to be minimized or excluded from the process. This perspective neglects the normative aspects of tax policy and the extent to which policy choices are shaped by a complex mix of interests, preferences, and values. Instead, the author argues for a reform exercise that is rooted in political institutions and processes. In particular, he proposes an incremental yet systematic model for tax reform that draws from the 2007-2011 experience with "strategic reviews" of program spending at the federal level. This model would envision the government conducting thematic reviews of tax expenditures (focusing, for example, on home ownership, retirement and savings, and clean energy investments) on a regular, ongoing basis, in order to gradually rationalize the federal tax system by consolidating and redesigning current tax expenditures. The results may be less transformative in the short term than those potentially achievable by alternative approaches, but will ultimately lead to more durable reform over the long term.

The Impact of Public-Private Partnerships on the Performance of Nigerian Seaports: a Case Study of Apapa Port Complex, Lagos

Maritime activities are essential for national and international trade and undoubtedly becoming the life wire of developed, emerging, and developing economies. Generally, ports across the globe, in both developed and developing economies, are either publicly owned and operated or privately owned and operated. In some instances, ownership and operation are hybrid arrangements – publicly owned and privately operated. The reform model chosen by the Nigerian Government was the Landlord port system, where the Government, through its agency. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) retains the ownership of infrastructure, and contracts out the management and operations of the facilities to the private sector with investment obligations on a competitive basis for a period ranging from 10-25 years. The longer the tenor, the high the investment obligations on the part of the private terminal operator. The Nigerian ports are structured into western and eastern ports under the supervision of a Governing Board. This empirical study examines the impact of concession on three significant indices of port management and operations, namely: average berth occupancy, average turnaround time, and security of cargo in the Apapa Port Complex. Attention has been drawn to how the reform has improved the efficiency of ports services in Nigeria. The recommendations capable of assisting in the actualization of the aims and objectives of the reform exercise. In this study, primary data obtained by survey technique were used.

ReVisiting the ICC Registry’s ReVision Project

Abstract The reorganization of the Registry of the International Criminal Court (ICC) — known as ReVision — remains the most comprehensive reform exercise undertaken by the Court in its 20-year history. Despite lawyers being at the forefront of calls for such reforms, few have analysed the context, achievements and limitations of this exercise. This article remedies that lack by analysing the context in which ReVision arose, and the main features of the project. It evaluates the project’s claim to have rendered the Registry a more efficient and effective organ. It also looks to ReVision’s impact on the independence of the ICC, as well as on key court participants including staff, victims and accused persons. Evaluating ReVision along these lines, the article paints a mixed picture of its results. Such ambiguity provides ICC officials and observers with an opportunity to reflect on the inherent value of managerial reform while also asking fundamental questions about the court’s priorities when pursuing reforms like ReVision.

More than Just Story Telling: A Review of Biodiversity Conservation and Utilisation from Precolonial to Postcolonial Zimbabwe.

Access to natural resources has changed over the years in Zimbabwe. At least three broad periods of biodiversity conservation, utilisation, and access can be identified in the country, namely, the precolonial, colonial, and postindependence periods. This paper reviews the relationships between human livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in the rural areas of Zimbabwe during these periods and is informed by an extensive review of the relevant literature. A combination of historical narrative, thematic, and content analysis was used in analysing the various documents into meaningful information addressing the objective of the study. Traditional societies in precolonial Zimbabwe had access to abundant natural resources. However, access to these resources was not uncontrolled, but was limited by traditional beliefs, taboos, and customs enforced through community leadership structures. The advent of colonialism in the late 19th century dispossessed indigenous African communities of natural resources through command-type conservation legislation. At independence in 1980, the new majority government sought to redress the natural resource ownership imbalances created during colonialism, culminating in some significant measure of devolution in natural resource management to local communities in the late 1980s, though such devolution has been criticised for being incomplete. An accelerated land reform exercise since the year 2000 has adversely affected biodiversity conservation activities in the country, including the conservation-related livelihood benefits derived from protected areas. The review paper highlights the need for a more complete devolution of natural resource ownership and management down to the grassroots levels in the communal areas, if social and ecological sustainability is to be fully realised in these areas. On the other hand, the disruption of conservation activities in the country due to the ill-planned accelerated land reform exercise that has demarcated land for arable farming in some of the protected areas should be held in check as a matter of urgency.

Caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: A Rough Guide to the Strangely Unenviable Life of a Public Procurement Official in a Post-RTPP, and Now Post-GeM, Rajasthan

This year’s 71st Independence Day Speech of India’s visionary Prime Minister included an announcement implementing yet another innovative public policy instrument, one that electrified all stakeholders interested in public procurement reforms in India, in the shape of a much-awaited launch of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) launched by the Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D)—as an online platform enabling simplified and streamlined buyer-seller interactions for public goods and services across the Country. As in many other states in India, this ambitious e-platform has also been adopted by the State Government of Rajasthan as a permissible medium for government purchasing for use by all procuring officials of the State. This short paper examines some of the peculiarities already existing under the legal framework for public procurement in Rajasthan; as also the additional complexities and challenges for the State’s public procurement officials that could get thrown up during the roll-out of this important, far-reaching initiative of the Central Government. Staying within the context of multiple, and sometimes competing, desiderata of public procurement, the paper then concludes with suggestions for the Government of Rajasthan for ensuring a more streamlined achievement of the expected end-objectives of this important procurement reform exercise.

The impact of 8 weeks selected corrective exercises on neck pain, range of motion in the shoulder and neck of lifesaver women who suffering from forward head posture and myofascial pain syndrome

Background: The purpose of this research was studying the impact of 8 weeks selected corrective exercises on neck pain, range of motion in the shoulder and neck of lifesaver women who suffering from forward head posture and myofascial pain syndrome.
 Methods: The method of research is semi-experimental. The population consists of 30 lifesaver women who suffering from forward head posture and myofascial pain syndrome who they placed randomly in two groups of experimental (33±2.2) and control (33±2.5). Research plan was as the pre-test and post-test with control group. The exercise protocol was carried out by experimental groups for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, each session lasting 45 minutes. Studied variables include myofascial pain in the neck, shoulder and neck range of motion. The mean and standard deviation were used as descriptive statistics and in the section of inferential statistics analysis of covariance was used.
 Results: Results of research indicated that, the protocol on the reform exercise of neck pain (P=0.001), range of motion of shoulder joint (P=0.001) and neck range of motion (P=0.001) has significant difference.
 Conclusion: Therefore, lifesavers women can benefit from it as a training program to improve and prevent damage caused by head forward and myofascial pain syndrome.

Combating terrorism by constraining charities? Charity and counter‐terrorism legislation before and after 9/11

How does counter‐terrorism legislation – enacted in democratic states – impact upon charities, intentionally or unintentionally? To address this question, we present a new analytical framework that allows us to compare, across established democracies, how charity legislation and counter‐terrorism legislation are connected, enabling us to assess how charities’ legal environments have changed since 9/11. Comparing legislation across six long‐lived democracies (theUK,US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland), we distinguish between three types of legislative connection: overlap, direct intersection and indirect intersection. These categories differ in terms of the visibility of the connection established between the two areas of law. As high‐profile reform exercises, both overlap and direct intersections have been predominantly introduced post‐9/11. But it is through indirect intersections that intensified post‐9/11 which are most vague and difficult to manoeuvre, that the day‐to‐day activities of charities are most likely to be affected, with important empirical and normative repercussions.

Lessons for Sub-Saharan Africa from Kenya on Electoral Reforms: The Role and Limitations of the Law

Abstract This article evaluates the significance of law reform as an instrument of securing electoral processes in Africa against pathological influences. It demonstrates that through change of law, most ruling regimes in post-colonial Africa frustrated electoral processes, and hence that law reform has the potential of creating an environment for reversing the effects of autocratic regimes on electoral practices. It does, however, also demonstrate that despite a robust law reform agenda in most African countries, electoral processes are still controlled by ruling regimes because there are numerous factors that influence the working of institutions entrusted with democratic processes. Its empirical focus is Kenya. Like many other countries in Africa, Kenya amended its constitution in the early 1990s and has since been engaged in numerous constitutional reform exercises—including the 2010 constitutional substitution—aimed at creating an independent institution and empowering courts as arbiters of electoral...

THE REPORTAGE OF LAND AND OWNERSHIP IN SELECTED PRIVATE MEDIA IN ZIMBABWE

The aim of this article is to scrutinise how the concepts of land and land ownership were discussed in the private media in Zimbabwe during the zimbabwe land reform exercise – dubbed ‘the third Chimurenga’ that took place in the period 2000–2008. Using textual analysis, the articles argues that ownership of land, according to the so called ‘private or independent’ newspapers in Zimbabwe was supposed to be accorded to the farmer or person, regardless of the racial bias, who was more productive on the land and who was contributing more to the economic well-being of the nation (zimbabwe). Accordingly, the private newspapers in zimbabwe regarded land as belonging to, or as the rightful property of the white commercial farmers/settlers because they perceived them to be more productive on the land than the native people of Zimbabwe who were ultimately seen and labelled as invaders on the so-called white commercial farms. In order to substantiate the above claims and arguments, a number of The Daily News stories of the period were purposively sampled and are used as examples.

ZANU (PF)'s Manipulation of the ‘Alien’ Vote in Zimbabwean Elections: 1980–2013

This article historicises how the post-colonial Zimbabwean government has maintained and consolidated its power through, among other tactics, the systematic manipulation of the ‘alien’ vote. The ‘aliens’ are residents in Zimbabwe who are either of foreign origin themselves or whose parents are originally from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique. Basing its findings on oral interviews, the paper engages power and coercion as analytical concepts to understand how non-indigenous communities are affected by state power through the reconfiguration of their citizenship/belonging and relentless violence during elections. It argues that since the 1980s migrant descendants have been used and abused by the hegemonic socio-political hierarchy for its electoral benefit. Migrants, who came into what was then Southern Rhodesia during the colonial labour migration system (1890s to 1970s), like other autochthonous Zimbabweans, were allowed to vote between 1980 and 1996. Yet all this changed in the post-2000 period, when the ZANU (PF) government complicated citizenship laws and initiated the land reform exercise to, among other aims, strip ‘aliens’ of their right to suffrage in subsequent elections. This on and off relationship has been dictated by the politics of power, patronage and coercion under which migrant descendants have constituted a critical swing vote which ZANU (PF) has either embraced for its benefit or marginalised it in the face of formidable opposition politics. This disenfranchisement has invariably affected the livelihoods of these foreign descendants through violence, intimidation and denial of socioeconomic leverage.

Indigenous Land Disputes and Law Reform in India: Lessons for Malaysia

Disputes on indigenous land rights are a continuing issue in Malaysia which needs to be addressed. Apart from the common law recognition of the land rights of the indigenous peoples, they are increasingly and widely recognised, both, under national and international laws as a stakeholder in the natural resources located within their areas. Since 1992, there has been a dramatic increase in legislation around the world recognising the rights of indigenous peoples and communities to forest lands and resources. An interesting law reform exercise has taken place in India with the introduction of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006 (FRA) to address the claim of the indigenous peoples to forest resources. India is relevant as a comparison to Malaysia as both share some common political and legal features. Using a comparative approach, this article analyses processes and mechanisms adopted in the relevant law reform in India and its relevance to Malaysia. Comparative perspectives provide models for practical applications of indigenous peoples’ rights. These will assist policy analysis through learning from the successes and failures of other jurisdictions in improving legal reform. This article provides a new perspective in addressing the issue of land disputes involving the indigenous peoples in Malaysia which is significant to the policy and law reform on this issue.

Corporate Governance and Service Delivery in Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission: A Reflection on the 2001 Reform Exercise

The pre-reforms period of the Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (C.A.C) was characterized by lack of standing system of tracking of companies’ compliance and general gross inefficiency in the delivery of services by the Commission. In 2001 CAC experienced reform and re-organization processes; meant to make it more responsive to discharging its regulatory role and achieving good corporate governance practices and efficiency in service delivery. The question is, has these processes strengthened the quality of services delivered by the Commission? The objectives of this paper are to highlight the components of the re-organization exercise of C.A.C and see how the reform has impacted on the Commissions’ performance. To achieve these, the paper employs the use of both empirical and secondary sources of data for analysis. The Service Quality Model was used as theoretical guide to the study. It was observed that the Commissions’ reform and re-organization has impacted in computerization of company registration process, improved human resource quality and even the introduction of new services. The paper, therefore, recommends that for good corporate governance practices to be achieved in Nigeria, the C.A.C should continue to strengthen its compliance and enforcement processes and procedures and also ensure that all the registered companies are continually monitored and sanctions enforced on defaulters. When compliance and enforcement mechanisms are reinforced, the Nigeria’s C.A.C would raise the confidence of investors and general public. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s4p110

Reviewing Specific Oversights in Civil Litigation Reforms in Malaysia

Judicial reforms in the administration of justice system generally affect the landscape of civil litigation. However, judicial reforms also draw adverse inference on the justice system if certain safeguards are lacking behind or delicate issues of public importance are not emphasized. This study aims at analysing he Malaysian Judiciary Reforms to civil litigation in Malaysia. The method of analysis is based on content analysis. This study indicates that the key catalyst to the success of civil litigation reforms of the Malaysian Judiciary (2008-2011) was contributed by excellent leadership. The study also finds that the Judicial Reforms in relation to management carry qualities that are recognized under established management practices. Nevertheless, the findings also show that there are crucial matters that are not contemplated in the said reform exercise such as the creation of a multi-door courthouse programme, methods to resolve complex civil cases and the plight of unrepresented litigants. Therefore, it is imperative for the Malaysian Judiciary to emphasize on these oversights in its future reform exercise. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6p428