Master in Public International Law

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/15107

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Appraisal of The Role of Non-Government Organisations In Advancement of Women's Rights in Uganda
    (2026) Nimwesiga Annet
    This dissertation critically appraises the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in advancing women’s rights in Uganda, a country that has enacted progressive legal frameworks but continues to experience a troubling disconnect between law and lived realities. Despite ratifying global instruments such as CEDAW and implementing national laws like the Domestic Violence Act (2010), women in Uganda still face economic, social, and political marginalization. NGOs fill this gap through legal advocacy, economic empowerment, and awareness campaigns. Using doctrinal research methodology, this research interrogates the adequacy of relevant international and domestic frameworks about women’s rights such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Covenant on Civil Political Rights, and Ugandan Succession Act, Equal opportunities Act respectively. The study assesses how NGOs bridge enforcement gaps, influence policy, and empower communities. It also identifies key challenges, such as restrictive legal environments, underfunding, and cultural resistance. The research concludes that while NGOs are pivotal change agents, their efforts must be strengthened through coordinated policy reforms and strategic partnerships. This work contributes to feminist legal scholarship by offering practical, evidence-based strategies for advancing women’s rights through civil society engagement.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exposition on Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: Ecowas and The East African Community Context
    (2026) Malinzi Perez
    This study interrogates the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) within ECOWAS and the EAC, situating it at the intersection of sovereignty, regional integration, and international law. Its objectives are threefold: to analyse how state sovereignty and power dynamics shape ETJ in ECOWAS and the EAC; to examine how ETJ frameworks in both regional blocs can be harmonised to ensure effective jurisdictional practice; and to appraise the challenges in the current ETJ frameworks of ECOWAS and the EAC, with a view to proposing reforms and improvements. Anchored in UN Charter principles of sovereignty and non-intervention, ETJ is deployed to address transnational concerns such as human rights violations and security threats, yet in African regional contexts, it generates tensions between supranational authority and state autonomy, compounded by weak enforcement, political resistance, and divergence from global norms. Employing doctrinal analysis of treaties, protocols, case law, and scholarly literature, and interpreted through neoliberal, neorealist, and positivist lenses within a 2015–2025 temporal scope, the study reveals ECOWAS’s interventionist model, exemplified by military interventions and expansive human rights rulings, contrasted with the EAC’s cautious, treaty-bound approach. Key challenges identified include enforcement deficits, political interference, normative fragmentation vis-à-vis the UN Charter, restricted access to justice beyond human rights claims, and emerging jurisdictional gaps in cyber governance and climate harms, all shaped by power asymmetries such as Nigeria’s dominance in ECOWAS. The research concludes that ETJ reconfigures sovereignty through pooled authority but risks legitimacy erosion, absent harmonisation with global standards, and recommends reforms including expanded locus standi, AU-monitored compliance mechanisms, strengthened judicial independence, civic education, and alignment with AfCFTA frameworks. Ultimately, the study advances an African-centric perspective on ETJ, proposing balanced reforms for sustainable regional governance and highlighting future research needs in cyber jurisdiction, compliance monitoring, and comparative regional analysis.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Challenges and Emerging Issues to The Legitimacy of International Law: A Case Study of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
    (2026) Rwamo Paradis Vanessa
    This study appraised the legitimacy of international law focussing on its challenges and emerging issues. The aim of this study was predicated on the general and specific objectives which included, examining how it has brought about global peace, examining the legal and international framework, identifying challenges and emerging issues to the legitimacy of international law, focusing on armed conflicts in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This study adopted a purely doctrinal research methodology, utilizing literature review, analysing legal frameworks, and international norms related to international law. The methodology consisted of collection of data from both primary and secondary sources. This study found that different aspects citing formal principles of legitimacy; the respect of state sovereignty, and substantive principles that require international law to produce outcomes respecting fundamental rights and reasonableness have affected the legitimacy of international law. This study revealed that lack of enforcement, influence of powerful states, growing influences of non-state actors, and soft law mechanisms have caused the dragging of the effectiveness of international law. This study recommended that there should be an effort on strengthening institutional frameworks to reinforce the perception of legitimacy. It recommended an increase on equality, transparency, and accountability to address power imbalances for a more just and equitable global order; addressing challenges and emerging issues to enhance the efficacity of international law, promoting inclusivity and representation, and encouraging compliance to illustrate the significance and effectiveness of international law. This study concluded by stating that the legitimacy of international law remains a pivotal yet contested issue in global governance.