The contributions to this essential volume critically examine ideas on customary land tenure in Ghana. They analyse the relations between the customary and statutory tenure and the institutional interactions between the state and traditional authorities in land administration, addressing issues of power, economic interests, transparency, accountability, conflicts and notions of social justice, …
These farmers have been working this land for generations. But they have no papers. So the government may clear this land for a project. People fear they will be chased away.” Such stories can be heard every day in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They demonstrate the insecurity of rural smallholders who are threatened with eviction without proper compensation. The ‘project’ may be large-s…
Most of the world's estimated 1.4 billion poorest people are still rural. Yet the majority lack ownership (or any secure rights) to the land that is their principal source of livelihood. Although land law and related reforms have transformed the lives of millions of families by providing secure land rights, not all such efforts have succeeded. Over the years, the conventional wisdom concerning …
This book is an ambitious study of how Islamic law traditions have been incorporated into the national legal systems throughout the Muslim world. Both puritan Islamists and Western alarmists tend to oversimplify and misrepresent the role and position of sharia. In response, this book takes stock of the actual legal positions, putting them into their socio-political and historical contexts. The …
Millions of people live and work on land that they do not legally own in accordance with enforceable state law. The absence of state recognition for local property rights affects people's tenure security and impedes development. Efforts to legalise extra-legal land tenure have traditionally emphasised individual titling and registration. Disappointment with such approaches have led to a search …
This book covers a wide range of issues in fire safety engineering in tunnels, describes the phenomena related to tunnel fire dynamics, presents state-of-the-art research, and gives detailed solutions to these major issues. Examples for calculations are provided. The aim is to significantly improve the understanding of fire safety engineering in tunnels. Chapters on fuel and ventilation control…
An innovative strengthening technique for the seismic retrofitting of masonry buildings is the fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM). The system presented in this work is EQ-GRID, which consists of a multi-axial hybrid grid made of alkali-resistant glass and polypropylene fibres and a natural hydraulic lime mortar (NHL) as matrix. The results of the performed experimental campaign and th…
What are chances and challenges of referring to human rights law in defining crimes under international law? Under what circumstances is a reference to human rights law dogmatically appropriate and practically likely? The answers to these questions are explored through a look at the theoretical framework, practical application in jurisprudence as well as empirically through interviews with judg…
Although the immense process of economic and social transformation currently underway in China and Vietnam is well known, less attention has been devoted to the process of Chinese and Vietnamese legal change. Asian Socialism and Legal Change brings together experts to analyse recent developments in the legal sphere, representing the diversity and dynamism of this process. This book is the fi…
Papua New Guinea has a complex ‘law and order’ problem and an entrenched epidemic of HIV. This book explores their interaction. It also probes their joint challenges and opportunities—most fundamentally for civic security, a condition that could offersome immunity to both. This book is a valuable and timely contribution to a limited but growing body of scholarship in the social and struct…