Suchergebnisse

Our entire social system is pervaded with a myriad of issues relating to freedom of expression. A free responsible press is one of society's greatest assets. Courts must now ensure that common law is not locked within the limitations of the past and they must re-consider common-law rules within the new context so as to render them congruent with the fundamental values and principles. Strict liability of the press is now rejected as unconstitutional since it mars the free flow of information – a democratic principle. The press sold, however not be placed in a privileged or superior position to that of the individual on the basis that the press constitutes an essential bastion of free expression in a democracy. The onus rest on the media defendant to prove a defense excluding unlawfulness on a preponderance of probabilities rather than a mere evidential burden. The media defendant is a defamation action is often in the best position to know whether reasonable steps were taken to verify the information published and so to establish that its publication was reasonable. In a system of democracy dedicated to openness and accountability, as ours is the especially important role of the media, both publicly and privately owned, must be recognised. Freedom of expression is therefore a pat of the very definition of self-government: the process of free discussion is required no mater whether the process leads to the truth or not. DOI:10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n4p409

One of the greatest challenges facing South Africa and the rest of the world is to improve the quality of human life for both the present and future generations through sustainable development. The Constitution provides a historic bridge between the past of a deeply divided society characterised by conflict and democracy. South Africa is embracing, at least in theory, the balancing exercise inherent in the quest for sustainability. The principle of sustainability of the environment encompasses the notion of inter-generational equity, that is, the harm to the environment affects the present as well as future generations, what we can call as the tragedy of the commons. Hence, the public needs to be properly and effectively informed regarding any threats to the environment, whether globally, regionally, nationally or locally. Environmental rights mean access to the unspoiled natural resources that enable survival, including land, shelter, food, water and air. Environments rights may be degraded through air and water pollution, noise, ecosystem deterioration and reduced biological diversity. An emerging category of 'environmental rights' requires governments to set environmental standards in order to protect people's surroundings. An unhealthy environment inevitably impacts on the health of the people living with it. Environmental openness is an inalienable human right. The interests of the moment and the importance of a particular development for a particular entity may, however, still dictate the interpretation or lack of interpretation of the balancing of interests. Sustainability is embedded in governance. An attempt to conceal any information about harmful impact on people and the environment is a crime against humanity. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n25p28

Since South Africa's transition from apartheid to a democratic government in 1994, the country has been struggling to bridge the inequalities between the rich and the poor and youth unemployment has reached alarmingly high levels. However indicators demonstrate that youth unemployment and poverty are as a result of limited access to higher education amongst the previously disadvantaged groups. It is also observable that a massive number of students drop-out of higher education due to exorbitant study costs. Therefore it is relevant to explore the funding model and need for free tertiary education as articulated by various scholars and academics to enable the country to deal with the socio-economic challenges stifling its growth. DOI:10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n1p353

International and domestic environmental law has evolved quite rapidly in the last few decades. At the international level the Stockholm and Rio Declarations paved the way for a broad based consensus of the international community on environmental issues and principles. At the domestic level many states have also incorporated environmental protection in their constitutions and even more states are doing the same, at least in their domestic legislations. In this process of evolution environmental law has unleashed a number of novel principles such as: the participatory principle, the polluter pays principle, the precautionary principle, the inter-generational and intra-generational principles, the prevention principle, the sustainable development principle and so on. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p2059

Claims associated with the environment increasingly influence the area of human and fundamental rights. It is widely acknowledged that a direct well-designed relationship exists between the search for achieving environmental protection generally, and the protection of environmental rights. Since local government operates closer to citizens (the principle of subsidiarity) than any other level of government, it is obvious that it may be expected of it to also play an important role in the management and regulation of matters that affect the environment. This study questions the extent to which legislation governing the use of renewable and natural resources assist in developing sustainable building as provided for in South African environmental and local government legislation. This study provides a theoretical literature review of energy efficiency, categories of and different perspectives on environmental rights in general. The notion of local environmental governance is also attended to in this literature review. This study highlights one way in which South Africa can become more energy efficient, namely by applying sustainable building in the local context. The South African National Standards (SANS) 10400-XA: 2011 finds its application specifically on environmental sustainability and energy usage in buildings. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p2224