International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Law Journal
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JURISDICTIONAL PROBLEM IN ENVIRONMENTAL LITIGATION IN NIGERIA: LESSONS FROM NEW SOUTH WALES
Full text linkAn increase in industrial activities, especially in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria comes with the attendant rise in environmental abuses by multinational companies. Income from oil exploration is the major source of revenue for the Nigerian government. However, over the years, the activities of major oil companies in the oil-rich Niger Delta region have caused and continue to cause monumental damage to the local communities and indeed, the environment. Efforts by successive administrations to address this issue have yielded few results. This development means that victims of environmental abuse and indeed environmental activists have only the court to approach for any remedy. In Nigeria, it is only the Federal High Court that has exclusive jurisdiction to entertain any dispute arising from mines and minerals, including oil and gas exploration. Apart from the significant delay occasioned by congestion of cases, the composition of the Federal High Court has no regard for expert personnel in environmental science who are capable of giving informed decisions that would improve access to environmental justice. This article examines the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in relation to environmental matters and argues that the court as presently constituted is not better placed to ensure access to environmental justice. This article employs doctrinal legal research methodology and content analysis of both primary and secondary legal sources relating to the practice of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, and Land and Environment Court of New South Wales of Australia. The article argues in favour of establishing a specialised environmental court in Nigeria as a superior court with a comprehensive jurisdiction to dispose of environmental-related matters.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND THE BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATIES OF MALAYSIA
Full text linkSince the 1990s, globalisation has been a widely accepted concept all over the world. Among the original aims of economic globalisation were to improve the host states' economies and provide benefits to the foreign investors' home countries. Due to the absence of an international treaty in the host states, the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) play a significant role in controlling or regulating the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), different countries have signed 2896 BITs so far, in which, at present, 2361 BITs are in force. As a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and following other states, Malaysia also signed 71 BITs to facilitate the trade, of which 54 are in force at present. Malaysian FDI laws and BITs mainly protect foreign investors. However, most BITs lack the specific provision for protecting the environment. This paper addresses two questions: (a) Do the Malaysian BITs allow the host state to take measures to protect the environment? (b) How could the environment be protected against degradation during the pre-entry stage of FDIs in Malaysia? In this study, the doctrinal research method has been used to critically analyse fifteen BITs, with the aim to find out whether they contain any specific provision regarding the protection of the environment in Malaysia. The findings of this study suggest that the existing Malaysian BITs have provisions to promote and protect foreign investments but have no reference (except the Malaysia-Germany BIT) to the protection of the environment. Therefore, this study recommends that the government of Malaysia should consider inserting a specific provision regarding the protection of the environment in Malaysia while signing any future BITs
EXTENDING INDONESIAN GASTRODIPLOMACY:BLENDING GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION (GI) AND "KOPI INDONESIA"
Full text linkThis paper explores how coffee can contribute to the development of Indonesian gastro-diplomacy. Specifically, it investigates whether 5 incorporating Geographical Indication (GI) and the "Kopi Indonesia" (Indonesian Coffee) logo can strengthen Indonesia's nation brand (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or "Unity in Diversity"). One of the goals of gastro-diplomacy is using food commodities as symbols of a specific identity. Thus far, Indonesian coffee branding has emphasised local identity over national identity. This paper argues that the coffee GI represents the uniqueness of coffee from regions within Indonesia and reflects the country's diversity. At the same time, the "Kopi Indonesia" brand places all of these regional variants under the same umbrella to make coffee products from Indonesia more recognisable on the global market. Unlike previous studies, which view GI and the Kopi Indonesia brand as solely related to marketing and protection of intellectual property rights, this research shows that the unification of GIs and "Kopi Indonesia" has broader implications. Indonesia has utilised coffee as a tool of gastro-diplomacy, and the policies that the government has implemented around the coffee trade are tied to how the country wants to be perceived on the global stage
POLICY, LEGAL AND REGULATION RESEARCH IN THE SHARING ECONOMY: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
Full text linkThe sharing economy has changed the way we think about services, assets, and ownership. This phenomenon has shaped a new economic model which emphasises sharing over property ownership. Shared platforms such as Airbnb, Grab, and Uber are increasing in size and popularity exponentially, causing certain political and legal issues associated with such growth. In this regard, this paper aims to investigate the evolution of policy, legal and regulatory research in the sharing economy from the year 1995 to the year 2020 and focuses on new research topics in this field. To achieve this goal, the study utilised extensive bibliometric analysis to identify and analyse 343 articles published in SCOPUS indexed journals from 2004 to 2020. The result shows that research on the sharing economy has increased since 2000. However, the total number of publications in SCOPUS journal relating to policies and regulations still lags behind as compared to the publications in other disciplines. Most of the published research is in the form of concept papers and empirical research. Nevertheless, it is still inadequate. This study summarises the evolution of publications over time and outlines the interests of current research and the potential directions for future research, including addressing policy and organisational research issues in the sharing econom
ANALYSIS OF WORKERS' RIGHTS IN THE ON-DEMAND ECONOMY WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VERTICAL INEQUALITY
Full text linkThe rapid development of digitalisation has tremendously changed the way business operates. In recent years, the on-demand economy or gig economy model has received positive acceptance worldwide due to its convenience and flexibility, both to business owners and consumers. More importantly, the on-demand economy offers a variety of job prospects to workers via digital platforms. These workers are known as 'virtual workers' or 'crowd workers’ are classified as 'self-employed' or 'independent contractors'. This new employment model has received much attention from the legal and human rights perspectives. The classical employer-employee relationship that is not transparent in the on-demand economy has resulted in the exclusion of liability and responsibility of platform companies to respect fundamental human rights protections of the workers. Digital platform companies are criticised for taking advantage of the weakened labour standards and protections, such as lack of collective bargaining power, inadequate social security protection, unlimited working hours, and inadequate safety and health policies at the workplace. In addition, the workers at these platforms reportedly experienced irregular payment schemes. This led to vertical inequality and discrimination between these two groups of workers. Hence, this paper seeks to explore and examine human rights protection concerning workers in the on-demand economy. Additionally, this paper will present a specific discussion on vertical inequality between the two groups of workers and thereafter recommend the need for determination of employment status for the platform workers and also the need to ensure essential human rights protections for all workers irrespective of their employment status. 
A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE UNRWA-USA FRAMEWORK FOR COOPERATION (2021-2022) REGARDING PALESTINIAN REFUGEES
Full text linkRecently, issues related to Palestinian refugees have been diminishing in support due to multiple attempts made by the United States and Israel, which include measures to restrict the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). These attempts escalated when former US President Donald Trump announced a complete suspension of funding for the UNRWA in 2018, plunging the Agency into an unusual financial crisis that harmed the assistance to refugees in its operation areas. However, the current US President Joe Biden announced his intention to resume funding for the UNRWA and, in July 2021, signed a cooperation framework known as "framework agreement" but its terms and details were widely rejected by the Palestinians and the general public because of political and security reasons. According to the Agreement, individuals receiving military training under the UNRWA programmes are not eligible for UNRWA health or educational assistance. The framework agreement between the US and the UNRWA tries to change UNRWA's operating mandate without the authorisation of the United Nations General Assembly. Therefore, this article follows a doctrinal analytical approach to both the framework agreement and the UNRWA's operational mandate. It also critically appraises this Agreement in light of international humanitarian law and verifies its impact on the human rights of both beneficiaries and UNRWA workers, including rights to education and freedom of speech. This article concludes that the Agreement violates the norms of public international law by switching the Agency's missions and avoiding the need for an important decision-making process
REGULATIONS AND POLICIES FOR SCREENING OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT PROPOSALS IN MALAYSIA
Full text linkForeign investors most commonly have the intention to maximise their profit against capital investment and in doing so, they prefer the least-developed and developing countries for investments due to the weak legal frameworks. They can easily bypass their responsibility towards the host countries including corporate social responsibility. In this context, it is very important for the host state to properly screen any foreign investment proposal before allowing it. Malaysia has a central government body which is responsible for screening foreign investment proposals. This study scrutinises the existing regulations or policies of screening to find out whether there are any loopholes or in need of amendments. This paper addresses one major question: is the existing legal framework compatible to ensure proper screening of foreign investment proposals? This study applies the doctrinal legal research method and semi-structured interviews. Four respondents were interviewed with expertise in FDI laws and regulations in Malaysia. Findings show that there is a need for improvements in the existing regulatory mechanisms for the screening of foreign investment proposals and recommendations are provided accordingly
ADEQUACY OF PRIVACY REGIME IN BANGLADESH: KEY CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL POLICY MEASURES
Full text linkPrivacy is one of the most desired human rights in this ubiquitous computing era - when a vast majority of our work is done online using personal data. Numerous actors are continually monitoring our activities, and consequently, user privacy came under tremendous threats. In response, various legal and policy measures have been adopted at national, regional, and international levels. The citizens of Bangladesh are also experiencing diverse privacy threats, and hence, they deserve to have adequate legal protections. This context requires a study to search for answers to the question - whether there are any legal protections for privacy in the existing legal regime of Bangladesh comparable with international data protection standards. This study aims to fill the gap using doctrinal legal research methodology. The findings of this study reveal that although there is no privacy or comprehensive data protection law in Bangladesh, privacy is conditionally recognised in the Constitution. There are numerous isolated privacy provisions in some other subsidiary legislation and references to privacy in several case laws as well. The results of this study will enlighten all stakeholders regarding privacy issues and facilitate them to map and design future policy strategies. This eventually contributes to establishing a safer online ecosystem in Bangladesh
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MODEL IN THE PREPARATION OF SHARIA-BASED ACEH QANUN: SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF THE ULAMA
Full text linkPublic participation in preparing legal products in Indonesia is essential for national and regional legislation. Although Indonesia is considered to have “achieved” democracy, many legislations do not agree with the people’s aspirations. This situation eventually led to a judicial review at the Supreme Court. It is expected that legal products in the form of sharia-based Aceh Qanun (regional regulation) can generate legal certainty and justice for society. This research was conducted in Aceh using a legal method based on a prescriptive approach. Results show that public participation in the preparation of sharia-based Qanun is more focused on issues that can give rise to differences of opinions amongst people from multi-religious backgrounds. The views are related to the norms in the bill in terms of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), local wisdom, and exploring problems and efforts to overcome them. The Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama’s (Ulama Consultative Assembly/MPU) role in preparing Aceh Qanuns is limited to providing suggestions for the currently discussed bill. Unfortunately, the Aceh Qanun has not accommodated the rights of MPU to provide recommendations. MPU’s proposal for the Aceh Qanun bill is in the form of suggestions because the ulama’s views do not bind the Aceh Governor and Parliament to enact the bill. The situation happens because the opinions are not in the form of a fatwa (legal pronouncement in Islam) but merely suggestions and recommendations
IS THERE A PRIVATE RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN MALAYSIA?
Full text linkDespite widespread recognition as a fundamental human right across common law and civil law jurisdictions, the right to privacy remains a novel concept yet to be fully defined in Malaysia. Due to the absence of written law, Malaysian courts remain starkly divided on whether the right to privacy can sustain a free-standing cause of action enforceable between individuals in civil actions distinct from trespass, nuisance and breach of confidence. To resolve this legal conundrum, this article examines the current state of Malaysian law in recognising invasion of privacy as an actionable tort based on conventional norms. Reference will be made to primary sources of law, i.e., the Federal Constitution, statutes, and judicial decisions, as well as secondary sources of law inclusive of scholarly writings and judicial decisions from foreign common law jurisdictions where laws on privacy have ripened, i.e. the US, UK, New Zealand, and Canada. The article consists of three parts. the first part provides a summary of normative values of privacy. Second, examination of the judicial decisions by the Malaysian Federal Court, Court of Appeal, and High Court on the right to privacy. Third, evaluation of alternative sources of written law and the common law tests to establish the tort of invasion of privacy. This article concludes that a fresh paradigm is required to develop the Malaysian legal framework on privacy to ensure coherence with its normative origins and consistency with the legal standards of other common law jurisdictions