LCP4807 Assignment 2 (DETAILED ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED

LCP4807 Assignment 2 (DETAILED ANSWERS) Semester 2 2025 - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED - DISTINCTION GUARANTEED Answers, guidelines, workings and references .. The Republic of Kamarara is an African country with a constitution that includes the Bill of Rights, and it was adopted in 1990. Kamarara has ratified the major United Nations (UN) human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (including its two Optional Protocols). On 16 May 2015, a pregnant woman was raped and murdered near Mazara village in the Republic of Kamarara. Mr Mbhekwe was accused of committing the crime and brought to trial. He denied the offence. On 15 June 2017 the High Court in Kamarara convicted him of the crime of murder and sentenced him to death, the only sentence available for the offence of murder under the Kamarara penal law. According to Section 14 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act 15 of 1939 of Kamarara “a person convicted of murder is liable to suffer death.” Mr Mbhekwe claims that the death sentence as provided for in the Criminal and Other Offences Act is unconstitutional and violates a number of human rights as provided for in the Constitution of Kamarara as well as international human rights instruments that Kamarara has ratified. He then appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal and challenged the conviction and sentence. On 15 May 2018, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal both on the conviction and the sentence. Mr Mbhekwe further appealed to the Constitutional Court which is the highest court in Kamarara against the conviction and sentence. On 19 June 2019, the Constitutional Court dismissed the appeal against the conviction and rejected the merits of the author’s challenge to the constitutionality of the mandatory death penalty, by holding that the mandatory death sentence for murder was consistent with the laws of Kamarara. 2 The Movement Against Death Penalty (MADP) an International Non-Governmental-Organisation which provides legal representation and assistance to individuals facing death penalty would like to institute legal proceedings against the Republic of Kamarara on behalf of Mr Mbhekwe. MADP would like to take the matter to the Human Rights Committee (HRC). They approach you as an expert in international human rights law for advice. Using the ICCPR and its two optional protocols advise MADP. In your advice/legal opinion reflect on whether MADP can take the case to the HRC and use authority to justify your answers. In your answer, highlight the following points: a) The procedural issues. b) The merits of the case including the alleged human rights that the death penalty violates. c) Remedies that the HRC can grant.