the justiciability of acts of state in Namibia

Abstract

Abstract provided by author:

This study examines or answers the question whether the traditional act of state doctrine survived the 1990 Constitution of Namibia? And if it has, are acts of state subject to judicial review? This is an attempt to formulate a suitable Namibian position reflecting the demands of Constitutional Supremacy, as the approach Courts would take. With this in mind, it transpired after research that, the Common law immunity act (s) of state doctrine survived the 1990 Constitution and continues to apply as part of our Common law. Here it is concluded that, Constitutional Supremacy overrides the acts of state doctrine and therefore the review jurisdiction of the court (s) is not ousted

Additionally, the purpose of this study is to find a suitable position for Namibia and to add to the existing literature on the doctrine. This purpose was achieved by reviewing existing literature in relation to variant jurisdictions, Case law and Constitutions. The significance of this study is therefore to assist the reader and to better clarify where Namibia stands. This study further fills a significant void in research on doctrine under enquiry