AGBOR A “A delineation of the impact of illicit financial flows on the right to development: details from Cameroon’s special criminal court” Journal of
Financial Crime - 25 April 2022, Vol.

Purpose – This paper advances the argument that misappropriation of public funds should be construed as illicit financial flows (IFFs) which, undoubtedly, have an adverse effect on the realization of the right to development. Furthermore, by detailing the nature of IFFs, this paper aims to demystify the shallow understanding of what is IFF or what are IFFs and why misappropriation of public funds should be seen in that light.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines and interrogates the different judgements that have been delivered in cases tried and finalised by the special criminal court (SCC). With viewpoints that are backed by a theoretical understanding of Cameroonian criminal law in particular and criminal law in general, an analysis of the underlying intentions, motives and trajectories in the commission of misappropriation of public funds corroborate the view that the offence must be construed as IFFs. The data used in this paper are primary.

Findings – A few pertinent findings were made in the course of this research. Firstly, the offence of misappropriation of public funds and IFFs are not distinct, and any effort to limit the use of “funds” to finances will ultimately miss the point as property with financial value will definitely amount to funds. Secondly, through misappropriation of public funds/property, IFFs have been committed based on the trends and figures disclosed in the judgements of the SCC. Finally, the right to development requires resources and by stealing public funds, resources are deprived, thereby compromising the realisation of development and the right to development.

Originality/value – This paper examines the impact of IFFs on the right to development within the context of Cameroon. By diagnosing the definition of the crime of misappropriation of public property or funds, the paper argues that such an offence must be seen as IFFs given its nature, the motive and intention underlying its perpetration.

https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-03-2022-0071

BHUIYAN HJ “The Contested Concept of Secularism and Bangladesh” The American Journal of Comparative Law, Vol 7 No 52, 2022 pp,1 – 50

There are different ways in which scholars comprehend secularism. According to some scholars, secularism is the phenomenon in which re­ligion is fully separated from the state and plays no part in the public domain. Others are of the view that, while secularism denotes separ­ation between religion and state, there should be little involvement of religion in the public domain because it is a vital part of the lives of individuals. This Article aims to discuss the various interpretations of secularism, create a classification of secularism models, and examine how secularism is considered in Bangladesh. For this purpose, this Article analyzes statements given by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (known as the Father of the Nation and the leader of the Bangladesh Awami League) to identify the secularism model followed in Bangladesh. Sheikh Mujib and his political party, the Awami League, did not ex­plicitly use the word “secularism” until the independence war in 1971. However, secularist ideals were emphasized by the party. After inde­pendence, the Constitution of Bangladesh was adopted in 1972 and secularism was included in the Constitution.

In Bangladesh, secularism is understood as the antithesis of com­munalism. Anti-communalism in Bangladesh does not refer to anti-religion; rather, it eliminates conflict between the various subnational communities and describes politics by giving equal status to individ­uals in a unified national community. President Ziaur Rahman re­moved the secularism principle from the Constitution in 1977 through the Fifth Amendment. Islam was declared as the state religion in 1988 during the rule of President Hussain Muhammad Ershad through the Eighth Amendment. In 2011, the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League as Sheikh Hasina saw the necessity for following an estab­lished religion model, while making sure that sufficient rights were also awarded to religious minorities. Adopting Islam as the state reli­gion is considered by the Awami League as a means of satisfying the Muslim majority and peacefully coexisting with religious groups such as Hefazat-e-Islam. This Article argues that the Awami League’s stance implies the practice of modus vivendi, which, in contemporary terms, signifies a means of living together for the population, in spite of their contradictory features, which emerge mostly because of difference in opinions, interests, religions, ethnicities, or beliefs. Through the prac­tice of modus vivendi, these differences are recognized and facilitated. The meaning of secularism (and the issue of whether the state should be committed to secularism) is deeply contested in Bangladesh, making the country an interesting case study.

BIERMANN F, OOMEN J, GUPTA A, ALI S, CONCA K, HAJER M, KASHWAN P, KOTZÉ LJ, Leach M, Messner D, Okereke M, Persson Å, Potočnik J, Schlosberg D, Scobie M, and Van de Veer S “Solar Geoengineering: The Case for an International Non-use Agreement” 2022(e754) WIREs Climate Change 1-8