Charles Fombad

Professor CM Fombad Position, academic & professional qualifications Charles Fombad is the current head of the Department of Public Law. He holds the degrees LL.B (Yaoundé), LL.M and Ph.D. (London) as well as a diploma in Conflict Resolution (Uppsala). The title of his Ph.D. thesis is “The settlement of disputes under international air transport agreements”. He was appointed as head of department for a four year term on 1 January 2010. Academic and professional experience He was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Yaoundé from 1988 - 1997. Thereafter he was appointed lecturer at the University of Botswana from 1997 and was a full professor by the time he left in December 2009. He has also taught as visiting lecturer in the Universities of Buea and Dschang in Cameroon. Teaching activities He has taught various courses in his career including, Introduction to law and legal systems, Law and Social Research Methods, Law of International Organisations, Law of Tort, Law of Delict, Commercial Law, Law of Contract, and Equity and Trust at the undergraduate level. At the postgraduate level, he has taught Comparative Constitutional Law, Law and Sports, Legal Issues in Counselling, International Law, Maritime Law, International Business Transactions, and International Commercial Arbitration. He has presented lectures at various national and international conferences. He is an external examiner in the School of Law, University of Witwatersrand, School of Law, University of Fort Hare, Faculty of Law, National University of Lesotho and Faculty of Law, Rhodes University. Representative publications * (Book) Cameroon: Constitutional Law (Monograph in Blanpain, ed., International Encyclopaedia of Laws –Constitutional Law). Kluwer Law International, The Hague (2003). * (Book with Emmanuel K. Quansah) The Botswana Legal System, LexisNexis Butterworths, Cape Town (2006). * (Book) Essays on the law of Botswana, Juta & Co, Cape Town (2007). * The Swaziland Constitution of 2005: Can Absolutism be Reconciled with Modern Constitutionalism?” 23 SAJHR (2007), pp. 93-115. * “Challenges to Constitutionalism and Constitutional Rights in Africa and the Enabling Role of Political Parties: Lessons Perspectives from Southern Africa,” 55 American Journal of Comparative Law (2007), pp.1-46. * “A Preliminary Assessment of the Prospects for Judicial Independence in Post-1990 Africa Constitutions,” 2 Public Law (2007), pp.233-257. * Charles Manga Fombad, “The African Union, Democracy and Good Governance.” 32 Current African Issues (2006), pp.9-38. * “Children and informed consent to HIV/AIDS testing and treatment in Botswana,” 2 University of Botswana Law Journal, (2005)pp.33-72. * “The separation of powers and constitutionalism in Africa: The case of Botswana,” 25 Boston College Third World Law Journal (2005)pp. 301-342. * “The constitutional protection against discrimination in Botswana,” 53 International and Comparative Law Quarterly (2004) pp. 139-170. * “Customary courts and traditional justice in Botswana: Present challenges and future perspectives,” 15 Stellenbosch Law Review, (2004), pp.166-192. * “Governmental vicarious liability for the acts of off-duty officials in Botswana,” 2 Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, (2001) pp. 231 –252. * “The protection of freedom of expression in the public service media in southern Africa: A Botswana perspective,” 65 Modern Law Review, (2002), pp. 649-675 * “The enhancement of good governance in Botswana: A critical assessment of the Ombudsman Act," 27 Journal of Southern African Studies, (2001) pp. 57-77. * "Equity in current international practice,” 2&3 Revue Juridique Africaine, (1994), pp.111-127. * "Consultations and negotiations in the pacific settlement of international disputes,” African Journal of International and Comparative Law,” (1989) pp.707-724. * "The dynamics of record breaking corruption and political opportunism in Cameroon" in John Mukum Mbaku and Joseph Takougong (eds).The leadership challenge in Africa: Cameroon under Paul Biya, (2004) Africa World Press, Trenton N.J., pp. 357-394. Areas of specialization His main areas of interest include constitutional law, international law, comparative law and legal history. Academic & professional memberships He is a member of the South African Association of Legal Historians, the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA), the African Network for Constitutional Lawyers (ANCL), and the International Association of Constitutional Law. Awards and bursaries In 2003 the Editorial Board of the Journal for Juridical Science awarded the “Bobbert Association Prize” to Prof. Fombad for the best article, “Some insights into statutory law-making in Botswana”. He was also awarded the Wedderburn Prize by the Editorial Committee of the Modern Law Review in 2003 for the article “The protection of freedom of expression in the public service media in Southern Africa: A Botswana perspective”. In 2004, 2005 and again in 2007 he was awarded the special commendation for research excellence (as runner up to the University Researcher of the Year) by the University of Botswana Research Awards Committee. He was appointed as Professor Honorarium of the Department of Jurisprudence, University of South Africa from 2003 – 2007. Appointments He is a member of the editorial board of the following international journals: the African Journal of International Affairs; International Encyclopedia of Laws, Belgium; Constitutional Court Review, South Africa; CALS Review of Nigerian Law and Practice; Botswana Review of Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS; BIAC Journal of Business, Management and Training; Fundamina: A Journal of Legal History, and City University of Hong Kong Law Review Tel: +27 12 420-3377 Fax: +27 12 420-2991