This week in law and policy research, with a focus on African legal scholarship and its global context.
📊 This week at a glance
🌍 African-led research
The UN is moving toward a new treaty that would make free pre-primary and secondary education a legal right for children worldwide.
In 2024, the UN Human Rights Council created a working group to explore an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child; its first session was in September 2025. This would shift early childhood care and education from a policy goal to a binding legal obligation. For African countries, where many children still lack free secondary schooling, such a protocol could provide a legal lever to demand government action and international support. The article is an annotation of the draft text, so its impact depends on future negotiations.
South Africa’s inclusive education policies exist on paper, but Black learners with disabilities in rural areas remain excluded from meaningful schooling.
Despite a progressive Constitution and policies like Education White Paper 6, rural provinces see a persistent gap between policy promises and reality. This study documents how systemic marginalisation continues, challenging the assumption that legal frameworks alone ensure inclusion. For African education systems, it shows that implementation—not just policy—determines whether disabled learners actually access school. The authors call for targeted interventions in rural communities.
The ICJ’s 2025 climate advisory opinion clarifies that states’ climate duties come not only from treaties but also from customary international law.
This expands the legal basis for climate action beyond the Paris Agreement, meaning countries like South Africa can be held accountable under broader international obligations. The authors argue this strengthens the case for South Africa’s second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to be treated as a binding domestic duty, not just a political pledge. For African climate policy, it offers a new legal tool to push for stronger emissions cuts and adaptation funding.
Socio-economic rights litigation in South Africa often fails to improve the lives of poor women because it does not centre their actual experiences.
The article argues that court cases about housing, water, and social security rarely translate into real change for women facing poverty and violence. It calls for a shift in legal strategy to prioritise the needs and voices of poor women themselves. For African human rights practice, this means rethinking how law is used as a tool for social change, moving beyond courtroom victories to lived impact.
South Africa’s Constitution already provides a legal basis for a Basic Income Grant, shifting the debate from economics to constitutional duty.
Section 27(1)(c) guarantees the right to social security, which the author argues can justify a universal grant. This reframes the BIG as a constitutional obligation rather than just a policy choice, potentially strengthening advocacy for its implementation. For African social policy, it shows how domestic law can be used to demand income support in the face of economic scepticism.
The Western Cape Commissioner for Children is a unique sub-national body, but its powers and impact on child participation remain limited.
This is the only provincial child rights institution in South Africa, and the article analyses its legal establishment and functions. While it facilitates some child participation, its ability to enforce children’s rights is constrained. For African child rights advocacy, it highlights both the potential and the limitations of sub-national institutions in advancing children’s interests.
🔬 Global breakthroughs
The EU’s DSA Transparency Database, meant to track content moderation, has significant shortcomings that limit its usefulness.
The database collects explanations from online platforms about their content moderation decisions, but the study finds gaps in data quality and accessibility. This undermines the Digital Services Act’s goal of a safe and trusted online environment. For African researchers and policymakers, it underscores the challenges of regulating global platforms and the need for robust transparency mechanisms.
Permitless concealed carry laws in the US are associated with an increase in violent crime, according to a causal analysis.
Since 2015, over 20 US states have adopted laws allowing concealed handguns without a license or background check. This study estimates that these laws lead to more crime, challenging the assumption that they deter criminals. While focused on the US, it offers evidence for African policymakers debating firearm regulation and public safety.
A new method using main path analysis can automatically track how case law evolves over time, making it easier to follow judicial reasoning.
The technique identifies key paths in legal networks to show historical developments, moving beyond just listing precedents. This could help lawyers and researchers quickly understand trends and inconsistencies in court decisions. For African legal systems, it offers a tool to manage growing case law and improve access to justice through better legal research.
Brazil’s first national guidelines for invasive candidiasis in a decade address high mortality by standardising diagnosis and treatment.
Invasive candidiasis, a fungal infection, kills many hospitalised patients in Brazil due to late diagnosis and limited antifungal access. The new guidelines aim to improve outcomes by providing clear recommendations for adults and children. For African health systems facing similar challenges, this offers a model for developing context-specific guidelines to combat hospital infections.
All papers are open access. Explore more Law research on FRELIP · discover open scholarship at frelip.org and search 36,000+ open works at search.frelip.org. FRELIP — born in Nigeria, built for African scholarship, serving the world.