IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/smo/jornl1/v2y2018i2p75-84.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Constitutionality/Constitutionalisation of the Death Penalty in Cameroon and Ghana: An Appraisal on the Right to Life

Author

Listed:
  • Eric Che MUMA

    (Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany)

Abstract

Since the introduction of democratic reforms by states, the practice of death penalty is perceived by many, especially the developing states as a means to fight criminality and to minimise the number of crimes committed in the society. This sanction imposed by states seems to contradict most constitutional principles and the rights promised within it. The right to life, like any other fundamental right is most precious from which all other rights derived their validity. This right is promised by almost all states to their nationals within their respective constitutional order. The entrenchment of the right to life within the constitution, and the ratification of international human rights treaties, imposes a direct obligation on state parties to respect and to protect all its nationals during the process of implementation. However, this right promised by the states to all its citizens, alongside those found guilty of committing crimes, has been subjected to serious violations following the incorporation and practice of the death penalty within national laws. The pressing question arising at this juncture is whether the said penalty is constitutional and in favour of the right to life enshrined in the Constitution. This paper aims to unravel the contentious debate surrounding the constitutionality/constitutionalisation of the death penalty as an appraisal on the right to life with lessons from Cameroon and Ghana, in contrast with other states like the United States. It reveals that despite the obligations imposed on states to take effective and necessary steps, in accordance with their constitutional processes, the right to life is still under threat without effective constitutional protection. The paper also argues that despite several recommendations on the abolition of the death penalty around the globe, particularly in Africa, the practice is still ongoing, posing a great challenge on its constitutionality status.

Suggested Citation

  • Eric Che MUMA, 2018. "The Constitutionality/Constitutionalisation of the Death Penalty in Cameroon and Ghana: An Appraisal on the Right to Life," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:smo:jornl1:v:2:y:2018:i:2:p:75-84
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://journal.rais.education/index.php/raiss/article/view/24/14
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://journal.rais.education/index.php/raiss/article/view/24
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Todaro, Michael P, 1969. "A Model for Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 138-148, March.
    2. Oded Stark, 1991. "The Migration of Labor," Blackwell Books, Wiley Blackwell, number 1557860300, June.
    3. Haider, Mohammed Ziaul, 2010. "Raw Material Sourcing and Firm Performance: Evidence from Manufacturing Firms in South-West Bangladesh," Bangladesh Development Studies, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), vol. 33(4), pages 51-61, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Seksiri Niwattisaiwong & Komsan Suriya, 2018. "Margin of luck and value of information in lottery purchases in Thailand," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Md Mostafizur RAHMANPhD & Mahmud Uz ZAMAN & Ali HAIDER, 2018. "Opportunistic Migration: A Collateral Promise for Development in Seasonal Migration of Southwest Coastal Bangladesh," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(1), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Stelian MANOLACHE, 2018. "The Pressure of Modernity on the Christian Family," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Inabo Abel OBAKA, 2018. "Gender Equality in Environmental Issues for Achieving Sustainable Peace and Security in Nigeria," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-7, December.
    5. Wei-Bin ZHANG, 2018. "A General Dynamic Equilibrium Model and Business Cycles," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Peter Bisong BISONG, 2018. "Between Communalism and Individualism: Which Way Africa?," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Pallabi MUKHERJEE & Vivek. S. KUSHWAHA & Kalicharan MODAK, 2018. "South Africa’s Trade with G20 and Top ten African Countries-Applying Gravity Model," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 2(2), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Mohamed Amara & Hatem Jemmali, 2018. "Deciphering the Relationship Between Internal Migration and Regional Disparities in Tunisia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 135(1), pages 313-331, January.
    9. Fidrmuc, Jan, 2001. "Migration and adjustment to shocks in transition economies," ZEI Working Papers B 23-2001, University of Bonn, ZEI - Center for European Integration Studies.
    10. Guy Stecklov & Calogero Carletto & Carlo Azzarri & Benjamin Davis, 2010. "Gender and migration from Albania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(4), pages 935-961, November.
    11. Nancy McCarthy & Gero Carletto & Benjamin Davis & Irini Maltsoglou, 2006. "Assessing the Impact of Massive Out-Migration on Agriculture," Working Papers 06-14, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    12. Danilo Bertoni & Daniele Cavicchioli & Franco Donzelli & Giovanni Ferrazzi & Dario G. Frisio & Roberto Pretolani & Elena Claire Ricci & Vera Ventura, 2018. "Recent Contributions of Agricultural Economics Research in the Field of Sustainable Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, December.
    13. Konseiga, Adama, 2006. "Household Migration Decisions as Survival Strategy: The Case of Burkina Faso," Discussion Papers 276269, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    14. Li Hao, 2022. "Impact of Relaxing the Hukou Constraints on Return Migration Intentions: Evidence from China," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 583-607, April.
    15. Mario Sanchez, 2003. "Internal Migration, Return Migration, and Mortality. Evidence from Panel Data on Union Army Veterans," NBER Chapters, in: Health and Labor Force Participation over the Life Cycle: Evidence from the Past, pages 203-230, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Theodore Gerber & Karine Torosyan, 2013. "Remittances in the Republic of Georgia: Correlates, Economic Impact, and Social Capital Formation," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1279-1301, August.
    17. Jonathan Temple, 2002. "The Costs of Dualism," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 02/532, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    18. Yang Cheng & Yuxia Lv & Mark Rosenberg & Linke Hou, 2018. "Decision Making of Non-Agricultural Work by Rural Residents in Weifang, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    19. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Tobias Ketterer, 2015. "Do we follow the money? The drivers of migration across regions in the EU," REGION, European Regional Science Association, vol. 2, pages 27-45.
    20. Lall, Somik V. & Selod, Harris & Shalizi, Zmarak, 2006. "Rural-urban migration in developing countries : a survey of theoretical predictions and empirical findings," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3915, The World Bank.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:smo:jornl1:v:2:y:2018:i:2:p:75-84. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Eduard David (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://journal.rais.education/index.php/raiss .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.