Studies in Law and Justice

Human Rights and the Rehabilitation of Prisoners of War in the Cameroon Anglophone Armed Conflict: Progress, Pitfalls, and Prospects

Dr. Kwebe Augustine Nkwiyir — 2026-02-11

The rehabilitation of prisoners of war remains a critical component of human rights protection in armed conﬂict, yet it is frequently overlooked in both legal analysis and post-conﬂict policy design, particularly in non-international armed conﬂicts. In the context of the Anglophone Cameroon crisis, the capture, detention, release, and reintegration of conﬂict-related detainees have generated complex legal and humanitarian questions. This article examines the rehabilitation of prisoners of war in the Anglophone Cameroon armed conﬂict through the combined lenses of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. Adopting a doctrinal and qualitative analytical approach, the study evaluates the applicable legal frameworks and appraises existing rehabilitation measures by assessing progress achieved, identifying persistent pitfalls, and exploring future prospects. The analysis demonstrates that while notable progress has been made through State-led amnesty initiatives, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, and humanitarian interventions, significant challenges persist. These include legal ambiguity surrounding prisoner classification, fragmented institutional implementation, insuﬃcient psychosocial and socio-economic support, and enduring social stigma. The article argues that without a comprehensive, rights-based and institutionalized rehabilitation framework, current efforts risk falling short of restoring human dignity and contributing to sustainable peace. It concludes by proposing legal, institutional, and policy reforms aimed at strengthening rehabilitation practices in conformity with international human rights standards and the long-term resolution of the Anglophone Cameroon crisis.

Defense Dilemmas for Juvenile Offenders and Corresponding Solutions—A Case Study of the Two-Tier People’s Courts in City D, Province Y

Xiran Zhang — 2026-02-11

The issue of effective legal representation for juvenile offenders in China remains at the exploratory stage in both legislation and judicial practice. Therefore, through an empirical study of a representative region, this paper seeks to infer broader patterns from specific observations. It identifies several current dilemmas in realizing effective defense for juvenile offenders in China. These include: a fragmented and unclear legal and regulatory framework; a lack of unified guiding principles for judicial practice; a shortage of qualified defense counsel; the ineffectiveness of defense efforts; excessive caseload pressure on trial organizations impacting defense quality; and the influence of the juvenile offenders’ own circumstances on their legal defense. The root causes are analyzed as: a criminal procedure ethos overly focused on crime suppression; issues of professional ethics among defense lawyers and the risks associated with criminal defense work; and excessive social control pressures on criminal prosecution authorities. Consequently, measures should be implemented to further safeguard the effective legal representation of juvenile offenders in China. These include improving the legal framework concerning the right to defense for juveniles, establishing a specialized defense force for juvenile delinquency cases, optimizing judicial philosophies and systems related to juvenile trials, and strengthening legal aid mechanisms for minors.

Research on Penal Enforcement Efficacy Evaluation and Human Rights Protection Mechanisms

Junwen Zhong — 2026-02-24

This study develops a multidimensional assessment framework for evaluating penal enforcement efficacy while establishing integrated mechanisms for human rights protection. Through empirical analysis of execution data, the research identifies key performance indicators that balance institutional efficiency with fundamental rights preservation. The investigation examines practical approaches for embedding rights safeguards within correctional environments, focusing on maintaining individual dignity and procedural justice during rehabilitation processes. By proposing cross-departmental coordination models and legal reform strategies, the research demonstrates how optimized resource allocation and systematic improvements can simultaneously advance enforcement effectiveness and human rights standards. The findings provide actionable pathways for transforming penal administration through evidence-based policy adjustments and institutional innovations that reconcile operational efficiency with constitutional protections.

Protection of Natural Resources as a Human Rights Imperative Under Cameroonian Law

Enow Godwill Baiye — 2026-03-17

This article examines the extent to which human rights concerns are protected during the exploitation of natural resources in Cameroon. Cameroon is endowed with a wealth of natural resources, but the exploitation of these resources has not translated into economic prosperity for the majority of its citizens. The exploitation of these resources has led to significant human rights abuses, environmental degradation and social injustices despite the plethora of laws that regulate this sector. Data was collected using primary and secondary sources and analysed using in-depth content analysis for the development of this article. The findings of this article revealed the legislative gaps, inadequate supervision, and discriminatory benefit sharing that hinders the effective protection of natural resources as a human right imperative in Cameroon. It further argues that the rights to environmental justice, a healthy environment, and development are fundamental human rights that are often violated in the context of natural resource exploitation in Cameroon. Constitutional reforms, creation of specialized courts, increase citizen’s participation, effective implementation of environmental laws and a fair and equitable benefit sharing with local communities were recommended as measures to protect natural resources as a human rights imperative in Cameroon.

Judicial Application Dilemmas and Normative Pathways Following the Criminalization of Self-Money Laundering—An Empirical Study Based on 175 Judicial Decisions

Xiong Yi — 2026-03-17

The 2021 Criminal Law Amendment (XI) abolished the elements of “knowingly” and “assisting” from the crime of money laundering, formally incorporating self-money laundering into the scope of criminal regulation. This has marked a historic shift in China’s anti-money laundering criminal legislation, from a “single-track system” targeting only third-party money laundering to a “dual-track system” covering both self- and third-party money laundering. In 2024, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate jointly issued the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Money Laundering, which further refined the identification criteria and sentencing rules for self-money laundering, and provided normative guidance for judicial practice.

However, approximately four years after the criminalization of self-money laundering, judicial practice still faces prominent dilemmas, including ambiguous factual determination, imbalanced sentencing discretion and confusion in the disposal of concurrent offenses, which hinder the effective implementation of China’s anti-money laundering criminal policy.

To systematically evaluate the judicial effect of self-money laundering criminalization and solve these practical problems, this empirical study analyzes 175 first-instance judgments on money laundering crimes published on China Judgments Online from March 2021 to December 2024. By adopting empirical methods including descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-tests, chi-square tests, one-way ANOVA, multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression, this study constructs a comprehensive analytical framework: Research Design → Sample Characteristics → Empirical Testing → Problem Identification → Normative Proposals.

The key findings are as follows: (1) The legislative effect of self-money laundering criminalization has initially emerged. The number of money laundering cases has increased year by year, and the proportion of self-money laundering cases has risen steadily from 25.71% in 2022 to 33.96% in 2024, reflecting the continuous improvement of judicial authorities’ prosecutorial and adjudicative capabilities. (2) There are statistically significant differences in judicial sentencing between self- and third-party money laundering: self-money laundering cases incur significantly longer principal penalties (32.03 months vs. 20.68 months; t=2.3466, p=0.0201) and a much lower suspended sentence application rate (10.26% vs. 47.06%; χ²=15.764, p<0.001). In addition, regional factors and predicate offense types have no significant impact on sentencing (p>0.05), indicating overall consistency in judicial application of money laundering crimes.

Nevertheless, three core challenges remain in judicial practice: First, in factual determination, courts often simplify the evaluation of the subjective intent of concealment and disguise, the boundary between self-money laundering conduct and the act of the predicate offense is ambiguous, and the distinction standards between money laundering and the crime of concealing or disguising criminal proceeds are not unified. Second, in sentencing discretion, individual cases have the problem of sentencing inversion, the discretion range of fines is excessively large, and there is a lack of quantitative criteria for suspended sentence application. Third, in the disposal of concurrent offenses, the applicable standards are not unified, and there are divergent practices in handling self-money laundering in joint crimes.

These dilemmas arise from the interaction of multiple factors, including overly principled legislative provisions, theoretical cognitive divergences between academia and practice, and insufficient professional capacity of judicial organs in handling financial crimes.

Accordingly, this paper proposes a systematic and operable normative path from five dimensions: strengthening theoretical foundations, refining factual determination rules, establishing a standardized sentencing system, unifying the disposal principles of concurrent offenses, and improving judicial application support mechanisms. The research aims to advance the standardized and unified judicial application of self-money laundering provisions, and provide empirical evidence and theoretical support for the improvement of China’s anti-money laundering criminal legal system.

Community-Based Non-Custodial Sentences Under the Cameroon Criminal Justice System and Its Effects on Prisoners’ Rights

Kum Elvis Fang — 2026-03-25

This paper examines the community-based non-custodial sentences introduced into Cameroon’s criminal justice system by Law No. 2016/007 of 12 July 2016 and their effects on prisoners’ rights. The reform established two types of alternative penalties—community service and reparatory sentences—designed to divert offenders from imprisonment and address the chronic overcrowding that has reduced Cameroon’s prisons to conditions violating fundamental human rights. Through doctrinal legal analysis and examination of international human rights instruments, constitutional provisions, and legislative frameworks, the thesis argues that non-custodial sentences protect prisoners’ rights both directly, by sparing offenders the harmful conditions of detention, and indirectly, by reducing population pressure that exacerbates rights violations for those who remain incarcerated. The analysis reveals, however, a profound gap between legislative provision and operational reality: implementing regulations remain undeveloped, administrative infrastructure unestablished, and judicial practice unchanged eight years after enactment. Despite compelling international recommendations from the Committee Against Torture and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights urging greater use of alternatives to imprisonment, the promise of non-custodial sentencing remains substantially unfulfilled. The thesis concludes that realizing the potential of community-based sentences requires urgent development of implementing regulations, establishment of supervision mechanisms, and expansion of eligible offences beyond the current restrictive scope of seventy-eight out of approximately two hundred sixty Penal Code provisions.

Ship Registration and the Legal Attribution of Nationality Under the Law of the Sea

Kelly Ngeche Tanyi — 2026-04-02

Ship registration is the legal process through which vessels acquire nationality and become subject to the jurisdiction and regulatory authority of a ﬂag State under the international law of the sea. This study examines the legal framework governing ship registration and the attribution of nationality, focusing on the juridical bond established between vessels and States and the obligations that arise from this relationship. The research is motivated by ongoing concerns regarding the ambiguity of the genuine link requirement and inconsistencies in the enforcement of ﬂag State responsibilities within the global maritime regime. The study adopts a qualitative research approach using the doctrinal legal method, involving the systematic analysis of relevant international legal instruments, legal principles, and scholarly materials regulating ship nationality. Particular attention is given to the provisions governing ship registration and the duties of ﬂag States to exercise effective jurisdiction and control over vessels ﬂying their ﬂag. The findings reveal that ship registration constitutes the legal act through which nationality is conferred, granting vessels the right to ﬂy the ﬂag of a State while simultaneously placing them under its regulatory authority. However, the study finds that the genuine link requirement remains vague and weakly operationalized, contributing to disparities in registration practices and regulatory oversight. The research also highlights the governance challenges posed by stateless vessels, which operate outside effective legal supervision. The study contributes to knowledge by clarifying the legal implications of ship nationality, identifying regulatory gaps within the existing framework, and proposing reforms aimed at strengthening ﬂag State accountability, oversight of ship registries, and technological innovation in maritime administration.

Algorithmic Discrimination Against Workers and Remedies Under the DeepSeek Context

Qiqi Guo — 2026-04-02

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies, algorithmic discrimination, while bringing development opportunities, has also exposed numerous existing problems. Issues of algorithmic discrimination urgently need to be addressed in job screening, wage distribution, and occupational stratification. Based on these issues, this paper proposes remedies for workers from three broad aspects: enhancing workers’ capacity to safeguard their rights, improving industry self-regulation schemes, and refining national regulatory measures. Through in-depth and multi-dimensional research on algorithmic discrimination, and by comparing legal regulations across different countries, it helps to better understand the impact of algorithmic discrimination on workers’ rights and interests, and provides a theoretical basis for subsequent policy-making and legal regulation.