Dr Thoko Kaime

Lecturer in law; Deputy Director, Environmental and Regulatory Research Group

Qualifications: PhD (SOAS, University of London), LLM (University of Pretoria, LLB (Hons) (University of Malawi)

Email: t.kaime@surrey.ac.uk
Phone: Work: 01483 68 6209
Room no: 10 AP 02

Office hours

Scheduled consultation hours are between 1100 and 1300 on Thursdays and between 0900 and 1000 on Fridays during term time. Please email to arrange meetings outside these times.

Biography
Research
Publications
Teaching
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Biography

Thoko Kaime is lecturer in law in the School of Law and Deputy Director of the Environmental Regulatory Research Group. Before joining the School, Thoko Kaime served as Senior Teaching Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London and as a corporate consultant for business advisory firm Exclusive Analysis Limited where he was Head of Africa Division. Thoko has previously studied law at the Universities of Malawi, Pretoria and Western Cape and was awarded his PhD at SOAS. He has been associated as a researcher with leading research and strategic institutions in various countries including the Centre for Human Rights (Pretoria), Children’s Institute (Cape Town), and the International Environmental Law Research Centre (Geneva).

Thoko is a founding member of the Law Environment and Development Centre at the School of Oriental and African Studies and a member of the Surrey International Law Centre. He also serves as an Associate Editor of the Malawi Law Journal and the Law Environment and Development Journal.

Research Interests

Thoko Kaime maintains broad interests in the area of public international law and the social critique of law and legal policy. He has written on human rights and environmental law, focusing on the intersection between law and legitimacy. He is the author of The Convention on the Rights of the Child: A cultural legitimacy critique,Europa Law Publishing. Groningen: Europa Law Publishing (2011) and editor of a forthcoming volume Cultural Legitimacy and the International Law and Policy on Climate Change Cambridge Press (forthcoming: April 2012). Thoko’s current research projects include socio-legal and human rights critiques of various aspects of the law and policy of ecosystems services and in particular, market-based initiatives designed to promote environmental protection.

Publications

Edited Books

Cultural Legitimacy and the International Law and Policy on Climate ChangeCambridge Press. Expected publication date: April 2012.

Books

The Convention on the Rights of the Child: A cultural legitimacy critique Europa Law Publishing. Groningen: Europa Law, Publishing (2011). Pages xii. 216. ISBN: 9789089521132

The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A socio-legal perspective Pretoria: Pretoria University Law Press (2009). Pages: xii 247. ISBN: 978-0-9814420-4-4

Book chapters

‘Democratising climate change regulation: An analysis of institutional legitimacy’ in T Kaime Cultural Legitimacy and the International Law and Policy on Climate Change Cambridge Press. Expected publication date: April 2012.

‘Socio-legal approaches to children’s rights under the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A discussion of methodology’ in B Atkin (ed) The International Survey of Family Law 2009 Edition (2009) Bristol: Family Law 255-274. ISBN: 9781846611827

‘The protection of refugee children under the African human rights system: finding durable solutions in international law’ in J Sloth-Nielsen (ed) Children’s rights in Africa: A legal perspective (2008) London: Ashgate 183-197. ISBN: 9780754648871

Articles

‘Cultural legitimacy and regulatory transitions for climate change: A discursive framework’ 3 (2011) Carbon & Climate Law Review 321-329. ISSN 1864-9904.

‘Vernacularising’ the Convention on the Right of the Child: Rights and culture as analytic tools’ 18 (2010) International Journal of Children’s Rights 637-653. ISSN: 0927-5568

‘The foundations of rights in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A historical and philosophical account’ 3 (2009) African Journal of Legal Studies 119-136. ISSN 1708-7384

‘The African Children’s Charter: Does it represent a relevant vision of childhood and children’s rights?’ 29 (2009) Children's Legal Rights Journal 11-29. ISSN: 0278-7210

‘The struggle for context in the protection of children’s rights: Understanding the core concepts of the African Children’s Charter’ 58 (2009) Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law 33-68. ISBN 978-3-643-99932-0, ISSN 0732-9113

- with Dr D Chirwa ‘Where are the missing pieces? Constructing a mosaic of the CRC and the African Children’s Charter in Malawi’s law and policy’ (2008) 2 Malawi Law Journal 85-114. ISSN 1996-7675

‘The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the cultural legitimacy of children’s rights in Africa: Some reflections’ (2005) 5(2) African Human Rights Law Journal 221-238. ISSN: 1609-073X

‘From lofty jargon to durable solutions: Unaccompanied refugee children and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child’ (2004) 16(3) International Journal of Refugee Law 336-348. Print ISSN: 0953-8186; Online ISSN: 1464-3715

‘Beyond social programs: The right to health under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights’(2004) 10(2) East African Journal of Peace & Human Rights 192-205. ISSN: 1021-8858

‘Whose rights are they anyway?: A critical analysis of the international supervision mechanisms for economic, social and cultural rights’ (2004) 36 ZambiaLaw Journal 1-19. ISSN: 1027-7862

‘SADC and human rights: Fitting human rights into the trade matrix’ (2004) 13(1) African Security Review 109-117. ISSN: 1024-6029.

Teaching

Thoko’s teaching duties revolve around the areas of international human rights, international environmental law, socio-legal methodology and legal philosophy.

School of Law, University of Surrey

Jurisprudence

Public International Law

Law of International Organisations

International Environmental Law

Advanced International Environmental Law

Law and Policy for Ecosystem Services

Guest lectureships

Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey

International law and natural resource regulation

School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies

Law and natural resources

Other teaching appointments

Thoko has also been invited to serve as Visiting Scholar at Fordham University Law School as well as to serve as Doctoral Mentor at the Institute for Human Rights at Abo Akademi in 2012.

Affiliations

Thoko is a member of the Malawi Bar and the Honourable Malawi Law Society.

Selected academic conference proceedings

‘African children and the promise of children’s rights’ Keynote paper at ‘Celebration of the International Year of People of African Descent and the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child’, conference organised by UNICEF and the UN Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations, New York, 16-17 November 2011.

‘Culture, legitimacy and the transitions to low-carbon economies: An explanation of legitimising strategies’. Paper presented at the 8^th IKEM/University of Greifswald Summer Academy, School of Law, University of Surrey, 24-29 July 2011.

‘Cultural legitimacy and regulatory transitions for climate change: A discursive framework’ Paper presented at the international conference Cultural Legitimacy and the International Law and Policy on Climate Change, School of Law, University of Surrey, 21-22 June 2011.

‘International human rights implementation: Exploring the limits of legal protection’ 89^th Annual Meeting of the International Law Association, Fordham University School of Law, New York, 21-24 October 2010.

‘Localising sustainability: Strategies for climate change implementation’ Globalisation and Justice Seminar, School of Law, York University, Toronto 21-23 May 2010.

‘In search of new dialects: Democracy, rights and language in Malawi’ Southern Africa Society of Legal Historians Annual Conference, University of South Africa, Pretoria (24-26 January 2006).

‘Regional trade integration and the protection of human rights: The example of SADC’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Liverpool (23-25 March 2005).

‘Localising the global: Implementing international children’s rights standards in Africa’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Glasgow (6-8 April 2004).

Editorships

Malawi Law Journal

Law Environment and Development Journal

Expertise

Thematic expertise

Children’s rights, international human rights, climate change, ecosystems services analysis, sustainability analysis, risk analysis and mitigation, African governance issues