Contents

21 November 2007

Contributions

• Globalisation, the development of constitutionalism and the individual employee / Calitz, K
• The emerging international constitutional order: the implications of hierarchy in international law for the coherence and legitimacy of international decision-making / De Wet, E
• The UNECIC: International trade in the digital era / Eiselen, S

Oratio

• Democratic elections in a global context / Tlakula, P

Editorial

The contributions of this issue all relate to the growing impact of globalization on divergent disciplines of the law such as labour law, public international law, international commercial law and electoral law. Globalization is a theme that will not recede in the time to come and many future contributions to PER can be expected to address it from different perspectives.

• Dr Karen Calitz of the University of Stellenbosch describes the South African Labour Court's contribution to the advancement of constitutionalism in its development of the rules of private international law for the purpose of protecting employees holding international employment contracts.

• Professor Erika de Wet of the University of Amsterdam addresses the phenomenon of an emerging international constitutional order in which the nation state continues to play a key role, but is simultaneously losing many of its competencies to the international legal order constituted by international norms and values.

• Against the background of the uncertainty caused by electronic communications in international transactions, Professor Sieg Eiselen of the University of South Africa discusses the interpretation of Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts of 2005, showing that UNECIC presents some valuable solutions to the difficulties caused by the increased use of electronic communications in commercial activities globally.

• In her oratio the Chief Electoral Officer of South Africa, Adv Pansy Tlakula demonstrates, with specific reference to the South African electoral management system how electoral standards are increasingly being set and applied around the globe.

Editor: Professor Francois Venter