Page - 50 - in Austrian Law Journal, Volume 1/2017

ALJ 1/2017 Lambert H.B. Asemota 50 other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religions or political opinions are not made subject” (emphasis added).46 It is also worth mentioning that although the governments of the states where Sharia has been adopted have always maintained that the law does not apply to non-Muslims, in state schools, buses, restaurants, etc., women are separated from men without due consideration of their religion. Dress code in schools and in specific places of work is made to conform with Islamic religion. And also in states where the population is about 50 % Muslims and 50 % Christians, the application of Sharia has been seen to always ignite and degenerate to ethno-sectarian killings. Furthermore, the Nigerian legal system is generally inundated with various rules of regional and international treaties and conventions that are binding on the state. A close look at some of them will reveal prima facie violations, particularly with regard to those customary and Sharia law rules that are applied in Nigeria today. First of these is the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. Apart from Articles 3, 4, 18 and 19, which specifically prohibit discrimination and depriva- tion of rights, Article 2 of the Charter specifically provides that no individual should be discrimi- nated against on any ground, be it religion, gender, race, political beliefs, ideology or ethnicity. It is also important to state categorically that most of the violations are directed at the vulnerable groups: women and children mainly from poor homes. Therefore, various Articles under African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) also prohibit such discriminatory and right-deprivation practices. The prohibition of discrimination is specifically laid down in Article 3. These regional instruments are binding on Nigeria pursuant to Article 26 of Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969.47 Even if a state cites the violations resulting from the application of those rules in customary and Sharia law as being violations that were ”manifest and concerned a rule of its internal law of fundamental importance” to this state, the overly harsh and discriminatory nature of some of these instruments may make them unacceptable as justification in modern world.48 There are however various other provisions in both the constitution and the international treaties and conventions that can be said to have been violated by the application of these laws, which are too numerous to discuss in this article.49 V. Principle of self-determination Self-determination simply means the right of people under international legal order to decide their sovereignty and political status without external interference. It is a core principle of inter- national law, arising from customary international law, but also recognised as a general principle of law. It is said, to date back to more than two centuries. And the era of the struggle of the United States (US) for independence is a pointer in that regard. Quite clearly, in the ensuing US declara- 46 The Constitution of Nigeria (1999) § 42(1)(a). 47 It provides that ”[e]very treaty in force is binding upon the parties to it and must be performed by them in good faith.” See also Article 27 of the Vienna Convention which stipulates that ”[a] party may not invoke the provisions of its in- ternal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty.” However, internal law mechanisms may be raised as justification if it can be proven beyond reasonable doubt that ”that violation was manifest and concerned a rule of its internal law of fundamental importance.” (Article 46). 48 See Article 46 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969. 49 See for example: sections of Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's on the Rights of Women in Africa, as well as CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women].