Network disruption has become commonplace in Ethiopia in the past few years. Be it for preventing exam leaks, the spread of disinformation, or to fight off cyber-attacks, the government has repeatedly disrupted communication networks. However, the legal basis with which the government often shuts down the Internet or disrupts other means of digital communications remains unclear. Despite a recent attempt

The quest for the restitution of cultural property has not been an easy endeavour. Despite the availability of multiple legal regimes securing various channels for the restitution of cultural property, improvement has been quite sluggish. This article argues that the debacle to the restitution process lies in the simultaneous operation of two diametrically opposed conceptions of cultural property-

Long before the inclusion of bills of rights in written constitutions, the common law had great regard for the personal liberty of the individual. This was realised through the writ of habeas corpus which was available to protect anyone unlawfully deprived of their liberty. This ancient writ has not only survived at common law; it also remains active in contemporary judicial pronouncements. The writ

This article through doctrinal approach, examines both international and domestic legal frameworks (International Labour Organization Equal Remuneration Convention 1951, Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention 1958, Maternity Protection Convention 1952, Beijing Declaration, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, 1988, Protocol to the

In South Africa, a number of obstructions exist to realising the right to access to justice as enshrined by section 34 of the South African constitution. Globally, many countries grapple with access to justice due to a number of multi-layered and complex causes. This article explores traces, connections, definitions and perceptions related to access to justice so as to allow for a deeper understanding

This article investigates the developments in the social justice function of clinical legal education in African countries. It is based on a systematic review conducted to provide conceptual, methodological and thematic guidance into scholarship on the utilisation of clinical legal education in African countries to meet justice needs of the indigent in society. The results are analysed and clustered

This article calls for the location of victimhood rather than political convenience at the centre of Zimbabwe’s peace-building matrix. From the attainment of independence in 1980 to the military assisted end of President Robert Mugabe’s rule in November 2017, Zimbabwe’s episodic cycles of violence were concluded through elite bargained amnesty ordinances, state mediated reconciliation pronouncements

The liberalisation of telecommunications sectors in many countries has brought with it the need to regulate and develop regulatory models for competition. South Korea and Nigeria followed the liberalisation trend of the telecommunications markets in late 1980s and 1990s. Both countries have also established competition laws and adopt various regulatory models. This paper, through a comparative analysis

Meeting the rising need for development and tackling the attendant challenges in Africa requires pragmatic and innovative strategies. Although there is evidence that political governance is improving across the continent, these improvements are not meeting the expectations and needs of several sections of the society. Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be one tool with a great potential to address

This article critically analyzes human rights socialization in Africa through the lens of the draft African Human Rights Action Plan (AHRAP). It argues that the AHRAP presents a framework for human rights socialization, and it speaks to human rights socialization in distinctive ways. The article demonstrates that the AHRAP relies on African and international influences and seeks to propagate norms

Litigation arising from medical negligence have continued to witness an incremental trajectory in the contemporary South African medical jurisprudence. As the number of claims continue to rise, so also does the financial expense in the form of cost of litigation on the part of the litigants and damages paid by the healthcare personnel and government agencies in successful cases. Such expense, however

Most recent accounts paint a bleak and gloomy picture of the state of global democracy. This is particularly so in Africa where the optimism of a democratic revival in the 1990s is rapidly giving way to narratives of doom and gloom. Using survey data compiled by well-established regional and global international organisations, this paper assesses the state of electoral democracy in Africa, reviews

This note outlines the salient provisions of the Significant Economic Presence Order 2020 and its implications for non-resident companies with business interests in Nigeria’s digital economy. It also identifies some impediments to the implementation of the new digital tax regime.

On 18 November, 2010 a preliminary examination of the situation in Nigeria was announced and for almost a decade, investigation has not yet begun. Ten potential cases have been identified, seven for Boko Haram and three for Nigerian Security Forces (NSF). This article investigates whether issues of complementarity and admissibility provide any legal barriers capable of withholding investigation; and

While the dawn of Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions have aided in solving some of societal challenges, globalization and technological innovation potentially have the capability to disrupt, suspend, or change existing legal order, preventing the realization of business and human rights principles. For example, with AI-enabled systems, Africans can now access better healthcare, education, health

The crisis of political representation in Central Africa is structural. It is intrinsically linked to the failure of democracy in the region. All states of Central Africa are states of law in which the people have a major role to play as the holders of national sovereignty. In fact, the presidential regime allows the president of the republic to concentrate all powers. At each constitutional revision

This paper argues that there is no hierarchy in the importance attached to the different categories of human rights. Hence, Civil and Political Rights (CPRs) and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ESCRs) are both human rights and must be placed on the same pedestal. In a democracy, it is imperative that all rights be accorded equal treatment. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether Botswana

Bigamous marriage has been outlawed under the Family and Criminal Codes of Ethiopia despite its wide practice in Ethiopia. This article examines the legality of judicial recognition of the effects of bigamous marriage by the Federal Supreme Court Cassation and its implications for the regulation of marriage. The article reviews the substance of the current family laws in light of selected decisions

The spate of violent clashes between nomadic pastoralists and agrarian communities in Nigeria raises a number of legal and policy questions that had been long overlooked. Issues arising from the phenomenon range from questions over constitutionally guaranteed rights such as the right to own property, to questions over the inadequacies of Nigeria’s security apparatus as well as calls for land use reforms

In the past decade or so, the subject of plea bargaining has assumed a, hitherto lacking, currency and has become more topical in Nigeria. This owes to the activities of the anti-corruption agencies which have, of recent, tended to use it in the resolution of cases. This increased use has resulted in outrage and condemnation of the practice. In order to ameliorate the perceived abuse of the practice

Though Nigeria is regarded as a secular state, there are two major religions which are predominantly practiced. Religious sentiments have permeated the societal space in Nigeria and often times the ardent practice and observance of religious tenets lead to perennial conflicts with governmental policies. It is one of the fundamental precepts of human rights that the religious belief of individuals should

As the world mourns and condemns the brutal death of George Floyd by police brutality, one cannot ignore, but reflect on similar atrocities committed against hundreds of Africans by virtue of their skin pigmentation. These victims are Africans with albinism (AwA). Widespread discrimination and targeted attacks against these individuals occur against the backdrop of an erroneous mythology that the body

In 2013, the UK government settled a class action suit, which alleged that the British Colonial Government had subjected Kenyans to detainment, ill treatment and torture during the 1952–1960 ‘Kenya Emergency’. During the trial proceedings, the efforts of three expert historical witnesses for the prosecution – Caroline Elkins, David Anderson and Huw Bennett – led to the discovery of a cache of over

The success of Mauritius as an economy, despite a rather dismal prediction by Nobel Prize recipient James Meade in 1961, has been appealing to many local and international researchers who have written extensively the subject. However, what role have the Constitution of Mauritius and the broad notions of constitutionalism played in this economic success have been critical questions that have been left

This paper focuses on the plight of smuggling of migrants in Africa. Migrant smuggling has been documented along at least five major and several smaller routes in Africa. In my study, I investigate whether current legislation and policies are effective in curbing the practice of smuggling in Africa. To evaluate the success rate of these measures, I am comparing figures over recent years to establish

This paper examines the treatment of customary land rights of indigenous peoples by State law in Nigeria and Kenya. Nigeria is chosen as a case study and Kenya has on-going legal reforms in relation to customary land rights. Both Kenya and Nigeria have plural legal systems. The objective is to demonstrate how Kenya has responded to the challenges of protecting customary land rights and how other African

This paper examines the reasons for and consequences of the resort to traditional spiritual justice in spite of increasing awareness of state civil law structures. The paper helps us theorise on how economic disputes resulting from lack of effective legal enforcement yields itself easily to the deployment of spiritual justice. The significance of this study is that it contributes perspectives into

The African Court has recently decided on merits its first socio-economic rights case – ‘the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v Republic of Kenya’. The Court applied aspects of the teleological approach to interpretation to interpret socio-economic rights in question. The article examines the Court’s application of the teleological approach in its emerging socio-economic rights jurisprudence

Post-colonial Africa has been caught in military coups and civil wars. Incumbent leaders have refused to step down and hand over power post-elections or amended the constitution to not get voted out of power. In this context, three main challenges to democracy in Africa are military coups, lack of free and fair elections and illegal constitutional amendments to entrench de facto monarchy. To combat

Armed conflicts are characterised by violence and human rights violations with various implications on the citizens, economy and development of nations. The impact is however more pronounced with life-long consequences on children, the most vulnerable members of the society. This article examines the impact of non-international armed conflicts on children in Nigeria and identifies the laws for the

The indigenous justice systems were modes of resolving conflicts in Tanzanian communities for millenia before the introduction of the common law system as it was applied in England. The introduced mode, despite its success, is encumbered with a number of challenges. Apart from the challenges, the restoration of one’s customs and traditions is what makes one a human. The conventional justice system

The South African Constitution, particularly its Bill of Rights, is regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. The Ugandan Constitution, adopted around the same time as its South African counterpart, also has a Bill of Rights. Lawyers and advocacy groups in both countries have taken advantage of their constitutions to challenge the government to enforce several rights ranging from health

On the occasion of its 25th Ordinary Session held in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 26 April to 5 May 1999, the African Commission adopted resolution ACHPR/res.38 (XXV) 99 on the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Women in Africa (SRRWA), retrospectively with the appointment taking effect from 31 October 1998. This means that the mechanism of the SRRWA is roughly making twenty years since

Financial crimes are debilitating problems for economies, especially emerging ones. The scourge of financial crimes includes money laundering, fraud, drug and human trafficking, terrorism financing, bribery, embezzlement, market manipulation, tax evasion, identity theft, forgery and cybercrime. These problems are so intractable and potentially destructive that the collective effort to prevent or contain

Revenge pornography is the online distribution of sexually uncensored images or videos of another person without consent and to cause embarrassment or torment. Victims of revenge pornography suffer significant harm, including losing jobs and, in extreme cases, committing suicide. The public blames the victim for the role they played. Rather than victim-blaming, victims deserve a takedown order and

Six years after negotiations, the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the West African region is still in abeyance pending signatures from Nigeria. Following the fallout from the Cotonou Agreement, the proposed EPA was designed to comply with WTO rules on preferential trade agreements while reinforcing the long-standing relationship between the two parties. This article analyses

This paper traces the development of rehabilitative maintenance in South Africa. It illustrates that while there is no statutory provision dealing with rehabilitative maintenance in the country, courts are nonetheless, willing to make maintenance orders for limited periods. This paper shows that the criteria that courts use to grant this type of maintenance is not clear, making it difficult for legal

Historically, mental health has been clothed in secrecy in Nigeria. The mentally ill were sequestrated, disregarding their rights. Often victimized, they become suicidal without societal empathy and legal protection. Mental health law remains static, a Colonial legacy. Changing needs of society, socio-economic vicissitudes/depression affected the mental state of many Nigerians, which subsequently drove

The scope of the powers of the Public Protector was one of the main questions for determination by the Constitutional Court in the landmark case of Economic Freedom Fighters vs Speaker of the National Assembly. This note critically examines that case, especially in relation to its finding that the remedial actions of the Public Protector have a binding effect. The note argues that the court erred by

This article critically reviews the provisions of section 10(a) of the Nigerian National Broadcasting Commission Act 1992 (the Act). The section provides for the proscription of issuance of a broadcasting licence to religious organisations. This article, through literature review, argues that the provision of the Act infringes the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999

We researched how CSO s working in the area of sustainable development responded to regulatory restrictions on advocacy work using Ethiopia as a case study. We found that the restrictive laws had a severe impact: many CSO s had to shut down or limit their operational capacity to service delivery only. Those that survived continued to do advocacy work, disguised as service delivery. This shows that

The paper highlights the historical development of grazing reserves in Nigeria, the recent violent clashes between pastoralists and farmers taking into consideration the effects of grazing on land, causes and consequences of farmer-pastoralist conflicts and the adequacy of grazing laws. The paper contends that the Grazing Reserve Law 1965 applicable only to States in Northern part of Nigeria have not

African regional trade agreements often provide for dispute settlement mechanisms and procedures that should be followed. They also establish judicial bodies or tribunals for the respective African Regional Economic Communities. Despite the existence of judicial bodies, African governments do not usually litigate against each other on trade-related disputes. However, the few cases adjudicated by the

Not many states have effective national laws on prosecution of international crimes. Presently, of the 124 states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), less than half have specific national legislation incorporating international crimes. Some faith has been placed in the ordinary-crimes approach; the assumption being that states without effective laws on international

Considering the reality that criminal proceedings suffer unwarranted delay due to spatial of antics habitually utilized by litigants to delay proceedings, this paper explores the judgment of the Supreme Court in Methu v FRN to determine whether, or not, exclusion of stay of proceedings is constitutional. The authors employed mainly doctrinal method, thus library based. It is established that antics

Governments often resort to communications surveillance in order to combat threats against national security. Communication surveillance infringes upon the right to privacy. In order to protect privacy, international law requires communication surveillance to be proportionate. However, very little has been written to justify why this right deserves such protection in Africa, given counter-arguments

It is an essential ingredient of sovereignty that every State has an absolute jurisdiction to determine the laws that apply within its territory and to determine, by its laws, the organ of the State that has the competence to make laws and the procedures to be followed. The competent organ that makes municipal law (the legislature) is usually different from the organ that makes international law (the

The use of specialised anti-corruption agencies (ACAs) to combat corruption is increasingly popular among African countries. This is no surprise considering the successes these agencies have recorded elsewhere in the world, on the strength of which they have been described as ‘the most innovative feature of the anti-corruption movement of the last two decades’. Yet while ACAs have been successful in

The level of obesity across the globe is on the rise and this is evidenced by the recent World Health Organisation’s (WHO) estimate of an increase in the worldwide prevalence of obesity which has nearly tripled between 1975 and 2018. Mauritius has a high rate of obesity which is evidenced by the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) report of 2016 indicating that around 54.2% of the participants are obese

On 23 November 2018, the Supreme Court of Zambia delivered a judgement which suggests that Zambian judges have virtually unbridled power to move on their own motion to punish for contempt of court anyone who criticises their judicial decisions. This article considers that judgement. It argues that whilst justice might well have been done in the case in question, it was certainly not seen to be done

While every year the people of the United Republic of Tanzania witness the new anniversary of the Union between the former Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, this paper intends to examine how strong its legal foundation stands. The union was established by the two leaders; Nyerere for Tanganyika and Karume for Zanzibar. After their signatures, the agreement was required for ratification at Zanzibar

The Constitution of Ghana, unlike those of other African countries such as Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South Africa is silent on the issue of the admissibility of evidence obtained through human rights violations. Jurisprudence from Ghana demonstrates that although there had been cases in which the High Court and the Court of Appeal briefly dealt with this type of evidence, the Supreme Court, the highest

On July 9, 2018 Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship. On July 17, 2018 Ethiopia announced plans for landlocked Ethiopia to use Eritrea’s port of Assab. Ethiopia’s proposed use of Assab has implications for the indigenous Afar people who have lived in the port area for two thousand years. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Eritrea

Artistic freedom of expression is guaranteed under the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda and other international instruments. This paper examines its application in all forms of art including paintings, music, poetry, novels, and plays. The paper examines the different legislation used in the restriction of artistic freedom of expression. It argues that these restrictions are contrary to

The claim that human rights are rights that all humans hold everywhere and at all times embodies the concept of universalism. There are however some that do not believe that human rights are universally held. Those who hold such views are widely described as cultural relativists. A rich body of literature exists with a particular focus on the divergence that exists between universalism and cultural

Indeed, intellectual property rights are not new to traditional African communities. Traditional legal systems of protection in Africa such as customary law protected the rights of members of these communities. These systems of protection are still used. There are also practices of monopoly from the past regarding the use of some products of creative works. This paper examines the various ways in which

Men and women have different health profiles which necessitate different health needs, as a result of their biology and their distinct status in society. Discrimination and harmful traditional practices in many societies in the global south further affect the reproductive health of indigenous women. The paper will highlight discrimination against women in patriarchal indigenous communities in Cameroon

The 2018 Petroleum Host and Impacted Communities Development Trust Bill before the Nigerian National Assembly was proposed to foster sustainable development (SD) and embed corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the oil and gas corporate activities within host communities. From the backdrop of SD and CSR as regulatory concepts, this article scrutinizes the Bill for its viability to realize its objectives

This paper examines the role of Internet Service Providers as bridges and intermediaries between private persons, organizations even government arms and the Internet and the liabilities placed on them by the law with regard to wrongful acts of their subscribers or clients under the laws of Nigeria. It is common knowledge that actions againstISPs are commonest with defamation and infringement of copyright

Internet crime can be defined as unlawful acts using the computer as either a tool or a target or both. Internet networks are used positively to conduct businesses, manage industrial and governmental activities, engage in personal communications, and conduct research. Also, certain confidential information is stored or passed through the medium of the internet. Credit cards containing information of