Public and Private law

Article 27 of the TRIPS Agreement remains the most controversial provision of the TRIPS Agreement. This provision on patentable subject matter stipulates what is permissible under patent law. This article evaluates the Patent and Designs Act by considering the extent of compliance of the Act as provided by the TRIPS Agreement. To this end, the paper proceeds in four parts excluding the introduction. In the first section, it situates the discussion within the general framework of Patent and Designs Act. The next section, turns to an examination of the compliancy of the law. Finally, in the fourth and fifth sections, it analyses the modifications necessary against the back-drop of the examination carried out in the previous section. In the concluding section, a summary of the compliance of the law in relation to the TRIPS Agreement is provided.

The implication and the effects of the TRIPS Agreement in developing nations are constantly unfolding. Modern businesses use trade marks as an important public relations tool for marketing purposes. Considering the importance of the TRIPS Agreement in the trade mark regime, assessing the legal effect that the Agreement has on the law in Nigeria helps in determining the compliance of the Trade Mark Law to a large extent. The aim of this article is to identify the areas of compliance and to discuss the diversity and effectiveness of the TRIPS agreement. The article sheds light on the level of compliance of the Trade Marks Law and the expected impact. This could help in identifying the level of fulfilment of Nigeria’s international trade obligation. The study contributes to knowledge by providing insights in determining the extent to which the Trade Mark Law still need reformation. The areas covered by this article are limited to service marks, well-known marks, the requirement for use...

In Nigeria as well as in many other countries of the world, rape in matrimony is not a crime. It therefore follows that the phenomenon “marital rape” is largely dismissed by the society as non- existing and impossible. However, a growing number of advocates: intellectuals, feminists and human rights groups are now spearheading the campaign for its criminalisation. This paper considers various factors which are responsible for the status quo and which in fact act as impediments to the removal of marital immunity to the offence of rape. While this paper acknowledges the fact that marital rape do occur, we do not support its criminalisation. A middle course is therefore charted by advocating for actual protection of women’s dignity through invocation of international and national human rights instruments and also the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights of women but also advocates for the establishment of courts of family division conferred with the necessary (civil rather than criminal) jurisdictions to cover any complaint of domestic violence, definition of which may include forceful sexual intercourse with a wife by the husband.

The concept of Universalism of Human Rights presents the notion of the applicability of human rights to all humans. Cultural relativism of human rights on the other hand promotes the idea that human rights in their present form are ideals whose implementation may oppose cultural notions which are the foundations of societies. Citing cogent reasons for the disqualification of universalism and examples of culturally legitimized cruelty such as non recognition of women as human beings, female genital mutilation and honour killing against the viability of cultural relativism, the paper queries the effectiveness of the two concepts in the quest for the protection of women’s rights in societies ridden with patriarchal and cultural prejudice. The paper advocates better recognition and protection of women’s rights through two different approaches which it considers better options, namely: Cultural Feminism and the Minimalists’ approach.

Rape is a reality in all societies though in varying degrees of prevalence. Nigeria and South Africa which are the focus of this paper are identified as high prevalence countries. From time immemorial, rape had acquired the status of an act frowned upon by society and subsequently codified as a criminal offence with duly prescribed punishments. However, especially in contemporary times, the criteria by which a given encounter is determined to be an act of rape varies from one jurisdiction to another. This work is based on the assumption that the efficacy of the criminalisation of rape as a means to control the occurrence or to protect the society is dependent upon a proper definition of the offence. Reforms in this aspect of the offence have manifested in the removal of the gender specification of accused and victim, the eradication of the marital rape exemption and an increased emphasis on consent of the victim, resulting in the removal of the force requirement as an element in some jurisdictions. This paper therefore examines and makes a comparative study of the definition of rape in both jurisdictions in line with these reforms.

Adolescents' early sexual debut contributes to their huge burden of sexual and reproductive ill-health, especially in sub-Saharan African countries. Reports continually reveal that adolescents in general, and female adolescents in particular, constitute a large portion of the 34 million people living with HIV worldwide. Other consequences associated with early adolescent sexuality include unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexually-transmitted infections. Whilst international human rights instruments and national legislation recognise the importance of considering the adolescent child's evolving capacities, this becomes contentious when adolescents' access to contraceptive information and services and other sexual and reproductive health issues are involved. The article examines Nigeria's and South Africa's national legislation regarding adolescent girls' right to independently access and consent to confidential contraceptive information and services in accordance with the recognition of their evolving capacities provided for under international human rights law. We argue that a major impediment to adolescent girls' contraceptive use relates to the assumption that they are incapable of making rational decisions or of consenting to sexual and reproductive health care services without parental Involvement. The article concludes that allowing adolescent girls to consent independently, especially when accessing contraceptive information and services, is a necessary step in achieving increased adolescent contraceptive use, so affirming their evolving capacity in decision-making.

Adolescents' early sexual debut contributes to their huge burden of sexual and reproductive ill-health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Reports continually reveal that female adolescents, in particular, constitute a large portion of the 34 million people living with HIV worldwide. Other consequences associated with early adolescent sexuality include unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexually-transmitted infections. In light of this, the article analyses approaches adopted by Nigeria and South Africa in fulfilling their international law obligations to respect, protect and fulfil adolescent girls' right to access contraceptive information and services, specifically, in their domestic legislation, policy documents and court decisions. Sexuality education is compared, as well as actual access. There is extensive evidence of the measures put in place to ensure adolescent girls' access to contraceptive information and services in Nigeria and South Africa. Although the level and extent of the barriers faced by adolescent girls when accessing contraceptive services

The issue of plea bargaining occupies a central position among those concerned with the administration of the criminal justice system. There appears to be some uncertainty and confusion on the part of the administrators and the public as to the nature, scope, purpose, and value of plea bargaining as a form of case resolution in our system. The role of the trial judge in plea bargaining is often limited to an inquiry after the guilty plea is tendered into the due process requisites of a valid plea. The general consensus seems to be that trial judges should not participate in the pre-trial negotiations between the prosecutor and the accused. This paper carries out a comparative assessment of the role of the court in plea bargaining in Nigeria, the United States and South Africa. The paper finds that the South African approach to the subject matter of inquiry is more desirable for its flexibility in allowing parties to represent their agreement even when due process was not followed initially. The paper recommends that Nigeria should adopt a more comprehensive legal framework which should not prevent the parties from appealing any agreement they may have entered into during a plea bargain arrangement.

Due to the development in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the computer has become host for the perpetration of all sorts of crime. The advent of communication technologies has allowed for terrestrial forms of interpersonal victimization to move into cyberspace. The traditional claw of crimes and punishment has proved ineffective in arresting these crimes, hence there was a need to enact laws to curb the vices. Cyberstalking is a serious predatory behavior that arrives from the evolutionary need for control in the pursuit of resources and reputation. Cyber-harassment involves engaging in an act or behavior that torments, annoys, terrorizes, offends, or threatens an individual via email, instant messages, or other means with the intention of harming that person. While stalking basically is not prohibited by the Nigerian criminal law statutes, some of the legislations criminalised harassment. Stalking with the aid of a computer network (cyberstalking) and harassing a person with the assistance of a computer device (cyber-harassment) were never criminalised in Nigeria until the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act was enacted in 2015. Similarly, the Interstate Anti-Stalking Punishment and Prevention Act was enacted by the United States Congress in September of 1996 to punish cyberstalking while the English counterpart enacted the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to deal with the issue of stalking. Considering the myriad of crimes being committed in the cyberspace, the primary objective of this research work is to assess the adequacy of the laws which makes up of cyberstalking and cyber-harassment from a comparative lens, focus being on Nigeria, the United States and England. The paper finds that despite the enactment of these legislations, online stalking and harassment continues to be on the increase. It is the recommendation of this paper that an independent governmental body be established to enforce the provisions of the laws relating to cybercrime in all the jurisdictions of focus.

Freedom of Expression is one of the most essential human rights which is entrenched in several legal documents in the world, be it local, regional or international. It is a cornerstone upon which the very existence of a democratic society rests. Due to its important nature, any restriction placed or imposed on this right must be impartial and reasonably justifiable in a democratic society. With technology evolving through the use of text messaging, email, and social media, instantaneous communication has increased the risk of unwanted and repeated harassment. Cyberstalking is the act of threatening, harassing, or annoying someone through multiple email messages, as through the Internet, especially with the intent of placing the recipient in fear that an illegal act or an injury will be inflicted on the recipient. Cyberstalking is criminalised by section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act 2015 by the Nigerian government. This paper examines the fate and status of the right to freedom of expression as entrenched under the Nigerian Constitution in the light of the provision of the said section of the Cybercrime Act. The paper x-rays the arguments of some scholars that the provision of the Cybercrime Act violates the constitutional provision of the right to freedom of expression. The paper concludes that the Nigerian Cybercrime Act provision on cyberstalking is a legal restriction on the right to freedom of expression in Nigeria.

With the advent development of the internet and the rapid digitisation of the world, almost all forms of human rights are affected and the right to own and acquire intellectual property is not left out. The ease of flow of communications over the internet comes with some disadvantages, one of which is that the internet may expose a company's intellectual property to theft and misuse. Cybersquatting which is the registering, selling or using a domain name with the intent of profiting from the goodwill of someone else's trademark is the latest weapon used by perpetrators of this vice. Cybersquatting is the most crucial type of domain dispute prevalent around the world. It is a practice where individuals buy domain names reflecting the names of existing companies, with an intention to sell the names back to businesses to attain profit when they want to set up their own websites. This paper principally adopts a comparative legal method of analyses to analyse the legal regime of cybersquatting in Nigeria, England and the United States. The paper inquiries into the criminalisation of cybersquatting as a violation of intellectual property which ordinarily falls under the civil law regime. The paper further assesses the adequacy of the laws with a view or providing alternatives legal actions upon which a violation of the property right may be brought to court. The paper concludes that cybersquatters have robbed businesses of their fortune and recommends that there is a need for the Nigerian Government to model its law after the WIPO model.

The subject of migration and development is often treated in the context of the contribution to the process of labour, that migration and migrants can make to the development of countries of origin. The growing pace of economic globalization has created more migrant workers than ever before. Millions of people who are earning their living or are looking for paid employment, are not nationals of the State they reside. Migrant workers often have no protection or safety and are vulnerable to discrimination, poverty, and social and cultural handicaps. This has necessitated the adoption of some important international and regional standards concerning migrant workers. The vital question however is, to what extent do international and regional legal frameworks effectively protect the rights of migrant workers and their families? It is therefore pertinent to assess the efficacy of existing international and regional legal instruments such as the International Labour Organization Conventions and the International Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers among others, comparing them with national laws in Nigeria, and identifying areas for improvement in protecting the rights of migrant workers and their families. The research findings reveal significant gaps and challenges in ensuring the effective protection of rights of migrant workers under international law, highlighting the need for enhanced enforcement mechanisms and broader ratification of relevant instruments. The paper recommends that action be taken to develop and promote objective information to the national governments and the general public on the content of the ICRMW, particularly concerning the aim of the Convention to effectively manage migration by respecting and protecting migrants' rights, but also preventing irregular movements of migrants and respecting the right of each State to regulate their migration policies.