This article discusses the issue of the effectiveness of law in Africa, looking at it from a perspective different from those commonly used in dealing with this theme. It proposes an analysis of the interactions between traditional, religious and official law in the course of the historical development of African law through the lens of the stratigraphic method. The analysis takes into consideration the different legal layers that have been posed upon each other. The work focuses on areas of law that are not commonly considered in this regard; in addition, the discourse is conducted using examples taken from jurisdictions that are not normally present in debates on African law. This implies the use of references that are not commonly encountered in African legal literature, together with some from the most important and renowned authors.

If applied in isolation from the fundamental rights of women seeking abortion services, the right to conscientious objection can render any given rights to abortion illusory, including the rights to health, life, equality and dignity that are attendant to abortion. A transformative understanding of human rights requires that the right to conscientious objection to abortion be construed in a manner that is subject to the correlative duties which are imposed on the conscientious objector, as well as the state, in order to accommodate women's reproductive health rights. In recent years, the Colombian Constitutional Court has been giving a judicial lead on the development of a right to conscientious objection that accommodates women's fundamental rights. This article reflects on one of the court's decisions and draws lessons for the African region.

A solid stream of cases have been submitted to the quasi-judicial and judicial treaty monitoring bodies making up the African regional human rights system, namely the African Commission, the African Children's Rights Committee and the African Human Rights Court, and also to sub-regional courts in Africa. Allowing amicus curiae briefs to supplement the parties' pleadings can enhance the soundness of the factual and legal findings of these bodies, especially given their institutional and practical constraints. Thus far, the use of amicus curiae interventions before the African regional human rights bodies has been negligible. In order to ensure greater participation by amici, this article suggests that the possibility of amicus intervention should be unequivocally provided for under each of the applicable legal regimes, that the grounds for accepting or rejecting interventions should be clearly articulated, and that access to information about pending cases should be provided routinely.

The legal protection of geographical indications (GIs) has become an important concern in both developed and developing countries. In Ethiopia, despite the existence of the need and enormous potential for the protection of GIs, the issue of GIs has not been given due attention. The legal protection of GIs in Ethiopia has not been expressly regulated by any specific legislation. It may arguably be protected under a collective trademark system. However, this system only operates for distinctive GIs. Consequently, most descriptive GIs are not embraced by the system unless the distinctiveness requirement is dispensed with for the registration of GIs as collective trademarks. Moreover, the existing system needs to be redefined in light of the notion of GIs under the TRIPs Agreement. It is therefore high time that an appropriate legal framework be designed to ensure the effective protection and enforcement of GIs in Ethiopia.

The non-profit agency typifies the organizational form for civil society activity and this very fact recommends it as a medium for development processes. This article applies the non-profit organization model to the study of law in development, by identifying ways in which non-profit associations of civil society serve as useful channels for development and describing how the law can enhance their contribution. By combining multidisciplinary perspectives on the role of the non-profit sector with selected law in development approaches, the article also constructs an analytical framework for the study of the legal environment of the non-profit sector in Africa. Furthermore, using illustrations from Africa, it draws out nuanced aspects of non-profit sector activity in the developing world, an exercise which is critical to any effort to redefine law in development scholarship in Africa to include its non-profit sector ally.

The role of communications in facilitating public participation in constitution-making is often neglected and misunderstood, particularly in post-war state-building when mass media may be weak. In the early 1990s, Ethiopia's ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), drafted one of Africa's most ambitious constitutions, allowing for ethnic federalism, decentralization and democratic reforms. The constitution has been highly controversial and many of its aspirations remain unrealized. This article explores how the EPRDF sought to use the media to explain and encourage acceptance of the constitution. It offers a framework for analysis that is relevant for countries beyond Ethiopia by examining: the role of media policies in providing domestic and international legitimacy for constitutions; the ways in which media can provide a space for non-violent political conflict or negotiation, where elites can navigate political struggles and debate ideology; and the use of media to implement the constitution's most ambitious goals.

The deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction and the seabed's resources have been declared the common heritage of mankind. There are however divergent views on exactly what the common heritage of mankind is. Does it connote joint management or common ownership of this spatial area? This article argues that culture is one of the relevant factors to be considered in understanding the interpretation given to the common heritage of mankind by sub-Saharan African states and that the role of culture cannot be ignored in appreciating how states interpret concepts in international law.

This article demonstrates that there has never been a clear definition of public land in Liberian legal history, although in the past the government operated as if all land that was not under private deed was public. By examining primary source materials found in archives in Liberia and the USA, the article traces the origins of public land in Liberia and its ambiguous development as a legal concept. It also discusses the ancillary issues of public land sale procedures and statutory prices. The conclusions reached have significant implications for the reform of Liberia's land sector.

The law of compulsory acquisition of land in Nigeria is rooted in the country's constitution. It is enshrined that every Nigerian has the right to own private property and that such property shall not be acquired compulsorily, except in the manner and for the purposes prescribed by a law that requires both the payment of prompt compensation and compliance with the rule of law on access to court. In 2012, the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered three decisions on the compulsory acquisition of land or the revocation of occupancy rights; Alhaji Tsoho Dan Amale v Sokoto Local Government and Others; Goldmark Nigeria Limited and Others v Ibafon Company Limited and Others; and Ohochukwu v Attorney General of Rivers State and Others. These three cases laid down principles on the subject which are worthy of exposition.

This article critiques the “legal at the time” argument used by states and companies which historically practised slavery to defend themselves against claims for restitution, examining the Mauritian case. Although slavery was largely legal there before its abolition by the British, torts were common under slavery and, during the years of historic rupture, 1794–1839, when the local élite defied first French and then English law, generated systemic unlawful activity. Most types of legal action for restitution for slavery face formidable difficulties; pursuing reparations supported by broad legal arguments may therefore be a more viable route. Slavery may be argued to have been an illegitimate endeavour in itself. While sympathetic to that view, this article does not pursue it but rather seeks to demonstrate that the “legal at the time” argument against reparations contains significant lacunae even within its restricted terms. It also shows that French constitutional law offers possibilities in the form of rights that are not time-bound.

This article examines the culture of gift-giving against the background of anti-bribery laws, which preclude gift-giving in certain contexts, and the Code of Conduct for Public Officers which allows gift-giving in other contexts. It identifies what is wrong with bribery and uses this to distinguish between bribery and socio-cultural gift-giving practices in Nigeria. The author argues that the boundary between acceptable gift-giving and bribery is crossed whenever a gift induces or is intended to induce the recipient to perform a relevant function in breach of the expectation to act impartially, in good faith or in a manner that amounts to a betrayal of trust. The article finds that the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, which allows public officers to receive gifts from relatives and personal friends on occasions recognized by custom, dilutes the constitutional objective to eradicate corruption and recommends their removal.

This article analyses the Mauritian regulatory framework on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and highlights its shortcomings, with the aim of improving the regulation of the approval and monitoring of the use of GMOs in Mauritius. It examines key issues regarding the application for a GMO permit, risk assessment requirements, identification and labelling obligations, post-market monitoring, and liability and redress in the case of damages. There is a need for greater public participation in decision-making on the approval of GMO permits and the monitoring stage procedure, specific civil liability provisions for damage as well as regulation of the coexistence of genetically modified (GM) and non-GM crops in the Mauritian biosafety framework. Pending the proclamation of the entire Mauritian GMO Act 2004, relevant transitional provisions should also be provided. Beyond legal provisions on biosafety, a national policy on GM products and GMO-related activities should be elaborated.

Before the enactment of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990, receivership in Nigeria was governed by case law, informal rules (of practice) and the Companies Decree 1968. Nigerian judges were heavily influenced by British case law, precedents were British and the Nigerian Companies Decree was a transplant of the British Companies Act 1948. Against this background, the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered the Intercontractors decisions in 1988, which subsequently governed the nature, status and powers of Nigerian receivers. In 1990, CAMA introduced a more robust receivership regime which prescribed the nature, status and powers of the receiver, reversing some of the Intercontractors principles. However, the courts, particularly the Supreme Court, failed to enforce the relevant provisions of CAMA or to examine the applicability of the Intercontractors principles that they conscientiously enforced. This article examines the validity of the Intercontractors principles and their continued relevance under CAMA 2004.

The British colonial administration created a hybrid legal system in Nigeria where English, Islamic and customary laws apply. The English system, having a written constitution, was made dominant and the other laws apply to the extent permitted by it. However, Muslims in the northern part of the country have been making efforts to reverse this dominance, including the recent re-introduction of Islamic criminal law by 12 states. This effort is seen to be revolutionary, reverting the states to the position when Islamic law applied in full, devoid of colonial influence. This article asks whether this can break the legal hybridity and answers in the negative, arguing instead that the effort accentuates the hybridity. For example, the re-introduction of Islamic criminal law is enabled by the constitution, the constitution institutionalises the hybridity and the 12 states operate, and are bound by, the constitution. The article discusses other variables depicting the hybridity and concludes that it was a conscious colonial act, nearly impossible to break.

Agu v Ikewibe has been widely interpreted as holding that a customary arbitration award is binding only if none of the parties rejected the award after it was made; it has been widely criticized for this reason. However, the Nigerian Supreme Court has reached decisions, subsequent to though not as notorious as Agu v Ikewibe, to the effect that post-award consent is not necessary to found a binding customary arbitration award. This article contends that Agu v Ikewibe did not indeed decide what has been ascribed to it over the years, or that, even if it did, that decision is not supported by the previous judicial authorities upon which it claimed to have relied. Reference is also made to the current predominant indications from the Nigerian Supreme Court that post-award consent is not necessary to establish a binding customary arbitration award.

Departing from the fact that climate change poses localized effects, this article critically considers from a legal perspective the role of local authorities in the South African government's response to climate change. A brief review of the relevance of climate mitigation and adaptation is followed by an explanation of what these concepts mean for local government. The article then discusses the extent to which the country's environmental and local government law and policy framework provides for municipalities' participation and involvement in climate governance. The article identifies strengths and weaknesses in relation to the local sphere of government's formal involvement in climate governance vis-à-vis authorities in the provincial and national spheres. It concludes that, as a result of their proximity to the effects of climate change, municipalities have a critically important role to play in the climate governance effort, despite the patchwork of environmental and local government laws and lack of explicit, consolidated policy and legal arrangements to this effect.

Ghana's Public Procurement Act 2003 was enacted to bring about the judicious, economic and efficient use of state resources, transparency, fairness, and non-discrimination in procurement. The primary objective of the act is best value for money. This article assesses how, beyond being used to achieve its primary objective, the law should be applied to propel the capacity and competitiveness of local businesses in Ghana. It argues that effective implementation of the act can indirectly promote competition and industrial competiveness in Ghana. Therefore, procurement entities must follow the requirements for procurement, both to achieve best value for money and to build and improve upon the capacity of domestic industries. Competition, transparency and restrictions on the application of single-source procurement and restricted tendering can promote and encourage the participation of Ghanaian firms in procurement. This can enhance their capacity and competitiveness in both procurement and other economic activities in Ghana.