Law

In conflict of laws, the choice of law rules for tort are intended to select the lex causae
by which to determine the nature and scope of the judicial remedy to claim damages
for loss or damage suffered.
This seminar paper seeks to explore the evolution that has taken place in this regard in
the American context.

The International Court of Justice  is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Place in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. It offers an important forum for the settlement of international economic disputes among States.
This paper examines the option of approaching the Court for the settlement of disputes amongst member states of the United Nations. It provides an overview of the functioning of the Court and of its jurisprudence bearing upon international issues. A detailed analysis is made of the organization, jurisdiction and procedures of the Court. This analysis enables an assessment of the advantages the Court presents for the settlement of international disputes.
This paper not only examines the usage of the ICJ by all United Nations (UN) member states, it also considers the extent of exercise of its powers, and factors that inhibit the execution and enforcement of its decisions, as well as recommendations.

The EndSARS protests in Nigeria that broke out in October 2020 brought to the fore the issues of police brutality and systemic abuse by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Through this paper, an attempt is made to investigate accountability and justice mechanisms put in place post-protests through governmental investigations, international reactions, litigation against perpetrators, and the challenges often associated with the realization of justice. Some of such governmental responses have been the setting up of the judicial panels of inquiry in many states-one of the most fastidious being the extensive hearings and testimonies at the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry. Effectiveness has been mixed, despite such efforts, due to interference by political interests, lack of cooperation by law enforcement agencies, and issues around transparency. International human rights organizations and foreign governments have provided an important role in galvanizing the abundance of abuses internationally and impressing the Nigerian government with pressure for active policing. Legal actions against perpetrators have been slow, with serious obstacles like witness intimidation and systemic bias in judiciaries. Civil society organizations have also been involved in documenting abuses, providing legal representation to victims, and calling for broader accountability from other stakeholders. However, the involvement of civil society has been pushed to the fringes by intimidation and harassment from the government. Further, the broader implications of the EndSARS movement on human rights in Nigeria demand the call for a security sector that should be undergoing comprehensive reforms with expansive accountability mechanisms in place. The paper concludes with recommendations for strengthening these judicial panels, reforms, civil society support, and international collaboration to ensure that justice and human rights obtain in Nigeria. These will lead Nigeria into the future with human rights respected and accountability being the norm with justice served to all citizens.

One of the foundational elements of human rights is access to justice, and it is a significant impediment facing inmates in Nigeria. This paper critically accesses the availability of Legal aid services to inmates, focusing on the roles played by legal practitioners, NGOS, and pro-bono initiatives in bridging the gap in accessing justice. Several systemically imposed barriers, under-funding, institutional limitations, and general unawareness of the need and availability for such legal intervention have continued to deny many inmates their much-needed access. The paper discusses a general overview of the status of legal assistance in Nigeria from its evolution to what currently constitutes the services being given to inmates. That identifies, among others, institutional barriers, economic constraints, and lack of public awareness about the availability of legal aid. This paper provides the best practices through case studies of successful legal aid intervention applied and strategies effectively adopted in the interest of enhancing access to justice. These findings form a basis on which the study makes recommendations for improving the delivery of legal aid, targeting improvement in the institutional frameworks, increasing public awareness, leveraging technology, and promoting cases of collaboration among the stakeholders. This would be important in ensuring that inmates in Nigeria have equal opportunities to access justice and measurable fairness and transparency in the application of the law.

The law on the recovery of damages on an unjust enrichment basis is undergoing gradual clarification and development by the common law courts. Particularly, the tort of unjust enrichment is only an emergent aspect of the broad area of the law of obligations which has only received sweeping recognition by the Nigerian courts.The author attempts an argument for the recognition of restitution as a remedy for unjust enrichment.

The author holds a LLB (Hons) from the University of Ibadan. He is a delegate member of the International Bar Association. He has had a stint of practice as a trainee in two of Nigeria's foremost full-service commercial law firms and a topnotch consultancy firm in the United Kingdom. He is currently a student at the Nigerian Law School.

Despite Nigerian military efforts, Boko Haram remains a major threat and the potential role of private security services in combating this threat is largely unknown. Through a qualitative case study, this study fills a critical gap by examining the potential role and impact of private security services and highlighting their effectiveness, commitment to long-term sustainability, and respect for human rights in the fight against Boko Haram. Applied to a broader context, the findings hold significant potential for developing more effective strategies in response to security threats, not only in Nigeria but also in other countries facing similar security challenges.

Each time a new subscriber sign up for a Gmail account, part of what is signed up for is provided below:

“20.7 The Terms, and your relationships with Google under the Terms, shall be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of laws provisions. You and Google agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the county of Santa Clara, California to resolve any legal matter arising from the Terms. Notwithstanding this, you agree that Google shall still be allowed to apply for injunctive remedies (or an equivalent type of urgent legal relief) in any jurisdiction”

For most subscribers, this may seem ordinary or irrelevant as they may think that nothing may result in them having to drag the company to court, or they may not have to do anything to get the same treatment from the Google Company. However, advanced users and subscribers with legal background may have problem with this section of the company’sterms as it raises a lot of conflict of laws questions and concerns of which if most subscribers know, may probably make them think twice before clicking the “I Accept” button.

The evolution of global trade on a multilateral basis cannot be discussed without reference to the critical role played by the GATT as informal trade body until crystallization into the WTO. This paper therefore looks  at the different rounds under the defunct GATT system and how same has contributed immensely to the development of trade, service and development in the world today.

This work tries to make a case for the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) in contemporary dispute resolution adopting a comparative research methodology. Nigeria, United Kingdom and America were used as case studies viz-a-viz the historical development of ADR, merits and demerits, determinant factors in process selection as well as the prospect and challenges of the ADR in the jurisdictions analysed.

Editorial It is now eleven years since the founding editor, Thomas W. Wälde, edited OGEL's first special issue on taxation and his opening statement at that time was that the taxation of oil, gas and energy had become a very specialised business. The message back then was that taxation in the energy sector was complex, with very difficult tax questions, ongoing tax disputes, complex interactions between national tax legislation and operating contracts and the absence of in-depth examination of topics like decommissioning.

An unenforced law is worse than having no law at all. How laws are implemented and enforced; and how compliance is ensured are critical determinants of whether regulatory system is working as intended. Six years after the enactment of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017, which mandates doctors and hospitals to initiate treatment on victims of gunshot injuries without first demanding for a Police Report and initial monetary deposit, death and degrading treatments emanating from the neglect and refusal to treat such victims on the pretext of not first obtaining Police Report and monetary deposit abound. These incidents and reports of refusal to treat gunshot victims notwithstanding the lethal nature of the injuries and the resultant death of most victims are evident that such death would have been avoided if not for the indiscriminate contravention of the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshot Act. This Paper is an attempt at x-raying the relevant Laws to decipher the remedies if any available to victims against the violators of the Act.