This article explores the interaction between the Conseil de la Concurrence (Competition Council) and the Autorité de Régulation de la Poste et des Communications Électroniques (Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority) (ARPCE) in the Algerian legal system. Algerian policy-makers have given special consideration to the issue of overlapping jurisdiction between these two authorities. The article discusses the Algerian strategy to resolve regulatory overlaps in the electronic communications market and also highlights the intervention of the ARPCE as a competition authority for the electronic communications market. Furthermore, the article analyses the Optimum Telecom Algeria case as a turning point in restoring the Competition Council’s role and highlights the need for systematizing the intervention of the two authorities. Finally, the article provides a forward-looking perspective through proposing a memorandum of understanding to promote cooperation between the Competition Council and the ARPCE.

In January 2019, Nigeria enacted the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, which provides for a joint legal framework for both competition and consumer protection. This article examines the theoretical and practical rationale for integrating competition and consumer protection, recognizing that, while related, the two may pursue distinct goals and operate under different principles. It provides a lens to review the issues an African country faces following integration, especially in the broader normative discussion of the goals of competition law. Although there is literature investigating the integration of consumer protection and competition, there is still nothing that examines the place of consumer protection in the wider theoretical context of competition for developing countries, particularly how they balance efficiency with other goals of competition. The article also offers the first academic review of the five-year practice of competition law and its application in Nigeria.

There has been recurrent agitation for external self-determination by most of the South-East people of modern Nigeria through the secessionist group the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This agitation reached crisis point in 2015 with military action which escalated into a violent confrontation, in which the IPOB claimed some of their members were killed. The IPOB’s request for external self-determination fell on deaf ears, however, the counter-claim being that Nigerian territorial integrity cannot be compromised. This article examines the right to self-determination under international law and in the African system, as well as the types of this right that have been identified by scholars and whether the IPOB’s call can be justified. It argues that the type of self-determination sought by the IPOB and the manner in which they seek it may not be attainable under international law, except through a consensus-based process between the Nigerian government and the South-East people of Nigeria.

In the recent case of Ezuame Mannan v Attorney General and Speaker of Parliament,1the Ghanaian Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision struck down the Narcotics Control Commission Act, 2020 (Act 1019), on grounds that the parliamentary processes leading to its enactment were unconstitutional. In arriving at this decision, the court strived to define the limits of Parliament’s legislative powers. While some clarity was achieved, difficult contradictions emerged. Prominent among these was the extent to which the constitutional power of judicial review over legislative actions should interfere with the autonomy of Parliament. In this article, I propose that a proper understanding and application of the purposive approach to interpretation offers an effective tool for reconciling these seemingly conflicting constitutional values.

In order for accused persons with disabilities to be able to access justice on an equal basis with others, equality of outcomes is important. However, in the past century, the limited approach to legal aid which focuses on processes has continually been applied by criminal justice system actors in response to legal aid challenges faced by accused persons with disabilities in Kenya. The major dilemma facing this approach is its emphasis on steps to be taken as opposed to the end result or goal. This paper seeks to explain that a shift towards an outcomes approach to legal aid for accused persons with disabilities has the potential of supporting innovation in Kenya’s criminal justice system and help close access to justice gaps that may exist. To achieve this paradigm shift, the African Disability Protocol has been employed as it promotes an integral development of legal aid justice that requires states parties to put in place specific outcomes-based laws for promoting the rights of accused persons in access to justice.

The application by states of economic principles in education has not produced good results in access to education in low-income and less-developed countries. This prompted UNESCO to designate countries with substantial problems of access to education and illiteracy as the E-9 countries, which include Nigeria. Nigeria’s status as an E-9 country indicates the existence of considerable problems in education, and where necessary, statistical evidence will be used to elucidate Nigeria’s E-9 status. This article argues that the nature of the laws and policy mechanisms that control education in Nigeria suggests that the country seems to be responding to the contemporaneous demands of global programmes of action in education that are predicated on economic principles and driven by the tides of globalization instead of to the requirements of international human rights law.

The purpose of the South African Competition Act is to resolve the present problems of inequality by emphasizing its multiple goals, which differ from those of other countries. Its objectives broadly contain efficiency, state economic development and consumer welfare. In addition, the ideas of providing opportunities for small businesses and promoting a greater spread of ownership among different groups indicate its goal of favouring or protecting weak trading parties or certain groups of people. To achieve the aim of equity and fairness, South African competition law should be vigorously applied, but the existing substantive provisions may not fulfil the task of moving towards an equal and fair society. A comparative study of competition law may help to discover a proper model and a better solution for the problems of unequal economic power in South Africa.

Nigeria’s legal system is pluralistic with the common law, Islamic law and customary law as the main legal traditions. These legal traditions have their courts within a unified judiciary. Disputes relating to the appointment of imams often end in the English-style courts rather than Islamic courts. This paper examines the controversies regarding which courts within the Nigerian plural courts system have or should have the original and appellate jurisdiction in such disputes. The paper argues that mosques are waqf properties and thus should come within the ambit of Islamic personal law as defined by the Constitution. The paper concludes, inter alia, that in all instances, the courts vested with jurisdiction to hear disputes relating to the appointment of imams should be operated by judges who are learned in Islamic law and where this is not possible, the courts should use assessors who are experts in Islamic law to assist the judges.

Excessive consumption of energy drinks poses significant risks, including the development of various non-communicable diseases. This trend is driven by a combination of the desire to remain alert and the strategic use of catchy advertising slogans by manufacturers, particularly targeting young adolescents. Unlike tobacco products, which are similarly linked to such diseases, Nigeria lacks legislation requiring energy drink manufacturers to warn consumers about potential adverse health effects. This paper argues that the absence of such regulation constitutes a violation of the right to health in Nigeria. It concludes by advocating for the Nigerian government to enact laws mandating energy drink manufacturers to include clear health warnings on their products.