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Consumer Redress Options and Dispute Resolution in the Nigerian Electricity Market: A Socio-legal Analysis
Full text linkThe Nigerian electricity industry is undergoing reforms aimed at entrenching private-sector participation and competition. This article examines the efficacy of tier-structured consumer redress mechanisms within Nigeria’s electricity market. Employing a socio-legal approach, the article explores the practical application of process pluralism, analysing the consumer redress pathways of Consumer Complaints Units, Customer Forums, Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission, courts, and public enforcement. The analysis highlights the gap between legal frameworks and practical implementation, but it argues that sector-specific consumer redress framework is the correct approach to provide greater access to justice in a monopolistic market. The article advocates a conjunctive approach rather than “alternative” approach between the industry redress mechanisms and the court.
Keywords: consumer redress; dispute resolution; process pluralism; consumer ADR; electricity distribution; access to justice
Market at a Critical Juncture: Evaluating ESG Practices and Challenges in the UK
Full text linkThis article evaluates the approach of the United Kingdom (UK) to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices within the broader context of Anglo-American capitalism, emphasizing the “comply-or-explain” governance model. While the UK has pioneered corporate governance reforms, inconsistencies in compliance and underwhelming ESG performance have raised concerns. Comparing the UK’s ESG scores and regulatory frameworks with other global players highlights both strengths and shortcomings. Emerging trends, such as litigation by non-government organizations and new disclosure frameworks, suggest a shift towards stricter accountability. This article considers how such measures can address challenges and enhance sustainability. The UK is at a critical juncture—striving to maintain its influence in global finance while facing a decline in its competitive edge and global standing.
Keywords: environmental, social, and governance (ESG); corporate governance; United Kingdom (UK); ESG score; comparative
Tackling Anti-LGBTIQA+ Councillor Misconduct
Full text linkIn Australia, there have been increasing culture wars on the topic of LGBTIQA+ inclusion in local government. Hely & Lew concerned comments from a male councillor (Lew) accusing a female councillor (Hely) of inappropriately prioritizing LGBTIQA+ issues that were alleged to be serious misconduct. In its determination, the Councillor Conduct Panel that hears allegations of serious misconduct found that this was simply “an example of vigorous political discourse” and “although being conduct which is to be discouraged, in the context of a ‘hot button’ political issue it was not behaviour which was unreasonable”. Whilst the Panel found that the behaviour of Lew towards Hely was “hostile”, ”disrespectful”, “unreasonable”, “inappropriate”, “aggressive” and “appalling”, it found that the behaviour did not constitute serious misconduct. This article reflects on this decision and how it undermines efforts to improve local government culture and to increase the number of women and LGBTIQA+ people elected to councils, as research shows that prejudice of this kind is a major barrier to lesbian, bi+ and queer women standing for local government—and no doubt affects heterosexual women too. In this spirit, the article rewrites the Panel’s determination in ways that are more sensitive and sensitized to issues of prejudice and exclusion.
Keywords: local government; misconduct; LGBTIQA
Naming, Blaming but Not Claiming: Intersectionality, Power and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Post #MeToo
Full text linkIn the context of #MeToo, addressing workplace sexual harassment is a critical issue. This article discusses aspects of the author’s empirical work on the role of intersectional identities in influencing Black women’s perceptions of their workplace sexual harassment and pursuit of access to justice in England and Wales and elaborates further on its findings in light of recent legal developments. It draws on Felstiner, Abel and Sarat’s “Naming, Blaming, Claiming” framework (1980-1981) to examine the extent to which Black women in England and Wales seek redress for their harms. It argues that aspects of Black women’s intersecting identities, including their race, gender, and physical characteristics interact with workplace power dynamics to negatively inform their decisions to blame and claim and shape their assumptions about being stereotyped by their employers and lawyers/the legal system. It concludes that, while the Black women tend to name and blame, there was a hesitancy to claim.
Keywords: intersectionality; naming; blaming; claiming; power; access to justice; #MeToo
Good Custom in China: To What Extent Is General Applicable Custom in the Commercial Context Consistent across Chinese Legal Systems?
Full text linkThis article undertakes a comparative law analysis of “custom” and “good custom” in the Chinese legal systems of the People’s Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan), and situates them within the wider civil and common law contexts. Through an analysis of the language and jurisprudence of each Chinese legal system, the article explores the challenges of comparing their respective definitions and applications. In scoping the application of custom, this article notably proposes an alternative perspective on Socialist Core Values articulated from the perspective of “good custom”.
Keywords: custom; public order; good custom; Socialist Core Values; customary implied terms
Children’s Voices, Family Disputes and Child Inclusive Mediation: The Right to be Heard by Anne Barlow and Jan Ewing
Full text linkThe Discontents of the Pan European Game Information (PEGI): A Visual Law Analysis
Full text linkThis article explores the practical application of visual law and legal design in the context of consumer protection and video games, and it examines the Pan European Game Information System (PEGI) and its limitations in the classification of video games. While PEGI effectively translates regulatory concerns into an accessible and standardized visual format, its content-based approach oversimplifies the complexity of the video game medium while also overlooking how the human–machine interaction takes place. With this in mind, this article proposes a shift towards a PEGI-grounded classification system that focuses on “gameplay bricks”: the rules and mechanics that shape the game environment. By integrating principles and insight from visual law and legal design, this model aims to enhance clarity, accessibility and understanding of the legal message behind an icon or indicator. In this context, legal design ensures that the rule/mechanic structure is translated into visual indicators and icons that have the capacity to empower consumers to make informed decisions. This approach thus aligns with the policy objectives that constituted the cornerstones of the very existence of PEGI.
Keywords: video games; PEGI; video games rules; indicators; rating gameplay
Visual Justice and the Aesthetic Construction of the Trial
Full text linkThis article explores the concept of visual justice—the aesthetic and symbolic construction of justice in courtroom films and television—and its impact on public legal consciousness when its tropes and dynamics are used in journalistic discourse. While legal dramas do not claim to represent judicial reality, they shape cultural expectations through narrative coherence, emotional legibility, and moral clarity. As these visual tropes migrate from fiction into journalism, particularly in the phenomenon of “trial by media”, they risk distorting public understanding of how justice operates in practice. We argue that when real trials fail to align with the aesthetic script popularized by cinematic representation and inappropriately adopted in the practice of reportage, public trust in the judiciary may erode. This article bridges legal theory, media studies, and aesthetics to interrogate the ethical and epistemic consequences of representing law as image.
Keywords: visual justice; legal aesthetics; trial by media; judicial representation; public perception of law