Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Academic Directorate Journals
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Ensuring increased tax revenue for accelerated national development: the role of the lawyer
No full textTax revenue is seen as one of the main sources of revenue for most countries, hence the need to ensure sustained inflows to governments. The revenues are need to assist governments in their development efforts such as infrastructure development, which includes construction of roads, bridges, ports and harbours; provision of hospitals and educational facilities; providing good drinking water and constant and stable electricity, maintaining law and order, among others. It is for this reason that, in Ghana, as in most countries, the Constitution seeks to ensure that citizens honour their tax obligations. It is also worth noting that tax a creature of statute, as legislation imposes a tax and citizens need to comply with the provisions of such tax laws. Considering that law permeates all facets of the imposition, collection and administration of taxes, the role of the lawyer in all these endeavours cannot be gainsaid. More pronounced is also the role of the lawyer in matters of tax disputes, tax objections and the resolution of tax disputes before the courts of law. This paper examines the need to ensure an increased tax revenue to assist countries, with a focus on Ghana, to enable the government meet its funding needs to meet its obligations to citizens. It also examines the role of the lawyer in the mix of the requirement for ensuring increased tax revenue for accelerated national development and representation of taxpayers. The paper establishes that the lawyer is well-positioned and well equipped to play this meaningful role.
 
50 years after: revisiting the impact of the stockholm conference on the advancement of environmental rights
No full textThe journey through the development of the right to clean, safe and sustainable environment has not been an easy ride. Since the first attempt to link human right and the environment began in 1972 at Stockholm, the United Nations has tried to sustain the tempo of the agitations through various soft laws and treaties aimed at encouraging states in the domestication and implementation of national laws protective of the right to the environment. This journey came to a successful climax when the United Nations General Assembly in 28 July 2022 resolved officially recognising the right to clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. This paper is analytical survey of the progressive development of environmental rights at international law through the 5 decades and the impact it has made at regional and domestic levels as well as how it has inspired the world into greener human rights
Exploring the international legal framework for climate change: how far have they fared in curbing emissions?
No full textClimate change has become the burning question the world is trying to proffer answers to, yet with little or no success. The global community is faced with the worst impacts of climate change and is racing against the clock to arrest the ravaging phenomenon. This paper examines the global efforts in combating climate change through an analysis of the relevant legal and framework. The paper weighed the adequacy, or otherwise of the international legislations on climate change and concludes that the global regime has not been able to achieve any meaningful milestones in curbing emissions or sequestrating greenhouse gases already emitted into the atmosphere. The work recommends global co-operation and uniformity of interest to effectively combat climate change Furthermore, that the international framework can only achieve the goal of curbing emissions only when legally binding targets are included in the framework and ambitious commitments made by state parties
Review of the Nigerian startup act 2022
No full textThe Startup Act was passed into law in 2022 as an ‘Act To Provide For The Creation And Development Of An Enabling Environment For Technology-Enabled Startups in Nigeria and For Related Matters’. The paper seeks to review the Act to determine its enforcement, implementation and challenges to enable for a more proactive support for Nigeria’s tech industry. The paper finds that the Act is focused on funding and protecting startups in the tech sector and not other sectors. Also finds the Act to be overraching as it involves many sectors and legal regimes. It is hoped that a policy framework and guideline will help in the implementation of the provisions of this Act
Review of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules on issuance, offering platforms and custody of digital assets 2022
No full textThis paper reviews the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rules on Issuance, Offering Platforms and Custody of Digital Assets, 2022 against the background of the Central Bank of Nigeria ban on virtual currency operations in Nigeria. The paper discusses the structure, content, scope and application of the Rule and critically evaluates the position of this Rule in Nigeria especially when compared with what is obtainable in South Africa where crypto assets have been recognized as financial products subject to Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) regulation
Non-traditional trademarks in the sports industry: recent developments
No full textA rising number of ‘non-traditional’ or ‘unusual’ trademarks, which can be broadly categorized as marks that differ from more conventional words and logos, have been registered or attempted to be registered in the sports industry in recent years. There is no doubt that the reputations and monetary worth of sports brands are increasingly being tied to their trademark, as customers, including sports fans, come into contact with trademarks, whether in a shopping centre, at a sporting event, or on a mobile device. This article explores the protection that sports brands can obtain from their registration, a procedure that the authors argue remains underutilized despite the tremendous advantages that registration offers in a highly competitive sector increasingly dependent on the exploitation of Intellectual Property (IP) and IP related rights. It proffers useful suggestions on how sports brands can leverage more on trademarks to reap more benefits for their value. The article is desktop based and utilises existing literature to develop its analysis and draw its conclusions
Quantum of quality control in trademark licensing under the Nigerian law
No full textTrademark is comprised of a message about the quality of the goods to which it is connected. Accordingly, the statutory sanction for trademark licensing is circumscribed with the duty on the part of the owner to control quality of the goods of the licensee sold under his mark. The aim of this article is generally to present the weaknesses and challenges of the Nigerian provisions on quality control relating to trademark licensing, and its specific objectives include to ascertain the quantum of quality control required for valid trademark licensing. Specific issues raised in the article include the actual purport of the provisions of the Nigerian Trade Mark Act relating to quality control, whether it is certain and predictable. In particular, the terms ‘relationship’ and ‘control’ by their ordinary meanings present possible interpretive challenges for the courts, registry and practitioners alike. Among the questions to which the article will seek answers is that relating to the nature and types of relationship and control intended by the Act. Based on the assumption that product quality is the focus of the control under the provision, further inquiries about the extent and dimensions of quality and quality control are made through the cases. Relevant provisions in other countries will be examined to identify useful lessons for Nigeria
The protection of well-known marks: the Ghanaian perspective
No full textTrademarks are an important part of a business as they identify products and services of various enterprises in the market, and they also allow customers to show loyalty or allegiance to a particular brand. Businesses and rights holders of trademarks invest a huge amount of resources creating, promoting, and improving their trademarks and brands as their reputations are often built around trademarks owing to the fact that they are the key identifier of products of each business or entity in the trade circle. Trademarks are an important aspect of Intellectual Property (IP) law and included in this are well-known marks. Well known marks are important due to the considerable amount of effort and resources their owners have invested in building the reputation and goodwill of the mark both locally and internationally. This underscores the great need for their protection. This article discusses the protection of well-known marks in Ghana. It adopts a desktop approach and relies on both primary and secondary materials in its analysis. The article finds that while section 52 of the Ghanaian Trade Marks Act of 2004 (Act 664) defines well-known marks, it does not make adequate provisions to guide in the establishment of the well-known status of a trademark in Ghana. Thus, there is need for further strengthening of protection of well-known marks by reviewing the law to spell out the conditions or factors to be considered in determining when a mark is well-known in Ghana
Using patents in optimising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) potential in the herbal medicine sector in Nigeria
No full textSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly being recognised as the main source of economic growth and a major factor in promoting private sector development and partnership, in developed and developing countries, including Nigeria. With a focus on SMEs as major players in the development and exploitation of indigenous technologies, including herbal medicines, businesses could be developed around these technologies; which would foster national innovation, create employment and generate wealth. In essence, SMEs can and have played a key role in the economic growth and technical innovation within the herbal medicine sector. However, fostering national innovation and standardisation within the herbal medicine sector can be enhanced by the use of intellectual property, particularly patents, in protecting and promoting the commercialisation of inventions arising from the utilisation of indigenous or traditional medicinal knowledge. Such commercialisation is predicated on the fact that Nigeria’s rich wealth of traditional medicinal knowledge, if properly formalised and capitalised through the acquisition of property rights, would not only protect such knowledge from misappropriation, but also, is an intangible asset which could be used as a driving force for socio-economic growth and comparative advantage in the global economy. This article explores the role of patent in optimising the economic potential of SMEs in the herbal medicine sector in Nigeria
Patenting inventions arising from publicly funded research in Nigerian universities and research institutes: ownership and benefit-sharing in focus
No full textThe global trend is for the commercialisation of inventions arising from publicly funded research. Most researchers in Nigerian universities and research institutes are government employees, but there is no framework for equitable benefit sharing of the proceeds of publicly funded research. This work examined the framework for publicly funded research in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa and finds that except for the United States where benefit-sharing is regulated by contract, legislation in these countries provide for equitable benefit-sharing of the proceeds of commercialisation of inventions arising from publicly funded research, irrespective whether they are employed in public or private sector employment. The work also examined the rules that regulate benefit-sharing in the Nigerian public service, to which most Nigerian government owned universities and research institutes belong. In addition to proposing a shift in the notion of transfer of technology as is prescribed under the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion Act, it is recommended that a framework for the regulation of patenting, ownership and benefit-sharing be enacted in Nigeria, which would reform some of the provisions in the Patent and Design Act and the Public Service Rules that have the tendency to de-incentivise research and inventive activity among researchers in Nigerian universities and research institutes