The right to Freedom of thought, conscience and religion as enshrined in section 38 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is, and has been one of the crucial rights as long as Nigeria is concerned.This is as a result of the muliti-diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria, of which some, after the colonial era,adopted and accepted other religions (e.g Christianity) as their own, these various religions share differentviews about their deities, and how they ought to live their lives in accordance with the will of their deities.The mode of life adopted by each religion which is in accordance with the will of their God(s), has greatlyaffected their day-to-day activities such as, the food they eat, their social activities, educational activities,the way they go about their health treatment, and even their mode of dressing and grooming. This paperseeks to analyse the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion as encapsulated in section 38 ofthe 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vis-a-vis Islamic dressing codes in public places.
AN EXAMINATION OF THE LEGITIMACY OF COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON A GLOBAL SCALE
The ever-evolving technological advancements have given rise to the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI allows machines to perform tasks that were once reserved exclusively for human creativity, challenging conventional paradigms of creativity and authorship. The concept of artificial intelligence can be traced back to Alan Turing in 1950, with the term “artificial intelligence” coined by John McCarthy during a conference in Dartmouth in 1956. It is becoming increasingly clear that AI generative tools can replicatehuman creativity and generate original works which has posed legal challenges, particularly in the realmof copyright ownership. Copyright laws across the globe mandate that human authorship is a crucial aspect of obtaining copyright protection. At first, copyright ownership for AI-generated works was not acontentious issue, as the computer program was seen as a mere tool for human creativity. However, theincreasing autonomy of modern AI, enabling independent creative decision-making, challenges the traditional notions of copyright ownership. This raises a pertinent legal question: can non-human entities,particularly AI generative tools, assert legitimate copyright ownership over the works they produce?Opponents argue that AI entities, being non-human, are incapable of being legitimate owners of copyright.Contrarily, proponents of AI copyright ownership assert that advanced algorithms and systems, despitebeing inanimate, should be recognized as legitimate creators. This dilemma calls for a resolution toascertain the legitimacy of AI copyright ownership, setting the stage for a proposed general legalframework to regulate the field of Artificial Intelligence.
THE PROBLEM OF LEGAL TECHNICALITIES AND THE DEMAND FOR JUSTICE; LAYMAN’S PERCEPTION OF TECHNICALLY DECIDED CASES
This article examines the concept of technicality, its associated challenges, and potential solutions, along with the demand for justice. It explores the concept of technicality in depth, considering the judiciary’s attitude towards it and finding that courts typically avoid technicality to serve justice. The paper compares the Nigerian legal system’s substantive and procedural laws, revealing that substantive law relies on procedural law for enforcement, with litigants often invoke procedural law to highlight technicalities. It also discusses the administration of justice and its forms, distinguishing between formal justice (strict application of laws) and substantive justice (application of laws to achieve justice), and addresses how courts handle litigation irregularities and technicalities. It is noted that technicalities are categorized into minor and substantial, with courts tending to disregard the former and focus on the latter. The article further investigates how laypeople and legally informed individuals perceive cases decided on technical grounds, finding a common view that technicalities often obstruct justice. It recommends that courts should require strict adherence to procedural laws (rules of the court), except where otherwise stated, and suggests that minor errors by litigants should be overlooked or corrected in the interest of justice, to ensure the administration of justice is seen as fair and equitable.
LITIGATION AS A TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN NIGERIA
Environmental Laws are set aside to reduce the stringent environmental hazards that emanates from different activities of mankind. To find solutions to this menace, courts are set up by the government with jurisdiction to consider environmental litigation to safeguard environmental litigants in the green and white nation, and the responsibilities of judiciary to procure solutions to such. The great percentage of common environmental difficulties affecting the country and universe at large emanated from industrial or manufacturing factories, processes, mechanism and products. It encompasses waste product from different manufacturing activities, different environmental dangers stemming from common manufacturing processes and mechanism and of life wastes and waste product from the use of their end-products. They display and storm the surrounding in form of air, water, noise and land pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, toxic and non-toxic wastes, global warming and climate change e.g. a non-biodegradable waste, cellphone and other plastic materials, bottles and other glass material. Consequent upon the increment in the industrial activities in Nigeria, the challenges attached to the manufacturing may also increase. In a similar fashion, just as the negative environmental effects of industrial activities had increased geometrically from the incipient stage of industrial revolution in Europe continent.
THE PLIGHT OF CLIMATE REFUGEES IN AN ERA OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
In the wake of climate change menace, there is the emergence of a new class of refugees known as climate refugees. This is a group that has enjoyed little of any legal protection due to lack of a proper legal framework addressing this adversity. There is need to boldly address this issue otherwise the continued proliferation of their rights will not cease. In times when environmental justice is gaining traction there would be no other opportune time to address the problem and give recommendations. This paper sees to it that this controversial topic is deciphered of its intricacies and offered evocative, informative, positive and revolutionary insights. It is aimed at acknowledging the existence of these people, analyzing the contributors to it and also the role of the law in trying to combat it as well as the role nations have to play in helping eradicate it and not forgetting the interplay between all these and human rights.
AN APPRAISAL OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF A GOVERNOR TO SUSPEND OR REMOVE THE STATE CHIEF JUDGE
In a democratic system of government, the constitution usually vests powers in the hands of Stategovernors to appoint, suspend or remove a chief Judge of the state, for having been incapacitatedin the performance of his/her duties due to factors such as gross misconduct, sickness, ormiscarriage of justice.The constitution is a grundnorm in which every power and authority in the State is rooted, and all other laws are subject to its provisions therein. Thus, enacted rules and powers which contravene the provisions of the constitution will be considered null and void. Furthermore, it is on the plethora of the constitutional powers, that formulate the principles of separation of powers for the administration of government are grounded. The principles entails that, no organ of the government should interfere with the duties, and powers of the other, and Nigeria in its constitutional authority, provided the powers and procedures to appoint, suspend, or removing of the sitting chief Judge of a state in the federation, and specifically in chapter VII (7) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as (amended) 2011.
