Concurrent application of the Hague and Hamburg rules: ascertaining the applicable law to contracts for the carriage of goods by sea in Nigeria

Misuse of ship-owners’ stronger bargaining power during the nineteenth century resulted in the formulation of rules to regulate carriage of goods by sea contracts. The adoption of the Hague Rules in 1924 was followed by that of the Hamburg Rules in 1978. Nigeria has domesticated both Rules – the Hague Rules under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA), 2004 and The Hamburg Rules by the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (UNCCGSA), 2005. In order to bring the Hamburg Rules into force, article 31 of the same Rules enjoins parties to denounce the 1924 Convention. Since the domestication of the Hamburg Rules in Nigeria, the COGSA has neither been denounced nor repealed, leading to confusion as to the applicable law in this area. This paper sets out to evaluate whether the enactment of the UNCCGSA has repealed the COGSA or whether the two legislation apply concurrently in Nigeria. Through analysis of case law, it contends that the enactment of the UNCCGSA has impliedly repealed the COGSA in Nigeria. Finally, the paper offers further suggestions which will aid in bringing certainty and uniformity to this area of law in the country.     

Carbon emission,solid waste management,and electricity generation: a legal and empirical perspective for renewable energy in Nigeria

International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics - This research investigates the necessity for transformation of wastes to energy for environmentally friendly and improvement in...     

Assessing the Application of the Principles of Non-discrimination and Gender Equality in Relation to Devolution of Land upon Death in Nigeria

Liverpool Law Review - The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), guarantees the right to freedom from discrimination. Similarly, the Land Use Act 2004, which is the...     

Beyond assumptive deterrence: understanding the socio-environmental dynamics in crimes by Christian clerics and its implications for crime control

Crime, Law and Social Change - Emerging reports are increasingly implicating Christian clerics in array of unlawful and criminal behaviours, thus questioning the deterrence efficacy of Christianity...     

Promoting a more efficient corporate governance in Nigeria through the law

Corporate governance reforms have been viewed as one of the formal means of improving the economic and social welfare of emerging economies. There have been efforts by the Nigerian government, through its agencies, to promulgate codes of best practices for companies in the country. These reforms appear to be ineffective and the codes do not compliment and are not complimented by corporate law. The aim of this paper is to identify the problems that hinder effective corporate governance reforms in Nigeria within corporate law. Using the doctrinal approach, the paper analyses features of the Nigerian corporate governance framework and identifies the problems bedeviling this regime. It argues that the problems stem from (amongst others), state ownership and control, board independence, poor minority shareholder protection, ineffective judicial system and Incomplete disclosure. The paper, by linking the apparent weakness of the extant framework to the attempt to reform outside corporate law, suggests a hybrid of legislation including hard laws, soft laws and other policy proposals to promote an effective corporate governance regime in Nigeria.     

Social media communication and higher education brand equity: The mediating role of eWOM

Beyond its ability to enhance the generation of goals and objectives, understanding an organization's brand equity is a key driver in communicating values to consumers and end‐users. In a very competitive marketplace, it is high time universities ditched the traditional means of communication and comply with the trending social media communication forms so as to better capture both the virtual as well as the real social space of their students who, in turn, are ambassadors of the institutions. Using data solicited from 317 university students, this study found that universities can better position themselves to compete when they employ both user‐generated and firm‐generated social media communication in building their brand equity. Our study also validates electronic word of mouth as a mediator of the relationship between social media communication and higher education brand equity. Recommendations for practice were also suggested.