General Advantages of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Intellectual Property Disputes

Legal Education, Legal Opinions

Intellectual property disputes can involve highly technical scientific matters and complex legal issues, but not every country has specialized intellectual property courts or judges. Thus, when judges and juries lack the necessary expertise to fully comprehend the complex factual, technical and legal issues at stake, considerable time and resources may be required to present the relevant technologies and laws to them. ADR processes allow parties

The Jurisdiction of the NICN: Loans, Mortgages & Other Employment-related arrangements

Legal Opinions

The words “relating to”, “connected with”, or “incidental thereto” mean largely the same thing, and indicate that the causes or matters must be linked with labour, employment, trade unions, etc. The Court of Appeal, in interpreting this provision, in the case of Salami v. National Judicial Council[9], while acknowledging that it “bestowed exclusive jurisdiction on the Court in all matters relating to or connected or incidental to labour, trade disputes, and industrial relations”, added the phrase “other ancillary matters that may arise out of the same which hitherto had been within the confines of concurrent jurisdiction of the State High Courts and Federal High Court at first instance.” You will agree that the word “ancillary” was not used in the statute and does not have the same meaning as the words “relating to”, “connected with”, or “incidental thereto” used in the Constitution.

Retrospective Operation of Statute: An Overview Of Section 35(5) Of Amcon Act, 2019.

Articles, Legal Opinions, Parliament

Retrospective operation of Statute is an application of the law to actions, which existed prior to the enactment of the said law. That is, such laws change or alter the legal consequences of acts that took place prior to its enactment. A retrospective law impairs an existing right by creating or imposing a new liability for an act committed before the enactment of a law. A retrospective legislation is contrary to the general principle of prospective operation of law; which provides for and, regulates the future acts of men, and does not interfere in any way with what happened in the past. The question that we face during the applicability of retrospective law is whether a statute or law, should be given a retrospective effect, which takes away or impairs an existing right or impose a new liability.

Unveiling The Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023: An Expert Appraisal Of Key Provisions

BUSINESS, Legal Opinions

A notable provision of the Act is the inclusion of legitimate interest as a basis for processing personal data.[5] Legitimate interest comes up in an instance where an organisation needs to process personal data in order to discharge responsibilities related to the business that may not necessarily be justified by a legal or contractual obligation but such processing of personal data can be justified on grounds of legitimate interest. This implies that data controllers and processors can justify the processing on grounds of legitimate interest. e.g. data processing for the prevention of fraud, and employee-employer relationships.

The Student Loan Act: Need For A Review

Legal Opinions

Further, given that the Student Loan Act is to assist poor Nigerians, the stipulation that the applicant must furnish at least two guarantors, each of whom must be a civil servant with at least 12 years of service may be an herculean task for the poor. It may be a big challenge for the poor to get a lawyer with ten years of post-call experience as a guarantor. How is a student who lacks the funds to complete his study going to be able to find a lawyer with ten years of post-call experience to serve as a guarantor? The statute has to be reconsidered because few poor Nigerians will be able to utilize this student loan program as a result of this clause.

Securing Nigeria’s Maritime Domain: Vigilance, Hot Pursuit, and Combating Crude Oil Theft

Articles, BUSINESS, Legal Opinions, NEWS

Hot pursuit is the right of a coastal state to continue, outside its territorial sea, contiguous zone, or certain adjacent areas, the pursuit of a foreign vessel that has violated its laws and regulations while in its internal waters or territorial sea, contiguous zone, or certain adjacent areas. The pursuit must, however, have started as soon as the violation occurred and not been aborted.

Lawyers/Law Firms are Taxable Persons Liable to Pay VAT — Conclusions from Al-Masser vs. FIRS

Articles, BUSINESS, Judiciary, Legal Opinions

“Taxable person” includes an individual or body of individuals, family, corporations sole, trustee or executor or a person who carries out in a place an economic activity, a person exploiting tangible and intangible property for the purpose of obtaining income therefrom by way of trade or business or a person or agency of Government acting in that capacity.

In delivering its judgment, the Court of Appeal held that a lawyer or firm of lawyers in private practice provides legal services for a fee, and so are taxable persons bound by sections 1, 2, 14(1), 15(1) and 46 of the VAT Act to pay VAT to the FIRS for legal services they provide. In the words of the Court of Appeal,…

Safeguarding Mergers And Acquisition Deals From Common Mistakes

Articles, Legal Opinions

By Mary-Cynthia Okundaye and Yvonne Ezekiel Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to expand their operations, enter new markets, and achieve economies of scale. However, M&A transactions are complex and involve significant risks and challenges. These challenges could be due to a variety of factors, including strategic, financial, and…

Nigeria’s Floating Exchange Rate Regime – Potential Tax Implications & Management Strategies For Businesses

Articles, Legal Opinions

Over time, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has adopted different exchange rate systems, such as controlled, floating, and managed float, alongside intermittent interventions, all aimed at achieving extended market stability. The controlled exchange rate system is that in which the central bank determines a fixed exchange rate, while floating exchange rate system allows the determination of the rate by market forces. Meanwhile, the managed float exchange rate system allows the influence of demand and supply to determine the exchange rate but also allows occasional involvement by the central bank to manage persistent fluctuations.