UCC Law Journal

GHANA'S NEED FOR SOCIOLOGICAL JURISPRUDENCE: A CRITICAL APPLICATION OF ROSCOE POUND'S THEORY

Elijah Tukwariba Yin Yin — 2025-03-01

This paper critically examines the applicability and relevance of Roscoe Pound’s sociological jurisprudence to the legal and educational systems of Ghana. It argues that while Ghana’s legal architecture is constitutionally sound and institutionally robust, it remains constrained by inherited colonial formalism, doctrinal rigidity, and cultural alienation. Drawing on Pound’s foundational thesis, law must function as a tool for social engineering rather than a self-contained doctrinal system. The paper assesses Ghana’s jurisprudential trajectory and identifies a critical need to align legal norms, practices, and education with the socio-cultural realities of the Ghanaian populace. Through a desktop methodology grounded in doctrinal analysis and comparative legal theory, the study interrogates the formalism in judicial reasoning, the marginalization of customary law, and the doctrinal orthodoxy prevalent in legal education. It proposes a sociologically informed legal reform agenda encompassing interdisciplinary legal education, empirical legal research, and context-sensitive judicial interpretation. The study finds that integrating local knowledge systems, advancing community-based legal pedagogy, and democratizing access to justice are essential for the evolution of a Ghanaian legal system that is equitable, dynamic, and culturally responsive.

LAW, PEACE AND SUSTAINABLE SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Olusesan Oliyide Oliyide — 2025-03-01

Against the background of cataclysm to humans and lethality to property, rooted in wars and armed-conflicts, at national, regional and global levels and the truism that, without law and peace, no nation can, possibly, stabilise or prosper, this paper interrogates the interconnectivity and convergence of law and peace and their inevitability in ensuring sustainable socio-economic development. The paper finds that since no individual, institution, community, society, or nation can possibly be an island, interrelationships are inevitable because individuals, institutions, communities, societies, and nations are, naturally, duty-bound to interrelate and that this occasionally brews disputes arising from conflicting interests. The paper further finds that wars and conflicts interrupt economies, displace communities, and worsen poverty and inequality and that law is a potent instrument for attaining peace through the mechanism of conflict prevention (proactiveness) or resolution (reactiveness) as a way of ensuring sustainable socio-economic stability and prosperity. It recommends increased use of law, especially alternative dispute resolution models, for the purpose of ensuring national, regional, and global peace. Furthermore, while acknowledging that global and regional institutions are doing their best to ensure peace worldwide. It advocates that more efforts of these institutions are required to guarantee relative peace that is necessary for continuing national, regional, and global socio-economic stability and progress.

COLLABORATIVE FRENEMIES: EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COMPETITION LAW IN GHANA

Francisca Kusi-Appiah Kusi-Appiah — 2025-03-01

Intellectual property rights generally put right holders in a dominant position in the marketplace, and rightly so, as their rights grant them some time-limited monopolies. Competition policy, on the other hand, seeks to prevent the abuse of a dominant position by regulating competition to ensure a fair market. In view of the aforesaid, there appears to be a conflict between the two legal frameworks. There are, however, some attempts at responding to the concerns of competition policy in intellectual property laws. The paper recognizes the absence of a comprehensive competition regime in Ghana. Employing a doctrinal approach to data collection and analysis, the paper reviews the points of convergence and divergence between intellectual property laws and competition policy in Ghana. The paper briefly explores the successful and challenging resolution of IP and competition law conflicts in some African countries. The paper concludes that the attempts at addressing competition concerns by the use of intellectual property legal regimes are not enough. The paper calls for proactive steps to be taken toward the passage of a comprehensive competition legal regime to ensure a fairer market, thereby promoting free trade in Africa.

REDEFINING WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN GHANA

Maame Efua Addadzi-Koom Addadzi-Koom — 2025-03-01

Sexual harassment became topical in Ghana and Nigeria when BBC Africa Eye released the Sex for Grades documentary in the last quarter of 2019. The documentary implicated some lecturers in public universities. Nigeria’s Parliament promptly passed an anti-sexual harassment law. However, Ghana’s Parliament deliberated on the subject and has yet to pass an anti-sexual harassment law. The current legal regime on sexual harassment in the workplace in Ghana is limited. Accordingly, I advocate for a comprehensive law prohibiting all forms of sexual harassment in the workplace. I use doctrinal analysis to examine the existing laws on sexual harassment in Ghana and recommend redefining them expansively drawing comparative insights from Nigeria and South Africa.

STRIKING A BALANCE: AI, NATIONAL SECURITY, AND PRIVACY RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Oghomwen Rita Ohiro Ohiro — 2025-03-01

Nigeria, like many other nations, is increasingly utilising artificial intelligence (AI) for national security purposes. While AI presents opportunities such as enhanced threat detection and cybercrime prevention, its use also raises concerns about individual privacy and potential misuse. This paper investigates the challenges Nigeria faces in balancing national security with privacy rights in deploying AI technologies. The research employs a doctrinal approach, analysing legal frameworks, government policies, and relevant academic literature, complemented by insights from structured interviews from reputable newspapers and credible publications featuring industry experts in national security and technology. It highlights the benefits and risks of AI in national security while offering recommendations for a national AI strategy tailored to Nigeria’s unique context. The proposed strategy emphasizes clear legal frameworks, robust oversight mechanisms, ethical guidelines for data use, and public education on AI and privacy rights. These measures aim to enable Nigeria to leverage AI for national security while safeguarding the rights of its citizens.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT UNDER THE NIGERIAN LABOUR LAW

Busari Morufu Salawu Salawu — 2025-03-01

The employment contract between employers and employees must adhere to due process at all stages, starting with its creation, continuing through job performance, and concluding with termination or retirement. This paper provides an overview of the determination of statutory employment contracts under Nigerian law. It examines the processes and procedures involved in dismissing an employee, identifies, and appraises issues related to employee determinations. A qualitative research method, relying on both primary and secondary sources, was employed. The primary sources consulted include statutes (the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Labour Act of 2004, the Industrial Disputes Act of 2004, and international treaties and declarations from the International Labour Organisation, among others), while secondary sources encompass textbooks, journal articles, conference proceedings, newspapers, and the internet. The findings of this paper reveal that the termination of employment may be lawful or unlawful. It also determined that while employers have the right to terminate an employee’s appointment, they also have a duty not to infringe upon employees' rights. It is recommended that in an employment contract, both parties must be aware of their rights, duties, and obligations.

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NIGERIA DATA PROTECTION ACT 2023: ELEVATING STANDARDS TO GLOBAL NORMS

Patrick Chukwunonso Aloamaka Aloamaka — 2025-03-01

The Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 marks a pivotal advancement in Nigeria's regulatory framework for data protection. This article critically examines the NDPA, highlighting its alignment with the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its implications for Nigeria. Employing a doctrinal research methodology, the analysis delves into the Act's provisions, including definitions, data subject rights, data controller obligations, and the establishment of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). Comparisons with the GDPR underscore both the strengths and potential challenges of the NDPA, particularly in areas such as extraterritoriality, independence of the regulatory authority, and enforcement mechanisms. The article also explores the socio-economic and legal contexts that influence the Act's implementation. Recommendations are provided to enhance the effectiveness of the NDPA in safeguarding privacy rights and fostering trust in Nigeria's digital economy

TYRON MARHGUY V. BOARD OF GOVERNORS ACHIMOTA SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL: A COMMENTARY

Idowu A Akinloye Akinloye — 2025-03-01

This comment is a reflection on the 2021 Ghanaian case of Tyron Marhguy v. Board of Governors Achimota Senior High School and Anor (hereafter, Marhguy) and brings to the fore the Ghanaian judicial standpoint on the enforcement of the right to freedom of religion and belief. In the case, the Applicant successfully contested the violation of his fundamental human right to freedom of religion and belief. Jurisprudentially, Marhguy is phenomenal, being a locus classicus setting out the judicial approval to the constitutional protection of religious liberty in Ghana. More importantly, Ghana is a country with constitutional democracy and religious pluralism, and the effect of the case may ultimately shape religion-state relations in the country. Expectedly, given the religiosity of Ghanaians, the court decision elicited much public commentary and debate; but as significant as the case, there has not been much legal and academic discourse on it. The issues that resonated in the case touch on constitutionally guaranteed human rights, including the right to freedom of religion and belief, the right to education, and the right to human dignity. However, the focus of this commentary is limited to the issues concerning the right to freedom of religion. Thus, after a summary of the facts of the case and the decision of the court, this discussion primarily evaluates only the issues