The Modalities of Climate Change in Nigeria: The Legal and Institutional Framework (Published)
Climate change poses severe and potentially irreversible risks to human populations and ecosystems globally, with developing nations bearing a disproportionate burden. Nigeria, given its geographical and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, ranks among the countries most exposed to its adverse effects yet remains critically underequipped in legal and institutional terms to confront it. This article examines the adequacy of Nigeria’s existing legal and institutional framework for climate change regulation, arguing that the absence of dedicated climate legislation, the ineffectiveness of general environmental law provisions, and the poor implementation of government policy have created a governance vacuum that undermines the country’s mitigation and adaptation capacity. Drawing on international climate law instruments including the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, and the Paris Agreement and comparative domestic frameworks, it advocates for a comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s climate governance architecture. It recommends the enactment of climate-specific legislation, the establishment of accountable institutional structures, dedicated climate financing, and the effective implementation of Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement as essential steps toward a legally robust and climate-resilient Nigeria.
Keywords: Climate Change, Legal, Nigeria, institutional framework, modalities
Examination of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks of Medical Law in Nigeria (Published)
This paper examines the legal and institutional frameworks of medical law in Nigeria. The health sector has significant and considerable multiplier effect on virtually every facets of a country. The economic, industrial, technological and agricultural advancement of a country cannot be isolated from the state of the health of the citizens. Therefore, it is a truism that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Medical law being the legal regime that regulates the health sector, the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals as well as the rights of patients; this head of law, is very significant. If the rights of patients, the duties of medical professionals and health institutions in Nigeria are to be protected, enhanced and developed, attention must be paid to Nigerian’s medical law. Medical practice in Nigeria is bedevilled with a number of challenges, ranging from legislative imbroglio to institutional dysfunctions which consequently enmesh the health sector in sporadic cases of medical negligence, violation of patients’ rights, breach of confidentiality, protracted discipline cases of medical practitioners and abuses. Existing research work by learned writers and jurists focus mainly on patients’ rights and negligence. Most of the research works do not examine the legal regime of medical law as well as the institutional framework for the enforcement of patients’ rights and discipline of medical practitioners. This academic work uses the doctrinal method of legal research to examine existing literature, articles, legislations and judicial authorities; to expose the legal and institutional dysfunction in medical law in Nigeria with a view to providing functional and holistic legal regime that will strengthen medical law in Nigeria. This work identified gaps in existing legislations in medical law in Nigeria; it exposes the non-justifiability of the constitutional provision on health in the Nigeria’s constitution as well as weak institutional framework for enforcement of medical law. At the end of the work, it is recommended that the various medical or health law in Nigeria should be amended to incorporate contemporary trends in medical practice; massive education of the citizenry should be done to educate people about their health rights and strong institutions should be put in place for the enhancement of medical law in Nigeria.
Citation: Olabanjo Ayenakin, Temidayo Akindejoye, and Itunu Kolade-Faseyi (2021) Examination of the Legal and Institutional Frameworks of Medical Law in Nigeria, Global Journal of Politics and Law Research, Vol.9, No.6, pp.12-24
Keywords: Legal Framework, institutional framework, legal regime, medical law