The Internet, Development, Human Rights and the Law in Africa

This book tracks and critiques the impact of the internet in Africa. It explores the legal policy implications of, and legal responses to, the internet in matters straddling human rights, development, trade, criminal law, intellectual property and social justice from the perspective of several African countries and the region. Well-known and emerging African scholars consider whether access to the internet is a human right, the implications on the right to privacy, e-commerce, cybercrime, the opportunities and dangers of admitting electronic evidence, the balancing of freedom of expression with the protection of intellectual property and how different African legal systems address this tension. This book will be an invaluable resource for a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, scholars and postgraduate students; policymakers and legislators; lawyers and judicial officers; crime-fighting agencies; national human rights institutions; civil society organisations; international and regional organisations; and human rights monitoring bodies.

Danwood M. Chirwa is Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Cape Town. A former chair of the board of the trustees of the UN Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and a member of the South African Legal Practice Council and of the Council of the University of Cape Town, he holds a PhD from the University of the Western Cape, an LLM from the University of Pretoria and an LLB from the University of Malawi.

Caroline B. Ncube holds the DSI/NRF SARChI Research Chair in Intellectual Property, Innovation and Development at the University of Cape Town. She also lectures on the WIPO-ARIPO-Africa University Master’s Degree in IP. She is an Associate Member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society, University of Ottawa. She holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town, an LLM from the University of Cambridge and an LLB from the University of Zimbabwe.