EFFECT OF NON-DOMESTICATION OF INTERNATIONAL TREATIES: A CASE FOR SUSTAINING PIRACY OF COPYRIGHT WORKS IN DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of domestication of international treaties in copyright protection in Nigeria. The evolution and advancement of information technology in the late 20th and early 21st century has created a favourable tool for online piracy of copyrighted work of an author and has really exposed the lacuna in the principal legislation guiding copyright protection in Nigeria in the world of technology. In order to curb this incessant activities of pirates, and in a bid to attract foreign direct investment to boost the nation’s economy, Nigeria has signed and ratified related treaties in order to make the country a favourable destination for investment, encourage originality and discourage laziness. These treaties, after being signed and ratified, have not been domesticated as required by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and therefore cannot be applied by the courts for purposes of having a binding effect when necessary. This raises a serious legal question on the status of the various treaties Nigeria has signed and ratified, because section 12 of the Constitution provides that a treaty remains unenforceable under the Nigeria legal system unless the National Assembly has passed it into law. This paper therefore analyses various ways non domestication of treaties could affect investment both local and international in a developing country like Nigeria, it also points out the implication of non-domestication and a recommendation in the way treaties are implemented in Nigeria to facilitate their domestication.