Africa: Consumer Protection

ENS in Namibia recently hosted a trial advocacy training workshop for law students participating in the University of Namibia's annual moot court competition. Led by Adv. Deon Obbes SC...

The African Organisation of Intellectual Property (OAPI) has initiated its fourth Africa GI Training programme in Abidjan, bringing together participants from 13 member states to develop expertise in geographical indications. This capacity-building initiative combines theoretical learning with practical application to strengthen the protection and promotion of local products across the continent. The programme represents a strategic effort to leverage geographical indications as instruments for economic dev

Nigeria's development trajectory depends critically on modern legal frameworks that can attract investment, reduce risk, and create the institutional certainty necessary for economic transformation. This analysis examines how deliberate legal reform in sectors like electricity, education, healthcare, and infrastructure can serve as strategic tools for industrialization, drawing lessons from China's reform architecture and Rwanda's regulatory overhaul.

South Africa's buy-now-pay-later sector faces heightened regulatory scrutiny as the Reserve Bank flags potential household financial stress risks. As BNPL products blur the lines between payment innovation and consumer credit, the debate centers on whether current regulatory frameworks adequately address affordability assessments, bureau reporting, and consumer protection in this rapidly growing market.

Digital lending in Nigeria has revolutionized access to finance through mobile platforms offering instant unsecured loans, but this rapid growth has sparked intense debate over pricing practices and consumer protection. As regulators scrutinize high interest rates, hidden fees, and complex terms, lenders defend their models as necessary responses to elevated credit risk and operational costs. The central question remains: how can Nigeria balance innovation-driven financial inclusion with meaningful safeguar

The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a landmark ruling that fundamentally changes how consumer credit providers must calculate borrowing rates across all EU Member States. The judgment establishes that interest may only be applied to the actual credit amount made available to consumers, not to financed costs such as insurance premiums that form part of the total cost of credit. This binding decision has immediate implications for credit institutions, consumer lenders, and firms providing mo

Consumer protection is a major component of any economy. With the increasingly complex nature of commercial activities and financial transactions in Nigeria, there is a need to balance the interests of businesses while adequately protecting the rights and welfare of consumers.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has announced that all payments for services provided by the Commission must now be made through the RevOp platform, a new revenue collection platform introduced by the Federal Government. The Commission outlined a step-by-step process for generating a bill and completing payment through the new platform, including payment by bank transfer, card, or at a bank branch.

British American Tobacco faces significant penalties from Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission for alleged violations of consumer protection regulations. The case raises important questions about corporate compliance with local consumer laws and the enforcement powers of regulatory bodies in protecting market competition.

The Court of Justice of the European Union has issued a preliminary ruling in Case C-427/24 Diagramm Halbach, establishing critical principles for determining whether products qualify as medical devices under the EU Medical Device Regulation. The judgment clarifies that manufacturer advertising alone does not determine medical device status, and that products must objectively perform medical purposes to fall within the regulatory definition.

The European Parliament's draft report proposes over 130 amendments to the Commission's plan for overhauling medical device regulations, introducing new categories like "niche" devices while expanding coordination mechanisms between EU authorities. These changes aim to balance regulatory simplification with patient safety, potentially reshaping how medical devices and in vitro diagnostics are classified, assessed, and brought to market across the European Union.

In particular, the Commission held that the platform failed to assess staffing requirements for the review of potentially illegal products, how its advertising systems were contributing to the proliferation of illegal products, and how well its systems prevented the risk of illegal products appearing or being re-listed.