Webinar on the economic impact of data localisation policies on Kenya and Nigeria's regional trade obligations

Link to Webinar Recording:  Webinar on the economic impact of data localisation policies

The Mandela Institute at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand hosted a webinar that forms part of a broader research project on the economic impact in Africa of data protection through data localisation.

This work is pertinent as African states adopt privacy regulation at a national level and as developments on a regional level also ramp up. This webinar’s focus is on country commitments in international treaty frameworks and the intersection with data protection. With the ratification of the Africa Continent Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Africa has been turned into a single free trade area, however, leading African economies including Nigeria and Kenya have adopted data localisation laws that could potentially hamper the success of trade in Africa’s digital economy. Our speakers explored the national policy domains in Kenya and Nigeria and then examined the interaction of national policies with the treaty commitments of each country, identifying a number of priority issues that states should take into account for future regulation and implementation.

Guest Speakers

Dr. Lukman Abdulrauf, University of Ilorin

Dr. Oyeniyi Abe, Afe Babalola University

Mr. Malcolm Kijirah, Victorlee, Kenya

The webinar was held on 13 July 2021 at 14:00.  

Webinar on Data protection in South Africa: The potential impact of data localization on South Africa’s project of sustainable development

Link to the Webinar Recording: Recording of Webinar on Data Protection in South Africa

The Mandela Institute at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, hosted a webinar on Data protection in South Africa: The potential impact of data localization on South Africa’s project of sustainable development.

As South Africa prepares for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), it is imperative for South Africa to harness developmental opportunities presented in respect of the emerging African Digital Economy. In particular, the value of free-flowing data as a commodity must be acknowledged and exploited in a manner that is congruent with the country’s constitutional and developmental obligations and objectives. Moreover, South Africa is obliged to strike a delicate policy balance between the free flow of data and the privacy rights of its residents, in light of the rights to privacy and access to information guaranteed in the Constitution.

This webinar explored arguments around states’ justification for introducing data localization requirements, including those related to foreign surveillance; privacy and security; and economic development. In addition, arguments that oppose “data nationalism” will be explored, with reference to the unique challenges that confront South Africa’s policy makers, including a lack of ICT infrastructure and serious power constraints. In particular, the polycentric and sometimes perverse consequences that may result from data localization will be set out, and encompasses various phenomena such as the “Protected Local Provider problem”; the “Jackpot Problem” and the unintended deleterious impacts on Foreign Direct Investment.

Guest Speakers

Dr. Ololade Shyllon, Privacy Policy Manager, Middle East & Africa, Facebook
Dr. Shanelle van der Berg, Research Fellow, Department of Public Law, Stellenbosch University
Prof. Sizwe Snail, Commissioner, Information Regulator
Ms. Gabriella Razzano, Senior Research Fellow, Research ICT Africa

The webinar was held on 28 May 2021 at 15:00.

Webinar: Copyright Amendment Bill

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording of Webinar on Copyright Amendment Bill

The Mandela Institute at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand hosted a webinar discussing the Copyright Amendment Bill which is currently under consideration of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry in the National Parliament.

Guest Speakers:

Mr. Duma Nkosi, Chair of Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, National Parliament

Prof. Malebakeng Forere, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand

Prof. Sean Flynn, American University and University of Cape Town IP Unit

Prof. Owen Dean, Professor, Stellenbosch University

Dr. Joel Baloyi, Entertainment Law & IP Management, Copyright Coalition of SA

Mr. Ben Cashdan, Filmmaker and Founder, ReCreate SA. Former advisor in Mandela presidency.

The webinar was held on 20 May 2021 at 15:00. 

Webinar on Data Protection in Africa's Digital Economy

Link to Webinar Recording:  Recording of Webinar on Data Protection in Africa's Digital Economy

The Mandela Institute at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, hosted a webinar on data protection in Africa’s major economies in the 2020s and beyond: Introducing a Mandela Institute research project.

This webinar introduced the Institute’s research project on the regulatory implications of data protection in Africa. This included describing the rise of the data economy as well as its characteristics, the omnipresent information asymmetries and the extent to which artificially intelligent machines and those that control them are far more capable of extracting value from massive amounts of raw data than human beings are; the rise of “winner-take-all” or “winner-take-most” markets and what this means for the competitiveness of markets; value creation in the data economy; the “digital divides” between and within countries and what these mean for the distribution of benefits in the data economy; the political economy at the technological frontier in a world that is increasingly characterised by hegemonic struggle between the United States and China; the jurisdictional challenges associated with the rise of intangible value, including in relation to where value is created and what this means for the effective implementation of national policies, including in relation to taxation, trade, competition and data protection; and the benefits and systemic risks presented by the ability of data-driven solutions to scale rapidly and extensively.

Guest Speakers

Africa’s digital economy: protectionism, development and democracy
Dr. Fola Adeleke, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand

The economic implications of data protection and integration
Dr. Alex Beyleveld, Senior Researcher, Mandela Institute, University of the Witwatersrand

The ethics of AI in Africa
Dr. Rachel Adams, Senior Research Specialist, Human Sciences Research Council

The webinar was held on 17 May 2021 at 14:00.

Webinar - Trade, Patent Law and Vaccine Procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic: Issues and Lessons for the Global South.

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording of Webinar on Trade, Patent Law and Vaccine Procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic: Issues and Lessons for the Global South.

The Mandela Institute at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand hosted a webinar on Trade, Patent Law and Vaccine Procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic: Issues and Lessons for the Global South.

Guest Speakers:

Zane Dangor, Special Adviser to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.

Fatima Hassan, Founder and Head of the Health Justice Initiative.

Franziska Sucker, Associate Professor of the  School of Law at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The webinar was held on 3 February 2021 at 15:00. 

Webinar - Mining Communities who say 'No': Hostage-takers, Victims or Agents of Transformative Change?

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording of Webinar on Mining Communities who say 'No': Hostage-takers, Victims or Agents of Transformative Change?

The Mandela Institute at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, hosted a webinar on Mining Communities who Say ‘No’: Hostage-takers, Victims or Agents of Transformative Change?

Communities or factions of communities that resist the use of their land and other natural resources for mining are fighting to have their voices heard and their rights protected. In a series of recent decisions, the South African courts have recognized communities’ right to be meaningfully consulted, their right to access the information in a mining application, and the State’s duty to obtain their consent for the deprivation of informal land rights. The entire bedrock of constitutional rights underlies these court wins. Yet despite these victories, the contemporary situation of communities who are saying no to mining is highly precarious: A number of community leaders have been assassinated or are facing death threats and the right of community members to express their resistance and associate for this purpose has been countered with heavy-handed intimidation. Communities who say no have been framed as hostage-takers: Of the mining company, mining jobs, and of mining-driven national development.

The escalation of mining-related conflict in some communities is untenable. What should the state, mining companies, traditional authorities and communities themselves be doing to restore peace, order and respect for human rights? Are our laws and institutions transformative enough to hold and deal with the conflicts in mining-impacted communities? And instead of victims or hostage-takers should we be seeing the communities who are saying no as the provocateurs for deeper and more extensive transformation in the mining industry?

Guest Speakers

Ms Nonhle Mbuthuma is co-founder of the Amadiba Crisis Committee. She is a prominent land and earth defender hailing from Umgungundlovu in Eastern Mpondoland.

Mr Johan Lorenzen is an Associate with Richard Spoor Inc Attorneys, the attorneys of record for the Amadiba Crisis Committee.

Mr Matome Kapa is the Programme Head: Activist Support & Training at the Centre for Environmental Rights.

Mr Peter Leon is a Partner with Herbert Smith Freehills, co-chair of its Africa practice, and former chair of the International Bar Association’s mining law committee. 

Prof Jackie Dugard is an Associate Professor at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand and co-founder and former executive director of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI).

The event was chaired by Prof Tracy-Lynn Field, a Full Professor at the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, author of State Governance of Mining, Development and Sustainability and chair of the board of the Centre for Environmental Rights.

The webinar was held on 9 December 2020 at 16:00.

Webinar - Competition in the Digital Economy: The Competition Commission's Approach to Enforcement and Merger Regulation

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording to Webinar on Competition in the Digital Economy

The Competition Commission and the Mandela Institute, a Centre in the School of Law, of the University of the Witwatersrand hosted a Panel Discussion on the paper recently released by the Competition Commission titled ‘Competition in the Digital Economy: The Competition Commission’s Approach to the Enforcement and Merger Regulation’.

Presentation on the Paper:
Mr Hardin Ratshisusu, Deputy Commissioner, Competition Commission

Panelists:
Dr Alastair Tempest, Chief Executive Officer, Ecommerce Forum of South Africa (EFSA)
Prof Jonathan Klaaren, Professor, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand
Prof Liberty Mncube, Associate Professor, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand
Mr Xolani Nyali, Partner, Bowmans

Chair:
Mr Norman Manoim  Acting Judge, South Gauteng High Court

The webinar was held on 20 November at 10:00.

Webinar: Digitalization and the World of Work(ers)

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording of Digitalization and the World of Work(ers) Webinar

The South African Research Chair in Equality, Law and Social Justice, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), and the Mandela Institute, a Centre within the School of Law, of the University of the Witwatersrand hosted the fourth webinar in the series addressing critical issues of “Law, policy and inequality” titled ‘Digitalization and the World of Work(ers)’. This webinar explored how new technology drives productivity, transforms the world of work and deepens workplace inequality to unprecedented levels.

Guest Speakers for the webinar was:

The Technology Trap
Dr Carl Frey, Oxford Martin Citi Fellow, Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford

Labour Rights in the Gig Economy
Prof Darcy du Toit, Department of Mercantile and Labour Law, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape

Discussant
Prof Edward Webster, Emeritus Professor, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies

The webinar was held on 5 November 2020 at 16:00.

Webinar: International trade pre-, during, and post-Covid-19: Crisis and Vulnerabilities

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording to International trade pre-, during, and post-Covid-19: Crisis and Vulnerabilities

The global Covid-19 pandemic has made visible the fragilities, vulnerabilities and structural inequalities that constitute the international trading system. However, exposed vulnerabilities are not new to the international trading system, which has endured and survived diverse national and international social and economic crises. What makes this pandemic unique is its timing. In the months leading up to the Covid-19 outbreak, the WTO was facing its biggest legitimacy crisis to date as the US ‘asphyxiated’ the dispute settlement mechanism and the geopolitical tensions of the US-China trade war and Brexit continued to escalate. As an international institution, the WTO is accustomed to articulating responses to unforeseen geopolitical and economic events and natural disasters. But, Covid-19 came at a time when the institution was arguably at its weakest point. Clearly the pandemic has brought into sharp focus the interlinkages between international trade and public health, but not least between the international economic system and development. In this webinar, we discuss the reasons for the WTO being in a crisis at the time of Covid-19 and the way(s) in which international trade rules have been and may still be weaponised as a sword and shield to protect the economic and social interests of a state and its citizens. We identify the existing structural vulnerabilities and inequalities underpinning the international trading system and question whether this global crisis marks a point for strategically reorienting of this rules-based regime toward more just and equitable outcomes.

Guest Speakers

Dr Clair Gammage, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Bristol (UK).  Dr Gammage is a critical scholar of international economic law, and has published extensively in the field of international law and development. She is an expert of regional trade agreements and EU relations with countries in the global south. Clair’s recent work has focused on the intersection between trade agreements and issue linkages, such as human rights, labour standards and gender.

Prof Franziska Sucker, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Prof Sucker teaches courses in International Trade Law and Public International Law. Franziska is an expert of trade linkages and conflicts between international treaties. Her recent work focuses on digital trade, African regional integration, and trade linkages with competition.

The webinar took place on 10 September 2020 at 16:00. 

Webinar: Inequality and Indebtedness

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording to Inequality and Indebtedness Webinar

The South African Research Chair in Equality, Law and Social Justice, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), and the Mandela Institute, a Centre within the School of Law, of the University of the Witwatersrand hosted the third webinar in the series addressing critical issues of “Law, policy and inequality” titled ‘Inequality and Indebtedness’. This webinar discussed how indebtedness is experienced in South Africa, the economic and legal relations of debt and what needs to be done to overcome the burdens of indebtedness.

The webinar was presented by Deborah James, Professor of Anthropology, London School of Economics and author of Money from Nothing: Indebtedness and Aspiration in South Africa (Stanford University Press, 2015).  Kindly note that the paper discussed in the webinar should be treated as a draft only. 

Discussants for the webinar were Odette Geldenhuys, Partner, Webber Wentzel Attorneys, Cape Town and Seeraj Mohamed, Deputy Director, Economics, Parliamentary Budget Office.

The webinar took place on 20 August 2020 at 16:00.

Webinar: Wealth inequality in South Africa: What do we know and how can law and policy address it?

Link to Webinar Recording:  Recording to Wealth inequality in South Africa Webinar

The South African Research Chair in Equality, Law and Social Justice, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), and the Mandela Institute, a Centre within the School of Law, of the University of the Witwatersrand hosted the second webinar in the series addressing critical issues of “Law, policy and inequality”. In this webinar - “Wealth inequality in South Africa: What do we know and how can law and policy address it” - discussed the SCIS’ cutting-edge research on wealth inequality and consider different ways in which law and economic policy can address this.

The webinar was presented by Aroop Chatterjee, Research Manager, Wealth Inequality, at the Southern Centre for Equality Studies, University of the Witwatersrand and Judge Dennis Davis, Labour Appeal Court, Competition Appeal Court and Davis Tax Commission.

The webinar was held on 21 July 2020 at 16:00

Webinar: Trade Issues before and after Covid-19: Towards a Developmental AfCFTA

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording to Webinar on Trade Issues before and after Covid-19: Towards a Developmental AfCFTA

The webinar were presented by Dr Rob Davies, Former Minister of Trade and Industry.  Dr Davies retired in May 2019 after completing ten years of service as South African Minister of Trade and Industry and twenty five years as a Member of Parliament representing the African National Congress (ANC). He holds an Honours degree in Economics from Rhodes University, a Masters in International Relations from the University of Southampton and a Doctorate from the University of Sussex. He was attached to Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo, Mozambique from 1979 to 1990 and was Professor and Co-Director of the Centre for Southern African Studies at the University of the Western Cape from 1990 until 1994. He has been a member of organisations of South Africa’s national liberation movement for more than forty years. For at least a decade before that he was an anti-apartheid activist.

The webinar discussed his most recent book, The Politics of Trade in the Era of Hyperglobalisation: A Southern African Perspective – please click here for book.

The webinar took place on 17 June 2020 at 14:00. 

Discussants: Ass. Prof Dr Franziska Sucker, School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand                                                                 Dr Regis Simo, Senior Researcher, Mandela Institute

Webinar: Law, Wealth Creation and Inequality

Link to Webinar Recording: Recording to Webinar on Law, Wealth Creation and Inequality

The South African Research Chair in Equality, Law and Social Justice, the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, and the Mandela Institute, a Centre within the School of Law, of the University of the Witwatersrand hosted a webinar on Law, Wealth Creation and Inequality which is the first webinar in a series of webinars on "Law, policy and inequality".

The webinar was presented by Prof Katharina Pistor, the Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law and Director of the Center on Global Legal Transformation at Columbia Law School, New York City, United States.   Before joining Columbia Law School in 2001, Prof Pistor held teaching and research positions at Harvard Law School, the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Law in Hamburg. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, New York University Law School, Frankfurt University, London School of Economics, and Oxford University.

The webinar discussed her most recent book, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, which examines how assets such as land, private debt, business organisations, or knowledge are transformed into capital through contract law, property rights, collateral law, and trust, corporate, and bankruptcy law.

The webinar was held on 10 June 2020 at 16:00. 

Public Lecture: Data Protection, Trade and Competition Law

The Mandela Institute of the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand cordially hosted a public lecture delivered by Judith Rauhofer, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

The lecture covered a number of pressing issues in privacy as this field of law deals with challenges of technology and of social concern, including inequality.  Prof Rauhofer will draw upon her extensive experience in information technology and international economic law as well as recent experiences in crafting model laws and national legislation for data protection in Africa.

Judith Rauhofer is a Senior Lecturer in IT Law at the University of Edinburgh and an Associate Director of the SCRIPT research centre. She holds professional legal qualifications in Germany (Rechtsanwalt) and England (Solicitor). Her research interests include all areas of internet law and policy, e-commerce, online privacy, data protection, information security and electronic surveillance.  Judith has previously worked in legal practice in Liverpool, London and Manchester, advising clients from the media and new media industries on aspects of e-commerce, data protection and IT law. She continues to provide consultancy services in the area of e-commerce and data protection compliance.The 

The public lecture took place on 11 March 2020 at 17:30. 

Seminar: Have we been betrayed by trade laws?

The Mandela Institute of the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand would like to invite you to a seminar on the hot issues in international trade today, the approach to the WTO, Brexit and the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Keynote Speaker:

Ambassador Xavier Carim, the Deputy- Director General of International Trade and Economic Development in the Department of Trade and Industry (dti)

Discussants:

Members of the Law School with expertise in international trade and investment will act as discussants.

Date: 7 November 2019

Time: 17:30 for 18:00

Venue: Chalsty Teaching and Conference Centre, Law School Building, West Campus, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Click here for directions)

Please complete Seminar Registration Form to register for the seminar.

RSVP: Magda Janse van Noordwyk by 5 November 2019, at magda.jansevannoordwyk@wits.ac.za 

(Light refreshments will be served)

Download Trade Law Seminar Flyer

INVITATION: Public seminar by Norman Manoim and Competition and Economic Regulation for Inclusive Growth in Southern Africa book launch

Panel Discussion

Is the NHI Bill good or bad for your health?

The Mandela Institute of the School of Law, University of the Witwatersrand hosted a panel discussion on
11 September 2019 where experts shed some light on the debate over the recently published National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.

The panelists were :

Dr Nicholas Crisp, Consultant in Minister of Health Office, responsible for establishing the NHI Fund Office

Neil Kirby Director, Werksmans Attorneys and head of its Health Care Practice

Adila Hassim Advocate, Johannesburg Bar and co-founder of Section 27

Prof Karen Hofman, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand

The discussions were chaired by :

Prof Imraan Valodia  Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits

Recording of the live stream panel discussion on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Hq0BE5acQ&t=2869s

Wits University News Article on the panel discussion: http://www.wits.ac.za/news/latest-news/general-news/2019/2019-09/is-the-nhi-bill-good-or-bad-for-your-health.html