Current Research in Law & Practice

Mediation in Intertribal Land Disputes: Consequences in Eyumojock Sub-Division

Felix Fung Kum — 2026-09-28

This study examines the concept of mediation and its relevance to inter-tribal land disputes in Eyumojock Sub-Division. It is situated within a context where land remains a vital resource for livelihood, identity, and communal survival, yet disputes over ownership, access, and boundaries have increasingly generated tension among neighbouring communities. The research problem lies in the persistence of such conflicts despite the existence of customary norms and formal legal mechanisms, suggesting that current dispute-resolution approaches are either inadequate or insufficiently harmonized. The main objective of the study is to assess how mediation, particularly within customary and community-based frameworks, can contribute to the peaceful resolution of inter-tribal land disputes in Eyumojock. Methodologically, the study adopts a doctrinal and qualitative approach, relying on library research, relevant legal materials, and analysis of customary practices and secondary sources on land conflict resolution. The study finds that mediation remains a culturally acceptable, flexible, and cost-effective means of resolving land disputes, especially where it is guided by respected traditional authorities and grounded in local norms of fairness and reconciliation. It further reveals that many conflicts escalate because of weak documentation of land boundaries, competing historical claims, and limited cooperation between customary and formal institutions. The study concludes that mediation is a practical and socially sustainable mechanism for addressing inter-tribal land disputes in Eyumojock, provided it is strengthened and integrated with formal land governance structures. It recommends the documentation of customary boundaries, capacity-building for traditional mediators, and closer collaboration between state officials and community leaders to promote lasting peace and prevent future conflicts.

The Right to Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Addressing Emerging Forms of Algorithmic Discrimination Under International Human Rights Law

Kwebe Augustine Nkwiyir — 2026-09-29

The rapid development and deployment of artiﬁcial intelligence (AI) has transformed decision-making in employment, healthcare, education, finance, policing and public administration. While AI offers opportunities for eﬃciency and innovation, its reliance on algorithms and large datasets has created emerging forms of algorithmic discrimination that may undermine equality, autonomy and human dignity. This study examines the right to human dignity in the age of AI, focusing on addressing algorithmic discrimination under international human rights law. It considers discrimination arising from biased datasets, discriminatory proxies, automated proﬁling and opaque decision-making. Using a doctrinal legal research methodology, the study analyses relevant international and regional human rights instruments, scholarly literature and emerging AI governance frameworks. It finds that principles of equality, non-discrimination, human dignity, transparency, accountability and effective remedies provide a foundation for addressing algorithmic discrimination, but require progressive interpretation and stronger implementation. The study further finds that algorithmic discrimination may undermine dignity by reducing individuals to data proﬁles, statistical classiﬁcations or automated scores, while limiting their ability to understand and challenge decisions affecting their rights. It recommends stronger international standards, mandatory human-rights and algorithmic impact assessments, transparency and explainability, meaningful human oversight, effective remedies and stronger African regional standards on AI. The study concludes that AI development must remain human-centred and rights-respecting, ensuring that technological advancement does not compromise the inherent dignity and equal worth of every human being.

An Exploration of the Current Situation of Foreign-Related Intellectual Property Talent Cultivation in China from the Perspective of Building a Strong Intellectual Property Country

Han Jun — 2026-10-13

Under the background of building a strong intellectual property country and continuously promoting high-level opening-up, the supply of foreign-related intellectual property talents in China has failed to keep pace with the speed of economic development and the growth rate of related disputes. The high-level positioning of talents as “international-oriented, interdisciplinary, and application-oriented” coexists with restrictive factors such as regional differences and lagging faculty development. It is difficult to achieve effective cultivation relying only on individual universities or university-enterprise cooperation. It is suggested that a multi-subject collaborative education system should be improved from four aspects: “top-level design, teaching reform, practical training, and feedback optimization”. A government-led foreign-related intellectual property alliance should be established to ensure from top to bottom that talent cultivation goals meet national strategies and regional needs. Universities as the main force and university-enterprise collaboration can effectively solve the connection between theoretical education and practical work. Establishing foreign-related industrial intellectual property institutes led by industry associations can effectively alleviate the pressure on universities in talent cultivation and strengthen students’ practical abilities. In addition, special attention should be paid to the challenges of legal foreign language ability and the cultivation of specialized talents in central and western regions.

An Investigation into the Protection of Investor Rights of Tsingtao Brewery During the German Occupation Period (1903-1914)

Feng Yuchen — 2026-10-16

In 1903, British and German merchants jointly funded the establishment of the Germania Brewery. In accordance with the British law, the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, they registered the Anglo-German Brewing Company in Hong Kong and then set up a branch in Qingdao. This corporate organizational model, together with the colonial legal environment, jointly constituted the institutional foundation for the protection of investor rights of Tsingtao Brewery. At that time, multiple associations in Qingdao possessed independent property and thus sought to obtain legal capacity. During the German occupation period, the colonial authorities adopted relatively lenient institutional arrangements for foreign companies in terms of real estate acquisition, equity organization, and commercial operation, which enabled the confirmation of enterprise property rights and the operation of enterprises in a relatively stable commercial environment. Relevant studies show that the output of the brewery increased from about 300 tons in the initial stage to more than 1,000 tons, and its sales scope gradually expanded to coastal markets such as Shanghai and Tianjin. After Japan occupied Qingdao in 1914, the original legal order was interrupted, and the equity, dividends and asset control rights of Tsingtao Brewery investors subsequently entered the post-war declaration and liquidation procedures. During the Weimar Republic period, the German side continued to provide relief for relevant rights and interests through mechanisms such as stock and dividend registration and loss declaration, but the original property rights were difficult to restore to their original state. Based on this, this paper investigates the choice of applicable law, institutional operation and post-war liquidation logic of the protection of investor rights of Tsingtao Brewery during the German occupation period, and reveals the operational boundary and historical limits of foreign-related investment protection in the colonial context.

From Private-Sphere Autonomy to Public Intervention: Paradigm Shifts and Institutional Restructuring in the Governance of Domestic Violence

Li Taoying — 2026-10-19

The patterns of violence stemming from the alienation of traditional ethics and the imbalance in gender rights have transcended the boundaries of self-governance in the private sphere, posing a dual threat to citizens’ fundamental rights and public order and urgently requiring intervention by public authorities. Although the current “Law on Combating Domestic Violence” establishes intervention mechanisms such as the admonition system and personal protection orders, its practical implementation still reveals structural contradictions, including the dominance of punitive interventions, the neglect of restorative measures, and gaps in institutional coordination. Therefore, efforts should begin by broadening the methods by which public authorities intervene in cases of domestic violence and enhancing the practical feasibility of such interventions. This will further refine the legal framework governing public intervention in domestic violence and, through the coordination of public and private law, achieve an organic unity between the value of family cohesion and the protection of modern rights.

Mitigating Principal‑Agent Risks in Public Infrastructure Projects Through Joint Engineering‑Financial Review Procedures

Chen Peidi — 2026-10-21

Large‑scale public‑infrastructure projects feature multi‑layered chained principal‑agent relationships among government funders, owner‑representative entities, general contractors and subcontractors. Opportunistic behavior induced by information asymmetry constitutes a core driver of project cost overruns and capital losses. Existing research over‑relies on contractual incentive‑constraint mechanisms while neglecting the governance value of joint engineering‑financial review as a non‑contractual procedural governance tool. Systematic empirical explanations for its micro‑level mechanisms, necessary conditions for effectiveness and configurational boundaries remain absent, creating notable theoretical research gaps. Based on the Engineering‑Financial Governance Nexus (EFGN) theory, this paper extends the multi‑layer principal‑agent analytical framework. Drawing on archived data from 21 large‑scale public‑infrastructure projects across Australia, North America and the European Union (single‑project investment ≥ 500 million USD (Eisenhardt, K. M., 1989); public‑funding share ≥ 30 %), this study integrates process‑tracing, Necessary‑Condition Analysis (NCA) and fsQCA configurational analysis to systematically de‑risk‑mitigation mechanisms and governance boundaries of joint‑review procedures. The study shows that joint‑review procedures suppress agent risks via three pathways: reconstruction of information symmetry, cross‑validation of multi‑dimensional evidence, and elevation of opportunity costs for opportunistic conduct. Substantive participation of financially qualified independent CPA personnel acts as the core necessary bottleneck condition for procedure effectiveness, with a bottleneck constraint effect of 0.812. Four equivalent effective configurations and two typical failure configurations are empirically identified, clarifying the core distinction between “paper‑based institutionalization” and “substantive effectiveness” of procedures. This research improves the theoretical system for multi‑layer principal‑agent governance in public infrastructure and provides quantitative evidence and practical references for procedural‑system optimization of U.S. federal infrastructure projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.