Review of the Literature on the Human Right of Access to Law
Copyright © 2021 By Dr. Leesi Ebenezer Mitee, PhD in International Human Rights Law, Legal Information Technology (Legal Informatics), Indigenous Customary Law and Indigenous Rights
The main theme of this research borders on the denial of the existing right of free access to public legal information, which manifests in inadequate and, in some cases, extremely poor public access globally. The issue of the status of that right and its effectuality are therefore crucial aspects of the inquiry. Therefore, a review of the specific literature on its status as a human right, which is the main thrust of this thesis (as expressed in the title of the thesis, the aim of the study, the central research question, and research sub-question 1) is what is relevant here. Its status as a legal right is already well-established under the rule of law and in existing literature.
This review examines the existing literature chronologically (beginning with the earliest known works) instead of thematically. As the existing works are few, they are first presented to show the exact scope of the discussion of the right each of them, after which they are all critically reviewed together to reveal the gaps in them. A chronological literature review[1] has the advantage of easily revealing any progressive or historical development of the subject.
[1] For a chronological literature review, see, for example, Kimberley D Edwards, ‘Prospect Theory: A Literature Review’ (1996) 5(1) International Review of Financial Analysis 19–38 <https://doi.org/10.1016/S1057-5219(96)90004-6> accessed 15 April 2019; Shaynah Neshama Bannister and others, ‘Clients’ Expectations and Preferences for Marital Christian Counseling: A Chronological Literature Review and a Contemporary Evaluation’ (2015) 42(1) Social Work & Christianity 63–91 <www.nacsw.org/RC/49993957.pdf> accessed 16 April 2019; Soniya Lalwani and others, ‘A Survey on Parallel Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithms’ (2019) 44(4) Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering 2899–2923 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-03713-6> accessed 16 April 2019.
Dr. Leesi Ebenezer Mitee is the Founder and Director of the Human Right of Free Access to Law Advocacy (HURIFALA). He holds a multidisciplinary PhD in international human rights law, legal information technology (legal informatics), indigenous customary law and indigenous rights.
He is an Associate Professor of Law and a former legal research national consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the 1998 PCASED project that provided the juridical foundations for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) 1998 Moratorium which culminated in a regional multilateral treaty: ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, their Ammunition and other Related Matters 2006.
Dr. Mitee’s legal innovations include:
➤ pioneered the global advocacy of the recognition of the right of free access to public legal information as a substantive human right in 2017;
➤ devised the <.officiallaws) official public legal information generic top-level domain (gTLD) system for easy identification of the reliable versions of the laws published online worldwide;
➤ developed the system of nationally networked one-stop official public legal information websites (NOPLIW system) for optimal findability and management of online law databases;
➤ invented the human rights-based public access-adequate huricompatisation model of ascertainment of indigenous customary law; and
➤ formulated the new human rights-advocacy approach (NHRAA) that consists of ten criteria for the recognition of new human rights.
His upcoming New Human Right of Free Access to Public Legal Information Book Series consists of 22 modern academic article-style independent but interconnected chapters of four books:
➤ Developments in Human Rights Law and the New Human Right of Free Access to Public Legal Information: The New Human Rights-Advocacy Approach and the Ten Criteria for the Formal Recognition of New Human Rights (Volume 1) — ISBN 9789083108520 (eBook) 9789083108506 (paperback);
➤ The New Human Rights-Based Huricompatisation Model of Ascertainment of Indigenous Customary Law: Strategies for Adequate Local and Global Public Access (Volume 2) — ISBN 9789083108568 (eBook) 9789083108544 (paperback);
➤ Innovative Technological Mechanisms for Adequate Web-Based Access to National and Global Public Legal Information (Volume 3) — ISBN 9789083108513 (eBook) 9789083108582 (paperback); and
➤ A Model Empirical Study of the Current State of Governmental Provision of Free Access to Nigerian Public Legal Information (Volume 4) — ISBN 9789083108551 (eBook) 9789083108537 (paperback).
Email: info@hurifala.org
Website: https://hurifala.org