Ubena John - Doctoral Project

The doctoral research project is aimed at exploring Legislative Techniques and ICT-The Wake of Law keeping pace with Technology. It has been noted that adoption of a particular legislative technique is dictated by the area to be regulated. If the area to be regulated is characterized by constant change regulating such area becomes difficult. This has been the case with ICT.

ICT has been frequently changing and converging. These changes and convergence pose a challenge to the legislators and the legislative techniques they adopt in legislating ICT legislation. The legislators were not late in devising a mechanism to remedy the situation. The legislators to address the changes and convergence of ICT they have been adopting the traditional or piecemeal approach as legislative technique. This approach takes cognizance of changes in ICT and legislate new law for every change and convergence of ICT. This culture of legislating new law for every change and convergence of ICT is proving itself to be problematic. ICT legislations are increasingly becoming obsolete. While in some other instances lacunae in the legislation are observed. On top of that the legislation is voluminous and of poor quality. Strictly speaking there is excess of legislation. In this way the legislation can not be comprehended unless one is trained in law.

It has been observed that, the legislators both in developed and developing countries have a tradition of enacting ICT legislation in various compartments and in a piecemeal approach. But now they are facing a dilemma as a result of the technological changes and the convergence of technologies. These changes and convergence are posing a challenge on the legislators as to what techniques they should adopt in order to address the changes and convergence. The serious impact of such changes and convergence is that of legislations becoming obsolete, while in other instances there are lacunae in the law. This brings in a difficulty not only in legal interpretation of ICT legislation but also in the administration and enforcement of the law as the legislation is voluminous and too scattered to be comprehended.

It is claimed by the researcher that there is a clear oversight of legislative techniques. Many legislators including but not limited to developed countries have not offered any serious attention on legislative techniques.

This research project therefore seeks to explore the legislative techniques in changing world of ICT, while drawing the experience of both developed countries represented by Sweden, and Tanzania standing for developing countries. In particular the research focuses on the impacts the chosen legislative technique will have on the technological innovation in one hand and enforcement of such legislation on the other. In connection to that the sustainability of that legislation will also be an area of interest considering the fact that the ICT is evolving. In this regard earmarking and drawing the model for legislative techniques in evolving ICT. The devised model will be vital and useful to both developed world and developing world in the wake of law keeping pace with ICT.