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The purpose of this paper is to explore the copyright law in relation to access to information by persons with visual impairments. It assesses the barriers placed by the copyright law on access to information by the visually impaired persons, and then the exceptions and limitations therein with a specific focus on Marrakesh treaty. It further explores the benefits conveyed by the Marrakesh treaty in relation to the challenges. Finally, the paper makes suggestions on methods that can be employed to make the Marrakesh treaty benefit the persons with visual impairments to the fullest.

The paper reviews the copyright law and its requirements in relation to reproduction of copyrighted works, and then narrows down to the provisions of Marrakesh treaty as an exception in the copyright law. It then reviews existing literature on the challenges caused by copyright requirements on access to information by persons with visual impairments. Having looked at these two aspects, the paper then identifies from literature the benefits that come in the Marrakesh treaty in relation to access to copyrighted information by persons with visual impairments. Authors finally give their views on what can be done to make the treaty more beneficial to the visually impaired persons.

The paper finds that a there are many challenges that persons with visual impairments face while they seek to access information that is copyrighted, and these challenges cause both direct and indirect negative effects. However, looking at the provisions of the Marrakesh treaty against these challenges, the paper identifies the benefits that come with the treaty to avert the challenges.

This paper does an in-depth analysis of the copyright-related challenges that persons with visual impairments face while accessing copyrighted information, and derives solutions to these challenges from the Marrakesh treaty. The paper will be helpful to the librarians to make sure that none of their users continue to suffer from those challenges in this era of the Marrakesh treaty. The methods suggested herein for reaping as much as possible from the Marrakesh treaty will be beneficial to information managers toward fashioning ways of ensuring that persons with visual impairments are able to access information freely and easily.

This paper reports on highpoints of some of what emerged at the XXIII Standing Conference of Eastern, Central and Southern African Library Associations (SCECSAL) conference held in Entebbe, Uganda. It presents narratives that evolved from selected presentations from over 40 papers scheduled for presentation at the conference and experiences of librarians working with people in different libraries within or outside the SCECSAL region in line with the theme of the conference. The purpose of this paper is to ascertain lessons learned by delegates at the conference, session delegates found most memorable, number of times respondents have been to SCECSAL and intent to attend the SCECSAL conference again.

The paper presents viewpoints from the conference and adopts a quantitative approach to ascertain specific lessons learned by delegates. The survey method was used to obtain data from library and information services (LIS) professionals who attended the conference. The population for the study was drawn from delegates met by the author at the conference. An online questionnaire created with the SurveyMonkey software was used for data collection. In total, 60 delegates were invited to voluntarily participate in the survey. A nine-item questionnaire was emailed to respondents. Of all, 27 people responded within the time limit for the study, giving a total response rate of 45 per cent.

Findings revealed that over half of the respondents were attending SCECSAL for the first time. Respondents indicated that the sessions that were the most memorable were Inclusive Library and Information Services for National Development; SDGs and Library and Information Services in the SCECSAL region; and Indigenous knowledge and the preservation of cultural heritage. LIS professionals who participated at the conference dispersed with the following lessons among others: there is need for inclusive LIS and domestication the Marrakesh Treaty. Another lesson is that librarians have a major role to play in the attainment of the United Nations 2030 agenda on sustainable developmental goals (SDGs).

With SCECSAL, LIS professionals in southern, eastern and central Africa are increasingly gaining access to information, exchange of ideas, skills and collaboration in the region. However, the future of the LIS sector depends on the determination by delegates to put into practice all the lessons that have been learned so as to meet the needs of the community where they find themselves. The XXIII SCECSAL has exposed LIS professionals in the region and beyond to services and trends that should be embraced in the SCECSAL region and beyond. This paper implies that effort put into organising the SCECSAL conference is worthwhile.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate and identify the status of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) conformance levels (A, AA, AAA) and accessibility status in terms of Severity (Error, Warning and Review) and Responsibility (Editor, Webmaster and Developer) of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Library websites based on Siteimprove Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform.

The library websites of IITs were tested using Siteimprove web-tool to gather details pertaining to W3C's WCAG 2.1 standards. The data thus obtained were then visualized using spreadsheet software for greater insight. A partial correlation test was also done to assess the relationship between the three conformance levels.

The study could identify significant accessibility-related limitations of the IIT library websites concerning the three WCAG 2.1 conformance levels A (max IIT Bombay), AA (max IIT Dhanbad (ISM)) and AAA (max IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Varanasi (BHU)), Severity and Responsibility. A positive linear relationship exists amongst these conformance levels. The mean value of conformance levels were found to be 18.3 (A), 2.2 (AA) and 3.1 (AAA); Severity scores were found to be 14.4 (Error), 3.9 (Warning) and 5.2 (Review); and Responsibility scores were found to be 6 (Editor), 9.3 (Webmaster) and 8.3 (Developer), respectively.

The study highlights the comparative picture of accessibility issues and conformance levels of the IITs' library website homepage with the help of results derived/based on Siteimprove Accessibility Checker. The findings of the study reveal that though the library website of IITs' in India possess a well-designed and easily navigable website homepage as far as their accessibility for VIPs is concerned, there are several issues that are still to be resolved.

World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Marrakesh VIP Treaty (MVT) and the W3C's WCAG cater to the requirements and rights of the persons with vision-related disability of accessing information and knowledge building a steeper and deeper knowledge divide. Identifying and rectifying the shortcomings in the library websites will bridge the accessibility-divide and make the society more inclusive.

No previous study could be identified evaluating the accessibility issues of the library website of Indian IITs focussed on vision-disabled persons using Siteimprove. The methodology and approach of this paper have value in terms of reusability and reproducibility facilitating future studies.

Although the general theory of greenhouse warming has been understood by scientists since the end of the nineteenth century, an international regime to address the problem of climate change began to develop only in the late 1980s.¹ In the decade and a half since then, the regime has undergone a remarkable evolution. In 1992, states adopted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which took effect in 1994 and serves as the “constitution” for the international climate change regime.² In 1997, the UNFCCC was supplemented by the Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialized countries to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect (so-called “greenhouse gases” or GHGs for short). And the 2001 Marrakesh Accords further elaborate the Kyoto Protocol's regulatory regime, setting forth detailed rules for how the Kyoto Protocol will operate.

CELA, the Centre for Equitable Library Access, is a national not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support public libraries in providing accessible collections for Canadians with print disabilities and to champion the fundamental right of Canadians with print disabilities to access media and reading materials in the format of their choice. This paper aims to examine the history of the organization, the events that led to its creation, the issues with which it has and continues to struggle with – political, technological, structural – and the successes it has enjoyed.

This is a case study intended shine light on the development of a service sorely lacking in Canadian public libraries – consistent and sustainable publicly funded access to reading materials for Canadians with print disabilities – by providing related history and context and outlining current and future offerings.

The decision to centralize a service that most public libraries struggled to deliver within their own capacities was wise and has greatly benefited Canadians with print disabilities.

This paper provides a profile in determination, collaboration and the value of inclusivity in public libraries.

This paper aims to analyse whether the World Trade Organisation (WTO) covered agreements ought to be interpreted in a manner that enables an importing country to restrict or prohibit import of goods manufactured using child labour. This question is pertinent, given the WTO-covered agreements do not explicitly mention child labour, yet there is increasing international concern for the phenomenon of child labour, evidenced through international human rights law and international labour law treaties and a push by some developed countries’ WTO Members for inclusion of a “social clause” governing child labour under the covered agreements.

This paper examines the WTO-covered agreements, current trends in interpretation of the covered agreements by panels and the Appellate Body (AB) and scholarly debate regarding connecting trade with labour standards and human rights.

This paper argues: that although inclusion of a social clause in the covered agreements is unlikely, Article XX(a) GATT, Article XX(b) GATT and Article 2.1 TBT can in certain circumstances be interpreted as to allow such restrictions on the import of goods; that no clear academic argument logically precludes connecting trade with labour standards and human rights; and that to legitimate both the WTO and the international legal system as a whole, the covered agreements, as the basis of international trade law, ought to be interpreted in a manner consistent with international labour law and international human rights law.

This paper draws upon the recent AB decision in European Commission – Seal Products, examining the AB’s interpretation of the Article XX(a) GATT “public morals” exception. This paper further seeks to provide a succinct overview of the argument surrounding WTO involvement in the issue of child labour.

This paper aims to explore the contours of the future intellectual property (IP) protocol of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.

This paper frames the IP protocol within the architecture of the AfCFTA Agreement, meaning that it will follow the structure of other protocols and will be guided by the Agreement’s foundational principles and objectives. With the place, shape and form of the protocol so established, the paper considers the substantive aspects that ought to be addressed. It also considers provisions on technical assistance, capacity building and cooperation.

The paper finds that the Tripartite Free Trade Phase 2 IP agenda is a credible starting place, which must be broadened to better meet gendered challenges and the continent’s developmental priorities. This will entail including provisions on specific aspects enumerated in the paper, which must be aligned with provisions on technical assistance, capacity building and cooperation to enhance implementation. The best outcomes in the negotiation, adoption and implementation of the IP protocol will be achieved by an inclusive approach incorporating all national, sub-regional and regional institutions guided by coherent policy and coordinated to ensure efficiency in resources and capacity mobilisation.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to formally consider both the architecture and substantive provisions of the future AfCFTA IP protocol with specific focus on gendered dimensions.

Copyright exceptions promote access to information by users without breaching copyright. This research paper reviews copyright exceptions in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda and how they influence access to information in libraries. Objectives were to find out the implications of copyright exceptions in Kenya, Ghana and Uganda; advantages and disadvantages of copyright exceptions for libraries; and recommend best practices of copyright exceptions.

This is a desktop research reviewing empirical literature and incorporating authors' experiential knowledge in their information profession. Authors have interrogated copyright exceptions in their home countries' copyright acts, policy documents and peer-reviewed articles on copyright and information access. They analysed the documents as stated to deduce key recommendations regarding ideal copyright exceptions.

The study established that copyright exceptions do not always improve access as intended because they are inadequate, ignoring key library functions. Major inconsistencies exist in the exceptions in these countries; key terminologies have not been defined; and the concept is not well understood. Librarians lack sufficient knowledge on exceptions, hence lack self-efficacy in educating users. Kenya, Ghana and Uganda should improve and harmonize their copyright acts to cover key library functions.

This study provides in-depth analysis of historical and modern practices of copyright exceptions in the three countries revealing useful comparative insights. Previous studies looked at the issues from individual countries perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to examine, with a specific reference to the Indian economy, the interface between the World Trade Organization (WTO)/General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) disciplines and aviation services; the challenges to the incorporation of air services regimes into the world trade treaty; and the alternative routes for the liberalization of air services markets.

The paper adopts the doctrinal approach to legal research in analyzing literature on the integration of air services into the multi-lateral trading system. The paper takes a critical look at the current state of the aviation industry, the rationales and routes for liberalization, as well as the challenges facing it.

The paper reveals the state of the Indian aviation market and its preparedness for integration into the global market system. The merit of a gradual approach is examined.

The WTO framework offers the traditional route for the liberalization of trade. However, since the inception of air travel, air traffic rights have been traded between countries on a bilateral basis, involving concepts of sovereignty over national airspace. The paper offers some ideas on how the two can be integrated.

The research draws on recent events in the Indian aviation sector. It is of importance, especially to other emerging economies with similar social-economic indicators. It objectively questions the rationales for liberalization or globalization and its merits.