In December 2011, prosecutors in the United States of America announced the settlement of cases against Magyar Telekom and Deutsche Telekom in respect of bribery of officials in two countries in the Balkans. In the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) they had obtained a delay in a...

Corruption has been identified as a significant issue in telecommunications, seen in bribery and nepotism over many years, raising questions as to whether there are comparable problems with the Internet. Complex systems of Internet governance have excluded the issue, failing to put in place any...

Swaziland is the last remaining absolute monarchy in Africa, though with parallels to Morocco. It faces immense challenges, with a weak economy, a fiscal crisis created by the King and his cronies, plus the highest level of HIV/AIDS infections in Africa. The arrangements for the...

A C21st bill of rights needs to address Internet-related issues such as collection and dissemination of personal data, lawful interception, provision of access, and government-enforced shutdowns. However, the uncertain nature of Internet access means firstly that it ought not to be a right, and...

The government of South Africa has issued a draft policy to accelerate network deployment. The legal basis is to be the Electronic Communications Act (ECA), but the policy intrudes into areas of property ownership and the powers of municipalities. Consequently, there would be no legal basis for...

In January 2012 the Westminster government offered to devolve to the Scottish Parliament the powers necessary to conduct a referendum on the independence of Scotland, with the possibility of repealing the Act of Union of 1707. This could return Great Britain to a Union of the Crowns, with...

In the autumn of 2014 the residents of Scotland, but not other parts of the UK, will vote on whether to leave the UK to become a separate state, with a positive vote leading to an independent parliament being elected in 2016. It would remain within the EU and in compliance with its acquis...

James Sutherland (1747-1827) styled himself ‘of Duffus’, and Captain long after leaving the army, and in his last days was Lord Duffus. He perpetrated one of the most scandalous elopements of the eighteenth century with the 17 year-old wife of his commanding officer, only to abandon her...

In 1996 Indian police raided the homes of Sukh Ram, the former minister of telecommunications, finding INR 36 million in cash. He was convicted in 2009 for having “disproportionate assets” under the Prevention of Corruption Act, fined and sentenced to 3 years hard labour. He was separately...

Greece had, largely as a result of clientele policies, delayed its privatization of the state-owned telecommunications operator, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) and the liberalization of markets. For over a decade up to 2004 Siemens paid bribes to managers of OTE, to senior...