Terms of Usage
Last Updated and Effective as
of: 10 September 2026
Unless other terms and conditions or written
agreements expressly govern, these Terms of Usage govern your use of the East
Africa Legal Insight website and any related pages, content, features or online
services that link to these Terms of Usage (collectively, the
"Services"). These Terms of Usage are subject to and incorporate the
legal notices made available through the Services, including our Privacy Policy
Statement, which describes how we process personal information collected
through the Services, and our Cookie Policy, Disclaimer Policy, Acceptable Use
Policy, Editorial Policy and Corrections policy, where applicable.
Your use of the Services constitutes your agreement
to these Terms of Usage. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the
Services. East Africa Legal Insight may change, modify, add or remove portions
of these Terms of Usage from time to time. If we make material changes that
affect your rights or obligations, we may provide notice on the Services or by
another reasonable method. The updated Terms of Usage will take effect when
posted, unless a later date is stated. Your continued use of the Services after
an updated version is posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms of
Usage.
THESE TERMS OF USAGE CONTAIN DISCLAIMERS OF
WARRANTIES, LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE PROVISIONS, AND
OTHER TERMS THAT MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS. PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY. THE
SERVICES PROVIDE GENERAL LEGAL INFORMATION, RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY FOR PUBLIC
EDUCATION. THEY ARE NOT LEGAL ADVICE AND DO NOT CREATE A LAWYER-CLIENT,
ADVOCATE-CLIENT OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP.
East Africa Legal Insight provides publicly
accessible legal information, research, commentary and public legal education.
The Services are intended primarily for readers interested in East Africa and
the East African Community, with selected comparative material from other
jurisdictions. Section 1 of these Terms of Usage applies to everyone who uses
the Services.
Section 1. Terms of Usage for
Everyone
COPPA and Children: If the Services are directed
to, or knowingly collect personal information from, children under thirteen
(13) years of age, East Africa Legal Insight will apply the legally required
parental, guardian or educational-institution consent process before collecting
such information. If the Services are not directed to children under thirteen
(13), children should not use the Services without the involvement of a parent
or guardian. In all cases, parents and guardians are encouraged to supervise
children’s use of online services and to contact us if they believe a child has
submitted personal information.
Links to Third-Party Websites; Affiliate Marketing
Links: The Services may contain links to third-party websites that are not
owned or controlled by East Africa Legal Insight. We have no control over, and
assume no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies or practices of
third-party websites. You should review the terms and privacy notices of any
third-party service before using it. The Services may also contain affiliate
marketing links, sponsored links or other commercial links through which East
Africa Legal Insight may receive a commission or other benefit. Any such
arrangement will not by itself determine our editorial conclusions.
User Login: Certain features may require you to
register an account by providing an email address and creating a username and
password. If account registration is enabled, you must provide information that
is accurate, keep your credentials confidential, and promptly notify us of
suspected unauthorized access. We may reject usernames that are profane,
obscene, misleading, infringing or impersonate another person or organization.
Account Settings and Deletion: If the Services
provide user accounts or account settings, you may use the available settings
or contact us to request closure of the account and deletion of associated
information, subject to legal, security, editorial and record-retention
requirements. Requests should be sent to [email protected].
Our information collection and use policies are set
forth in our Privacy Policy Statement and Cookie Policy. You are responsible
for the accuracy of personal information you provide through the Services and
should keep it up to date where the Services allow you to do so. Please do not
send confidential, privileged, highly sensitive or urgent information through
ordinary email, public comments or an unsecured form. Submitting information
does not create a lawyer-client, advocate-client or other professional relationship.
Ownership: The content on the Services, including
original articles, research notes, legal commentary, explanatory materials,
graphics, compilations and page layout, is owned by or licensed to East Africa
Legal Insight or its contributors and licensors, and may be protected by
copyright, trademark and other applicable laws. Third-party materials remain
subject to the rights of their respective owners.
Advertising: Advertisements, promotions,
sponsorships or marketing messages may appear on the Services from time to
time, including through third-party advertising providers. Editorial content is
intended to remain distinct from advertising, sponsorship or other paid
placement. If you operate paid or subscription-based access, identify here
which advertising or promotional features are unavailable to subscribers.
Use of Content: You may display, reproduce, print
or download content from the Services only for lawful personal, non-commercial,
educational, research, citation or internal purposes, subject to applicable
law. Teachers, scholars, students, journalists and other readers may copy
reasonable portions for lesson plans, reports, dissertations, presentations,
commentary, classroom materials and similar purposes where legally permitted.
You must preserve copyright, attribution and other notices and must not misrepresent
our content as your own. You may link to our pages and quote limited portions
with clear attribution and a link to the relevant page. You may not remove or
alter notices, reproduce a substantial part of the Services, or use our content
in a way that competes with or substitutes for the Services.
If you want to reproduce or use content for any
purpose or in any manner other than as described above, including for
commercial publication, systematic extraction, automated data collection,
computer analysis or developing or training artificial-intelligence systems,
you need our prior written permission unless a legal exception clearly applies.
Requests should be submitted to [email protected] or through the
website contact form.
User-Generated Content: This section applies only
to the extent East Africa Legal Insight has enabled comments, correction
requests, guest-post proposals, audio, video, text or other user-submitted
materials through the Services, or otherwise invites you to send information or
materials through the Services (collectively, "UGC").
You are responsible for your own UGC and for the
consequences of submitting it through the Services. You must not send or post
UGC that is copyrighted unless you own it or have permission; reveals trade
secrets or confidential information without authority; infringes
intellectual-property, privacy, publicity or other rights; contains personal
information about another person without a lawful basis or permission; is
false, misleading, unlawful, defamatory, abusive, hateful, threatening,
harassing, obscene or sexually exploitative; promotes unlawful conduct;
contains malware or other harmful code; or is intended to manipulate, disrupt
or deceive users or the Services. Do not submit privileged or highly
confidential legal information through a public channel.
By sending or posting UGC, you represent and
warrant that you own or otherwise control the rights necessary to submit it and
that its submission and permitted use under these Terms of Usage will not
infringe or violate a third party’s rights or applicable law. By submitting
UGC, you grant East Africa Legal Insight a non-exclusive, worldwide,
royalty-free license, for the duration of the relevant rights, to host,
reproduce, edit for style, clarity, length or format, publish, translate where
reasonably necessary, display, archive and distribute that UGC in connection
with operating, maintaining, improving and promoting the Services. You retain
ownership of your UGC. If a different license is intended for guest posts,
sponsored content or commissioned work, that arrangement should be set out in a
separate written agreement.
You may not use the Services or their communication
mechanisms to sell, trade or solicit for unauthorized commercial purposes. You
may not send UGC that violates the rights of a third party or contains a virus
or other harmful component. Nor may you use language or engage in activity that
is threatening, abusive, vulgar, discourteous, disruptive, discriminatory or
unlawful. Nothing in this section prevents a lawful correction request,
good-faith criticism, quotation, review, academic discussion or other protected
activity.
Please be aware that once you post UGC, members of
the public may read, copy or refer to it, potentially for years. East Africa
Legal Insight suggests that you exercise caution and do not disclose personal
information such as your location, identification numbers, medical information,
financial information, passwords, confidential client information or other
sensitive data. You should retain your own copy of anything you submit.
The opinions and views expressed in UGC represent
the thoughts of the individuals who submit them and do not necessarily
represent East Africa Legal Insight or its owners, editors, authors,
contributors, contractors, service providers or partners. Accordingly, East
Africa Legal Insight does not endorse UGC merely because it is displayed. East
Africa Legal Insight and the persons connected with it are not responsible for
the accuracy, legality, safety or usefulness of UGC, and publication of UGC
does not convert it into legal advice or an editorial conclusion.
East Africa Legal Insight is not obliged to
monitor, edit or delete UGC, but may do so in its discretion and in accordance
with the Services’ editorial, moderation, legal and security needs. UGC
including, but not limited to, the following may be deleted, edited, restricted
or declined:
·
Abusive or
hurtful UGC about a commenter or another participant;
·
Off-topic
and redundant UGC, including promotion of events, groups, pages, websites,
organizations and programs unrelated to or not authorized by East Africa Legal
Insight;
·
UGC that
uses foul, hateful, discriminatory or demeaning language;
·
Personal
attacks or defamatory statements or comments;
·
UGC that
violates the privacy or confidentiality of users or other persons;
·
UGC that is
obscene, threatening, harassing, deceptive or fraudulent;
·
UGC
directed at children in a manner that is unlawful or inappropriate;
·
UGC that
may infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other
intellectual or proprietary right of any party or individual; and
·
UGC that
violates applicable laws, regulations, court orders or professional
obligations.
By submitting UGC, you understand and acknowledge
that it may be available to the public and that we may use it for operating,
moderating, archiving and, where appropriate, promoting the Services. Other
visitors may copy or use posted UGC beyond our control. Except for the license
expressly granted to East Africa Legal Insight in these Terms of Usage, no
other rights or licenses are granted or implied for use of UGC by visitors to
the Services, including for purposes of training artificial-intelligence systems
or commercial exploitation, unless you and the relevant rights holder authorize
that use or applicable law permits it.
Linking to the Services: You may link to publicly
accessible pages of the Services in a lawful manner. Links should be accurate,
should not mislead users about the source or status of content, and should not
imply that East Africa Legal Insight endorses or is affiliated with the linking
site, product or service. Please contact us when establishing a material,
commercial or automated link so that we can understand how our content is being
accessed and can notify you of changes that may invalidate the link. Linking is
at your own risk and expense.
By linking to the Services, you agree that you will
not:
·
imply, by
the manner of presentation of the link or otherwise, that East Africa Legal
Insight endorses your site, products or services, or that you are affiliated
with East Africa Legal Insight, unless we have expressly agreed otherwise in
writing;
·
frame or
mirror our content, surround it with your own advertising or identity, or
charge a fee for a link to the Services, except with our prior written
permission;
·
link to the
Services from a web page or website containing unlawful, defamatory, obscene,
hateful, criminal or infringing material, or material that advocates violation
of third-party rights; or
·
host,
publish, broadcast, rewrite, scrape or redistribute substantial content from
the Services except as permitted by these Terms of Usage, applicable law or our
prior written permission.
Mobile Application Services: If East Africa Legal
Insight makes a mobile application available through its website or a
third-party app store, these Terms of Usage and the Privacy Policy Statement
will apply to the maximum extent relevant to that application. Any app-store
terms, device requirements, prices, subscriptions, refunds and support
arrangements should be stated in the applicable store listing or separate
agreement.
Disclaimer of Warranties: THE SERVICES AND ALL
INFORMATION, PRODUCTS AND OTHER CONTENT INCLUDED IN OR ACCESSIBLE FROM THE
SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, TO THE FULLEST
EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. EAST AFRICA LEGAL INSIGHT DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE
SERVICES OR CONTENT WILL BE COMPLETE, CURRENT, ACCURATE, ERROR-FREE, SECURE,
AVAILABLE, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. LEGAL INFORMATION IS GENERAL
INFORMATION AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE LAW OR PRACTICE APPLICABLE TO YOUR FACTS,
DATE OR JURISDICTION.
Limitation of Liability: TO THE FULLEST EXTENT
PERMITTED BY LAW, EAST AFRICA LEGAL INSIGHT, ITS OWNERS, EDITORS, AUTHORS,
CONTRIBUTORS, CONTRACTORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, LICENSORS AND PARTNERS WILL NOT
BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS
OR DAMAGE, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, OPPORTUNITY, DATA,
GOODWILL OR EXPECTED SAVINGS, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF, OR
INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICES, CONTENT, ERRORS, OMISSIONS, INTERRUPTIONS,
DOWNLOADS, EXTERNAL LINKS, UGC, THIRD-PARTY SERVICES OR ADVERTISING, EVEN IF
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS EXCLUDES OR
LIMITS LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED.
Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on
implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some
of the above limitations and exclusions may not apply to you. Where applicable
law gives you mandatory rights, those rights remain unaffected.
Indemnification: To the fullest extent permitted by
law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless East Africa Legal Insight, its
owners, editors, authors, contributors, contractors, service providers and
licensors from and against losses, expenses, damages and costs, including
reasonable legal fees, arising from or related to (i) your unlawful use of the
Services; (ii) your breach of these Terms of Usage; (iii) UGC or other material
you submit; or (iv) your infringement or violation of a third party’s rights or
applicable law. This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim results
from our fraud, wilful misconduct or liability that cannot lawfully be shifted
to you.
Governing Law and Venue: These Terms of Usage and
matters relating to your access to or use of the Services will be governed by
the laws of Rwanda, without giving effect to principles of conflicts of laws,
except to the extent mandatory law in another jurisdiction applies. Any dispute
not resolved under the process below shall be submitted to a court of competent
jurisdiction in Rwanda, unless applicable law requires another forum or gives
you a non-waivable right to proceed elsewhere.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND COLLECTIVE CLAIMS: Before
filing a court claim, you and East Africa Legal Insight will first try in good
faith to resolve the dispute by written notice and discussion for thirty (30)
days, unless urgent relief or a legal deadline makes that impracticable. Any
unresolved dispute may then be brought before a competent court in Rwanda. No
class-action waiver, mandatory arbitration clause or requirement to pay the
other party’s legal fees is intended unless it is separately reviewed and
expressly adopted for this website.
Claims or Disputes Must be Filed Within One Year: To
the extent permitted by applicable law, any claim arising out of or related to
the Services or these Terms of Usage must be filed within one year after it
arose. Do not include this shortened limitation period unless it has been
reviewed under the governing law and is legally enforceable. Nothing in this
paragraph limits a period that cannot lawfully be shortened or prevents a user
from relying on a mandatory statutory right.
Opting Out of Pop-Under Ads: If the Services
display pop-under or similar advertising formats, provide a current and
verified opt-out method here. Delete this paragraph if those formats are not
used.
Not Advice. Information contained in the Services
is general legal information, research, commentary and public legal education.
It is not intended to be, and should not be treated as, legal, tax, financial,
medical or other professional advice, nor does it replace consultation with a
qualified professional who can assess your circumstances. East Africa Legal
Insight does not provide individualized legal representation through the
Services. No communication through the Services creates a lawyer-client, advocate-client
or other professional relationship.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms of
Usage is unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, that provision shall
be deemed severable to the minimum extent necessary and shall not affect the
validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.
Survival. Provisions that by their nature should
survive termination or cessation of your use of the Services, including
provisions concerning ownership, permitted use, disclaimers, limitations of
liability, indemnification, dispute resolution and governing law, shall
survive.
Waiver. No waiver of a provision of these Terms of
Usage shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of that provision or any
other provision. A failure to assert a right or provision does not constitute a
waiver of that right or provision.
Entire Agreement. These Terms of Usage, together
with the policies and written agreements expressly incorporated into them,
constitute the entire agreement between East Africa Legal Insight and you
concerning your use of the Services and supersede prior or contemporaneous
communications and proposals on that subject, except for any separate written
agreement that expressly governs a particular service.
Section 2. Additional Terms of
Usage for Consumer Subscriptions and Parents and Guardians of Children Under 16
Years Old
Security of Subscription: If some Services are
available only by subscription, the right to use those Subscription Services is
personal to the subscriber and may not be shared, transferred, resold or used
by persons who are not authorized under the applicable subscription. Subscription
credentials must be kept secure. The number of permitted users, term, price,
renewal, cancellation, refunds, taxes and permitted use should be stated in the
applicable subscription offer or separate subscriber agreement.
Notice to Parents and Guardians: If children under
sixteen (16) may use a Subscription Service, a parent or guardian who permits
that use agrees to these Terms of Usage on the child’s behalf and is
responsible for reasonable supervision. If you believe a child is using a paid
or account-based Service without required permission, contact
[email protected] so that we can review the request. Do not send
a child’s sensitive information by ordinary email.
Subscriber Agreement: If East Africa Legal Insight
offers subscriptions, provide a link to the subscription-specific terms,
cancellation instructions and any consumer notices here. Delete this paragraph
if no subscription service is offered.
Section 3. Additional Terms of
Usage for Individuals Who Are Authorized Users of Institutional Subscriptions
These additional terms apply only if East Africa
Legal Insight offers institutional access. An institutional subscriber may be a
business, government agency, school, college or university, library, nonprofit
organization or other entity. Authorized users, access limits, permitted
locations, remote access, authentication, confidentiality and the subscription
term should be defined in the applicable institutional agreement. An
institutional agreement controls if it conflicts with these general Terms of
Usage.
Remote Access. If institutional access is offered,
only authorized users may access the relevant Services remotely and only
through the authentication or access method approved in the institutional
agreement. Users must not share credentials or enable access by unauthorized
persons. Delete this paragraph if no institutional subscription or
restricted-access feature is offered.
Section 4. Legal Notices
Copyrights
All contents of the Services are owned by East
Africa Legal Insight, its contributors or licensors, or are used with
permission. All rights reserved to the extent provided by applicable law. The
Services may include original legal articles, research notes, commentary,
quotations, extracts, photographs, illustrations, logos, links and other
materials supplied by or attributed to third parties. Copyright ownership and
permitted use should be assessed for each item where a third party is
identified.
·
East Africa
Legal Insight’s legal articles, research notes, explainers and commentary are
original editorial works unless another author, source or licence is identified
with the material.
·
Headings,
summaries, compilations, tables, explanatory selections and other editorial
arrangements created by East Africa Legal Insight may also be protected by
copyright, even where they discuss public laws, judgments, policies, treaties
or other public information.
·
The names
of courts, governments, institutions, laws, cases, treaties and other public
bodies mentioned in the Services remain subject to the rights and legal
protections of their respective owners or authorities. Reference to them does
not transfer ownership to East Africa Legal Insight.
·
Original
articles, research notes and commentary published by East Africa Legal Insight
are protected by applicable copyright law, subject to any stated licence,
quotation right, fair dealing, fair use or other legal exception.
·
Website
graphics, photographs, illustrations and other visual materials created for or
supplied to East Africa Legal Insight are protected by applicable law, subject
to any licence or credit stated with the material.
·
User-submitted
material remains subject to the ownership and licence terms in the
User-Generated Content section of these Terms of Usage and any separate written
agreement.
·
Third-party
quotations, excerpts, images, data, logos and other materials remain the
property of their respective owners and may be subject to additional
restrictions.
All rights reserved except as expressly permitted
by these Terms of Usage, applicable law or a written permission from the
relevant rights holder.
No part of the work embodied in East Africa Legal
Insight’s pages on the World Wide Web may be reproduced, copied, adapted,
translated, distributed, sold, licensed or used in an automated compilation or
data set, whether graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or information-storage and retrieval systems, except as provided in
these Terms of Usage, applicable law or a written permission from the relevant
rights holder.
Requests for permission to use or reproduce East
Africa Legal Insight content should be sent to: [email protected].
Published online from Rwanda. All rights reserved
to the extent permitted by applicable law.
East Africa Legal Insight does not claim ownership
of material that is subject to an open licence or that belongs to a third
party. Use of such material remains subject to the terms of the relevant
licence and any required attribution.
Photographs and illustrations are owned by or
licensed to their respective owners, as noted in the credits or accompanying
material. Contact us if you believe a credit or permission notice is
inaccurate.
Trademarks
“East Africa Legal Insight” and any associated
names, logos, designs, page titles and marks are owned by or used by East
Africa Legal Insight, subject to applicable law. Any other marks that appear
throughout the Services belong to East Africa Legal Insight, its contributors,
licensors or third-party trademark owners. Except as permitted by applicable
law or with prior written permission, you may not use any mark in a way that is
likely to cause confusion, imply endorsement or suggest an affiliation that does
not exist.
Copyright Infringement Claims
If you believe that copyright infringement exists
on any of the Services, please notify East Africa Legal Insight in writing. We
will review good-faith notices and may remove, restrict or correct material
where appropriate and legally required. If a formal statutory
notice-and-counter-notice process is intended, have the process and designated
contact reviewed under the law applicable to the website and the relevant
complainant. Notices should be sent to the contact below:
Your notice should contain the following
information, to the extent available and appropriate:
1. Your physical or electronic
signature, as the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed or as
a person authorized to act on behalf of that owner.
2. Identification of the
copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed or, if multiple works at a
single online location are covered by one notice, a representative list of
those works.
3. Identification of the material
claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and
information reasonably sufficient to permit East Africa Legal Insight to locate
the material, such as the page URL and a description of the relevant passage,
image or file.
4. Information reasonably
sufficient to permit East Africa Legal Insight to contact you, such as your
name, address, telephone number and, if available, an electronic mail address.
5. A statement that you believe in
good faith that use of the material in the manner complained of is not
authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
6. A statement that the information
in the notice is accurate and, where required by applicable law, that you are
the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed or are authorized
to act on behalf of that owner.
East Africa Legal Insight may restrict access to or
remove material where it reasonably believes that the material infringes
rights, violates these Terms of Usage or creates legal or security risk.