NAMIBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Professor Michael Katz, Wolf Wohlers, Karin Malherbe and Stefanie Busch, ENS Namibia (incorporated as Lorentz Angula Inc.)
Key Developments There have been no significant AI governance devel - opments in Namibia to date. Companies deploying AI systems would be subject to general legal princi - ples, including data protection requirements under the proposed Data Protection legislation (which has not yet been enacted) and general consumer protection (which has also not been enacted yet) and contract law principles. 8.3 Liability Exposures Arising From AI Use Namibia lacks AI-specific legislation, so board and officer liability for AI use arises under existing laws: the Companies Act, 2004 (disclosure failures, breach of duty), constitutional privacy protections, and intellec - tual property statutes (Industrial Property Act, 2012, Copyright Act, 1994). Pending bills on data protection and consumer protection would expand exposures once enacted. Enforcement lies with the Registrar of Companies, courts, BIPA, the Competition Com - mission and CRAN, with future regulators anticipated under draft legislation. 8.4 Key Disclosure Requirements for AI Use Namibia has no AI-specific disclosure requirements. However, the Companies Act, 2004 imposes general materiality-based standards that may capture AI-relat - ed matters – directors’ reports must address every matter material to the company’s state of affairs and business, and prospectuses must describe the busi - ness and any material changes. Where AI use, investments, risks or incidents are material, disclosure may be required under these existing provisions. Namibia does not mandate sus - tainability reporting, so there is no statutory obligation for AI governance or ethics disclosures in that context.
porate Governance and the NSX Rules, which encour - age consideration of sustainability issues but do not mandate specific ESG disclosures. Future Developments There is growing international pressure and aware - ness of ESG issues, and it is anticipated that Namibia may in due course develop ESG-specific reporting requirements, particularly for listed companies and large enterprises.
8. Artificial Intelligence 8.1 Board Oversight of AI Current Position
Namibia does not currently have specific legal or regu - latory requirements relating to board oversight of arti - ficial intelligence. There are no statutory requirements for board composition, committee mandates or risk and control frameworks specifically addressing AI. Directors remain subject to their general duties of care, skill and diligence, which would extend to over - sight of the deployment and risks associated with AI
systems used by the company. 8.2 AI Use-Related Risks Current Position
Namibia does not currently have dedicated govern - ance frameworks addressing AI use-related risks, including reputational risks. There is no AI-specific legislation or regulatory guidance.
519 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook