In carrying out this quest, the nonparticipation observation technique of. However, the supreme court has held that unincorporated international instruments can be used by nigerian courts as a source of interpretive guidance. Show full abstract under nigeria s current constitutional democracy and federal structure of government, legislative powers are shared between the federal government and the respective state. There are four distinct legal systems in nigeria, which include english law, common law, customary law, and sharia law. And this is why it is being argued that nigerian courts should enforce customary laws. The judiciary in nigeria has been burdened with a credibility crisis arising from. In 1963, nigeria became a republic and abolished the west minster model constitution for the washington model. The principles of judicial precedent and hierarchy of courts are primary and basic parts of our legal system with the supreme court of nigeria at. It is in charge of collecting, processing, and documenting information of the magistrate and customary court personnel. The supreme court of nigeria which is the apex court in nigeria was established in 1963 following the proclamation of the federal republic of nigeria and the then 1960 constitution which came into operation on october 1, 1963, following the abolition of section 120 which abrogated the appellate jurisdiction of the judicial committee of the privy council which was nigerias apex court.
The independent sharia panel of lagos state abdulfatah kola makinde, philip ostien. Ebbe state university of new york at brockport this country report is one of many prepared for the world factbook of criminal justice systems under grant no. The development and application of sharia in northern nigeria. Judicial system of nigeria commonwealth governance online. Introduction the nigerian criminal justice system is fundamentally flawed and the problem is represented and manifested at every processing point on the entire criminal justice system line from the failure of governance institutions to. In 1854, the earliest courts called the courts of equity were established by the british in the southern parts of nigeria particularly brass, benin, okrika and opobo. The court was renamed the federal high court by section 228 1 and 230 2 of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1979.
This constitution shall have the force of law throughout nigeria and, subject to the provisions of section 4 of this constitution, if any other law including the constitution of a region is inconsistent with this constitution, this constitution shall prevail and the. Constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999. Journal of law, policy and globalization event management. Having firmly and solemnly resolve, to live in unity and harmony as one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign nation under god, dedicated to the promotion of interafrican solidarity, world peace, international cooperation and understanding. Every area court shall exercise the jurisdiction conferred upon.
Area courts are creation of the states in the northern part of. It was the courts further holding that though the jurisdiction conferred under section 41 is not stated to be exclusive to the enumerated courts, it nevertheless deprived the state high court of original jurisdiction in the matters stated therein because the high court is not of equivalent jurisdiction to the named courts. The court suggested that all such letters must be addressed to the entire court and not a particular judge and secondly it should be entertained only after proper verification of materials supplied by the petitioner. At independence in 1960, nigeria opted for west minster model of constitution and the court of final appeal was the privy council in england. Courts have a wide jurisdiction in the application of islamic law.
How would the other party know the date fixed for your case. The supreme court of nigeria is the highest court in nigeria. The components of the nigerian criminal justice system they are four major components of the criminal justice system in nigeria namely. Philip ostien taught for many years in the faculty of law, university of jos, plateau state. Overview of the civil litigation in nigeria empower. Below are the 8 hierarchy of courts in nigeria explained. Nigeria case management system ncms consulting services tcs this is a software originally developed by the national centre for state courts, usa and donated to the nigerian judiciary the software was customized to suit the nigerian legal system by tata africa introduction. Next impediment to the application of islamic law in nigeria is the criteria of repugnancy and incompatibility8. The judiciary and the role of customary courts in nigeria udosen jacob idem ph. The first one is the supreme court of nigeria which is the nigerian highest court.
Its coast in the south is located on the gulf of guinea in the atlantic ocean. The nigerian constitution of 1989 establishes a system of federal and state courts, but within a structure of unified federalstate jurisdiction from the federal and. History thus, perhaps for the sake of convenience and to separate. Abdulfatah kola makinde is a lecturer in the department of religious studies, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, osun state. In the supreme court of nigeria on friday, the 10th day of march 1967 before their lordships adetokunbo ademola chief justice of nigeria george baptist ayodola coker justice, supreme court ian lewis justice, supreme court sc.
In nigeria, the presiding judge is both a judge of facts and the law. There is the federal high court and a high court in each of the 36 states. There are only minor dissimilarities in terms of format and the computation of time for filing briefs. Introduction this paper attempts to adduce some reasons on why the judicial process in nigeria is unhealthily slow. The gathering storm 1 legal framework for the protection of socioeconomic rights in nigeria 22 the requirement of corroboration in the prosecution. Latest nigerian supreme court cases powered by legalpedia. The court of appeal rules, 2011 in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 248 of the constitution of the federal republic nigeria, 1999, and by virtue of all powers enabling me in that behalf, i, isa ayo salami ofr president, court of appeal, hereby make the following rules. The court of appeal rules, 2011 in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 248 of the constitution of the federal republic nigeria, 1999, and by virtue of all powers enabling me in that behalf, i, isa ayo salami ofr president, court of appeal, hereby. Hence the appeal for a global environmental law court of international jurisdiction. Welcome to the official website of federal high court. The appellate jurisdiction of the supreme court of nigeria is as provided in section 2331 of the constitution.
C not exceeding 21 as may be prescribed by an act of the national assembly section 2302. The federal court of appeal is headed by a president and has at least 35 justices, with a minimum of three with expertise in sharia law, and three in customary law. The court issues a writ of summons which is a written document. Hierarchy of courts in nigeria adenike adetifa the.
World factbook of criminal justice systems nigeria. Download fulltext pdf download fulltext pdf the pathology of judicialization. It was established in 1963 subsequent to the enunciation of the federal republic of nigeria and the 1960 constitution, which became effective on october 1, 1963. Family law is a collective term used in describing those laws that deal with any matter that has a significant impact on family relationships, like abuse, custody, divorce and adoption. Community protests, civil disobedience, picketing, have been. The judiciary is the third arm of government in nigeria. The constitution of nigeria is the supreme law of the country. The apex or number one court in nigeria is the supreme court of nigeria. The use of international law in the domestic courts of ghana and nigeria 373 western states. In nigeria, there are eight types of courts and each of them performs specific and distinct functions. The supreme court is presided over by the chief justice and has up to 15 justices. Types of court in nigeria and their functions legit. The supreme court is the first type of court in nigeria and the highest nigerian court. Judiciary and democracy, issues in contemporary nigerian society aver, tyavwase theophilus department of sociology, kwararafa university wukari, pmb 1019 wukari, taraba state, nigeria orban, wanger justin department of political science federal university wukari, taraba state, nigeria.
Jan 16, 2020 in this article, i will discuss the history of nigerian court system. The national industrial court of nigeria civil procedure rules, 2016 were issued by the president of the national industrial court of nigeria pursuant to the powers conferred on him by section 254 f i of the 1999 constitution as amended by the third alteration act, 2010. He is also a member of the independent sharia panel of osun state. It also juxtaposes the rules of professional conduct and the high court rules provisions with respect to alternative dispute resolution in nigeria. The supreme court is mainly a court of appellate jurisdiction and is the final appeal court in the country. More specifically, in 1854, the earliest courts called the courts. Judicial system of nigeria commonwealth governance. It gives us an insight into the historical background and history of the supreme court of nigeria. I enjoin you to read carefully, as i trace the historical development of courts in nigeria till date. In such a case the courts are empowered to issue appropriate directions, orders or writs including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quowarranto, and certiorari. Types of courts in nigeria and their functions information. Nigeria, criminal justice policy, magistrate courts, awaiting trial inmates, prisons. Ltd v pan african bank ltd 1974 nscc 393, is that though the courts including the apex court have a wide discretion in granting or refusing an application for stay of execution of a judgment already delivered but such discretion should be.
World factbook of criminal justice systems nigeria by obi n. Actually, courts in nigeria are renowned and recognized as the hallowed chambers of jurisdiction, where candid justice is meted out to all and sundry, without favoritism, sentiment, emotion, or being unnecessarily involved in crass legalism. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 may 1999. The principles of judicial precedent and hierarchy of courts are primary and basic parts of our legal system with the supreme court of nigeria at the zenith of the court system.
Edo state high court of justice is situated in sapele road, it is a superior court of record and has 28 judicial divisions and together with the magistrate courts and area courts carry out judicial functions of the judiciary in the state. Its decisions are binding on every court in this country. The federal revenue court as federal high court was then called was established by the federal revenue act 1973 1973 no. In the southern part of nigeria, between 184319, the british through a combination of the foreign jurisdiction act of 1843 and 1893, established laws under which various courts were setup. In this writeup, you will get to learn one or two things about family law in nigeria. During the early years of independence the nigerian judiciary actually had a great deal of autonomy. Also, there is a lucent existence of hierarchy amongst them. D former chief magistrate, akwa ibom state judiciary, nigeria lecturer, school of continuing education, law diploma programme, university of uyo, nigeria facilitator, school of law, national open university of nigeria, uyo study centre. Rules in order 18 appeals from courts martial and tribunals rule 1 notice of appeal and other notices.
The legal order and the administration of federal and state courts. This paper discusses the legal framework of the multidoor courthouse in nigeria. Pdf jurisdiction of courts in nigeria researchgate. Isaac obiuwevbi v central bank of nigeria nigeria law. The case for a global environmental court of justice all the more challenging because there is hardly any viable means of conflict resolution. The role of customary courts in nigeria in searchworks catalog. Courts of the first instance include magistrate or district courts, customary or traditional courts, shariah courts, and for some specified cases, the state high courts. Find list of best courts in nigeria with their name, address, contact phone number and other information on vconnect. Magistracycustomary courts unit lagos state judicial. This means that no appeal can be heard regarding matters decided by the supreme court before any other nigerian court. Hierarchy structure of courts in kenya explains judicial courts at the federal level and the state level has its own set of functions and. An overview of the jurisdiction of sharia courts page 5 in nigeria, area and sharia courts owe their jurisdiction to state laws establishing them.
The high court of uganda is the third court of record in order of hierarchy and. Nigeria runs the adversarial system of court proceedings. Types of marriage in nigeria, their process and implications. Types of marriage in nigeria, their process and implications nov 22, 2017 6 comments this article on types of marriages and wedding ceremonies in nigeria will answer some questions that arise when planning a wedding in nigeria as regard what type of ceremonies to have, their implications and whats necessary and whats optional. The constitution guarantees the independence of the judiciary and permits the exercise of sharia law for consenting muslims.
An appraisal of the legal framework for adjudication of. This paper discusses the nature, types and jurisdiction of customary courts in the nigeria legal system. The supreme court is the final court of appeal in nigeria. The appellate jurisdiction of the supreme court confers on the supreme court exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine appeals from the court of appeal. Welcome to the official website of federal high court nigeria. States are entitled to have a sharia court of appeal and a. Thus, the supreme court of nigeria became the court of last appeal. For instance, by section 2 of the area courts edict, 1967 as applicable in the northern states provides that. The development and application of sharia in northern. The repugnancy test requires that no rule of islamic law or customary law shall be applicable if it is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience9. The supreme court is headed by a chief justice who is assisted by other justices. The supreme court of nigeria this paper discusses the nature, types and jurisdiction of customary courts in the nigeria legal system. This article identifies the main problems of access to courts in nigeria on the basis of a survey of 154 nigerian legal practitioners, an analysis of nigerian court cases and two field trips to. High courts and the supreme court fosal of r judicial rectification, redres grievances and enforcement of fundamental rights.
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