In this piece, Deputy Director of Access to Justice Dr. Adenike Aiyedun argues that long general court recesses have a negative impact on justice delivery. He urges the judiciary to adopt a system of staggered rather than cumulative judges’ holidays so that the justice system remains in service all through the year. Introduction Last week, many courts, including the Federal High Court and many State courts, went on recess. Although the recess period varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, they are expected to last for about eight weeks (two months). Most cases before the courts will recommence after the vacation period, even if provisions are generally made for a few vacation judges to handle emergencies, who will sit throughout the vacation period. This recess is, however, not the only vacation superior court judges are entitled to. They also go on recess for two weeks at Easter and two weeks at Christmas time. In total, Nigerian courts are generally closed for vacation for about 12 weeks (three months). The status quo requires immediate review for the prosperity and efficiency of our justice system, particularly given the many frustrations that litigants have expressed with court delays, and the overall performance of the Judiciary. How lengthy recesses cause delayed trials From the outset, we acknowledge that Nigerian judges face enormous challenges, as with many other Nigerians, with regards to a lack of proper infrastructure and difficult work conditions, and also understand that many judges often extend their official work hours into their private time in order to meet the exigencies of their respective dockets. Yet, in spite of these challenges, there are also important counter-vailing considerations. So much of what the public and the country expects of the judiciary is not being met at this time, and this has created significant agitation among court users and Nigerians in general, ultimately reducing the level of trust placed in this arm of government. The Nigerian (superior court) judiciary enjoys one of the lengthiest vacation systems in the world. Even though, Nigeria has some of the most intractable problems of court delays, among its peers around the world. As such, any efforts to reduce prolonged trial delays must address the availability of judges to sit in courts, at all times. The conundrum of access to courts in Nigeria is widespread and requires urgent attention, and the judiciary has never quite been able to surmount this problem, in spite of some modest efforts to do so. Systematic court delays, however, deny citizens effective access to justice, and indeed derail justice, and this must be combatted in order to re-inspire public confidence in the justice system. Court delays partly account for the excessively high awaiting trial prison population, with roughly 70 per cent of prison inmates, in this category. Long court vacations also jeopardise the fair trial rights of persons who are in prison custody and are undergoing trial, or persons who are not entitled to bail, or have not been able to meet bail terms. Furthermore, long court recesses negatively impact on the trial of corruption cases, and are also partly responsible for the tardiness in the conclusion of those cases. Given the public interest in the timely disposition of corruption cases, there is an urgent need to reform how judges handling corruption cases, should break for vacation. Moreover, long court vacations adversely affect the availability of witnesses to give evidence during trials, and can have serious impact on the outcomes of those trials. The practice in other jurisdictions In most Western countries, superior court Judges go on leave for between four and 12 weeks yearly (one-three months). During these vacation periods, however, the criminal justice system is not put in abeyance as a result. Many countries ensure that judges’ holidays are staggered and not cumulative to make sure that the justice system remains in service all through the year, and some countries have abolished general court recess all together, to ensure the efficacy of their criminal justice system and guarantee the protection of fair trial rights for their citizens. In India, for instance, which shares some social characteristics with Nigeria, judges go on recess for only nine weeks cumulatively. The way out Access to Justice, therefore, urges the National Judicial Council as part of its reform agenda, to re-enliven public trust and confidence in the judiciary by immediately adopting policies limiting the amount of vacation time of Judges to nine weeks cumulatively, and particularly changing vacation procedures so that all criminal courts run continuously throughout the year (with exceptions being made for individual or staggered vacation for criminal court judges).]]>
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