COVID-19: Judiciary Going On Long Vacation At This Time Is Insensitive—Access To Justice

An advocacy group under the aegis Access to Justice has said that the judiciary must demonstrate a moral and vocational commitment to ameliorating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of justice noting that judges going on vacation after having spent over 2 months at home shows that the judiciary does not take the Justice system delivery seriously.

This was disclosed in a press released signed by the Convener Joseph Otteh and the Project Director, Deji Ajare, and made available to THENIGERIALAWYER(TNL).

The group while faulting the recent announcement for the long vacation by the most heads of courts said taking the long vacation at this time is insensitive as there are backlogs of cases waiting to be attended to.

The group also commended the Chief judges of Ogun, Hon. Justice M A. Dipeolu and Jigawa State, Justice Aminu Sabo Ringim for not being part of the judiciary that would embark on vacation.

“Some Federal and State Courts are Announcing Court Vacations Beginning this July, which will last for up to two months. But some Judiciaries have put off those vacations for the year 2020. Among those who have done so are Ogun and Jigawa State Judiciaries.

“Access to Justice applauds the heads of court that have, in response to the exigencies of ameliorating the delays caused by the Judiciary’s reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, put off annual vacations for their Judges. The heads of these judiciaries have shown conscientious and responsive leadership.

The group also said that taking Vacations after Long Suspension of Court Sittings Not Right; Gives the Wrong Message About Judiciary’s Commitment to Delivering Justice.

“The announcement by other Federal and State Judiciaries that their courts will proceed on routine annual vacations, for at least a two-month period, is unfortunate. Thousands of cases were affected by the suspension of court sittings following the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s directive to suspend court activities in March, or the limited scope of hearings taking place now following the partial resumption of court business.

“Many of the cases affected by limited court sitting are cases that are delicate, time-sensitive, vital for other processes, or those that involve personal liberties. In some criminal cases, defendants who could not access pre-trial bail are in overly-congested correctional houses, institutions that also present a very peculiar problem of their own. Should there be a COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in them, many of the inmates there would be at huge risks of infection and their lives on the line. The Judiciary as an institution has a primordial and frontline responsibility to protect human life, and this responsibility ought to weigh heavily on how its decisions – including vacation decisions – are arrived at,” the statement read.

The group further noted that many things are wrong about how Judiciary takes vacations

“In the first place, the idea of taking en bloc judicial vacations is wrong. Many judiciaries around the world that practiced it have abandoned the model. Judicial officers may take individual vacations as individualized vacations have lesser effect on the delivery of judicial services as a whole. Second, the length of judicial vacations, when calculated cumulatively over a given year, is also excessive. In the present context, given that courts’ docket backlogs are possibly at breaking point, the Judiciary ought to have taken a different approach to the length of vacation period. Last year, the Court of Appeal President cancelled vacations for Court of Appeal Justices on the grounds that taking those vacations would prejudice the determination of many time-bound election cases. That sentiment ought to have prevailed in the current situation.

The group concluded by calling on the National Judicial Council to step in and reverse vacation schedules

“The National Judicial Council (“NJC”) must step in now, just as it weighed in to direct the suspension of court proceedings following National Policies and Guidelines in March and April.

“The NJC ought now to make a Judiciary-wide policy on vacations that demonstrates that the Nigerian Judiciary does not exist in an abstract institutional vacuum of its creation, but is part and parcel of Nigerian society, and will itself make the sacrifices necessary to ensure the overall good and welfare of the Nigerian people.

“The NJC should direct all the courts that have announced judicial vacations to reverse those decisions now.” the statement read.