Effective judicial case management By Daniel Bulusson

Case management generally connotes the entire set of actions that a court takes to monitor and control the progress of a court, from initiation of a suit, to trial, to disposition of all interlocutory applications, to judgment, and post-disposition matters to ensure that justice is done properly.

Courts have been adopting several case management techniques in an effort to ensure efficiency, service delivery, and dispose of matters promptly. This led to the creation of court registry made up of educated staff (not necessarily lawyers) to assist the court in facilitating justice dispensation. The court registry is in charge of overseeing case files, document proceedings and court processes filed before the court, keeping records for accessibility by the public, and assisting the court in researching judicial opinions.

Case management in the Nigerian legal system begins from the commencement of a suit, a litigant through legal representation files a court process (writ of summons, originating summons, complaint, charge, etc) to a court registry within jurisdiction. The court registry then assigns the case to a particular court to dispense of the matter. This particular court has its own registry which then takes charge of every proceeding that happens in that matter before the court.

Since proceedings are public records, the court registry is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the case files are arranged in a manner that can be accessed by the public. At the same time it does not tamper with the court proceedings to suit a particular party, and likewise protect the sanctity of the proceedings.

It is imperative to note that efficient case management plays a vital role in justice dispensation, as record tampering can mislead a judicial decision to a party at the detriment of another.

According to H. A. L. Balogun in his book ‘Court Case Management (A Handbook for Judges of Lower Court)’, “Case flow management is defined as the coordination of court processes and resources to move cases in a timely manner from filing to disposition, to assure justice is provided in a prompt and affordable manner”.

Generally, the term case management refers to the sophisticated information management and workflow practices that are tailored to meet the legal field’s specific needs and equipment. The essence of an effective judicial case management is to control the flow of information in a manner that it does not get tampered or interfered with, and still serves justice to all parties concerned.

The judges of a court are there to adjudicate a matter, and due to the peculiarity of the analogue system, judges write down every happening in a case. They cannot be saddled with the responsibility of writing a judgment, and still manage the records of cases before them, considering the number of cases that come before our courtrooms for adjudication.

This same information is supposed to be public record, meaning it can be accessed by any interested party, thus judicial case management is developed to primarily safeguard the sanctity of this proceeding.

The importance of an effective judicial case management cannot be overemphasized. Court case management is aimed at improving the efficacy of the primary duties of courts, i.e. court processes filed for adjudication; it serves as a means to institutionalise dispute resolution with due process, and in due time; it aids the court to properly organize and dispose of backlog of cases pending before the court, thereby creating space to accommodate more cases; it improves the efficiency in accessing justice; it helps build public confidence in the effectiveness of the court system, and accountability of its judges; it guarantees the principle of fair hearing, as every party has access to the records of the court; and preserves the sanctity of the court and its proceedings.

It is for the above stated reasons that judiciary staff ought to be up to date with contemporary laws and use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) to help speed up justice dispensation and ensure that all parties represented get the best of their service without bias or sentiments. They are the hands and legs of our justices, and judges, as such play a vital role in determining how long or fast a matter is adjudicated upon.

Godspeed!

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