ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN ENUGU STATE IDENTIFIED DURING THE ENBAR LAW WEEK 2015 THAT REQUIRE URGENT ATTENTION Introduction During the Nigerian Bar Association (ENBAR) Law Week 2015 held from 30″ November – 4Delay in Disposal of Cases We, are aware that there is shortage of High Court Judges in Enugu State leading to over-congestion of high courts with deluge of cases. We also appreciate the hard work by some of the existing judges. We, however, wish to observe that the output of some courts is below expectation. In particular, the Chief Judge’s cause list is normally loaded with cases that will not be heard. ln certain casesjudqrnents are not’ delivered. one year or more after final addresses. Even when the judgments are delivered parties may wait for months or in some cases years to obtain copies of the Judgement. We urge that judgments should be delivered within three months of conclusion of final addresses as stipulated by the constitution. Moreover, copies of the judgment should be made available to parties within the constitutionally prescribed period. Delay in Obtaining Court Records and Records of Appeal It takes months and sometimes years to obtain records of appeals and certified true copies of records of proceedings of some courts, including the Hon. Chief Judge’s court. We wish to observe that court records are public documents which should normally be available within a reasonable time on payment of the prescribed fees. Lack of Guidelines for the Appointment of Judges of Lower Courts There are no guidelines for the appointment of magistrates and customary court judges in Enugu. The previsions ofthe Magistrates’ Court Law and the Customary Court Law of Of Enugu State on appointment of magistrates and customary court judges, respectively are rather terse. it is therefore necesary that clear guideliness be formulated for future appointment of lower court judges. We Therefore urge the judicial Service Commission of Enugu State to make Rules and Guideliness for the appointement of Judges of lower court judges. Lack of Input from the Bar in the Appointment of Magistrates and Customary Court Judges The current trend since the inception of the NJC is that local Bars make some input in judicial appointments. It has become a tradition in almost all jurisdictions except Enugu State to seek and obtain the input of the Bar in the appointment process of magistrates and customary court judges. We urge the Judicial Service Commission of Enugu State to abide by the tradition of seeking the input of the Bar in the appointment process. Furthermore, the process of appointing the magistrates should open and transparent. Proposal. by the Hon. Chief Judge for the Modification of the NJC Guidelines for Appointment of Judges We have noted the proposal by the Hon. the Chief Judge for the modification of the 2014 NJC Guidelines for the appointment of judges by adopting or adapting the Hon. Justice Okoli formula. We propose that the proposal be interrogated at, a seminar which will be attended by members of the Bar and Bench and other stakeholders in the administration of justice in Enugu State. ENBAR hereby undertake to support the seminar in terms of logistics. However, it our view that in the meantime, the NJC 2014 Guidelines be followed for now until they are modified. Moreover, the absence of guidelines for the appointment of members of the lower bench in Enugu State appears to us to be a more urgent matter. Proposal. by the Hon. Chief Judge for the Modification of the NJC Guidelines for Appointment of Judges We have noted the proposal by the Hon. the Chief Judge for the modification of the 2014 NJC Guidelines for the appointment of judges by adopting or adapting the Hon. Justice Okoli formula. We propose that the proposal be interrogated at, a seminar which will be attended by members of the Bar and Bench and other stakeholders in the administration of justice in Enugu State. ENBAR hereby undertake to support the seminar in terms of logistics. However, it our view that in the meantime, the NJC 2014 Guidelines be followed for now until they are modified. Moreover, the absence of guidelines for the appointment of members of the lower bench in Enugu State appears to us to be a more urgent matter. Dearth of Bailiffs The number of bailiffs in Enugu State judiciary is grossly inadequate. We observe that there is a large army of judicial workers in customary courts without job schedules who could be redeployed to the High Courts and Magistrate Courts and trained as bailiffs. Secondly, the High Court Rules of Eougu recognize appointment of courier companies for service of processes. We suggest that effect be given to the provision. Arbitrary Charges by Bailiffs Though the Rules provide for service fees which are assessed when a process is being filed, the stark reality is that the official fees are unrealistic. Counselor litigants therefore have to negotiate with bailiffs the cost of service of processes. The reality, however.Is that counselor litigants are at the mercy of bailiffs who fix their charges arbitrarily. The initiative taken by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division recently on similar matter. is to fix the amount payable to bailiffs for service of process at different locations. The bailiffs are required to sign for the amount paid to them as they collect the process for service. This procedure not only prevents arbitrary charges but at the same time ensures that bailiffs are accountable for the processes they have collected to serve. Unauthorized and Unreceipted Fees We have in the past raised with your Lordship, the issue. of unauthorized and unreceipted fees being charged by court workers. In the response to the letter, we were assured that the practice will no longer continue but we found that the practice has continued. Secondly, the fees payable for compilation of records of appeal are not clearly stipulated. Consequently, the charges are normally arbitrary and unreceipted for in the High Courts and Magistrate Courts. It is pnly at the Customary Court of Appeal that moderate fees are charged and receipts are issued for payments. At the High Court, after compilation of records of appeal, it may take weeks or months for the records to be signed by the Director of Litigation. It is alleged that normally, litigants or counsel are asked to pay unreceipted sums of money before the records are signed. To obtain certified true copy of record of proceedings, arbitrary and unreceipted fees are normally Charged in addition to the official fees which are receipted. While the cost of certification is known cost of typing is arbitrary. We recommend that the cost of typing of court records be fixed. We also recommend that the fee regime in the various courts be tabulated and pasted in conspicuous places in all courts, including customary courts. Multiplicity of Special Courts Many special courts are established for agencies in Enugu State. For instance, ESWAMA courts sit in ESWAMA offices. These special courts constitute danger to the rule. It has become a way of hanging a cloak of legality on the abuses by the different agencies. We therefore recommend that no court should be made to sit outside the court premises. Special divisions of the magistrate courts could be created to specialize in different areas of law but they should sit in the open in the court premises. Assignment of Magistrates to sit in the Police Headquarters. We observe that magistrates are being assigned to sit in police stations or police headquarters during strikes. A particular magistrate who is not one of the best magistrates, to say the least, is often assigned this responsibility. While the intention may be to ensure availability of legal procedure during strikes to persons who are arrested or detained by the police, we are afraid that the sitting of the courts in the police headquarters does not satisfy the requirement of public hearing. These courts are not normally accessible to the general public. Counsel and members of the public do not normally have free access to the courts. The courts sit without the record books or adequate record of its proceedings. We recommend that during strikes, there could be skeletal services to deal with emergency situations. One or two courts could therefore be left open to deal with the exigencies. Application for Transfer of Cases We observe that it is extremely difficult to secure transfer of cases in High Courts and Magistrates Courts in Enugu State. This situation aggravates the frustration arising from forum shopping by some lawyers and litigants. We observe that many lawyers have suffer threats of imprisonment for apply for transfer of cases. On the other hand, at times cases that have reached advanced stage in hearing are transferred in less than transparent manner without input from some of the parties. In the light of the constitutional provision for fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court, aWlications. for transfer of cases before commencement of hearing ought to be granted as a matter of course. Where hearing has commenced, the right to speedy trial will be involved, and therefore input from all the parties ought to be sought and obtained to ensure that the decision on the application for transfer is based on reasonable grounds. ‘ Retention ofthe Retired Director of Litigation in the High Court We are aware that Mr. Vincent Anake, the Director of Litigation in High Court, has retired from service many years ago. The news of his retirement came as a relief to many lawyers and litigants. We are surprised tliat he is still occupying his position yeers-efter his retirement. Headship of Some Customary Courts by Lay Men Members of ENBAR are now being subjected to practice before laymen who are chairmen of customary courts when lawyers are available for the job. To the best of our knowledge, the curriculum for the training of Nigerian lawyers is yet to be updated to include the procedure. for appearing before lay men. Recently, the Supreme Court pronounced that Area or Customary Courts are to be guided and not to be strictly bound by the provisions of the Evidence Act (Please see Arum v Nwobodo (2013) 10 NWLR (pt. 1362) 374). The question is, how can lay ‘chairmen of customary courts be guided by the Evidence Act? ENBAR therefore requests the President of Customary Court of Appeal to replace all lay chairmen of customary courts with suitably qualified lawyers. Remuneration of Customary Court Judges Lawyers who are appointed chairmen or members of customary courts are paid an amount ridiculously within the region ofthe minimum wage (about N30,000.00 per month). lawyers are paid the same amount as non-lawyers, including those who hold the minimum requirement ~f Ordinary National Diploma. We agree with the proclamationiof the International Commission of Jurists in the Declaration of Delhi thatthe level of,-emuneration of judges is one of the factors that affect the independence of the judiciary; 1 We are looking forward to hearing from the Hon. the Chief Judge on how the issues and concerns raised in this letter will be addressed. We wish to observe that some of the above issues have been raised successively in the past recent years but no action had been taken to address the issues and concerns. Yours faithfully, Godfrey A. Ekoh, Esq SECRETARY Dr. Osita Nnamani Ogbu CHAIRMAN ]]>