The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the reality of a world system that has been forever changed in its wake. However, even before the shutdown of the Nigerian judiciary by Hon. Justice Tanko Muhammad, CJN, the era of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court assigning dates in cases up to three years ahead was no longer sustainable.
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The situation had the potential of taking food off the table of most Nigerian lawyers if it went unchecked. The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council had identified ‘contract enforcement’ as a major indicator for Nigeria’s business environment as contained in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, 2018 Report. Thus, it had become increasingly evident that an efficient judicial system is necessary for promoting a sustainable socio-economic environment, as well as a society governed by rule of law in which other development initiatives (including poverty reduction, education, and gender equity) can flourish.
Singapore, which is also a common law jurisdiction, was on a similar trajectory of an inefficient justice administration system some three decades ago. In September 1990, it was estimated that the Supreme Court of Singapore required five years to hear all of its pending matters. It was that reality (not Covid-19) that spurred the beginning of a new dawn in the Singaporean judiciary. Singapore is now a case study of an efficient judicial system that other countries are learning from through its innovative use of technology in justice administration.
Coming back home, the Chief Judge of Lagos State has introduced practice directions to guide remote hearings as a way of preventing the total ‘deadness’ of the courts during the statewide lockdown. In practical terms, Hon. Justice Kazeem Alogba really had no other option than to flow with the tide of these peculiar times. Also, the Borno State judiciary has even gone ahead to conduct a court hearing online, which was the first in Nigeria’s history. However, limited online court hearings had been ongoing at the Federal High Court in Lagos wherein parties and witnesses join court proceedings online, while the judge and counsel were in court. That being the case, it will now seem that the new reality is that Court is not just a place, but also a service. As a service which it is increasingly manifesting as, how do we ensure that the dispensation of justice over the internet does not become a situation of ‘justice conducted online is justice compromised’. An abundance of possible scenarios present itself, and I will briefly comment on a few.
How does a presiding judge ensure that he is on the same page as regards documents being referred to by Counsel during an online court proceeding? This might require the judge having his case files (docket) made available as soft copies, securely uploaded, accessible online, and properly streamlined to enable the judge to work seamlessly online. In this regard, the judge may have to do a quick search using keywords to find a document being cited by Counsel. The necessary corollary is that the court’s online case management system has to be impregnable for bad actors such as hackers who might be engaged by litigants to compromise an online hearing, steal vital documents, ensure the adjournment of a court sitting, or who may even do so to show their digital prowess. Other potential issues that may arise include accessibility to be granted to the judge’s assistants who will also need to use the case management system in assisting the judge. This will have to be implemented in such a way that there is always a digital trace for whoever accesses the back end system, whether the judge or his assistants as this will be a veritable tool to prevent internal compromise. Another angle is the possibility of conducting criminal matters online which would require equipping prisons and other detention centers with facilities for online hearings. The effect of this would reduce the cost of bringing awaiting or pending trial inmates to court.
However, online court proceedings being a new innovation in the holistic usage being canvassed, it might be necessary to limit online hearings to pre-trial matters for both civil and criminal matters for a start. This is because of the peculiarity of the trial process which thrives on the presiding judge being able to assess the body language of witnesses and other nuances of the courtroom trial. The potential developments are endless, but the dividing line could be that all pre-trial matters are attended to online, while trial proceedings are held in the courtroom. This will undoubtedly help to decongest the courtrooms in line with the social distancing guidelines of government which will be the new way of life for the next foreseeable future. There is no doubt that a comprehensive deployment of technology in justice administration as being solicited will entail the provision of tools, training of judges and judicial staff, as well as the usage of uniform technological architecture in ensuring standardization in the entire judicial system either at the state level or at the national level.
Essentially, what online hearing of court proceedings must do is to replicate justice administration system which has been designed for people coming to the court building, improve on it, filter the inefficiencies and ensure that the refined product or service is available real-time to not only litigants and their Counsel, but also to even curious members of the public such as journalists in a way that the integrity of the system will not be compromised. Anything short of that will not only serve to defeat the purpose of conducting online hearings, but also a missed opportunity to advance the workings of Nigeria’s justice administration.
The need to embrace modern technology must be considered beyond just reacting to the Covid-19 pandemic, but also as an opportunity to make the much needed robust improvements in the justice delivery system. A situation whereby some lawyers are allowed to argue their cases for 2-3 hours; while others are merely allowed to take minuscule bites at the ‘cherry’ of being heard in court must be addressed. In Singapore, the administration of justice commands the price of seriousness and diligence from litigants as well as their lawyers, and Nigeria can very well pluck a few leaves from the initiatives introduced by the Singaporean Judiciary, some of which are discussed below;
- Court hearing fees: Hearing fees were designed to deter trials lasting beyond a certain number of days, and so the first three hearing days for a suit are free, after which prescribed fees would be paid to the court for hearing dates by parties. Hearing fees are usually paid by the Plaintiff or the party who applies for the hearing date. In limited circumstances and upon application, Court Registrars have the power to waive, refund, and/or postpone payment of hearing fees.
- Apart from filing fees, an Appellant may be required to pay a security deposit for the Respondent’s costs in an appeal as this would discourage the filing of frivolous appeals.
I will like also like to proffer the monitoring and record of time usage by Counsel during court proceedings. This will ensure compliance with the time limit for trials and arguments during proceedings. This will ensure that lawyers devise a strategy to manage their ‘court allotted time’, while still presenting their cases as best as possible, as compared to the current system which wittingly or unwittingly allows lawyers to ‘waste’ the precious time of the court, and thereby perpetually clogging the wheel of justice in our dear country.
In conclusion, the deployment of technology in justice dispensation in Nigeria has a huge potential; however, the necessary partnerships and support infrastructure must be in place for the technology to make the desired impact.
Gbenga Adebisi, Esq.
He is an Associate at the law firm of Femi Atoyebi & Co.
His email address is gkadebisi@gmail.com.
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