Lawyers, last Thursday, dissected the judicial reform component of the manifesto of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They concluded that the proposals contained therein were well-thought-out initiatives with the capacity to revolutionise the nation’s justice delivery system, ERIC IKHILAE reports.
Among the political parties contesting next year’s presidential election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be the only one with a clear picture of the Judiciary it hopes to work with if its candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu becomes the next president.
This indication is contained in the manifesto it recently released.
The manifesto
The manifesto, titled: “Renewed Hope 2023 – Action Plan for a Better Nigeria”, has a section devoted to judicial reform. It is titled: “Judicial reform: growth and investment encouraged by the rule of law.”
The reform initiatives, as stated in the manifesto, would be hinged on four key pillars, to be driven by some specific policy proposals.
The planned judicial reform, it was explained, is informed by the realisation that economic growth is neither sustainable nor equitable without the rule of law.
The reform, it was further explained, was informed by the belief that a well-functioning judicial system enables the state to regulate the economy prudently and impartially, knowing that “when laws and legal institutions operate effectively and fairly, the end products are investment, jobs, and the creation of wealth.”
The four pillars
According to the APC, the four pillars on which its planned judicial reform is hinged are judicial independence and integrity; respect for rule of law; access to justice, and equality before the law.
On the first pillar, the party plans to institute far-reaching reforms directed at ensuring financial independence, impartiality, effectiveness and integrity of the judicial arm of government.
The party assured, concerning the second pillar, that the government at the centre will operate on the premise that the rule of law is paramount.
It also plans to ensure that the nation’s “legal framework is appropriate for the type of society we seek to build – a society that is fair and which provides enforceable rights to all Nigerians.”
Realising that without access to justice, all laws and legal institutions are rendered meaningless, the party says it plans to ensure that justice is not available to only a few, but to all.
In ensuring that all citizens are treated equally before the law, the party said it would institute measures to ensure that all Nigerians are accorded equal treatment under the law.
Policy proposals
Some of the specific policy proposals to drive the reform, the party said, include a structural review of the judiciary; judicial autonomy and independence; legislative review; judicial discipline and the decongestion and digitalisation of trial courts.
The party said it plans to work with the National Judicial Council (NJC), state governments and other stakeholders in the Judiciary and the legal profession to come up with a committee to review. The committee will make recommendations on reforming the structure of the judicial system to better position the courts to function more efficiently and virtuously as the third co-equal arm of government.
Noting that a fundamental challenge of the nation’s legal system is the continued existence of antiquated or ill-fitting laws and regulations, the party said the Tinubu presidency would review and make recommendations to the Legislature to amend or repeal outdated laws, to be replaced with new laws and regulations, more suitable for 21st century Nigeria.
The party said it plans to take necessary steps to guarantee the financial and administrative independence of the Judiciary, in addition to enhancing the welfare and remuneration of federal judicial officers.
The APC has equally assured that under Tinubu, the Judiciary and legal sector would be encouraged to strengthen their disciplinary and integrity monitoring mechanisms such that corrupt and incompetent judicial officials and legal practitioners are identified and adequately disciplined.
It added that it would ensure a review of the mandate and composition of the NJC “to make it tougher and more effective in dealing with corruption, malpractice and incompetence in the administration of justice.”
The party is also promising to ensure that “the scope of the NJC’s mandate will be limited to federal courts.”
To decongest and digitise trial courts, to improve access to speedy and effective justice, the Tinubu presidency plans to increase the number of trial courts at the federal level; appoint enough judges to staff them and create specialised federal courts, staffed with well-trained judges to focus on niche areas of law and encourage specialisation among judges.
There is also a plan to allocate funds for the digitisation of court processes “to ensure that cases are handled more efficiently by trial courts while also contributing to greater speed and efficiency of the process of appeal.”
Our view, by lawyers
At a gathering in Abuja last Thursday, lawyers dissected the planned judicial reform initiatives.
The lawyers are Hassan Liman (SAN), Babatunde Ogala (SAN), Vincent Essien, Patrick Eze and Abraham Paul.
The lawyers discussed the sub-theme: “The Tinubu judicial and law reforms for Nigeria,” at a one-day symposium on: “Dissecting the Asiwaju Manifesto – Renewed Hope 2023: Action Plan for a better Nigeria,” organised by the APC Professionals Forum (APC- PF).
Liman, Ogala, Essien, Eze and Paul argued that by the manifesto, the APC planned to effect robust reform initiatives in the Judiciary to ensure efficiency and promote the rule of law, so as to encourage growth and investment.
Ogala, a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, argued that Tinubu possesses the capacity to carry through the reforms he is planning for the Judiciary having done the same as the Governor of Lagos State.
He spoke about how Tinubu improved all aspects of the state’s Judiciary, including infrastructure development, staff welfare, the introduction of technologies, increasing access to justice for the indigents (with the creation of the Office of the Public Defender) and the adoption of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (with the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse initiative).
Ogala, a former National Legal Adviser to the APC, stated that the main objective behind the planned reform is to create an environment where the judicial process would drive the economy itself.
“Everything that we have talked about here, from infrastructure to security, all boils down to the economic prosperity of Nigeria and Nigerians.
“And, without enabling laws, without the rules, you can be sure that nothing will get done.
“Even in security, there are rules of engagement. Investors, without the rule of law, will not come. For the local businessmen, they will not invest,” Ogala said.
He noted that the perception that the Judiciary is corrupt, which has impacted public confidence in the system, could be reversed with appropriate policy decisions.
Ogala, whose wife is a judge of the High Court of Lagos State, spoke about how the welfare and work conditions of judges in Lagos have continued to improve since Tinubu’s days as the state governor.
He said: “Even though the NJC is responsible for the payment of judges’ salaries, in Lagos, the moment you are appointed a judge of the High Court of Lagos State, the first things you get are your car key and the key to your house, which is a minimum of a duplex.
“And those houses are not official quarters, they are yours for life, you retire and you go with that property.
“So, there is no judge who would retire in Lagos, who would not have a permanent home thereafter.
“What does that do? Confidence. It reduces corruption. It reduces the temptation to do that which you ought not to do,” Ogala said.
Liman, who is Legal Director, APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), noted that the proposal to limit the NJC’s powers to federal courts was a way of enhancing the independence of the state courts in line with the principles of federalism.
Represented by Dr. Sirajo Yakubu of the Nile University, Liman hailed Tinubu and his team for the initiative, noting that it was a testimony to his credential as a champion of rule of law and judicial independence.
He added: “The country is delineated – administratively and politically – into three tiers. That is the Federal Government, State Government and Local Government.
“Each of these governments is distinct from each other, with distinct powers, even though there is the Concurrent List where the federal and state governments have some common powers.
“When it comes to the appointment and discipline of judges, everything is handled by a single federal body, which is the NJC.
“By this arrangement, state Judiciary, although independent in relation to the state government, is being subordinated to a federal body.
“This reform initiative will allow states’ chief judges and their Judiciary to take care of themselves.
“This is a great thought. It takes a great man and a great team to think this way. It shows that our candidate is the champion of the rule of law,” Liman said.
Essien, a Lagos-based lawyer and member of the Board of Trustees (BOT) APC-PF, noted that Lagos today, remains the most advanced legal jurisdiction in Nigeria because of the extensive reforms carried out in the Lagos Judiciary, “commencing from 1999 when Asiwaju became the governor of Lagos State.”
Eze, who is also a member of the BOT of the APC-PF, hailed the planned separation of the offices of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Justice.
He cited examples from developed democracies, like the United States, where the offices are separated.
Eze noted that a similar thing has been done in the finance sector where the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation is separate from that of the Auditor General of the Federation.
Eze argued that such a reform, when effected, would engender effectiveness in the sector.
Paul, a Kaduna-based lawyer, spoke on the the planned reforms which concerned the creation of specialised courts.
He hailed the initiative, which he assured would reduce delay, and ensure the effective operation of the courts, to achieve speedy justice delivery.