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Tag: National Judicial Institute (NJI)

  • CJN tasks court staff on honesty, integrity

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen has asked court’s staff to help change public perception of the Judiciary for the better.

    Onnoghen urged them always put up positive attitude and act honestly at all time.

    The CJN spoke in Abuja on Monday at the opening session of the 2018 national workshop for Chief Registrars, Deputy Chief Registrars and secretaries Judicial Service Commissions/ committee.

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    The event, put together by the National Judicial Institute (NJI), has as its theme: “Applying best practices in court administration.”

    The CJN, who noted the importance of the event’s participants in the operation of the Judiciary, urged them to put it their best to ensure the court continue to give its best.

    Onnoghen said: “It behoves on you to ensure that both Judicial Officers and Court staff work in synergy to ensure that the judiciary continues to function optimally.

    “No doubt, this places onerous responsibilities on your respective capable shoulders.

    “The effective and efficient performance of your duties will enable the judiciary to run smoothly like a well-oiled machine.

    “Consequently, your ever expanding duties require you to become court administrators, taking cognizance the fact that you manage both the human and material resources of the court.

    “Thus, you must be honest and be persons of exceptional integrity.

    “Your actions are like a beacon of light that other staff can aspire to follow upon for guidance.”

    He said the workshop was part of efforts to further empower the court’s staff to enable them contribute their best.

    Onnoghen further explained that the workshop “captures our efforts in ensuring better justice delivery in Nigeria, which has become imperative especially if justice is viewed within the context of service delivery.

    “It also brings to focus the present challenges in court administration.

    “The theme of this workshop underscores the fact that the public perception of the judiciary is largely determined by how we apply best practices in the business of the court.

    “Thus, when the top echelons of the judiciary are properly trained, fully equipped and highly conscientious, then our Judiciary will function optimally and further deepen public confidence in our ability to administer justice without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.”

  • Osinbajo tasks Judiciary on prompt determination of cases

    Osinbajo tasks Judiciary on prompt determination of cases

    The Acting President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo (SAN) has challenged the Judiciary to evolve ways of ensuring prompt determination of cases by courts in the country.

    He regretted the current practice where it takes years to determine simple cases, a development, he said, accounts for the “crawling” judicial process in the country.

    Osibanjo spoke in Abuja Monday at the opening session of the 3rd annual judges workshop on petroleum, gas and power sectors, held the National Judicial Institute (NJI).

    Represented by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, Osinbajo noted that the pace at which cases were determined in the nation’s courts was a disincentive to investors.

    He said: “We need to evolve measures that will speed up the judicial decisions. We also need these decisions not to be too complicated for investors to easily understand

    “We need to ensure sanctity of international arbitration. Also, judges should be trained in petroleum and energy sector so that they would to be fully equipped to handle the emerging trends in the sectors.

    “if the country is not positioned to supply the necessary power supply, which is essential for driving the economy, the country will not make much progress,” Osinbajo said.

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, who declared the event opened, urged judges not to allow technicalities to stand in the way of justice.

    He said the workshop was to enhance judges’ knowledge on issues relating power and petroleum sectors.

    He urged judges to desist from taking cases arising from contract breach where parties to the contract failed to first explore the arbitration clause enshrined in such contract.

    He said: “It has come to my notice that some courts assume jurisdiction in matters of breach of contract arising from contracts with arbitration cases.

    “It goes without saying that no investor, whether domestic or international would want his investment tied down in seemingly endless litigation, especially where there is an arbitration clause in the contract.

    “In such cases the use of arbitration must be employed. The courts must insist on enforcement of the arbitration clause by declining jurisdiction and award substantial costs against parties engaged in the practice.

    “May I draw the attention of heads of courts that the time saving nature of an arbitration proceeding encourages heightened commercial and economic activities as well as foreign investment and therefore needs the support and encouragement of the judiciary,” Onnoghen said.

    He argued that incidents of conflicting judgments by trial courts cannot be eliminated.

    Onnoghen said: “Conflicting decisions unfortunately, are necessary, because when you approach a court in Lagos, your facts are stated and the facts of that case are also different in a court in Port Harcourt.

    “So, the judge takes a decision based on the facts before him and the law, and that is why we have the Court of Appeal who will look at the law and decide,” the CJN said.

     

  • Media should create awareness on Criminal Justice Act – Lawyer

    A call has gone out to media practitioners to help create awareness on the importance of the Administration Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

    This call was made by Mrs Eseosa Okuku, a fellow of the National Judicial Institute (NJI)  at the closing ceremony of a two-day workshop organised by the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The workshop was organised by the National Judicial Institute with the theme: “Empowering Judicial Correspondents for Effective and Efficient Reportage’’.

    Okuku, who spoke on Understanding the Administration of Criminal Justice Acts, described the media as intermediaries between the judiciary and the public.

    “The media has a very important role to play in creating awareness and sensitising members of the public on the reforms to the Criminal Justice System by the Act.

    “The ACJA presents an excellent opportunity to entrench standard principles and international best practices into the criminal justice administration.

    “The states are therefore encouraged to key into the innovations of the Act and enact their own Administration of Criminal Justice Laws at the states level using the ACJA as a model,’’ she said.

    She said that the ACJA was modelled after the administration of criminal justice law of Lagos State and commended Ekiti and Ondo who had already passed their own Administration of Criminal Justice Law.

    Okuku called on states such as Kaduna, Cross River and Anambra who were in the process of passing their own to do so on time.

    Mr Christopher Ogundare, another research fellow, NJI, called on journalists to be wary of defamation in their reportage.

    According to Ogundare, defamation of one’s character is a serious crime under the law which judicial correspondents must guard against in every of their report.

    He called on journalists to imbibe the act of saying the truth, balancing and being objective in every report they pushed out for the consumption of the general public.

    “The press should continue to be free and unfettered but this freedom must be juxtaposed with a system of effective self-regulation.

    “Perhaps the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) or Guild of Editors could consider setting up an ethics committee and code of conduct to ensure that uniform standard are maintained and rights are not unduly infringed with falsehoods.

    “Otherwise, our press will falter in its duty to publish if this is not freely done without “fear or favour’’.

    Papers presented at the workshop included Techniques of Reporting Court Proceedings, Code of Ethics for Nigeria journalists, the Media and Law of defamation.

  • CJN identifies corruption as major challenge of Judiciary

    CJN identifies corruption as major challenge of Judiciary

    The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed said Monday that corruption was a major problem in the nation’s justice sector.

    He said measures were being intensified to curb the menace, which informed the unveiling of a National Judicial Policy (NJP) in Abuja Monday by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    Justice Mohammed, who is also the Chairman of the NJC, said: “It would be stating the obvious to opine that the greatest single menace that challenges the justice system in Nigeria today is corruption.

    “This endemic vice is not peculiar to any region and ethnic group, cutting across faiths, religious denominations, levels of education and economic status.

    “Corruption has serious implications for both the rule of law and access to justice, and must be fought both institutionally and individually.

    “This is why the National Judicial Policy contains clear provisions restating the Judiciary’s commitment to transparency and accountability.

    “This is clearly spelt out in Paragraph 5.1 of the National Judicial Policy 2016, thus- ‘the National Judicial Policy recognizes that the greatest and most damaging challenge to administration of justice is corruption and that tackling this challenge must go beyond mere exhortation and sentiments.’

    “The policy gives the legal backing for several multifaceted strategies and guidelines to be developed while the Judiciary continues to walk the talk in ridding corrupt Judicial Officers from its ranks, strictly in accordance with due process and the rule of law,” the CJN said.

    Justice Mohammed, who spoke at the launch of the NJP, noted that the absence of such policy in the past has occasioned an uneven growth of the Judiciary.

    “Certainly, the absence of a blueprint has resulted in a demand for the transformation of the Nigerian Judiciary into a modern judicial system.

    “For a number of years, each Jurisdiction has had to muddle along in developing core values and objectives and this has led to a mixed bag of standards and policies.

    “This has also been compounded by the challenging deprivations and paucity of resources, without which critical development was limited.

    “The National Judicial Policy is a charter of commitment to the values that elevate not only our judicial institutions, but also those who are employed by or involved in it.

    “The importance of the foundational virtues of discipline, efficiency, integrity and enduring commitment are reflected in the National Judicial Policy as embodied in its first three regulations and rules of the policy,” the CJN said.

    He added that the policy will also serve as a mechanism to facilitates a greater knowledge of the Judiciary by the other arms of government.

    Former CJN, Dahiru Musdapher Noted that the absence of a National Judicial Policy before now resulted in a disjointed development of the Judiciary.

    “It is certainly time, given recent events that bring to the fore the importance of the third arm of government in the high expectation reposed in it by every Nigerian;

    “The National Judicial Policy provides a statement of intent that will better improve us and protect our institutions and the integrity of the Nigerian Judiciary,” Mudaspher said.

    The event, held at the National Judicial Institute (NJI),was attended by eminent personalities including two other former Chief Justices of Nigeria – Justices Mohammed Uwais and Idris Kutigi; President of the Court of Appeal, Zainab Bulkachuwa and retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Emmanuel Ayoola.

    The event also featured the inauguration, by the CJN, of the Judicial Ethics Committee headed by Justice Kutigi.

    The committee, which is saddled with the enforcement of the policy, is required to conduct periodic surveys on behalf of the NJC to provide empirical measurements of compliance with the policy, as it affects the administration of justice and application of ethical standards by all judicial officers and court staff.