Access to Justice and the Challenges of Inter-Courts Transfer of Cases in Nigeria: The Way Forward

This article interrogates the extent of access to justice in Nigeria on the premise that access to justice is indispensable to the attainment of a just and sustainable society. Drawing from international comparative sources, it posits that striking out of cases by courts in Nigeria on the basis of lack of jurisdiction makes mincemeat of the constitutional guarantee of right of access to justice. It examines the remedial efforts at curing this ill by the legislature through the grant of powers of inter-courts transfer of cases to superior courts in Nigeria. It investigates the negative impacts of the conflicting decisions of the nation’s superior courts on these powers. It finds that failure to take cognizance of the distinctions between the hierarchies of Decrees and the Nigerian 1979 and 1999 Constitutions during military interregna and during civilian regimes, coupled with failure to appreciate the divergence between the extant constitutional provisions and the provisions of the defunct 1979 Constitution relied upon in the erstwhile cases, are a part of the causes of this problem; and that, the absolute inherent powers conferred on the superior courts by section 6(6)(a) of the extant 1999 Constitution, completes the other part. It establishes that, the powers could only be validly conferred and exercised during military interregna, but not under the present democratic constitutional framework; and that, until section 6 of the 1999 Constitution is altered, courts in Nigeria cannot validly exercise these powers. The work relies on both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources are made up of the Federal High Court Act, the National Industrial Court Act, the 1979 and 1999 Constitutions, and municipal judicial decisions. The secondary sources consist of journal articles, foreign decisions and statutes, newspapers, books and the Internet. The research adopts an analytical approach within a socio-legal context. Keywords: access to justice, inter-courts transfer, jurisdiction, inherent powers, and sustainable society. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/100-05 Publication date:August 31st 202

The Desirability of Conferring Criminal Jurisdiction on Industrial Courts: An Appraisal of the Nigerian Experiment

The conferment of jurisdiction on industrial relations courts has often faced stiff oppositions in many jurisdictions, Nigeria inclusive. This paper appraises the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria conferring the National Industrial Court of Nigeria with criminal jurisdiction within the context of the controversies trailing them. It finds that the controversies are informed by a combination of misapprehension of these provisions, the defects inherent in them, and sheer subjective bias. It employs the principles of interpretation to show how to correctly interpret these provisions. It identifies some pitfalls and suggests measures to rectify them. Drawing from international sources, it posits that conferring industrial courts with exclusive and composite civil and criminal jurisdiction better promotes the ideals for which they are established. Primary and secondary sources are used. The primary source is made up of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria, local statutes and cases, while the secondary source is made up of journal articles, books, the Internet, foreign statutes and cases. These materials are subjected to textual and comparative analysis. Keywords: industrial court, labour court, industrial relations, employment, criminal jurisdiction,         exclusive jurisdiction

Enforcing Foreign Judgments in Nigeria: Any Role for the National Industrial Court?

The Third Alteration Act altered the Constitution to make the National Industrial Court NIC a superior Court In spite of this jurists have continued to deny the NIC the right to enforce foreign judgments on labour matters The arguments are that because the NIC is not listed in S 2 1 of the Foreign Judgments Reciprocal Enforcement Act FJA it lacks jurisdiction in this regard and that enforcement of foreign judgments does not involve exercise of jurisdiction but mere exercise of power Consequently the NIC has handed down a decision divesting itself of jurisdiction However the research finds that the arguments are fallacious and that the NIC has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce foreign labour judgments in Nigeria The research opines that the gestating controversy must be nipped in the bud for the nation to reap the benefits of the bounties of the globalized labour market It recommends deletion of the problematic part of S 2 1 of the FJA the overhaul and merging of the two cognate statutes to bring up the Nigerian law in tune with international best practices The research being doctrinal relies on cognate statutes case laws and journal article