CJN on Court Of Appeal Conflicting judgements
three weeks ago, any keen legal observer would have deduced the Supreme
Court intended to correct these errors when the cases came to them. The
Supreme Court is not interested in what's right or wrong but in
interpreting the law based on the facts before it. The amended electoral
act places the burden of proof squarely on the petitioner and not the
respondents or INEC.
Kudos to the learned justices.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, is not happy at alleged inconsistent decisions of the nation’s courts especially on election petitions.
The CJN is said to have taken note of public complaints about contradicting decisions, particularly by divisions of the Court of Appeal, and fears the situation is capable of eroding public confidence in the Judiciary.
The CJN suggested to the Appeal Court to create “an internal law report for Justices to access either electronically or in print in order to reduce the avenue for conflict in its jurisprudence.”
He also drew the attention of Justices of the Court of Appeal to the suggestion made in 2008 by a retired Supreme Court Justice, Niki Tobi, to the effect that “immediately a decision is given in one division, it should be sent to the other divisions without delay.”
Justice Mohammed spoke in Abuja last week at 2015 edition of the Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal.
The CJN argued that judges, being guardians of the law, “must not only be just, but also convey certainty in our justness.”
His words: “It bears reminding that the overriding objective of every legal system in the world is to do justice. However, this cannot be achieved where there is confusion as to the state of the law as pronounced by the court.
“As your lordships will agree, where an aggrieved person perceives, whether rightly or wrongly, that they will not receive justice, such a situation can indeed bode ill for the community in which he lives and can lead to acrimony and anarchy.
“We must not ignore the negative perception that is occasioned by conflicting judgments delivered at various divisions of the Court of Appeal.
“Such judicial contradictions only result in untold hardships to litigants in their quest for justice. They further cast your lordships in an unfavourable light and leave the judiciary at the mercy of inuendos, crass publications and editorials.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/cjn-unhappy-over-conflicting-decisions-by-appeal-court-divisions/
Kudos to the learned justices.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, is not happy at alleged inconsistent decisions of the nation’s courts especially on election petitions.
The CJN is said to have taken note of public complaints about contradicting decisions, particularly by divisions of the Court of Appeal, and fears the situation is capable of eroding public confidence in the Judiciary.
The CJN suggested to the Appeal Court to create “an internal law report for Justices to access either electronically or in print in order to reduce the avenue for conflict in its jurisprudence.”
He also drew the attention of Justices of the Court of Appeal to the suggestion made in 2008 by a retired Supreme Court Justice, Niki Tobi, to the effect that “immediately a decision is given in one division, it should be sent to the other divisions without delay.”
Justice Mohammed spoke in Abuja last week at 2015 edition of the Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal.
The CJN argued that judges, being guardians of the law, “must not only be just, but also convey certainty in our justness.”
His words: “It bears reminding that the overriding objective of every legal system in the world is to do justice. However, this cannot be achieved where there is confusion as to the state of the law as pronounced by the court.
“As your lordships will agree, where an aggrieved person perceives, whether rightly or wrongly, that they will not receive justice, such a situation can indeed bode ill for the community in which he lives and can lead to acrimony and anarchy.
“We must not ignore the negative perception that is occasioned by conflicting judgments delivered at various divisions of the Court of Appeal.
“Such judicial contradictions only result in untold hardships to litigants in their quest for justice. They further cast your lordships in an unfavourable light and leave the judiciary at the mercy of inuendos, crass publications and editorials.”
http://thenationonlineng.net/cjn-unhappy-over-conflicting-decisions-by-appeal-court-divisions/
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