The President, Muhammadu Buhari, has said the Federal
Government will continue to partner with the Judiciary to ensure its
independence.
Buhari said this at the opening ceremony of the 2021
Biennial All Nigeria Judges’ Conference held at the Andrews Otutu Obaseki
Auditorium of the National Judicial Institute, Mohammed Bello Centre, Abuja on
Monday.
The President who is away in South Africa was represented at
the event by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, who delivered his keynote
address.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and
Publicity, Laolu Akande disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
The statement quoted the President as saying, “As My Lords
may recall, in my 2019 address to this gathering, I stressed the need for
implementation of measures that will ensure speedy dispensation of justice in
the country through the dual-track of removing administrative bottlenecks in
the judicial process and adopting modern time-saving technology.
“Lessons learned during this difficult period of the
pandemic have provided measures for achieving both goals. We have seen how the
Judiciary has risen to the challenge. Practice Directions were issued by
several courts for remote hearing of cases, electronic filing of court
processes, service of hearing notices via email addresses and mobile phone
numbers of counsel, and e-payment of filing fees; with relevant devices
installed.
“These innovative approaches have, in addition to ensuring
compliance with the Covid-19 protocols, ensured that the wheels of justice
continued to move unhindered – in some cases even faster than what was obtained
during physical hearings. Speed, efficiency, and effectiveness were attained.
It aided in the decongestion of cases, did away with the obsolete method of
physical filing, and ensured structured use of both judicial and administrative
time and resources. Travel time to-and-from the court for litigants, counsel,
and witnesses was no longer an issue, effectively minimising the need for
adjournments.
“I believe that a universal application of these approaches
across the country will greatly enhance access to and speedy dispensation of
justice. As My Lords are aware, delay in the dispensation of justice coupled
with the increase in the number of cases in our courts have remained subjects
of grave concern. As someone said, “our problem is not access to justice it is
exiting the justice system.”
“And I know that delays are not necessarily the fault of
judges, lawyers are often responsible. Should we not then as been suggested by
some, be evolving a cost-award system that recognises the court as a finite and
expensive public resource? And as such delays and other dilatory tactics are
visited with deterrent costs?
“We are part of the global marketplace for investment and
legal services. The extent to which we can attract business to our country
depends in part upon investor perception of the quality of our justice delivery
system. If we are seen as inefficient and ineffective, we would lose out to
more efficient systems.
“The other point that I think must be made is that of
judicial integrity. There is, in my humble view, nothing as important as for
judges to be trusted for honesty and integrity. Men and women who have the
power over the lives and livelihoods of others are not like the rest of us, we
must place them on the highest scale of probity. I would like to urge that your
Lordships must not allow a few to undermine the respect and trust both local
and international that our Judiciary has built up in over a century of its
existence.
I am not unaware of the number of challenges slowing the
pace of transformation in our administration of the justice system. More needs
to be done to strike a sound balance between a high level of productivity, the
quality of judicial decisions, and careful consideration of cases.
“My administration,
through the Federal Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the National
Judicial Council, has been working towards the resolution of these challenges.
Some of the measures being taken include:
a. Development of strategic infrastructure that will provide
ease in case management, including electronic recording of proceedings to
replace the tedious longhand recording currently practised in the majority of
our courts. Advancements in courtroom technology (E-Court systems) have
increased the level of efficiency in the justice system in the areas of speed
of documentation, accuracy, security, and accessibility of records.
b. Enhanced welfare of judicial officers, especially in the
area of conditions of service – salaries, allowances, and retirement benefits
for Judicial Officers. Provision of comprehensive medical insurance. On this, I
wish to commend the National Judicial Council for the institution of the NJC
Health Insurance Programme, which provides comprehensive international
insurance for all members of the Federal Judiciary as well as comprehensive
local coverage within all the States of the Federation.”
He said these and other measures in the works are aimed at
standardising the courts, safeguarding the integrity of the Judiciary, and
attracting the best of legal minds to the bench.
“The Judiciary remains the last hope of the common man, it
exercises powers that affect lives and liberties. A trusted, well-resourced and
well-functioning Judiciary is therefore essential to the entrenchment of rule
of law.
“To maintain this revered position, and retain greater
public confidence by the citizens, the Judiciary must be independent of all
forms of interference and must maintain the highest level of responsiveness,
professional standards, and integrity. We will continue to partner with you in
ensuring that the Judiciary is financially independent; and effectively and
sustainably retains a preeminent position in the quality of jurists manning our
courts and the jurisprudence that develops from their collective premier
reasoning.
“My Lords, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I cannot end
this address without appreciating the proactive stance being taken by the
leadership of the Judiciary, My Lord the CJN, in tackling some of the recent
issues that emerged, especially in the area of conflicting court orders by
courts of coordinate jurisdiction; and My Lord’s disposition in revolutionizing
the process of selection and appointment of Judges.
“While wishing you successful deliberations, it is my
singular honour and privilege to formally declare the 2021 Biennial All Nigeria
Judges’ Conference, open.”
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