It began functioning in 1963 after nigeria was declared a federal republic, following the setting of a constitution which became. The formal court system in kenya is firmly entrenched in the constitution of kenya, 20101 which, by dint of article 1591, vests judicial authority in courts and tribuhals established by or under the constitution and the principles guiding the courts are set out under article 159 2. A few countries with significant muslim minority populations have experimented with various ways of integrating sharia into their legal systems, often. The court of appeal has the original jurisdiction to the exception of all other courts in nigeria to determine and hear any question as to whether any person has been validly voted to the office of the governor or deputy governor, the president or vicepresident in nigeria. Northern nigeria was the closest to the modern court system that we have today in different parts of the world. The constitution of nigeria is the supreme law of the country. Native courts will remain at the bottom of the judicial hierarchy. The law of nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. The role of customary courts in nigeria in searchworks catalog.
Appeals from each of the regional high courts went to the federal supreme courts, while that from customary or native courts grade a. The nigerian courts of appeal are the intermediate appellate courts of the nigerian federal court system. List of federal high court divisions headquarters, includes all federal courts in all states of nigeria. Nigeria has a wellstructured hierarchy of courts as earlier adumbrated. List of nigeria federal high court divisions headquarters. Morocco, nigeria, papua new guinea, romania, saudi arabia, serbia, syria. Olong adefi is a barrister and solicitor of the supreme court of nigeria. Hierarchy structure of courts in kenya explains judicial courts at the federal level and the state level has its own set of functions and. There are four distinct legal systems in nigeria, which include english law, common law, customary law, and sharia law. The hierachical structure of the kenyan courts and the. In nigeria, the 1999 constitution as amended divides the structure of government into three arms the legislative. The independent states created during the apartheid era established superior courts in their territories. The judiciary does not operate in vacuum, but within the framework of a. At the bottom of a typical structure are local courts that have authority only in specific matters and jurisdictions e.
The lagos state judiciary has a hierarchy of courts from high courts to magistrates courts to customary courts each with its own rules of court. Young businesses typically have a simple managerial hierarchy made up of one level alone, usually occupied by the owner. In terms of the new constitution, the existing provincial and local divisions of the erstwhile supreme court including the courts in the tbvc states were renamed high courts, and the appellate division was reestablished as the. For many years this has remained one of my popular taught courses, and has been downloaded by people around the world over 12,000. The nigerian court of appeal is the next court in the hierarchy of courts in nigeria. This article iden tifies the main problems of access to courts in nigeria on the basis of a survey of 154 nigerian legal pra ctitione r s, an analysis of nigerian court cases and two field trips. Nigeria is a federal republic consisting of 36 states and a federal capital territory. Too funny not to pass on how do court reporters keep straight faces.
In principle, customary and shariah courts have jurisdiction only if both plaintiff and defendant agree, but fear of legal costs, delays, and distance to alternative venues. The principles of judicial precedent and hierarchy of courts are primary and basic parts of our legal system with the supreme court of nigeria at the zenith of the court system. The court of appeals decides appeals from the district courts within the federal judicial system, and in some instances from other designated federal courts and administrative agencies. From these two perspectives, he provides a full introduction to the nigerian legal system. The judiciary and the role of customary courts in nigeria udosen jacob idem ph. Constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999. Read through the list below to understand the structure of the nigerian legal system and the types of courts in nigeria. The federal high court is one of the highest courts in nigeria and has a division in kaduna which functions to exercise jurisdiction and powers in respect of criminal causes and matters.
Judicial system in nigeria commonwealth governance. A comparative analysis of the court structures in nigeria and south. The author is both a practitioner within the nigerian legal system and is a lecturer in law. Types of court in nigeria and their functions legit. The topic administration of justice in nigerian courts, problems and prospects seems to attract to itself the attention and inquisitiveness on the part of the common man or every believer in the rule of law of what the writer is talking about or what he is going to upon since the mere mention of justice in our society today raises a conjecture and thereafter suffers from. Below are the 8 hierarchy of courts in nigeria explained. High court of justice complex, sapele road, benin city, nigeria. Achievements, challenges and prospects a case study of lagos state ministry of justice, largest undergraduate projects repository, research works and materials.
Family structure in nigeria by diana verni on prezi. Abdulfatah kola makinde is a lecturer in the department of religious studies, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, osun state. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 may 1999. Amongst topics covered are branches and institutes of the system, functions, classifications, sources, english law, doctrines of equity, statutes in england and those extended to nigeria, nigerian legislation. Find addresses, telephones, contacts and locations. Judiciary and democracy, issues in contemporary nigerian society aver, tyavwase theophilus. Nigeria runs the adversarial system of court proceedings. Civil jurisdiction refers to the adjudicatory powers exercisable by courts over civil matters. D former chief magistrate, akwa ibom state judiciary, nigeria lecturer, school of continuing education, law diploma programme, university of uyo, nigeria facilitator, school of law, national open university of nigeria, uyo study centre. The independent sharia panel of lagos state abdulfatah kola makinde, philip ostien.
The supreme court is the most powerful court among state courts. Nigeria overview customs and culture diet and recipes language religion students life interesting facts people government politics geography economy news weather history photos video travel sources home activities united states edition spanish edition french edition german edition sample country glossary. In its operation in nigeria, the decision of the supreme court being the apex court in the country binds all the lower courts even. Find list of best courts in nigeria with their name, address, contact phone number and other information on vconnect. Cases in those courts are only heard by those authorized by law to hear them e. In 1967, nigeria became a federation of 12 states each with its own state judiciary. The supreme court does not have original jurisdiction on any criminal matter and finally, it has jurisdiction to the exclusion of any other court in nigeria to hear and determine any appeal from the court of appeal. Nigeria were amalgamated, provincial courts were abolished and in its place were established high courts which consisted of chief judges, judges and assistant judges. This sociopolitical development of the country, coupled with.
With the supreme court of nigeria being the final court of. The constitution guarantees the independence of the judiciary and permits the exercise of sharia law for consenting muslims. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books, media, journals, databases, government documents and more. Appellate jurisdiction in respect of criminal and civil cases decided by subordinate courts. Abstract the doctrine of judicial precedent or stare decisis is hinged on the fact that the principle of law on which a court bases its facts, or issues before it must be followed by courts lower in hierarchy and may be followed by a court of coordinate jurisdiction or a court which is higher in hierarchy in future similar cases. The federal government of nigeria is composed of three distinct branches. Law of nigeria wikipediathe law of nigeria consists of courts. English law in nigeria is derived from the colonial nigeria, while. Download undergraduate projects topics and materials accounting, economics, education. Hierarchy of courts in nigeria pdf 11 download 3b9d4819c4 hierachy of courts the jet lawyerhierarchy of courts the hierarchy of courts is the arrangement of courts in the method there is only one court of appeal in nigeria but it has different divisions. The supreme court of nigeria scn, is the highest court in nigeria, and is located in the central district, abuja, in what is known as the three arms zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the presidential complex, the national assembly, and the supreme court. As a business grows, it adds employees and additional management, and a true hierarchy emerges.
The term civil matters means a dispute between individuals or between individuals and government or between governments, the result of which maybe the award of damages, compensation, declaration of rights or prerogative or equitable remedies. Before joining the bank, she was deputy director of the international division. Sharia, an arabic word translated as way or path, is the code of conduct or religious law in islam, and has been the subject of a number of recent hate rallies and growing prejudice against muslims in the u. Its jurisdiction is the highest and most important in the country. Courts of the first instance include magistrate or district courts, customary or traditional courts, shariah courts, and for some specified cases, the state high courts. Lower courts bound by decisions of higher courts 2 the. Your use of this heinonline pdf indicates your acceptance of heinonlines. The coursework on the structure and jurisdiction of the ghanaian courts will help you understand how the courts work. Hierarchy of courts in nigeria the author is both a practitioner within the nigerian legal system and is a. He is also a member of the independent sharia panel of osun state. There was a court system in which subordinate chiefs or alkalis headed courts in the different districts or zones and the emir had appellate jurisdiction or.
It is a plain truth that nigerian courts of justice have varying operational difficulties, ranging. The apex or number one court in nigeria is the supreme court of nigeria. Inspector of native courts, ministry of justice, northern nigeria, 19631965. The supreme court is presided over by the chief justice and has up to 15 justices. The chief registrar of the high court of lagos state is the head of administration. In nigeria, the presiding judge is both a judge of facts and the law. Doc the structure and jurisdiction of the courts osei. For the high court, the current rules are the high court of lagos state civil procedure rules 2004. Each has a superior court with unrestricted jurisdiction within the territory in question.
The system of courts the basic structure of the courts in all the territories under discussion is the same. Hierarchy of court in nigeria law repository nigeria. The 8 hierarchy of courts in nigeria explained nigerian. Human and peoplesrights has no legs to stand on its own under the nigerian law. Introduction the establishment of a customary court system of adjudication in nigeria has been largely promoted and applauded as a simple, affordable.
Court hierarchy article about court hierarchy by the. Courts, area courts and customary courts in the various states where applicable. A valuable explanation is given of words and maxims used in the nigerian legal system, and an index. This means that no appeal can be heard regarding matters decided by the supreme court before any other nigerian court.
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