Njurisdiction of courts in nigeria pdf free download

The court of appeal rules, 2007 is hereby repealed. Jurisdiction of court issue of where raised duty on court to deal with timeously. Some tribunals exercise quasijudicial functions, and do not possess the full judicial powers of a court. It gives us an insight into the historical background and development of customary courts in nigeria, which started with the native. Jurisdiction magistrates court criminal proceedings brought by an individualconditions precedent to the exercise of jurisdiction by magistrates court.

The jurisdiction to try offences depends on the type of offence i. What began as an exercise in defining the jurisdiction of the nigerian federal high court over fundamental human rights has now turned into a well established principle that nigerian courts will. These courts being close to the grassroots, citizens, can safely be referred to as grassroots courts. The court of appeal is given both original and appellate jurisdictions under the constitution. This constitution abolished the british monarch, queen elizabeth ii, as the nigerian head of state, and instead made provision for a president, with a fiveyear term in office, who would be elected directly by the members of nigeria s federal legislature the national assembly and the house of reps via a secret ballot poll. The appellate court in dismissing the appeal held that the trial court had the jurisdiction since the initial element of the offence was carried out in nigeria. 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. Jurisdiction without being statutorily empowered to do so. Nigerian courts, like other courts in democratic nations.

Welcome to the official website of federal high court. Edefe ojomo november 2012 4 all tribunals are courts. This section contains free ebooks and guides on law books, some of the resources in this section can be viewed online and some of them can be downloaded. The practice and procedure of the court shall be as prescribed by these rules notwithstanding any written law or rule of practice to the contrary obtaining in any of the. Below are the 8 hierarchy of courts in nigeria explained. The nature, types and jurisdiction of customary courts in. The judicial powers of the federation and of states are vested in courts established by section 6 of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 1999 as amended and other courts established for the federation by an act of the national assembly or in case of states, law made by the relevant state house of assembly. Court of appeal act no 7 of 2016 national assembly. Procedurally, jurisdiction of court does not exist in vacuum. The court was renamed the federal high court by section 228 1 and 230 2 of the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1979. Download administration of criminal justice law of lagos state.

You can print any form for free and fill it out by hand, or many courts offer forms available to. In nigeria, the jurisdiction of the nic is a product of several enactments. Customary courts to hear and determine matters over persons subject to native laws and customs prevailing in the areas of their jurisdiction. The term civil matters means a dispute between individuals or between individuals and government or between governments, the result of which maybe the a. Original jurisdiction of supreme court limited to justiciable disputes between the federation and a state actions instituted in 3 state high courts against federal electoral commission declaration that state high court has no original jurisdiction to entertain legal proceedings involving disputes between the. These rules may be cited as the court of appeal rules, 2011 and shall come into force on the 1st day of april 2011.

The federal revenue court as federal high court was then called was established by the federal revenue act 1973 1973 no. 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. D the writ rule, which applies in nigeria by virtue of the injunctions on courts to exercise concurrent jurisdiction with english courts,2 permits suits to be maintained against persons who have no other connection. For instance, by section 2 of the area courts edict, 1967 as applicable in the northern states provides that. The magistrates courts civil procedure rules arrangement of rules order 1 commencement of proceedings rules 1. A critical study of the exercise of jurisdiction of. Foreign jurisdiction clause principles governing when a nigerian court will order a stay of proceedings in an action in favour of a foreign court as provided in a foreign jurisdiction clause in a contract. List of justices of the supreme court and the court of appeal. Scn past indigeneous chief justice of nigeria from 1958 to date. Jurisdiction of high court of former western state section 9i high court law cap. The court of appeal act, 2016 arrangement of sections part i preliminary provisions section 1. High court of the federal capital territory, abuja civil.

Interpretation part ii constitution, jurisdiction and general powers of the court 3. Jurisdiction of court determination of what court considers. It was established to entertain appeals from both federal high and state high courts in nigeria. Section 2321 of cfrn 1999 provides for the establishment of the supreme court. Cessation of application the high court civil procedure rules, 1988 of the defunct bendel state of nigeria shall cease to apply to edo state. The apex or number one court in nigeria is the supreme court of nigeria. It is the role of these courts in the nigerian legal system that this article sets out to examine. 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.

Administrative appeals tribunal act 1975 australia. The administrative personnel of the courts file and keep registers and documents in compliance with. Court of trial given a discretion to exerciserecord must show that court was aware of this power and took the step it took in exercise of such power. The court of appeal rules, 2011 in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 248 of the constitution of the federal republic nigeria, 1999, and by virtue of all powers enabling me in that behalf, i, isa ayo salami ofr president, court of appeal, hereby. Practitioners called to the bar in nigeria are entitled, regardless of conferment, title or rank, to appear in any court in the state. An introduction for judges and judicial united states courts. Selfrepresented litigants should check with their local courts to find out whether the court in their county will accept these forms. The counter claim was, however, dismissed and there has been no appeal against the order. Nigeria police academy, wudil, kano state, nigeria email. Accordingly, the court of appeal was created in 1976.

In any event, it should have been brought by way of a crossaction. Civil jurisdiction refers to the adjudicatory powers exercisable by courts over civil matters. For example, only the h igh court of a state in nigeria has jurisdiction over the subject matter of. Hierarchy structure of courts in kenya explains judicial courts at the federal level and the state level has its own set of functions and. Sharia and customary court of appeal of a state supreme court of nigeria this is the highest in the hierarchy of courts in nigeria.

Jurisdiction casesjudgments of nigerian courts lawnigeria. See order 20, rule 4 high court rules western nigeria. This means that no appeal can be heard regarding matters decided by the supreme court before any other nigerian court. The office of the state court administrator has prepared family law forms for optional use by local courts. The supreme court was later given jurisdiction on matters relating to state and federal laws. Conventional method of justice delivery in nigerian courts it is pertinent to state that the judicial proceeding starts long before a case reaches the courtroom. A b in loba v akereja 4 in the south east and southsouth i would discuss the jurisdiction of customary courts in anambra state and in the southsouth, the jurisdiction of customary courts in rivers state jurisdiction is the life blood of any adjudication. Although the need was noted during the constitutional conference leading. An overview of the jurisdiction of sharia courts page 5 in nigeria, area and sharia courts owe their jurisdiction to state laws establishing them. Subject to the provisions of any enactment, civil proceedings may be begun by writ, originating summons, civil proceedings originating motion or petition, or any other method required by other rules of court governing. By company rescue an administrator is appointed by the court to control all the companys assets in an attempt to achieve the purpose of the administrative order.

Under the constitution of nigeria, the court of appeal is established as a court for the entire federation. It is also an intermediate or appellate tribunal between the supreme court of nigeria and other tribunals. If an administration order is made, the company has a breathing space from any winding. High court of the federal capital territory, abuja civil procedure rules. The customary court law of ondo state is one such law. Accordingly, it is ordered that the judgement and order for costs made by the high court western nigeria in suit i19559. The basis of jurisdiction of nigerian courts is the constitution of the federal republic of nigeria. Every area court shall exercise the jurisdiction conferred upon. Its jurisdiction is the highest and most important in the country. 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. For this reason, court s authority or jurisdiction is a product of constitution or other specific statutes. The magistrate court law of the lagos state 1994 regulates the jurisdiction of the magistrate courts in lagos state to try and impose punishment.