APPRAISAL OF JUDICIAL REFORMS TOWARDS AN EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN NIGERIA

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Law

ABSTRACT
Certain reforms had been put in place to address Nigeria’s quest towards an efficient administration of justice in the country. The reason for this quest is because there is the problem of undue delay in determining cases as a result of the legal processes being usually very slow and complex. Two major reforms carried out with the aim of addressing this problem had been the passing into law of the Administration of criminal justice Act (ACJA) 2015, and the Evidence Act 2011. In many instances, these laws had shown innovations that make for speedy disposal of cases at least when compared to their previous kindred legislations. The Administration of criminal justice Act (ACJA) 2015 for instance, merged the provisions of the two principal legislations governing criminal procedure in Nigeria; the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) into one principal federal Act which is intended to apply uniformly in all federal courts across the entire Federation and in respect of federal offences. The Act preserves the existing criminal procedures, but also introduces new innovative provisions. As one practical example amongst several discussed in this work, the Act clearly provides that trial of a defendant is to proceed from day-to day until the conclusion of the trial. This is clearly a new and innovative attempt to ensure speedy criminal trials. While the Act yet builds upon the existing framework of criminal justice administration in the country, it however, filled the gaps observed in these laws over the course of several decades. The Evidence Act 2011, on the other hand, repealed the old Evidence Act, Cap E14 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, which was basically the same with the Evidence Act 1943 which came into force on 1st June, 1945. The justice administrative system in the country got a big boost with the coming into operation of this Act which amongst other innovations as discussed in the research, makes the coast clear for the admission of digital and electronic evidence. The days are gone when such would be rejected on accounts that their admissibility were not provided for under the law. The research adopts both a doctrinal and teleological approach to research in analysing all the issues discussed in the research work. As observed by the researcher, notwithstanding these innovations, there are still noticeable areas of both prospects and challenges for justice administration in Nigeria. The prospects in Information and Communication Technology (I.C.T) to enhance an efficient justice administration cannot be denied. Certain delays or inconveniencies in the justice administrative system can be addressed using I.C.T. Similarly the challenge posed by Legal Pluralism, which exist as a result of the introduction of British laws into Nigeria to co-exist with the indigenous systems of customary and Islamic Laws, thereby producing a tripartite system of laws with all its complications, needs to be addressed. As posited by the researcher, what is both necessary and desirable to address this challenge is the need for a deliberate aim, especially at the national level, to foster the eventual harmonization of the principles of English Common Law and statutes with those of locally enacted laws and of Customary Law/Islamic Law into a general law for the whole country. The researcher concludes by recommending that as the society keeps changing at dazzling pace, the National Assembly must constantly review and update the laws. This is because we may soon find ourselves lagging seriously behind again, where reforms carried out no longer meet the needs of present or future realities of justice administration.

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                           
Title page i 
Declaration ii 
Certification iii 
Dedication iv 
Acknowledgement v 
Table of content vi-x 
Table of statutesxi 
Table of cases xii-xiv 
List of abbreviationsxv 
Abstractxvi

CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION                                  

11       Background to the Study 1

12       Statement of Problem  3

13       Aims and Objectives of the Study 4

14       Justification for the Study 4

15       Scope and the Research 5

16       Research Methodology 6

17       Literature Review 6

18       Organisational Layout 12
CHAPTER TWO

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS                               

21       Introduction 14

22       Judicial Reforms 14

23       Efficiency 15

24       Justice 16

25       Justice Administration  17

CHAPTER THREE

AN APPRAISAL OF THE NEW INNOVATIONS IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN NIGERIA


31       Introduction 19

32       New Innovations in the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 19

321    Prohibition of Unlawful Arrests 21

322    Mandatory Notification of Cause of Arrest and rights of the Arrested Person 22

323    Provision for Humane Treatment of an Arrested Person 23

324    Electronic Recording of Confessional Statement 23

325    Recording of statement of suspect 24

326    Prohibition of Arrest in Lieu 25

327    Prohibition of Arrest in Civil Cases 25

328    Mandatory Inventory of Property of Arrested Person 26

329    Mandatory Record of Personal Data of an Arrested Person   27
3210  Establishment of a Police Central Criminal Registry 28

3211    Establishment of Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee 29

3212   Quarterly Report of arrests to the Attorney-General of the Federation 30

3213   Monthly report by Police to supervising magistrate 31

3214   Returns by Comptroller-General of Prisons 32

3215   Provisions on Bail 32

3216   Provision as to Persons Authorised to Undertake Criminal Proceedings 35

3217   Plea Bargain 36

3218  Provision for Professional Bondsmen 40

3219   Electronic Record of proceedings 40

3220   Service of court processes by courier companies 41

3221   Provision Relating to Trial of Corporation 42

3222   Provision as It Relates To Women Sureties43

3223   Provision for Compensation to victims of crime 43

3224   Provision Relating to Sentencing 44

3225   Some Speedy Trials Enhancing Provision 46

33       New Innovations in the Evidence Act 2011 49

331    Hearsay Evidence and Exceptions 50

332    Admissibility of Illegally or Improperly Obtained Evidence 58

333    Character Evidence 60

334    Judicial Notice of Custom Based On a Single Previous Decision of a Superior

Court of Record 63

335     Oral Evidence of Tradition 65

336     Admissibility of Electronic or Computer-Generated Evidence 66

337     Expansion of the Definition of the words „Document? and „Computer? 71
338     Presumption Regarding Electronic Mails (e-mail) 74

339    Electronic Signature 74

3310  Documents Admissible In Other Countries 75

3311  Inadmissibility   of   Statements   Contained   In   Documents   Marked   Without

Prejudice76

3312  Recognition of Marriages Celebrated Under Customary and Islamic Laws for the

Purposes of Enjoying Testimonial Privileges 77

3313  Presumption of Marriage from Co-Habitation 79

3314  Evidence As To Affairs of State and Official Communications 79

3315  Power Of the Minister of Justice to Make Regulations 80

3316  Admission by Conduct 80

3317  Confessional Statements 81

3318  Special  Restrictions  In  Respect  Of  Permissible  Evidence  in  Trial  for  Sexual

Offences 83

3319  Exclusion of Evidence under the Evidence Act or Under Other Legislation84

CHAPTER FOUR

JUDICIAL REFORMS IN NIGERIA; PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES
41       Introduction 86

42       Prospect of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Justice

Administration in Nigeria 86

421    Text Creation, Storage and Retrieval 88

422    Case Management 91

423    Recording of Court Proceedings 92
424    Pitfalls in Acquisition and Deployment of ICT for efficient justice delivery in

Nigeria 94

43       The Challenge of Legal Pluralism in Nigeria 97

431    The Problems of Legal Pluralism 101

432    The Solution to the Problem of Legal Pluralism 104

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION                    

51       Summary 108

52       Findings 109

53       Recommendations 112

Bibliography 117

About e-Project Material Centre


e-Project Material Centre is a web service aimed at successfully assisting final year students with quality, well-researched, reliable, and ready-made project work. Our materials are recent, complete (chapter 1 to Minimum of Chapter 5, with references), and well-written. INSTANT ACCESS! INSTANT DOWNLOAD. Simply select your department, choose from our list of topics available, and explore your data.

Why Students Love to Use e-Project Material?


Guaranteed Delivery: Getting your project delivered on time is essential. You cannot afford to turn in your project past the deadline. That is why you must get your project online from a company that guarantees to meet your deadline. e-Project Topics Material Centre is happy to offer instant delivery of projects listed on our website. We can handle just about any deadline you send our way. Satisfaction Guaranteed: We always do whatever is necessary to ensure every customer's satisfaction.

Disclaimer


e-Project Topics Material Centre will only provide projects as a reference for your research. The projects ordered and produced should be used as a guide or framework for your own project. The contents of the projects should help you generate new ideas and thoughts for your own project. It is the aim of e-Project Topics Centre to only provide guidance by which the projects should be pursued. We are neither encouraging any form of plagiarism nor are we advocating the use of the projects produced herein for cheating.

Terms and Conditions


Using our service is LEGAL and IS NOT prohibited by any university/college policies. You are allowed to use the original model papers you will receive in the following ways:
  • As a source for additional understanding of the subject
  • As a source for ideas for your own research (if properly referenced)
  • For PROPER paraphrasing (see your university definition of plagiarism and acceptable paraphrase) Direct citing (if referenced properly)
Thank you so much for your respect to the author's copyright.

Refund and Privacy Policy


  • Refunds: All sales are final. However, if you encounter any issues with accessing your purchased material, kindly contact our support team for immediate resolution.
  • Privacy Policy: Your personal information is protected and will not be shared with third parties. We ensure secure payment processing and data confidentiality.

Contact Information


X

Need Help Finding or Downloading Your Project Material?

If you don't see the topic you're looking for or You need urgent/express attention, click the WhatsApp Icon/link below to contact ADMIN and get the material you need instantly. We are always available online to attend to your needs. Thanks