Appeal Court Promises Improved Performance In New Legal Year

The President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem has assured that her court would double its efforts to ensure prompt justice delivery in the course of the 2021-2022 new legal year.

Justice Dongban-Mensem said measures have been put in place to ensure the realisation of the objective with the review of the court’s rules, the appointment of more Justices and plan to further deploy technologies to aid the court’s operations.

She spoke in Abuja during the opening session of the second “Working Retreat and Annual Conference of the Court of Appeal.

“The court is keenly aware of its pivotal position in promoting international and domestic economic development through the timing and quality of its decisions,” she said.

Part of the measures intended to fast-track the court’s operations, she noted, informed the decision to review the court’s rules, which were equally launched at the event.

The rules include: The Court of Appeal Rules, 2021; the Court of Appeal Rules (Practice Direction on Costs) 2021; the Court of Appeal (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Rules 2021; the Court of Appeal (Fast Track) Practice Directions 2021; the Court of Appeal (Pre-Election, Election and Political Parties’ Leadership) Practice Directions 2021; and the Court of Appeal (COVID 19) Practice Directions & Guidelines 2021.

The PCA said the rules, which are products of extensive deliberations, ingenuity and considerable industry, seek to facilitate the speedy and thorough determination of all appeals before the Court of Appeal.

“The Rules are drafted to address present and emerging realities facing the Court, which demanded prompt action.

“The Court of Appeal Rules 2021 and attendant Practice Directions aim to transition the Court proactively towards a seamless system by introducing innovations such as electronic filing of all processes.

“The Rules further seek to facilitate a speedier, more efficient system by promoting electronic hearings and other innovations that will help bring justice closer to the people.

“The Rules further promote substantive justice and equip the parties and the court to better focus upon the dispute and not technicalities. In addition, the rules put the onus on learned counsel to be responsible for the conduct of their cases.

“The rules therefore inspire proactive, speedier justice delivery. The list of improvements is endless and I am sure all learned counsel will discover these innovations as they read the new rules.

“I am fully confident that the rules will make justice flow smoothly without the bottlenecks of opportunists who hitherto took advantage of loopholes to delay the course of justice,” she said.

The PCA, who urged all to familiarise themselves with the new rules, added that they (the new Court of Appeal Rules) are enacted to significantly speed up the access and dispensation of justice.

She added that the court was aware that when “justice delivery is slow, it negatively affects Nigeria economically and it is the citizens that are the victims who suffer its consequences.

“That is why our Practice Directions fast track matters that have an impact upon the wider economy such as taxation, debt recovery and other related matters so as to ensure that we positively impact the speed of economic activities.

“I therefore counsel all captains of industry and corporate bodies to recommend that their Legal Departments study the rules and tap into its endless possibilities for speedy dispute resolution, so as to further enhance their businesses and wider economy,” she said.

Justice Dongban-Mensem, who hailed Justices of the court for a job well done in the last legal year, said the court did well despite the many challenges the court encountered, including the corona virus pandemic.

“The learned Justices of the court, without exception, have worked incredibly to improve justice delivery this year. As a result, we have had a 26.47 per cent reduction in the total volume of cases pending in our divisions, as compared with last year.

“Similarly, despite a 51 per cent increase in the number of motions filed, we witnessed a 48 per cent increase in the number of motions disposed of by the panels over the course of this legal year.

“The court disposed of 5669 appeals and 10,798 motions as at the end of November 2021 and this is indeed creditable.

“Worthy of note is also the fact that a total of 528 judgments (16.97 per cent of the total number of judgments) were delivered via the Zoom online platform during the course of the 2020-2021 legal year. 10 hearings were also held by panels of the court using this forum.

“In the last two months, a further 40 judgments have been delivered via the Zoom platform,” she said.