Lagos State Ministry of Justice, in partnership with Law Pavilion Business Solutions, has inaugurated an e-law platform to ease legal practice and make the state’s laws more available to the public.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), made this known during a press briefing on Wednesday in Ikeja.
According to Onigbanjo, the platform will also enhance effective and efficient administration of justice through the Law Reform Commission.
Onigbanjo noted that the commission was charged with the responsibility of publishing laws of Lagos State and other legislation, in electronic and print copies.
He said that the state entered into an agreement with Law Pavilion Business Solutions, a technology solutions provider, for publishing, distributing and viewing electronic judicial authorities, cases and laws.
Onigbanjo expressed the hope that the library project would give the state residents greater access to justice through dynamic law reforms and adherence to the rule of law.
He said that the agreement was for annotation of Laws of Lagos State and conversion of the laws on agreed texts and format for publication on the Law Pavilion electronic platform.
He said: “Today is a significant and proud moment in the ministry of justice.
It marks another frontier as all our laws are now available online.
“This means that the annotated Laws of Lagos State is available to the public, particularly to lawyers all over the world.
“Those who want access to the Laws of Lagos State have the option of either outright purchase of the entire laws or annual subscription through the Law Pavilion platform.’’
He said that Laws of Lagos State available on the platform were the 2015 Compendium and all laws of the state passed from 2015 to date.
He said that the electronically-published Laws of Lagos State would bring administration of justice in the state in line with international best practices, which encouraged technology as a major driver of legal initiatives.
In his address, the Managing Director of Law Pavilion Business Solutions, Mr Ope Olugasa, described the electronic publication of Laws of Lagos State as the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Olugasa said that the initiative would make it easy for judges, lawyers and others to have access to up-to-date laws of the state.
He said that the company developed annotations for about 265 Laws of Lagos State for use by judges and lawyers.
Olugasa, who noted that digitising legal practice would facilitate dispute resolution, said that speed of justice delivery in Lagos State had received a boost with the e-law library.
The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Law Reform Commission, Mrs Ninilomo Bashir, said at the event that the commission would soon translate Lagos State laws into Yoruba Language for ease of understanding.
She said that the laws would also be translated into other major languages.
