Restoring Faith in the Judiciary

Overview of AJ's Judicial Integrity and Independence Programme

Introduction
“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions”
(J. Rawls, A theory of Justice, 1971)

Since its founding in 1999, Access to Justice (AJ) has assiduously engaged efforts, through its Judicial Integrity and Independence Programme (JIIP), towards restoring the institutional integrity and autonomy of Nigeria’s judicial system and enhancing its capacity to adjudicate disputes independently, efficiently and speedily. This programming focus became imperative as the judicial system had been substantially compromised during the long blistering years of military rule preceding the 1999 transition to a democratic government in Nigeria. Under this programme, AJ works to combat corruption, restore ethics, independence and accountability within the judicial system, and campaign for the introduction and use of technological aids to ease administrative and adjudicative processes. AJ’s efforts in this direction have found expression through various projects and publication, which are summarily discussed below.
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Publications
The Justice Observatory Journal (JOJ)
To date, AJ, with support from Ford Foundation, has published 5 editions of the ground breaking advocacy series, The Justice Observatory Journal (JOJ). The journal provides objective yet indepth reports and insightful analyses of issues concerning ethics, transparency and the independence of the judges, and sets out to attack corruption in justice administration, reinforce values of judicial independence by disseminating information of threats to the independence and autonomy of justice institutions, and mobilizing action against such threats.

Praise for JOJ
The 5 published editions of the journal have inspired series of commendations from different corners of the justice community. One of Nigeria’s most respected jurists and a retired Justice of Nigeria’s Supreme Court, Aniagolu, JSC described AJ’s judicial integrity work as “… a crucial job for the emancipation of this country – you are our mouth piece in this [regard]

.  - Hon Justice Anthony Aniagolu JSC (rtd)

Another revered jurist, Hon. Justice M.M.A Akanbi (rtd), former Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), commending the journal described it as “very educative and informative”, and also said that the “ journal came at a time when hands must be on deck to safeguard judicial integrity.”

   -Hon. Justice M.M.A Akanbi, JCA (rtd)

Also, Iain Byne, Senior Lawyer, International Center for the Legal Protection of Human rights (Interights), London, described JOJ as an “excellent and innovative publication” which provides “a fascination insight into the thoughts and work of the judiciary”.

Selected JOJ Campaign Report: Wading Through Troubled Waters in Abia State Judiciary
AJ took its campaign for probity in the administration of justice to Abia State (eastern Nigeria) when, sometime in 2002, five Registrars of the State Judiciary (hereafter refered to as the CRAN 5) were victimized, unlawfully suspended without pay and later sacked for exposing the malfeasance, corruption and gross misconduct of the then Chief Judge of the State, Justice K.O. Amah. For almost 37 months, AJ arduously campaigned for the vindication of the CRAN 5 and for the National Judicial Council’s (NJC) intervention to salvage the deteriorated judicial machinery in Abia state. A breakthrough came at last on Monday 3, July 2006, when Justice Amah was removed from office and a new Chief Judge was sworn in, who finally reinstated the CRAN 5 to their various offices with full benefits on Tuesday 14, November 2006. In a letter of appreciation to AJ dated 20th December 2006, the CRAN 5 stated that “[W]hen we were thrown out of our jobs for pursuing the legitimate cause of the less privileged workers of the Abia State Judiciary, you doggedly stood by us…. We thank the Almighty Father for using you to midwife our recall to our jobs.” Fuller details of this story are reported in the 3, 4 and 5 editions of JOJ.

Balance of Justice
As part of its efforts to improve performance in justice administration and promote judicial accountability, Access to justice initiated a performance-related monitoring exercise at the Federal High Court (Lagos) in January 2005, the objectives of which were to track current developments at the Federal High Court and to promote efficiency in Justice administration by increasing public scrutiny of the Court and its processes. After the thorough court-monitoring exercise, AJ published a report of its findings under the titled “Balance of Justice: An exploratory Report on the Performance of Judges of the Federal High Court Lagos”. In July 2006, AJ undertook yet another round of monitoring to reassess the efficiency of the administrative machinery in the same judicial division under focus. This follow-up exercise was also published under the title “Balance of Justice: A second Report”.

Praise for Balance of Justice
Hon Justice E.O. Ayoola JSC (rtd), Chairman ICPC, commending AJ’s court monitoring project, described it as “… a very critical step forward in ensuring judicial accountability”.

 - Hon Justice E.O. Ayoola JSC (rtd)

Justice Advocacy Series
Following its memorandum to the Constitutional Reform Conference, submitted in 2005, urging for radical changes to be made to existing procedures of appointing and dismissing judges, Access to Justice, published the Justice Advocacy Series No. 01 “Making Bricks with the Right Straw: Why We Must Reform Procedures of Judicial Recruitment and Discipline in Nigeria”. In this publication, AJ argued that the current procedures of appointment suffered from major weaknesses of denial and exclusion, do not get sufficient background information of judicial nominees and facilitate executive control of Judicial Service Commissions which play a vital part in the judge’s appointment process. AJ further canvasses for reform of procedures of judicial recruitment and discipline in Nigeria and made recommendations which, if implemented, will considerably shore up the safeguards that protect the Judiciary’s independence and strengthen the Judiciary’s own ethic of transparency and accountability.

Reforming for Justice
In 2007, Access to Justice undertook a review of the progress Nigeria had made towards reforming the justice sector since the transition to democracy in 1999 and thereafter published a report titled, “Reforming for Justice: A Review of Justice Sector Reforms in Nigeria 1999-2007”. This report evaluated the strength/weakness of the reform efforts in various thematic areas of the justice landscape, outlined what remains to be done, and made suggestions on ways the remaining challenges can be engaged, and dealt with, in as strategic, dynamic, and timely a manner as possible. The book was distributed cost-free to a broad variety of policy-makers in the justice system.

Selected Commendations for Reforming for Justice
The book, Reforming for Justice, was well received by stakeholders in Nigeria justice sector. Their comments speak for themselves:

“… the book has covered relevant issues which the NJI [National Judicial Institute] will find as a good resource for its Training Programmes.” - Mrs. P.M. Ayua, Director of Studies, National Judicial Institute

“It was very kind of you to have done so much work on “Reforming for Justice” especially at this time that the Justice sector is facing enormous challenges. May I, therefore, assure you that my committee will utilize your research materials in its efforts to design a positive reform programme for our justice sector.” - Senator Umaru Dahiru, Chairman, Senate Committee on judiciary, Human Rights and Legal matters

“I commend your effort on the pioneer work in the documentation of justice sector Reforms in Nigeria and hope it would assist policy makers and activists in future efforts at Justice sector Reforms.” - Mrs. K. F. Ajoni, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission

“ This is an authoritative compendium of essays covering about seven years of reform work in the justice sector … I congratulate Access to justice for this veritable reform tool…” - Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, President, Nigeria Bar Association

“… a historical document and a road map for the future…”  – Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, SAN, Former Attorney General of Lagos State

“… this project is thoughtfully conceived…. I find this project report excellent and invaluable….” – Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, Director, Africa Program, Open Society Justice Initiative

Other Programmes
Revision of Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules
Access to Justice (AJ) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) are working together, in collaboration with other stakeholders, to review the current Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules and make proposals for reform to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). The CJN, Hon. Justice I.L. Kutigi has, through a letter dated 22nd February, accepted to receive proposals towards reform of the rules, and has asked that all stakeholders be involved in the review process.  The Rules, which came into force in 1980, have not been revised since then. AJ has embraced this opportunity to make a significant contribution towards insuring that Nigeria has a better set of procedural rules for enforcing fundamental rights through the courts. The review process was made as inclusive, participatory and clinical as possible and a research team was also commissioned to study the challenges associated with enforcing fundamental rights with the current rules. AJ and NBA are presently preparing their proposals and the final draft rules for presentation to the CJN.

  - Hon. Justice I.L. Kutigi, JSC (CJN)

Judgement/Order Registry Compliance Programme
As part of its efforts to enhance respect for the rule of law in Nigeria, maintain the authority of the courts, and ensure Federal and State governments adhere faithfully to the prevailing rule of law policy in Nigeria, Access to Justice is partnering with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to launch a Judgement/Order Compliance Registry Programme (JOCRP). This programme is specially designed to enable the NBA confront impunity to court orders by ensuring that all court judgments, orders and directives are complied with at all levels, and among the different branches and departments of government. The NBA has already mandated the establishment of a Judgment Registry in all of its 88 local branches and efforts are in top gear to ensure the successful implementation of this programme.

  - Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, President, NBA