When in 2018, the Supreme Court, led by Walter Onnoghen, said beginning from July 2018, it would phase out manual filing and serving of process and ensuring that communication between judges, court staff and lawyers as well as between lawyers, would be through electronic means, it was hailed across board as the first step towards launching the judicial system finally into the 21st century world.
The Supreme Court went ahead to make good its promise going as far as initiating a campaign to design case management software intended for every court in Nigeria and a legal mail for all lawyers in Nigeria. The apex court said it will serve processes by electronic means (Legal Mail) on all matters. While the initiative was a first of its kind in Nigeria’s justice system, it has however not been cascaded to include every court.
BusinessDay visited the website of the Supreme Court http://supremecourt.gov.ng/, and could not access it because the server was down. A lawyer who wants to remain anonymous in order to speak freely, said while he is aware of the new Legal Mail service but is yet to access it, he has also not seen anyone who has used it. Several lawyers also confirmed they were unable to use it.
Most Nigerian courts have some of the most outdated work tools manned by secretaries and court clerks whose proficiency in technology paused with the typewriter machine and who are deeply entrenched in the minutiae of existing protocols. A recent visit to a magistrate court at Sabo Yaba, Lagos, revealed that most of the secretaries still use the typewriter machine for letters and other documents required of them.
The filing of process in lower courts like the high court and customary courts (courts of first instance) where cases begin, are still done by physical presentation at the registries. Even payment of cash and service through court bailiffs are all manually executed. Judges still write judgments with their hands.
Trust in the Nigerian judicial system is at an all-time low with lawyers and individuals frustrated by the extremely slow-pace of justice delivery in the space.
Apart from dragging legal matters far longer than they are expected, it is equally responsible for the near prohibitive cost of getting justice, it is very time consuming as well as supports the festering of corruption and the need for paper trail means there is always vital data missing in the end. Importantly, it is out of step with the internet society.
By embracing the internet, countries like Turkey for instance, have transformed the data aspect of the judicial system, resulting in faster service delivery, more transparent and cost efficient system. The Turkish UYAP e-judicial system which goes as far back as 2012 links together all judicial institutions in Turkey and it provides the possibility for the whole judicial process to be carried out through an electronic document flow. The system currently has 1.9 million users, and it has resulted in annual savings of approximately $100 million, as well as significant environmental benefits, as it allows for a virtual paperless working environment.
Australia is also considered a global leader in automating court documents and processes. The country has moved all administrative records in its various registries online.
While automating the Supreme Court may be the right step, it should be seen to be working and spiral down to the lower courts to make the filing process faster at every level.
“The next step should be a comprehensive case management system for courts and judges to help record proceedings, calendars for case updates, and for coordination between the various organs of the court,” said Enyiome Madubuike, a legal compliance advisor tech companies like Quidax and Korapay.
Beyond cascading the automation is the burden of convincing lawyers and court clerks of the need to give up their old ways of doing things and embracing digitalization. Part of the challenge is that the old ways sustains a system of bribery and corruption in the judiciary. To get a case file to move faster and be assigned to a particular judge, lawyers often have to bribe the clerks and secretaries. They also get to ‘motivate’ the bailiffs to serve processes.
Training can also be an issue, as it requires judges and lawyers who may already be overstretched to take time out. There can also be capacity problem. With these in mind, companies like eBay and Nominet have developed solutions such as online dispute resolution systems that have inspired some countries to replace the physical courtroom with a judicial service operated over the internet.
Automation may also be a two-edged sword according to Samuel Eleanya, founder of LawNigeria, a legal research firm.
“It has demonstrable potential to speed up justice delivery where there is already a culture that attaches severe consequences for abuse of judicial processes,” he said. “Delay in movement of cases through the court is down to many factors but one of the heavy hitters is the physical overwhelming of judges with ‘motions’ and ‘mentions’ connected to cases that are never decided substantively a large number of which as frivolous, merely initiated to annoy or blockade perceived opponents or fish for information or stampede a desirable outcome; instead of to seek redress that could not be obtained through other legitimate means like alternative dispute resolution.”
