The news that filing of documents and communications within the Supreme Court will henceforth be done electronically is a welcome development. According to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, at the launch of the project recently:”A major component of the policy being implemented is the unique legal e-mail system, which will serve as a means of communication between judges, court staff and lawyers, as well as between lawyers.”
The transition of judiciary from manual to electronic filing is long overdue and should be pursued with utmost vigour, across jurisdictions. Apart from being fast and quick, a robust and rigorous electronic platform will ensure tracing of communications. We believe that if practitioners know that they can only communicate on the platform and that what they write can be traced to them; they will be more transparent in their work.
We therefore agree with the observation of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, through his representative at the event, Mr Abiodun Aikomo, that “the problems associated with the manual management of documents within our court system certainly contribute to the less-than-ideal speed and efficiency of litigation processes in Nigeria.” In this country, records of courts proceedings have been reported missing, to the embarrassment of the judiciary.
We also urge the executive and the legislature at the federal and state levels to provide the required funding to ensure an efficient transition to the new platform, and for the judiciary to make the entire process seamless. Since by our constitution, matters could move from the federal and state high courts to the Court of Appeal and then to the Supreme Court, it is important that all levels of courts get adequate funding for this laudable project.
Nigerians look forward to the CJN fulfilling the promise “to replicate this success in all other courts in the near future as the Nigerian judiciary is committed to employing cutting-edge technology to enhance justice administration and providing citizens with the justice system they deserve; one that is transparent, fast and accessible.” This can only happen if the other two arms of the tripod agree to cooperate by funding the project.
Part of the challenge electronic means of communication will resolve is the issue of transparency in courts. While generally enhancing transparency of judicial officers, the statutory and other committees set up by the judiciary to monitor the judicial process will have a better handle on investigating any alleged infraction. Even when a judge is accused of untoward conduct, with respect to how a matter is handled, the investigating agencies of government can access the trajectory of the case to help determine the veracity of such accusation.
The new system will also ensure that where a decision or judgment is reached the process of filing an appeal, if undertaken, is seamless, as the records of appeal can easily be compiled and sent to the appellate court electronically. The present system requires manual compilation of the records of proceedings at the lower court, and there are instances where some of the records are alleged to have been compromised or lost. When the electronic system is fully functional across the courts, parties will be confident that it is what they filed that will be sent as record of appeal.
Of note, the legal e-mail will strictly be for members of the bar and bench, and such practitioners must subscribe to it, in other to have access.
We commend the Chairman of the Judicial Information Technology Committee, Justice Kashim Zannah, who is also the Chief Judge of Borno State, and urge all stakeholders to quickly key into the project for the overall benefit of our country.
