Posted by Today.Ng
The Supreme Court said last Friday that it would phase out manual means of
filing and serving court papers by July 2018.
It also said communication between
judges, court staff and lawyers as well as between lawyers, would only be
through electronic means.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria and
Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Justice Walter Onnoghen, while
announcing the new policy in Abuja on Friday, said a legal e-mail platform had
been put in place to replace the manual system.
The CJN said this during the formal
presentation of the newly ‘retrofitted court and the legal e-mail system’.
The event held in the retrofitted
court, in the Supreme Court complex, Abuja.
According to the CJN, all lawyers must
acquire the ‘legal e-mail’ to be able to prosecute cases before the apex court
as from July 16, 2018.
Justice Onnoghen said lawyers who had
acquired the legal e-mail could immediately start using the legal e-mail for
communicating electronically with the court and with one another.
He, however, said the legal e-mail
would become the mandatory means of communication, filing and service of court
processes at the Supreme Court at the end of the deadline.
He, therefore, directed that processes
to be filed before the Supreme Court must bear the lawyer’s legal e-mail
address.
He said, “I would like to implore al
judges and lawyers to join us on this quest for excellence by subscribing to,
and acquiring the legal e-mail, as manual forms of communication with the
Nigerian courts will soon be phased out.
“Henceforth, lawyers who have acquired
the legal e-mail can now communicate electronically with courts and with each
other.
“However, by July 16, 2018, it becomes
mandatory.
“The Supreme Court will only serve
processes by electronic means (legal mail) on all matters.
“Hence, all new filings as from July
16, 2018 must bear counsel’s legal e-mail address.”
According to Justice Onnoghen, the new
legal e-mail is a major component of the policy being pursued through the
Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee inaugurated in 2012 by a
former CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, who died recently.
He said the policy was put in place to
enhance justice delivery in the Nigerian court.
He said legal e-mail would ensure
“seamless exchange of information electronically within the judicial ecosystem”
and would be replicated in all Nigerian courts”
He said, “We intend 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.
“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.”
He also said that in the desire “to
automate the Nigerian judiciary”, the Nigerian Case Management System had been
developed and deployed.
The Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), and the President of the
Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), also hailed the new policy
and urged lawyers to key into it to enhance the nation’s justice delivery
system.
Malami, who was represented by one of
his aides, Mr. Abiodun Aikomo, said the legal e-mail project “will open the
door to a silent, but long overdue revolution in the practice of law in
Nigeria.”
Malami, who was represented by Aikomo,
added that the legal profession could not afford to remain “in an analogue
state with all its intractable drawbacks” when “global activities” were
becoming increasingly electronically-driven”.
He said the legal profession could not
afford to be left behind when “systems and operations are becoming increasingly
digitalised across various sectors of the economy such as oil and gas,
taxation, banking and finance and other critical sectors”.
He added, “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.
“This initiative is, therefore, a
positive development and should contribute to our collective efforts to develop
a more efficient and humane legal system.”
The Chairman of the Judicial
Information Technology, Justice Kashim Zannah, who is also the Chief Judge of
Borno State, said the legal e-mail system was different from the “traditional
freely available web-based e-mails”.
He said the legal e-mail was only “for
members of the bar and bench” aimed at addressing information management and
communication which he said was a major problem facing Nigerian courts.
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