Training, Retraining of Judges, an Impetus for Independence of Judiciary, says Senior Lawyer
A senior member of the Bar, Mr. Kehinde Eleja, SAN, has expressed the need to outsource training and retraining for Judges in Nigeria, to assert their independence and enable them meet the current challenges of the 21st century.
He also commended the progressing discourse of fundamental human rights across the globe, which he stressed was needed to protect the rule of law.
Eleja said this on Thursday in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, in a keynote address titled,' "Judicial Education and Training, as an Essential Element of Judicial Independence", which he delivered at the Judiciary Reform Cluster workshop on the Judiciary and socio-economic rights in Nigeria, held at the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin.
According to him, “it can be said that, an educated, well trained and an independent Judiciary, is a catalyst to rapid socio economic development of any country. Judicial education is therefore, a necessity in this wise”.
He said, “the crucial factor, is the belief that continuous training of Judges is required to reinforce the Judiciary, and also instil our belief in its independence.
"On the other hand, the nature of this training itself, could affect the independence of the Judiciary, if fully outsourced. This perhaps,
accounts for why the Nigerian Judicial Institute, is governed by members of the Judiciary itself.
“The address has however, brought out instances where learning from within alone could not go so far in assisting the Judiciary, particularly at the lower courts’ level and in complex technical cases".
He added that, “Judicial training could arguably be very expensive, if the coverage is to be complete on all Judges and Justices. The number of training programmes compared with the number of Judges and judicial officers, posses a great challenge of coverage”.
He also noted that, “in a recent address by a member of the Judiciary himself, the Judge confirmed that some judicial officers might not get to attend a training in a span of five years.
“This situation, can however, be salvaged, by mandating trained judicial officers to train others within their jurisdiction or reach, of the new innovations and/or techniques being used”.
He further noted that, “another way in which judicial training can be advanced, is to make specialised training available for judicial officers, at the level of each court. This should be done with the understanding that, courts have their own subject- matter jurisdiction”.
He stressed that, “training should therefore, be provided in the areas of law, peculiar to each court, such as Maritime Law for the Federal High Court, Industrial Law for the National Industrial Court, Workshops on Crimes prevalent in society, for the High Court and Magistrate Courts”.
He added that,” the make up of judicial training, could be structured in a way that the training is outsourced to a public institution like the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies,
or a sort of merger with the National Judicial Institute, with its control being handled by members of the Judiciary”.
He said, “this would in a way, create a much required balance in the belief in the Judiciary, and secure its independence. The advantage of outsourcing the training of judicial officers, is in the confidence that the judicial officers will get top notch training by professionals and scholars, who are up to date with developments in various areas of the law.
He noted that, since the Judiciary “is the last hope for common and uncommon people, there is a huge burden to ensure its independence”.
The senior Lawyer added that, “adequate dispensation of the roles of the Judiciary, especially in this century, requires not only good and knowledgeable Judges, but also a system of continuous training, to meet the demands of current realities”.
Earlier, former Dean of Law, University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Egbewole, SAN, said that the workshop was organised, so as to brain storm on the need to enhance the educational development of the Judges.
He however, said that, “at the end of the day, we are going to identify the challenges our Judiciary is currently facing, and probably proffer some solutions, principal among which, is the idea of the relationship between the Judiciary and other arms of government”.