Shun Practices not Advancing the Course of Justice, Law School DG Advices Lawyers
The Director General of the Nigeria Law School, Dr. Lanre Onadeko, SAN, has urged legal practitioners in the country, to shun practices that would not advance the course or cause of justice.
Onadeko said the conduct of Lawyers and Judges would affect public perception of the legitimacy of law and justice, adding that court orders or indulgences that impede the orderly administration of justice, ultimately affect justice.
The Law School DG, gave this advice last Friday, at the Lecture organised by the Law School Class of 1977, to mark the 40th Anniversary of their call to the Nigerian Bar.
Speaking on the topic: “We are Lawyers, We are Judges: Now Justice”, Onadeko who is also part of the set, said that in the light of the enormous powers and responsibilities entrusted to lawyers and judges by the Constitution, legal practitioners at the Bar or on the Bench, have both the legal and moral duties to ensure that justice pervades the society.
According to him, these obligations are further driven home, by the generality of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession, 2007, and the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers issued by the National Judicial Council.
He decried that some lawyers, in the seeming pursuit of the interest of their clients, neglect the fact that they are first and foremost, officers of the court, and must not delay, obstruct, or do anything that may adversely affect the administration of justice.
“It would appear that this desire, has affected our appreciation of our professional responsibilities to the cause of justice. The Lawyer’s obligation to ensure that justice is done, is paramount. Where there is conflict between his duty to the Constitution and justice, and his duty to his client, he must uphold the law even if the client’s instructions state otherwise. A lawyer’s duty to the court is superior to the duty to his client.
“It is trite that the administration of justice rests on two pillars: the Lawyer and the Judge.
“An advocate provides a service to his client. Above and beyond his duty to his client, is the obligation to make the legal system work in the interest of his community. In this sense, the Lawyer, like the Judge, is a social engineer. The success or failure of the machinery for the administration of justice is the Lawyers responsibility.
“A Judge is also Lawyer. A Judge assumes the role of Divinity, when he sits in his judicial capacity. Consequently, the stream of justice must not only be pure, it must be seen to be pure.
“The Supreme Court also appears to have taken a stand that pretentious invocation of fair hearing, should no longer be allowed to impede the course and cause of justice”, he stated.
According to Onadeko, courts are not only courts of law, they are courts of justice, adding that justice in this context means “legal justice” and not philosophical conceptions of justice.
“Even though the function of courts is legal justice, the purpose of Lawyers and Judges, ought not to be technical but substantial or real justice. Lawyers are reminded of the witty remark of late Niki Tobi, JSC, that the legal process should not be used by parties to score cheap points.
“The main purpose of criminal justice, is to ensure that the guilty do not escape justice, while the innocent do not suffer.
“Since the rule of law is the life blood of a democracy, the courts, as arbiters between citizens inter se, between citizens and the government, and between the executive and the legislative arm, must operate under the rule of law, full confidence, and unadulterated. The judiciary must not operate in fear, must not be silenced, and must justify its existence. Once a dispute is submitted to the judiciary, it is the duty of government to allow the law to run its course, or allow the legal and judicial process to run its full course.
“We have, as a group, been part of the legal landscape of our country for forty years now. Not unexpectedly, we have been fulfilling our expectations at the Bar and on the Bench. It is also significant that in our fold were colleagues, nationals of other jurisdictions, who have also achieved great heights in their countries. Having come so far, can we comfortably assert that we have seen satisfactory growth of law and justice, in the period since we became Lawyers? Is there much that we can still do now? Do we truly have time for more meaningful impact? These are issues for us to ponder about”, he said.
A panel, which was chaired by Chief (Dr.) Kole Abayomi, former Director General of the Nigerian Law School, also gave robust contributions to the topic.
The panelists included Professor Akin Oyebode, Professor of International Law and Jurisprudence at the University of Lagos, former Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Professor Ameze Guobadia, Mrs. Boma Ozobia and Mr. Ebun Adegboruwa.
For Professor Oyebode, lawyers are not really interested in justice; they are only interested in law, adding that there is a dichotomy between justice and law.
According to the Professor, perhaps the time is right for the Lady of Justice to remove the blind fold from her eyes, so she can see how lawyers now practice.
Adegboruwa on his part, believes that Nigerian lawyers and judges are doing very great, but that the executive arm is using all means to frustrate their efforts.
He put the bulk of the blame on other arms of government; the executive and legislature, adding the two other arms are deliberately frustrating the efforts of the Judiciary.
He cited underfunding as an example.
“A great number of lawyers practice law correctly, a greater number of judges interprets law well, but so many powers that are not comfortable with Law, are pulling them down.
“I believe the Executive arm of government, is deliberately making efforts to ensure that justice does not prevail, the executive is frustrating the justice system, because they are mostly affected by the judgements from the courts", he noted.