Enhancing Access to Justice in Nigeria with Judicial Case Management : An Evolving Norm in Common Law Countries

The fundamental purpose of a civil justice system is to provide its citizens facing legal disputes - the mechanisms - through which they can ably secure justice efficiently. Obstacles to access to justice in Nigerian civil justice system are challenging. These obstacles include: delays, cost of litigation, complex legal rules and procedure, lack of awareness and legal knowledge. The average duration of a trial, from the time of issue of summons to the point in time when a final judgment is delivered by the court is eight years, in many instances, beyond ten years. Almost all proceedings are subject to delays at all stages, primarily due to procedural rules exploited by parties in court proceedings. Delays escalate cost of litigation: time, cost of attorney's fees and other related expenses. The cost of accessing the justice system is prohibitive to most. Litigation is made less useful by the long delays and there is usually the possibility of the litigation cost exceeding the value of the subject matter of the legal action. The complex rules of procedures require citizens to seek the services of experts (attorneys) in almost all cases. It is the obligation of a civil justice system to guarantee that justice is fair and efficient as it can be for those who arrive there on their own. Citizens who choose to represent themselves should be enabled to effectively represent themselves. The aforementioned factors are impeding access to justice and there is a growing lack of public confidence in the justice system. Some common law countries with similar problems are exploring reforms measures in their respective legal systems with a shift away from the adversarial culture to judicial case management. This essay examines the problems inherent in Nigeria's civil justice system and explores novel approaches to remedy these shortcomings by analyzing civil justice reforms in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada. A comparative perspective can be helpful in the quest for a theory of the public good and right political order. This paper affirms that judicial case management if effectively administered provides a valuable tool in a nation's quest for a more efficient civil justice system that provides low cost and speedy trial - enhancing access to justice. This essay also advocates for the institutionalization of a case management regime in Nigeria's civil justice system