Stakeholders in the administration of Justice have been urged to collectively hold all judicial officers in the country to a strict observance of code of conduct to ensure effective Justice administration.
The immediate past Chief Judge of Kwara State, Justice Sulyman Kawu, gave the charge while delivering a lecture on ‘Examining the Process of appointment of Judicial Officers as a means of achieving effective and Efficient Administration of Justice in Nigeria’ at the quarterly roundtable Discussion of Adebayo Adelodun and Co Law Office.
According to him, stakeholders should shine their eagle eyes not only when the process of appointment is ongoing but also post appointments.
He said the calibre of people appointed to sit in judgment over fellow men, had a profound effect on the image of the Judiciary and also on the effectiveness of Justice administration and sustenance of the rule of law in democratic governance.
Justice Kawu added that the image of the judiciary is determined by what judicial officers
do in the performance of their duties, adding that ordinary citizens would build up on their image, based on what Judicial officers are doing in their courts.
He called on Judicial officers to be authentic, honest and should be of exceptional integrity in financial and social matters, adding that a judge that is susceptible to bribery and partial in the conduct of litigation is unworthy of his post and also unworthy of membership of the legal profession.
The retired Chief Judge, who noted that the image of Justice in courts, depended on the intellectual, moral and personal qualities of those called to preside over the courts, emphasized that the responsibility of doing Justice according to law is for a great deal of confidence to be reposed in the judiciary.
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He observed that the profile of a Judicial Officer and his comportment in and out of the court go a long way in the assurance which the public must see in the judiciary to ensure that
administration of Justice is guaranteed.
Appointment of judicial officers
In his presentation, Lawyer Kehinde Eleja, SAN, said the constitutional and regulatory mechanisms for the appointment of judicial officers need to be reviewed to tackle challenges permeating the Judicial system.
Eleja, called on the National Judaical Council, NJC, to ensure that all the guidelines it prescribed for the appointment of judicial officers are met by any individual vying for the position to further ensure the public trust in the legal system.
He identified duplication of membership of the Judicial Council at the federal and state levels as a major hindrance to the administration of justice and called for a review of the act to enhance public confidence in the administration of justice.
The Convener of the Round Table Discussion, Mallam Adebayo Adelodun, SAN, while speaking, identified major concerns to effective administration of justice, as attitudinal changes and amendments to key areas of the composition of membershi
p of National Judicial Council, NJC, and Federal Judicial Service Committee, FJSC, for optimal performance and transparency in the appointment of judicial officers.
Adelodun appreciated the resource persons, for doing justice to the theme of the round table discussion, participants and the organising committee for a job well done.
The Convener, who doubles as the founder of Adelodun and Co., assured that the Programme had come to stay and there would be more improvement in the subsequent series, as the firm’s contribution to jurisprudence, effective and efficient administration of justice in Nigeria.
Source: Voice of Nigeria