Ensuring Speedy Adjudication in Digital Era

The rate at which technology is evolving in today’s digital era is fast affecting all sectors of the economy, including the judiciary. To this end, Nigeria must put measures in place to ensure speedy adjudication of cyber and related crimes, writes Emma Okonji  

Technology is fast changing the way people live and work, especially in today’s digital era, where technology drives automation processes to achieve better results. In the financial sector, emerging technologies have made financial transactions faster, convenient and reliable. In the judicial sector, emerging technologies have enhanced speedy delivery of justice in legal matters, and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has continued to collaborate with the judiciary, as part of its Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVP 2020-2025), to further seek the nation’s judiciary to be part of Information Communications Technology (ICT) trends, that will facilitate speedy delivery of court cases.

In line with its SVP  2020-2025, NCC, last week, in Lagos, organised a workshop for Nigerian judges, with the theme: “The Digital World and the Future of Adjudication,” with judges from the federal and state high courts and appeal courts in attendance. The workshop was meant to build capacity within the judiciary, deepen their knowledge in emerging technologies and to further expose the judiciary to new technology trends that would enhance performance in legal matters.

Capacity Building

Speaking at the 18th annual capacity-building workshop for judges, the Chairman, NCC Board of Commissioners, Prof. Adeolu Akande, urged the legal luminaries to make greater contributions towards Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development in Nigeria.

While stating the centrality of a functional adjudicatory system as bedrock for any civilised society, Akande said there was the need to constantly equip judicial officers with the requisite skills for effectual adjudication, especially in the digitized world, where the rate if technology development t is fast ahead of laws.

Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, in his welcome address, said the internet brought several challenges, hence the need for judges to be exposed to the benefits as well as the challenges associated with new technologies.

The EVC said through the workshop, judges would be exposed to disruptive technologies, the rights of data subjects, and jurisdictional issues in the digital age, which have continued to make the ICT industry a dynamic one.

According to Danbatta, “The increased reliance on telecommunications, as well as the growth experienced in the sector, has introduced some issues of legal connotation which will be deliberated upon by various experts during this workshop. One of such issues is the ownership of online content and materials.

“So, it is envisaged that with the increase in the amount of online content, as well as the economic value attached to it, there will be a rise in conflicts as to ownership of online content and materials.

“It is necessary that your lordships are well prepared for the imminent increase in litigation in this area. Furthermore, with an increase in the number of transactions and businesses taking place in the online space, it is also expedient for your lordships to be exposed to the peculiarities of adjudicating conflicts in this era of digital presence and online identity.”

He stated that the Commission conceived the idea of the forum, as part of its strategic partnership and collaboration, as a forum to further build the capacity of the distinguished judges with practical insights on the emerging issues in the field of telecommunications.

“Hopefully, this workshop will illuminate these challenges and proffer ways to meet the dynamics of the changing times. I, therefore, enjoin you to freely make contributions and raise issues that would assist the commission in coming up with adequate regulatory measures that would enhance development in the communications sector of the economy.  We assure you that every view expressed would be respected and considered in this regard,” Danbatta said.

Delivering Justice with Technology

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, commended the Commission for the annual forum while assuring the telecom regulatory of the commitment of the judiciary to using technology for justice dispensation as well as support a more robust legal ecosystem for sustaining socio-economic growth of Nigeria through telecoms sector.

Represented by Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Ariwoola said, through the use of ICT, the judiciary has improved, not just in judicial administration and services, but also in infrastructural development.

Ariwoola said regardless of the benefits of digitalisation there are bound to be liabilities and risks involved with its introduction and usage as she highlighted such risks to include Cyber Crime, Data Piracy, and Hacking among several other vices.

The Chief Justice said the path to effective and efficient justice delivery in Nigeria lies in the collective ability to continuously improve the nation’s justice sector with the use of ICT tools. “The Nigerian judiciary is committed to achieving lasting structural and ethical reforms that would reposition it to adequately meet the aspirations of court users and the public for the reliable, effective and efficient administration of justice through the use of ICT,” he said.

Speaking about the challenges faced by the judiciary, the Chief Justice of Nigeria said the judicial system had long been challenged with delays in dispensing justice. He however, with the introduction of ICT into the judicial space, many of the difficulties associated with the conventional methods are gradually being dispensed with.

“The path to effective and efficient justice delivery in Nigeria lies in our ability to continuously improve our Justice sector with the use of ICT tools,” Ariwoola, said. 

Making the Judiciary ICT Compliant

The Chief Justice of Nigeria said, the judiciary in collaboration with technology experts, have put certain measures in place to make the judiciary ICT compliant to some extent.

According to him, “In our effort to ensure that the Nigerian Judiciary becomes ICT compliant, we have inaugurated the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee (JITPO-COM) in January 2012 to chart a course for the introduction of Court Technology into the Nigerian Courts. The vision is to enhance the efficient and speedy disposal of cases. A committee was set up with the mandate to assist the judiciary meet the fast-evolving needs of its judicial officers, court employees, key stakeholders and the general public, by using Information Technology (IT) to improve the general performance of the Nigerian Judiciary. 

“Among many others, the Committee is saddled with the responsibilities of

formulation of a policy for the safe, secure, and seamless adoption of technology in the Nigerian Judiciary. The Judicial Information Technology Policy (JITPO) Document was consequently produced, launched and implementation commenced. This document laid a clear roadmap for the implementation of ICT projects in Nigerian Courts. The Committee has updated the Policy Document to reflect advances in technology, lessons learned and the way forward.”

Speaking about court automation processes, the CJN said: “In our desire to automate the Nigerian Judiciary, we have developed and deployed the Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS) software. Indeed, the backbone of the court automation project is the Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS). The goal of the NCMS is to provide for a seamlessly interfacing electronic platform for case management by all the courts in Nigeria. Some States High Courts are completely automated since October 2020, using the NCMS to receive and assign cases. 

“In addition to the above, the Committee retrofitted the Courtrooms in the Supreme Court of Nigeria to serve as model Technology Leveraged Courtroom (TLC). The Retrofitting exercise is aimed at enabling courts to leverage technology to enhance performance and access to justice. This was first implemented in Courtroom 1 of the Supreme Court to serve as a model. The National Judicial Council (NJC) has since replicated this at selected Federal Courts. The Technology Leveraged Courtrooms (TLC) have features that include Technology Enabled Judges’ Bench, High-Definition Audio / Video Recording Equipment, For-The-Record (FTR) Court Reporting Software, High Technology Mobile Podium for presentations, Document Camera, Enhanced Room Audio Speakers and Viewing screens in the gallery.”

Commitment

The CJN said the Nigerian Judiciary would continue to be committed in order to achieve lasting structural and ethical reforms that would reposition it to adequately meet the aspirations of court users and the public for reliable, effective and efficient administration of justice through the use of ICT.

“Indeed, no effort was spared in the selection of the best technology solutions and implementation partners as only the best is good enough for the Nigerian Judiciary and the legal profession as a whole. Nigerian Judiciary is committed to employing cutting edge technology to enhance justice administration and providing our citizens with the justice system they deserve.

“Information and Communication Technology has played a central role in contemporary judicial work and life, both on and off the bench,” the CJN said.

Impact

According to Danbatta, NCC has been driving the Nigerian government quest for a digital economy that will support national development and economic diversification, adding that the drive has led to the broadband penetration in Nigeria increasing by 91.70 per cent in the last four years.

“The country’s broadband penetration increased from 21.21 per cent in April 2017 to 40.66 per cent in April 2021. The Commission’s data show that in April 2021, 77,605,500 million Nigerians were connected to the Internet, up from 40,481,570 million in April 2017. The current broadband penetration as at June 2022 stands at 44.30% with more than eighty-four million internet subscriptions in the Country. These strides are outcomes of the Commission’s regulatory management of the Industry as well as its focused implementation of policies and strategies of the federal government of Nigeria

“The drive is also mirrored in the important role that telecommunications plays in connecting businesses, governments and the society at large. As a result of the economic and social disruptions caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, more people across the globe have become increasingly reliant on telecommunications infrastructure for information, meeting social distancing restrictions and working from home. It has become clear that the connectivity of people being driven by the Commission is one of the key factors that facilitated Nigeria’s successful navigation of the disruptions caused by this historic pandemic. 

“More so, one of the most dynamic developments related to the digital economy has been the rise of social network platforms which has set the stage for unprecedented platforms of social interactions, dialogue, exchange and collaboration. These platforms have opened up multiple avenues for entrepreneurship, business connectivity and engineered several activities that support ease of doing business in Nigeria. Clearly, access to the internet and the platforms have bridged the gap between entrepreneurs in other climes with young Nigerian business owners,” Danbatta said.