Match New Salaries with Performance, CSLS Tells Judges

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) has called on judges to reciprocate the recent increase in their salaries with improve performance.
The call was predicated on the need to urgently remove all the obstacles to speedy dispensation of justice in the country, evidence in delayed trials, overcrowded correctional centres and widespread denial of access to justice experienced by indigents and other vulnerable persons.

Speaking at the launch of the CSLS and the Rule of Law & Anti-Corruption (RoLAC II)/IIDEA Project: Improving Criminal Justice Administration through the National Minimum Standards (NMS), Legislative Review and Capacity Building, in Abuja, President of the CSLS, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN, stated that conscious efforts must be made to make the judiciary more efficient and effective.

“We commend the federal government for improving the remuneration of judicial officers and for extending the retirement age of High Court judges. However, these improvements must be matched with closer monitoring and evaluation of the work of judges.
“We urge the oversight body of the judiciary, the National Judicial Council (NJC) to issue new guidelines for assessing the productivity of judicial officers. Nigerians deserve improvements in the speed and quality of justice delivery,” Akinseye-George stressed.
Meanwhile, he urged that attention be given to the remuneration and working conditions of magistrates and other lower court judges who handle the great majority of criminal cases, adding that similar attention be extended to investigators, prosecutors and the support staff of the courts on whom the work of the courts actually depend.

The Law Professor assured that through partnership with RoLAC, and support from MacArthur Foundation, the centre is poised to provide greater assistance for the operatives in the justice sector.

He stated that the centre, with funding from RoLAC/IIDEA will disseminate the National Minimum Standards in the FCT, and the focal states; build capacity of the officials and other stakeholders; recommend legislative reform and propose amendments to bring the ACJA/ACJLs into conformity with the National Minimum Standards.

According to the President, “The primary problem of the Nigerian system of criminal justice remains the systemic weakness which manifests in inefficiency, poor record keeping, weak coordination and low level of accountability. These result is delayed trials, overcrowded correctional centres and widespread denial of access to justice experienced by indigents and other vulnerable persons.”

Akinseye-George lamented that with nearly a decade of implementing the ACJA, 2015 at the federal level, the criminal justice system appears not only to have reached a plateau but also to be relapsing.

He disclosed that participants at a Stakeholders Summit jointly convened by the Federal Ministry of Justice, CSLS and RoLAC on the implementation of the ACJA and ACJLs of states, identified the problems plaguing the efficient justice delivery and recommended the adoption of National Minimum Standards for the effective implementation of the ACJA and allied instruments, legislative reform and continuous capacity building at the federal and state levels.

“Furthermore, at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual National Conference of 2023, it was resolved that efforts should be focused on improving implementation of the ACJA with particular emphasis on pre-trial case management aimed at addressing the problem of delay in the system,” he added.