FCT customary court reviews procedure rules for effective justice delivery

The Customary Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of the Federal Capital Territory, have reviewed the procedure rules of the courts to bring justice delivery in the nation’s capital at par with modern-day realities.

The President, the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Stanley Adekunle Lawal disclosed this in Abuja at the public presentation of Volume II of the FCT Customary Court of Appeal Law Report as well as the amended FCT Customary Court of Appeal and Customary Court (Civil Procedure) Rules.

The FCT Customary Court of Appeal Law Report, he said, is a collection of judgements of the Court on diverse issues of Customary Law.

“It was first published in 2018 under the editorial chairmanship of my lord, the immediate past President of this Court. Justice Abbazih Saddeeq, and when it was thought in some quarters that the publication was going to be a one-off thing, his lordship did not just insist that a second volume be published, he gave all the necessary support to ensure its actualisation, while expressing his desire that it shall be a continuous publication.

“The Corona Virus (COVID-19) Pandemic of 2019 foisted on the world a new order of doing things. The FCT Customary Court of Appeal was not exempted as there arose the need to do by other means, some of the things that were hitherto done by physical contact”, he explained.

Justice Lawal said, there is the need to amend the Rules of practice at both the FCT Customary Court of Appeal and the lower Customary Court, to among other novel innovations, provide for electronic means of interface between the court and the Court users.

He further noted that, the reviewed existing Rules, vis-à-vis contemporary demand of justice delivery, will make access to justice less complicated for the people of the FCT; indigenes and settlers alike.

Asides from the mode of service of Court processes, he said, the amended Rules of Court has further enforced the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism of both the lower Customary Court and the Customary Court of Appeal (especially in the area of the exercise of its original jurisdiction).

He said, plans are presently at advanced stage to set up an Alternative Dispute Resolution Unit in the Court as, “We have incorporated the Administration of Probate Rules in the Customary Court of Appeal Rules to provide for the rules guiding the administration of estate in the Customary Court of Appeal of the FCT.

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