Conduit pipe of justice

The courtrooms are equipped by support staff meant to be the feet and hands to steer the wheel of justice from the Judges to the Litigants. These support staff are the Registrars, Clerks, Bailiffs, and Sheriffs. This staffs are the medium between the judge and the litigants or their representatives, and also serve as an […]

The courtrooms are equipped by support staff meant to be the feet and hands to steer the wheel of justice from the Judges to the Litigants. These support staff are the Registrars, Clerks, Bailiffs, and Sheriffs. This staffs are the medium between the judge and the litigants or their representatives, and also serve as an access to the judges in adjudication of dispute, they are so important that whatever a support staff does in his/her capacity affects the quality of justice as well as the confidence of the litigants in our courts.

Their responsibility includes amongst others; to fill up or cause to be filled up summons, conviction warrants, recognizance (for bail), writ of execution and other documents; to record the judgments, convictions and orders of the court; preparation of a register of newly assigned matters, transferred matters, and court processes filed; receive correspondences on behalf of the judge/magistrate; effect service of all court processes on litigants, counsel or an established body; make depositions of proof of service, just to name a few.

It therefore means that aside from what happens during court proceedings when a judge/magistrate is sitting, access to justice in dispute adjudication can be either hastened or delayed depending on the effectiveness or otherwise of a court registry. Take for example, when a suit is filed, and arrangement for service is made by the counsel within ample time before the date fixed for the matter, but the bailiff fails to effect service till a day to the date slated for the matter. This singular act of the Bailiff has ensured that the business of the day is feasible on the day till another adjourned day.

There are numerous scenarios in which the failure of one staff to perform his/her duty as at when due affects the wheel of justice. There are diligent support staff in the judiciary, people who aid speedy dispensation in every little way they can, performing above efficient, to this few, I say kudos, and humbly apply that you do not relent in the discharge of your duties, for you have rewarded many in ways you cannot see.

And then there are those set of support staff that make litigation a sad experience for lawyers (the bad eggs), the ones who make going to court frustrating for a counsel. This set find it difficult to discharge their duties effectively, they perform their responsibilities as if they are forced to come to work, or doing a lawyer a favor by doing what they are paid to do. It is this set of support staff that forms the purpose of this discussion.

Support staffs are conduit pipe of justice, a medium where court pronouncements are enforced, and implemented so as to be felt by parties involved, and when this conduit is rusty due to lackadaisical attitude of these staff, it hinders the smooth flow of justice dispensation from the judges to the litigants.

To my mind, legal professionals have contributed one way or the other to the decline of efficiency in the court registry, by condoning actions that ought to be condemned, and paying for services that need not be paid for, or paying highly for services than other counsel, thereby converting payments for court services into a situation where the highest bidder gets priority.

Take for instance, compilation and transmission of records from lower court to an appeal court, some support staff have considered this a goldmine to cash out from irrespective of the number of pages for the records, one hears outrageous sums like One Hundred and Fifty thousand naira for compilation of such records.

In our bid, to salvage the image of the judiciary and also provide a smooth sail of justice, the support staff of the various courts ought to understand that failure in the effective discharge of their duties does more harm than they can imagine. Legal professionals too ought to uphold principles of standard, and put them on their toes to perform their judicial duties efficiently and as at when due without having to pay for it.

Godspeed!