How technology can be used to fix conflicting judgment issues, by Idigbe – Features – The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

Global President of the Forum Against Counterfeiting (FAC), Dr. Anthony Idigbe (SAN), said technology can be used to solve the problem of conflicting judgments. He blamed the problem on an inability to instantly recall similar verdicts in previous cases, saying not all of them are deliberate.

SAN was speaking on the sidelines of a retreat on “Judicial Independence and the Judge’s Craft”, organized by the National Judicial Institute (INJ) in collaboration with the FAC for judges of appeal courts.

There was heated debate and discussion among the judges on how to improve the justice system, including the internal and external independence of the judiciary.

There was also a session on health and wellness. Idigbe believes that the problems of delays and congestion can be solved by harnessing technology and artificial intelligence (AI). He expects the Supreme Court to sort them out, noting that some of the conflicting verdicts occur over time as hundreds of rulings dealing with similar topics are handed down. Idigbe said: “You are talking about thousands of judgments over a period of time resulting in the loss of history. This is where technology comes in.

“However, if all this data is stationed in the AI ​​environment, it is possible to manage this problem and ensure that we return to the original concept of stare decisis whereby precedent is followed.

“The National Judicial Council (NJC) is doing a lot to solve the AI ​​problem. If all goes according to plan, many of these problems will be eliminated, and where they do occur, people can be held accountable for not using the tools.”

Idigbe, a senior partner at Punuka Attorneys and Solicitors, believes it will take political will for the judiciary to be truly independent. He said: “For the judiciary to be truly independent, you need political will from all sides – executive, legislative and judicial.

“It can be a very quick transformation with the right investments in people, processes and technology and the judiciary will deliver to Nigerians.

“You can have a CJN who has all the good ideas and the passion to deliver, but what if there is resistance from the other arms of government?

“You can have a president who wants to make changes, but he might face resistance or inhibitions from the other arms. The same with the legislature. So the easiest way is for the three arms to agree on the Nigerian agenda and all obstacles can be overcome.”

The President of Nigeria (CJN) Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who delivered the keynote address, stressed the importance of judicial independence and the need for judges to improve their craft – skills and ethics in handling cases.

A retired judge of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Victor Jones Mawulorm Dotse, has called for the establishment of the West African Court of Appeal with powers to make final decisions in cases from Commonwealth countries.

He said: “Before independence, the four countries of the Commonwealth of West Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Gambia – had the West African Court of Appeal based in Nigeria as the final court of appeal.

“We had judges from the four countries who came to discuss cases. Maybe we need to think about reviving something like this.

“Countries will send judges and the court will have a common seat to deal especially with constitutional cases.

“Judges from different countries will decide cases from others. And they will be under less pressure. We have the European Court of Justice where all European countries go, so we can have something like that.” On financial autonomy, Dotse decried delays in the allocation of funds to the judiciary by the executive who prefers to put funds in areas that will attract votes.

He also said there should be automatic percentage increases in judicial allowances to avoid chief justices going back and forth to file cases for increased allowances.

“This should be automatic so that heads of the judiciary do not have to go to the executive or the finance minister to beg for money,” he said. The three-day retreat, which took place in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, included presentations by Chief Justice Kekere-Ekun; President of the Court of Appeal, Judge Monica Dongban-Mensem; NJI administrator, Justice Salisu Abdullahi; Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court and the Chief Judge of Borno State, Justice Kashim Zannah.

Others were Justice Nelson Ogbuanya of the National Industrial Court, the Executive Director of the Nigerian Intelligence Unit, Hajiya Hafsat Bakari and the FAC National Coordinator for Nigeria, Mrs. Ebelechukwu Enedah.