The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, has urged judges of the appellate court to engage in regular self-reflection, evaluation, and strategic planning,
Dongban-Mensem made the call at the 2024 annual court of appeal justices’ conference to usher in the new legal year.
She said,the conference is structured in line with the needs of the Court of Appeal.
The president said further that the conference boasts an array of knowledgeable and experienced professionals.
” The depth and breadth of our chosen topics underscore the significance of this gathering as a platform for meaningful dialogue.
” Through interdisciplinary lens, this Conference will address the issues at hand by integrating theoretical perspectives, practical applications, and experiential insights to foster a rich, informed deliberation with a productive outcome.
” Justices occupy a position of paramount importance in the administration of justice with their decisions exerting a profound impact on individuals, communities, and society at large” she said.
Nevertheless, she added, despite their expertise and experience, Justices are not immune to the limitations inherent in human decision-making, including errors, biases, and prejudices.
” To address these limitations and ensure the delivery of justices, judicial introspection offers a mechanism for self-reflection, in-depth analysis, and ongoing improvement.
” The emergence of Social Media has profoundly transformed the dynamics of interpersonal interaction, communication, and information dissemination, yielding significant improvements in the efficacy and scope of human connection.
” Nevertheless, this technological shift has also generated a range of challenges for the judiciary, including the management of online reputation, cyber-bullying and harassment” she said.
She said the preservation of the integrity of digital evidence in the context of legal proceedings is now a thing of concern.
To effectively navigate these complexities, she said , it was appropriate for the judiciary to engage in a process of regular intellectual upliftment.
” A regular examination of existing practices, procedures, and policies to ensure their efficacy, efficiency, and fairness in the digital age is imperative.
” The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) within the judiciary has the potential to revolutionise the administration of justice, enhancing efficiency, improving decision-making, and expanding access to justice.
” However, the deployment of AI in judicial contexts also raises profound questions regarding bias, transparency, and accountability” she said.
According to her ‘To address these issues, the judiciary must carefully examine its own utilization of AI and ensure that adoption is as an adjudicatory tool and not a replacement of the Judge.’
The president said, to enhance the administration of justice, the importance of collaboration and synergy among stakeholders is recognised.
Also speaking, Afam Osigwe,SAN, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), urged the judiciary to reinforce public confidence.
” Public confidence in the judge and the judiciary system reinforces conviction for the attainment of justice and enhances the willingness of the populace to subjugate before the law.
” It follows, therefore, that where public confidence in the judiciary system is the incident of people taking the law into their own hands would be very low indeed whereas, the reverse would be the case where public confidence is skilled.
“The lack of public confidence in the judiciary is the beginning of the end of society” he said.
He said integrity in judiciary will help to restore confidence in the people.
” We admit that society’s perception of the integrity of the judiciary system occupies a critical role in the promotion of social order by administering the law in a manner that satisfies the fundamental requirements of justice.
”This perception, however, gives assurance to the majority of the citizens in whom parts can be comforted that no person, institution, or government, no matter how powerful or wealthy, is outside the sphere of the judicial and judicial authority” he said.
Speaking for the Body of Benches, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN , sad the theme of this year’s conference, ” Judicial Introspection” , has come at the most appropriate time.
He added that It is proper for every justice to retreat and do introspection for the society is dynamic.
He added that parliament is dynamic in promulgation laws. Judges are expected to cope with growing trends in technology and advancements in human global behaviour
” Every member of the judiciary of this Court should benefit from the institutional introspection that begins this week.
” It is the belief of the body of benches that the effect of introspection will help everyone to freely and sincerely identify areas of improvement. Patterns to be rebuilt, and areas that need changes.
” It will assist in increasing the empathy of institutional regulation and skills. It will afford the review of areas where so much stress has been brought on justices in all divisions throughout Nigeria, individually and collectively as a court” he said (NAN)