Stop leaking our rulings, judgments to litigants, CJN warns court officials

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, yesterday vowed to wield the big stick against any court official involved in the leakage of rulings and judgments to litigants. The CJN, who spoke at the opening ceremony of a National Workshop for Information and Communication Technology Staff in the judiciary, equally disclosed that the Supreme Court will from July 16, only serve processes on all matters brought before it, by electronic means. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, He said all new filings at the apex court would henceforth contain the email address of lawyers representing the parties. “I implore all judges and lawyers to join this trend in this quest for excellence by subscribing to, and acquiring the legal email, as the manual form of communication within  Nigerian courts is gradually phasing out”, Justice Onnoghen stated. He said the planned automated court system would not achieve the desired goal if court officials engage in vices such as the illegal release of judgments before they are delivered. “In our quest to birth the Judiciary we all desire, I must not fail to emphasise that in the daily discharge of your duties, the Code of Conduct for Court Employees must be your guide and standard. “It is trite to note that it promotes the tenet of transparency, integrity and hard work among staff. In this light, you must shun all vices that easily beset you. “Vices such as lateness to work, leaking rulings and Judgment as well as absenteeism from work without permission from superior authority must be avoided”, the CJN warned. He said the path to effective and efficient Justice delivery in Nigeria lay in ability of judicial officers to continuously improve the Justice sector with the use of ICT tools. “Thus, judicial administrations around the would have imbibed the use of on-line legislation and case-law, electronic filing system and the electronic service of court processes. “We must all take ownership of this innovation. Let me reiterate that, the Judiciary is committed to achieving lasting structural and ethical reforms that would reposition it to adequately meet the aspirations of court users and the general public for reliable, effective and efficient administration of justice through the use of ICT”, the CJN added. In her welcome address, the Administrator of the National Judicial Institute, NJI, Justice R.P. I. Bozimo, said the essence of the workshop was to facilitate capacity building and further skill acquisition in the area of information technology.
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/05/stop-leaking-rulings-judgments-litigants-cjn-warns-court-officials/