Administration of Justice

The rule against bias is an intrinsic component of the principles of natural justice. They are well settled rules, evolving from time immemorial and coursing from the common law of England, in order to put in check arbitrary actions of the state or its functionaries. Essentially, the principles apply to advance fair treatment in actions that are of administrative, quasi-judicial and judicial nature. This rule aim at securing justice and to avoid miscarriage of justice. Since the days of Lord Hewart, CJ, the rule against bias had formed a more fundamental bedrock of adjudication and just treatment of cases to give fair hearing to parties who appear before a tribunal and to ensure that no one goes away thinking that the judge favours one litigant against another, either for personal, pecuniary or familial gains. Incidentally, following a common law global norm, the Nigerian constitutional and administrative laws had gone a notch further to entrench this rule as a cardinal factor in deciding the fate of interested parties through strict fidelity to procedural compliance, with the sole aim of strengthening public confidence in the administration of justice. Using a doctrinal, library-based research methodologies and deploying both primary and secondary source materials, this seminar paper takes a dispassionate look at the scope of the bias rule within the framework of the doctrine of natural justice sagaciously embedded in the Constitution of Nigeria as well as her administrative processes, side by side with comparable common law jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, the United States and India. The paper found that, in a preponderant of cases, where a decision-maker who serve in judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative capacity had been found to have interest in the subject-matter of the dispute, such an official is immediately or automatically disqualified. It is hoped that the suggestions and recommendations herein will serve as a call to action on the part of those who are saddled with administrative, judicial and quasi-judicial powers in ensuring that justice is not only done but manifestly and undoubtedly seen to have been done.

SOMMARIO: 1. Introduzione e descrizione della Macroarea 3 (linea 1.1.): le Università partner e gli Uffici giudiziari di competenza (A.R. Rizza); 2. Il quadro normativo tra aspetti operativi e funzioni dell'Ufficio del Processo e dei suoi addetti (A.R. Rizza); 3. Moduli organizzativi emersi, risorse assegnate agli Uffici giudiziari al momento della costituzione e risorse attuali: programmazione e reclutamento (V. Battiato); 4. Le tecnologie a supporto dell'Ufficio del Processo: quelle in uso e quelle prospettabili (I. Addolorato); 5. Sintesi dell'offerta formativa prevista a favore del personale giudiziario negli Uffici giudiziari: modalità di erogazione e formazione di tirocinanti, Giudici onorari e personale amministrativo (I. Addolorato); 6. Segue. Punti di forza e di debolezza nei contesti giuridici e geografici di riferimento (A. Mosca); 7. Sintesi degli obiettivi del Progetto ai fini della rendicontazione del Piano di formazione (A. Mosca); 8. Segue. La sintesi degli obiettivi specifici degli Uffici del Processo nell'area civile e in quella penale (M.R. De Lucia -S. Fapperdue); 9. Le best practices rilevate negli Uffici giudiziari per il perseguimento degli obiettivi del legislatore (D. Marchesini -S. Fapperdue); 10. Segue. Principali criticità emerse nel concreto funzionamento del modello (D. Marchesini -S. Fapperdue); 11. Segue. Modelli organizzativi proposti per migliorare l'efficienza degli Uffici del Processo (P. Bushipaka -E: Toccafondo); 12. Programmazione di massima nell'ultimo semestre del Progetto: dal 1° aprile 2023 al 30 settembre 2023 (P. Bushipaka -E. Toccafondo). 2.) 1 , i modelli organizzativi ed operativi più diffusi (infra par. 3.) 2 , le tecnologie, anche informatiche, più diffuse (infra par. 4. e par. 13) 3 , il piano dell'offerta formativa che è stata messa a disposizione dai singoli Tribunali per colmare i gap più frequentemente segnalati sia con riguardo alla posizione degli Addetti all'Ufficio per il Processo sia con riguardo al diverso personale ivi impiegato, quali i Giudici Onorari (infra par. 5.) 4 , non mancandosi, poi, di mettere in luce quelle che -a valle del presente lavoro, di sintesi -possono reputarsi le best practices più apprezzabili e come tali suscettibili, nel breve periodo, di condivisione presso gli Uffici giudiziari (ad es. infra par. 10.) 5 o, in un orizzonte temporale più ampio, di considerazione da parte del legislatore anche con riferimento alle guidelines adottate dagli operatori del settore (specie protocolli d'intesa) ed evidenziate nei Report dei singoli Uffici giudiziari (infra par. 6.) 6 . Nel presente lavoro si metteranno altresì in luce i profili di maggiore criticità emersi i quali, allo stato e nel 1 Ad oggetto "Il quadro normativo, gli aspetti operativi e le funzioni dell'Ufficio del Processo e dei suoi addetti". 2 Intitolato "Moduli organizzativi emersi, risorse assegnate agli Uffici giudiziari al momento della costituzione e risorse attuali: programmazione e reclutamento". 3 Rispettivamente rubricati "Le tecnologie a supporto dell'Ufficio del Processo: quelle in uso e quelle prospettabili" e "Sintesi dei modelli e dei prototipi informatici prospettabili". 4 Si veda a tal proposito "Sintesi dell'offerta formativa prevista a favore del personale giudiziario negli Uffici giudiziari: modalità di erogazione e formazione di tirocinanti, Giudici onorari e personale amministrativo". 5 "Le best practices rilevate negli Uffici giudiziari per il perseguimento degli obiettivi del legislatore". 6 Il paragrafo di riferimento è "La soft law all'interno degli Uffici del processo, tra normativa regionale, protocolli d'intesa e provvedimenti organizzativi interni".

Esta investigación se enfocará al análisis del proceso histórico de la organización territorial judicial en San Luis Potosí durante las primeras décadas del siglo XIX. Lo anterior es relevante porque el proceso de nombrar autoridades y establecer instituciones para la administración de justicia representó uno de los primeros esfuerzos por lograr un orden del Estado independiente. En este sentido, no hay un análisis posible de la historia de la organización del territorio conocido como San Luis Potosí, que deje de lado el estudio de la organización judicial.

Three years have passed since we placed the first Namibia Law Journal in your hands -and that is a great accomplishment! It is slowly but certainly growing from a predominant academic journal to an instrument serving the broader legal fraternity in Namibia. The contributors to this edition reflect not only a healthy cross-section of the legal fraternity in Windhoek, but also feature a special guest writer, Loammi Wolf, who is a South African researcher and academic author living in Germany. Felicity !Owoses-/Goagoses, a legal drafter, looks at a specific issue in interpretation: reading down words in a statute. Alet Greeff, a young legal practitioner in Namibia and a graduate of the North-West University in South Africa, gives us some insight into the enforceability of pursuable environmental rights in Namibia. Florian Beukes, who obtained the highest mark for his LLB (Honours) Dissertation at the University of Namibia (UNAM) in 2011, reveals the standard set by these final-year students. His article is a revised draft of his dissertation on the Pension Fund Act and freedom of testation.

This report has been built upon the knowledge, commitment, and active contribution of many experts from all European countries. The questionnaire devised by the European Sourcebook group has been discussed with and answered by the following national correspondents:

The quality of any legislation is determined chiefly by its ability to accurately communicate its intention as well as its capacity to meet the society’s expectations and needs at every point in time. Language is the tool of communication. Legislative competence requires a good mastery of the use of written language and the relevant techniques for translating legislative intent into properly structured sentences that serve the goal of the legislation. Nigeria’s Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 was long overdue and well received. It aimed at tackling the multi dimensioned problems that plagued the criminal justice system for decades. Through a desk review, this article examines certain legislative expressions in the Act. It finds that the Act is plagued by a significant measure of substantive and legislative expression gaps, which diminish its quality and negatively impact its implementation. The article proffers relevant alternative redrafts and suggestions. Its po...

After being in force for more than four decades, Law Number 8 of 1981 on Criminal Procedure (Criminal Procedure Code) has shown its limitations, one of which concerns the limitations of pretrial objects. Through South Jakarta District Court Verdict Number 04/Pid.Prap/2015/PN.Jkt. Sel., which is in fact a pretrial verdict on a corruption case, the pretrial judge has made a "finding law (rechtsvinding)" to expand the pretrial objects. Therefore, this study aims to determine the ratio decidendi of the a quo verdict regarding the expansion of the pretrial objects. This research falls under the category of normative legal research, prioritizing the use of secondary data, including primary and secondary legal materials. Based on the data used, the documentation study/library study technique with tools in the form of written materials as described was used and qualitatively analyzed. This study shows that regardless of the debate, the pretrial judge in the a quo verdict has made a rechtsvinding through a method of interpretation of the legislative history (historia legis) that is extensive in nature. In this context, there has been an expansion of the pretrial objects to include the validity of the suspect determination. Even in relation to the corruption case, the pretrial objects have been further expanded to include not only the validity of the investigation but also the validity of all subsequent decisions.

“Delay defeats justice” is a phrase repeatedly used by the judges in Pakistan in their judgments but hardly addressed. Inexpensive and expeditious justice is a constitutional mandate as per Article 37(d) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973. The dispensation of criminal justice in Pakistan takes a long recourse from the court of first instance until the final disposal of a case by the apex court of Pakistan i.e., the Supreme Court. Parties to the litigation remain entrenched in criminal litigation for excruciating long time. Delivery of expeditious and inexpensive justice is the constitutional duty of the State and its organs including the judiciary. No doubt in Pakistan, the judges serving from subordinate to superior courts are highly professional and independent, however, they are bound to deliver justice as per the legal framework provided to them. Judges can only interpret the law and cannot legislate. It is the job of the legislature to revisit and update the laws keeping in view the challenges of the contemporary requirements, modern techniques and trends. The age-old colonial laws applicable in Pakistan for conducting criminal trials and dispensing justice have become redundant and ineffective with the passage of time. There is a dire need for framing a strong legal framework encompassing improvements in judicial, legal, prosecution and police systems for effective and efficient control of crime in Pakistan.

This study examines an unexpected consequence of judicial digitalisation in Brazil: the substantial increase in new legal cases following the implementation of the Court Case Management System (CCMS). While digital technologies were introduced to improve judicial efficiency, reduce backlogs, and lower costs, Brazil's experience shows that such technologies can also generate unforeseen effects, specifically, a rise in both legitimate and predatory litigation. Drawing on the Technology Enactment Framework (Fountain, 2001), this paper employs qualitative research, including interviews with legal actors and an analysis of official data, to examine how institutional arrangements influence the outcomes of IT implementation in the judiciary. Findings reveal that while CCMS expanded access to justice, it also enabled abusive litigation practices that strain judicial resources. The study highlights the importance of institutional context in shaping technology use and offers critical insights for designing more resilient and adaptive e-justice systems.

While the legal profession is coming to grips with technological disruption, practitioners serving the needs of those with low and moderate-incomes find themselves struggling to keep up. 1 Insufficient resources clearly impede largescale technological improvements. Yet, the rise of civic coding and the growing legal technology sector suggest an untapped pool of civic and private resources ready to help address this shortfall. We argue that state trial courts are best positioned to leverage these resources for the benefit of low and moderateincome individuals by addressing a key structural impediment to innovation: the lack of clearly-defined judicial data standards. In private practice and legal education, innovative technologies have fueled competition from companies that provide document automation to the general public and leverage machine intelligence to remove the work of repetitive tasks, including matters involving rudimentary questions of judgment. 3 While * Data Scientist, Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS); J.D., Boston University School of Law (2011); M.Ed., Harvard Graduate School of Education (2002). The opinions expressed here are the author's own and do not reflect those of CPCS or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Dit artikel onderzoekt de normatieve en praktische implicaties van het gebruik van de afkorting “d.t.k.v.” (“door tussenkomst van”) in inter-advocatenverkeer. Aan de hand van een geabstraheerde praktijksituatie wordt betoogd dat deze ogenschijnlijk neutrale formulering niet louter logistiek van aard is, maar normatieve betekenis draagt doordat zij impliciet een roltoedeling suggereert. Wanneer een advocaat zonder volmacht of ontvangstrol functioneel tussen afzender en cliënt wordt geplaatst, ontstaat normadressaat-verwarring met potentieel verstrekkende gevolgen voor bewijspositie, aansprakelijkheid en professionele verantwoordelijkheid.

Het artikel analyseert hoe hybride adressering kan leiden tot ongewenste risicoverschuiving en rolvermenging, en plaatst dit vraagstuk binnen bredere kaders van beroepsethiek, procesrecht en rechtsvergelijking. Daarbij wordt benadrukt dat de advocaat in inter-advocatenverkeer primair optreedt als regisseur van het juridisch verkeer en niet als drager van rechtsgevolgen, tenzij uitdrukkelijk anders overeengekomen. Een rechtsvergelijkende verkenning laat zien dat deze kernnorm breed wordt gedragen in zowel civielrechtelijke als common-law-jurisdicties.

De bijdrage beoogt geen taalpurisme, maar normatieve verduidelijking: precieze adressering fungeert als instrument ter bescherming van rolzuiverheid en professionele integriteit. In een tijd waarin de advocatuur steeds sterker wordt aangesproken op verantwoordelijkheid en compliance, onderstreept het artikel dat ogenschijnlijk kleine formuleringen structurele juridische gevolgen kunnen hebben.

Trial by social media in Nigeria is the public investigation, prosecution, and sentencing of individuals on platforms like X and Facebook, operating as a parallel, unofficial court. While a fast response to slow traditional systems, it poses a problematic risk of prejudicing legal proceedings and spreading misinformation. Public discourse and media trials often create prejudicial pre-judgment, undermining thereby an impartial tribunal. Specifically, this article examines the constitutional and procedural dimensions of this issue within the criminal justice framework.This study will employ a doctrinal and legal analysis, utilizing relevant constitutional provisions, statutes, and case law, and will be supplemented by illustrative examples to demonstrate the practical impact. The study concludes that the growing substitution of online opinion for formal legal processes poses a direct and immediate threat to the constitutional importance of fair hearing and the presumption of innocence. The article advocates for clear procedural safeguards to effectively balance social awareness with due process, thereby mitigating the significant risks posed by digital outreach to due process in Nigeria's criminal justice administration.

La justicia constituye el ideal hacia el cual se orientan la verdad, el derecho y la ley. Es el valor que busca dar a cada persona lo que le corresponde, equilibrando intereses y garantizando la equidad. A lo largo de la historia, la justicia ha sido entendida tanto como virtud individual como principio social. En la teoría contemporánea, el filósofo John Rawls propuso que una sociedad justa es aquella que organiza sus instituciones de manera que beneficien especialmente a los más desfavorecidos, bajo condiciones de igualdad de oportunidades. Esta visión resalta que la justicia no solo implica aplicar normas, sino también considerar las condiciones reales de las personas.

This article examines the legal framework and practice regarding offences against the administration of justice within the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. As the ICC adds more investigations and prosecutions, offences against the administration of justice in the form of witness interference and tampering, false testimony presentations and misconduct by or against officials of the Court are becoming common ground or prevalent. The mechanism provided for in Articles 70 and 71 of the Rome Statute when read with the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE) grants powers to investigate and prosecute such offences. Decision-making, legal interpretation and policy formulation have become a challenge. In tackling this, this article analyses the legislative formulation of these offences; it then focuses on the policy evolution and development of the practice of predecessor tribunals. In conclusion, the article suggests opportunities for the ICC’s legal interpretation and polic...