The Acting President, Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, on Monday gave guidelines for proceedings in courts and tribunal during the lockdown order, due to COVID-19.
Dongban-Mensem said in the guidelines in Abuja, that to reduce the time spent in argument in court, all counsel are encouraged to use their letterhead papers to clearly include their names, which party they are appearing for and their designation.
She also said that in the briefs, parties should state when the briefs were filed, what date, the appellant(s), the respondent(s) (where multiple parties) properly identified.
According to the guideline, in the processes, respondent’s notice shall be properly identified by date of filling and date of the process, preliminary objection (if any) and suit number/appeal number to be clearly stated.
The name of the party, date of judgment and court and place as well as the date the appeal was filed must also be indicated.
“All these details shall be submitted electronically to the office of the chief registrar (CR) for onward transmission and copies must be sent to the respective deputy chief registrars (DCRs).
“The court is an enclosed place, so much talk with its characteristic spewing of saliva predisposes both court workers and the public to health hazards, especially in this time of menacing coronavirus pandemic,’’ she said.
Dongban-Mensem added that when counsel are served motions, which they have no objections to, they should simply send their no objection notice to the court as is contained in the Court of Appeal Rule (2016).
She said that any counsel, out of jurisdiction and unable to attend court, should ask their local representatives to stand in for them.
In the case of tribunals, she said that where witnesses are taken, persons who are not witnesses before the court shall not be admitted.
She added that the chairman and members of the tribunal shall determine the number of people allowable in court at any particular sitting.
According to her, people to be allowed should not be more than 20, depending on the size of the court hall.
Dongban-Mensem advised all counsel to put into maximum use the Court of Appeal Facebook page – Court of Appeal Abuja, Nigeria.
She added that all messages placed on the court’s Facebook page must also be posted/sent/shared via social media law platforms for prompt attention.
