Abstract
The institution to settle the dispute between individuals is a court of law manned by Judges. To nominate and appoint the judges are herculean tasks which involve processes to ensure only fit and proper persons occupy Judicial Offices. This paper examined the constitutional and regulatory procedures for the appointment of Judicial Officers in Nigeria. The study identified the problems associated with the processes of the appointment of the Judicial Officers in Nigeria. The work adopted the socio-legal research method by using the qualitative approach. There is a dearth of literature in Nigeria on how the procedure for the appointment of Judicial Officers operates practically and the real problems associated with the operation of the procedural laws. To achieve the research objectives, a semi-structured interview was used. Three specialists in the Nigerian legal profession were interviewed to find out the actual issues on the ground. The study discovered that lobbying has been entrenched in the process of the appointment of Judicial Officers in Nigeria. The research further found that the powers of the Chief Justice of Nigeria to appoint the majority of members of the recommendation body threatens the independence of the Judiciary.
Highlights
In every civilized society, there are trained personnel appointed by the Government to adjudicate disputes based on facts and the law.1 The appointed adjudicators do not have an easy task; they constantly discharge the adjudicatory responsibility, which many people seek to avoid.2 there are other persons that are ready and willing to become judges, selection of the competent persons to occupy the exalted office has never been easy
Other challenges discovered in the study include double membership in advisory and recommendation bodies by four Federal Judicial Officers and the wide powers given to the Chief Justice of Nigeria to control the National Judicial Council as a threat to the independence of the Judiciary in Nigeria
The constitution outlines the general requirements that candidates aspiring for Judicial Offices must have before they could be recommended by the National Judicial Council to the President and State Governors, for the appointments to Judicial Offices
Summary
There are trained personnel appointed by the Government to adjudicate disputes based on facts and the law. The appointed adjudicators do not have an easy task; they constantly discharge the adjudicatory responsibility, which many people seek to avoid. there are other persons that are ready and willing. At times many persons with the basic requirements apply to be considered for appointment to the limited number of vacancies. There are designed processes and procedures to be used in sifting the suitable persons to be appointed to the various Judicial Offices. This article focused on the Constitutional and the regulatory mechanisms for the appointment of Judicial Officers in Nigeria. The work identified associated challenges with the processes of the appointment. The study found inconsistent provisions in the qualifications of the Judicial Officers in Nigeria.
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