Reflections on the New High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019

Description

ABSTRACT

Reflections on the New High Court of Lagos State(Civil Procedure) Rules 2019

Folabi Kuti*

The new High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019 sets out to fill the gaps in the procedural rules relating to the administration of the civil justice system in Lagos. The central hub being to enable the court to deal with cases justly at proportionate cost to both the litigants and the court system, or adjudicatory process, the rules go a long way in complementing on the efforts of the precursor 2004, and the more recent 2012 Rules. It is against this background that this critique attempts a comparative analysis whilst also highlighting the new/novel provisions, and the(ir) possible impact on the civil justice delivery system in Lagos.

Keywords: High Court of Lagos (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, Procedural Rule, Civil justice system

INTRODUCTION
Setting the pace that radically altered the civil justice system in the country through the pacesetting High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) 2004 whose novel provisions many states of the federation soon copied, and replicated in their civil procedure rules of court, Lagos State has never looked back on that road taken, and that has made all the difference. The journey progressed, and in 2012, the state’s Chief Judge, looking inward to gain more traction, signed a new set of rules of practice and procedure – the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2012. Seven years later, there are, yet again, significant changes in the newly promulgated High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.

THE INNOVATIONS
Some of the changes in the newly promulgated High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019 are examined herein: The overriding objective now made operative part of the Rules’ With the coming into effect of the 2012 High Court Civil Procedure Rules, this commentator, in a critique titled ‘Some Reflections on the new High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2012,1 had cause to remark inter alia:

‘One significant point to note though is that the ‘overriding objective’ is now explained in the preamble to the Rules. It thus appears to have now been taken out of the operative provisions of the Rules as a preamble, and is strictly speaking not part of an enactment. The High Court Rules is a subsidiary legislation on procedure. Comparatively, the 2004 Rules have the ‘overriding objective’ stated and enacted as an operative aspect of the Rules in Order 1 Rule 1 (2). The law concerning the restrictive use that may be made of a preamble as an aid to construing the enacting provisions has been well stated in the following (foreign

* LL.M, BL. Partner in the law offices of Perchstone & Graeys, Lagos, Nigeria.

1. Folabi Kuti, ‘Some reflections on the new High Court of Lagos State Civil Procedure Rules 2012‘ The (Nigeria, 25 September 2012) accessed 22 January 2019.

THE GRAVITAS REVIEW OF BUSINESS & PROPERTY LAW VOL.10 NO.1