(This Article was first published in Gombe Bar Journal,
Vol.1,2011 in honour of Alh. Dr. Muhammad Danjuma Goje)
To begin with, every member of the Bench and the Bar is foremost
a Lawyer. Dean Swift said in Gulliver’s
Travel that the Bar:
“they are society of men bred up from their youth in the art
of proving by words multiplied for the purpose that white is black
and black is white according as they are applied”.
Shakespeare stated in Macbeth, that
“there was a meeting of the witches that they should kill the
Lawyer.” Under the Nigerian statutes, Lawyers are referred to
as Legal Practitioners. A Legal Practitioners is defined in
section 24 Legal Practitioners Act Cap207 Laws of
Federation 1990, thus:
“Legal Practitioner means a person entitled in
accordance with the provisions of this Act to practice as a
barrister or as a barrister and solicitor, either generally or for
the purpose of any particular office or proceedings”
However, the Act is silent as to who is a barrister or a
barrister and solicitor, but the qualifications for enrollment as a
barrister is provided under section 7 of Cap207
supra as follows:
“Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall
be entitled to have his name enrolled if and only if:
- He has been called to the BAR by the Body of Benchers;
and - He produces a certificate of his Call to the Bar to the
Registrar”.
In R. vs. O’Connell (1844) p261 at
312-313 lifted from Oputa JSC’s book “OUR TEMPLE OF
JUSTICE” p.14, Crampton J. said thus:
“This court in which we sit is a Temple of Justice, and the
Advocate at the Bar as well as the Judge on the Bench are equally
ministers in that Temple. The object of all, equally, would be the
attainment of justice…”
Oputa JSC further distilled some guiding principles on the
relationship between the Bench and the Bar as follows:
“
- Lawyers and Judges being instruments of justice are
honoured and honourable. - Such honourable men should not allow ‘the infirmity of
human nature and the strength of human passion’ to lead them
astray, let alone lead them to perpetuate an outright
injustice.
- The Legal profession is not just another avenue for quick
money making by hook or crook. To so conceive the profession, is to
degrade it.
- It is not part of the duties of a Lawyer to win at all cost
or at any cost. There is rather a heavy cost to winning at all cost
and that cost is disdain and dishonor and the desecration of the
sacred temple of justice. - Judges and Lawyers have a prior and perpetual retainer on
behalf of the truth.”
All these therefore, reflect very much the tradition of the
legal profession on the relationship between the Bar and the Bench,
and which is one of reciprocity. The smooth administration of
justice envisages the existence of courageous, efficient, honest
and fearless Bar and Bench.
The Bench is entitled to an unqualified respect from the Bar and
so expects it. The least Magistrate Court, Area, Sharia or
Customary Court and the highest court of the land are equally
entitled to this respect. Members of the Bar stand up when they
address or are addressed by the Bench.
The counsel who easily picks up quarrel with the Bench acts in
contravention of this important duty. The duty of respect which is
as old as the profession itself is highlighted under
Rule 1(a) of Rules of Professional
Conduct as follows:
“It is the duty of the Lawyer to maintain toward the Court,
respectful attitude, not for the sake of the temporary incumbent of
the judicial office, but for the maintenance of its supreme
importance. Judges not being wholly free to defend themselves
against criticism and clamour. Whenever there is proper ground for
serious complaint of judicial officer, it is the duty of the Lawyer
to submit his grievances to proper authority. In such cases, but
not otherwise, such charges should be encouraged and the person
making them should be protected”
This aged long tradition of respect has crystallized into a
solid cornerstone in the edifice of the Bar-and-Bench relationship.
You alone cannot change the position overnight. The tradition is so
well established at the Bar that, even when counsel has nothing but
rude remarks to make, by tradition he is expected to start by
saying: “With respect”. These ethics
demanded the best of Man: obedience and decency, as it was demanded
that Adam (A.S) should keep his own part of the bargain, and he did
not; that was unethical and there came his fall.
The court is where counsel will spend the rest of his years at
the Bar trying to persuade to his view. One cannot carry it along
with him if, by lack of manners, one alienate its feelings beyond
recall or consistently.
Similarly, the Bar is entitled to be treated with dignity by the
Bench. A situation where a member of the Bar is subjected to
unnecessary stress and indignity by the Bench contravenes the
principle of reciprocity. Here the counsel should not respond with
rudeness, but by submitting his grievances to the proper
authorities.
The attainment of justice cannot be achieved if judicial
officers fail to carry themselves with dignity and decorum in the
discharge of there duties. They must at all time develop and
maintain judicial mind and be temperate and not temperamental so
that the process of administration of justice would not be
tempered. However, experience has shown that it is those judges who
have refused to acquire the “Judicial mind” that have
often been subjected to criticism.
Mackenzie said of such judges in the
following word:
“Unfortunately, the system has produced many trial judges
who lack the temperament necessary to match there power. Many are
tyrannical, heavy-handed and abusive toward Lawyers and Litigants
who appear in there courts”
Hence judicial officers of this category in Nigeria or indeed
anywhere in the world are a negation of the integrity facet of the
tradition of the legal profession.
While it is true that the Nigerian judiciary has many gifted,
learned and honest Lawyers/Judges/Justices who have occupied and
still occupying judicial offices in Nigeria and some commonwealth
countries, it is the judicial officer whose conduct falls below the
required standard that usually occupies the headlines in both the
press and electronic media when the National Judicial Council (NJC)
discent on him or her.
It is therefore, of paramount importance that every person who
has been called upon to discharge the duties of a judicial officer
must abide by his judicial oath and maintain the dignity of his
exalted office. This is a noble pursuit. It is necessary to say to
all engaged in judicial administration to borrow the words of
Crompton J.thus:
“Let your zeal be as warm as your heart’s blood, but let it
be tampered with discretion and with self-respect. Let your
independence be firm and uncompromising, but let it be chastened by
personal humility, let your love for liberty amount to a passion,
but let it not appear to be a cloak for maliciousness”.
Both Islam and Christianity which are the two prevalent
religions in Nigeria and which to the understanding of many, have
adherence from among the members of the Bar and Bench, have alluded
more spiritual injunctions for those engaged in the administration
of justice. The Holy Bible in the book of Deuteronomy Chapter
16,verse 18-20, and in the Holy Qur’an Surah Nisai, Chapter
IV,verse:135 – which all have bearing with the oaths phrase”
…to do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour,
affection or ill will, so help me God”, demand from judicial
officers to refrain from perverting the course of justice; showing
partiality; accepting bribe; and subverting the course of
righteousness. The Challenge however, lies in the will, innate
ability or conviction to avoid those that are formidable, and to do
what is right.
In conclusion, although the court in Law is the judge, the court
in general parlance, consists of the judge and the Bar. Both are
indispensable partners in the administration of justice. None is
made more important than the other. The Bench cannot function
without the Bar and vice versa. Hence, in order to ensure smooth
administration of justice, there should be reciprocal respect.
There should be the spirit of give and take in the courtroom. The
Bench even though, decide cases brought before it by the Bar
members, it should not feel superior. After all, it is the Bar that
supplies
the judicial personnel and also feed the Bench with the tools of
the case, in terms of facts and the law. Although, that has never
given the Bar any “upper hand” in terms of superiority over the
Bench! Once there is mutuality of purpose between the Bar and the
Bench, litigation and adjudication no longer become tedious, but
pleasant and easygoing.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
IBRAHIM AHMAD KALA ESQ. can be reached @
email: Ibrokalaesq@yahoo.com
(This Article was first published in Gombe Bar Journal,
Vol.1,2011 in honour of Alh. Dr. Muhammad Danjuma Goje)
To begin with, every member of the Bench and the Bar is foremost
a Lawyer. Dean Swift said in Gulliver’s
Travel that the Bar:
“they are society of men bred up from their youth in the art
of proving by words multiplied for the purpose that white is black
and black is white according as they are applied”.
Shakespeare stated in Macbeth, that
“there was a meeting of the witches that they should kill the
Lawyer.” Under the Nigerian statutes, Lawyers are referred to
as Legal Practitioners. A Legal Practitioners is defined in
section 24 Legal Practitioners Act Cap207 Laws of
Federation 1990, thus:
“Legal Practitioner means a person entitled in
accordance with the provisions of this Act to practice as a
barrister or as a barrister and solicitor, either generally or for
the purpose of any particular office or proceedings”
However, the Act is silent as to who is a barrister or a
barrister and solicitor, but the qualifications for enrollment as a
barrister is provided under section 7 of Cap207
supra as follows:
“Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall
be entitled to have his name enrolled if and only if:
- He has been called to the BAR by the Body of Benchers;
and - He produces a certificate of his Call to the Bar to the
Registrar”.
In R. vs. O’Connell (1844) p261 at
312-313 lifted from Oputa JSC’s book “OUR TEMPLE OF
JUSTICE” p.14, Crampton J. said thus:
“This court in which we sit is a Temple of Justice, and the
Advocate at the Bar as well as the Judge on the Bench are equally
ministers in that Temple. The object of all, equally, would be the
attainment of justice…”
Oputa JSC further distilled some guiding principles on the
relationship between the Bench and the Bar as follows:
“
- Lawyers and Judges being instruments of justice are
honoured and honourable. - Such honourable men should not allow ‘the infirmity of
human nature and the strength of human passion’ to lead them
astray, let alone lead them to perpetuate an outright
injustice.
- The Legal profession is not just another avenue for quick
money making by hook or crook. To so conceive the profession, is to
degrade it.
- It is not part of the duties of a Lawyer to win at all cost
or at any cost. There is rather a heavy cost to winning at all cost
and that cost is disdain and dishonor and the desecration of the
sacred temple of justice. - Judges and Lawyers have a prior and perpetual retainer on
behalf of the truth.”
All these therefore, reflect very much the tradition of the
legal profession on the relationship between the Bar and the Bench,
and which is one of reciprocity. The smooth administration of
justice envisages the existence of courageous, efficient, honest
and fearless Bar and Bench.
The Bench is entitled to an unqualified respect from the Bar and
so expects it. The least Magistrate Court, Area, Sharia or
Customary Court and the highest court of the land are equally
entitled to this respect. Members of the Bar stand up when they
address or are addressed by the Bench.
The counsel who easily picks up quarrel with the Bench acts in
contravention of this important duty. The duty of respect which is
as old as the profession itself is highlighted under
Rule 1(a) of Rules of Professional
Conduct as follows:
“It is the duty of the Lawyer to maintain toward the Court,
respectful attitude, not for the sake of the temporary incumbent of
the judicial office, but for the maintenance of its supreme
importance. Judges not being wholly free to defend themselves
against criticism and clamour. Whenever there is proper ground for
serious complaint of judicial officer, it is the duty of the Lawyer
to submit his grievances to proper authority. In such cases, but
not otherwise, such charges should be encouraged and the person
making them should be protected”
This aged long tradition of respect has crystallized into a
solid cornerstone in the edifice of the Bar-and-Bench relationship.
You alone cannot change the position overnight. The tradition is so
well established at the Bar that, even when counsel has nothing but
rude remarks to make, by tradition he is expected to start by
saying: “With respect”. These ethics
demanded the best of Man: obedience and decency, as it was demanded
that Adam (A.S) should keep his own part of the bargain, and he did
not; that was unethical and there came his fall.
The court is where counsel will spend the rest of his years at
the Bar trying to persuade to his view. One cannot carry it along
with him if, by lack of manners, one alienate its feelings beyond
recall or consistently.
Similarly, the Bar is entitled to be treated with dignity by the
Bench. A situation where a member of the Bar is subjected to
unnecessary stress and indignity by the Bench contravenes the
principle of reciprocity. Here the counsel should not respond with
rudeness, but by submitting his grievances to the proper
authorities.
The attainment of justice cannot be achieved if judicial
officers fail to carry themselves with dignity and decorum in the
discharge of there duties. They must at all time develop and
maintain judicial mind and be temperate and not temperamental so
that the process of administration of justice would not be
tempered. However, experience has shown that it is those judges who
have refused to acquire the “Judicial mind” that have
often been subjected to criticism.
Mackenzie said of such judges in the
following word:
“Unfortunately, the system has produced many trial judges
who lack the temperament necessary to match there power. Many are
tyrannical, heavy-handed and abusive toward Lawyers and Litigants
who appear in there courts”
Hence judicial officers of this category in Nigeria or indeed
anywhere in the world are a negation of the integrity facet of the
tradition of the legal profession.
While it is true that the Nigerian judiciary has many gifted,
learned and honest Lawyers/Judges/Justices who have occupied and
still occupying judicial offices in Nigeria and some commonwealth
countries, it is the judicial officer whose conduct falls below the
required standard that usually occupies the headlines in both the
press and electronic media when the National Judicial Council (NJC)
discent on him or her.
It is therefore, of paramount importance that every person who
has been called upon to discharge the duties of a judicial officer
must abide by his judicial oath and maintain the dignity of his
exalted office. This is a noble pursuit. It is necessary to say to
all engaged in judicial administration to borrow the words of
Crompton J.thus:
“Let your zeal be as warm as your heart’s blood, but let it
be tampered with discretion and with self-respect. Let your
independence be firm and uncompromising, but let it be chastened by
personal humility, let your love for liberty amount to a passion,
but let it not appear to be a cloak for maliciousness”.
Both Islam and Christianity which are the two prevalent
religions in Nigeria and which to the understanding of many, have
adherence from among the members of the Bar and Bench, have alluded
more spiritual injunctions for those engaged in the administration
of justice. The Holy Bible in the book of Deuteronomy Chapter
16,verse 18-20, and in the Holy Qur’an Surah Nisai, Chapter
IV,verse:135 – which all have bearing with the oaths phrase”
…to do justice to all manner of people without fear or favour,
affection or ill will, so help me God”, demand from judicial
officers to refrain from perverting the course of justice; showing
partiality; accepting bribe; and subverting the course of
righteousness. The Challenge however, lies in the will, innate
ability or conviction to avoid those that are formidable, and to do
what is right.
In conclusion, although the court in Law is the judge, the court
in general parlance, consists of the judge and the Bar. Both are
indispensable partners in the administration of justice. None is
made more important than the other. The Bench cannot function
without the Bar and vice versa. Hence, in order to ensure smooth
administration of justice, there should be reciprocal respect.
There should be the spirit of give and take in the courtroom. The
Bench even though, decide cases brought before it by the Bar
members, it should not feel superior. After all, it is the Bar that
supplies
the judicial personnel and also feed the Bench with the tools of
the case, in terms of facts and the law. Although, that has never
given the Bar any “upper hand” in terms of superiority over the
Bench! Once there is mutuality of purpose between the Bar and the
Bench, litigation and adjudication no longer become tedious, but
pleasant and easygoing.
ABOUT THE WRITER:
IBRAHIM AHMAD KALA ESQ. can be reached @
email: Ibrokalaesq@yahoo.com
Read more https://nairalaw.com/the-relationship-between-the-bar-and-the-bench-by-ibrahim-ahmad-kala/