The Rule of Law is Universal

Shinzo Abe, the Prime Minister of Japan opened this year's IBA Annual Conference by emphasising that the international community must work together to support the rule of law. He said that the term ‘rule of law’ has its origin in Western civilisation but that the idea is universal and by no means limited to the West, as its concept is also embedded in the spiritual traditions of many Asian countries. The reason he noted, dates back to ancient times well over a thousand years ago when similar concepts to the ‘rule of law’ were already in existence. The ‘rule of law’ is universal he said and at its root is always the warm and caring heart so the rule is therefore imbued with a deep love of humanity. He further added that the law represents the morals and norms of society, created through consensus among people who work together and are bound by their shared love of humanity and that in all human societies there is always the law and power is always the servant of the law. Interestingly, that statement might be considered the reverse case in certain jurisdictions today.

Prior to the 20th century, violence had yet to be universally condemned in the international community, with wars and oppressive colonial rule accepted as part of the norm. It was only in the mid-20th century that war came to be condemned and a new international community was created based on the charter of the United Nations. It was therefore unsurprisingly in the same century that nearly all former colonies around the world achieved their independence.

Japan Abe said is engaged in broad diplomatic efforts that seek to realise the rule of law in the international community by supporting the development of legal systems in other countries, mainly on the Asian continent. These efforts have not been limited to government ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Justice, Foreign Affairs and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency but have truly been an 'all Japan effort’. Furthermore Japan isparticularlyparticipating in international efforts to aid women striving to gain further skills and also in the protection and promotion of women’s rights.

On April 1 2014, the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (The Hague Convention) entered into force in Japan and the country is actively involved in initiatives to resolve the issues of child removal, in accordance with international rules. The Prime Minister further emphasised his country's commitment to democracy, basic human rights and the rule of law which he said they are purposely engaged in, with strenuous efforts being made to develop attorneys capable of playing a role on the front line of the international legal community, even as he stressed that he would like Japan to continue to work to establish and further strengthen the rule of law in the international community.

Shinzo Abe in conclusion said that the abiding lesson we can draw from the experiences of the 20th century is surely the importance of the rule of law which represents the rule for democracy, basic human rights and peaceful conflict resolution. He further added that together with the members of the IBA and respective governments, should let the powers that be exercise their leadershipwisely as they seek to establish the universal ‘rule of law’ on this earth.

The IBA is Committed to Upholding the Rule of Law Worldwide 

Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akhito and Empress Michiko of Japan completed the high–profile line up that opened the IBA Annual Conference last Sunday 19th October. This was the very first IBA Annual Conference attended by the host country’s Head of State and Prime Minister and as such signified the elevated level of  importance and respect placed on the legal profession in Japan. As the local newspaper reporters covering the opening ceremony confirmed, their Majesties are not seen out that frequently these days. The IBA President Mr. Michael Reynolds delivered part of his speech in excellent Japanese in welcoming his special guests and the 6,300 delegates from around the world.  He stated that this conference was the largest ever in the Asia Pacific region and further added that the IBA had especially focused this year on emerging markets, with the  MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) being  especially recognised as increasingly important economies on the world's stage and that the IBA had particularly encouraged lawyers from these countries to be in Tokyo to benefit from the business  opportunities on offer and the international contacts they willassuredly make. He additionally highlighted the IBA’s efforts in Myanmar and Cuba. In Myanmar the IBA is helping lawyers establish an independent bar association and Mr. Reynolds went on to quote Aung San Suu Kyi, a Burmese opposition politician of world renown and chairperson of the National League for Democracy, who at an event in Naypyidaw, Burma's capital, said that 'a country cannot have economic development without the establishment of the rule of law, and that cannot happen without a nationwide independent bar association.' The IBA president then talked about his meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi where she told him how the IBA could help the cause of the rule of law and the legal profession which has suffered so grievously under 40 years of military dictatorship during which time much of the legal infrastructure of the country has been defaced. As an unfortunate result, she felt, young students had little or no wish to become lawyers. Expectedly, since then the IBA has been especially supportive, providing material assistance, training lawyers and judges and now most importantly, it is providing step by step assistance in setting up an independent national bar association in Burma.

The IBA's support has also been extended to Cuba now that limited economic reforms are taking place in the country and as a direct result of Mr. Reynolds' visit to Havana, Cuba's capital, early in the year the IBA has reached out to lawyers’ organisations in Cuba to help them reconnect with and re-integrate into the international legal community.

IBA President Reynolds also confirmed the launching of two presidential task forces, the first being on Human Trafficking, addressing the appalling problem and degrading menace of this form of modern slavery and investigating how the law can be changed to ensure that the traffickers are held suitably accountable and their victims similarly empowered through better access to justice. The other task force, on Climate Change, Justice and Human Rights, brings together leading experts and practitioners in the fields of environmental law and human rights. A comprehensive report has now been produced and was presented at a showcase session, with presentations by Al Gore, former US Vice President and Mary Robinson former President of Ireland and a UN Special Envoy for climate change who inspired the launch of the task force two years ago.

The IBA, as was often stated, is resolutely committed to upholding the rule of law worldwide by working with many of the most gifted, internationally minded lawyers to improve legal systems across the globe and work with legislative bodies to elevate standards of practice. Since 2008 the IBA has committed $8 million from its reserves to this very cause. Mr. Reynolds reiterated, quite aptly, that without an independent Bar Association there can be no rule of law. This we know too well, coming from a jurisdiction such as ours.
In closing, Mr. Reynolds shared something Nelson Mandela had said about that difficult journey that lay aheadwhich he felt could be a guiding light to us all: "I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way but I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”

Police arraign killer of activist, mother-in-law

The police have arraigned a 24-year-old man, Seun Oladapo, for allegedly killing Lagos-based human rights activist and popular social commentator, Kunle Fadipe, and his mother-in-law, Mrs Ceceila Owolabi.

While Fadipe died on the day of the attack, his 74-year-old mother-in-law died a few days after from the injuries she sustained during the attack.

Fadipe and his family had been attacked in their home in Harmony Estate, College Road in Ifako Ijaiye, Lagos, on July 3, 2014.

On the day of the incident, the slain lawyer had asked his son to turn on the generator after a power outage in the area.

The suspect, who emerged from the dark, armed with a knife, reportedly ordered Fadipe’s son to lead him to his father.

After making a series of demands from the deceased, he was said to have stabbed him in the neck and on his back.

He was also said to have injured the deceased’s son and mother-in-law who he stabbed in the breast.

The suspect allegedly attacked other family members before he was overpowered by security men in the community.

Oladapo was arraigned before a Yaba Chief Magistrate’s Court on seven counts of murder and attempted murder.

The police told the court that investigations revealed that the suspect also robbed the Fadipe family of an envelope containing a large sum of money.

The charges read in part, “That you, Seun Oladapo, on or about July 4, 2014 at about 1am, on Harmony Drive, Harmony Estate, Iju, Lagos in the Lagos Magisterial District, whilst armed with a knife and other weapons did rob Barrister Kunle Fadipe (deceased) and his household of a large sum of money contained in an envelope which value is yet to be ascertained.

“That you unlawfully killed Kunle Fadipe, by stabbing him with a knife all over his body.

“That you did unlawfully kill Ceceilia Owolabi, by stabbing her with a knife.”

The police prosecutor, Mr. Agwu Agwu, from the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, said the offences were punishable under sections 295, 228 and 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011.

The defendant’s plea was not taken.

The prosecutor then applied for his remand in prison pending a legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.

“Our application is brought pursuant to Section 264(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State, Nigeria, 2011. The remand will help the police duplicate the case file and obtain legal advice from the DPP,” he said.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Aje Afunwa, agreed to remand the defendant in prison pending legal advice.

The matter was adjourned till November 28, 2014 for legal advice.

ADEKUNLE AJASIN UNIVERSITY GRADUATE MADE FIRST CLASS AT THE LAW SCHOOL

Twenty-five-year-old Opeyemi Longe is used to blazing the trail in the academic world. For 13 years, many students had tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to bag a first class Bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Law of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State.

But, in 2012, the native of Omuooke-Ekiti broke the jinx and emerged the first student to graduate with a first class degree from the faculty.

Not done with this feat that has earned him accolades and admiration, Longe, who was admitted to the Abuja campus of the Nigerian Law School in October 2013 for the one-year mandatory vocational legal training for aspiring lawyers in the country, pledged to keep the flag of excellence flying.

Apart from being one of the four students that shined at the 2014 Part II Final Bar Examination of the NLS, Longe has also emerged as the first law graduate of the AAUA to obtain a first class degree from the 51-year-old institution.

The other successful students who obtained a first class degree at the NLS this year are Ikechukwu Uzoma from the Lagos campus of the NLS who graduated from the Abia State University, Uturu; Anita Omonuwa (Abuja Campus), a graduate of the University of Reading, United Kingdom; and another student from the Bayelsa campus of the school.

The mass failure recorded at the law school this year has remained a subject of discourse among legal luminaries and educationists. According to the summary of the result posted on the NLS website, mynls.com, only 3,418 out of the 7,176 registered students passed the examination.

About 527 students had conditional passes, while 3,100 failed. Some of the students were said to have abstained from the examination.

The PUNCH sought to speak with the outstanding graduates produced this year at the Law School on the secret of their success in the examination.

Longe, who had eight distinctions — including four A1s — in all the subjects that he offered at the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination in 2005, said he set out from the beginning to graduate with a first class degree.

Having performed the same feat as an undergraduate of a relatively new state university, he said, the development had placed on him a burden to defend the result at the Law School.

Longe added that it was imperative for him to prove that the result he obtained at the AAUA was not a fluke and that he would have bagged the same class in any university in the country.

He said, “When I finished from the university, I became the first person to graduate with a first class degree in a faculty that had existed for 13 years and this placed on me a burden to defend this result at the Law School.

“I knew that I was expected to prove that the first class I got was not a mere fluke and that I could not afford to have anything less.

“Besides, I had always believed that I could be the best student in any school I attended. For this reason, I have been the best student in all the schools that I have attended, starting from primary school.

“Therefore, I saw no reason why the Nigerian Law School should be any different. What I needed to do was to make myself realise I could do it and so it became my drive to make a first class.”

He noted that his attendance at social outings and programmes were very minimal, adding that he did it on purpose with a view to achieving his academic goals.

Describing the mass failure as unprecedented, Longe stated that he did not employ any special reading strategy to post an exemplary academic performance.

The third child in a family of six, however, explained that he studied “very hard” from the beginning of the one-year programme, adding that he bought at least two recommended text-books for each of the five courses offered at the NLS.

He said he never toyed with group discussions organised by the school management, adding that the special arrangement gave him the opportunity to learn from his colleagues.

He said, “In each of the five courses offered at the Law School, I have at least two textbooks recommended by the school and I did not just purchase them for the fun of it. I took my time to study each and every one of them and you will be amazed what effect they had on me.

“They gave me the privilege of having a good grasp of those courses, perhaps far above what I was expected to know. There may actually not be a special reading strategy, but I know I was disciplined in my studies.

“I worked very closely with the lesson plan made available to all of us. So I ensured that I studied for each lesson before the class and carried out the pre-class assignments and this is where the issue of disciplined study comes in.

“I told myself, ‘You must not do anything else unless you are ready for tomorrow’s class.’ In this wise, every other thing I needed to do came after I was satisfied of being prepared for the class of the following day.”

Although Aba-born Uzoma, who hails from the Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State, graduated from ABSU with a Bachelor’s degree in the second-class upper division, he etched his name in gold this year as the first ABSU Law graduate to obtain a first class degree at the law school.

The 2007 alumnus of Dority International Secondary School, Abayi, Aba, Abia State, whose childhood dream was to be a legal practitioner, stated that he had always nurtured the ambition of having an excellent result to aid his “future educational and career goals.”

Going down memory lane, Uzoma said, “My childhood dream was to study law. I grew up saying I would be a lawyer for no particular reason. As I approached my decision years, I realised that my dream had moulded me into a frame that could only accommodate the studying of law.”

Noting that there were many distractions at the Lagos campus of the Law School, Uzoma stated that he withdrew from social functions organised by his colleagues, adding that he mostly participated in academic and religious activities.

“Wisdom directed my affairs while in the law school. I withdrew from several responsibilities I had outside school and my church, Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, besides, I adopted a regimented sleeping schedule, especially towards the exams. I did not join my family for the last Christmas and Easter holidays. I used those periods to rest and study Besides, I put in extra efforts to redeem any lost time.

“Cardinally, I had a way of keeping my focus strong and getting very involved in the curricular activities in school. As a group leader in the Lagos campus, I ensured that I was personally involved in all the assignments and I found some time to study. My constant dissatisfaction with my inability to meet some personal targets spurred me on to stretch and do more. I also kept a small circle of friends with whom I studied,” the 25-year-old stated.

Noting that academic studies at the law school were quite demanding, the young lawyer, born to a pharmacist father, explained that the challenging “new learning environment” toughened his resolve to “succeed irrespective of my condition.”

Stating that he refrained from “memorising or cramming a lot,” at the law school, Uzoma said he sought to “understand how the law works and I applied every principle to everyday life.”

Just as the Deputy Director-General and Head of Lagos campus of the NLS, Mrs. Toun Adebiyi, alleged that many of the students who failed were preoccupied with social media rather than their studies, Longe and Uzoma said they withdrew from social networking during the academic programme.

“Throughout my period at the Law School, I was significantly away from the social media such that some of my friends accused me of avoiding them, Longe said.

Uzoma also stated, “I stopped contributing to discussions online and my degree of online activity greatly reduced.”

Acknowledging the commitment of the law school management in ensuring that students pass the examination, Longe and Uzoma noted that not all the unsuccessful candidates were unserious, as alleged by the authorities.

Longe said, “Depending on the way you want to look at it, the management may be right to an extent because some students were just too unserious to pass. That is not to say that the majority of the student population were unserious.

“There are students who took pleasure in coming late to class, pinging, chatting and holding separate discussions when lectures were going on.

“But the sudden reduction of the time for the multiple choice questions from one hour to 50 minutes without adequate notice affected some students because they prepared for the exam on the assumption that they had one hour for the exams.”

Uzoma, who noted that the Final Bar Part II Examination had a “peculiar grading structure,” unlike other regular professional examinations, argued that it would be difficult to prove that the majority of his colleagues failed because they were unserious.

“I cannot say that the majority of my colleagues failed because they were unserious. I do not know how that can be proved. There may have been some unserious folks in my set but I cannot say that the majority of my colleagues were unserious,” Uzoma stated.

The two Law school graduates, who are waiting to be called up for the mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme in November, have already received offers to join the academic staff of the Law Faculty of their respective alma maters.

But they have said they would love to practise law, as well as pursue postgraduate degrees up to the doctoral level before considering to take up the offer.

Noting that they both seek to take advantage of available scholarship opportunities, Longe and Uzoma indicated interest in obtaining master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Birmingham, UK and Harvard University, United States respectively after undergoing the NYSC programme

Raising the bar of legal education

ALL the hue and cry about the quality of education in Nigeria came into sharp focus again last week when the Nigerian Law School released the 2014 Bar Part II examinations results. The most striking ingredient was that a total of 4,000 students failed the examinations, a significant figure, considering the fact that 7,176 candidates sat for the tests. Only four graduated with a first class degree, just 96 made second class upper, while 620 had second lower division, and 2,610 finished with ordinary pass.

As could be expected, the results are generating massive misgivings in the legal community, particularly among the candidates who are feeling short-changed by the system. According to media reports, many of the students, apart from agitating for a review, are blaming the unprecedented failure ratio on the leadership of the 52-year-old school. But amid the mass hysteria, there is the need to properly situate the issues at stake.

Of critical importance is the fact that legal education in Nigeria is due for reform, which the current leadership of the NLS, led by the Director-General, Olanrewaju Onadeko, has already embarked on. In their defence of the results, the school authorities stated that the grading system had been overhauled to guarantee improved quality. Instead of the earlier practice of only one official grading the examination scripts, there are now three layers of gatekeepers. The layers are now a senior lecturer, a deputy director and a director. This is a measure that could guarantee sanity and should be encouraged.

Based on the new approach, the failure rate among those sitting for the examination a second time was even higher. “The failure rate was high among the re-sit candidates with about 1168 out of 1335 students who registered failing the examinations, while 88 students recorded ordinary pass. Also, 26 of the re-sit students recorded conditional pass,” Elizabeth Max-Uba, the Secretary to the Council of Legal Education and (NLS) Director of Administration, lamented. But 57.01 per cent of the candidates sitting for the examination for the first time passed.

As with every reform, there is bound to be an outcry. But the most important question, naturally, is whether tougher standards will lead to much improved legal practice. In a system that had been producing low quality lawyers, the NLS leadership should be vested with the benefit of the doubt in the attempt to restore the lost glory of the legal profession. The decentralisation of the law school carried out when the military was in power should not be an excuse to lower standards. Conversely, it could be a source of strength to the training of lawyers. The world is dynamic and technology is altering the practice of law around the world. The NLS should introduce modern technology into its curriculum so that Nigerian lawyers would be able to stand with their peers anywhere across the globe. At the height of law practice here, Nigerian judges were toast of sorts around the African continent.

Generally, quality education remains a major concern across the board. At present, the profession, which has produced icons in the bar and bench, is in a shambles. Most of the lawyers qualifying of late do not seem to measure up to the plate. Ethics has been eroded among lawyers, with accusations of even senior lawyers acting as the intermediary between litigants eager to buy judgement and corrupt judges. According to Okey Wali, the immediate past Nigerian Bar Association president, a total of 13 lawyers were disbarred by the body in one year over various malpractices. Two were suspended. The NLS should infuse a high degree of ethical studies into the curriculum of the law school.

With a downturn in the standard of recently-qualified lawyers, the proposal to have a first degree before studying law should be re-considered. Although this is still the practice in the United Kingdom, where law is studied as a first degree, in the United States, an intending lawyer needs a first degree in any discipline before going for a three-year programme in a law school approved by the American Bar Association.

The above narrative is a reason to embark on far-reaching reforms of the legal trade. That our present crop of lawyers finds it hard to speak proper English and file briefs is hard to stomach. But there is the need to formulate broad methodological guidelines for the development and implementation of the reform. Naturally, this will attract criticisms. But the CLE and the NLS should address this malaise by collaborating with the National Universities Commission, the body that approves law faculties in the Nigerian university system.

All the schools running wishy-washy programmes should be axed, and their programmes restored only after due diligence has been ascertained. While it is necessary for the NLS to provide quality training and development for lawyers, the authorities should put in place a transparent mechanism through which aggrieved students can seek redress.