Developing the Law through Judicial Activism in Nigeria: Judicial Departure from Established Precedent Perspective
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Date
2019
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Publisher
Novena University Law Journal
Abstract
The powers and limitations of government institutions in Nigeria are defined in the constitution. The institution exercise separate powers and from this perspective, the primary duty of legislature is to legislate for peace and good governance of the country, the executive executes law and the judiciary enforces the law, settles dispute and interpret the constitution and statues. Through their functions, judges pass judgments including in new or novel situations, which in turn become precedents. However there have been arguments concerning the departure of courts from the established precedent within the context of the judicial activism. This investigation which is purely doctrinal relies on primary and secondary sources for information. The paper examines the development of law through the concept of judicial activism. The paper consist of five (5) parts; (i) the introductory part, (ii) the conceptual analysis of judicial activism.(iii) the conceptual analysis of judicial precedence. (iv) judicial precedence or state decision as metric for measuring judicial activism and (v) the conclusion. The paper established that judicial departure from a wrongly decided matter or a decision reached per incuriam, even if it is an established precedent is appropriate.
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Keywords
Judicial, activism, precedent, interpretation, judgment, legislature
Citation
NULJ