The Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria, MULAN, has called on the leadership of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court to address what it says is a declining number of appellate justices with specialised knowledge of Islamic personal law.
The association warned that the situation is contributing to delays in hearing and determining appeals involving Sharia-related questions.
MULAN raised the concern in a communiqué issued at the conclusion of its National Executive Committee meeting in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The communiqué was signed by MULAN President Alhaji Hassan Taiwo Fajimite and Secretary-General Aminu Umar Kalgo.
Concern over composition of appellate panels
According to the association, the shortage of justices sufficiently learned in Islamic personal law is making it more difficult to constitute panels capable of determining specialised Sharia appeals.
Such cases can involve questions relating to marriage, family relationships, inheritance, gifts, wills and succession where Islamic personal law applies.
MULAN therefore urged those responsible for judicial appointments and appellate court administration to ensure that sufficient numbers of appropriately qualified justices are available.
The association’s concerns have a constitutional foundation.
Under Section 237(2) of the 1999 Constitution, the Court of Appeal is required to include not fewer than three justices learned in Islamic personal law, as well as not fewer than three learned in customary law.
Section 288 of the Constitution also requires regard to be given, in appointments to the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, to the need for persons learned in Islamic personal law and customary law.
The concern raised by MULAN, however, goes beyond the formal constitutional minimum.
The association says the practical challenge is whether sufficient qualified justices are regularly available to constitute panels and determine appeals without avoidable delay.
Expertise and access to justice
Specialised judicial expertise can be particularly important where the resolution of an appeal depends on principles of Islamic personal law rather than general civil or criminal law.
Nigeria’s appellate courts have also previously emphasised that a dispute does not fall within Sharia jurisdiction merely because the parties are Muslims.
The subject matter must fall within the constitutionally recognised areas of Islamic personal law before specialised jurisdiction is engaged.
For litigants whose appeals do properly raise those questions, however, delay in constituting suitably qualified panels can directly affect access to appellate justice.
MULAN’s intervention therefore raises a wider institutional issue about succession planning within the judiciary and maintaining sufficient specialist expertise as senior judges retire.
The association wants that concern reflected not only in future judicial appointments but also in the day-to-day management and composition of appellate panels.
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