The Scale of Justice: Balancing Equity and Efficiency in a Complex World by Adesanmi O. Afolabi Esq.

BEING A PAPER PRESENTED BY ADESANMI O. AFOLABI ESQ. AT THE STUDENT JUDICIAL SUMMIT 2024 OF THE ADEKUNLE AJASIN UNIVERSITY, AKUNGBA AKOKO STUDENT JUDICIAL COUNCIL

INTRODUCTION:

Defining Key Concepts

Equity

According to the 10th edition of the Black’s Law Dictionary, Equity is defined as the following;

(i). fairness; impartiality, evenhanded dealing. (ii). the body of principles constituting what is fair and right. (iii). the recourse to principles of justice to correct or supplement the law as applied to particular circumstances and (iv). The system of law or body of principles originating in the English Court of Chancery and superseding the common and statute law.

Equity within the Nigerian Legal Context would involve Equal Access to Justice which means ensuring that everyone irrespective of socio-economic status, ethnicity or location has access to justice; Non-discrimination which would involve ensuring equal treatment before the law especially for vulnerable groups like the poor, women and children; Fair Representation which would involve legal aid and pro bono services and Cultural Sensitivity which would involve recognizing and respecting diverse cultural and religious legal traditions within the framework of constitutional rights.

Efficiency

According to the 2nd edition of the Black’s Law Dictionary, Efficiency is the measure of the cost of an approach and its achievement versus expectation. It is a classic measure in determining productivity. Efficiency within the Nigerian Legal Context would involve Timely Resolution of Cases which would involve clearing the backlog of cases in the various courts; Promoting Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR); Streamlined Procedures which would involve implementing case management techniques to expedite cases; Implementing evaluation of Judicial Officers Performance; and Technological Integration which would involve embracing e-filing systems and virtual court sessions.

Scale of Justice

According to the 10th edition of the Black’s Law Dictionary, scale of justice is defined as a weighing device with two trays suspended in equal balance, held by the personified version of Justice for assessing the figurative weight of two sides in a dispute.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:

The justice system of Nigeria viewed from the historical perspective shows a constant tension between maintaining cultural and legal diversity (a form of equity) and creating a unified, efficient system. From the pre-colonial era till date, the complexity of cultural and legal diversity continues to plague efforts to create a unified, efficient system. Different rules have to be applied in the North and in the South to accommodate the cultural and legal diversities pre-dominant in the various parts of the country in order to ensure equity, all of which hacks on the efficiency of the entire justice system.

Balancing equity and efficiency does not rest its oars in the rules and regulations alone, but is also seen in the courtroom. The Supreme Court’s decision in the landmark case of Eyitayo Jegede & Anor v. INEC & Ors. (2021) emphasized the importance of internal party democracy by pointing out the judiciary’s role in balancing political rights (equity) with the need for timely resolution of electoral disputes (efficiency).

THE FUNDAMENTAL TENSION BETWEEN EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM:

Equity is concerned with fairness, impartiality and their equal distribution. Efficiency is generally more concerned with generation of a particular good or service (in this case, justice) rather than its distribution. There are many instances where justice suffers in a bid to get it to more persons and there are also various instances where a lesser number of persons have access to justice in a bid to have justice delivered, thereby creating tension. A good example of this tension is evident in the structure of the Court system in Nigeria. The Supreme Court takes appeals on certain cases in order to ensure that an aggrieved party gets justice (efficiency). However, this causes a huge backlog of cases meaning less number of persons are able to access that justice on time (equity).

IMPORTANCE OF FINDING BALANCE IN AN INCREASINGLY COMPLEX WORLD:

The balance between Efficiency and Equity is a big issue nowadays because capitalism has created a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Technology has created a huge gap between the exposed and unexposed, and education has created a huge gap between the illiterate and literate. The tension between equity and balance has always and will always be there. The key is to figure out how to reduce any dramatic inefficiencies produced when fostering equity.

CURRENT CHALLENGES OF BALANCING EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY:

Legal Pluralism

The Nigerian Justice system makes use of Common law, Customary law, Sharia law, Statutes and Case law. This diversity leads to conflicts of laws and jurisdictional issues, complicating the pursuit of both equity and efficiency.

Federal Structure

The 36 states have separate laws made for and applied in their jurisdictions aside the Acts made by the National Assembly. This creates disparities in legal processes and resource allocation. Also, the various states have varying capacities to implement reforms, leading to uneven progress in achieving equity and efficiency.

Socio-cultural Diversity

Nigeria is grossly culturally diverse with no less than 250 ethnic groups and multiple religions. Ensuring equitable access to justice while maintaining efficiency is challenging especially due to cultural and language barriers impeding efficient legal processes and equitable outcomes.

Economic Constraint

The underfunding of the judiciary has a direct effect on the administration of justice and its efficiency at large. As the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola pointed out during the discussions on a proposed bill aimed at prescribing new salaries, allowances, and fringe benefits for judicial officials in the Nigerian Bulletin issue of 24^th day of May, 2024. He argued that a well-compensated judiciary is not only in the interest of judges but, more importantly, in the interest of Nigerian citizens who ultimately bear the consequences of an underfunded and deprived judicial system.

Political Interference

The possibility of the judiciary being sometimes influenced by political pressures is present especially in high profile cases which leads to delays or undue influence, challenging the balance between fair trial rights and timely justice.

STRATEGIES FOR BALANCING EQUITY AND EFFICIENCY:

Implementing the National Judicial Policy of 2016

This policy is aimed at enhancing judicial independence, integrity, and efficiency by ensuring transparent appointment processes for judges, continuous judicial education and implementation of a code of conduct for judicial officers. This will go a long way to improve both equity (through impartial judges) and efficiency (through better-trained judiciary).

Specialized Courts

Following the successful precedent set by the introduction of the National Industrial Court with exclusive jurisdiction over labor and employment matters, creation of other specialized courts will tremendously help the cause of equity-efficiency balance. A good place to start would be the introduction of commercial courts.

Technology Adoption

This is one of the most obvious requirements of any judicial system that aims to balance equity and efficiency in a fast changing complex world. The world at large changed drastically post COVID and the judicial system has to adapt itself to this change to be able to administer justice to the world it exists in. The e-filing initiative implemented in federal courts and some state judiciaries (e.g., Lagos, Abuja) should be embraced in the whole country, same with virtual court hearings and case management software.

CONCLUSION:

The use of the scale symbol in the judicial world connotes the ever present tussle in the justice system as a whole and is a perfect illustration of the journey to achieving balance between equity and efficiency. This is particularly glaring by the absence of anything specifically new in this presentation. To tell the truth, it will be a wild goose chase to try to invent or say anything new. However, the best way to approach this issue would be to figure out how to reduce any dramatic inefficiencies produced when fostering equity.

CITATIONS:

Defining and Balancing Equity, Erica Goldberg, 24 Nevada Law Journal 115. https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/nlj/article/1928/&path_info=Goldberg_24_Nev._L.J._115_Final_Print.pdf.
Black’s Law Dictionary, Second Edition.
Eyitayo Olayinka Jegede & Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) v. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressive Congress (APC), Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu & Hon. Orimisan Aiyedatiwa (2021) LPELR 55481 (SC).
Nigerian Chief Justice Pleads for Judges’ Salary Increase After 17-Year Freeze, by Wakanda, Nigerian Bulletin, May 21, 2024. https://nigerianbulletin.com/ams/nigerian-chief-justice-pleads-for-judges-salary-increase-after-17-year-freeze.5358/