SUPREME COURT RULES, 1985

CENTER FOR LAWS OF NIGERIA: RULES OF COURTS

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RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

[PURSUANT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND THE SUPREME COURT ACT]

ARRANGEMENT OF ORDERS

Order 1 – General Definitions 

1.     Short title

2.     Interpretation

Order 2 – Administration and General Procedures

1.     Service generally

2.     Duty of legal practitioner where he no longer acts for parties

3.     Personal service where necessary

4.     Service of notice of appeal

5.     Filing of address for service

6.     Service on Government, Minister or the Attorney-General

7.     Service out of the jurisdiction

8.     Title of proceedings

9.     Preliminary Objections

10.    Declaration by party not appearing

11.    Non appearance of appellant of respondent

12.    Procedure for receiving further evidence on appeal

13.    Fees generally

14.    Fees in proceedings by poor persons     

15.    Registry

16.    Hours of opening to public

17.    Sessions

18.    Notification of sittings

19.    Adjournment

20.    Chief Registrars: custody of records

21.    Other Registrars

22.    Seal of the Court

23.    Powers of Chief Registrar

24.    Books to be kept by Registrar

25.    Files of documents

26.    Setting aside or varying order of Registrar

27.    Forms

28.    Applications to Court: Procedure to follow

29.    Application to strike out, etc.

30.    When appeal is deemed

31.    Enlargement of time and departure from Rules

32.    Appeal from concurrent findings of fact by two courts

33.    Leave of audience in certain cases

34.    Application of Order 2

35.    Rules of Court Advisory Committee

Order 3 – Proceedings in The Original Jurisdiction Of The Court

1.     Procedure not provided for

2.     Commencement of proceedings

3.     Where statement of claim must be filed

4.     Issue of summons

5.     Form of summons

6.     Originating summons

7.     Statement of claim in lieu of originating summons

8.     Originating motion

9.     Mode of entry appearance

10.    Notice of entry to plaintiff

11.    Address for service

12.    Statement of defence

13.    Reply to defence

14.    Procedure in interlocutory applications

15.    Motion to be on notice

16.    Length of notice

17.    Motions may be dismissed or adjourned where necessary notice not given

18.    Effect of declaratory judgments

19.    Originating summons not sole means of obtaining declaratory judgment

20.    Summons for directions

Order 4 – Case Stated

1.     Stating questions of law

2.     Content of case stated

3.     Reference to documents

4.     Inference from facts and documents

5.     Argument confined to facts and documents

6.     Signing and filing of case stated

7.     Written agreement of parties

8.     Oral agreement before Court

9.     Procedure in absence of agreement

Order 5 – Reference As To Constitution And Reserved Points of Law

1.     Stating a case

2.     Documents to accompany case stated

3.     Form of case stated

4.     Right of audience

5.     Brief of argument

6.     Dispute on facts determined by the Court of Appeal

7.     Address on case stated

Order 6 – Filing of Briefs in Civil and Criminal Proceedings

1.     Application of order

2.     Application for leave to appeal: Contents of

3.     Power of the Court to hear applications in chambers

4.     Preparation of record of appeal

5.     Preparation and filing of Briefs of argument

6.     Separate briefs and cross-appeals

7.     List of law reports, text books, etc. to be forwarded to the Registrar

8.     Oral argument

9.     Failure to file brief within time

10.    Power of court to accelerate hearing in exceptional circumstance

Order 7 – Record of Appeal in Civil and Criminal Proceedings

1.     Appeal to which this Order applies

2.     Preparation of the Record

3.     Fees for preparing the record and security for costs

4.     Transmission of the record

5.     Departure from rules

6.     Record in certain appeals

7.     Appellant to prepare record in certain appeals

8.     Distribution of record

Order 8 – Civil Appeals

1.     Application

2.     Notice and grounds of appeal

3.     Deleted

4.     Deleted

5.     Directions of the Court as to service of notice of appeal

6.     Withdrawal of appeal

7.     Appeal by respondent after appellant’s appeal is withdrawn

8.     Non-compliance with conditions of appeal

9.     Death of Party to an appeal

10.    Exhibits

11.    Control of proceedings during pendency of appeal

12.    General powers of the Court

13.    Powers of the Courts as to new trial

14.    Judgment

15.    Order

16.    Review of judgment

17.    Enforcement of judgment

18.    Execution of judgment by court below

19.    Costs

20.    Liability to Costs in proceedings by poor persons

Order 9 – Criminal Appeals

1.     Appeals to which this Order applies

2.     Applications by parties

3.     Appellant to file Notice of Appeal

4.     Bail

5.     Fines

6.     Varying order for restitution of property

7.     Non-suspension of order of restitution

8.     Restrictions on issue of appeal and effect of

9.     Withdrawal of notice of appeal and effect of

10(1). Attendance of witnesses

10(2) Application to Court to hear witnesses

10(3) Order appointing examiner

10(4) Furnishing examiner with exhibits

10(5) Notification of date of examination

10(6) Evidence to be taken on oath

10(7) Deposition of witness how to take

10(8) Expenses of witness before examiner

10(9) Presence of parties at examination of witness

11.    Proceedings on reference

12(1) Notification of final determination of appeals

12(2) Notification of appeals in capital cases

13.    Notification of result of appeal

14.    Return of original depositions, etc.

15.    Enforcement of Orders

Order 10 – Miscellaneous

1.     Waiver of compliance with Rules

2.     Practice Direction

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RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

[PURSUANT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AND THE SUPREME COURT ACT]

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[Commencement]               [1st day of April, 1985]

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Order 1 – General Definitions

1.     Short title

(1)    These Rules may be cited as the Supreme Court Rules.

2.     Interpretation

In these Rules, unless it is otherwise expressly provided or the context so requires:

        ‘Act’ means the Supreme Court Act, 1960 or any other Act amending or replacing it;

        ‘appeal’ includes an application for leave to appeal;

        ‘appellant’ means a party appealing from a decision or applying for leave in behalf therefore and    includes the legal practitioner retained or assigned to represent him in the proceedings before the    Court;

        ‘Chief Justice’ means the Chief Justice of Nigeria;

‘Constitution’ means the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and includes any amendment thereto or modification thereof or any enactment replacing it;

‘Court’ means the Supreme Court of Nigeria;

‘court below’ means the Court of Appeal;

‘Court of first instance’ means the court or tribunal sitting either in original or appellate jurisdiction, immediately below the court below;

‘Committee’ means the Rules of Court Advisory Committee established under these Rules;

‘Court of Appeal’ means the Court of Appeal established by the Constitution;

‘High Court’ means the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, or High Court established for a State by the Constitution;

‘Justice’ means a Justice of the Court;

‘judgment’ includes any order made by the court in question after judgment;

‘record’ means the aggregate of papers relating to an appeal (including the pleadings, proceedings, evidence, judgments and briefs) proper to be laid before the Court on the hearing of the appeal;

‘Registrar’ means the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and includes any other officer of the Registry working under him;

‘Registrar of the court below’ means the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal and includes the Deputy Chief Registrar and any Registrar or Deputy Registrar or other officer working under him and exercising functions analogous to the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal;

‘respondent’ in a civil means any party (other than the appellant) directly affected by the appeal, and in a criminal appeal means the person who undertakes the defence of the judgment appealed against and includes the legal practitioner retained or assigned to represent them in the proceedings before the court;

‘Rules’ means these Rules or any amendment thereto or any other additional Rules made under the Constitutional and includes the Schedule appended to these Rules.

Order 2 – Administration And General Procedure

1.     Service generally

(1)    Any reference in these Rules to an address for service means an address within Nigeria where notices, pleadings, orders, summons, warrants and other documents, proceedings, and written communications, if not required to be served personally, may be left, or to which they may be sent.

(2)    Where under these Rules any person has given an address for service, any notice or other written communication which is not required to be served personally shall be sufficiently served upon him if it is left at that address or sent by registered post to that address, and in any case where the date of service by post is material, section 26 of the Interpretation Act shall apply.

(3)    Where under these Rules any notice of other application to the Court, or to the court below, is required to have an address for service endorsed on it, shall not be deemed to have been properly filed unless such an address is endorsed on it.

(4)    Any person desiring to change his address for service shall notify the Registrar, who shall thereupon communicate the new address for service to anyone to whom he may have communicated the former address.

2.     Duty of legal practitioner where he no longer acts for parties

Where any person has given the address of a legal practitioner as his address for service and the legal practitioner is not or has ceased to be instructed by him for the purpose of the proceedings concerned, it shall be the duty of the legal practitioner to inform the Registrar as soon as may be that he is not or no longer authorised to accept service on behalf of such person, and if he omits to do so he may be ordered to pay any costs occasioned thereby.

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