User talk:Ballymacray

The development of the Federal High Court in Nigeria:

The Federal High Court came into existence on 13th April, 1973. This was created by Decree No. 13 of 1973. It formally bore the name Federal Revenue Court. The need for the Federal High Court arose because the 1954 Constitution which made Nigeria a Federal State, instead of providing for the creation of Federal Courts, authorized Regional Courts to exercise federal jurisdiction and to apply and administer such federal laws within the limits of their jurisdiction as prescribed by the Regional Laws regulating them. This approach was basically adopted as the need for a purely Federal Judicial System was not felt at that time. During the Military regime that followed (1966 to 1979), the power of the Federal Government was given a superior projection more than the States and this made it necessary for the Government to establish Courts with specialized jurisdiction at the Federal level. The above were not the only factors that made it expedient for the Federal Government to establish the Federal High Court. Other factors pointing towards the inevitability of such Court includes the fact that regional State Courts lacked jurisdiction in matters involving Public Officers of the Federation. In addition to the above, there was a proliferation in the Federal Government's political and economic activities, with the resultant litigation, which crowded the existing Courts with cases that would have needed urgent adjudication. These cases were in addition to the cases already pending in the Regional Courts, which arose from regional jurisdiction. This state of dissatisfaction triggered off the idea of setting up a Court especially for dealing with cases that involved the revenues of the Federal Government. The congestion of the existing Courts mostly adversely affected the Ministry of Finance which is saddled with the responsibility of collecting Federal Government revenues in the form of taxes, custom and excise duties, personal income and company taxes, etc, hence the initiative for the demand for setting up a Court essentially for matters affecting the revenue of the government was from the Federal Ministry of Finance. The Federal Ministry of Justice through the Attorney-General supported the initiative and proceeded to make the necessary consultations with the Judiciary, with the view of enacting the necessary enabling legislation. The result of the consultation revealed an overwhelming opposition to the idea of the Federal Government setting up a separate Court to deal with the revenue of the government. This opposition was mostly from the States' Judiciary Despite the avalanche of opposition to the setting up of a specialized Court for the adjudication of matters relating to the revenue of the Federal Government, the then military administration considered it expedient to set up the Court and consequently vested it with both civil and criminal jurisdiction in matters concerning Federal Government revenue, and also for exercising commercial jurisdiction in matters concerning Companies and Allied Matters Act, Banking, Insurance, Trademark, Patents and Admiralty. The Federal Military Government therefore, promulgated Decree No. 13 of 1973 establishing the Federal Revenue Court. The existing judicial system was received or presented for review in the general constitutional proposals of 1975. The sub-committee on judicial system recommended that the Federal Revenue Court be re-named the Federal High Court and should exercise all the jurisdictions of the former in addition to exclusive jurisdiction in an action between one State and another, between State and the Federal Government and between an individual and the Federation. Finally, amidst support and opposition, the Constituent Assembly paid a glowing tribute to the Court and it's achievements and resolved that the Federal Revenue Court should as from October 1st, 1979 be renamed Federal High Court.Uche Merife (talk) 19:41, 7 June 2015 (UTC)