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ABSTRACT
The Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 chose certain rights to protect under chapter IV and
termed them as Fundamental Rights. These rights are chosen to be protected not
only by the Constitution, but also by the African Charter on Human and Peoples
„Right. Whenever there are breaches of these fundamental rights, the law
provides a procedure for their enforcement, which is the Fundamental Rights
(Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009. The basic objective of the 2009 Rules is to
facilitate enforcement procedure by removing some of the impediments in 1979
rule. Unfortunately it is clear that the procedure for enforcement of
Fundamental Rights is still bedeviled by delay. Many applications alleging
serious human rights violations are routinely struck out or dismissed. However,
the pertinent question is: to what extent are the human rights provision in
these legal instruments realized or enforced? It is worthy of note that there
are equally other important impediments in the realization of the objective of
Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009, such as the distinction
between main claim and ancillary claim in the Nigerian fundamental rights,
because litigants are cautious of whether or not their claim will succeed
because of this distinction. This research examines the problem of delay
associated with the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 This
dissertation made an in depth analysis of the rules and considered to what
extent it achieved its objective in order to enhance a robust human right
regime. To achieve a close –to- accurate‟ if not accurate result, the research
embarked on a field work. To this end, both doctrinal and empirical method of
research is used. This research found out that the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement
Procedure) Rules 2009, though has brought tremendous changes in the field of
human rights protection (e.g the abolishment of locus standi and leave, is
still faced with some major setback like the issue of principal and ancillary
claim in the enforcement of fundamental rights and the jurisdiction of the
National Industrial Court which is not clear in the rule. The work recommend
that Courts should do away with the dichotomy between principal and ancillary
and the definition of courts in the Rule should include the National Industrial
Court.
1.1 Background to the Study
Fundamental Rights are rights derived
from natural or fundamental or constitutional law1. They are rights which
remain in the realm of domestic law, which are recognized, entrenched and
guaranteed in the constitution of a country or any other legal instrument such
as the African Charter on Human and People‟s Rights. Fundamental Human Rights
are also described as rights which are inalienable and guaranteed to every
person.
The Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria and the African Charter on Human and Peoples‟ Right
guarantee fundamental human rights. These Fundamental Human Rights are not
privileges in the sense that they could be withdrawn at the whims and caprices
of the government of the day. They are rights which the executive and
legislature are enjoined to respect and the judiciary to protect. However,
there are instances where these guaranteed rights are violated either by the
law enforcement agents or in quasi-judicial proceedings2
Furthermore, where there are breaches
of these rights, the appropriate means to secure the enforcement of the
victims‟ fundamental right is paramount. It is against this background that the
Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules was enacted. On 29th May,
1999, a new constitution came into being. Some judicial opinions3 were of the
view that the Fundamental Rights ( Enforcement Procedure ) Rules1979 was dead
pursuant to section 42(3) which provides who to make rules for the practice and
procedure for the High court towards the enforcement of the provision of
Chapter IV. For effective enforcement of the rights guaranteed under the 1999
Constitution, the 2009 Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules was
enacted, It was signed In November 11,2009 by the then Chief Justice
IdrisLegboKutigi and came into force with immediate effect replacing the
Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure)Rules 1979.
The purpose of the Fundamental Rights
(Enforcement Procedure) Rules is to facilitate the enforcement of fundamental
rights. The Rules provide for redress where there is a violation or even
apprehension of likely violation of these rights. The fundamental rights are
provided in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution and Chapter 1 of the African Charter
on Human and Peoples‟ Rights. Where the violation has occasioned injury which
could be compensated in financial terms, courts are duty bound to make orders
of reparation in monetary terms if applied for and proved.
Chapters: 1 - 5
Delivery: Email
Number of Pages: 75
Price: 3000 NGN
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