A CRITIQUE OF THE JURISDICTION OF THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT IN HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Many reforms aimed at improving the administration of human rights justice system in Nigeria, especially towards curbing delay in such cases, avoiding technicality and improving access to courts, have been undergone in the recent past. Of significant note is the vesting of jurisdiction in the National Industrial Court (NIC) in the enforcement of labour-related human rights violation. This development, like a coin, has its two sides of pros and cons. With the increase in the number of court with jurisdiction in human rights cases it heralded, it creates a wider access to courtOn the other side of the coin however, with limitation of the NIC’s jurisdiction to labour-related human rights issues, the court may have to grapple with determination of its jurisdiction and consequently engenders delay which the reforms aimed to eradicate. Besides, it is doubtful whether the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009 would be applicable to human rights proceedings before the court. This is in view of the wordings of section 46 of the Constitution. Also, section 254 (C) stipulates that the human rights jurisdiction vested in the NIC pertain only to “any dispute over the interpretation and application of the provisions of Chapter IV†and not necessarily human rights employment. To this end, adopting analytical legal research approach, this paper critically reviews the jurisdiction of the NIC in human rights enforcement and makes a case for necessary further reforms that would make the jurisdiction better beneficial.