The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has urged senior judges to mentor junior judicial officers to ensure a seamless transfer of knowledge in the best interest of justice.
Ms Kekere-Ekun made the call in her speech at the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Annual Conference in Kingston, Jamaica.
In a statement by her spokesman, Tobi Soniyi, Ms Kekere-Ekun said in her panel session on ‘Judicial bullying and harassment’ that senior judges possess institutional knowledge that cannot be acquired from books.
She noted that senior judicial officers have a legitimate role in mentoring, supervising and correcting junior colleagues.
“They have a responsibility to guide younger colleagues, share experience and help them understand the demands of the Bench.
“Mentorship should give a junior judge greater confidence, not less, as a judge should be able to ask a question without embarrassment and acknowledge uncertainty without fearing that the admission would later be used against him or her,” Ms Kekere-Ekun explained.
She stated that a newly appointed judge should be able to disagree with a senior colleague without fear, noting that a junior judicial officer should be able to raise a concern about administrative practices without being regarded as difficult.
Ms Kekere-Ekun held that a judge should be able to express an independent view without worrying about personal consequences.
“The judiciary is an institution founded upon reasoned disagreement. Judging at the appellate level, in particular, depends upon the ability of judges to consider different perspectives and, where necessary, to disagree,” she noted.
“If seniority becomes a substitute for persuasion, the quality of judicial reasoning suffers.”
The CJN, however, restated the importance of respect for seniority and warned that judges should not sacrifice independent judgment for submission to seniority.
She reminded judges of the importance of accountability, stressing that judges must also be accountable for their conduct, productivity and adherence to professional standards and added that judicial independence did not mean freedom from accountability.
(NAN)