From Idu Jude, Abuja
Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, has charged the Nigerian Judicial Institute (NJI) to focus on providing university curriculum that would be pivotal for quick dispensation of maritime cases for economic development.
She gave the charge, yesterday, in Abuja while delivering a key note address on the occasion marking the 16th International Seminar for Judges, organised by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC.)
The minister while admonishing the NJI on international best practices that brings quicker economic development through the contribution of young graduates, decried the lacuna created by the low penetration level in maritime law at the undergraduate levels of Nigerian universities.
He said coupled with the fast pace of development in international trade, the trend exerts a lot of strain on judicial officers, some of whom are confronted with this special area of the law for the first time when admiralty matters are brought before their courts for adjudication.
“It is therefore commendable that this seminar has created a veritable forum where prominent jurists and legal luminaries come together to rub minds on how to enhance the competitiveness and economic viability of our maritime industry, not only through the capacity building of the judicial officers, but indeed also in tackling some of the crucial issues on the front burner of maritime discourse both locally and globally”
The minister also stressed that this idea, would no doubt increase the confidence of investors in the industry, since it was obvious that an efficient, lucid, predictable and stable legal system plays a very significant role in attracting investors.
She also said that the objective of the seminar, was to equip and strengthen the capacity of Nigeria judges and justices of superior courts of record namely the Federal and State High Courts, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court as well as relevant stakeholders in the maritime industry with contemporary knowledge of the complex and dynamic subject of admiralty law and practice, as well as the ever challenging dynamics of international trade as it affects the administration of admiralty cases in Nigeria.
“I can tell you for free that the importance of speedy and efficient dispensation of maritime matters by the courts can never be over-emphasised because, as we all know, in international commercial transactions, time is money and it is even more so in a multi-billion dollar industry like ours.”