By Ekemini Udim

1. The youngest “High Court” in Nigeria today is the National Industrial Court. The Constitution was amended not long ago to accommodate this court. But surprisingly, the drafters of the provisions of the Constitution made the NIC more of a final court and had no clear cut provision for appeal from there to a higher court. Matters were to begin and end there. That was strange.

2. A particular case then travelled (on case stated) to the Supreme Court for interpretation (Skye Bank v. Iwu) and it took the intervention of C.C Nweze, JSC to make a way out in his lead judgment. He had to go out of this jurisdiction to bring out decisions to assist in the judgment. Had he relied solely on the black letters of the Constitution, there would not have been a way out.

3. This way out was for the Supreme Court to rule that, if the appeal is against a fundamental rights issue that took place at workplace, appeal shall be as of right to the Court of Appeal. Same for capital punishment. That, any other decision must be appealed with LEAVE.

Thus a decision of the NIC that affirms or sets aside the termination of appointment of a staff of an institution can only go up to the Court of Appeal with leave of the Court of Appeal.

4. This leave can take between one and two years before it is listed for mention. In the end, it could take two years or more before one gets the leave of the Court of Appeal to appeal against the decision of the NIC. It could take another year to transmit record, file briefs of argument, argue them in open court and have a date for adoption of briefs.

5. Meanwhile, in the same country one can appeal against the decision of the Customary Court without leave, upto the Supreme Court.

6. Constitutional amendment is highly needed here to allow for the straight filing of an appeal against the final decision of the NIC. The requirement for leave is in my view a clog in the wheels of labour justice.