Legality Of Administrative Adjudiction

The phrase administrative adjudication refers to legality recognized practice of authorizing administrative bodies and matters affecting the rights of individuals.

Administrative tribunals derive their jurisdiction on matters affecting the citizen’s rights and obligation vides sections 6 and 36 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In so doing, the donors are enjoined to constitute such administrative bodies in such manner as to secure their independence and impartiality.

Section 6 (5) of the constitution provides that the judicial powers vested by the section extends inter alia to

(i)         such other courts as may be authorized by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws:

(ii)        (k) Such other court as may be authorized by Law to exercise jurisdiction at the first instance on matters with respect to which a House of Assembly may make laws.

While section 36 of the 1999 Constitution provides that;

In the determination of his civil rights and obligation, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunals established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.

By vesting the powers of adjudication of bodies other than the regular Courts specificall7y named in subsection 5 (a) – (i), the constitution authorized the legislature at all levels of the Nigerian state to validly create special courts, tribunals or panel to meet the needs of justice as may appear necessary to them. This power which also featured in previous constitution has since 1966, been used to empower the president to so act fram time to time, in the Tribunals and Enquires Act (L.F.N. CAP 447 of 2000) section 1 (1) of which provides:

“The president (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the proper authority”) may whenever he deems it desirable, my instrument under his hand (hereafter in this Act referred to as “the instrument”) constitute one or more persons (hereafter referred to in this Act as “member” or members) into a tribunal to inquire into the matter or thing or into the conduct or affairs of any person in respect of which in his opinion an inquiry would be for the public welfare; and the proper authority may be the same instrument or by an order appoint a Secretary to the tribunal who shall perform such duties as the member shall prescribe.

However, the development certainly appears to threaten the doctrine of separation of powers as enshrined in the constitution but be that as it may, it is too late to argue against administrative adjudication with regard to separation of powers doctrine, especially in view of its enormous advantages.

Administrative tribunals have developed considerably over the years so much so that there have come into existence a good number of Administrative tribunals, Boards and other bodies, which exercise judicial, quasi-judicial or adjudicatory functions conferred on them by various statutes. The greater bulk of these tribunals and by far the most problematic types arose by decrees of the military governments of the past, but a large number still exist today.

The criterion for determining whether or not a body is an administrative tribunal lies in the nature of its function.

As the courts have consistently held, a body is an administrative tribunal once its function includes deciding upon material facts before it, between an allegation and a defence. In all such cases, the law requires such body to act fairly. (See Falomo V. Lagos State Public Service Commission (1977) 5SC 51 at 61-62) it is the act of acting fairly, that is referred as acting judicially and the law requires all bodies that shall engage in so deciding between facts that will affect a citizen’s rights and interest to so act judicially, not-withstanding that its form and process lack the judicial Character of Courts of law (see Hart V. Military Governor of Rivers State & Others (1976) 6 ESLR 421 at 433), See also Bamboye V. University of Iiorin (2001) FWLR 1-207 (PT32) 13 at 55.

Chidi Enyie