AGF urges states to implement financial autonomy for judiciary
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has urged Attorneys General of the 36 states to ensure full implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary in their respective states.
Fagbemi made the call at a meeting of the Body of Attorneys General in Abuja, yesterday.
“I urge my distinguished colleagues to ensure the full implementation of financial autonomy for the judiciary across our states as provided for under Section 121(3) and (4) of the Constitution. This is as a mark of our true and holistic commitment to the ideals of democracy and good governance.
“We should, in this regard, seek to robustly build the capacities of the judiciary, both in terms of personnel and infrastructure, particularly by investing in technologies that are necessary to automate vital aspects of our court operations and ultimately implement a digital justice delivery system,” he said.
The AGF noted that the need for improvements within the judicial and justice sector institutions and practices is non-negotiable. He said: “Access to justice goes to the very heart of what our mandate entails. So, we will, in this regard, critically look at the major policy documents that would lead us to this goal. One of the documents is the revised National Justice Policy, 2024-2028, which we hope would be considered and adopted at the National Summit on Justice.
“The ministry is making plans with relevant stakeholders to convene a National Summit on Justice, to, among other things, engage all justice sector stakeholders to constructively look at how far we have gone in implementation of the 2017-2022 policy document.
“We will, in this regard, seek to examine current challenges within justice sector institutions with the objective of supporting critical reforms necessary to build a resilient justice system; facilitate adherence to rule of law, respect for fundamental human rights, and ultimately, build public confidence in the entire justice sector.”
He said there is an overriding need for close collaboration, cooperation and mutual understanding in performance of constitutional and statutory responsibilities by the Attorneys General.
“We are in collaboration both horizontally between the national and sub-national entities and vertically by the three arms of government at all levels. We need to see how we can strengthen the entire justice sector, particularly, the administration of the criminal justice sector, to meet the end goals of justice and the expectations of our citizens,” he added.
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