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BISMILLAHIR RAHMANIR RAHIM

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS: PRACTICAL HINTS FOR KADIS OF SHARIA COURTS OF APPEAL

BY: SALIHU O. MUHAMMAD THE HON. GRAND KADI

KWARA STATE SHARIA COURT OF APPEAL, ILORIN.

1.0. Preamble:

All thanks are due to the Almighty Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. I

glorify Him. I adore Him. I am ever convinced that whatever is possible, it is

due to His Grace and permission. I therefore thank Him most sincerely for

making this event happen at all and for giving me this unique opportunity to

address my highly respected colleagues (the Hon. Kadis) in particular and

this august gathering in general on practical hints with regards to

performance evaluation as it affects us as judicial officers adjudicating in

our various states and jurisdictions. May the peace and blessings of Allah

continue to abide by Prophet Muhammad, his household, and his

companions, ameen.

I also wish to use this unique opportunity too to express our profound

gratitude to His Lordship, the Administrator of this great Institute, the (NJI),

the Hon. Justice R.P.I Bozimo, OFR, for giving the Kwara State judiciary,

particularly, the Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal another opportunity of

this judicial outing. We most sincerely appreciate it as we feel highly

honoured and humbled. I bring warm greetings from the entire Kwara State

Judiciary humbly and most diligently being piloted by our amiable and

hardworking brand new Chief Judge, the Honourable Justice Sulaiman

Durosinlorun Kawu who meritoriously stepped into the shoes of his late

father, the Hon. Justice Saidu Kawu, JSC (Retd), CON our pioneer

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indigenous Chief Judge who retired as a Justice of the Supreme Court of

Nigeria. He was also the Madawaki of Ilorin Emirate during his lifetime. May

his soul continue to rest in perfect peace, ameen.

Finally, I wish to welcome you all on board and wish you a happy

workshop. May the peace and blessings of Allah be on you all, ameen. As-

Salaam Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakaatuhu.

2.0. Introduction

The theme of this workshop is highly fascinating. It is "Promoting

Performance through Judicial Ethics in Nigeria". The workshop (according to

the letter of invitation written to me as a resource person and dated 15th

April, 2015):

… is designed to acquaint the Judicial officers with the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Judicial officers in Nigeria, the requirements of Judicial Ethics and the need to understand the mechanisms for evaluating their performance.

A cursory look at the theme again suggests that there are other

resource persons who will handle the other segments of the theme. My own

segment is to provide some practical hints to you, my invaluable colleague

Hon. Kadis, on how we can enhance our judicial performance so that at the

end of the day our performance evaluation by the Committee on

Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of Superior Courts of Record,

Performance Evaluation Committee (PEC) for short, under the auspices of

the National Judicial Council (NJC), shall improve considerably. It shall

become credible, highly impressive and also a cynosure of all judicial eyes.

For this reason, I have decided to approach this topic from the

following perspectives, in brief:

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i. The definition of Judicial Officers in Nigeria and their Functions/Duties ii. The global overview of the concept of performance evaluation. iii. The concept of performance evaluation in the context of Nigerian Judiciary. iv. Performance evaluation from the perspective of the Islamic Law. v. The requirements of Hon. Kadis to achieve high performance in their adjudicative duties. vi. Observations.

vii. Some of the challenges which may inhibit optimal performance viii. Recommendations and conclusion.

3.0. The Judicial Officers

3.1. The Definition of Judicial Officers in Nigeria and their Functions/Duties.

The definition of Judicial Officer is clearly captured in the eleven-page

document circulated among all judicial officers in Nigeria. The highly

useful pamphlet is entitled: CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA (First published in 1998)

Pages I and 2 of the document defines "Judicial Officer" to mean

(i) Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)

(ii) A Justice of the Supreme Court (JSC)

(iii) President or Justice of the Court of Appeal (PCA) or (JCA)

(iv) Chief Judge (J) or Judge (J) of the Federal High Court of a State

And of the Federal Capital Territory.

(v) Grand Khadi (GK) or Khadi (K) of a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State

(SCA) and of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

(vi) President (PCCA) or Judge (J) of a Customary Court of Appeal of a State

and of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

(vii) The holder of a similar office in any inferior court whatsoever.

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My distinguished Hon. Kadis, we fall as number 5 in the hierarchy of

the judicial officers in Nigeria. For our functions as contained in the

document, I have decided to mention just a few as they affect us since, by

the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), we

are excluded from criminal jurisdiction. The functions are in two parts:

adjudicative and administrative. Since the focus of this workshop, nay, this

lecture is basically on performance evaluation as it affects our adjudicative

duties, we may exclude the mention of the administrative duties for time

and for space. As for the adjudicative duties, a Kadi, as a judicial officer, is

expected among other things, to maintain "order and decorum", to "be

patient, dignified and courteous…", to "promptly dispose of the business of

court" (i.e. to promptly write and deliver his rulings and judgments). In

addition, a Kadi is also expected to be punctual at work, "to devote

adequate time to his duties" and should be "…expeditious in bringing to a

conclusion and determining matters under submission"( 1). I hope to revisit

this part of this lecture when I submit on practical hints for us all to

achieve this onerous role as judicial officers saddled with adjudication of

Islamic Personal Law matters as contained in SS.275 – 279 of the 1999

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Meanwhile, let us have a feel of the concept of performance

evaluation from some perspectives before we delve into the practical hints

for us all with the hope that, at the end of it all, we shall be able to pick a

few hints to enhance our performance in the herculean task of

adjudication.

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4. 0. The Concept of Performance Evaluation:

4. 1. The Global Overview.

Performance Evaluation is viewed, globally, as both an activity and a

tool of effective management of a responsibility, a task or a duty(2). As an

activity, its achievement is further viewed as largely a function of its modus

operandi. But, as a tool, the results of its employment is assessed to

depend on its type and quality, the purposes for which it is used, and the

skill of the user(3). As a concept, performance evaluation bas been defined

in various ways by different institutions and different scholars. For instance,

the United State Office of Personnel Management sees the concept as:

All periodic written assessment of job performance measured against responsibilities, goals and/or tasks, specific duties assigned and agreed to as well as identification of strengths and weaknesses demonstrated by employee's potential and training or development needs (4) .

The merit of this definition is that it sees performance appraisal by

which the quality, quantity and levels of performance and the various

factors that influence performance are assessed and evaluated.

It is also good as an appraisal of the growth potential of an employee,

with a view to providing organizations like the NJC in Nigeria, with

information that leads to the need for the organization to ensure that the

employee is provided with necessary feedback for performance

improvement, personal growth and job satisfaction.

There are three major overlapping reasons for appraising performance

according to this global concept. They are:

(i) To improve the intellectual resources of the employees by stimulating improved work performance and commitment to organizational goals.

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(ii) To provide information necessary for decision-making in the areas of merit promotion, career development (e.g. information on the appraisee's training needs), recognition and awards, e.g. performance appraisal serves as basis for awards or other recognition for excellent contribution to the achievement of organizational goals.

(iii) To issue a warning or counseling to the employee when information is gathered from the performance appraisal which reveals man-made problems to his performance.(5)

All said and done, it is very clear from this global concept that

performance appraisal or evaluation is a necessity in any organizations, or

establishments be it judicial or social. Therefore, the idea of having a

Performance Evaluation Committee to appraise the adjudicative duties of

judges is a welcome development. It is a universal practice for optimal

success of the judiciary.

4.2. The Concept of Performance Evaluation in the Context of the Nigerian Judiciary.

The concept of performance evaluation in the context of the Nigerian

Judiciary is for monitoring the performance of Judicial Officers. It is aimed

at maintaining and enhancing both the efficiency and productivity of the

judicial system and also to restore public confidence in the system(6)

Appraisal of performance is based principally on productivity of the judges

and determined by a number of cases they dispose of in the time frame

given by the committee saddled with the responsibilities of this

assessment.

In order to achieve these lofty goals the National Judicial Council

(NJC) put in place a Performance Evaluation Committee on 13th March

2003(7). This was done in the exercise of its powers as contained in Section

21 of Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal

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Republic of Nigeria (as amended). The setting up of the committee

officially and formally known as: "PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF

JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF SUPERIOR COURTS OF RECORD" was based on

the recommendation of the Late Hon. Justice Kayode Eso's Commission

Report submitted to the Federal Government in 1994 and which was

referred to the NJC "for necessary action" in 2001(8).

The committee designed some Forms to assess the adjudicative

duties of the judicial officers in Nigeria. One of which is designed for Sharia

Courts of Appeal/Customary Courts of Appeal. I have annexed a blank

sample of the Form meant for the two courts as an Appendix to this paper

so that you all, my lords, will clearly see the adjudicative areas being

assessed. It is a good thing. It puts us on our toes as to be more

hardworking, resolute and result oriented.

My lords, we can now come closer home by briefly discussing

performance evaluation, assessment or appraisal from the Islamic law

perspective.

4. 3. Performance evaluation from the perspective of the Islamic Law:

The two primary sources of Islamic Law (i.e. the Glorious Qur'an and the

Hadith of Prophet Muhammad PBOH) provide for having" a group", " a

people" or "a committee to oversee "performance" and to evaluate same, by

general application. Let me remind you of a few quotations or parts

therefrom in this regard.

(1) Let there be a group from among you calling to what is right (and good)…and preventing/forbidding what is wrong… (Q.3:104)

ة یدعون إلى الخیر ویأمرون نكم أم ولتكن معمران: ل(آ ...بالمعروف وینھون عن المنكر

104(.

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(2) O my son! Perform Prayers (Assalat) and enjoin all that is good and forbid all that is evil and bad… (Q.31:17)

الة وأمر بالمعروف یا بني أقم الص.)17: لقمان( ...وانھ عن المنكر

There are other similar verses for both specific and general

applications as contained in Q.7:157, Q9:112 and Q.22:41 to mention but

a few.

In the same vein, Prophet Muhammad (PBOH) has directed that:

Whoever sees (or observes) what is wrong should change it with his hand… (Authentic Hadith)

ره بیده ــفلیغی رأى منكم منكرا من .(حدیث صحیح)

In some materials made available to me in the course of writing this

paper(9). I discovered that the Performance Evaluation Committee was put

in place to encourage hard work, competence, efficiency, enhancement of

judicial administration skills, industry, seriousness at work and what have

you of Judicial Officers and to discourage both slow pace and poor

performance of judges, indolence, laziness, indifferent attitude to work and

so on and so forth(10) . In the spirit of the Qur'anic and hadith quoted

above, particularly in the spirit of the hadith quoted, the Federal Military

Government, in 1993, had to set up a Commission "to address the general

deterioration in the ethical standard or performance by Judges….and make

recommendations for solution to the problems that gave rise to the bad

situation"(11). In the final analysis, the National Judicial Council which was

requested to take necessary action on this problem set up the Performance

Evaluation Committee (PEC) earlier referred to in this paper. Doing so is

very much in order in Islamic law and it has to be supported and

encouraged.

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May I, at this juncture, therefore delve into a few practical hints

which, if strictly adhered to will certainly enhance our performance and

ethics which will in turn secure us commendation and even elevation to

higher judicial appointments when and where necessary. It will also give

us Allah's commendation and eternal reward.

5.0. The Requirements for Hon. Kadis to achieve high Performance in their adjudicative duties.

5. 1. The Practical Hints:

(i) Adjudicative Duties are, but a TRUST:

Adjudicative duties under Islamic Law is a matter of TRUST, Al-

Amanah. Whoever is saddled with the Trust owes allegiance to Allah

(SWT), His Messenger, Prophet Muhammad (P.B.O.H) and to the entire

humanity. Therefore whoever shirks in this responsibility offends Allah and

he should be questioned hence a Kadi's assessment and appraisal. Such a

Judicial Officer is a Fasiq, unreliable officer, whose duties should be

properly investigated and assessed. They are based on Trust rewardable

if upheld and punishable if violated.

The summary of the theme of this workshop is how to promote

performance of the judicial officers through the judicial ethics. All legal

systems the world over have their own ethics. They may vary from one

legal system to the other due to their backgrounds and development.

However, it is certain that they all have very many things in common.

Justice delivery and avoidance of delay in doing so are two of their

common features. Interestingly though, the ethics of Islamic Law appear

to be more strict because it is faith-based.

In my own candid opinion, we, as Kadis, need to work harder to

enhance the status of our courts as courts of record. This status bestows

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on us the responsibility to aim very high and to shoot equally very high to

deserve the respect of courts of record like our counterparts such as High

Courts and Customary Courts of Appeal. Our courts are being looked unto

by the Area Courts operating the Islamic Law for guidance, supervision,

adequate interpretation of the law, Islamic judicial ethics, Islamic Code of

Conduct, decorum and discipline both in the practice of the law and in the

society. It is all about Trust!

(ii) Competence in Service Delivery

Furthermore, we equally have a heavy task to competently serve as

the foundation for the other superior courts of record in adjudication in all

matters governable by Sharia, the Islamic Law. For our status to have any

meaning, we need to collate well, the submissions of all parties appearing

before us, to search and to clearly apply the appropriate laws upon which

our decisions are based and to put down our verdicts succinctly without

any iota of ambiguity. This will not only make the work of the Court of

Appeal (CA) and the Supreme Court (SC) easy, it will also serve as good

guidance to the courts below.

(iii) Public Opinion/Assessment of our work

I must also say here that the understanding of our performance

evaluation should go beyond the criteria set by the Performance Evaluation

Committee (PEC). It should also include consideration of what the

members of the public will be saying about the quality and quantity of our

decisions/judgments. We should realize that we are in a competitive world.

As our sister High Courts exhibit/reflect the quality and suitability of

Common law, and also as our sister Customary Courts of Appeal (CCA)

showcase the beauty our indigenous beliefs and practice, we have to let

our judgments radiate the excellence of Islamic law and that it is not a

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matter of dogmatic beliefs but full of reasoning, logic and pragmatism

which can stand the test of time and which can have at least a pass mark

in the court of public opinion.

(iv) Self Appraisal/Assessment

We should also inculcate the habit of self assessment. Questions like

"Am I upright? (`adl)"; 'Am I honest? (Sidqu) "Am I hardworking and

doing enough to justify my wages?" "Am I sincere enough? "Do I know this

job?" and so on and so forth. For instance, a Kadi worthy of his salt should

be an 'Adil. This quality is beautifully defined by the retired Hon. Grand

Kadi of Kwara State, Hon. Grand Kadi Mutallub Ahmad Ambali, FISN, OFR,

when he says:

An 'adil, is an honourable and pious individual… whose personality commands respect. Out of modesty he or she eschews even what is allowed when it is contrary to propriety….(12).

Hon Justice B.O. Babalakin JSC (Rtd), CON has this to say on the

need for Judicial officers to be honest:

The judicial officer must be as honest and frank as possible in his professional, social, financial, public and private dealings. If a businessman, and industrialist, or other type of professionals be caught in dishonesty, it is unlikely to put them in grave disregard as it would a Judicial Officer(13).

(v) The level of knowledge of Sharia, the Islamic law. My noble colleague Hon. Kadis, another area I want to briefly touch

is the level of our knowledge of Sharia, the Islamic Law. This issue is very

germane and it can never be brushed aside. I am sorry about that. It is a

practical hint! Some of us just manage to be what we are today not

because we are knowledgeable enough in the trade. This job of

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adjudication is a dangerous trade and the Holy Prophet has clearly made

us to know this fact when he says:

Anyone who is appointed as a judge Among people is being slain without a knife(14).

عجمن بحبین الناس فقد ذ ل قاضیا .ینیر سك غب

He also categorises judges into three. The third category will be

punished with the hellfire. He says:

Judges are categorized into three: The first (category) will enter paradise while the remaining two will enter hell-fire… a man (judge) who adjudicates for people and he is ignorant (of the law).

Reported by Abu Daud, Bin Majah, Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Hakim and (the report) was authenticated(15).

الجنة , واثنان : واحد فيثةثال ةالقضاورجل قضى للناس على جھل في النارن (رواه أبو داود واب. النار" فھو في.والحاكم وصححھ) لترمذيماجھ وا

Similarly, Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf Al-Kafi, in his book common to all

of us "Ihkamul Ahkam 'ala Tuhfatil Hukkam" has this to say regarding the

importance of sound knowledge before venturing into the business of

adjudication. He says:

It is also desirable that he (the judge) is knowledgeable and cautious. He should also be versed in Fiqh (i.e. the Islamic Jurisprudence) (16).

#تحب العلم فیھ والورع ویس مع كونھ االصول للفقھ

جمع

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Finally on this, Dr. Muhammad Bikr Ismail, a Maliki School of Law

scholar insists that a judge must be highly knowledgeable in the applicable

law which is Sharia. He too says:

It is compulsory that whoever is appointed a judge must be knowledgeable in the Islamic Law. It is not proper to appoint a judge who is ignorant of the Book (i.e. the Glorious Qur'an), the Sunnah (of the Prophet PBOH) and the consensus of the jurists(17).

یكون والبد فیمن یتولى القضاء أن اع فال یجوز أن , الشرعیةباألحكام لما

بالكتاب والسنة القضاء جاھل یتولى وإجماع األمة ....

In view of the foregoing, therefore, we need to sit up and learn this

trade properly to be able to stand tall among our peers. The job of a Kadi

is not as easy as taking tea and bread; or as easy as taking any local dish

we cherish. It is a serious business which must keep us very busy, reading,

learning and reading to improve our knowledge of the law and to be

current at all times .

6.0 Some observations

Let me at this juncture, make the following observations:

(i) Hon. Kadis of the Sharia Courts of Appeal of various jurisdictions have been unfortunately noticed to have poor performance and this has prevented the NJC "… from recommending additional Judges…" for our courts since our productivity and elevation or otherwise is determined by the number of contested appeals we dispose of (18).

(ii) It is on record too that some of us do not deliver a single judgment in six months or more the practice which is unfortunate and unacceptable and which earns query or warning to some if not to many of our jurisdictions (19).

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(iii) The general public complains of "…low ethical standards and undue delays in our courts… occasioned by inability of our judges to deliver judgments promptly…"(20).

7.0 SOME PROBLEMS INHIBIING PERFORMANCE OF THE HON. KADIS.

In spite of all these observations, and in fairness to my noble lords,

I need too, to highlight, at least, a few problems inhibiting our poor

performance as follows:

i.) Unacceptable low funding of the judiciary.

ii.) Inadequate infrastructure in the court and in the residences of Judicial officers.

iii.) Inadequate tools to work with (i.e. relevant and current law journals, Law reports, law books especially written in Arabic language which is the language of our original sources).

iv.) An unfavourable environment for judges to perform optimally.

v.) Inadequate income available to most of the judicial officers including the Hon. Kadis.

vi.) Lack of strict adherence to established and global criteria for appointing Judicial officers in terms of competence, merit and personal character.

vii.) Lack of adequate judicial management skills.

All these problems or challenges affect the low performance of the

Judicial officers in no small measure and except they are frontally

addressed excellent performance may be a mirage instead of a reality.

Nevertheless, and inspite of the deprivation, as Judicial officers we

ought to do our utmost to record, at least, minimum standard of

performance.

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8.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

All said and done, I want to most humbly recommend the following

points in order to enhance the performance of all our Kadis as judicial

officers.

(i) Proficiency in Arabic and English Languages

There is no gainsaying the fact that to give a sound judgment that will

qualify for quality of writing and delivery, there is the need for proficiency

in both Arabic and English Languages. The former (Arabic) is the Lingua

Franca of Islamic Law while the latter (English) is the Lingua Franca of the

Common Law in Nigeria. A Kadi needs the former to conduct direct and

independent research. He then needs the latter to understand and to

digest the judgments of the Court of Appeal (CA) and the Supreme Court

(SC) in their decisions as they affect us.

The NJC has issued a circular on the need for all Kadis and those to be

appointed in future to have the knowledge of Arabic. Because of the

importance of this circular to our discourse, I reproduce it here unedited.

The circular reads.

Ref: No. NJC/CIR/HOC/1/51 24TH March, 2011 To: All Hon. Grand Kadis, Federal and State Judiciaries. RE: GUIDELINES ON THE APPOINTMENT OF SHARIA COURT

OF APPEAL KADIS The National Judicial Council at its meeting which was held on 1st and 2nd December, 2010 considered the Report of its Committee on the amendment of the Guidelines on Appointment of Kadis for Sharia Court of Appeal. At the end of deliberation, Council found that most Kadis lacked knowledge in Arabic language and noted also its importance in Sharia Law practice. Therefore, it is imperative for prospective candidates for appointment to Sharia Court of Appeal Bench to be knowledgeable in Arabic language:

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2. In view of the foregoing, Council decided to urge you to advice all the Upper Area Court Judges in your jurisdiction who are aspiring to become Kadis and wished to be appointed as Grand Kadi or elevated to the Court of Appeal, to go back to the University or Higher Institution recognized and accredited by the National University Commission that offers a Course in Arabic language, and privately take up a Course in Arabic language instant, otherwise they will not in future be considered for such appointments, please.(Emphasis, mine) SGD

(A.I. Katsina-Alu, GCON) Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman

National Judicial Council

Our new Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) who doubles as chairman of the

National Judicial Council (NJC), Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, (GCON)

has re–echoed the importance of knowledge of Arabic language for would be

Kadis. His Lordship stated inter–alia:

….for any candidate to be considered for appointment as a Kadi, he must be knowledgeable in Arabic language – he must be able to read and write Arabic language and must be able to speak and or be fluent in Arabic Grammar. (21)

This is a practical hint indeed!

I therefore urge all of us to improve in the knowledge of Arabic

language as we have improved in the knowledge of English language and to

endeavour to acquire that knowledge if we find ourselves deficient in the

language. May the Almighty Allah make it easy for us, Amin.

(v) Delivery of Quality Judgments and Production of Annual Reports Another point of recommendation is directed to all our Courts operating

the Islamic Law on one hand, and to the NJC on the other. As for us, we

should endeavour to deliver quality judgments worthy of publication and to

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embark on codification of such decisions as "annual report" which will

showcase our work to justify our entitlements for the reporting year. Such

report can even include community services assignments such as reporting all

or some of the inheritance distribution requests attended to in the year. With

all sense of humility and respect, I wish to submit that this much we do at the

Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Ilorin. The exercise started in 1994 to

date. Our 2014 Annual Report is the 21st in the series. I therefore urge all

other Sharia Court of Appeal jurisdictions in Nigeria to follow suit because of

its importance and usefulness. Doing so will certainly enhance our respect and

will also improve the so much desired performance. The

annual report will also be useful for the local and international researchers as

well as for our tertiary institutions where Islamic Law is being taught

throughout Nigeria and beyond.

(iii) Review of criteria for Appointment of Kadis

There is the need for NJC to continue to review and update criteria for

appointment of Judicial officers, especially Kadis who are to man Islamic Law

cases at appeal level. Emphasis should be on sound knowledge of the

applicable Law which is Sharia, and also on honesty, integrity, morality and

honour of the candidate for the job. Above all such appointee for the high

office should be a man of discipline from all ramifications. It is this kind of

personality that will cherish the established code of conduct and will find it

unfashionable to violate same.

(iv) Opportunity To Attend International Seminars/Conferences on Sharia.

Furthermore, all the Hon. Kadis, like their counterparts in the High

Courts, should be given opportunity, to attend international seminars and

conferences in Arab countries in particular in addition and in support of the

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highly appreciative efforts of the NJI which provides us all with regular

refresher courses among its training programmes.

(v) Ethics Training

Another important Area of training is "ethics training". To ensure

improved compliance with the code of conduct, there is the need for regular

ethics training which will certainly help to instill in all Judicial officers the

need for good ethical conduct. In the words of Chief A.O. Shonekan, GCFR,

(former President Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

One thing that some large organizations do, which help ensure ongoing compliance with the code of conduct is regular ethics training. This will help instill in everyone the need for good ethical conduct. The constant…. The constant repetition of the message of compliance with the code of conduct by the leaders of the Judiciary during these seminars coupled with appropriate recognition and rewards for exemplary conduct should help ensure observance of this code of conduct (22).

(vi) Improvement in Performance Evaluation Mechanism

Performance evaluation mechanism is so crucial and also so important

to achieve improvement in dispensation of justice anywhere in the world(23).

There is the need therefore to improve upon it for the overall success of the

Nigerian Judiciary.

8. 1 Conclusion

My great audience and my learned colleagues, I want to state in

conclusion of this paper that the attributes of a Kadi as given by the Islamic

Law can adequately provide for Kadis of excellence who can satisfy the

performance evaluation requirements of the NJC, the expectations of

members of the public and also the divine directives of Allah, who is the

overall Judge of all judges. It is not enough to have knowledge of the law. It

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is important too that Kadis should continue to learn and learn because

searching for knowledge is from cradle to grave. Over and above all, we all

need to comply with the provisions of our ethics, our code of conduct so that

our personalities and offices will continue to be respected, our integrity

upheld and our performances enhanced.

I thank you all for your time and also for your rapt attention.

Thanks a lot. Assalam Alaekum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu.

NOTES AND REFERENCES 1. See: CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JUDICIAL OFFICERS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC

OF NIGERIA PP.3 – 5. 2. This definition is sourced from P.1 of a lecture titled: PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

AS DYNAMIC INSTRUMENT OF MANAGING. Written by Dr. Obadiah Gbeja of the Department of Public Enterprises Management Studies, ASCON, Badagry, Lagos.

3. Ibid, P.2. 4. Op.cit. P.3. 5. As above PP.4 – 7. 6. See P.1 of "Reappraising Methods of Judicial Performance Evaluation of Judges

and Kadis" by Hon. Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, CON, JSC (Rtd). It is a paper he delivered at the All Nigeria Judges' Conference held at the NJI, Abuja, between 21st – 25th November, 2011.

7. See P.1 of "Brief for New members" of the Committee on Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers of Superior Courts of Record. This Brief was produced by M.A. Tambawel, the Committee's Secretary.

8. See page 3 of: "Improving Competence and Efficiency on the Bench: The Imperative of Performance Evaluation of Judicial Officers" By: Hon. Justice B.O. Babalakin JSC (Rtd), CON. The paper was presented in 2005 at the meeting of Board of Governors of the National Judicial Institute (NJI). He was then a member of the Institute.

9. Useful materials on Performance Evaluation Committee were promptly made available to me on request, by the Secretary of the Committee, M.A. Tambawel to whom I owe a lot of gratitude.

10. See pages 1 – 3 of the 4-page address by Hon. Justice Emmanuel Ayoola (Rtd)

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CON, Chairman (as he then was) of the Performance Evaluation Committee of the National Judicial Council during his meeting with Heads of Court held at the NJI on 21st January, 2014.

11. Ibid (Babalakin) page 2 12. See pages 110-111 of "The Practice of Muslim Family Law in Nigeria" by M.A

Ambali, the Hon. Grand Kadi of Kwara State (Rtd). 13. See P.28 of "Judicial Ethics and Integrity: Code of Conduct for Judicial

officers", by Hon. Justice Marshat Umukoro, High Court of Justice, Delta State. The lecture was delivered during the All Nigeria Judges Conference of the Lower Courts organized by NJI and held between 13th – 17th November, 2006.

14. See P. 377/757 of "The Approach of the Muslim" English Translation of "Minhajul Muslim" by Abubakr Jabir Al-Jazairy.

15. Ibid same page. 16. See page 5 of "Guide to Advocates: A Translation and Commentary on Tuhfatul Hukkam" by Abbas Abdullah Machika. 17. See Vol. II, page 322 of "Al-Fiqhul Wadhih Minal Kitab wa Sunnah `alal Madhahibil Ar-Ba'ah" written by Dr. Muhammad Bikr Ismail. 18. See page 2 of the speech delivered by the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria and

Chairman of the NJC (Rtd), the Hon. Justice Dahiru Musdapher, GCON, at the meeting of the Judges' Performance Evaluation Committee of the NJC with all

Heads of Court in Nigeria, held at the NJI, Abuja on 4th June, 2012. 19. Ibid, same page. 20. Op.cit (Babalakin): Page 2 21. See paragraph 2 of the Circular Ref. No. NJC/CIR/HOC/1/163 dated 24th February, 2015

and personally signed by the CJN himself, Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed, GCON. 22. Page 25 of "Judging the judges: Judicial Ethics, Code of Conduct for Judicial officers"

by Chief A.O. Shonekan, GCFR (former President, Interim Government). He delivered this paper at All Nigeria Judges' Conference organized by the NJI, Abuja between 5th – 9 December, 2005.

23. Ibid Page 28. 24. See Dr. Obadiah Op.cit page 9. 25. Appendix: See the last page