The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has issued guidelines on conducting court proceedings amidst the novel Coronavirus pandemic, providing that all court processes shall be decontaminated for five days before sitting.
This direction was contained in a statement entitled: “Standard Operating Procedure Guidelines for Conduct of Court Business” in Lagos on Thursday.
It was dated May 22, and signed by the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Lagos Division.
The guidelines provided that:
“All processes shall be filed at least five days before the date a matter is fixed for hearing, in order for the appropriate measures to be taken for such processes to be disinfected and decontaminated before the hearing date
“No process shall be accepted for filing less than five days before the hearing date.
“The record books used by the justices shall only be handled by the clerk’s attached to justices chambers who shall return same after the days court session.
“The Deputy Registrar should provide the necessary protective accessories (hand gloves etc) for bailiffs in order to facilitate safe conduct of their duties of service of court processes,”
According to the guidelines, it is now mandatory for everyone including the Justices of the Court to use face masks while in the Court.
It also provides that the Court shall hear appeals and conduct proceedings by 9.00 in the forenoon.
“It provides that this will be from Monday to Thursday, while other businesses of the Court would remain from Mondays to Fridays from 8a.m. to 2p.m. excluding public holidays,” it said.
The guidelines also stated that not more than 10 cases should be fixed on the cause list for hearing on any day.
It also directed that physical contact with the Registry of the Court was henceforth disallowed.
