Tobi Soniyi in Abuja | Four Caribbean countries are seeking to adopt the Nigerian Case Management System (NCMS) software which was developed recently by the Nigerian judiciary to make the process of filing papers at the Supreme Court faster.

Already the Chief Justices of the four countries are in Nigeria to witness a demonstration of the NCMS software.

The countries Bahamas, Barbados, Trindad and Tobago and Eastern Caribbean. They came under the auspices of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Chief Justice Hartman Longley of the Bahamas, Chief Justice Marston Gibson of Barbados, Chief Justice Ivor Archie of Trindad and Tobago and Chief Justice Pereira of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court all witnessed the demonstration of the new software at the National Judicial Council (NJC) in Abuja on Tuesday.

They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NJC on the modalities of extending assistance to their judiciaries to develop similar case management systems.

The Nigerian judiciary developed the NCMS with technical assistance provided by the National Centre for States of court of America.

While signing the MoU at the NJC in Abuja, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed, said the MoU between the country’s judiciary and the Chief Justices of the Caribbean Community Countries was a paradigm shift in the cooperation with brother jurisdictions for the growth of the judiciary.

The CJN said the idea for the project was conceived at the 24th World Jurist Association Congress held in Prague, Czech Republic in October 2011, where several countries discussed the strides made to introduce court technology.

“Following an outstanding study and a report by the chairman, the Judicial Information Technology Policy Committee (JITPO-CO) was inaugurated in January 2012. Indeed, it was in that same year that an MoU was signed with the National Centre for States Courts (NCSC) for the design and development of the NCMS,” Justice Mohammed stated.

He said the software which was developed  in collaboration with the NCSC and Microsoft International was a thing of pride to the Nigerian judiciary.

According to him, the innovative software, which has become a functional reality, will certainly transform the judiciary for posterity, if fully integrated.

Justice Mohammed  said the synergy between Nigeria and the Caribbean countries would further ‎ the ends of justice.

He said: “An effective justice system is one that upholds the four cardinal principles of Independence, Transparency, Accountability and Efficiency,” and further added that the principles provide the framework for the design, development and organisations of all judicial institutions. READ MORE