Group issues guidelines for prevention of COVID-19 in courts

The Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) has issued a seven-step guideline to help contain the spread of coronavirus in courts.

According to Ogechi Ogu, deputy director, PRAWA, the guidelines were developed with the support of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC ) project of the British Council.

Ogu explained that the guidelines were put together in a simplified manual “to guide court operators and court users towards compliance with the directives of the chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) and other regulations that have been issued by competent federal and state authorities on COVID 19.”

“The manual provides guidance to the courts on compliance with established health protocols from the World Health Organization (WHO), Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, and other designated Federal and State authorities in the course of attending to ‘urgent’, ‘essential’ and ‘time-bound’ cases in line with extant laws,” she said in a statement.

“The guidelines contained in this Manual will also apply to situations arising from other contagious diseases that have similar patterns of infections, which require similar public health precautions.”

In step one, PRAWA advised that specific courts that will be opened during the lockdown should be announced while information should be communicated to all parties in interested parties involved in cases.

The group also recommended the restriction of access into the court and that “only persons with material interest in a case may be allowed into the court.”

It also emphasised the importance of equipping the courts with materials and personnel needed to comply with laid down health protocols.

Step 4  of the guidelines dwells on “matters courts can attend to during the period of the lockdown with focus on criminal cases, civil cases and family law services.

Step 5 is on the application of technology during COVID 19 lockdown period with a focus on the importance of understanding the benefits of the use of technology to attend to some of the court processes during the lockdown period and some of the court processes to apply technology during the lockdown period.

Step 6 is on recommended sanctions for violators of COVID 19 regulations and laws focusing on types and the nature of sanctions recommended and principles and recommended mode of application of the sanctions.

Lastly in Step seven, PRAWA urged the court to remind lawyers “of their ethical obligations to their clients during COVID 19 lockdown with focus on the need to inform clients about the COVID 19 measures implemented by court and how these may impact their cases”.

PRAWA called on state judiciary to adopt the guidelines as well as issue practice directions in their respective jurisdictions.