- Locus standi and Statute bar, Twin weapons of Injustice; Case of Jack v. Jill
By David Akinwunmi
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water, Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after…
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Interesting to note that, Jack fell down due to the negligence of the hill keepers who failed to pass across important information to tourist who would like to have a relaxing view of the world by climbing up the hill. In essence, the hill keepers are perceived to be liable for Jack’s Injury. However, Jack is still being treated at the hospital while his best friend- Jill took it upon himself to sue the hill keepers on behalf of him (Jack).
When Jill approached the court, without hesitation the court pronounced: “Mr Jill, you are just a meddlesome interloper, you lack proper standing in this suit.” Jill in a bid to gain proper standing in his friend’s suit jumped on one of the exotically designed furnitures of the court’s gallery in order to gain a fit standing. It was at this point the court laughed in Legalese and explained Locus standi thus:
“It is on the issue of locus standing that I cannot pretend that I have not had some serious headache and considerable hesitation in views on locus standi between the majority and minority judgments – between Justice of equal authority who were almost equally divided.” Oputa JSC AG kaduna v Hassan
The court expatiated further:
“Locus Standi’ means no more than the court will entertain a suit only at the instance of one who has a legal capacity to institute the proceedings. For a person to be able to maintain an action, he must be able to establish that his interest is about to be adversely affected by the action taken or contemplated by the defendant”
Aguda A. Porthacort Law week Nigeria
Jill on hearing this, was still of the unshakeable contention that he has legal capacity, for reasons that he has sufficient interest in his friend’s well being. After a heated argument for about 30mins, the court schooled him on who is deemed to have interest and aggrieved:
a’ person aggrieved is ‘not a man who is disappointed of a benefit which he might have received if some other order had been made, but a man who has suffered a legal grievance, a man against whom a decision has been pronounced which has wrongfully deprived him something, or wrongfully refused him something, or wrongfully affected his title to something’
EX Parte: SIDEBOTHAM
And added: “…it is only when the civil rights and obligations of the person who invokes the jurisdiction of the court, are in issue for determination that the judicial powers of the court may be invoked. In other words, standing will only be accorded to a Plaintiff who shows that his civil rights and obligations have been or are in danger of being violated or adversely affected by the act complained of.”
Bello JSC Abraham Adesanya v. FRN
Simply, Locus standi is the doctrine of law which restricts persons who are not directly affected by a legal sufferance from instituting an action in court. Only persons who have directly suffered a loss should bring an action to court in that regards. By implication Jill doesn’t have locus standi in this claim.
Jill being a knowledgeable …. And a renowned activist for social Justice, knows too well that- to every law is an exception. He then asked the court in his capacity as Amicus curae, “what are the exceptions to the doctrine of locus standi” this particular day, it was a very interesting time in court, one of those few days when the court turns into a school, and the judge, a professor. The court of education then listed the exceptions thus:
Public interest litigation
Human right claims
Public interest litigation as the name implies, is simplicita, suing for the interest of the general public.
‘Public Interest Litigation’. As per the court, PIL means a legal action brought in the court of law on behalf of those persons whose legal rights are violated and they can’t approach the court due to their economic or socially disadvantageous position. Jonata Dal v. chardhary (1992)
Jill was still very curious to hear more on the exceptions to locus standi whence the chief Justice brought to his notice that in the year 2009 he (the chief Justice of Nigeria) created an exception to locus standi in section 3 of the FREP rules; pursuant to the authority granted him by section …. Of the constitution. Giving an opportunity to Non governmental organizations to institute human right actions.
A very educative and enlightening session it was that raining Tuesday morning. Court of course closed with the assertive baritone voice of the registrar…. Courttttttt!
Fast forward to some few years later, the injured Jack was perfectly okay and wanted to sue the hill keepers for the injury he acquired due to their negligence. Jill of course had explained the concept of locus standi to him; realizing that he (Jack ) had locus standi, approached the court and the court held that his case was statute bar!
Again, the court became a citadel of learning even though it frowns at such situations.
“An action becomes hypothetical or raises mere academic point when there is no live matter in it to be adjudicated….
When an issue has become defunct, it does not require to be answered or controvert about and leads to making of bare legal postulations, which the court should not indulge in;….”
Per Chukwuma Eneh JSC Agbakoba v. INEC
However, in the interest of justice, the court explained statute bar thus:
“In my interpretation “statute-barred” simply means barred by a provision of the statute. It is usually as to time i.e. the bar gives a time limit during which certain actions or steps should be taken, and one is barred from taking action after the period specified in the statute. Any action taken after or outside the specified limit or period is of no avail and has no valid effect. The bar can be lifted or the limit extended only if the statute allows it to be done. Where there was no such extension, the action carried out will be invalid, and the court will treat as such.”PER KALGO J.S.C. Araka v. Ejeagwu
Jill who already understands the archaic and redundant language used by the court due to his last experience, explained to Jack in simple terms:
Statute bar is a legal doctrine that disallows one to bring his case to court because a certain time has elapsed. It’s therefore necessary to always approach the court in good time; as early as possible. However, an exception to the principle of statute bar is criminal cases as it has always been said, “time does not run against the state”
Jack and Jill having accepted their fate like in most other cases were mere technicalities in law would supersede substantial issues and evidence, highlighted some recommendations to this principle:
The principle of locus standi and statute bar are important components of the legal system, but their strict application can sometimes lead to unjust outcomes. To prevent this, two recommendations can be made.
Firstly, the principle of locus standi could be expanded to allow individuals or groups who have a legitimate interest in a case to bring a claim, even if they are not directly affected by the matter. This would ensure that important issues are not left unaddressed due to technicalities, and that justice is not denied to those who are indirectly impacted by a legal dispute.
Secondly, the statute bar could be reformed to allow for more flexibility in its application. Instead of imposing strict time limits on bringing a claim, the courts could be given discretionary power to extend these limits in cases where it is just and equitable to do so. This would prevent individuals from being barred from seeking justice based solely on procedural grounds, and would allow for a fair consideration of their claims on their merits.
By implementing these recommendations, the legal system can strike a better balance between upholding the principles of locus standi and statute bar, while also ensuring that justice is not compromised due to technicalities.
David Akinwunmi is a 300 Level law student at the Lagos State University, LASU.
