NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Abubakar Anafi, Larry Nkwor, Justice Uka-Ofor and Ayomide Abiodun, G Elias
• travel and other expenses of parties and witnesses, to the extent that the judge determines to be rea- sonable. Costs are awarded at the discretion of the court, which must be exercised judiciously. Although a suc- cessful party is generally entitled to be indemnified for the expenses necessarily incurred, and compensated for its time and effort in coming to court, it cannot lay any claim to costs unless the court has made an order to that effect. In addition, the courts must not award costs in a bid to punish the unsuccessful litigant who sought redress in court. Orders as to costs may be the subject of appeals to an appellate court. 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs In awarding costs, a court often considers facts such as the out-of-pocket expenses of the successful party, the duration of the case, the number of appearances by the parties and their counsel, the number of wit- nesses called by the successful party, unnecessary delays in proceedings, the cost of legal representa- tion, and the value and purchasing power of the cur- rency of the award at the time of the award, among others. Courts tend in practice to award costs at below-market rates. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs There is no legal requirement for the award of interest on costs. Costs become immediately payable when ordered. 12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country ADR is viewed positively and is highly promoted in Nigeria, and has been integrated by law into Nigeria’s dispute resolution system. The Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023 mandate law- yers to inform their clients of the ADR mechanisms available to them before resorting to litigation. Further, in many states in Nigeria, pre-trial or case manage- ment conferences are mandatory. One of the objec-
tives of such conferences is to promote the amicable resolution of the dispute. The referral of a case to an ADR body for alterna- tive resolution, where possible, is usually listed as an agenda item of such pre-trial or case management conferences. Also, courts in Nigeria have ADR centres to which disputes are referred for amicable resolution. The most popular ADR methods in Nigeria are nego- tiation, mediation and arbitration. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System The Nigerian legal system promotes ADR and lawyers are required to inform their clients about the option of ADR mechanisms before resorting to litigation. Most rules of the courts require parties to attempt amicable settlement before filing a lawsuit, and failure to comply with this requirement might lead to the striking out of the suit. In addition, most court rules include pre-trial conferences, with an agenda to refer cases to ADR for settlement. Under the law, where there is an arbitration agreement between the parties and one party institutes an action in court, the court has the power to order a stay of proceedings and refer the matter to arbitration. Under Nigerian law, the finality of arbitral awards is recog- nised and they can only be set aside on exceptional Institutions promoting and offering ADR in Nigeria are well organised and play a significant role in integrat- ing ADR into the legal landscape. Examples of such institutions are the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK (Nigeria); the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbi- trators; the Institute of Construction Industry Arbitra- tion; and the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Court of Arbitration. Many states have highly functional multidoor courthouses where cases are referred for ADR processes. grounds set out by law. 12.3 ADR Institutions
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