What is it about?
Claimants need to comply with certain requirements before instituting actions against defendants. Under Nigerian law, pre-action notices are required before some statutory corporations can be sued. This article examines constitutional requirements with respect to fair hearing and whether pre-action notices are justified under the law and in practice. The main conclusion is that pre-action notices, in their current forms, impede access to justice not only in contractual claims but also for litigants generally.
Why is it important?
This article interrogates the implicit assumption that pre-action notices are justifiable because they are contained in statutory law. The underlying argument is that all laws are subject to the Constitution: access to the courts is a fundamental right.