Who is responsible for establishing inferior courts

Yes, judges are independent, and the Founders thought that this independence would protect their ability to uphold the law, even when doing so is unpopular. Our written Constitution means that some such cases are probably inevitable. At the same time, our commitment to democracy means that they are, and will continue to be, controversial.

It establishes the Supreme Court, and it is the basis of the federal court system. It has served those purposes from the very beginning.

At the same time, though, when we read this part of the Constitution—and many other parts of the Constitution, too—we can see how much things have changed since the nation was founded, in ways that the Framers of the Constitution could not have predicted.

The Framers were prepared to have a country in which there was only one federal court: the Supreme Court. If that were the nation we lived in today, anyone who had a complaint about anything—about unlawful discrimination, or a violation of the right to free speech, or police brutality—would have to go to state court.

The state court judge might be appointed by a governor or even a mayor, or might be elected. That would all depend on state law. State law would decide what kind of jury, if any, that person would get.

You would, ultimately, have a chance to ask the U. Supreme Court to hear your case—but the Supreme Court is just one court and can only hear a relatively small number of cases each year. That is not the nation we live in today. Now it is important not to underestimate how much state courts do, even today. Even today, when we have an extensive federal court system, state courts decide many more cases than federal courts, by far.

They, typically, hold office for life. The salaries of the justices cannot be decreased during their term of office. These restrictions are meant to protect the independence of the judiciary from the political branches of government. The Court has original jurisdiction a case is tried before the Court over certain cases, e.

Some examples include cases to which the United States is a party, cases involving Treaties, and cases involving ships on the high seas and navigable waterways admiralty cases. When exercising its appellate jurisdiction, the Court, with a few exceptions, does not have to hear a case. The Certiorari Act of gives the Court the discretion to decide whether or not to do so.

In a petition for a writ of certiorari, a party asks the Court to review its case. The Supreme Court agrees to hear about of the more than 7, cases that it is asked to review each year. The best-known power of the Supreme Court is judicial review, or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution, is not found within the text of the Constitution itself.

The first section creates the U. The Supreme Court has final say on matters of federal law that come before it. Today, the U. Supreme Court has nine justices who are appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate. Legal systems in Nigeria: overview.

Related Content. Constitution Form. What form does your constitution take? The Federal Republic of Nigeria has a written constitution. It is contained in a single document. The Nigerian Constitution is derived from constitutions of other countries, opinions of political and constitutional writers, customs and conventions, previous constitutions and judicial precedents.

The fundamental features of the Nigerian Constitution are as follows:. A presidential form of government. General constitutional features. What is the system of governance? System Under the Nigerian Constitution, Nigeria has a presidential system of government. A presidential system is a democratic and republican system of government, where a head of government leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch.

The head of government is also the head of state. Head of state The President is the head of state and the head of government. The President, whose constituency is the entire country, combines governmental powers and ceremonial powers, and is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Structure The federal government consists of three distinct branches, the:. Legislative, whose powers are vested by the Nigerian Constitution in the National Assembly.

Nigeria has a bicameral legislature at national level see Question 3. Executive, whose powers are vested by the President. Judicial, whose powers are vested by the federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Does the constitution provide for a separation of powers? The legislative, executive and judicial powers of government are separated under the Nigerian Constitution. The legislature.

The legislature is the first branch of government in the tripartite classification of powers. Nigeria has a bicameral legislature at the national level, which is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, while the legislative system at the state level is unicameral that is, there is only one legislative house at state level, the State House of Assembly.

The legislature is regarded as an assembly of representatives of the people elected under a legal framework to make laws for the good of society. Legislative powers simply refer to the law-making powers of the legislature, which include the power to make new laws, alter existing ones and guard and repeal laws.

The executive is the second branch of government. The executive powers of the Federation of Nigeria are vested in the President and are exercised by the President either directly or through the Vice President and ministers of the Government of the Federation of Nigeria, or officers in the public service of the Federation of Nigeria.

The executive powers extend to the execution and maintenance of the Nigerian Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has the power to make laws.

The executive powers of a state are vested in each state's Governor and are exercised either directly or through the Deputy Governor and commissioners of the government of that state, or officers in the public service of the state. The third branch of government is the judiciary, which is the only branch not made up of elected representatives, but of personnel appointed to perform the fundamental role of adjudication in society.

The justices of the federal courts are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, subject to the Senate's confirmation.

The judges of the state courts are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the State Judicial Service Council, subject to the State House of Assembly's confirmation.

Checks and balances are a corollary to the doctrine of separation of powers under the Nigerian Constitution. The executive arm can veto bills passed by the legislature section 58 3 , Nigerian Constitution. The legislature can override a veto by the executive arm section 58 5 , Nigerian Constitution. Similarly, the executive can check the judiciary through its power to appoint or remove judges while the judiciary can declare executive actions and laws enacted by the legislature unconstitutional.

The judiciary can also review the actions of the executive through the mechanism of judicial review see Question 5. What is the general legislative process? Proposal and drafting The Nigerian Constitution specifically sets out the legislative process.

It provides that the power of the National Assembly to make laws will be exercised by Bills, which can originate in either the Senate or the House of Representatives.

A Bill will not become a law until the President assents to it. Where the President withholds their assent, it can be presented to both the Senate and House of Representatives, after which it can become law provided that it is passed by a two-thirds majority of each house. Scrutiny A Bill will go through the following procedure to be passed as law:.

First reading. The Clerk of the House or Senate reads the short title of the Bill and tables it before the Speaker or the Senate President whichever is applicable. Second reading. After the first reading, the Bill will be scheduled for the second reading. The second reading gives the members sufficient time to deliberate on the general principles of the Bill for example, its merits and demerits. At this stage, legislators can decide to approve or reject the Bill. Standing Committee stage.

After the second reading, and provided that the Bill was not rejected at that stage, the Bill will be passed to a Standing Committee for thorough scrutiny. The Standing Committee will conclude extensive deliberations on the Bill, which can include arranging for a public hearing and requesting contributions from experts on the subject matter of the proposed law. Report stage. After the Standing Committee has concluded its work, it will set a date on which to present its findings to the House or Senate.

The Chairman of the Standing Committee will conduct the report on the Bill. At this stage, the Presiding Officer of the House or Senate will leave the Chair and take the place of one of their assistants. The mace will be lowered and the Presiding Officer will be referred to as Chairman, and will call out the number of every clause in succession or the first and last number of a group of clauses. If there are proposed amendments, they will put them forward.

Third reading. After the Bill has been reported to the Committee of the whole House or Senate, it will proceed to the third reading. If a legislator wishes to suggest an amendment, they must make a motion that the Bill be "re-committed" to the committee stage for the amendment to be included. If the motion is agreed on, the House or Senate will dissolve to discuss the amendment. After all necessary amendments have been made, the House or Senate proceeds on the third reading and passes the Bill.

Engrossment of a Bill. Engrossment involves the production of a final clean copy of the Bill by the legal department after all of the amendments agreed to by the legislators have been made. The Bill will be drawn up in the proper legal draft format and sealed with an authenticated certificate endorsed by the Clerk of the House or Senate. The Bill is presented to the Chief Executive President or governor of a state for their assent or otherwise.

Enactment A Bill does not become law until the President signs it. The President has 30 days to sign a Bill sent to them by the National Assembly. However, the National Assembly is empowered by the Nigerian Constitution to overturn a presidential veto.

Is there a procedure by which the judiciary can review legislative and executive actions? The power of judicial review of legislative Acts derives principally from Nigerian Constitution that states, save as otherwise provided by the Constitution, the exercise of legislative powers by the National Assembly or by a House of Assembly shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts of law and of judicial tribunals established by law, and accordingly, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not enact any law that ousts the jurisdiction of a court of law and of a judicial tribunal established by law section 4 8 , Nigerian Constitution.

The Constitution further provides that if any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution, the Constitution shall prevail and that other law shall to the extent of the inconsistency be void.

Acted without powers lack of jurisdiction. Went beyond its powers exceeded jurisdiction. Failed to comply with applicable rules of natural justice. According to the record, proceeded on a mistaken view of the law error of law on the face of the record.

Arrived at a decision so unreasonable that no court, tribunal or public authority properly directing itself on the relevant law and acting reasonably could have reached it.