Justiciability of Chapter Ii of the Nigerian Constitution: a Need for Judicial Activism in Its Interpretation
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The rise in the debate for the inclusion of Socio-economic rights in the statute books of various Nations, saw the emergence of international and regional treaties embodying these rights. Nigeria in following the trend made socio-economic rights a part of the Nation’s constitution, but unfortunately made those rights unjusticiable, by the same constitution that codified these rights. Despite several evolutionary trends in the Nigerian Society, the Nation hasbeen on constant decline with successive governments reducing the standard of governance. All round, from securityto the economy, successive Nigerian governments fail to perform their core responsibility to the members of the societythat they lead. These core responsibilities as are encapsulated under Chapter II of the Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria were made unjusticiable leaving the masses unable to enforce those provisions and allowing theruling class to behave irresponsibly. The essence of this article is to again highlight the core responsibility of governmentin relation to the society that they govern and to point out the role the judiciary can play in bringing accountability togovernance by making Chapter II justiciable through its interpretative law-making powers. This article highlightsthe need for a change in judicial attitude, placing reliance on judicial activism and propelling social change byinterpreting Chapter II in such a manner that makes it justiciable.
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7219315134