By Bassey Udo
The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) can serve as a model for emulation by other African countries, its Chairman, Justice Aminu Junaidu, has said.
Junaidu stated this on Tuesday while receiving a delegation from the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority currently in Nigeria to understudy the operations of the Tribunal with the intention of replicating same in their country.
Addressing the delegation, the Chairman said Nigeria’s experience has shown that a well structured Tribunal could serve as a cornerstone for capital market development by ensuring that justice was accessible to all categories of investors and corporate entities.
Consequently, he said the Tribunal offers a useful model for emulation by emerging and developing markets such as those across the African continent.
He said the IST demonstrates the value of specialized dispute resolution mechanisms, which emphasises the importance of integrating legal and financial expertise and the need for efficient processes that inspire investor trust.
The Tribunal, he pointed out, was technologically driven as matters can be filed and heard online, while advocating for IST’s Alternative Dispute Resolution centre to be approached by parties in dispute to handle small claims through mediation.
Since its inception the Chairman disclosed that the Tribunal, which has enabling powers to decide and settle matters within 90 days of hearing, has, till date, resolved various cases valued at over a trillion Naira.
Also speaking, one of the members of the Tribunal, Felix Onwuneme, advised the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority to ensure that documents concerning matters in dispute brought before them were front loaded to facilitate effective adjudication and administration of justice.
Onwuneme explained that front loading of documents was when a litigant puts his argument in writing and comes before the Tribunal to adopt it before the actual hearing. This, he explained, would serve as the litigant’s argument before the court, to save time.
On her part, the leader of the delegation, Renege Rahel Kassa, who is also the Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Capital Market Authority said they chose to come to Nigeria because of the country’s extensive experience in capital market development and the Tribunal’s experience in disposing cases in a timely manner.
The Tribunal’s handling of disputes, he noted, has contributed significantly to the peace and justice in the system and at the same time upholding the standards of the capital market.
The highlight of the visit included members of the delegation asking questions ranging from the composition of the Tribunal and Rules of Procedure in handling matters in dispute.
