English Law

Question 1

What is English law?

Answer 1

So basically, knowing that Nigeria is a colonial product, we can understand that some of our laws came from the English people during colonial rule. During the formative period of Nigerian law, our jurists were even trained in English law, for that reason, it has been difficult for it to totally leave our legal system.

Question 2

What are some authorities that support the use of English law?

Answer 2

1. The 2004 Interpretation Act
2. The Supreme Court Ordinance of 1914
3. 1999 C.F.R.N. S. 315(1)

Question 3

What are some case laws that support the use of English law?

Answer 3

1. Ibiado v. Lufthansa

Question 4

What are the types of English law?

Answer 4

1. Extended English law
2. Received English law

Question 5

What are extended English laws?

Answer 5

These are laws that were made with the Nigerian people in mind. They were introduced in Nigeria directly by British legislation. They must have been in power before 1st October, 1960.

Question 6

What are received English laws?

Answer 6

These are laws that existed in Britain, and were in force there, but were introduced in Nigeria through local legislation. They had to have been in force no later than 1st January, 1900, and they must have been in force in England.

Question 7

What were the reasons for the received English laws?

Answer 7

1. The white people saw our law inferior to theirs.
2. They did not want to be subject to our customary laws.
3. The customary laws of the land did not cover everything.

Question 8

What are the three forms of received English laws?

Answer 8

1. Statutes of General Application.
2. Common Law.
3. Laws of Equity.

Question 9

What are the statutes of general application?

Answer 9

These are basically statutes in force in England no later than 1 January, 1900. The West African Court, in the case of Young v. Abina, stated that the statutes did not have to have force in all of U.K. but only in England, and this holding was reaffirmed in the case of Lawal v. Younan in 1961, by the Federal Supreme Court.

Question 10

How do we know what are statutes of general application?

Answer 10

The courts generally have the duty of answering this question, but a test which has been commonly accepted has been put in place by Osborn C.J. in the case of Attorney General v. John Holt. This test, according to Osborn, is more of a rough guide above all else.

Question 11

What is Osborn’s test?

Answer 11

1. By what courts is the statute applied in England?
2. To what classes of the community does it apply?

Question 12

What are some of these statutes?

Answer 12

1. The Infant Relief Act
2. The Colonial Marriage Act
3. The Limitations Act
4. The Wills Act.
5. The Land Transfer Act.
6. The Statute of Frauds.

Question 13

How are these statutes applied in Nigeria?

Answer 13

1. It can only be applied as far as local jurisdiction and circumstance permit it.
2. All necessary verbal alterations have been made to it.
3. It must be modified to suit the Nigerian jurisdiction better.

Question 14

What is common law?

Answer 14

It is the law that was created, developed, and applied by the old common law courts. So back then, when the judges made their travels, they would see laws in other communities that were commonly shared with others. These laws became common law. Common laws are largely unwritten and judge-made. It is based on the customs of the people.

Question 15

What are the characteristics of common law?

Answer 15

1. It is judge-made.
2. It is based on the customs of the people.
3. It is largely unwritten.
4. They are subject to the doctrine of stare decisis or precedent.
5. They form the basic law of the land.
6. They can be altered, modified or removed by legislature.

Question 16

What are the doctrines of equity?

Answer 16

These doctrines emerged as a result of the rigidity of common law. They are influenced heavily by the general moral principles of the people, but are not the morals.

Question 17

What are the characteristics of the doctrines of equity?

Answer 17

1. They were made by particular judges, the judges of equity.
2. It developed from moral principles.
3. A rule of equity cannot exist without a corresponding rule of common law, but a rule of common law can exist without a corresponding rule of equity.

Question 18

Which of the two were superior and why?

Answer 18

It was known that if the two laws (equity and common) were in conflict, the rules of equity will prevail. Sir Francis, former Attorney General of England made this clear. The Judicature Act, the Earl of Oxford case, and the resolution ruled in favor of the superiority of the Doctrines of Equity.

Question 19

What are the limitations to the English laws?

Answer 19

1. There existed a cut-off date for the statutes.
2. It is subject to local legislature.
3. The decision of English courts is only of persuasive authority in Nigeria.
4. It must go through interpretation by Nigerian courts, and won’t be applied the same way it was in England.
5. Once it was repealed, the repeal takes effect from that date immediately.