The Enugu State Judiciary has inaugurated 10 Small Claims Court for timely judgment on financial claims ranging from five to ten million naira; the Small Claim Courts is established to settle financial disputes especially debt recovery and other liquidated money demands not exceeding ten million naira only.
Explaining the concept of Small Claims Court, the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Raymond Afojulu Ozoemena said it is a court of limited jurisdiction that hears disputes between litigants in the Magistrates’ Courts; the claims can be heard with or without legal representation.
The Chief Judge represented by Justice Reuben Odugu, during the inauguration further stated, “In human interactions and communications, particularly, in the conduct of business, it is almost inevitable that disagreements will occur which usually will require the intervention of the judicial system for their resolution.”
“Consequently, the ability to resolve contractual disputes on real real-time basis is, therefore, fundamental in ensuring that both the markets and economies function properly.”
“To fulfill this obligation, the adoption of a system of dispute resolution that is fast, informal, and inexpensive becomes imperative. In line with the foregoing, the Small Claims Court was created with specific duties and powers.”
“It is a specialized court designed to provide judicial determination of disputes involving small amounts of money.”
“The legal framework for the operation of the court in Enugu State has been put in place. The Magistrates’ Court Law (Practice Directions on Small Claims) 2023 (the “Practice Directions”) made under the Magistrates’ Courts Law of Enugu State, 2004 was issued in July 2023.”
“The Magistrates’ Court Law of Enugu State and the Magistrates’ Court (Civil Procedure) Rules of Enugu State apply to the proceedings in the Small Claims Court, particularly, in areas not covered by the Practice Directions, 2023.”
“The monetary jurisdiction of the Court is N5,000,000 and a maximum of N10,000,000 in the case of a counterclaim.”
10 Learned Magistrates and 10 Assistant Chief Registrars were trained on the operations of the Small Claims courts and the court’s practice directions and Handbook unveiled at the event.
