THE CONCEPT OF MULTI-DOOR COURTHOUSE (MDCH) IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL OF THE NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL COURT MULTI-DOOR COURTHOUSE MODEL

Abstract

Over the years, the practice and procedures adopted under the administration of justice in Nigeria and the consequential effects, led to the clamour for the review of the existing framework on resolving disputes generally. Government’s involvement in the finance and administration of justice in Nigeria also provided inflexible challenges ranging from funding, appointment, and financial allocation to the courts, to mention a few. The concept of Multi-Door Courthouse (MDCH), however, is a unique conception. It has the sole aim of providing alternative practice and procedures such as litigation, arbitration, negotiation and mediation in resolving disputes among parties in a courthouse. Notwithstanding the challenges faced under the administration of justice, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), like the Lagos State High Court of Justice, has taken a new dimension in the dispensation of justice within the Nigerian Legal System by making efforts which though seem similar to the existing MDCH structures in Nigeria, it features a unique MDCH system. This paper therefore reviews the concept of MDCH under the National Industrial Court Instruments, 2015, and the National Industrial Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules, 2015. It concludes by making recommendations for the development of the Nigerian Legal System in the nearest future.