An Overview of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN)
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) was established in 1976 to handle trade disputes between employers and employees, workers and workers, trade unions and workers and between trade unions.
An erstwhile President of the Court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, disclosed in an interview that the Court was moribund for 25 years until he took over as the President and initiated several moves that has led to the recognition of the Court as a superior Court of record in the hierarchy of a High Court.
In his words, “The President said I should work in collaboration with the then Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujimi… At the end of the day, the NIC Bill 2006 became an Act of the National Assembly. The rules of Court were made and on August 1, 2017, the NIC Rules became enforceable and that was how we started.”
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Third Alteration) Act, 2010 gave the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) a constitutional flavour and laid to rest all the arguments surrounding the status and powers of the Court. In addition to the Constitution, the NICN is also guided by the provisions of the National Industrial Court Act and the National Industrial Court Rules, which guides its judicial procedures.
Composition and constitution of the NICN
The Court is to consist of the President of the National Industrial Court who acts as the head of the court and oversees the administration of the Court, and such number of Judges as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly. The appointment of the Judges of the court is done by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the confirmation of such appointment by the Senate. However, the appointment of the President of the court is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
Where the court is to exercise its jurisdiction, it is deemed duly constituted if a single Judge or not more than three judges of the court as the President of the NICN may direct sits to hear the matter.
Jurisdiction and powers of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN)
Jurisdiction can be defined as the power of a Court to consider or decide a particular case or subject matter. The jurisdiction of a Court is usually derived from the provisions of the Constitution under which the Court was established. The NICN has jurisdiction over matters related to the Factories Act, Trade Disputes Act, Trade Unions Act and Employees’ Compensation Act.
Section 7 of the NICN Act 2006, gave the Court exclusive jurisdiction in civil causes and matters relating to labour, including trade unions and industrial relations; environment and conditions of work, health, safety and welfare of labour; relating to the grant of any order to restrain any person or body from taking part in any strike, lock-out or any industrial action; relating to the determination of any question as to the interpretation of any collective agreements, any trade union constitution, any award or judgment of the Court, any award of an arbitral tribunal in respect of a labour dispute or an organizational dispute etc.
These powers and others have been given constitutional flavour by Section 254C (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Third Alteration) Act, 2010 which gives the court power to exercise jurisdiction in civil causes and matters which includes, but is not limited to the following.
Where it involves matter relating to or connected with any labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations and matters arising from the workplace, , the contract of employment, the conditions of service, including health, safety, welfare of labour, employee, worker and other incidental matters. The court is also empowered to grant any order restraining any person or body from taking part in any strike, lock-out or any industrial action and related matters.
Where there is a need to interpret and apply the fundamental human rights provisions of the Constitution on matters of employment, labour, industrial relations, trade unionism, employer’s association, or any other matter which the Court has jurisdiction to determine, the NICN is empowered to hear such matters.
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The NICN also has jurisdiction where disputes arise as a result of unfair labour practice, application of international best practices in labour matters, discrimination, or sexual harassment at the workplace. It also applies in relation to child labour, child abuse, human trafficking, and payment or nonpayment of salaries, wages, pensions, allowances or entitlements of employees.
The Constitution also extends the power of the court to include criminal causes and matters that arise from any cause or matters arising from matters in which the court is empowered to exercise civil jurisdiction. It should be noted that in cases where the court exercises its criminal jurisdiction, an appeal shall lie to the Court of Appeal as of right, without the need to apply for the leave of the court.
Alternative dispute resolution at the NICN
The NICN Act of 2006 encouraged the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to resolve disputes without the need to go through the rigours of proper litigation. As a result of this, the Court established an ADR Centre saddled with the responsibility of resolving disputes arising from labour, employment, industrial relations, workplace etc, between parties using the process of mediation and/or conciliation.
The type of disputes resolved at the centre include disputes between Employers and Employees; disputes arising from health at the workplace; disputes arising from safety at the workplace; disputes arising from the welfare of workers.
Appeals from the decision of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria
Like every other court of similar jurisdiction, such as the State High Court, Federal High Court, and the Customary Court of Appeal, appeals from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria go to the Court of Appeal.
It should be noted that Section 243 (4) of the 1999 Constitution has successfully made the Court of Appeal the final Court in respect of civil appeals from the NICN. “Without prejudice to the provisions of section 254C (5) of this Act, the decision of the Court of Appeal in respect of any appeal arising from any civil jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court shall be final.” Since there is no express Constitutional provision on the final appellate court in situations where the NICN exercises its criminal jurisdiction, it implies that appeal in such cases could go all the way to the Supreme Court.
Conclusion
It can be inferred from the above that the National Industrial Court of Nigeria is the court saddled with the responsibility of adjudicating overall labour and employment-related matters in Nigeria. There have been claims that the need to establish a special court for labour disputes was to ensure that Judges who are well-trained in labour and employment law are made to handle such cases. This is a strong reasoning, considering the pivotal role that employment-related issues play in the lives of individuals across the country.
