1st Edition

The Nigerian Legal System

By T. Olawale Elias Copyright 1963
428 Pages
by Routledge

428 Pages
by Routledge

428 Pages
by Routledge

Originally published in 1954 and here reissuing the second edition of 1963, The Nigerian Legal System (now with a new preface by Olusoji Elias), is an account of the history of the courts, the sources and general principles of law in Nigeria. It discusses the applications of the English doctrine of judicial precedent, the relationship of English law to customary law, and the limits within which... Read more

Part One  1. Introductory survey  2. Sources of Nigerian law  Part Two  3. History of the courts (1861–1874)  4. History of the courts (1861–1874) (Continued)  5. History of the courts (1874–1900)  6. History of the courts in southern Nigeria (1900–1914) 7. History of the courts in northern Nigeria (1900–1914)  8. The judicial reorganization of 1914 and after (1914–1933)  9. History of Nigerian courts (1933–1943)  10. History of Nigerian courts (1943 to the present)  11. Constitutional change and legal development  Part Three 12. Criminal law  13. Law of contract  14. Law of tort  15. Conflict of laws  16. Family law  17. Law of personal relations  18. Land law  Part Four  19. The legal profession in Nigeria  20. Future of law in Nigeria 

Biography

T. Olawale Elias became the first Attorney General and Minister of Justice of independent Nigeria, which ended in 1966 after the coup d'état. Elias was appointed as Nigeria's commissioner for justice in 1967. In 1972, he became chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. After the military took over in 1975, Elias was elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council as a judge in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that he served until his death.