Contesting Issues in Conferring the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The new Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria¹ (herein SAN), hopes to bring about a major modification that should help in enhancing a positive perception by the public towards SAN and also securing the best holders for the rank. The growing cynicism about the honour of SAN is due largely because of the process and procedure for the conferment of the honour under the old criteria.² This cynicism is partly due to the process of appointing them, which is seen as skewed, leaving out those who ought to be rewarded, while rewarding those who ought not. The perception, that one must be 'connected' before one could be appointed a Senior Advocate, has fuelled the scepticism.

An eminent Jurist puts the problem in these words;

The criteria for elevation of members of the profession to the rank of senior advocates have been subject matter of discussion and criticism in recent times. The criticism is that there has been a systematic and progressive lowering of standards of those so elevated and more rigid application of the criteria was required....That there has been unpopular appointments of recent, can be explained by the existence of similar unpopular appointments. This is the personal factor in appointments essentially based on the subjective factor in the exercise of discretion.³