Relevance of Judicial Precedents

This work critically examines the relevance of the practice of the common law doctrine of stare decisis in Shariah Courts in Nigeria. The legality of the application of the doctrine in Shariah Courts in the country is weighed on the scale of Islamic law. Apart from giving an encompassing analysis of the nature of the Islamic justice system and the wherewithal which any judge administering Islamic law must be armed with, this work exposes the reader to various forms of injustice, informed by the practice of judicial precedent, being perpetrated and perpetuated in Nigeria by courts adjudicating upon Islamic cases. The work shows how such injustice has been made to persist through the aid of the application of the doctrine in the Islamic courts. The work significantly critically appraises a major negative impact of the common law on the administration of Islamic law in Nigeria (i.e. doctrine of stare decisis). It thus advocates for detach of common law principles and doctrines, especially judicial precedent, from the Shariah courts in the country.