KDSJ.

Statutory Responsibilities/Powers of the Judicial Service Commission Kaduna State

The Kaduna State Judicial Service Commission (KJSC) was established by Section 197(1)(c) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended) with its composition, functions and powers set out in Part II C of the Third Schedule and CAP 79 Laws of Kaduna State of Nigeria. The Mandates of theCommission inter alia are:

• advise the National Judicial Council on suitable persons for appointment to the office of the Chief Judge of the State, the Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the State, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal of the State, Judges of the High Court of the State, Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the State, and Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal of the State;
• recommend to the National Judicial Council the removal from office of the Judicial Officers specified above;
• appoint, promote and exercise disciplinary control over the Chief Registrars and Deputy Chief Registrars of the High Court of Justice, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal, Magistrates, Alkalai, Customary Court Judges and members of Area Courts and Customary Courts and all other staff of the Judiciary not otherwise specified in the Constitution;
• uphold the rule of law and independence of the Judiciary;
• promote transparency and accountability in the administration of justice;
• provide fair and efficient access to justice for all;
• safeguard the integrity and ethical conduct of Judges;
• enhance public trust and confidence in the Judiciary

Functions of the Judicial Service Commission

The Core functions of the Judicial Service Commissionare:

• Recommendation of suitable candidates for Appointments:
  • Selection Process: Developing and implementing transparent processes for screening and selection of eligible candidates for appointment as Judges based on merit, integrity, and competence.
  • Recommend eligible candidates to National Judicial Council (NJC) for appointment to the office of the Chief Judge of the State, the Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the State and the President of the Customary Court of Appeal of the State.
  • Recommend eligible candidates to National Judicial Council (NJC) for appointment of Judges of the High Court of the State, Kadis of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the State, and Judges of the Customary Court of Appeal of the State.
  • Recommend to His Excellency, the Executive Governor for the appointment of non-ex officio members of Board of the Commission
  • Recommend to His Excellency, the Executive Governor for the appointment of Secretary to the Commission
• Other Appointment:
  • Appoint Chief and Deputy Registrars for High Court of Justice, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal.
  • Appoint Magistrates, Alkalai, Customary Court Judges and members of Area Courts and Customary Courts
  • Appoint Directors of Finance and Supply, Directors of Administration and Personnel, and other key positions for High Court of Justice, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal.
• Recruitment, Employment, Deployment and Transfers
  • Conduct recruitment exercises for the employment of suitable candidates into the workforce of the Judiciary
  • Employ and deploy new staff to duty stations.
  • Process and issue permanent and pensionable appointment notifications, confirmation of appointments, conversion of cadre, advancements, retirement notification, transfer of service notification and all other cessation of appointment notifications.
  • Periodic deployment or posting of personnel within the Judiciary.
• Exercise of Disciplinary Control:
  • Investigation: Conducting inquiries into allegations of misconduct or incapacity of judges and other personnel of the judiciary.
  • Disciplinary Actions: Recommending or imposing disciplinary measures on judges and other personnel of the judiciary found guilty of misconduct.
• Promotion and Career Development:
  • Career Progression: Developing policies and criteria for the promotion and advancement of judges and other personnel of the judiciary based on performance, competence, and merit.
  • Conduct promotion examination and interview: conduct promotion examination and interview to determine candidates eligible and suitable for promotion to higher grade levels.
  • Training and Development: Facilitating continuous education and professional development opportunities for Judges and other personnel of the Judiciary to enhance their capacity and knowledge.
• Judicial Independence and Autonomy:
  • Safeguarding Independence: Protecting the Judiciary from undue influence, political interference, or external pressures.
  • Administrative Autonomy: Ensuring the Judiciary have the requisite administrative support and resources to carry out its duties effectively and efficiently.
• Policy Development and Judicial Governance:
  • Policy Formulation: Developing policies and guidelines to improve the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of judicial processes.
  • Governance Oversight: Overseeing the administration of justice to ensure adherence to legal standards and procedural fairness.
• Public Engagement and Accountability:
  • Public Confidence: Engaging with the public and relevant stakeholders to enhance understanding and trust in the judicial system.
  • Transparency: Promoting transparency in the operations and decision-making processes of the Judiciary.
• Judicial Reforms and engagements:
  • Reform Initiatives: Advocating for reforms aimed at strengthening judicial independence, efficiency, and accessibility.
  • Legislative Engagement: Providing input and recommendations to legislative bodies on matters affecting the judiciary.
• Appointing suitable candidates as members of various Tribunals and Committees.
• Advisory role: Advising the State Government on Judicial matters.
• Managing the administration of the State Judiciary including budgeting, finance and infrastructural development.
• Overseeing the welfare and condition of service of personnel of the Judiciary.

These core functions are crucial for the Commission to fulfill its mandates for a fair, impartial and effective Judiciary that upholds the rule of law and serves the public interest.

Vision, Mission & Core Values of the Commission

Vision

Be a model in the provision of quality judicial services and guardian of the judiciary in Nigeria.

Mission

To provide a fair, efficient and accessible justice system that inspires public trust and confidence through a highly motivated professional workforce leveraging on technology and best practices in the delivery of judicial services.

Core Values of the Commission

• Professionalism: We shall conduct recommendations for appointment of Judges, recruitment and employment of lower Judges and support staff, promotion and disciplinary exercises with only qualified and accredited personnel at all times to facilitate exhibition of appropriate competence, integrity and adherence to quality judicial service delivery standards at all times.
• Integrity: Ensuring all judicial service processes and findings are carried out in transparent and accountable manner in compliance with laid down rules and procedures to achieve set objectives
• Equity: Making judgementsthat are free from discrimination or bias. Treating people equitably based on their peculiar circumstance in accordance withacceptable rules, principles and standards. Our services being inclusive and fair to all people irrespective of creed, tribe, gender, physical, intellectual and socio-economic status.
• Teamwork: Being a strong team of professionals with diverse skills proud to work together to ensure quality and inclusive judicial service delivery. Carrying along all relevant stakeholders through shared ideas and respecting the perspectives of all while seeking to achieve organisational goals.
• Mentorship: Upholding the trust placed on us by duty through constant guidance, counselling, coaching,handholding, training and retraining of judicial officers and other personnel with life-field experiences.

Composition of Board of the Commission

The Board of the Commission which is of a visiting status is composed of 8 members i.e.4 ex-officio and 4 non ex-officio members. The ex-officio members are the Chairman of the Commission who is the Chief Judge of Kaduna State, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Kaduna State, the Grand Kadi of Sharia Court of Appeal, Kaduna state and the President of Customary Court of Appeal, Kaduna State. They are members of the Board of the Commission by virtue of the respective offices they hold. Their membership subsists as they hold such offices. The 4 non ex-officio members are appointed by the His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kaduna State with a tenure term of 5 years which is subject to renewal for another 5 years only.

Names of Board Members of the Commission

Presently, the Board of the Commission consist of the following Members:

• Hon. Justice M.T.M. Aliyu, Chief Judge of Kaduna State – Chairman
• Barr. Sule Shuaibu, (SAN), Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice - Ex-officio Member
• Hon. Kadi Muhammed Danjuma Aminu,Grand Kadi, Sharia Court of Appeal – Ex-officio Member
• Hon. Justice DanlamiGarba,President, Customary Court of Appeal – Ex-officio Member
• Barr. Ahmad Akun Ibrahim, Non-Ex-officio Member
• Prof. Hadiza Ahmed Tukur, Non-Ex-officio Member
• Hon. AminaAkiluDalhat, Non-Ex-officio Member
• Hon. Kadi Muhammad Inuwa Aminu (Rtd), WazirinZazzau - Non-Ex-officio Member

Secretaryto the Commission

The Secretary to the Commission is Murtala Salisu Halidu Esq. By virtue of section 33 of the Kaduna State Public Service Law, No. 3 of 2020, the “Secretary”who doubles as the Administrative Head and Chief Accounting Officer of the Commissionsuperintends over the day-to-day running of the Commission and is saddle with the following responsibilities:

• Responsible to the Chairman of the Commission ;
• Administrative Head and Chief Accounting Officer of the Commission;
• Convening all Commission’s meetingsi.e. Board of Commission meetings, Management Staff meetings, General Staff meetings and Fund Allocation Committee (FAC) meetings;
• Taking and producing minutes of proceedings of the Commission meetings and keeping books and records of proceedings of the Commission and other Committees;
• Communicating the decisions of the Commission;
• Coordinating and facilitating the implementation of plans, programs and policies in the three arms of the Judiciary i.e. High Court of Justice, Sharia and Customary Courts of Appeal;
• Demonstrating and building high standard of ethical and moral conduct in order to promote confidence and trust in the output of the Commission;
• Collaborating with other arms of government and relevant stakeholders to achieve a justice system that is accessible, efficient and responsive to the needs of the people;
• Coordinating and supervising strategic budget and financial planning for the efficient running of the Commission towards ensuring that all expenditures are documented and accounted for according to budget outlines;
• Maintaining an updated administrative statistical data on judicial staffmanpower for planning and decision purposes;
• Performing any adhoc duty as may be assigned by the Chairman of the Commission.

Membership of Committees & Policy Councils

The Secretary of the Commission is a member of the following Committees and Council:

• Judicial Appointment Committee (JAC): This Committee is responsible for appointment, promotion, discipline, control of staff of the Judiciary on Grade Levels 01- 06. The Committee is chaired by the Chief Registrar of High Court of Justice. It is a replica of the delegated powers under the Civil Service Commission.
• Judicial Staff Service Committee (JSSC): This Committee is responsible for making recommendation to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on staff of the judiciary on Grade levels 07 to 16.
• Law Review Committee: This Committee is a statutory body with its Secretariat situated at the kaduna state Ministry of Justice, State Secretariat Complex.
• Kaduna State Institutional Development Council (IDC)

Staff of the Commission

Other staff on permanent and pensionable appointments running the day-to-day activities of the Commission alongside the Secretary are:

S/N	NAME	RANK
1	Aminu Ahmed Pate	Assistant Director Finance and Supply
2	Mary Yahaya	Assistant Chief Executive Officer
3	Balarabe Usman	Principal Registrar
4	Adama I. Umar, Esq	Principal Legal Research Officer I
5	Naja’atu A. Mukhtar, Esq	Principal Legal Research Officer I
6	Mustapha Mohammed	Principal Data Processing Officer I
7	Pricilla KasanLawan	Senior Administrative Officer
8	Eunice Maikasuwa	Principal Executive Officer II
9	Aliya GarbaMagaji	Administrative officer I
10	Abdulrahman AbdulKadir	Head Messenger

Staff from Planning & Budget Commission, Kaduna State

There are 2 staff on special deployment from the Planning & Budget Commission, kaduna state to the Judicial Service Commission whose responsibility is to handle Planning, Budgeting, Monitoring &Evaluation, Statistics, Reporting on Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) Indicators and Donor Aid Coordination in the Commission while oversighting same conduct of same roles in the High Court, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal. These Officers are:

S/N	NAME	RANK
1	Bulus Yohanna Dankart	Ag. Director Planning & Budget
2	Farouk Ya’u Umar	Planning Officer I