Section 486-495 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Section 486 to 495 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 is under PART 49 of the Act. It is about FEES AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

Section 486 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Payment of fees

Subject to the provisions of this Act, such fees as may be prescribed under this Act shall be paid in any proceeding before a court.

Section 487 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Suspension of payment of fees

A court may, in any proceeding in which good cause appears to the court for so doing, suspend payment of any fees payable until the conclusion of the proceedings and the court may then direct the fees to be paid as costs by a party to the proceedings by whom the court has power to order costs to be paid or remit the payment of the fees.

Section 488 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

State not required to pay fees

The provisions of this Act relating to fees and to the giving of security shall not apply to the State or to a public officer acting in his official capacity.

Section 489 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Use of forms in Schedules

Subject to the express provisions, if any, of the Rules of Court, the forms and precedents contained in the Schedules to this Act may, in accordance with any instructions contained in the forms, and with such variations as the circumstances of the particular case may require, be used in the cases to which they apply.

Section 490 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Power to make rules of Court

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court or of the Federal Capital Territory may make rules in respect of any or all of the following matters:
(a) fees, costs or compensations to be paid under this Act; and periodic review of the same;

(b) forms to be used for the process and procedure of the courts;

(c) accounts to be rendered of monies received by any person under this Act;

(d) the method of issue of process under this Act, and the manner of receipt of and accounting for fees in respect of such process;

(e) prescribing anything or any person required to be prescribed under the provisions of this Act;

(f) regulation and management of non-custodial punishments provided under this Act; and

(g) generally for carrying into effect the purposes of this Act.

Section 491 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Non-compliance

Where no other sanction is provided for in this Act, failure on the part of a person to discharge his responsibility under this Act without reasonable cause shall be treated as misconduct by the appropriate authority.

Section 492 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Saving as to other forms and procedure

(1) Nothing in this Act shall affect the use or validity of any form in respect of a procedure or an offence specified under the provisions of a written law or the validity of any other procedure provided by any other written law.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any charge, information or proceeding initiated or commenced under any other law in so far as the proceeding was initiated or commenced before this Act came into force.

(3) Where there are no express provisions in this Act, the Court may apply any procedure that will meet the justice of the case.

Section 493 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Repeals

The Criminal Procedure Act CAP. C41 LFN 2004, Criminal Procedure (Northern States) Act Cap C42 LFN 2004, and the Administration of Justice Commission Act CAP A3 LFN 2004 are repealed.

Section 494 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

“adult” means a person who has attained the age of eighteen years or above;

“asylum” includes a lunatic asylum, a mental or other hospital, a prison and any other suitable place of safe custody of person of unsound mind for medical observation;

“charge” means the statement of offence or statement of offences with which a defendant is charged in a trial whether by way of summary trial or trial by way of information before a court;

“Chief Judge” means a Chief Judge of a High Court and the President of the National Industrial Court, where applicable;

“child” means a person who has not attained the age of eighteen years;

“Committee” means the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee established under section 469 (1) of this Act;

“complainant” includes any informant or prosecutor in any case relating to summary trial

“complaint” means the allegation that any named person has committed an offence made before a court or police officer for the purpose of moving him to issue process under this is Act;

“court” includes Federal Courts, the Magistrates’ Court and Federal Capital Territory Area Courts provided by legal practitioners; “currency” means coins, notes and other legal tender;

“defendant” means any person against whom a complaint, charge or information is made;

“district” means a district into which the Federal Capital Territory or a State is divided for the purposes of any Act or Law under which a Magistrate’s court is established;

“division” means a judicial division of the High Court;

“Federation” means the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

“Federal law” means any Act enacted by the National Assembly having effect with respect to the Federation or any part thereof and any Act enacted prior to 1st October, 1960, which under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has effect with respect to the Federation or any part thereof;

“felony” means an offence on conviction for which a person can, without proof of his having been previously convicted of an offence, be sentenced to death or to imprisonment for three years or more, or which is declared by law to be a felony;

“fine” includes any pecuniary penalty or pecuniary forfeiture or pecuniary compensation payable under this Act;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“future enactment” means any enactment passed after the commencement of this Act;

“guardian” in relation to a child or young person means the parent or other person having lawful custody of such child or young person, and includes any person who, in the opinion of the court having cognizance of any case in which such child or young person is concerned, has for the time being the custody, control over, or charge of such child or young person;

“High Court” means the Federal High Court or the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory

“indictable offence” means an offence which on conviction may be punished by:
(a) a term of imprisonment exceeding two years; or
(b) of a fine exceeding forty thousand naira not being an offence declared by the law creating it to be punishable on summary conviction;

“indictment” means the filing of an information against a person in the High Court;

“infant” means a person who has not attained the age of seven years;

“Judge” means a Judge of a High Court of the National Industrial Court and Area Court presided by legal practitioners;

“Justice of the Peace” means a person appointed to be a Justice of the Peace under any enactment inclusive of the Federal Capital Territory;

“law officer” means the Attorney General of the Federation and the Solicitor-General of the Federation and includes the Director of Public Prosecutions and such other qualified officers, by whatever names designated, to whom any of the powers of a law officer are delegated to by law and a private legal practitioner authorised by the Attorney-General of the Federation to appear for and on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation;

“legal guardian” in relation to an infant, child, young person, or juvenile offender, means a person appointed, according to law, to be his guardian by deed or will, or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction;

“Magistrate” means a Magistrate appointed in accordance with the law of a State or of the Federal Capital Territory;

“Magistrates’ Court” means Magistrates’ Court established under the law of a State or of the Federal Capital Territory;

“medical officer” means a medical doctor attached to an asylum or a medical doctor from whom a court requires an opinion;

“misdemeanor” is an offence punishable by imprisonment for not less than six months, but less than three years or which is declared by law to be a misdemeanour;

“member” means a member of the Committee and includes the Chairman;

“offence” means an offence against an Act of the National Assembly;

“officer in charge” includes, the officer in charge of a police station or the officer in charge of a unit in any other law enforcement agency or other officer who acts in the absence of the officer in charge;

“open court” means a room or place in which a court sits to hear and determine a matters within its jurisdiction and to which room or place the public may have access so far as the room or space can conveniently contain them;

“order” includes any conviction in respect of a summary conviction offence; “Part-heard criminal matter” means a trial in which the pros-ecution has closed his case;

“penalty” includes any pecuniary fine, forfeiture, costs, or compensation recoverable or payable under an order;

“place of safety” includes a suitable place, the occupier of which is willing temporarily to receive an infant, child, or young person;

“Plea bargain” means the process in criminal proceedings whereby the defendant and the prosecution work out a mutually acceptable disposition of the case; including the plea of the defendant to a lesser offence than that charged in the complaint or information and in conformity with other conditions imposed by the prosecution, in return for a lighter sentence than that for the higher charge subject to the Court’s approval;

“Police” means the Nigeria Police established by the Constitution or where the context so admits, shall include any officer of any law enforcement agency established by an Act of the National Assembly;

“police officer” includes any member of the Nigeria Police Force established by the Police Act or where the context so admits, shall include any officer of any law enforcement Agency established by an Act of the National Assembly;

“prescribed” means as provided by rules made under the authority of this Act;

“private prosecutor” does not include a person prosecuting on behalf of the State or a public officer prosecuting in his official capacity; is as defined in section 35(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended);

“registrar” includes the Chief Registrar and a registrar of a court;

“rules” or “the rules” means rules of court relating to the practice and procedure of the High Court or of the Magistrates’ courts in the exercise of their criminal jurisdiction;

“sentenced to imprisonment” shall include cases where imprisonments imposed by a court on any person either with or without the option of a fine, or in respect of the non-payment of any sum of money, or for failing to do or abstaining from doing any act or thing required to be done or left undone, and the expression ‘sentence of imprisonment’ shall be construed accordingly;

“sheriff” means a sheriff within the meaning of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and includes a deputy sheriff and any person authorised by the sheriff or a deputy sheriff to execute process of a court;

“summary conviction offence” means an offence punishable by a high court or a Magistrates’ court on summary conviction and includes any matter in respect of which a high court or a Magistrate’s court can make an order in the exercise of its summary jurisdiction;

“summary court” means unless the same is expressly or by necessary implication qualified:
(a) a Judge of the High Court when sitting in court and presiding over a summary trial, and
(b) a Magistrate when sitting in court to hear and determine any matters within his power and jurisdiction either under the provisions of this Act or any other written law, and the Judge when so sitting and presiding, and the Magistrate when so sitting, shall be deemed to be a ‘court’ or “summary court” within the meaning of this Act;

“summary trial” means any trial by a Magistrate or a trial by a High Court commenced without filing an information;

“Superintendent of Prison” has the same meaning as in the Prisons Act;

“superior police officer” has the same meaning as in the Police Act;

“suspect” means a person who has been arrested on the suspicion of committing any offence, and who is yet to be formally charged for that offence;

“young person” means a person who has attained the age of fourteen and has not attained the age of seventeen years.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, all words and expressions used in this Act and defined in the Criminal Code or the Penal Code shall have the meanings attributed to them by those Codes.

Section 495 Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.