Maritime Law Association Inaugurates 16-Member Committee to Review Admiralty Law

The Nigerian Maritime Law Association has inaugurated a 16-member committee to achieve speed in filing, assignment, hearing and determination of admiralty matters in Nigeria.

The is contained in a statement signed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chidi Ilogu, President of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association and made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

Ilogu said that the association had observed the steady decline in admiralty law and practice over the years, as a result of sub-optimal procedural rules and poor judicial interpretation of substantive laws.

According to him, judicial decisions have not been consistent with standard
global expectations while speed, which is the heart of functional admiralty litigations, had taken a back-seat.

He explained that as a result, a number of significant maritime interests were no longer keen on having Nigeria as a jurisdiction for adjudication of their disputes.

The Senior Advocate said that the Nigerian Maritime Law Association was leading efforts toward the reform of key
procedural rules and substantive laws in boosting industry confidence in dispute resolution and efficiency of Admiralty law and practice
in Nigeria.

“To achieve this goal, the association has, therefore, constituted the Nigeria Admiralty Law and Procedure Reform Committee to contribute to this effort.

“The Committee is made up of
the following members:
Mrs Jean Chiazor-Anishere (Co-Chair), Sir Osuala Nwagbara (Co-Chair), Mrs Omolola Ikwuagwu, Mr Nelson Otaji, Ms Chisa Uba, Mr Babatunde Ogungbamila and Sir Adolphus Nwanchukwu.

“Others are: Mr Adedoyin Afun, Dr. Echefu Ukattah, Mr Nonso Azih, Mr. Olukayode Dada and Ms Kashimana Tsumba.

“The Advisory Members of the above mentioned committee are: Prof. Gbolahan Elias, SAN; Mr Dolapo Akinrele, SAN; Dr Wale Olawoyin, SAN; and Mr Olumide Sofowora, SAN,” Ilogu said in the statement.

He, however, said that the committee was expected to propose initiatives and implementation strategies for
repositioning admiralty law practice in the country and the report should be submitted on or before May 26, 2020.

The statement was made available to maritime journalist by the publicity secretary of the Association, Mr Adedoyin Afun