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Statutory Construction
Statutory Construction
Meaning
Law is a word that means different things at different times. Black’s Law
Dictionary says that law is “a body of rules of action or conduct prescribed by
controlling authority, and having binding legal force. That which must be obeyed
and followed by citizens subject to sanctions or legal consequence is a
law.”Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th ed., s.v. “law.”
In a nation, the law can serve to (1) keep the peace, (2) maintain the status quo, (3)
preserve individual rights, (4) protect minorities against majorities, (5) promote
social justice, and (6) provide for orderly social change.
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental
institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding
debate. It has been variously described as a science and the art of justice. State-
enforced laws can be made by a group legislature or by a single legislator, resulting
in statutes; by the executive through decrees and regulations;
Significance
Classifications
1. Public and Private Law: Public Law can be defined as that aspect of Law that deals with the
relationship between the state, its citizens, and other states. It is one that governs the relationship
between a higher party — the state — and a lower one, the citizens. Examples of public law
include Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, Criminal Law, International Law and so on.
Private law, on the other hand, is that category of the law that concerns itself with the
relationship amongst private citizens. Examples include the Law of Torts, the Law of Contract,
the Law of Trust and so on.
2. Civil Law and Criminal Law: Civil law in this regard can be defined as the aspect of Law
that deals with the relationship between citizens and provides means for remedies if the right of a
citizen is breached. Examples of civil law include the Law of Contract, the Law of Torts, Family
Law etc.
Criminal Law, on the other hand, can be referred to as that aspect of Law that regulates crime in
the society. It punishes acts which are considered harmful to the society at large. An example of
criminal law is the Criminal Code Act which is applicable in the Southern part of Nigeria.
When treating a criminal case, the standard of proof to be used is proof beyond reasonable doubt;
S.135 Evidence Act 2011. Also, the burden of proof does not shift from the prosecution. What
this means is that before a conviction can be gotten, the state has to prove the commission of the
crime to be beyond reasonable doubt.
On the other hand, in civil cases, the standard of proof is on the balance of probabilities; S.134
Evidence Act 2011. Also, the burden of proof shifts between both parties when they need to
establish their case. Judgement normally goes in favour of the particular party that has been able
to prove its case more successfully.
3. Substantive and Procedural Law: Substantive Law is the main body of the law dealing with
a particular area of law. For example, the substantive law in relation to Criminal Law includes
the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act.
Procedural law, on the other hand, is law in that deals with the process which the courts must
follow in order to enforce the substantive law. Examples include the rules of the various courts
and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, which is the procedural law in relation
to the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act.
International law, on the other hand, is the law between countries. It regulates the relationship
between different independent countries and is usually in the form of treaties, international
customs etc. Examples of International law include the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
It should be noted that according to the provision of S.12 of the 1999 Constitution (as
amended) International treaties cannot have the force of law in Nigeria except they are enacted
by the Nigerian National Assembly.
5. Written and Unwritten Law: A law would not be regarded as written just because it is
written down in a document. Written laws are those laws that have been validly enacted by the
legislature of a country.
Unwritten laws, on the other hand, are those laws that are not enacted by the legislature. They
include both customary and case law. Customary Law as part of its basic characteristic is
generally unwritten. Case law, though written down in a documentary format, would be regarded
as unwritten law based on the fact that it is not enacted by the legislature.
An example of this is the good neighbour principle established in the case of Donoghue vs.
Stevenson. The principle posits that manufacturers of products should take utmost care in their
manufacturing activities to ensure that the consumption of their product doesn’t result in harm to
the consumer. This principle is not enacted in a statute but is a case law which is applicable in
Nigerian Courts.
6. Common Law and Equity: In the legal sense, the term common law means the law
developed by the old common law courts of the King’s Bench, the Courts of Common Pleas and
the Courts of Exchequer.
The English common law is regarded as such because it is law common to all parts of England. It
grew over time from the practices, customs and way of life of the people. It is largely unwritten.
The first common law judge was the King himself. People who had disputes usually brought
them to the King to settle them.
However, due to matters of state, the king didn’t have time to settle all cases. As a result of this,
the king appointed members of his court who were to settle disputes in his stead. These judges
had the authority of the king and any disobedience to them was treated as disobedience to the
king and punishment was swift.
These different judges travelled the length and breadth of the realm to settle disputes. When they
got to a particular location, they applied the customary law in that location in order to settle
disputes. Regularly, these different itinerant judges would come together to compare the different
customary laws they encountered on their travels.
They discarded customs that were thought to be insensible and accepted those which were
sensible. This led to the conglomeration of different customs which were then applied all through
the realm. This then metamorphosed into the common law of England.
However, the common law was strict, formal and full of legalism. One example of this was in its
system of writs. If an action did not fit into a writ, there was no remedy for such action. Also, the
only remedy available in common law was that of damages.
Due to the harshness of common law, the people petitioned the King directly for judgement. The
Lord Chancellor, as the King’s Prime Minister, was the one that dealt with most of these
petitions. His court was called the Court of Chancery/Equity. The Lord Chancellor, was usually a
bishop and thus, he applied the principle of fairness and natural law in making his decisions.
Subsequently, there was conflict between the common law court and the court of chancery. This
conflict came to head in the Earl of Oxford’s case. In this case, the plaintiff was the assignee of
a lease and he built a house and planted a garden on the land. Subsequently, the defendant/owner
of the land sought to evict him from the land. The assignee thus sued and lost at common law,
and he appealed to the court of chancery.
The court of equity accepted his petition and allowed him to stay on the land. The reasoning of
the Lord Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere, was that by natural law, it was only fair and just for a
person who builds a house to be able to live in that house.
This judgement prompted Lord Coke, the Chief Justice of the King’s Bench to accuse the Lord
Chancellor of frustrating the rules of common law. The matter was brought to the King who
referred it to Lord Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon supported the court of equity and ruled that
whenever there was a clash between common law and equity, equity would prevail.
This ruling however, did not help to completely solve the problem between the two courts. This
was due to the fact that the common law courts could only grant the remedy of damages and
thus, anyone seeking a different remedy would first pass through the common law courts before
going to equity.
Over the years, the two systems were merged till finally, in 1875, the Judicature Act fused the
two systems into one court. However, although they are applied in one court, the rules of
common law and equity can be distinguished from each other. This is what prompts the
statement “Although the two streams now flow into one, their waters do not mix.”