Legal Practitioners Act
Legal Practitioners Act
Legal Practitioners Act
CHAPTER 207
LAWS OF THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA
Arrangement of sections
Remuneration of Practitioners
General
First Schedule
Table of Precedence
Second Schedule
Supplementary Provisions as to the disciplinary committee
(a) the Attorney-General of the Federation, who shall be the president of the
council;
(3) The persons mentioned in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section shall--
(a) be elected to serve on the Bar Council at elections in which all members of
the association are entitled to vote in such manner as may be provided by the
constitution of the association; and
(b) hold office for such period as may be determined by or under that
constitution, and not less than seven of those persons shall be legal
practitioners of not less than ten years standing.
(4) The quorum of the Bar Council shall be eight, and the council may make
standing orders regulating the procedure of the council and, subject to the
provisions of any such orders, may regulate its own proceedings; and no
proceedings of the council shall be invalidated by any vacancy in the membership
of the council, or by the fact that any person took part in the proceedings who was
not entitled to do so.
2. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to practise as a
barrister and solicitor if, and only if, his name is on the roll.
(2) If-
(b) the Chief Justice is of the opinion that it is expedient to permit that person to
practise as a barrister for the purposes of proceedings described in the
application, the Chief Justice may by warrant under his hand authorise that
person, on payment to the registrar of such fee not exceeding fifty naira as
may be specified in the warrant, to practise as a barrister for the purposes of
those proceedings and of any appeal brought in connection with those
proceedings.
(3) A person for the time being exercising the functions of any of the following
offices, that is to say--
(b) such offices in the civil service of the Federation or of a State as the
Attorney-General of the Federation or of the State, as the case may be, may
by order specify, shall be entitled to practise as a barrister and solicitor for the
purposes of that office.
3. (1) There shall be a body of legal practitioners of the highest distinction in the legal
profession in Nigeria to be known as "the Body of Benchers" which shall be
responsible for the formal call to the Bar of persons seeking to become legal
practitioners, and which shall consist of the following members, that is-
(a) the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all the Justices of the Supreme Court;
(k) thirty legal practitioners nominated by the Nigerian Bar Association; and
(l) such number of persons, not exceeding ten, who appear to the Body of
Benchers to be eminent members of the legal profession in Nigeria of not less
than 15 years post-call standing.
(2) The Body of Benchers shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a
common seal.
(3) Except as provided under subsection (4) of this section or by regulations made
under subsection (5) of this section, a Bencher shall (unless he previously vacates
it) vacate his office as a Bencher if he ceases to be the holder of any office by
virtue of which he was appointed a Bencher.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (3) of this section, the Chief Justice of
Nigeria shall hold office as such Bencher for life.
(a) providing for an increase in the membership of the Body of Benchers as set
out in subsection (l) of this section and the qualifications for and conditions
applicable to such membership;
(b) providing for the tenure of office of Benchers including the conferment of
life membership on any Bencher and the circumstances in which any Bencher
may become a super numeracy Bencher;
(d) providing for the composition and quorum of the Benchers for the purpose
of the exercise of any of the functions conferred on the Benchers under this
Act and for the determining in connection thereto of any matter which, in the
opinion of the Benchers, requires to be determined; and
(e) providing, either generally or in respect of any particular case, for the
discharge of the functions conferred on the Benchers under this Act.
(6) Any Bencher may in such manner and subject to such procedure as may be
prescribed be removed from office for misconduct or on such other ground as the
Benchers may, in their discretion, determine to be sufficient.
(7) The Benchers shall meet at such times and places as may be convenient for
them and may, in such manner as they think fit, prescribe the procedure for their
meetings.
(8) Except as may be provided by regulations made under subsection (5) of this
section, the quorum of the Benchers shall be ten.
(9) The validity of any proceedings of the Benchers shall not be affected by any
vacancy in the membership of the Benchers or by any defect in the appointment
of a member or by any irregularity in the proceedings of any of their meetings.
4. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall be entitled to be called
to the Bar if, and only if
(2) The Council of Legal Education may by regulations provide that the provisions
of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in such cases and
on such conditions (if any) as may be specified by the regulations.
(3) The Benchers shall issue to every person called to the Bar pursuant to
subsection (1) of this section, a certificate of call to the Bar which shall be in such
form as the Benchers may determine.
5. (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Legal Practitioners' Privileges
Committee established under subsection (3) of this section may by instrument
confer on a legal practitioner the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
(2) A person shall not be conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria
unless he has been qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria for not
less than ten years and has achieved distinction in the legal profession in such
manner as the committee may from time to time determine.
(4) The members of the committee under paragraphs (c), (e), and (g) of subsection
(3) of this section shall be appointed by the Chief Justice in consultation with the
Attorney-General of the Federation.
(5) Members of the committee under paragraphs (c), (e) and (g) of subsection (3) of
this section shall hold office for two years after which they shall be eligible for
reappointment for one further term of two years only.
(6) The Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee may act notwithstanding any
vacancy in its membership.
(7) The Legal Practitioners' Privileges Committee may, with the approval of the
National Council of Ministers, make rules as to the privileges to be accorded to
Senior Advocates of Nigeria, as to the functions of a legal practitioner, which are
not to be performed by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as to the mode of
appearance before courts by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and generally, but
without prejudice to the foregoing, for ensuring the dignity of the rank of Senior
Advocate of Nigeria.
(8) Until the first rules made in pursuance of subsection (7) of this section come
into force, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria shall not be entitled to engage in practice
as a member of the legal profession otherwise than as a barrister, but nothing in
this subsection shall be construed as precluding a Senior Advocate of Nigeria
from entering into, or continuing in partnership with a legal practitioner who is
not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
6. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act but subject as provided in
section 8 (5) and the First Schedule hereto, all courts of law in Nigeria before
which legal practitioners are entitled to appear shall accord to every law officer
specified in this section, the following rights and privileges, that is to say-
(a) the exclusive right to sit in the inner bar or, where no facilities exist for an
inner bar, on the front row of seats available for legal practitioners; and
(b) the right to mention any motion in which he is appearing or any other cause
or matter which is on the list for mention and not otherwise listed for hearing
out of its turn on the cause list.
(2) The law officers to whom this section applies are the Attorney-General of the
Federation, the Attorney-General of any State in the Federation and the Solicitor-
General of the Federation.
(3) The rights and privileges conferred on the law officers by subsection (1) of this
section shall also be accorded to any member of the Body of Benchers.
7. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall be entitled to have his
name enrolled if, and only if-
(2) The Attorney-General may, after consultation with the Bar Council, by
regulations provide for the enrolment of the names of persons who are authorised
by law to practise as members of the legal profession in any country where, in his
opinion, persons whose names are on the roll are afforded special facilities for
practising as members of that profession; and, without prejudice to the generality
of the power conferred by the foregoing provisions of this subsection, the
regulations may-
(a) require persons seeking enrolment by virtue of the regulations to pass such
examinations and to pay such fees as may be specified by or under the
regulations;
(b) provide for the cancellation of enrolment having effect by virtue of the
regulations where, in the opinion of the Attorney-General, the facilities
aforesaid are altered or withdrawn.
(3) Except in pursuance of a direction given under the following provisions of this
Act by the Supreme Court or by the disciplinary committee established under
those provisions, a person whose name has been struck off the roll in pursuance
of a direction given either before or after the commencement of this Act by that
court or in pursuance of a direction of the disciplinary committee shall not be
entitled to have his name enrolled again.
8. (1) Subject to the provisions of the next following subsection and of any enactment
in force in any part of Nigeria prohibiting or restricting the right of any person to
be represented by a legal practitioner in proceedings before the Supreme Court or
the Sharia Court of Appeal or any area or customary court, a legal practitioner
shall have the right of audience in all courts of law sitting in Nigeria.
(2) No legal practitioner (other than such a person as is mentioned in subsection (3)
of section 2 of this Act) shall be accorded the right of audience in any court in
Nigeria in any year, unless he has paid to the registrar in respect of that year, a
practising fee-
(c) in the case of a person of more than 10 but less than 15 years standing as a
legal practitioner at the beginning of that year, not being a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, of N75;
(d) in the case of a person of more than 5 but not more than 10 years standing as
a legal practitioner at the beginning of that year, of N40; and
(3) The Attorney-General of the Federation may, after consultation with the Bar
Council, from time to time vary the various rates of practising fees specified in
subsection (2) of this section.
(a) issue to every person by whom a practising fee is paid in respect of any year
a receipt for the fee in the prescribed form; and
(b) as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of January in each year and
thereafter from time to time during the year as he considers appropriate cause
to be printed in the prescribed form and put on sale a list or supplementary list
of the legal practitioners by whom practising fees have been paid in respect of
that year; and
(c) pay over to the association as soon as may be after the end of each year a
sum equal to nine tenths of the aggregate amount of the practising fees
received by him in pursuance of this section during the year, and a receipt
purporting to be issued and list purporting to be printed in pursuance of this
subsection in respect of any year shall be evidence that the person named in
the receipt or, as the case may be, that any person named in the list has paid to
the registrar the practising fee in respect of that year.
(5) Legal practitioners appearing before any court, tribunal or person exercising
jurisdiction conferred by law to hear and determine any matter (including an
arbitrator) shall take precedence among themselves according to the table of
precedence set out in the First Schedule to this Act.
9. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall not be immune from
liability for damage attributable to his negligence while acting in his capacity as a
legal practitioner, and any provision purporting to exclude or limit that liability in
any contract shall be void.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall be construed as preventing the
exclusion or limitation of the liability aforesaid in any case where a legal
practitioner gives his services without reward either by way of fees,
disbursements or otherwise.
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall affect the application to a legal
practitioner of the rule of law exempting barristers from the liability aforesaid in
so far as that rule applies to the conduct of proceedings in the face of any court,
tribunal or other body.
(c) twelve legal practitioners of not less than ten years standing appointed by
the Benchers on the nomination of the association.
(3) The provisions of the Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect in relation to
the disciplinary committee.
11. (1) Where-
(a) a person whose name is on the roll is judged by the Disciplinary Committee
to be guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect; or
(b) a person whose name is on the roll is convicted, by any court in Nigeria
having power to award imprisonment, of an offence (whether or not an
offence punishable with imprisonment) which in the opinion of the
disciplinary committee is incompatible with the status of a legal practitioner;
or
(c) the disciplinary committee is satisfied that the name of any person has been
fraudulently enrolled, the disciplinary committee, may, if it thinks fit, give a
direction-
(i) ordering the registrar to strike that person's name off the roll, or
(ii) suspending that person from practice by ordering him not to engage in
practice as a legal practitioner for such period as may be specified in the
direction, or
and any such direction may, where appropriate, include provision requiring the
refund of moneys paid or the handing over of documents or any other thing as the
circumstances of the case may require.
(2) Where a person whose name is on the roll is judged by the disciplinary
committee to be guilty of misconduct not amounting to infamous conduct which,
in the opinion of the disciplinary committee, is incompatible with the status of a
legal practitioner, the disciplinary committee may, if it thinks fit, give such a
direction as is authorised by paragraph (c) (ii) or (iii) of subsection (1) of this
section; and any such direction may, where appropriate, include provision
requiring the refund of moneys paid or the handing over of documents or any
other thing, as the circumstances of the case may require.
(3) The disciplinary committee may, if it thinks fit, defer or further defer its
decision as to the giving of a direction under subsections (1) and (2) of this
section until a subsequent meeting of the committee; but no person shall be a
member of the disciplinary committee for the purposes of reaching a decision
which has been deferred or further deferred unless he was present as a member of
the committee when the decision was deferred.
(4) It shall be the duty of the bar council to prepare, and from time to time revise, a
statement as to the kind of conduct which the council considers to be infamous
conduct in a professional respect, and the registrar shall send to each person
whose name is on the roll and whose address is shown in the records of the
Supreme Court relating to legal practitioners, by post to that address, a copy of
the statement as for the time being revised; but the fact that any matters are not
mentioned in such a statement shall not preclude the Supreme Court or the
disciplinary committee from adjudging a person to be guilty of infamous conduct
in a professional respect by reference to such matters.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, a person shall not be treated as
convicted as mentioned in paragraph (b) of that subsection unless the conviction
stands at a time when no appeal or further appeal is pending or may (without
extension of time) be brought in connection with the conviction.
(6) When the disciplinary committee gives a direction under subsection (1) or
subsection (2) of this section, the disciplinary committee shall cause notice of the
direction to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(7) The person to whom such a direction relates may, at any time within twenty-
eight days from the date of service on him of notice of the direction, appeal
against the direction to the Appeal Committee of the Body of Benchers
established under section 12 of this Act; and the disciplinary committee may
appear as respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directions to
be given as to the costs of the appeal and of proceedings before the disciplinary
committee, shall be deemed to be a party thereto whether or not it appears on the
hearing of the appeal.
(8) A direction of the disciplinary committee under subsection (1) or subsection (2)
of this section shall take effect-
(a) where no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within
the time limited for the appeal, on the expiration of that time;
(b) where such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of
prosecution, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal;
(c) where such an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out as
aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed, and shall not take effect except
in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this subsection.
(9) Where a direction is given under subsection (1) or (2) of this section for the
refund of moneys paid or the handing over of documents or any other thing and
within twenty-eight days of the date of the direction (or where an appeal is
brought, on the dismissal of the appeal) the legal practitioner fails to comply with
the direction, the disciplinary committee may deal with the case as one involving
misconduct by the legal practitioner in his professional capacity.
12. (1) There shall be a committee to be known as the Appeal Committee of the Body
of Benchers (hereafter in this Act referred to as "the appeal committee") which
shall be charged with the duty of hearing appeals from any direction given by the
disciplinary committee.
(2) The appeal committee shall consist of the following seven members of the Body
of Benchers, as may be .appointed by the Body of Benchers from time to time,
that is-
(3) On any appeal against a direction of the disciplinary committee, the appeal
committee may allow or dismiss the appeal in whole or in part, and if it is of
opinion that any direction given by the disciplinary committee should not have
been given or that a different direction should have been given by the disciplinary
committee (whether more or less severe), the appeal committee shall revoke the
direction of the disciplinary committee or, as the case may be, substitute therefore
such direction as it thinks ought to have been given, being a direction which,
under section 11 of this Act, could lawfully have been given by the disciplinary
committee.
(4) The appeal committee shall cause notice of any direction given by it under this
section to be served on the person to whom it relates.
(5) The person to whom such a direction relates may, at any time within twenty-
eight days from the date of service on him of the notice of the direction, appeal
against the direction to the Supreme Court; and the appeal committee may appear
as respondent to the appeal and, for the purpose of enabling directions to be given
by the Supreme Court as to costs of the appeal before that court and of
proceedings before the disciplinary committee, the appeal committee shall be
deemed to be a party to the appeal before the Supreme Court, whether or not it
appears on the hearing of that appeal.
(6) A direction of the appeal committee under subsection (3) of this section shall
take effect-
(a) where no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within
the time limited for the appeal, on the expiration of that time;
(b) where such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of
prosecution, on the withdrawal or striking out of the appeal;
(c) where such an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out as
aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed, and shall not take effect except
in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this subsection.
(7) Subject to this Act, the Body of Benchers may make rules prescribing the
procedure to be followed in the conduct of appeals before the appeal committee.
13. (1) Where it appears to the Supreme Court that a person whose name is on the roll
has been guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect with regard to
.any matter of which the court or any other court of record m Nigeria is or has
been seized, the Supreme Court may if it thinks fit, after hearing any
representations made and evidence adduced by or on behalf of that person and
such other persons as the court considers appropriate, give such a direction as is
mentioned in subsection (1) of section 11, and the direction shall take effect
forthwith; and except in the case of an admonition the court shall cause notice of
the direction to be published in the Federal Gazette.
(2) Where it appears to the Chief Justice that a legal practitioner should be
suspended from practice, either with a view to the institution against him of
proceedings under this Act before the disciplinary committee or while any such
proceedings are pending, the Chief Justice may if he thinks fit, after affording the
practitioner in question an opportunity of making representations in the matter,
give such direction as is authorised by paragraph (ii) of subsection (1) of section
11; and in deciding whether to give such a direction in consequence of the
conviction of a legal practitioner, the Chief Justice shall be entitled to disregard
the provisions of subsection (5) of that section.
14. (1) Where either before or after the commencement of this Act the name of any
person has been struck off the roll or a person has been or is deemed to have been
suspended from practice, he may, subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of
this section, make an application for the restoration of his name to the roll or the
cancellation of the suspension-
(a) if the striking off or suspension was ordered by the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court, to that court; and
(2) A direction under subsection (1) of section 11 of this Act or subsection (1) of
section 13 of this Act may prohibit an application under subsection (1) of this
section until the expiration of the period specified in the direction; and where
such an application is duly made to the Supreme Court or the disciplinary
committee, the court or disciplinary committee may direct that no further
application shall be made under subsection (1) of this section until the expiration
of the period specified in the direction under this subsection.
Remuneration of Practitioners
15. (1) There shall be a committee, to be called the Legal Practitioners Remuneration
Committee, which shall consist of
(a) the Attorney-General of the Federation, who shall be the chairman of the
committee;
(c) the president of the association and three other members of the association.
(2) The quorum of the committee shall be three, of whom one shall be the chairman
of the committee or some other member of the committee nominated by him to
act as chairman of the committee on the occasion in question.
(3) The committee shall have power to make orders regulating generally the
charges of legal practitioners and, without prejudice to the generality of that
power, any such order may include provision as to all or any of the following
matters, that is to say-
(a) the maximum charges which may be made in respect of any transaction or
activity of a description specified by the order;
(b) the ascertainment of the charges appropriate for any transaction or activity
by reference to such considerations as may be so specified;
(c) the taking by practitioners of security for the payment of their charges and
the allowance of interest with respect to the security; and
(4) The committee shall not make an order under this section unless they have
served a copy of the proposed order on the president of the association and have
considered any representations in writing made to the committee by the
association within the period of three months beginning with the date of service
of the copy; and if the National Council of Ministers on any of the twenty days on
which it sits next after the day on which an order under this section comes into
force, resolves that the order be annulled it shall, except in relation to any thing
previously done by virtue of the order, cease to have effect on the day next
following the date of the resolution and be deemed never to have had effect.
(5) Until the first order made in pursuance of this section comes into force, nothing
in this section shall be construed as affecting the law in force in any part of
Nigeria with respect to the remuneration of legal practitioners.
16. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, a legal practitioner shall be entitled to
recover his charges by action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) Subject as aforesaid, a legal practitioner shall not be entitled to begin an action
to recover his charges unless-
(a) a bill for the charges containing particulars of the principal items included in
the bill and signed by him, or in the case of a firm by one of the partners or in
the name of the firm, has been served on the client personally or left for him
at his last address as known to the practitioner or sent by post addressed to the
client at that address; and
(b) the period of one month beginning with the date of delivery of the bill has
expired.
(3) In any case in which a legal practitioner satisfies the court, on an application
made either ex parte or if the court so directs after giving the prescribed notice-
(b) that on the face of it the charges appear to be proper in the circumstances;
and
(c) that there are circumstances indicating that the client is about to do some act
which would probably prevent or delay the payment to the practitioner of the
charges, then, notwithstanding that the period mentioned in paragraph (b) of
subsection (2) of this section has not expired, the court may direct that the
practitioner be authorised to bring and prosecute an action to recover the
charges unless before judgment in the action the client gives such security for
the payment of the charges as may be specified in the direction.
(a) order a legal practitioner to deliver his bill of charges to the client;
(b) make an order for the delivery up of, or otherwise in relation to, any
documents in the control of the practitioner which belong to or were received
by him from or on behalf of the client, and without prejudice to the generality
of the powers of the court to punish for contempt or to the provisions of this
Act relating to the discipline of legal practitioners, the court may punish for
contempt any practitioner who refuses or fails to comply with an order under
this subsection.
(5) The value of any consideration received by any person for anything done by a
legal practitioner in his capacity as a legal practitioner shall, in so far as the value
exceeds the minimum charges to which by virtue of this Act the practitioner is
entitled in respect of that thing, be recovered from any person who received the
consideration or from the practitioner by the person from whom the consideration
moved either directly or indirectly.
17. (1) Except where a direction providing for the giving of security is given under
subsection (3) of section 16 of this Act and security is not given in accordance
with the direction, the court shall, on an application made by a client within the
period of one month from the date on which a bill of charges was delivered to
him, order that the bill shall be taxed and that no action to recover the charges
shall be begun until the taxation is completed.
(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, the court may if it
thinks fit, on an application made after the expiration of the period aforesaid by
the legal practitioner or (except as aforesaid) by the client in question-
(b) order that until the taxation is completed no action to recover the charges
mentioned in the bill shall be begun and any such action already begun shall
be stayed, and an order under the subsection may be made on such terms
(other than terms as to the costs of the taxation) as the court may determine.
(a) in any case, after the period of twelve months from the date on which the
bill in question was paid;
(b) except in a case where the court determines that there are special reasons for
making such an order, if twelve months have expired since the date of the
delivery of the bill or if judgment has been given in an action to recover the
charges in question, and an order made by virtue of paragraph (b) of this
subsection may contain terms as to the costs of the taxation.
18. (1) The taxation of a bill of charges shall be in accordance with the provisions of
any order in force under section 15 of this Act; and where no such order is in
force or any item falling to be taxed is not dealt with by the order, the charges to
be allowed on taxation of the item shall not exceed such as are reasonable having
regard to the skill, labour and responsibility involved and to all the circumstances
of the case.
(2) If at the time and place appointed in pursuance of rules of court for the taxation
of a bill one of the parties appears and any other party does not, the taxing officer
shall proceed to tax the bill unless for special reasons he determines to adjourn or
further adjourn the taxation so as to afford an absent party an opportunity to be
present; and where he does so determine he may also determine by whom any
costs of the adjournment or further adjournment shall be payable.
(3) Where on the taxation of a bill it appears to the taxing officer that there are
circumstances of the case which make it appropriate to refer the taxation to the
court, he shall so refer it; and the court may either-
(a) proceed itself to tax the bill and notify to the taxing officer the amount to be
declared and stated in his certificate in pursuance of the next following
subsection; or
(b) refer the taxation back to the taxing officer with its direction in the matter.
(4) On the completion of the taxation of a bill, the taxing officer shall forthwith
declare the amount due in respect of the bill and shall file in the records of the
court a certificate signed by him stating that amount; and any party to the taxation
shall be entitled on demand to have issued to him free of charge an office copy of
the certificate.
(5) If any party to the taxation is dissatisfied with a determination under subsection
(2) of this section or the amount stated in a certificate filed in pursuance of this
section (other than a certificate stating the amount notified by the court under
subsection (3) of this section), he may, within twenty-one days from the date of
the determination or filing, appeal to the court.
(6) The certificate of the taxing officer in respect of a bill of charges, or where the
certificate is varied on appeal the certificate as so varied, shall be conclusive as to
the amount of the charges payable in respect of the bill; but nothing in this
subsection shall be construed as relieving a legal practitioner of any obligation to
prove that a client is liable to pay a bill of charges, or as precluding a client from
disproving that he is so liable.
(7) Subject to the provisions of any order made by virtue of subsection (3) of
section 17 of this Act, if the amount stated in a certificate under this section
relating to a bill of costs, or in such a certificate as varied on appeal, is less than
the amount of the bill before taxation and the difference is equal to one-sixth or
more of the amount of the bill before taxation, the costs of the taxation shall be
payable by the legal practitioner, and in any other case those costs shall be
payable by the client.
19. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 24 of this Act, in the four last
foregoing sections and this section (hereafter in this section referred to as "the
remuneration provisions") the following expressions have the following meanings
unless the context otherwise requires, that is to say-
"client" means the person or any of the persons alleged to be liable to pay the
charges of a legal practitioner;
"the court" means the High Court of the State in which the legal practitioner in
question usually carries on his practice or usually resides or in which the client in
question usually resides or has his principal place of business or, in the case of a
practitioner authorised to practise by warrant, the High Court of the State in
which the proceedings specified in the application for the warrant were begun;
"taxation" means taxation by the proper officer of the court, and cognate
expressions shall be construed accordingly.
(2) For the purposes of the remuneration provisions, a bill of charges is delivered if
it is served on or left for or sent to the client as mentioned in subsection (2) of
section 16 of this Act and, in relation to a bill of charges, "deliver" and cognate
expressions shall be construed accordingly.
(4) For the purposes of the remuneration provisions, a person shall be deemed to be
a legal practitioner in relation to any charges if he was a legal practitioner when
he performed the services to which the charges relate.
20. (1) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the Bar Council may from time to
time as the council considers expedient, make rules-
(a) as to the opening and keeping by legal practitioners of accounts at banks for
clients' moneys; and
(b) as to the keeping by legal practitioners of records containing particulars and
information as to moneys received, held or paid by them for or on account of
their clients; and
(c) as to the opening and keeping by a legal practitioner who is the sole trustee,
or who is a co-trustee only with one or more of his partners, clerks or
servants, of an account at a bank for moneys of any trust of which he is the
sole trustee or such a co-trustee as aforesaid; and
(e) empowering the Bar Council to take such action as it thinks necessary to
enable it to ascertain whether the rules are being complied with.
(2) Rules made under subsection (1) of this section shall not come into force until
they are approved by order of the Attorney-General, either without modification
or with such modifications as he thinks fit; but before approving any such rules
with modifications the Attorney-General shall afford the Bar Council an
opportunity of making representations with respect to the proposed modifications
and shall consider any representations made in pursuance of this subsection.
(3) If it appears to the Attorney-General that any rules should be made, revoked or
altered in exercise of the powers conferred on the Bar Council by this section, he
shall make a recommendation in that behalf to the Bar Council; and if within the
period of six months beginning with the date of the recommendation the council
has not acted in accordance with the recommendation, the Attorney-General may,
within the period of twelve months beginning with that date, make rules giving
effect to the recommendation.
(4) Rules under this section shall not require the keeping of accounts or records-
(5) For the purposes of this section, "trustee" includes personal representative, and
in relation to a personal representative any reference to a trust shall be construed
as a reference to the deceased's estate.
21. (1) A bank at which a legal practitioner keeps an account for clients' moneys shall
not, in respect of any liability of the practitioner to the bank which does not arise
in connection with that account, have or obtain any recourse or right, whether by
way of set-off, counter-claim, charge or otherwise, against moneys standing to
the credit of that account.
(2) A bank shall not, in connection with any transaction in respect of an account of
a legal practitioner kept for clients' moneys with that or with any other bank
(other than an account kept by him as trustee for a specified beneficiary) incur
any liability, or be under any obligation to make any inquiry, or be deemed to
have any knowledge of any right of any person to any money paid or credited to
the account, which it would not incur or be deemed to have in the case of an
account kept by a person entitled absolutely to all the money paid or credited to
the account.
General
22. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, if any person other than a legal
practitioner-
(c) wilfully takes or uses any name, title, addition or description falsely
implying, or otherwise pretends, that he is a legal practitioner or is qualified
or recognised by law to act as a legal practitioner; or
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall prevent a person from being dealt
with for contempt of court, but no proceedings for an offence under this section
shall be brought or continued against a person in respect of any act if he has been
dealt with for contempt of court in respect of that act.
(3) Nothing in paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of this section shall be construed as
making it an offence for any person to prepare an instrument--
(d) for the purpose only of recording information or expert opinion intended for
use in, or with a view to, any proceedings;
(4) Where an offence under this Act which has been committed by a body corporate
is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be
attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other
similar officer of the body corporate, or any person purporting to act in any such
capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be deemed to be guilty of that
offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(5) No proceedings for an offence under this section shall be begun after the
expiration of the period of three years beginning with the date of the offence.
(6) It is hereby declared that any agreement to transfer, either directly or indirectly,
any money or thing in consideration of any act which constitutes an offence under
this section is void; and any money or thing so transferred, or the value of the
thing, shall be recoverable by the transferor from the transferee or from any other
person by whom the offence was committed, whether or not any proceedings
have been brought in respect of the offence or the time for bringing such
proceedings has expired.
23. (1) It shall be the duty of the registrar to continue to maintain the roll of court kept
immediately before the passing of the Legal Practitioners Act 1962 in pursuance
of rule 5 of Order XVI of the Supreme Court (Civil Procedure) Rules; and in this
Act "the roll" means the roll maintained in pursuance of this subsection.
(2) The association shall pay any sums received by it by virtue of section 8 of this
Act into a separate fund which shall be used for the purposes of the association;
and it shall be the duty of the association-
(a) to keep proper accounts in respect of the fund and proper records in relation
to the accounts; and
(c) to cause a copy of the accounts and of the auditor's report thereon to be sent
to the registrar and to each person by whom a practising fee has been paid in
respect of the year in question in pursuance of the said section 8.
(3) In calculating for the purposes of this Act the period of a person's standing as a
legal practitioner, there shall be taken into account any period before the passing
of the Legal Practitioners Act 1962 during which he was entitled by law to
practise as a barrister and solicitor in any part of Nigeria.
(4) Except as otherwise provided by or under this Act, any document authorised or
required to be served by or under this Act may, without prejudice to any other
means of service, be served by post in a registered letter.
(5) Any application to a court or Judge in pursuance of this Act shall be made in the
prescribed manner.
24. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have
the meanings hereby assigned to them respectively, that is to say-
"the appeal committee" means the Appeal Committee of the Body of Benchers
established by section 12 of this Act; "the association" means the Nigerian Bar
Association;
"the bar council" has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of this Act;
"the Benchers" means the Body of Benchers established by section 3 of this Act;
"the president of the association" means the person for the time being holding office
as president of the association in accordance with the constitution of the
association; "the Chief Justice" means the Chief Justice of Nigeria; "the
disciplinary committee" has the meaning assigned to it by section 10 of this Act;
"legal practitioner" means a person entitled in accordance with the provisions of this
Act to practise as a barrister or as a barrister and solicitor, either generally or for
the purposes of any particular office or proceedings;
"the roll" has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) of section 23 of this Act,
and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
"warrant" means a warrant issued by the Chief Justice under section 2 of this Act.
First Schedule
Table of precedence
For the purposes of this table, orders of seniority shall be ascertained by reference to the
date of the relevant instrument, appointment, first enrolment or warrant (the earlier the
date, the greater the seniority) and, in the case of persons taking seniority within the same
category from the same date m such manner as the Chief Justice may direct.
Second Schedule
Supplementary provisions as to the disciplinary committee
1. The quorum of the disciplinary committee shall be five of whom three shall be
persons mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 10 (2) of this Act.
2. (1) The Chief Justice of Nigeria shall make rules for the purposes of any
proceedings and as to the procedure to be followed and the rules of evidence to be
observed in proceedings before the disciplinary committee.
(a) for securing that notice of the proceedings shall be given, at such time and in
such manner as may be specified by the rules, to the person against whom the
proceedings are brought;
(b) for determining who, in addition to the person aforesaid, shall be a party to
the proceedings;
(c) for securing that any party to the proceedings shall, if he so requires, be
entitled to be heard by the disciplinary committee;
(e) subject to the provisions of subsection (7) of section 11 of this Act, as to the
costs of proceedings before the disciplinary committee;
(f) for requiring, in a case where it is alleged that the person against whom the
proceedings are brought is guilty of infamous conduct in any professional
respect, that where the disciplinary committee adjudges that the allegation has
not been proved it shall record a finding that the person is not guilty of such
conduct in respect of the matters to which the allegation relates;
(g) for publishing in the Federal Gazette notice of any direction of the
disciplinary committee which has taken effect providing that a person's name
shall be struck off the roll or that a person shall be suspended from practise.
5. The Attorney-General of the Federation or of a State may, if he thinks fit, direct the
Solicitor-General of the Federation or, as the case may be, of the State to act in his
place as a member of the disciplinary committee for the purposes of any case; and
references to an Attorney-General in this Schedule or section 10 of this Act shall be
construed accordingly.
6. The disciplinary committee or the appeal committee may act notwithstanding any
vacancy in its membership and no proceedings of the disciplinary committee or the
appeal committee shall be invalidated by any irregularity in the appointment of a
member thereof or by reason of the fact that any person who was not entitled to do so
took part in the proceedings.