Sector: Judiciary/ Criminal Justice Administration

Background

The Juritrust  Centre for Socio-Legal Research and Documentation (Juritrust Centre) is launching a Call for Expression of Interest for researchers interested in participating in an interdisciplinary study of corruption in the Nigerian judicial sector. The study titled 'Behavioural Insights and Ethical Norms in Justice 'Administration is part of a larger project on the Implementation of the ACJA and

Anti corruption laws supported by the MacArthur Foundation. The study duly acknowledges that the anti-corruption fight needs reform champions in critical sectors, including the judiciary. However, it emphasizes the importance of ethics and demand behavioural change among actors and players in the judicial sector. At the same time, it acknowledges the shortcomings of technical legal training that focuses exclusively on legal frameworks and ignores the social and ethical milieu in which judicial activity exists. The study is thus adopting behavioural change strategies and ethics to address the problem of corruption in the judicial sector.

Study Problem  & Objectives

Many underlying factors that encourage or discourage corruption are embedded in a socio-cultural context and often reflected and expressed in various social norms, values and ethics. Admittedly, their forms and expressions vary from one society to the other. However, they serve the same purpose in all human societies - to ensure law and order by regulating human behaviour and interactions. Against this backdrop, the study draws attention to the social-cultural context of corruption in the Nigerian judicial sector.

Within the general purpose of the action research project, a specific objective of this study, therefore, is to survey the perceptions, opinions and viewpoints of judicial officers and other critical stakeholders in the judicial sector on the scope, forms and social context of corruption involving judges,  court registrars, lawyers, and litigants in 20 states of the Federation.

In the 20 states pre-selected for the study, the recruited researchers will use semi-structured interviews to elicit useful information and collect data on perceptions and behavioural insights of judges and other critical stakeholders in the judicial sector. How and why are these critical actors and players in the judicial sector implicated in corruption? For instance, how are judges and other critical stakeholders contributing to the problem of corruption in Nigeria? How effective are the existing legal and institutional frameworks and control mechanisms? Many of these questions and answers relate to the social and cultural environment within which the judicial officers and other stakeholders operate.  

Geographical Scope  

The identified states are Federal Capital Territory, Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Ondo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, and  Yobe States. The survey's outcome is expected to provide, in addition to the general trends and patterns of corrupt practices in the judiciary across the country, valuable data on location-specific behavioural mapping and key influencing factors that encourage corruption.

ORDINARILY, THE PROJECT WILL REQUIRE RESEARCHERS RESIDENTS IN THE RESPECTIVE STATES LISTED ABOVE TO WORK IN THE STATE WHERE THEY ARE RESIDENTS. The recruited researchers will undergo brief orientation and training before being deployed to carry out the tasks in the ToR.

 Terms of Reference

Each recruited qualified and competent researcher with cognate experience will undertake fieldwork in one or more states using semi-structured interviews based on pre-tested questions. A range of 30-40 key informants (respondents) will be targeted per state. The sample comprises judges (judicial officers) who constitute 50 per cent of respondents. At the same time, other critical stakeholders such as court registrars, lawyers, and litigants will constitute the remaining 50 per cent.

1. The tasks/activities to be performed by the researcher  include:
2. Identify the judges and other critical stakeholders for participation in the project in the state(s) where the researcher resides, as each state is relevant to achieving the project's objectives, which includes: developing a tentative list of the respondents for the survey, suggestions of judges and other participants for the knowledge-sharing, validation exercise, and dissemination activities
3. Make necessary contact with the identified respondents, including securing an appointment for interviews and other relevant matters related to the project ;
4. Survey perceptions and behavioural insights of sampled respondents, using semi-structured interviews. The conduct of the fieldwork will be guided generally by the fieldwork manual/handbook developed by the Juritrust Centre.
5. Compilation of the data, documenting and maintaining records of responses and information of the respondents and participants.  
6. Transcribe the audio recordings into clearly written form, arranged according to the order of the interviews and the stated research questions.
7. Submit transcripts of the interview to the Lead Researcher on the project.
8. A brief descriptive report on trends and patterns of corrupt practices in the judicial sector of the state (s) where the survet was conducted.

Key Deliverables and Workplan

All deliverables shall be in the well-written English language and following the formats provided by Juristrust  Centre. The deliverables and timeline for the tasks  are as follows

Duration and Coordination of the Survey

The assignment shall be in line with the key deliverables above for six weeks. The researcher will work closely with the Lead Researcher on the project.

Minimum Qualifications

The researcher is expected to be ordinarily resident in one of the states pre-selected for the project and have the range of qualifications and skills required to undertake the above tasks effectively. All researchers for the project  will be selected based on their expertise and relevant experience in the following areas:

• A minimum of a first degree is required (a law degree is an added advantage).
• Ability to function well in a team, resourcefulness, attention to detail, client, and result-oriented work culture is required.
• Ability to communicate effectively in the English language is required ( both oral and written).
• Proven ability to keep deadlines and work effectively with minimal supervision is required
• Availability for the duration of the project.

Applicants with prior experience in fieldwork/data collection and familiarity with the judicial sector of the states where they reside will be given preferential consideration.

Mode of Application

Interested applicants may submit a detailed curriculum vitae in English clearly stating educational and professional experience and a motivation letter in English to the Centre via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. on or before COB 4 April 2022