"SAN" stands for Senior Advocate in Nigeria. Nigerian lawyers are ranked as a symbol of professional discrimination in the practice of law. The peak that practicing lawyers can achieve in Nigeria is the best. The SANship awards began in 1975. Prior to that, however, Nigeria adopted a UK equivalent called Queen 's Counsel. In 1958, FRA Williams and Supreme Commander Ho Davies, the first two Nigerians were Queens of Counsel. In 1964, it was abolished in Nigeria, there was no exchange until 1975.
So there was no ranking system for Nigerian lawyers between 1964 and 1975. Indeed, all lawyers were equal. But on April 3, 1975, Principal of FRA Williams and Dr. Nabo Graham-Douglas became the first two appointed. It marked the beginning of a new stage in the history of the legal circle of the country. Currently there are more than 60,000 lawyers in Nigeria, but 349 people have become senior / advocate of Nigeria so far.
To become senior / advocacy of Nigeria, a series of guidelines apply. It is a guideline to show who will become SAN. So what are these guidelines?
Guidelines for appointment to SAN
In order to confirm that the guidelines are strictly observed, there is a committee stipulated by law. The lawyer & # 39; the privilege committee is the matter committee. The SANship award is an annual event. Applying to the committee is the responsibility of an attorney who is interested in the rank. The guidelines examined by the committee to decide whether to express a prize are as follows.
1. Applicant must be Nigerian.
2. He must have been practicing in Nigeria for ten years.
He must obey the full legal practice.
He must have distinguished himself as a counsel.
He must be a good person.
He must have contributed greatly to the development of the legal community in Nigeria.
7. At the time of obtaining the application form, he must pay a non-refundable amount of N 200,000. The committee can review this amount at any time.
8. A list of at least 10 judges of the upper courts appearing in important cases with voting rights shall be submitted to the committee. The committee can select three of them and give detailed confidential reference of the corresponding one.
He must also submit a list of lawyers who handled the case. The committee may elect three committees and provide confidential documents of the committee concerned.
10. He must submit details of the dispute that personally addressed in this order:
- There are 8 judgments of the High Court,
- 6 cases of the appellate court decision,
- 3 rulings of the Supreme Court.
11. For the local branch of the Nigerian Lawyers Association over the past 10 years, he must have consistently paid for practice fees.
12. Evidence of income tax payment must be submitted for three years prior to application.
13. The committee is obliged to conduct physical examination of the applicant's chamber in order to evaluate:
- Library size and quality,
- Space and other equipment are available,
- Number and quality of support staff,
- Maintaining proper accounting books,
- The number of juvenile attorneys must be over 5 years old.
If the applicant is a scholar, in addition to some of the above-mentioned related matters, 20 pieces of the published work shall be submitted to the committee.
The Nigerian Senior Adobokart award is primarily for supporters. The extension of the award to law practitioners other than the courts is the only exception like the Academy.
Function and benefits as SAN
By being a SAN, you gain the following benefits.
1. Priority - Nigerian senior / advocate is set as the inner bar by occupying the front row of the seats available to court legal practitioners. It also extends to SAN rights and refers to his affairs before other lawyers regardless of the age of professional qualifications.
2. Appeared in court - SAN must always go to court with junior lawyer. However, meeting a junior lawyer may be abandoned if the case is a crime.
3. Appeal - SAN's dress is different from other lawyer's dress. He is made of silk material that wears a stylishly sewn gown and makes the exterior more elegant. SAN is also called "silk" for the clothing items they use.
4. Professional Fee - SAN has enjoyed a privilege to charge higher charges than other lawyers can charge.
Among the advantages of SAN, the psychological sense of accomplishment that achieves the peak of occupation is unmatched. This explains why the ranking contest is always intense and sharp. Thousands of law practitioners are applied once a year, but only useful ones are chosen.
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