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Supreme Court · 2017
From which decisions of the National Industrial Court does an appeal lie to the Court of Appeal?
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This decision is reported in the Nigerian law reports. Locate it by its case name in a law report series or through the court's own record, and read the judgment before relying on it.
The question the court actually had to answer. Everything a judgment settles flows from this, and nothing beyond it does.
From which decisions of the National Industrial Court does an appeal lie to the Court of Appeal?
An employment dispute decided by the National Industrial Court raised whether, and on what grounds, its decisions could be appealed.
The constitutional amendments establishing the court had left the scope of appeals contested.
The Supreme Court resolved the question in favour of a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal from decisions of the National Industrial Court, on the terms it set out.
Stated narrowly, as the case is genuinely cited for — not stretched into the broader proposition it is often summarised as.
Decisions of the National Industrial Court are appealable to the Court of Appeal, and the court is not a jurisdictional island.
Our explanation of what the decision means for an ordinary reader. It is not the judgment.
Employment cases in Nigeria go to a specialist court. For years it was unclear how far a losing party could appeal, which is an uncomfortable thing not to know before you start.
This decision settled the route. If you are in an employment dispute, whether a decision can be appealed is a question to raise with a lawyer early rather than after judgment.
The part most summaries leave out, and the part that most often causes a case to be cited for something it never decided.
Named generally. Read the official text of any instrument you intend to rely on.
This decision is reported in the Nigerian law reports. Locate it by its case name in a law report series or through the court's own record, and read the judgment before relying on it.
Subject area: Employment & Labour