LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Judicial Notice – Subsidiary Legislation and Accompanying Plans
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
No fact of which the court must take judicial notice needs to be proved; courts must take judicial notice of all laws, enactments and subsidiary legislation having force of law in Nigeria, including designation orders under the Land Use Act and plans forming part of such orders; the court can examine such documents itself unless they cannot be read or understood, in which case resort to expert witness may be necessary.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
"No fact of which the court must take judicial notice need be proved." "The court shall take judicial notice of the following facts – (a) all laws or enactments and any subsidiary legislation made thereunder having the force of law now or hereto before in force, or hereafter to be in force, in any part of Nigeria;" A court is bound to take judicial notice of a subsidiary legislation, such as a designation order made under the Land Use Act, and the plan referred to and forming part of that order. The court can examine such a document itself; it is only when the document cannot be read or understood by the Judge that resort to an expert witness may be necessary."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Judicial notice dispenses with formal proof of certain facts. Courts must take judicial notice (without requiring evidence) of: statutes, subsidiary legislation (regulations, orders, rules), and documents incorporated into such legislation (like plans in designation orders). This means: parties need not prove the law’s existence or content; courts independently verify and apply it; no witnesses are needed to establish what the law says. However, when documents (like technical plans) are complex or require specialized interpretation, expert evidence may be necessary. The principle promotes efficiency (avoiding proof of matters courts should know), ensures uniform law application, and recognizes courts’ duty to know the law. It applies to all legislation having force of law in Nigeria, past or present.