LEGAL PRINCIPLE: APPELLATE PRACTICE – Supreme Court Powers – Correction of Erroneous Orders – Slip Rule – Scope Limited to Court’s Own Errors
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
My understanding of the principle of 'slip rule' is that the court has always had jurisdiction to amend its order which by mistake does not correctly represent the intention of the court. This latitude in my view does not extend to errors made by counsel in his submission. After all, counsel's submission is not binding on the court as the order made by a court which commands immediate authority until set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction. An erroneous submission by counsel, in any event, can be rejected by the court but could also be mistakenly approved by court. In the latter situation, the only remedy available to counsel is to appeal but not to request the court to vary its mistaken submission by the invocation of the 'slip rule'.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Achike, JSC, in Chikere & Ors v. Okegbe & Ors (2000) NLC-261995(SC) at p. 14; Paras C–E.
"My understanding of the principle of 'slip rule' is that the court has always had jurisdiction to amend its order which by mistake does not correctly represent the intention of the court. This latitude in my view does not extend to errors made by counsel in his submission. After all, counsel's submission is not binding on the court as the order made by a court which commands immediate authority until set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction. An erroneous submission by counsel, in any event, can be rejected by the court but could also be mistakenly approved by court. In the latter situation, the only remedy available to counsel is to appeal but not to request the court to vary its mistaken submission by the invocation of the 'slip rule'."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
The slip rule allows courts to amend orders that mistakenly do not reflect the court’s actual intention—not to correct counsel’s errors. If a court mistakenly approves erroneous counsel submissions, the remedy is appeal, not slip rule invocation. Counsel’s submissions do not bind the court; the court’s order stands until set aside on appeal. The slip rule cannot be used to vary orders based on counsel’s mistaken requests. This preserves the distinction between judicial errors (correctable) and adversarial errors (appealable). Courts correct their own mistakes, not counsel’s.