LEGAL PRINCIPLE: EVIDENCE LAW – Judicial Discretion – Exercise of Discretion – Must Be Based on Evidence Adduced
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
An exercise of discretion by the court must be guided by evidence adduced. It is a misdirection for a trial Judge to give judgment on an issue on which there is no evidence adduced whatsoever. The trial court's judgment which the majority justices of the Court of Appeal affirmed was written without any evidence supporting the decision.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Uthman Mohammed, JSC, in Menakaya v. Menakaya (2001) NLC-1691996(SC) at p. 17; Paras A–B.
"An exercise of discretion by the court must be guided by evidence adduced. It is a misdirection for a trial Judge to give judgment on an issue on which there is no evidence adduced whatsoever. The trial court's judgment which the majority justices of the Court of Appeal affirmed was written without any evidence supporting the decision."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Judicial discretion must be exercised based on evidence adduced, not speculation or judicial intuition. Giving judgment on an issue without any supporting evidence is a misdirection. The court cannot decide matters not proved. Even discretionary decisions require evidentiary foundation. The principle ensures that judicial decisions are grounded in facts, not arbitrary or capricious. Where a judgment is written without any evidence supporting the decision, it cannot stand. The appellate court will set it aside. The absence of evidence is not cured by the fact that the decision seems reasonable. The court must act on proof, not presumption. Evidence is the bedrock of adjudication.