LEGAL PROFESSION — Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee — Nature of Charge Before the Committee
Principle Statement
The word "charges" under the rule does not mean formal charges in a criminal trial before a criminal court. Although proceedings are adversary, they are not criminal but at best quasi-criminal. What is needed is the substance of the allegation known to the legal practitioner before proceedings start.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Musdapher, JSC, in Okike v. LPDC (2005) NLC-582004(SC) at p. 17; Paras A–C.
"The word 'charges' used under the rule does not mean and cannot mean formal charges in a criminal trial before a criminal court. Although proceedings under the regulations are adversary proceedings, they are not criminal in nature, they are at best quasi-criminal. Therefore, what needs to be known to the legal practitioner concerned is the substance of the allegation against him before the proceedings started."
Explanation / Scope
Charges before the LPDC need not meet criminal trial formality standards. Proceedings are quasi-criminal, not criminal. The principle applies to legal profession disciplinary proceedings. The rule requires only that the practitioner knows the substance of the allegation. Technical precision of formal criminal charges is not required. Fair hearing is satisfied by adequate notice of the accusation’s substance.
