LEGAL PRINCIPLE: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Consent Judgment – Requirements – Parties Must Be Ad Idem on All Aspects
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
For there to be a consent judgment there must have been an agreement of the parties on all aspects of the matter to be covered by the consent judgment. Where the parties agree on some aspects and have not agreed on others, they should be permitted to reach an agreement on the latter, or resolve the points of disagreement by evidence before judgment is pronounced.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola, JSC, in Menakaya v. Menakaya (2001) NLC-1691996(SC) at p. 49; Paras D–E.
"For there to be a consent judgment there must have been an agreement of the parties on all aspects of the matter to be covered by the consent judgment. Where the parties agree on some aspects and have not agreed on others, they should be permitted to reach an agreement on the latter, or resolve the points of disagreement by evidence before judgment is pronounced."
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
A consent judgment requires the parties to be ad idem (of one mind) on all aspects covered by the judgment. Partial agreement is insufficient. Where parties agree on some issues but not others, they must either reach agreement on the remaining issues or resolve them through evidence and trial. The court cannot enter a consent judgment on unresolved matters. The principle ensures that consent judgments truly reflect mutual agreement, not coercion or misunderstanding. The court must verify that the agreement covers all essential terms. Incomplete agreement cannot support a valid consent judgment. The parties’ consent must be comprehensive, not piecemeal. Otherwise, the judgment is irregular and liable to be set aside.