CONSTITUTIONAL LAW — Fair Hearing — Public Proceedings — Judge’s Chambers Not a Public Place
Principle Statement
A Judge's Chambers is not one of the regular courtrooms, nor is it a place in which the public have the right of ingress and egress as of right, except on invitation by or with the permission of the Judge.
Ratio Decidendi (Source)
Per Ogbuagu, JSC, in Edibo v. State (2007) NLC-123-284-2003(SC) at pp. 21–22; Paras D–A.
"A Judge's Chambers is not one of the regular court rooms nor is it a place in which the public have right to ingress and egress as of right except on invitation by or with the permission of the Judge."
Explanation / Scope
The constitutional right to a public hearing requires that court proceedings be conducted in open court where the public can attend. A Judge’s Chambers is a private office, not a courtroom. Proceedings conducted in Chambers are not public proceedings, and the public does not have the right to attend. Therefore, conducting any part of a criminal trial—especially arraignment and plea-taking—in Chambers violates the constitutional requirement of public hearing. The private nature of Chambers means that proceedings there are presumptively unconstitutional unless the law expressly permits them.
