Dissecting The Provisions of High Court of Plateau State Civil Procedure Rules 2020

Towards Expeditious Determination of Civil Litigation

Abstract

The High Court of Plateau State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2020 emerged after 33 years of application of the repealed Plateau State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 1987. The evolution of the Rules in 2020 can be regarded as a landmark event given that the repealed Plateau State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 1987 had outlived its usefulness. The level of social, economic and technological advancements spanning over three decades that the repealed Rules had been in force and the changes that had occurred from that time till date can best be described as significant and phenomenal. The emergence/evolvement of Information Communication Technology and mobile telephone communications alone in the last 10-20 years had been quite epoch making. These developments meant undoubtedly, that the repealed 1987 Rules should be jettisoned and preserved in the archives for historical reference. Remarkably, the transition from the 1987 Rules to the 2020 Rules can best be described as a transition from analogue system to a digital system. In view of these monumental changes, this paper examines the imperativeness for reform and x-rays the innovations introduced in the High Court of Plateau State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2020. The paper beams its searchlight on provisions in the new Rules that are geared towards expeditious disposal of civil suits. The paper notes that the enactment of the new Rules has come with its challenges and makes recommendations on how some of the challenges can be addressed going forward.