A Small Claims Court is a specialized court that affords parties the legal avenue to resolve minor legal disputes in an affordable, accessible and quicker way. It deals with civil cases involving small amounts of money, typically under a certain monetary limit set by law which varies by jurisdiction.
Small Claims Court is a division of the Magistrate Court and its proceedings are regulated by the practice Directions issued pursuant to the Magistrate Court Law.
In a Small Claims Court, individuals or businesses can file a lawsuit to seek compensation or resolution of issues relating to simple debt recovery. The Court follows simplified procedures which decongests the High Court of the floodgates of claims of this nature.
The purpose of a Small Claims court is to provide an accessible and efficient forum for individuals to resolve their liquidated debt disputes of N5,000,000.00 (Five Million Naira) and below without the need for complex legal processes. The small Claims Court encourages self-representation which means that a litigant can handle cases themselves without recourse to legal representation by a lawyer in Court.
The procedure in a Small Claims Court generally begins with filing a small claims action, providing notice to the other party, hearing of the case where both parties present their arguments and evidence and then the Magistrate reviews the case and issues a decision.
The Courts decisions are generally binding and the decisions made can result in the payment of monetary damages or the enforcement of specific actions. However, a party who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Court is at liberty to file an appeal at the High Court.
Due to the stagnation in the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria as a whole, and as a result of delays and cost of resolution of cases involving small commercial transactions, the presidency established the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) which is within the office of the Vice President to collaborate with the United Nations and some Non-Governmental Organization to work out modules for ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Thus, the establishment of the Small Claims Court is indeed a step in the right direction and will indeed improve our judicial system. Establishing the Small Claims Court in Cross River State will create a fast track Court for the resolution of liquidated small commercial claims outside of the regular court processes which is fast, simple and accessible to litigants to handle themselves without the recourse to legal representation by lawyers.
