Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya share common law roots, but their procedural cultures have grown in different directions. A litigator who studies the other two systems sharpens their own practice.

From Ghana: structure after pleadings

Ghana's High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2004 (C.I. 47) place real weight on the directions stage. Under Order 32 r.2(1), the plaintiff applies for directions within one month of the close of pleadings, and Order 32 r.6 requires evidence matters under the Evidence Act, 1975 (NRCD 323) to be considered at that hearing. In the Commercial Court, Order 58, as substituted by C.I. 133, makes a pre-trial conference with settlement options mandatory. The lesson travels well: decide evidential questions before trial, not during it.

From Nigeria: statutes for electronic evidence and criminal procedure

Nigeria's Evidence Act 2011 makes express provision for computer-generated evidence, and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, alongside the state ACJLs, set out a modern framework for criminal procedure. Nigerian practitioners are used to treating certification of electronic evidence as a live issue. Every litigator handling WhatsApp messages and emails should adopt that discipline.

From Kenya: the overriding objective as a working principle

Kenya's Civil Procedure Act (Cap 21) and the Civil Procedure Rules, 2010 are read through an overriding objective of just, expeditious, proportionate and affordable resolution. Kenyan advocates argue proportionality and case management routinely. That habit of asking whether a step is worth its cost would benefit any court list.

What they share

All three systems punish missed dates and unprepared documents. Good practice is the same everywhere: read the current rules for the court you are in, confirm every time limit, and keep a diary you trust. The rules differ, but the discipline travels.

Manso is live in Ghana, with Nigeria and Kenya coming soon, built on exactly that premise: one assistant, the right rulebook for each court.

Keep ’em sharp.

Put it to the test in the Law School Zone.

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