An Empirical Study of the Impact of Judicial Reform on Commercial Dispute Resolution Efficiency in Nigerian Federal High Courts

Judicial reform programmes in Nigeria, including the introduction of case management rules, pre-trial conference procedures, and commercial division specialisation, have been intended to reduce litigation delays that are frequently cited by investors as a deterrent to commercial activity in Nigeria, yet empirical assessment of their impact on case disposition timelines is limited. This study empirically assesses the impact of judicial reform measures on commercial case disposition efficiency in the Federal High Court Lagos Division and the Federal High Court Abuja Division between 2016 and 2023. A quantitative analysis of 300 randomly sampled commercial case files was conducted, recording case type, initiation date, procedural milestones, and disposition date. Difference-in-differences methodology was used to estimate the effect of the 2018 case management rules on disposition timelines. Structured interviews with 25 commercial litigators and five Federal High Court judges supplemented the quantitative analysis. Results indicate that the 2018 case management rules reduced median commercial case disposition time from 42 months to 31 months in the Lagos Division and from 48 months to 38 months in Abuja. Pre-trial conference compliance reduced hearing frequency by 22 percent. However, enforcement and execution proceedings remained unchanged and excessively lengthy. The study fills an empirical gap in judicial reform evaluation for Nigeria and recommends further reform of execution procedures, mandatory electronic filing to reduce service delays, and dedicated enforcement judges in commercial divisions.

Keywords: judicial reform, commercial litigation, Federal High Court, case management, Nigeria