Professional Management of Sharia Court Records and Case Documentation in Kano State Judiciary

Effective management of court records is a foundational requirement for judicial accountability, precedent development, and institutional memory in any court system. In Kano State's Sharia judiciary, where thousands of personal law, commercial, and criminal cases are processed annually, the quality of case documentation and records management has direct implications for the rule of law under Islamic judicial administration. This study examines the current state of Sharia court records management in Kano State and develops professional improvement recommendations. A mixed-methods professional assessment is applied, combining structured observation of record-keeping practices at five court levels with interviews involving twenty court registrars, ten judges, and five legal practitioners on documentation standards and retrieval efficiency. Document audits assess file completeness, indexing systems, digitisation status, and secure storage. Available professional justice administration literature from North West Nigeria identifies incomplete case files, inconsistent indexing, and absence of digital case management as the primary records management deficiencies. The Islamic jurisprudential principle of Itqan (professional excellence) and contemporary judicial administration standards from UNODC court management guidelines provide the analytical reference. Findings are expected to reveal significant documentation gaps. Recommendations address digital case management systems, registrar professional training, uniform filing standards, and integration with the Kano State Judiciary's e-governance infrastructure. Keywords: Sharia court records, case management, Kano State, judicial administration, North West Nigeria.