An Organisational Framework for Improving Service Delivery in the Nigerian Judicial System

Abstract

The Judiciary in Nigeria is the third arm of government and for there to be sustainable development in the country; the Judiciary must perform its role of justice delivery in an effective and efficient manner. This paper traced the historical development and structure of the judicial system in Nigeria. It also x-rayed the challenges of the Judiciary as has been identified by many studies and the reform attempts that has been made by Government and the Judiciary itself to improve service delivery in the sector. The point that the Judiciary was not yet living up to expectation and that a lot still needed to be done was also made. The point of departure of this paper however, was to propose an organisational framework that can be used not only to diagnose and pinpoint the problem areas of the Judiciary but can also be used to improve service delivery. The proposed framework was the Mckinsey 7s model and each of the seven elements of the model were examined and applied to the Nigerian Judiciary. In conclusion, it was argued that because this model can be used to access every aspect of the organisation (structure, strategy, staff, shared values, system, style and skills), it can be successfully used to improve service delivery in the Nigerian judicial system.