THE HIGH COURT AND A HIGHER COURT- DIFFERENCE.

These are confusing topics that we find ourselves using wrongly or interchangeably. Just as the Court of Appeal is different from an appellate court( see my post on the difference), so is the High Court different in meaning from a higher court.

HIGHER COURT

A ‘higher court’ is usually used  comparatively. In other words, as the word ‘higher’ denotes, it means a court of law that is higher than the one it is being compared with. A higher court hears appeal from a lower court. No court in particular is named a ‘higher court’. A court is said to be higher by considering the extent of its jurisdiction and its position of rank in the hierarchical order of courts. In terms of jurisdiction, the Supreme Court is a higher court than the Court of Appeal. For instance, the Supreme Court exclusively has the original jurisdiction to hear and determine disputes arising between the Federation and the State, between States, between the National Assembly and the President, between the National Assembly and any State House of Assembly and between the National Assembly and any State. The parties involved and the sensitivity of the position occupied by the parties could be the reasoning of the legislatures in conferring this jurisdiction on the Supreme Court alone. The effect of this, points to only one direction- that the Supreme Court is not only the highest court but also a higher court than the Court of Appeal or any other court. Invariably, the Supreme Court is a higher court than the Court of Appeal in the order of superiority(see my post on hierarchy of courts).

THE HIGH COURT

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria mandates that there shall be a High court for each State of the federation.What this means is that every State in the federation has a court known as the High Court. Thus, ‘High Court’ is the name of a court. A High Court is the next court in the order of superiority after the Court of Appeal. Put differently, the Court of appeal is a higher court to the High Court. Apart from the States, the Federal capital territory and the Federation also have their own High Court.They are known as the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal High Court, respectively. These three courts- the High Court of a State, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal High Court are all of equal ranking in the hierarchy of courts. In other words, no court is higher than the other. This means that the words ‘Higher Court’ does not exist when making a comparative analysis of these three courts. They are called courts of coordinate jurisdiction. NB: The High court hears appeal from a Magistrate Court.

CONCLUSION

Let me give you an illustrative scenario of the difference- you and Ada agreed to marry, you proposed to her and she accepted. You paid her bride price and fulfilled other traditional rites of the marriage. After 5 years of living together, you both realized that there’s no love lost between the both of you. You both agreed to go your separate ways. You filed a petition for dissolution of marriage at the Customary Court of your village. Ada cross-petitioned, claiming the sum of N100,000 monthly for the upkeep and maintenance of herself and the two kids you have. The Customary court dissolved the marriage and ordered you to pay her the monthly sum claimed. You appealed to the Magistrate Court against the sum awarded against you, the magistrate Court affirmed the decision of the Customary Court. You further appealed to the High Court and lost. You appealed further to the Court of Appeal… By this scenario, while the Customary Court is the court of first instance( that is, the first court you took your matter to), the magistrate court is a higher court to the Customary Court, the High Court is a higher court to the Magistrate Court, the Court of Appeal is a Higher court to the High Court. Thus, the fact that the Magistrate Court is a higher court to the Customary Court does not make the Magistrate Court a High Court. 

 

Questions, suggestions and contributions are highly welcome. Kindly check the meanings of the words in bold in my Mini Law Dictionary.

 

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