International records / OpenAlex research

The Limits of the Lockean Doctrine of Judicial Restraint and Democracy in Nigeria: Evidence from the Supreme Court of Nigeria

This paper interrogates the limits of the Lockean doctrine of judicial restraint within Nigeria’s contemporary constitutional democracy and governance, drawing evidence from Nigeria’s Supreme Court jurisprudence. It seeks to analyse the Supreme Court’s decisions to assess the extent to which judicial practice in Nigeria’s democracy aligns with or deviates from the Lockean doctrine of judicial restraint. The paper is anchored in Lockean Fiduciary Theory and Hirschl’s Juristocracy Theory, using a qualitative doctrinal methodology and secondary literature. Findings reveal that the Supreme Court o…