This is a brief review of volume 1 of Electricity Law Reports, cited as (2020) 1 E.L.R. and published by SQS publishing limited. The report is edited-in-chief by Mr. ‘Wale Irokosu. It is conceived as a bi-annual publication.
The report is presented in hardcover binding, with bold gold prints on the front and spine, on a black backdrop. The report consists of 394 (three hundred and ninety-four) pages -49 (forty-nine) in Arabic numbering. The first 49 (forty-nine) pages are the prefatory parts of the report, containing Bibliographical Information, Membership of the Editorial Advisory Board and the Editorial Team, a Foreword, a Preface, List of Justices of Superior Courts in Nigeria, Table of contents, Table of Referred Cases, Table of Abbreviations, Index of Subject Matter, Index of Statuses, Index of Rules of Court and Editor’s Note. The main part of the report consists of 11 (eleven) reported cases, each covering an average length of 31(thirty-one) pages.
The report is a specialized law report on electricity cases. The reported cases. The reported cases include decisions of the State High Courts, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Queens Bench and Chancery Division. The reporting style typically starts with a Style of Cause, followed by the subject – catch phrases, a brief summary, an innovative dimension of the reporting in the commentary that appears at the end of each decision, which gives the user some contextual assistance to the decision reported.
The publication is original. I am not aware of any similar publication in the existing literature that complies and reviews subject specific decisions on electricity. As such, this is a research friendly compilation. Since it is a one-stop resource for researchers in the subject area.
The reporting style is clear and succinct. The decisions appear to have been carefully selected. The report goes further than similar publications, as decisions that are otherwise only persuasive are reported together with binding decisions. This gives the user a wider information base. This is particularly useful in a subject area where there is dearth of research material. It is pertinent to note that this collection highlights the subject area, as these decisions would otherwise have been unreported or obscured in other law reports by decisions on other subjects that are typically given more prominence.
As with all scholarly efforts, there is room for improvement. I note that some of the extracts in the headnotes are not principles or holdings strictly so called. In some cases, they are portions of the decision relating to evaluation of facts. It is advisable that the extracts in the headnotes are limited to holdings/principles, so that users are not misled. Also, I have observed that some of the extracted principles are general principles of law and procedure. Perhaps it is unnecessary to highlight general principles of the law in a specialized law report, since such principles are already well reported in the panoply of general law reports that exist in literature. This general reporting may detract from the laudable concept of a specialized report. The general principles may also obscure the specific principles.
I note the constitution of an Editorial Advisory Board, distinct from the Editorial Team. The persons that make up the Advisory Board are reputed for distinction and excellence. They are persons of renown, both in and out of legal circles. Undoubtedly, the Editorial Team will not only benefit from the counsel of the Board, but the publication will also gain credit from the reputation of the personalities that make up the Board.
In sum, the report is well conceived and well presented. I can overemphasize the utility of this report for researchers in the subject area. It is a timely intervention that will certainly contribute to the consistent development of the law on the subject. Without hesitation, I recommend the report to practitioners, policy makes, law makers, judges, students and any other researcher interested in the subject of electricity law.