Week 3: First Feedback, Case Law Analysis, and Nigerian Election Petitions
As last week began with an effort to tackle some of the judicial curriculum modules (and with an eye on a growing to-do list), I wanted to begin this week by getting through a few cases for the ElectionJudgments database. In my first few days at IFES, I worked on a summary from Nepal, but that one was already in progress when I arrived. These would therefore be the first summaries of the summer that were entirely my work. Having been advised to focus on cases from Pacific Island nations, I selected a few cases from that region and took several hours to get some reading done. I wrote my first summaries (roughly two-page briefs for each of the cases) and passed them along for feedback. Along with some standard suggestions on language, the main lesson I took from that feedback was to pay more attention to the procedural history of the cases I’m reading. When presented with questions like: “How did this case get to the High Court?” I was usually stumped.
Answering those questions forced me to do some more digging. Is the High Court the supreme court of country X? If so, why are there no cases from lower courts on this topic? Does the constitution say anything about it? Ah-ha! Article Y grants the High Court jurisdiction over cases involving Membership of Parliament. This new knowledge will make for smoother sailing in future summaries.
In anticipation of future projects, I was also asked to read IFES’ previous Case Law Analysis publications on gender, social media, and technology.
Another project was brought to my attention this week: IFES personnel are closely following the petition process in the wake of the presidential elections that took place in Nigeria earlier this year. Challenges to the election results there are ongoing, and I will be tracking the progress of those petitions. I will begin by researching and listing all the petitions, developing a timeline and history of the cases so far, and eventually assisting in writing summaries for those cases.
Weekend visits: Downtown Arlington, Georgetown (the neighborhood and the university), the Wharf, NoMa, Capitol Hill (the neighborhood), the National Cathedral, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and the National Air and Space Museum.