October 21, 2024

Compulsory Conference in Nigerian Divorce Cases: What You Need to Know

by Eko Solicitors

The Negotiation that takes place During a Divorce a.k.a. The Compulsory Conference

Compulsory conference is a stage in divorce proceedings in Nigeria that requires both the Husband and the Wife of the marriage, that is divorce-bound, to have a meeting – it is often a forced-one. The meeting is compulsory especially when there are Children or property produced either by, or during, the marriage.

The Compulsory conference is where everything negotiation takes place.

Who takes the Children of the marriage and for how long? Is it full custody or merely access to the children? If access, for how long? If custody, for how long? Who pays the school fees of the Children, etc.

The questions above can also be extrapolated to the sharing of matrimonial property that is acquired during the marriage either individually by the Husband of the marriage (because of the presumption of advancement) or bought in the name of the both parties to the marriage.

Only one of three outcomes is possible during a compulsory conference viz:

Both parties agree on all the issues negotiated;
Parties agree on some of the issues negotiated and disagree on the rest;
Both parties do not agree on any of the issues negotiated.

The first outcome above is usually the Court’s delight because the time and effort of the Court is saved and there needs to be no bickering or leading of evidence in order to establish anything and the only work left for the Court is to adopt the agreement of the parties as part of its judgement.

For the second outcome, the Court will adopt the part of the judgement agreed to by both parties and hears argument on the part that they have not agreed and substitute its judgement to forcefully decide the terms that both parties did not agree to.

For the third outcome, the Court will substitute its judgement for the agreement that it thinks both parties ought to have judiciously and fairly arrived at.

The third outcome is usually the Court’s nightmare. Sometimes the Court considers the adjournment for the compulsory conference a total waste of the precious time of the judiciary if both parties do not to any sort of compromise during such a conference.

The lawyer’s role in the Compulsory conference is not to be feisty. They must come to the negotiating table with a spirit of compromise.

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