Lawyers' groups insist on Blue Silk rank despite negative court judgement

The Nigerian Law Society (NLS) and the Body of Senior Counsel of Nigeria (BOSCON) have insisted that they have the authority to confer “Blue Silk” rank, which they formally refer to as the Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN), on their members, maintaining that the process is an internal affair beyond the control of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) or any government institution.

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The two organisations stated this in a joint statement on Friday, TheCable reported.

The statement was signed by Dahiru Aliyu, president of the NLS, on behalf of the governing councils of both organisations.

This came about two months after the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit seeking judicial recognition of the Blue Silk rank for legal practitioners in Nigeria, fashioned after the statutorily recognised Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

In the judgement, Judge James Omotosho held that the suit lacked merit and ruled that only the LPPC has the legal authority to confer the SAN rank on lawyers in the country.

“The argument by the applicants that they have a right to freedom of assembly and association does not come into play here,” the judge said.

“The legal profession is not like joining a political party wherein one can jump from party to party.

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“There is only one legal profession in Nigeria duly recognised by statute, thus a person cannot decide to form his own legal profession as the same would be contrary to the law and thus void.”

Months before the judgement, the LPPC warned lawyers against adopting or parading the Blue Silk designation, insisting that SAN remains the only professional rank recognised under the Legal Practitioners Act.

On Friday, however, the NLS and BOSCON maintained that the conferment of the Blue Silk rank is governed solely by their internal rules and regulations and should not be subject to interference by the LPPC, the NBA or any government institution.

According to the statement, the Blue Silk rank is conferred on members of the NLS using a criterion of 35 verifiable non-litigation transactions assessed by BOSCON.

The organisations said candidates apply voluntarily, pay the prescribed fees and, upon taking the oath during the conferment ceremony, agree to be bound by the rules and regulations of both organisations, which they said were made pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, and the SMEDAN Act, 2003.

The organisations also likened their position to the NBA’s recent insistence that only its leadership and Board of Trustees have the authority to regulate its internal affairs, including the conduct of its elections, without interference from external authorities.

They argued that, in the same vein, no individual, government official or institution should interfere with the conferment of the Blue Silk rank.

The groups also relied on a judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court on 27 January, which they said established that the Blue Silk rank is not mentioned in the Legal Practitioners Act.

On that basis, they argued that neither the NBA, the LPPC nor any other individual or institution has the authority to interfere with the conferment of the rank.

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Meanwhile, in the judgement rejecting the Blue Silk promoters’ bid to secure judicial validation, the plaintiffs—the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) and one of its members, Tonye Jaja—argued that the Legal Practitioners Act did not prohibit the Blue Silk initiative and that efforts to stop it violated their constitutional rights to freedom of association and fair hearing.

Mr Omotosho dismissed the suit, holding that the applicants failed to establish any breach of their fundamental rights.

The LPPC had, in February, warned lawyers against adopting or parading the Blue Silk designation, insisting that the SAN remains the only professional rank recognised under Nigerian law.

The committee stated that the Blue Silk title lacks statutory backing and cautioned that lawyers who use it could expose themselves to disciplinary consequences under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

That position has remained unchanged, underscoring the continuing disagreement between the LPPC and the promoters of the Blue Silk initiative over whether such a distinction can exist outside the framework of the Legal Practitioners Act.