In a recent article, Dr Eyimofe Atake, SAN, argued that female Judges in Nigeria ought properly to be addressed as “My Lady” rather than “My Lord”, contending that the continued use of the traditional form rests on an outdated legal fiction. While the contribution is scholarly and well-intentioned, this rejoinder by Sylvester Udemezue, respectfully advances a different view: that within the Nigerian legal tradition, “My Lord” and “Your Lordship” remain professional designations attached to the judicial office itself, and may properly be used in addressing every superior court Judge irrespective of gender, unless and until the competent institutions of the profession prescribe otherwise
Background:
In a recent article titled “My Lord or My Lady? The Correct Mode of Addressing Female Judges”, Learned Silk, Dr Eyimofe Atake, SAN, argues that female Judges ought properly to be addressed as “My Lady” rather than “My Lord”. His central thesis is that insisting on addressing female Judges as “My Lord” rests on an outdated legal fiction inherited from a bygone era, when women were excluded from the legal profession. He contends that the traditional notion that “all members of the Bar are gentlemen” became obsolete following the enactment of the United Kingdom’s Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, which opened the legal profession to women. According to him, while the fiction that all Lawyers are “gentlemen” may survive as harmless ceremonial language at Bar dinners, it becomes linguistically inaccurate and conceptually contradictory when relied upon in court to justify addressing a female Judge as “My Lord”. He maintains that ordinary English, historical developments in the common law, and modern judicial practice require that female Judges be addressed as “My Lady”, just as male Judges are addressed as “My Lord”. In essence, the article advocates aligning Nigerian courtroom etiquette with what the author considers the correct and contemporary common law practice, particularly that of England, where male and female Judges are traditionally addressed as “My Lord” and “My Lady” respectively.
