Electronic information resources and the legal profession: the case of Oyo State High Courts, Nigeria

Abstract

Electronic information resources as a product of technological development plays a vital role in providing a veritable platform for networking among legal practitioners as well as guarantee timely access to legal information. This study examined the role played by digital/electronic resources in legal profession taking Oyo state as a case study. Descriptive survey design was used for the study and questionnaire as a research instrument was administered to judges, lawyers and law library personnel. The studies found that majority of respondents were aware of the available electronic resources essential to legal practice and research. Though, some of the online legal information resources were not available, email discussion list and online journal were the most used. It was observed that most court libraries are still operating manually as e-legal resources like law reference materials, laws of other countries, human right needs, law reports, judged cases and court proceedings were poorly accessible. However, findings indicate that the use of electronic legal information resources leads to faster and timely execution of cases and also provide platform for comparative jurisprudence.

Keywords: Legal profession, electronic resources, technology, court, legal information