The Tribunal is an independent specialised judicial body established under Section 224 of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) of 1999 to interpret and adjudicate on all capital market, investments and pensions’ matters. Section 224of ISA 1999 states that:

“There is hereby established a body known as the Investments and Securities Tribunal (hereafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’) to exercise the jurisdiction, power and authority of the Tribunal conferred on it by or under this decree”.

The IST is vested with the onerous responsibility of interpreting the ISA and adjudicating on disputes and controversies in capital market transactions. By virtue of the “Pensions Reform Act, 2004”, the Investments & Securities Tribunal (IST) is also empowered to adjudicate on pensions disputes in Nigeria. The concept of IST, though novel, is not peculiar to Nigeria. In the U.K., there is the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal (FSMT), and in India, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), and in the Hong Kong amongst others.

It is however, pertinent to note that the Tribunal is the first and only one of its kind in Africa.

The Tribunal combines the rule of law applicable in traditional law courts with the responsiveness, flexibility, speed and cost effectiveness associated with specialised courts and alternative disputes resolution (ADR) systems. The Tribunal has specialised knowledge of the capital market/securities and pension’s law and operations due to the varied technical and operational skills of its members and staff which it applies in deciding each case brought before it.

The Tribunal has a Technical & Operations Department and a Legal Services Department responsible for world-class technical and legal research support services in addition to other external expert advice obtained as the need arises. The Tribunal is not bound strictly by the rules of evidence applicable in traditional courts.

Another fundamental difference between the Tribunal and other traditional law courts is that each party could represent himself or appoint a representative who is not a legal practitioner. (See paragraph 1.11 below please).

Procedure before the Tribunal is regulated by the Investments and Securities Act, 1999 and the Tribunals Rules of Procedure (2003).