Hon. Justice Dr Zeija (Principal Judge - Left) and Hon. Justice Buteera (Deputy Chief Justice -Right) - chairman case backlog committee
On Tuesday, January 18,2022, heads of High Court circuits held a retreat to deliberate on strategies aimed at reducing case backlog.
The one-day retreat which took place at Lake Victoria Serena Hotel - Kigo came up with seven key resolutions geared towards improving service delivery in the Judiciary.
They committed to developing costed backlog clearance work plans with defined time frames which will be integrated into the general Judiciary Case Backlog Reduction Plan for the year 2022.
Holding regular meetings to set and review targets, proper records management and implementation of a robust Alternative Dispute Resolution framework were some of the recommendations made by the Judges.
On enhancing case management, the Judges called for the acquisition of adequate ICT equipment to facilitate online hearings and delivery of Judgments/rulings.
Other recommendations included a resolve to provide performance targets per judicial officer, evaluation of performance in percentages of targets set in the work plans, and inclusion of backlog performance of magisterial courts in the respective supervising Circuit’s case backlog reports.
Hon. Justice Michael Elubu, the Head of the Criminal Division, presented to the participants a concept on the Division’s plan to commence daily hearings of cases as opposed to the current session-based system. Several circuits committed to the concept as a case backlog reduction initiative.
At the retreat, the heads of circuits presented their case backlog reports to the Case Backlog Monitoring Committee which is chaired by the Deputy Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Richard Buteera.
The DCJ informed the participants that the workshop had been convened "with a wider view of improving the performance of the Judiciary."
The Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, reassured the Judges that resource allocation to courts is currently informed by the case backlog monitoring reports. "I want to thank My Lord the Deputy Chief Justice and the Case Backlog Monitoring Committee for enabling us to streamline the allocations of funds to courts. Now allocations are informed by backlog monitoring reports," he said.
The PJ further disclosed that the Judiciary administration resolved to hold such workshops annually before the Annual Judges Conference.
Relatedly, Court of Appeal Justice, Hon. Justice Fredrick Egonda-Ntende and also Vice Chairperson of the Case Backlog Monitoring Committee, noted that the timing of the meeting was crucial and that the deliberations and recommendations would be used as a basis for the Committee’s quarterly activities.
The Chief Registrar, HW Sarah Langa Siu, in remarks that were delivered by the Registrar High Court, HW Samuel Emokor, observed that the Retreat was a turning point in the administration of justice and called for new and innovative ways of dispensing justice.
She noted that the Chief Justice, who is the vision bearer for the Judiciary, has stressed the need of redefining case backlog by reducing the lead times to 365 days or less.
This Retreat was the second of its kind with funding from the International Development Law Organization. The first was held in December where heads of Divisions equally strategized for the reduction of case backlog.
Posted 18th, January 2022
