On Tuesday September 27, 2022,various justice actors, turned up at Arua High Court, for an Open Day that was presided over by the Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr Flavian Zeija who was accompanied by the Chief Registrar, HW Sarah Langa Siu.
The Open day was aimed at, among other things, interacting with the litigants to get their opinion on the Circuit's court services and to educate them about the processes and procedures of the courts.
During the interaction, the litigants brought up a number of concerns, including land related matters and the need for reasons why some land disputes are prosecuted in civil court despite being criminal in nature. They also raised complaints on corruption, case backlog, court bailiffs and difficulty in understanding court processes, among others.
The Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr Flavian Zeija, commended the judicial officers for their hard work and welcomed the new resident Judge, Hon. Justice Acellam Collins. He also expressed his gratitude to the Arua Local Government for providing the Judiciary with the land needed to build the regional Court of Appeal.
He, however cautioned judicial officers against absenteeism and leaving court early, stating that it is a disciplinary issue. He also informed members of the public that the Judiciary has a plan to decentralize the Inspectorate of Courts and introduce a biometric system to deal with absentee officers
He urged the Staff of the Judiciary to treat court users with the customer care they deserve while serving them.
The PJ further reassured the court users that the Judiciary was working to construct and operationalize more courts, hire more judicial officers to reduce the backlog of cases, and increase access to justice. He also noted the need for courts to be built inside refugee camps to handle the delicate cases involving refugee.
Additionally, he warned members ofthe public against infringing on Church property and obtaining letters of administration to assert ownership of land that had previously been purchased and sold.
Speaking at the event, the refugee leadership representative, Ms Jenna Toma, noted that in spite of efforts being made to take mobile courts to the refugee community and to educate refugees about Uganda laws, there were still challenges in accessing justice. She decried case backlog, long process of handling cases, long distance to access justice leading to delays, language barrier, limited detention facilities in West Nile especially for juveniles, and ignorance of the law.
The Uganda Law Society representative, Mr Madira Jimmy, thanked the Arua High Court Circuit judicial officers for being approachable and competent.
He noted the need to avail Judicial Officers in the region with vehicles and enhance their security.
In order to avoid delays in advocates receiving certificates, he also asked that the process of obtaining practicing certificates be made easier online and that chamber inspections be decentralized.
The Chief Registrar thanked the court users for freely expressing their opinions. She took them through the hierarchy of judicial administration, and their respective functions.
She also explained why some cases are heard ex-parte and the distinction between a court bailiff and a lawyer.
The CR further took the court users through the differences between court bail and police bond and urged parties who have challenges with their cases to send the specifics of their cases to the Deputy Registrar of the Arua High Court. She also informed the advocates about the digitalization of access to their practicing certificates.
The outgoing Resident Judge, Hon. Justice Isah Serunkuma thanked the Principal Judge for gracing the open day noting that he has had him three times during his time of service at the Arua High Court.
He listed the achievements during his time of service such as the implementation of anti-corruption measures, guaranteeing that all payments are made through banks, organizing the registry and archives, expediting the processing of records of proceedings in cases being appealed in lower courts, installing audiovisual equipment and acquiring land for the construction of Court of Appeal.
Hon. Justice Serunkuuma requested for substantive Chief Magistrates for Yumbe, Koboko and Adjumani.
Posted 27th, September 2022
