JUDICIARY Latest Features

The New Law Year was opened on January 16, 2015 at the High Court, Kampala gardens. The ceremony was presided over by the Ag. Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Steven B Kavuma. The ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries including the Attorney General, country diplomats, the Director of Public Prosecutions, members of the bench and bar, judicial officers and staff as well as the public.

In his opening remarks, Hon Justice Steven Kavuma said that the mandate of the Judiciary is to adjudicate cases between the people on the one part and between the people and the state on the other part as well as various organs of the state.

He stated that adjudication of cases requires courage and steadfastness in ensuring that all who appear before the courts have equal protection of the law and can call upon it without hesitation at any time to guarantee and enforce their rights.

He emphasized the need for Judiciary to be independent hence earning and keeping the trust and respect by all regardless of their standing in society. He mentioned that an efficient Judiciary requires competent and well qualified Judicial officers and personnel who are trustworthy and with impeccable record of conduct as well as sufficient administrative and support staff; adequate resources to meet its professional and administrative obligations; adequate infrastructure and other facilities to carry out its mandate which is rooted in practice and the law.

The Hon. Ag. Chief Justice further highlighted the achievements of the law year 2014-15, the challenges as well as the plans for the law year 2015-16 as stated below:-

Achievements for the year 2014

• Judiciary together with its development partners was able to construct Justice Centres (Court, police and DPP) at Kayunga.
• Launch of plea bargaining as part of criminal procedure
• Judiciary together with its development partners were able to construct the Registry of Planning and Development offices.
• Judiciary together with JLOS and its development partners were able to complete the construction of the Judicial Studies Institute at Nakawa.
• Judiciary together with its development partners completed the construction of Magistrates' Court buildings at Ngora and Koboko.
• Installation of various ICT systems in various courts to expedite the court processes.
• Installation of Court Recording and Transcription (CRT) services in the different High Court circuits around the country.
• In the year ending 2014, the Judiciary installed a video conferencing facility at the High Court in preparation to hear cases involving witnesses across the country.
• Installation of Electronic Display notice boards in different courts to keep court users informed about what is happening in court.
• Development of the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ULII) App for easy access to judgments as well as legislations.
• Adoption of zero tolerance to corruption with the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and policy.
• Establishment of the inspectorate unit to monitor and evaluate the performance of judicial officers.

Plans for 2015

• Implement the Performance Enhancement Tool to check judicial performance.
• Expansion of the magisterial areas bringing Justice Delivery nearer to the people.
• Increase the High Circuits from the current 13 to 18.
• Decentralize the Court of Appeal but in the interim carry on with the upcountry sessions.
• Increase the number of Justices at the Supreme Court.
• Revision of the current rules of Civil Procedure.
• Proposal to amend the criminal procedure reforms.
• Practice direction to streamline and give guidance on plea bargaining
• Introduction of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in the Court of Appeal.
• Practice direction to give guidance to courts on matters of bail handling.
• Continuous professional training for judicial officers and administrative staff.
• Good and customised infrastructure for all courts.
• Publication of monthly law reports to increase access to legal resources.
• Establishment of a Judiciary National Documentation Centre.
• Establishment and launch of an E-Justice Portal to provide information to the public on how to use court services.
• Launch of a Short Messaging System (SMS) and the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services.
• Introduction of Mobile Money facilities for payment of court fees and other related payments.
• Introduction of an online filing system (e-filing).
• Development of software to assist in judgement writing.
• Establishment of an ombudsman to promote good governance.

Challenges

• Funding for the Courts of Judicature as an arm of government is insufficient to sustain all the desired projects.
• Insufficient staffing especially the Hon. Justices and Judges thereby hindering the Courts of Judicature core mandate to dispense justice.

Ag. Chief Justice's Detailed Speech