Members of the Regional Court Administrators body
An umbrella body for court\r\nadministrators in East Africa is already taking shape. This was the outcome of\r\nthe agenda, Towards Establishment of Court administrators as a profession in\r\nthe East African Region held at Imperial Royale June 26, 2015. The 10 member\r\nteam were given an interim period of one year. Mr Jolly Joe Ssonko was elected\r\npresident of the Association of Court Administrators of East Africa (ACAEA) Ugandan\r\nchapter while Mr. Timothy Onangu is the president of the regional chapter.
\r\n\r\n
Some of the matters that arose during\r\nthe discussion were the lack of an elaborate grading scheme for court administrators.\r\nIn his presentation, Mr. Ssonko asked the administrators to at least get basic\r\nknowledge of legal issues since courts must pilot new initiatives to determine\r\npotential successes.
\r\n\r\n
The tour started at the Judicial\r\nStudies Institute (JSI) on Thursday morning with the theme; Learning from Each\r\nOther; Diffusing Smart Practices in Court and Registry Management in the\r\nRegion. During this session, administrators were taken through the structure,\r\nschedule and duties of office supervisors, registry\r\nmanagement and case flow, Court\r\nCase Administration System, the establishment of a model court as well as the\r\nstructure of the Kenyan judiciary and the place of the court administrator in it.\r\n
\r\n\r\n
The\r\ngroup was also taken on a tour of selected courts and the Judiciary\r\nheadquarters in Kampala.
\r\n\r\n
In his remarks, Hon. Justice David Wangutusi,\r\nthe JSI representative asked the participants to utilize time as a serious\r\nresource. "Time is a serious resource and it is not renewable. When it is not\r\nused productively, that is when they are hiccups in the system.
\r\n\r\n
He urged the court administrators to\r\nhave a reading culture so as to remain relevant. He said, "You must know the\r\nstakeholders of the system. A court is run together with the public.”
\r\nHe urged the administrators to value the input of the public because without\r\nthem, there would be a breakdown in the system.
\r\n\r\n
Hon. Justice Wangutusi further said to\r\nachieve results, there was need to explore the possibility of court\r\nadministrators becoming professionals in court management.
\r\n\r\n
This was a sentiment that was echoed\r\nby Ms. Mary Njoki in her presentation The Case for Court Administration as a\r\nprofession.
\r\n\r\n
She said, "There is need for\r\nprofessional standards as well as formal training in court administration.” Ms Njoki said an umbrella body would help\r\nlobby for recognition from judiciary as well as offer a platform to interact\r\nwith the international association of court administrators.
\r\n\r\n
The activities were concluded with\r\ndinner and the launch of the interim ACAEA leadership. The function was\r\noverseen by Hon. Justice Aggrey Muchelule and Mrs Dorcas Okalany the secretary\r\nto the Judiciary.
\r\n\r\n
Resolutions
\r\n\r\n
· \r\nEstablish\r\nminimum qualifications of court administrators
\r\n\r\n
· \r\nForm\r\na regional association
\r\n\r\n
· \r\nDraw\r\na training curriculum with clear policy and guidelines
\r\n\r\n
· \r\nFormulate\r\nterms of reference for elected council members
\r\n\r\n
· \r\nMap\r\nout a strategy to incorporate court administrators into service
Posted 1st, July 2015
