Hon. Judges at the meeting in Kabira
KAMPALA: On\r\nAugust 31, 2015 Hon. Judges countrywide met in Kampala to discuss a number of\r\nproposed amendments in the criminal and civil justice system aimed at speeding\r\nup the delivery of justice to Ugandans at the time when the judiciary is\r\nstruggling with a huge case backlog. The meeting was organized by Uganda Law\r\nReform Commission (ULRC) on the request of the Chief Justice with the view that\r\njudges should make a contribution to proposed amendments in laws.
The\r\ntargeted proposed amendments are to be made in the Magistrates Court Act (MCA),\r\nCivil Procedure Act and the Trial on Indictment Act (TIA). All these laws have\r\nbeen in existence for more than 50 years and need to be tailored to suit\r\nUganda’s prevailing social-economic circumstances.
ULRC,\r\na government body that is mandated to constantly review the Acts and other laws\r\nwith a view to making recommendations for their systematic improvement, drafted\r\nthese amendments and the same were presented by Mr Andrew Khaukha to a group of\r\njudges who had gathered at Kabira Country Club.
Court\r\nprocedure
In\r\nhis presentation on the proposed\r\namendments, it was suggested that a witness who has given evidence without\r\ntaking oath, should be cross examined since their evidence forms part of the\r\ncourt record.
Mr. Khaukha\r\nexplained that the current provisions prohibit cross examining such a witness\r\nand yet cross examination is one of the ways of testing the credibility of both\r\nwitnesses and evidence.
He\r\nadded that if such evidence is not challenged by way of cross examination, it\r\nmight contain false-hoods which will remain on court record that may lead to\r\nmiscarriage of justice.
"Proposal\r\nsection 128 of the Principal Act is to be amended to provide for cross\r\nexamination even when the statement is not on oath,” the proposal reads in\r\npart.
Empowering\r\nMagistrates
The\r\nother proposed amendment was that if a magistrate is satisfied that the\r\nexamination of a given witness is necessary for ends of justice to be met but\r\nthe attendance of that same witness cannot be procured, then the\r\nmagistrate may issue an order to another magistrate within the local\r\njurisdiction where the witness resides to take his/her evidence. As it is now,\r\na Magistrate cannot not ask another Magistrate to take evidence of a witness\r\nwho is in his jurisdiction.
Testimonies\r\nfrom Children
The\r\nother notable proposal discussed touches on children. As it is now the law\r\ndemands that the evidence of a child has to be corroborated with other evidence\r\nin order to make sense and also help in securing a conviction by the\r\nprosecution.
This\r\ncurrent position according to the ULRC creates a situation of giving less\r\nweight to the evidence of the child unless corroborated and yet chances are\r\nthat the child would be more truthful.
But\r\nin the proposed amendments, it is suggested: "the Principal Act be amended\r\nproviding that where in the opinion of the court a child of tender years\r\nunderstands the nature of oath, he or she has sufficient intelligence to\r\nunderstand the duty of speaking the truth, the evidence of that child may not\r\nrequire corroboration.”
The\r\nframers of the proposed amendments also want a new justice system called plea\r\nbargain be incorporated in the Magistrates Court Act so that offenders who are\r\ntried by the magistrates and are willing to plead to the charges under plea\r\nbargain, can do so immediately. Currently, the access to justice initiative is\r\nonly operating in the high courts.
Hon.\r\nJustice Dr. Yorokamu Bamwine, the Principal Judge, in his remarks said, "We\r\nhave talked about these amendments/reforms for a long time. My prayer is that\r\nwe support them after due debate and implore ULRC to quickly pass them on to\r\nthe Attorney General for presentation without any further delays.”
Find\r\nrelated stories
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Judges-meet-to-amend-justice-system/-/688334/2854822/-/yg6x9wz/-/index.html
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http://observer.ug/news-headlines/39641-judges-divided-on-assessors-relevance
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Posted 2nd, September 2015
