Hon. Judges Want Legal Framework to Include Appellate Mediation
The Hon. Deputy Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Steven Kavuma and participants at the two day training on Appellate Mediation at Kabira Country Club
Kampala. Judges have recommended for amendment\r\nof the laws and rules governing appeal processes to provide for mediation as a\r\nprocedure in the administration and delivery of justice in the country.
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Speaking\r\nat the two day training in Kampala, the Hon. Judges unanimously agreed to adopt\r\nmediation as a mechanism of resolving disputes at the court of appeal.
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"There\r\nshould be legal regime for mediation at the Court of Appeal so that the\r\nultimate result is not questionable. It may not serve the purpose if the\r\nparties if parties agree on certain terms and yet it is not reflected in the\r\ndecision of the Court of appeal,” said Hon. Justice Remmy Kasule of the Court\r\nof Appeal and Constitutional Court.
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Hon.\r\nJustice Catherine Bamugemereire suggested that there is need to amend the rules\r\nof procedure governing the Court of Appeal procedure to reflect mediation.
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The\r\nJudiciary in partnership with United States based Pepperdine University School\r\nof Law organised the training aimed at enhancing the judges with skills of\r\nmediation at appeal as an alternative dispute resolution.
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Deputy\r\nChief Justice, Hon. Justice Steven Kavuma said that a five member committee\r\nwould be instituted to examine and analyse the suggestions to come up with a\r\nproposal to be presented for validation among Judges.
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"The\r\nlegal framework is important but there is already enough ground for us to\r\nstart. The Constitution has provisions for us to invoke and apply to achieve\r\ntimely and just delivery of justice,” said Justice Kavuma.
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He\r\ndescribed mediation at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court as a useful idea\r\nas the judiciary struggle to reduce case back log in the country.
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"Mediation\r\nhas already made tremendous advancements in reducing case backlog and workload\r\nespecially at the High Court level while at the same time it has greatly\r\npromoted reconciliation among parties that have taken advantage of it. We have\r\nlearnt lessons along the journey of rolling out mediation,” Hon. Justice Kavuma\r\nsaid.
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He\r\nsaid mediation like other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms would have\r\nlasting positive impact in the struggle to make the judiciary more suited to\r\neffectively play its part in delivery of justice in the country.
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Hon.\r\nJustice Kavuma also revealed that the Judiciary leadership is working with\r\ngovernment to increase on the number of judges and magistrates to ease and\r\nhasten the adjudication of cases on top of other interventions like reform of\r\nthe procedural laws and the re-engineering of business processes aimed at\r\nshortening the time cases take in court.
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Appeal\r\nCourt Justice; Hon. Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire described mediation as a\r\nprocess for parties to resolve disputes amicably thereby saving court’s time\r\nand resources.
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"Because\r\nof the backlog of cases at appeal, we have found out that it is still possible\r\nfor parties to resolve their disputes without court hearing and making judgment\r\nin civil cases. Mediation resolves cases more quickly and allows people to\r\nresolve their own cases and reconcile with each other without involving\r\nlawyers,” said Hon. Justice Kiryabwire who is in charge of appellate mediation.
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He\r\nrevealed that mediation processes have started at the Court of Appeal on some\r\ncases as pilot before the programme is rolled out to entire\r\ncountry.
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Posted 4th, July 2016
