Backlog Committee Releases Report
The Hon. Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Bart Katureebe receiving the case backlog reduction committee report from the chairperson, Hon. Justice Richard Buteera
Kampala: According to a report by Case Backlog Reduction Committee (CBRC), there are more than 155,400 cases pending at all levels of courts as of January 31, 2017. Of these, 7,837 have been in the system for at least two years.
The committee chaired by Hon. Justice Richard Buteera, cited incompetence and corruption as some of the reasons for backlog in their report.
The report further shows that criminal cases constitute 44 per cent of unresolved cases, civil cases (33 per cent), land cases (14 per cent), family cases (three per cent) while commercial cases constitute two per cent. The report was handed over to the Chief Justice at the High Court in Kampala on March 29, 2017.
The findings followed the 2015 National Court Case Census, which revealed that a staggering 114,809 cases had not been disposed of, with one in every four pending for more than a decade. Case backlog refers to court cases not resolved within two years.
In commending the committee, the Hon. Chief Justice Bart Katureebe said the Judiciary and its stakeholders would study and implement the report.
"We have been accused of being slow and inefficient but we needed to make a diagnosis to find a solution. Many cases pending had been confused with backlog but this report has properly identified the causes and made recommendations for us to implement."
The Chief Justice said he would establish a taskforce to monitor implementation of the recommendations.
Posted 27th, March 2017
