Participants at the consultative meeting on best practices in the adjudication of land cases.
KAMPALA: A cross-section of Judicial Officers on Friday, December 7, 2018 took part in a consultative meeting on best practices in the adjudication of land cases.
The group numbering more than 30 comprised Judges of the High Court, Registrars,Deputy Registrars, Chief Magistrates and Magistrates Grade One.
The meeting which took place at the Judicial Training Institute (JTI) was organized with support from the Justice Law and Order Sector.
The JTI Executive Director JTI, Hon. Justice Dr. Henry Peter Adonyo, who opened the meeting said the main purpose was to critically examine the process of adjudicating land cases, map an effective case management business process and also agree on proposals for strengthening mediation and execution process.
He said if the land question is not handled well, it can lead to instability in the country. "The issue (land disputes) has compelled the leadership of the country to put in place special mechanisms to address the land question including setting up of the Commission of Inquiry into Land Matters."
He urged the participants to open up and share solutions with concrete recommendations that would contribute to a long and effective land dispute resolution process in the country.
Hon.Justice Moses Mukiibi presented a paper titled, "Best Practices of Land Disputes Arising from Mailo Land Tenure System."
One of the recommendations he made was for Judicial Officers to embrace Mediation tohelp reduce on the case backlog in the system.
Other facilitators included Ag. Commissioner Land Registration, Mr. Opio Robert, the Executive Director Uganda Law Society, Ms Joyce Nalunga and ASP Annet Kalungi from the Uganda Police Land Protection Unit.
The discussions rotated around basic principles of land law in Uganda, recent developments in addressing land title fraud and future prospects for access to information on Land Information Systems by the Judiciary, Strengthening Mediation and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution, strategies for improved access to land justice and effective execution.
The participants were drawn from jurisdictions where land disputes are prominent such as Mbale, Mubende, Gulu, Fort Portal, Wakiso, Mukono, Jinja and Mpigi,among others.
Posted 12th, December 2018
