Deputy Chief Justice seeks collective efforts to transform judiciary

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera has asked the Judges to work together in the ongoing process to transform the Judiciary if they are to achieve their mandate of administering justice to all citizens.

Buteera made the remarks while officiating at the closing ceremony of the 23rd Annual Judges Conference at the Mestil Hotel in Kampala. The conference was organised under the theme, “the Administration of the Judiciary Act and Sustainable Transformation of the Judiciary”.

According to Buteera, the process to transform the Judiciary was given a green light after the enactment of the Administration of the Judiciary Act, 2020, which gives them financial self-autonomy and the independence to execute other functions related to the administration of justice in the country.

He indicated that the Judiciary has put in place a number of innovations such as the migration from use of papers in filing cases to filing electronically (the Electronic Case Management Information System) and wants the judicial officers to embrace it, and other technological advances such as use of video conferencing to hear cases which are also part of the process to transform the Judiciary.

The Deputy Chief Justice is hopeful that these innovations will help the country to achieve Sustainable Development Goals-SDG especially goal 16 which talks about promoting peace, justice and strong institutions.

“With the resources now in place, and more resources expected in the short run, we can create better court systems with rules and procedures that will guarantee speedy case disposal,” said Buteera.

He said this will be achieved if they work together and focus on improved administration of courts, putting an end to vices such as corruption, absenteeism, delayed delivery of judgements among others.

The conference which started on Monday had three major objectives; to discuss the performance of each court in the year 2021 against the set targets, the achievements and challenges arising from the implementation of the Administration of the Judiciary Act, and to share experiences and best practices in addressing gaps in the administration of justice and to come with a way forward.

However, the recommendations have not been presented to the media on grounds that the Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo will officially present them to the head of the state President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni today.

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