Courts go on annual vacation
What you need to know:
- The annual court vacation is a longstanding tradition, with different categories of courts taking breaks at various times throughout the year
The Judiciary has embarked on its annual court vacation, a month-long break that began on July 15 and will end on August 15.
During this time, High Court and Magistrate's Courts will not be hearing civil cases, except those deemed urgent.
"The annual court vacation is a legal requirement under the Judicature Act," explained Mr James Ereemye Mawanda, the Judiciary's public relations officer. "It allows courts to accumulate judgments, weed out inactive cases, review work, and plan for the next period."
A court vacation is the time between the end of one term of court and the beginning of another. In Uganda, this is provided for under Rule 4 of The Judicature (Court Vacation) Rules (Statutory Instrument 13-20).
While court registries and criminal courts will remain open, the vacation provides judicial officers with a much-needed break to focus on deskwork.
The Judiciary has set performance targets to reduce case backlogs, with goals ranging from 80 cases per year for the Supreme Court to 600 cases per year for the Court of Appeal.
In 2017, the Judiciary responded to criticism from the Monitor clarifying that court vacations are not simply leave for judicial officers.
"Court vacations are essential for the efficient functioning of the Judiciary. Judicial officers work overtime, often taking work home and visiting locus on weekends. Court vacations help offset case backlogs."
As the courts take a break, the Judiciary is assuring the public that urgent matters will still be addressed.
"We want to assure the public that we will attend to urgent matters, and our registries will remain open," Mr Mawanda said.
The annual court vacation is a longstanding tradition, with different categories of courts taking breaks at various times throughout the year.
The Supreme Court and Court of Appeal will take their vacation from August 1 to August 31, while all courts take a general vacation from December 23 to January 7.