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Our judiciary has failed to appeal to Ugandans- CJ
Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo speaks during the induction of 11 new High Court judges at Imperial Golf View Hotel, Entebbe on November 13, 2023. Photo/ Eve Muganga
What you need to know:
- The executive director of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI), Justice Damalie Lwanga said the induction creates a forum where the new judges are formally welcomed to the judiciary as High Court judges and oriented to understand the system and operations of the judiciary, what is expected of them as they administer justice in the office of judge of the High Court, what they should expect to receive from their employers and from government, likely challenges to encounter in their new role and how to deal with the situations.
The Chief Justice of Uganda, Alfonse Owiny-Dollo, has urged new judges to fully commit themselves to service in order to strengthen the administration of quality justice to Ugandans so as to make the judiciary more attractive amid growing mistrust.
According to the Chief Justice, excessive delays in dispensing justice and case backlog are some of the reasons some Ugandans don’t find courts appealing.
“You may have noted that for a long time, our judiciary has failed to appeal to the people of Uganda, mainly because of inordinate delays in delivery of justice and the case backlog pandemic. This unfortunate trend has largely been a result of under-staffing and under-funding, which we have strived to improve, with commendable success,’’ Justice Owiny-Dollo said on Monday while opening a two-week induction of 11 judges who have been elevated to the High Court.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in one of its surveys indicated that the trust Ugandans have in public institutions generally dropped during the four years leading to its most recent survey in 2017.
This, according to the National Governance Peace and Security Survey 2017, which UBOS released in December 2018, was an indicator of 'systematic governance disillusionment.'
The study revealed that trust in courts of judicature was at 47 percent, down from 62 percent.
Justice Owiny-Dollo emphasized that the constitution directs judges to see to it that the aspirations of Ugandans are taken into account in their delivery of justice.
“It is, therefore, important to appreciate the socio-economic setting in which we operate in order for us to hand down orders that are appropriate and acceptable to the communities we serve,’’ he added during the event held at Imperial Golf View Hotel in Entebbe.
There are, however, efforts to devise the Judiciary Transformation Agenda, which is intended to enhance access to justice across Uganda, through recruitment and deployment of more judicial and non-judicial officers and providing them with modern and adequate tools of work, and establishing more courts across the country in order to eliminate case backlog and to bring justice services nearest to the people.
“We have also strengthened the Judicial Training Institute(JTI) to offer up-to-date capacity building and refresher training to the judicial and non-judicial staff, reinforced the Inspectorate of Courts, to effectively supervise court operations, promoted judicial accountability, fought corruption and promoted innovations, simplified court processes and enhanced the use of ICT in case management and delivery of justice services,” he said.
The executive director of the Judicial Training Institute (JTI), Justice Damalie Lwanga said the induction creates a forum where the new judges are formally welcomed to the judiciary as High Court judges and oriented to understand the system and operations of the judiciary, what is expected of them as they administer justice in the office of judge of the High Court, what they should expect to receive from their employers and from government, likely challenges to encounter in their new role and how to deal with the situations.
“The main objective of the induction is to equip the new judges with the basic knowledge and skills necessary for their job. The course is designed to cover the most salient aspects that a judge is likely to be faced with in the course of dispensing justice and also ensure that they keep abreast with the new developments in jurisprudence, she said.
