Judiciary goes digital in line with new normal

The coronavirus has forced changes in how government and private business run, and the Ugandan judiciary has adapted to the new normal by investing in digital platforms.

It has automated case filing, courtroom hearings, issuance of legal summonses and court orders after years of reliance on the slow, inefficient manual systems.

These measures are likely to reduce hurdles for court users and minimise avenues for corruption. So far, 80 courts have been equipped with video conferencing tools by the National Information Technology Authority of Uganda and others installed in Luzira and Kitalya prisons.

However, usage of video conferencing in prisons and courts has been restricted to bail hearings during the lockdown following suspension of court operations in March to avoid the spread of coronavirus among judicial officers, suspects and general public within court premises. Guidelines on video conferencing in civil trials are yet to be issued.”

“We hope to install an electronic court case management system by yearend. Under that system, anyone with a mobile phone will be in position to track progress of a particular case online in real time.”

“We are considering interlinkages between the judiciary’s digital platforms and electronic databases maintained by the Police, Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney General’s Office, lands registry and National Identification and Registration Authority,” Justice Geoffrey Kiryabwire of the Court of Appeal and head of the Judiciary’s Technology Committee said.

In the guidelines issued last month to allow resumption of court operations, not more than five critical people, including a judge or magistrate, lawyers for the parties and their clients, are allowed in each courtroom while the same number is allowed in the gallery.