East Africa Court of Justice president bids farewell

By Hillary Nsambu

Outgoing president of the East African Court of Justice, Justice Harold Nsekela, wants the court to have permanent judges to handle the big volume of cases that are pending hearing at its original stage.

Nsekela said that there were many cases being filed into the Court’s different registries in the member countries that end up being referred to the its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.

The cases needed constant hearing and quick decisions that require permanently appointed judges to the court at the original stage.

“It is high time the East African Court of Justice had permanent judges at the initial stage, who should constantly hear and decide cases that are being filed into its registries in big numbers from member countries,” Nsekela proposed.
 

Nsekela said that the present way of judges carrying out their work at the EA Court of Justice while at the same time carrying out their judicial work at their local jurisdictions stalls the cases that come in from different member states which needed expeditious disposal.
 

The East African Court of Justice Chief law lord, who is due to relinquish his term of office on June 25, 2014, having been appointed in 2006, was in Kampala on Tuesday to say farewell to Uganda Judiciary officials enroute to Rwanda and other member countries.

Acting Chief Justice (CJ) and Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Remmy Kasule, in company of other Court of Appeal/Constitutional Court Justices and many other High Court judges, received Justice Nsekela at Twed Tower, Nakasero, where they held an hour’s cordial discussion over tea and coffee.
 

Justice Kasule represented the Acting CJ/DCJ Steven Kavuma who was reported to be out of the country on official duty.

The EA Court of Justice registrar, Prof Dr John Eudes Ruhangisa, accompanied Justice Nsekela, who are both Tanzanians.
 

In a separate interview, Justice Kasule told The New Vision that the court is one of the organs responsible for integrating East Africans in the area of the administration of justice.

Its main role is to interpret the provisions of the East African Community Treaty, so that whatever is done in any partner state is not in violation of the provisions of that treaty.