Buteera hails video conferencing for widening access to justice

________________

Deputy Chief Justice Richard Buteera has revealed that the video conferencing system is a game-changer for the Judiciary, enabling them to expedite cases virtually without the physical appearance of parties, thereby widening access to justice in the country.

Buteera noted that virtual court hearings are also helping the Judiciary overcome some of the bottlenecks in the administration of justice, such as unnecessary adjournments arising from the non-appearance of parties in court, which has contributed to case backlogs.

Buteera made the revelation while presiding over the launch of eleven new sets of video conferencing equipment at the Commercial Division of the High Court on March 21, 2025.

Commending the World Bank for donating the equipment to the Judiciary, Buteera said ICT is fundamentally changing how people learn, interact, and work, and that the Judiciary must move in that direction and adopt emerging technologies to keep up with current global technological trends.

“The use of virtual court hearings is the modern trend in this fourth industrial revolution era. Access to courts is evolving beyond physical spaces, offering services through technology like online hearings. This is aimed at improving access to justice. The Judiciary and the development partners are strategically positioning the courts to become more user-friendly, convenient, and cost-effective to all users through the use of ICT,” Buteera said.

Buteera said the Judiciary is using ICT as an innovation to partly resolve the challenges faced in the administration of justice, such as case backlog, among others.

He commended the Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP) for spearheading the project.

Representing the World Bank country director at the event, Marjorie Mpundu said the World Bank, through CEDP, is proud to finance the Judiciary’s digital journey.

“This video conferencing equipment is transformational as they aim to bring the Judiciary closer to the citizens of this country. They will reduce the need for physical presence in court, and we hope they will travel on travel time and consequently the cost of the Judiciary and litigants,” she said.

“These efficiencies will translate into lower operational costs for businesses and the judicial system, and the freed-up resources will go to other productive activities,” she added.

Commercial Court Judge Anna Mugenyi said using video conferencing to handle cases is cost-effective, as it reduces travel costs to court, especially for those outside the country, allows litigants and lawyers to attend court proceedings remotely, and cuts transport costs for prison authorities who would have transported inmates from prison to court.

Other advantages Mugenyi highlighted include allowing courts to hear cases where there are threats of insecurity, such as when a mob is baying for a suspect’s blood.

She cited a recent incident in Soroti where a mob had gathered outside the court premises to lynch a suspect, but the suspect appeared via video conferencing while in prison.

She also noted that virtual hearings reduce congestion in court, particularly in cases involving many people, such as family matters.

Information obtained from the prisons shows that, on average, the facility spends about Shs1.7 billion on fuel to transport detained suspects to and from prisons across the country and to maintain their fleet.

Lawyer Robert Kirunda applauded the Judiciary for the innovation, saying he had a court hearing that coincided with his studies in the US but was able to represent his client virtually.

“The case was before the head of the Commercial Division of the High Court, Stephen Mubiru, who is well known in the legal circles as a judge who doesn’t entertain adjournments of cases. I explained to him my scenario, and he said I only needed to assure him that I would have a stable internet connection. I took a gamble, which eventually worked out. It was a good experience for me because I was in the US and my clients were in Kampala,” Kirunda said.

Statistics obtained from the Commercial Court show that 534 cases have been heard via video conferencing since 2023.

Frank Baine, the spokesperson of the Uganda Prisons Service, said video conferencing has reduced the transportation costs for inmates from courts to prisons.

“It will be the best option because we inconvenience the public with our buses as we push other road users off the roads. Also, security-wise, it helps in not transporting high-profile inmates who may cause security incidents along the way to court or back. We even have to involve a cocktail of other security organs while transporting them. So teleconferencing is the best way to go,” Baine said.

Despite the numerous advantages of the video conferencing system, the Judiciary argues that unstable internet connections, differences in devices and software, the lack of window blinders affecting the quality of virtual proceedings, and poor attitudes from some court users remain challenges for the innovation.