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NATIONAL COURT OPEN DAY

KAMPALA - The National Court Open Day symposium at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala has kicked off.

Members of the Judiciary headed by Principal Judge Dr Flavian Zeija arrived at Kololo in a procession from the High Court in Kampala, the headquarters of the Judiciary.

Entities involved in the justice chain in the country such as the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Police, Prisons, Judicial Service Commission, Uganda Law Reform Commission among others, and several non-government organisations (NGO) involved in justice are showing case on what they do in regard to access to justice.

Court open days also serve as a mechanism for fighting corruption within the Judiciary as members of the public are given an opportunity to openly name and shame corrupt judicial officers and court support staffers. (All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba)

Members of the public have also started arriving at Kololo for the event.

Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo is expected to preside over the event, which is the first of its kind in the history of the Judiciary.

Addressing the media on the importance of the event last week, James Ereemye Mawanda, the Judiciary’s public relations officer, said the day has been designed for the Judiciary to sensitise the public on the court processes and to also receive feedback from them as consumers of the Judiciary services.

“The National Court Open Day is aimed at improving the performance of the Judiciary and this is through receiving feedback from the court users that will enable us to know where to improve,” Mawanda said.

“We call upon all members of the public who have complainants or interested in knowing the operations of the Judiciary to show up in big numbers to voice your concerns. This is not a day for the Judiciary but for the members of the public to air your views. We want to use your views to improve the image of the Judiciary,” Mawanda said.

Mawanda added that legal materials such as brochures explaining the court process will also be distributed to the participants for reference.

“Don’t come with offensive materials because we want a peaceful and interactive day,” he said.

Uganda Prisons band during the procession from the High Court in Kampala to Kololo Independence Grounds where the National Open Day Court is being held.

Court open days are interactive engagements that have been organised by the Judiciary at a given court for the public to give feedback and also to freely interface with the Judiciary and other stakeholders in the justice chain as a way of demystifying the processes and services offered by the Judiciary.  

Court open days also serve as a mechanism for fighting corruption within the Judiciary as members of the public are given an opportunity to openly name and shame corrupt judicial officers and court support staffers.

Mawanda said the National Court Open Day is among the deliberate efforts the Judiciary is making to strengthen accountability, scale up stakeholder engagements, sensitise court users and obtain feedback on services provided.

“The National Court Open Day is aimed at improving the performance of the Judiciary and this is through receiving feedback from the court users that will enable us to know where to improve,” Mawanda said.

He observed that public perception of the Judiciary is often affected by the misunderstanding about the institutional role as well as the attitudes towards court decisions on matters of public interest.  

“Generally, the perception is that a poor person can never win a case. Whereas this may not be true, the perception persists and has displayed certain levels of mistrust that is eroding public trust and the image of the Judiciary. All these efforts seek to boost the image of the Judiciary through strengthening participatory public engagement (court open days) and promotion of its brand,” he said.

Mawanda said while the Judiciary has been conducting court open days at the court levels, the National Court Open Day will provide the opportunity for the entire judiciary top brass to attend and to respond to the concerns of the people.

“With the presence of the top echelons at the helm of the Judiciary, informed answers shall be given to the people over the concerns they are expected to raise,” he noted.

Mary Kisakye, the registrar research planning and development in the Judiciary, said some of the activities of the day include demonstrations and sensitisation to the public on different court processes and exhibitions by the Judiciary and different justice institutions such as the Police, office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Uganda Prison among others.

Others include emphasising the mechanisms being re-engineered by the Judiciary for improved performance.

Kisakye said the national court open day will ride on the theme: A People-Centered Approach to Justice, which has been the theme for Judiciary this year.

A justice needs and satisfaction survey report by the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HIIL) with key stakeholders in the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and the Governance and Security Secretariat formerly JLOS released last month shows that the resolution rate of cases by the Judiciary has increased whereby around 55% of all the cases filed have been resolved.

The report indicates that while many did find a satisfactory resolution to their problems, 45% of them did not, highlighting a need for service delivery models that enable people to prevent and resolve legal problems effectively.

The report, however, shows that only 10% of legal problems reach the formal justice system, implying that 90% of the legal disputes in the country are resolved through informal justice mechanisms.

To that note, the Judiciary has since resolved to formalise alternative dispute resolution in administration of justice. 

Here is a highlight of pictures of the Judiciary's procession from the High Court in Kampala to Kololo Independence Grounds where the National Open Day Court is being held. All Photos by Eddie Ssejjoba

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Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny Dolo (L) at Kololo for the National Open Day Court.|

Justice minister Norbert Mao (R) arrives 

Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny Dolo (L) at Kololo for the National Open Day Court and Justice minister Norbert Mao (R).

Jane Frances Abodo (R), the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) greets Chief Justice Alphonse Owiny Dolo (L).

Several guests are in attendance

Uganda Prisons exhibits some of the items they make.

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