UBOS to register court case backlog

The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Judiciary and World Bank have agreed to partner in improving the quality of statistics in the Justice Law and Order Sector in the country.

The agreement resulted from a meeting held in the office of the Chief Justice, Bart Katureebe, in Kampala.

While speaking to different stakeholders, Katureebe emphasized the need for reliable statistics in the execution of the work of judicial officers.

 "Quality statistics will help us tell our story and the contribution we are making in the development of this country," Katureebe said.

The UBOS Executive Director, Dr Chris Ndatira Mukiza, said that there is a need for impartial and independent statistics to reflect what is on the ground.

He told the meeting that UBOS would work with all stakeholders to establish a statistical unit in the Judiciary, provide technical support, and give overall data quality assurance.

"If you cannot measure it, then you cannot manage it," Mukiza said.

Mukiza added that with statistics, the judiciary would be able to measure some indicators such as the Case Disposal Rate, percentage of backlog cases in the system, and the average time is taken to dispose of cases.

Romain Galgani, a Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), an official from the World Bank, explained that they are working with the Judiciary to provide options for improved, technical, and allocative efficiency to enable the sector to contribute to economic development through improved access to justice.

He said that this would be achieved in three tiers namely; Economic analysis of the contribution of the Judiciary to Uganda's development goals, Expenditure, and Institutional review of the Judiciary, and enhancing the use of data.

"We must work together to ensure that data informs decision making and helps us to communicate positively, on the achievements made in the judiciary," Galgani explained.