Courts to handle land disputes
Dec 10, 2006
ARBITRATION of land disputes has now returned to courts as it used to be. The Judiciary’s publicist, Erias Omar Kisawuzi, on Wednesday said Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki issued a directive over the matter, following the expiry of the contracts of members of the district land tribunals that were in
By Hillary Nsambu
ARBITRATION of land disputes has now returned to courts as it used to be. The Judiciary’s publicist, Erias Omar Kisawuzi, on Wednesday said Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki issued a directive over the matter, following the expiry of the contracts of members of the district land tribunals that were instituted in 1998 to adjudicate the land matters.
Kisawuzi said the directive would enable magistrates’ courts to handle land matters until new land tribunals were constituted.
The directive became operational on December 1.
Kisawuzi, who is also the registrar of the High Court circuit at Nakawa, said only the tribunal chairpersons’ contracts were still running up to 2008.
“However, because the chairpersons cannot work alone, the land disputes had to be referred back to the magistrates’ courts until the new members of the district land tribunals are duly constituted,†Kisawuzi said.
“All the pending cases of the district land tribunals shall be handed over by chairpersons or secretaries of the tribunals to magistrates designated by the Chief Registrar of the courts of judicature, with appropriate handover reports,†Odoki’s directive read.
Odoki further directed that all staff of the district land tribunals remain in office and be supervised by the magistrates’ courts until directed otherwise by the secretary to the Judiciary.
He also directed that the magistrates’ courts apply the Land Tribunals (procedure) Rules 2002 with the necessary modifications.
ARBITRATION of land disputes has now returned to courts as it used to be. The Judiciary’s publicist, Erias Omar Kisawuzi, on Wednesday said Chief Justice Benjamin Odoki issued a directive over the matter, following the expiry of the contracts of members of the district land tribunals that were instituted in 1998 to adjudicate the land matters.
Kisawuzi said the directive would enable magistrates’ courts to handle land matters until new land tribunals were constituted.
The directive became operational on December 1.
Kisawuzi, who is also the registrar of the High Court circuit at Nakawa, said only the tribunal chairpersons’ contracts were still running up to 2008.
“However, because the chairpersons cannot work alone, the land disputes had to be referred back to the magistrates’ courts until the new members of the district land tribunals are duly constituted,†Kisawuzi said.
“All the pending cases of the district land tribunals shall be handed over by chairpersons or secretaries of the tribunals to magistrates designated by the Chief Registrar of the courts of judicature, with appropriate handover reports,†Odoki’s directive read.
Odoki further directed that all staff of the district land tribunals remain in office and be supervised by the magistrates’ courts until directed otherwise by the secretary to the Judiciary.
He also directed that the magistrates’ courts apply the Land Tribunals (procedure) Rules 2002 with the necessary modifications.