'Judiciary Act useless without financial independence'

KAMPALA - Despite approval of the Administration of Judiciary Act, Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo says it could remain useless without the Judiciary attaining financial independence.

He made the remarks during a one-day symposium organised by the Judicial Training Institute to devise means of implementing the Administration of Judiciary Act 2020 at Mestil Hotel on Thursday last week.

On June 19, President Yoweri Museveni assented to the Administration of Judiciary Bill, 2018.

Several senior judges, including Owiny-Dollo's predecessor, Bart Katureebe, described the approval of the Act as a game-changer in the administration of justice in the country.

Secretary to the judiciary query 

Owiny-Dollo, however, is against Article 3 of the Act, which states that in performance of their duties, the secretary to the Judiciary, who also

doubles as the institution's accounting officer shall be answerable to Parliament.

Owiny-Dollo says the secretary to the Judiciary should be answerable to the Chief Justice, who is the head of the Judiciary.

He has threatened to submit the Judiciary's budget for the next financial year to the President for approval.

"We are no longer part of that budgetary system where the finance ministry comes up with a sealing on budgetary proposals. If we do, there is no point having the Administration of Judiciary Act," Owiny-Dollo said.

Owiny-Dollo said the next budget for the Judiciary should be as big as that of Parliament.

"I will not accept arrogance from some of these technocrats. I am not asking for anything for my family. What I am asking for is for the people of Uganda, for whom I hold this office.

The people I am going to negotiate with do not own the money that I will be asking for. It is the people of this country who own this money," Owiny-Dollo said.

No legal backing

He also queried the relevance of financial obligation charge on the Consolidated Fund, saying it has no legal backing.

"In law, what does it mean? I will seek clarification on this because I know that Uganda is not a failed state," Owiny-Dollo said.

On the issue of decentralisation of services, the Chief Justice said the courts ought to be included as indispensable integral components of the decentralisation process.

Court of Appeal Justice and chairperson of the Terms and Conditions of Service Committee, Geoffrey Kiryabwire, unpacked the 10-part Act for the participants.

"The journey of the Judiciary law began in 1998 and there is a lot to be done to realise the independence of the Judiciary, such as the establishment of the Judicial Council and how to manage the Judicial Service de-linkage process, among others," Kiryabwire noted.

Support staff ignored 

He pointed out that the Act is silent on the retirement benefits for support staff.

"It was important to know how retired judicial officers get on board and the regulations and rules that govern judicial service, but it was not done," Owiny-Dollo said.

Call for full-time commission 

Prof. Frederick Ssempebwa, who was one of the two discussants on the implication of the Judiciary Act, called for a full-time Judicial Service Commission to meet the terms and conditions set out in the Act.

In regard to implementation of the Act, Ssempebwa emphasised the need to cultivate relations with the other arms of government to ease implementation of the Act.