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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Judiciary top management has closed five High Court circuits temporarily due to the two days training scheduled for next week while the Anti-Corruption court has been closed due to Covid-19.
According to the Judiciary spokesperson Jameson Karemani, the Judiciary has chosen to close the registries of the Land, Commercial, Civil, Family and Criminal Divisions to allow their staff participate in a training of Electronic Court Case Management Information System-ECCMIS.
ECCMIS is a digital case tracking system that is expected to help quicken filing of cases, track them throughout the trial and provide progress updates to relevant parties.
The new nine billion shilling system which is yet to be rolled in all courts is also expected to reduce contact between the litigating public and court staff, with hopes that it will reduce on the corruption vice in the justice system.
Currently, the Judiciary is using the Court Case Administration System which has been criticized for being prone to corruption and delaying justice and the cases are recorded in documents and kept in manila paper file covers.
“Please take note that on 7th and 8th of June 2021, there will be no court hearings and registration of cases at Civil Division Court due to a training of Court Staff in an Electronic Court Case Management Information System ECCMIS. (Court clerks, Research Assistants, Transcribers, Records Officers, Data Entry Clerks and Process Servers in the ECCMIS phase one Courts) “, wrote Karemani.
A similar letter has also been written by various heads of the High Court circuits which are going for training.
According to Karemani, “Judges and Registrars will be present at the station. Those who have cases on those days can check with clerks after June 8th for alternative dates. The Court management regrets the inconveniences this has caused.”
He adds that however, the High Court circuits will be going on in shifts each taking two days starting next week at the training which will take place at the Judicial Training Institute -JTI Nakawa.
He noted that with time, the magistrates’ courts will also follow suite.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Court has also been closed for two weeks following confirmation of a positive Covid-19 case at one of the Judge’s chambers.
Karemani added that in other courts, if they register other positive cases, in order to avoid the spread of the deadly virus, they will have to first close such courts and then fumigate.
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