KAMPALA– Principal Judge Dr. Flavian Zeija has asked Registrars and Magistrates from all over the country to exercise judicial power with responsibility because they are the face of the Judiciary out there.
While officiating the closure of the two day Registrars’ and Magistrates’ Conference held at Hotel Africana Kampala , Zeija in his remarks read by Justice Musa Ssekana , noted that Magistrates are spread all over the country (close to people) , Registrars are first contact persons in Courts and so their conduct represents the image of the Judiciary.
“You should handle the cases brought before you carefully…Judicial power comes with humility because its derived from the people and exercised on their behalf.”
“The Supreme court of Canada noted that in order to keep the good image of the Judiciary , the judicial officer should be Knowledgable about the law , write decisions that are clear , competent and can stand out after close scrutiny. Not only to be fair and open minded but also appear fair and open minded as well as to be good listeners.”
Zeija applauded those judicial officers who have performed beyond expectations because its one of the reasons why the image of the Judiciary has greatly improved.
He further advised that inorder to achieve the judiciary’s transformation agenda , they should shun practices like; absentism, Laziness and promote timely deliverance of judgements, deliver quality judgements as well as encouraging other Alternative Dispute Resolutions like Plea bargain.
Justice Mike Chibita, Chairperson Judicial Training Institute, urged the Magistrates and Registrars to ensure to spend most of their time serving the people instead of focusing on their individual interests.
“…work ethic means you are hired to do work , you are paid to do work , so don’t spend time in your offices reading newspaper and social media platforms. Don’t let your court take the lead in case backlog.”
He also advised them to take the guidance they have received from the conference as well as to ensure that they respect their seniors, court users and colleagues if they are to be also respected.
This year’s conference was held under a theme “Making Access to Justice a Meaningful Contribution to Uganda’s Transformation Journey”
The Participants came up with several resolutions which are going to be forwarded to Judiciary top management for further action.
