Mr. Francis Gimara President, Uganda Law Society at the Civil Procedure reforms meetion
Kampala. The Civil Justice Reform Committee on November 13, 2017 held a validation workshop for the reform of the law on Civil Procedure.
The Hon. the Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Bart M. Katureebe, presided over the half-day engagement of various stakeholders in the Justice sector, held at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala.
In attendance were the Hon. Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, High Court Judges, Registrars, Chief Magistrates.Others included members of the Uganda Law Society, officials from the Justice Ministry, Senior Advocates in private practice, among others.
The Hon. CJ told the meeting that he had tasked the Civil Justice Committee to come up with comprehensive proposals on Civil Procedure.
"The current rules are either too archaic or sophisticated and also contribute to the maladministration of justice. That is why we set up this Committee to come up with complete proposals that work for us and our people," he said.
The Hon. the Principal Judge, Hon. Justice Dr Yorokamu Bamwine, chairs the 14-member Committee put in place by the CJ in August 2017 to make proposals on amending Civil Procedure Rules.
Under the proposed changes, a lawyer holding brief for another will have to be ready to proceed with the case. The changes are intended to reduce case backlog.
The rules in offing also give powers to the court registrars to handle interlocutory matters within 14 days of filing such application. Such matters are usually dealt by only Judges, either before the full trial or final decision is made.
It further states that all interim application shall be inter-parties save for exceptional circumstances where a matter is urgent in nature and requires immediate court intervention and an ex-parte (one party) interim order shall be granted for a period not exceeding three days.
Advocates react
Mr. Maxi Mutabingwa, a senior advocate said the new rules will not be applicable because of the economic and social circumstances surrounding Uganda.He the proposed rules seem to work in developed countries like USA.
He argued that adjournments must be granted for sufficient cause and not be mechanically denied even after the lawyer has a case before another court.
"It is suicidal not to be given another adjournment because you are appearing before another court. These rules need scrutiny," he noted.
Mr. Muhammad Mbabazi, another advocate, observed that the rule tends to move away from an aggrieved party to handling public interest litigation matters and yet both have to be balanced.
The Hon. the PJ welcomed all the views and further suggestions from the different stakeholders. He said all the views from the members would be addressed by the Committee and incorporated into the final Report to the Rules Committee.
The Chief Justice said the Committee would go back and consider the proposals in greater depth and make a Report which will be considered and finalized by the Rules Committee by early next year.
Other Committee members include Hon. Justices;Fredrick Egonda Ntende and Geoffrey Kiryabwire (Court of Appeal), Hon. Judges;David Wangutusi, Stephen Musota, Flavia Anglin, Andrew Bashaija, Patricia Basaza and Christopher Izama Madrama (High Court) others are HW Gadenya Paul Wolimbwa(Chief Registrar), Mr. Francis Gimara (ULS President), Mr. Moses Sekaana(Private Attorney), HW Sarah Langa (Deputy Registrar) and Mr. Andrew Khaukha(Technical Adviser, Judiciary).
Posted 16th, November 2017
