Hon. Kadaga Promises to Support the Judiciary Administration Bill on Floor of Parliament
The Rt Hon Speaker, Hon Rebecca Kadaga speaking at the opening of the New Law Year
Kampala. Speaker of Parliament,Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, assured the Judiciary management that she will push for the passing of the Judiciary Administration Bill once it's brought before the floor of Parliament for debate.
Hon Kadaga says she had not yet received the long awaited Bill in the House but once it showed up, she would have it put on the Order paper immediately for debate.
The core objective of this Bill is to operationalize provisions of the Constitution relating to the Judiciary, administration of justice, improve efficiency and effectiveness of the courts, strengthen the independence and streamline the administration of courts.
"We have had a number of challenges in improving the effectiveness of the Judiciary for instance the resolution to increase the number of High Court judges was made more than 15 years ago but of course it's not in our hands,"the Speaker said during the opening of the New Law Year 2018 at High Court in Kampala on January 29, 2018.
"I am glad that finally the Judiciary Administration Bill will come and my lord if it came today, it will be on order paper tomorrow," Hon Kadaga stated amidst clapping.
Earlier in his remarks, Deputy Attorney General, Hon. Mwesigwa Rukutana told the different justice actors that Cabinet discussed and passed the Judiciary Administration Bill last week and that it had been forwarded to Parliament for debate.
"The Bill was discussed and approved by Cabinet last week and it has been forwarded to Parliament which exercises the legislative mandate. The Bill contains the clause on retirement benefits for all judicial officers which has been a subject of contention for some time," the Deputy Attorney General said.
"Soon, I will present the same before Parliament for debate and approval in accordance with the constitutional provisions," he continued.
In his remarks, Chief Justice, Hon. Justice Bart Katureebe revealed that in September this year (2018), the Judiciary will celebrate the life and achievements of the late Chief Justice, Benedicto Kiwanuka. Hon. Justice Kiwanuka was dragged from his chambers at the High Court building and murdered during the reign of the then President, Idi Amin because of his convictions of defending the rule of law.
During the New Law year, the Chief Justice on behalf of the Judiciary gives a statement of accountability of resources and trust invested in them by the public in administration of justice in the past year and also makes promises for the New Year.
This was the second time running when the three arms of the State jointly grace the opening of the New Law year.
The Chief Justice also in his address pointed out some of the achievements that the Judiciary experienced notable among them being the increased disposal rate of cases and a number of reforms aimed at enhancing the administration of justice.
"In this period alone, we disposed of a total of 175,000 cases resulting in a significant reduction of case back from 34% to 25%," the Chief Justice revealed.
The other achievements of the 2017 that Hon. Justice Katureebe shared was the increased use of Alternative Dispute Resolution in civil cases and Plea Bargaining in criminal cases that he said ensured timely adjudication of the cases.
The President of the Uganda Law Society (ULS), Mr. Francis Gimara, in his remarks, called upon the Judiciary to use the available resources to administer justice to Ugandans this new law year.
Mr Gimara also used this function to bid farewell to the legal minds on grounds that he retires this April as the president of law society after two years of service.
In that respect, Chief Justice commended Mr Gimara for the reforms that he introduced during his reign and wished him well in his next endeavors.
"I would like to commend the president of the Uganda Law Society for the excellent relationship that exists between the Bar and the Bench. We have worked successfully on the law reforms, case backlog reduction and generally strengthening the rule of law," he said.
"Mr President, I am however, informed that you will retire this year. I thank you for the reforms you have introduced in the Uganda Law Society and the rich friendship we have nurtured over the two years between the Bar and the Bench. I wish you success in your new endeavors and look forward to tapping your passion and vast knowledge of the rule of law issues," Chief Justice said as he bid fare to Mr Gimara.
Court orders
During the ceremony, Hon. Kadaga said the three arms of Government should adapt to the doctrine of separation of powers to allow each arm perform its duties without interference.
She said no order issued by any court shall be served or effected when Parliament is sitting under the Parliament Privilege Act of 1955.
Responding to the Speaker's remarks, the Chief Justice defended the Courts' powers to summon the Speaker as a defendant.
He said once suits are filed, courts have no option but to issue summons to those named as defendants.
"I want to assure the Speaker that the Judiciary has no intention of interfering with the internal work of Parliament. However, if a citizen of this country chooses to move under Article 137 of the Constitution and goes to court, then the Judiciary has a duty to consider the allegations and make appropriate orders," he said.
Posted 30th, January 2018
