The Judiciary is in the final stages of introducing a digital platform that will allow complainants to file court cases online from wherever they are as part of measures to improve administering of justice in the country.
The revelation was made Chief Justice Bart Katureebe while meeting the members of the parliamentary budget committee at the High Court premises in Kampala yesterday.
“We have the issues of petty corruption. You go to a court, you meet a clerk and will say ok, give me some money and I file your case and sometimes he will even tell you more than what is needed to file the case, then you come to follow your case he will tell either your file is missing or I need so much for the magistrates, the magistrate is asking for so much and yet many times these magistrates even don’t know that they have asked for money, this is corruption. In some cases, your case is progressing and they say you see your case has been pushed to next year so come next year but if you can do something I can convince them to bring it forward,” he said.
He said as the Judiciary, they are rolling out an automated system that will allow complainants to file cases without visiting the court premises.
He said the system will be so easy that each person can follow the status of his or her files from home, so long as the person has access to computer and internet.
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“We are trying to do some automation where ultimately you can file your case right from your home anytime of the day and night and you will be given a number. You can log in and check the status of your file and the supervisors can log in and see which case was filed and what its progress is.”
Chief Justice Bart Katureebe said the procurement of the systems is already ongoing and hopes that the system will kick-start in January next year.
“Government started off by giving us Shs6b, the procurement is at an advanced stage and we are progressing. We think in the New Year this system will start. We are starting with the top courts. The Supreme Court, the appellate courts, the high courts and the magistrates’ courts of Nakawa, Mengo, and others in Kampala so that we give it a year of operation and study then we can roll it over,” he said.
According to him, all cases of missing files, corruption and other malpractices within the judiciary sector will be eliminated. “We will do away with this petty corruption, we will do away with supervision and we do away with missing files.”
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