The Judicial Training Institute has started a two-week induction and orientation exercise for Judges of the High Court who were appointed last year.
The training was flagged off by the Chief Justice, Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo on Monday at the Nakawa-based institute in Kampala.
He congratulated the 12 Judges upon their elevation to the position of Judicial Officers of courts of record, and attributed the induction delay to the COVID-19 pandemic, and budgetary constraints.
The Chief Justice thanked the Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Judiciary, Mr Pius Bigirimana, for allocating resources for the induction despite the current challenges presented by COVID-19.
He encouraged the Judges to always consult their senior colleagues, and urged them to always share their Judgments with him for critiquing.
He urged the leadership of JTI to resume the sharing of the East African Court of Appeal (EACA) Law reports with Judges, to help them improve their judgement writing.
“Courts are temples of justice, not statistics, do not shy away from making the right decisions in the dispensation of justice. You will be remembered for the justice rendered, not for the number of decisions delivered”, he said, and reassured the participants that training on electoral petition management will be conducted, to ensure that petitions arising from the coming elections are conducted in an effective and timely manner.
Supreme Court Justice and Chairperson of the JTI Governing Council, Stella Arach Amoko, emphasized that the goal of the induction was to familiarize the Judges with their new duties as well as ensuring that they are up to date with developments in legal jurisprudence.
Justice Arach said that the topics had been carefully selected to give the participants a quick introduction to the conduct of Court business and the etiquette expected of a judicial officer at the level of a High Court Judge.
The Chairperson of the Judicial Service Commission, Hon. Justice Benjamin Kabiito delivered the keynote address on Judicial Independence and Accountability. His presentation covered the legal regime, examination of the concepts of judicial independence and accountability – institutional and functional; role of the Judicial Service Commission in promoting independence and accountability in the Judiciary; threats to judicial independence and enhancement of independence and accountability of the Judiciary.
The Chief Registrar, Sarah Langa took the Judges through the Structure and Functions of the Judiciary while, the PS/SJ Mr Bigirimana explained the Terms and Conditions of Service of a High Court Judge, and the Role and Functions of Administrative Staff in the Judiciary.
