Change tact on disputes: call

By Zephania Ubwani,The Citizen Correspondent

In Summary

• Judicial officers and lawyers within the East African Community advised to strive to understand the nature of ADR mechanisms
• Other main speakers were Lady Justice (rtd) Eusebia Munuo from Tanzania and  lady justices Prof Lillian T. Ekirikubinza, and Dr Tabitha Mulyampiti, both from the School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere University, Kampala. In attendance were judges from the partner states’ national courts, registrars and magistrates, government representatives and EAC Secretariat staff.

Arusha. Judicial officers and lawyers in the East African Community (EAC) have been called upon to explore the use of alternative dispute resolution  (ADR) mechanisms in handling civil and family disputes.

“The alternative mechanisms are not only faster but also offered choices to litigants as to who would handle their disputes in addition to preventing the invasion of privacy,” said Uganda Deputy Chief Justice Steven B. K. Kavuma.

Speaking during the official opening of a three-day training workshop for judicial officers on gender and the law, the judge urged judicial officers and lawyers to strive to understand the nature of ADR mechanisms.

“You should strive to understand how they can be integrated into dispute resolution frameworks both at the national and regional levels,” he said, according to a statement from the EAC secretariat.

The workshop themed “Mainstreaming Gender into Justice Systems in the Region” was organised by the East African Judicial Education Committee and the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the Ugandan judiciary.

It aimed at enhancing the knowledge of judicial officers on social context matters and sensitisation on gender and other issues connecting with law, fairness, equity and equality.

 The training provided an overview of the state of gender equality in the region and world over and effectively developed capacity and sharpened the competencies of the members of the judiciary on gender issues.

He added that increased pace of the EAC integration would inevitably result in increased disputes thus the need for judicial officers in the region to regularly enhance their knowledge on several issues including their understanding of socio-cultural issues and matters to do with law, fairness, equity and equality.

Justice Kavuma noted the paramount importance of the judiciaries in the integration process, adding that regular trainings offer an opportunity for judicial officers to play an active role in the promotion of justice in the region.

He said that judiciaries are expected to play a vital role in the EAC integration and actively participate in the development of jurisprudence in the region.

Justice Kavuma said that judicial officers could be powerful agents for social change especially when they work without gender bias and support gender equality, as their pronouncements carry the backing of the state.

“As a result, although generally only a small percentage of people directly use courts in any country, the influence a court can exert goes beyond those who come in to direct contact with them,” said the Deputy CJ.   The President of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), Dr Emmanual Ugirashebuja, reminded judicial oficers that as interpreters and arbitrators of disputes in the region, they have a specific role in the EAC.