Digitising court proceedings expected to speed up the delivery of justice

Supreme Court judges from left: Njoki Ndung'u, Jackton Ojwang, Philip Tunoi and Chief Justice Willy Mutunga during a November 15, 2011 sitting. PHOTO | FILE 

By BRIAN WASUNA, bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The Judiciary Audiovisual and Transcription System is part of reforms introduced by the Chief Justice.

After several years of talking the talk, the Mutunga-led Judiciary has finally implemented a ...
transcription system that will record all court proceedings and save judges the tedious task of making longhand notes of lawyers’ arguments.

The transcription system has been on a pilot phase in the Commercial and Admiralty division of the High Court since February and is set to be rolled out to other sections of the halls of justice.

The pilot programme will run until August after which it will be rolled out to other divisions.

All court proceedings will now be recorded in audio and video and will be available to any interested parties within 24 hours upon request to the Deputy Registrar. The Judiciary says proceedings will be availed no later than one week after a request is made.

The Judiciary Audiovisual and Transcription System (Javit) is part of reforms introduced by Chief Justice Willy Mutunga intended to speed up the delivery of justice.

The system will now allow judges to engage more with litigants during court sessions.

The audio and video component involves the use of microphones and cameras which are connected to an encoder and audio equipment. Data is then sent to computer servers stored in a control room.

The data is stored in an Advanced System Format (ASF) which is meant for streaming media, hence can be used to store real time court proceedings.

Retrieval of the data is done in the control room, after which transcription software churns out typed court proceedings and the recorded version.

The process consists of a transcription room with studio facilities such as laptops, desktops, headsets, and foot switch pedals.

The transcription software provides for audio and video search, retrieval and play back.

Can’t delete content

There is display of time, date and recording location, and most importantly, the transcribers are not able to delete or change the content of a file.

This essentially means the final copy of a particular transcribed proceeding is as accurate as can be, which will ensure transparency.

Jerusha Gichohi, the deputy director of the Judiciary’s Directorate of Public Affairs and Communication, says the Javit system will also cut down on time taken to avail typed court proceedings to litigants.

Traditionally litigants have to wait for the judge’s secretaries to type out the handwritten proceedings. The judges are also limited as to how much they can capture from lawyers and witnesses as there is not enough time to note every word uttered. The Javit system will do just that.

“Time spent on taking notes by judicial officers slows down the process. Judicial officers concentrate on writing and this limits their observation of other court activities.

‘‘The e-proceedings will protect the integrity of court proceedings by ensuring accurate record and availability of the same throughout the case life cycle,” Ms Gichohi says.

There are back up systems in place just in case any technological hiccups arises, and the recording will be continuous as soon as a judge flags off proceedings to the moment he steps out.

“Proceedings will be available as soon as possible but not later than one week after the court rises. The recording of court proceedings is constantly monitored and in case of system challenges remedial actions are set in place to ensure continuity,” she holds.

The Javit system will also cut down any chances of cheeky litigants denying or attempting to edit what they previously uttered in court as the Javit system will have captured all their statements verbatim.

The system comes as a sigh of relief for judges and magistrates who have in the last four years come under fire for poor writing skills.

During the vetting process which kicked off in 2012, the interviewers found that most judges and magistrates’ handwriting skills were below par and recommended that they be trained.

Ensure transparency

Among the solutions suggested by some lawyers like Nzamba Kitonga was the use of technology to solve the problem.

“Javit offers an electronic version of proceedings that reflects in detail what transpired in court that facilitates the judges in writing of judgments.
‘‘The technology will ensure transparency in the management of court proceedings,” Ms Gichohi adds.

The Javit system will also come as a relief for some physically challenged individuals who have been sidelined by the one format of proceedings — the typed version.

Javit will see proceedings available in either typed (hard or soft copy), audio or video formats.

Dr Mutunga on Tuesday launched the system alongside an electronic diary for the entire High Court. The electronic diary is expected to hasten the scheduling of cases and keeping track of files stored in various registries.

The system will see members of the public served in registries according to their ticket numbers, rather than the current preferential system which favours those who are known to the clerks.

“It will help everyone get service because at times someone who is known by the clerks may get served first even though there were others who walked in earlier,” Ms Gichohi holds