News
Judiciary’s plan to make courts more welcoming to increase access to justice
Principle judge Yorokam Bamwine
The Principle judge Yorokam Bamwine has deplored the poor attitudes of court officials which he said has often turned away or threatened members of the public from accessing justice.
While officiating at the annual peaceful and inclusive access to justice conference convened by Legal Aid Service Providers Network ( LASPNET) at Hotel Africana in Kampala, Justice Bamwine noted that the hostile attitudes characterised with lack of good customer care behaviour displayed by many judicial officers turns many people away from courts, places they are supposed to get remedy from.
With better customer care, Justice Bamwine is confident that the public will find courts more welcoming.
The Principle Judge is the man who makes things happen in the judiciary – comparable to the Permanent Secretary in ministries. So one would wonder why Justice Bamwine was lamenting the poor attitudes of his staff. It turns out, the judiciary has a bigger plan to make the institution more welcoming than an obstacle on access to justice.
This was revealed by the Judiciary’s Spokesperson Solomon Muyita who revealed the grand plan.
Muyita told The Sunrise that the Judiciary wishes to recruit customer care professionals at every court across the country. He says these professionals would be responsible for welcoming members of the public, answer their queries regarding the status of their cases etcetera.
But Muyita regrets that the judiciary currently has budgetary limitations that hinder recruitment of such individuals. This is why they are resorting to inculcating the customer care principles among their existing staff so that whenever they interface with the public, the public finds it easier to relate with them.
He said: “Judicial officers interface with members of the public. They should be more receptive, and have an open door policy. Judges should not be like kings because members of the public are ideally their customers,” we hope that if our judicial officers have the required customer care attitude, it would help as we work on getting professionals.”
Comments
