Judiciary urged to go full digital
What you need to know:
- “To cope with the current developments in the electronic age, courts should streamline virtually all their judicial and administrative processes through new information, communication and storage technology,” said Ferdinand Wambali, the Tanzania principal judge.
Arusha. Efficiency in the African courts can tremendously be improved if the judicial systems are digitalised. This was among the recommendations made at the Third Continental Judicial Dialogue, which ended here on Saturday.
“To cope with the current developments in the electronic age, courts should streamline virtually all their judicial and administrative processes through new information, communication and storage technology,” said Ferdinand Wambali, the Tanzania principal judge.
He told the meeting organised by the Arusha-based African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR) that the law and justice must keep pace with the changing times.
“This dialogue must lay emphasis on the use of technology in justice delivery,” he said, challenging the African countries to bring justice “quicker and closer to the people” through modern technology.
Judiciary officials at the meeting concurred that digitalisation of the court operations would also simplify filing of cases.
Ms Karin Pluberg from the German Development Cooperation agency (GIZ) emphasised that digital solutions were inevitable, noting that institutional structures should make use of the new technologies.
She emphasised that incorporation of technology in justice delivery in Africa should be taken as one of the priorities.
