Formally closing the biennial Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLMM) in Zanzibar yesterday, he said that the move will greatly speed up the delivery of justice.
It is a fully-featured system that automates and tracks all aspects of the case life cycle from initial filing through disposition and appeal to each individual party for any case, he stated
The system provides a public portal for users to file documents electronically with access to information for all case types across all jurisdictions, he asserted, highlighting that to facilitate effective implementation of e-CMS, the government has delivered video-conferencing facilities to criminal justice institutions for case proceedings.
An order has similarly been issued to translate the country’s laws from English to Swahili and deliver judgments in Swahili as part of efforts to ensure access to justice for all, the president declared.
Commonwealth member countries need to strengthen the use of digital systems in judicial procedures to advance access to justice for all, he said, underlining the need to take up strategies meant to ensure that all groups of people in the society have effective access to legal services.
Strengthening information, communication and technology (ICT) infrastructure outlays and digital conversion of case management is essential to effectiveness and integrity of the judicial process, he said.
“We should endeavour to create infrastructure for people with disabilities in all areas of service provision particularly in the areas of justice, adopting systems where persons with disabilities access their rights despite those challenges,” he said.
The government has undertaken legal sector reforms accommodating digital methods in procedures for easy access to justice especially for vulnerable people, he stated, underscoring the relevance of legal sector reform to attracting foreign direct investments.
The country must capitalize on its rich natural resources and strategic positioning, where Commonwealth member states need to tap investment opportunities in the blue economy, tourism and hospitality industries in particular.
Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth secretary general, said the delegates will leave Zanzibar with a powerful new consensus to take the next decisive steps forward together.
“We have the basis for a new legal framework to unleash the benefits of the digital economy. We have the consensus to develop and deploy innovative new tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of people centred justice to provide vital protections for the most vulnerable members of our societies,” she declared.
Haroun Ali Suleiman, the Constitutional, Legal Affairs, Public Service and Good Governance state minister in the Zanzibar President’s Office said the judiciary in Zanzibar is now on the move to paperless services by taking advantage of technology on ICT application.
The judiciary has already initiated processes for an integrated case management system, involving the School of Law tasked to train persons to become qualified advocates and offer continued legal education.
The Department of Legal Aid is similarly charged with popularising legal education at the grassroots, encouraging people to register as paralegals assisting those in need to obtain remedy via the formal or informal institutions of justice, he added.
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