The Judicial Service Commission of Zimbabwe and the ICJ are holding a first-term symposium for Judges from Zimbabwe at Elephant Hills, Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on 4-5 April 2014.
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku opened the meeting today and emphasized the importance of the judiciary improving in its effectiveness and efficiency in justice administration, given that the core business of the judiciary is justice delivery as a service to the public.
Arnold Tsunga, the Director of ICJ’s Africa Program, advised the Zimbabwean judiciary to move into improving on the quality of justice, since the judiciary had now satisfied the more quantifiable objectives through achieving a satisfactory threshold of volumes of disposed cases and eradicating the backlog.
“There is therefore need to move from quantity to quality in justice delivery, and I pledge the continued support of the ICJ in this regard,” said Arnold Tsunga.
Chief Justice Peter Shivute of Namibia, Chairperson of the Southern African Chief Justices Forum (SACJF) and the guest of honour at the Symposium, emphasized the importance of continuous professional development of the bench and networking among peers within the region.
He also emphasized the need for judiciaries in Africa to improve on case management and to work with international partners such as the ICJ to improve effectiveness in justice administration.
The topics to be covered during the two-day symposium include: aspects of the new Constitution, particularly areas affecting the judiciary; how to effectively handle criminal reviews and the “motion roll”; how to effectively organize general judicial work; writing a judgment and drafting of court orders; and effective justice delivery with consideration of proposed turn-around strategies.
The JSC, ICJ and the SACJF will also take opportunity of this meeting to reflect on the Southern Africa Chief Justices Forum seminal AGM for 2014 and make appropriate announcements in due course.
Contact
Arnold Tsunga on +27731318411 or Martin Masiga on +27782349125