The Chief Justice, Alphonse Owiny Dollo, has criticized the retirement age of High Court Judges at 65, saying that if he had the authority, he would change it.
He was addressing the seventeen judges on Wednesday who were appointed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni last May and are now undergoing a two-week residential induction at the Imperial Golf View Hotel, Entebbe.
The head of the judicial department said that at that age, a judicial officer has gained such a wealth of experience that he or she would be a reference point on matters of law and the administration of justice.
He was giving accolades to former Principal Judge Yorokamu Bamwine and retired Justice David Wangutusi, who he said were still resources. In the same terms, he was also not happy with the retirement of Court of Appeal judges at seventy.
The Chief Justice, who urged the new judges to read widely in order to have legal principles at their fingertips, also urged caution in granting injunction orders, particularly against government departments. He claims that many applicants are in violation of the law and simply use the orders to buy time or continue their bad behavior. Where government departments are on the receiving end, the orders have the effect of grounding government operations, which is dangerous.
The CJ urged the inductees to always exercise independence when discharging their judicial duties, but this did not mean abusing their own conscience by abusing discretionary powers. He said he was ready to defend any judicial officer against attack, but such defense would only come if the concerned judicial officer acted within the law.
Owiny Dollo said High Court judges are a court of record and should therefore strive to deliver fully reasoned judgments that are unimpeachable. The Principal Judge, Flavian Nzeija, who was represented by Justice Musa Ssekaana, urged the new judges to allow no room for error as the cost to the litigants in some cases amounted to total erosion of livelihood.
He urged the judges to exercise good customer care toward litigants, especially when handling complaints against judiciary staff. While highlighting the challenges of limited infrastructure, transportation, and personnel, Dr. Nzeija chastised station managers for failing to use the government’s small advance to address minor issues such as chair repair and courtroom painting.
Barbara Kilei, country manager of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), whose organization funded the workshop, advised the new judges to always separate themselves from emotions when writing judgments, as this is the only way to deliver judgments that will stand the test of time. She expressed the commitment of her organization to assisting the Uganda Judicial Training Institute to build capacity among judicial officials as a bedrock of the rule of law.