The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
THE Judicial Services Commission (JSC) will not backtrack on its Electronic Case Management System (ECMS), and the solution to any of the challenges faced is not to go back to the manual system, Constitutional Court judge Justice Paddington Garwe has said.
Speaking during the official opening of the Legal Year in Mutare yesterday, Justice Garwe said: “The JSC admits that there was, and understandably so, a lot of disgruntlement. The JSC takes the opportunity to unreservedly apologise for the administrative shortcomings revealed by the launch of the IECMS in the General Division of the High Court.
“Urgent intervention measures became necessary. A raft of measures designed to effectively respond to the challenges was introduced. To begin with, an alternative internet service provider was engaged with the aim that if one internet provider faced challenges, the other would come on board. It worked.
“Internet hubs were established at both Harare and Bulawayo High Courts. The hubs have capacities to accommodate a large number of legal practitioners at the same time. Urgent training was arranged for all members of staff in registries in addition to theoretical and practical capacitation for all lawyers.
“In addition to these measures, the Secretary of the JSC visited every province to check the functionality of the system and to engage with the legal practitioners in those provinces with a view to understand the challenges they were facing in order to effectively address the problems,” said Justice Garwe.
He said the view of the judiciary is that the solution to any of the challenges is not to go back to the manual system.
“The introduction of the measures stated above resulted in a system stability in the General Division of the High Court from November 2023. The myriad of challenges experienced in September and October disappeared.
“The view of the judiciary is that the solution to any of the challenges is not to go back to the manual system, as others have suggested. The benefits of the IECMS far outweigh the perceived and real challenges.
“I wish to conclude this segment by expressing my profound appreciation to all the stakeholders who have cooperated with the JSC and have shown enthusiasm in the digitisation program of the courts,” he said.
Justice Garwe said the feedback from judges acknowledged that the digitisation of courts has removed a significant burden from their workload.
“The feedback received is that judges have acknowledged that the digitisation of courts has removed a significant burden from their workload and that there cannot be any turning back.
“In the same vein, there is need to acknowledge the hard work put in by the Secretariat and all members of the support staff under the able leadership of the Secretary of the JSC.
“They are the drivers of the programme and have been so dedicated that at times many of them slept at their work stations to ensure the smooth changeover from manual to electronic system. The high degree of dedication and commitment to duty is commendable,” he said.
Apparently, this year’s legal year opening address coincides with the tenth anniversary of the country’s Constitution.
The ceremony in Mutare occurred simultaneously with other opening ceremonies that took place at other centres throughout the country.
The main ceremony was presided over by Chief Justice Luke Malaba in Harare, while similar proceedings took place at different seats of the High Court in Bulawayo, Masvingo and Chinhoyi.
Justice Garwe’s address was largely premised on the main address by the Chief Justice Malaba.
In his main address, the Chief Justice shared with the nation the most important activities undertaken in the preceding legal year across the judiciary, the notable accomplishments, the challenges faced and what those in the judiciary intend to do in the next twelve months in order to comply with their constitutional mandate.
The theme for the 2024 Legal Year is: “The role of the judiciary in entrenching constitutionalism”.
