Katureebe demands respect of court decisions
Discussion. Chief Justice Bart Katureebe (left) with Justice Stella Arach Amoko at Mestil Hotel in Kampala during the closure of the annual judges conference yesterday. Photo by Michael Kakumirizi
What you need to know:
- They resolved to, among other issues, regulate media coverage of court proceedings, continue lobbying for the administration of the Judiciary Bill into law.
- The judges also resolved that they will continue advocating for the recruitment of more judicial officers and coordinate with the Judicial Service Commission to ensure regular monitoring of feedback.
Chief Justice Bart Katureebe yesterday asked the public and other government officials to desist from negative criticism and instead appreciate the role played courts.
In his closing remarks at the 22nd annual judges conference in Kampala yesterday, Justice Katureebe was reacting to the comments by the Minister of Water and Environment, Mr Sam Cheptoris, who accused courts of frustrating the fight against environment degradation.
Addressing journalists at the Uganda Media Centre on Wednesday, Mr Cheptoris said the major problem in the fight against environment degradation were courts that issue injunction letters to encroachers when they are evicted from wetlands.
“So to hear someone say the courts are responsible for the degradation [of wetlands], I think that was taking a step too far. I want to always ask members of the public and other branches of government to give fair criticism because it does not help anyone,” Chief Justice Katureebe said.
He said the comments are at times misunderstood by those who react unfairly.
“I think sometimes the criticism is not warranted. Sometimes it is because someone misunderstands our work. I think the minister said the courts are responsible for the degradation of wetlands. I don’t know how many decisions have been made by the courts in the protection of the wetlands in constitutional decisions,” Chief Justice Katureebe said. This year’s conference comes off as the last one he addressed in the capacity of Chief Justice and will be retiring later this year.
Resolutions
The conference comprised of judicial officers, support staff and other stakeholders in justice dispensation system who took stock of their performance last year and laid out plans to perform better this year.
They resolved to, among other issues, regulate media coverage of court proceedings, continue lobbying for the administration of the Judiciary Bill into law.
The judges also resolved that they will continue advocating for the recruitment of more judicial officers and coordinate with the Judicial Service Commission to ensure regular monitoring of feedback.
