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How courts used technology to deliver justice during lockdown
MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Ssewanyana appearing before Masaka Magistrates Court via zoom link from Kigo Prison
What you need to know:
- The innovation was instrumental in serving the communities that were under Covid-19 lockdown with justice and protected the lives of the judges and the court users.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, courts were not operational as a way to stop the surge of infections, especially among inmates.
To address these constraints, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) governance and peace representative, Ms Elizabeth Atwiine, said the department came up with technological innovations to serve the much-needed justice.
“The unit developed video conferencing systems in the courts of Masaka, Mbale, Mubende and plans to stretch to Kalangala where it is difficult to cross through the waters to access the courts,” Ms Atwiine said during the legal tech expo at the Innovation Village last Friday.
The innovation was instrumental in serving the communities that were under Covid-19 lockdown with justice and protected the lives of the judges and the court users.
“Young innovators should be persistent with pushing for their projects for funding from development agencies and continue making themselves visible while offering innovative justice solutions,” she said.
Ms Hellen Mukasa, the legal lead at Legal Tech lab Innovation Village, said less technological investment has been done to enable access to legal services.
“In Uganda today, investments have been drawn largely towards fintech companies by 90 percent, energy which is exclusive of the legal sector,” she said.
Ms Mukasa appealed to both private and public stakeholders to support the drive for investments towards legal innovations.
Theme
The legal tech expo was held under the theme “Shaping the future of Law and access to justice through innovation.”
The gathering was intended to provide a platform for legal and justice innovators to showcase their fast-growing legal tech solutions to partnering agencies.
Among these developers were SEMA, a citizen feedback tool that allows customers or the public to express their concerns or satisfaction using an emoji-enhanced device.
Ms Rehema Baguma, a senior lecturer at Makerere University College of Computing and Information Sciences, applauded the solutions developed by young justice innovators in creating technical solutions in the legal sector.
