Africa-Press – Angola. The chief judge of the Cuanhama District Court, Afonso Pinto, admitted this Tuesday that the lack of judges in Cunene province is conditioning the speed required in the processing of cases.
In a statement, the judicial magistrate said that the court needs at least 20 judges for the civil and administrative area, criminal rooms, family room and others.
He said that this is a conjunctural situation that concerns the Superior Councils of the Judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, who are working to increase the number of magistrates, in order to provide an adequate response to the tasks that are required.
He highlighted that the province currently has six (6) judges, three of which are guarantees, including its president, who also carry out judgments, two of law and one in the municipality of Cahama.
This aspect, he reasoned, is creating many difficulties in the speedy handling of cases, because each judge works in several jurisdictions.
Afonso Pinto informed that, on average, each judge has at hand, per week, 60 or more processes considered exhausting, because the magistrate moves from the civil process, criminal action, family or other legal forum.
He explained that criminal trials constituted by the collective court (which is the combination of three judges) are often carried out, which requires the holding of prolonged conferences.
“The complaints do not end and the public is always complaining about the length of the processes, but it is humanly impossible to meet the expectations of those who come to the Court”, considered
Despite the lack of judges, he said that magistrates have been making an effort to cover the workload, which is why there are no cases of excess pre-trial detention in the province.
With an area of 87,342 square kilometers and 1,17,491,000 inhabitants, the province has six municipalities.
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