AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Chief Registrar of the Judiciary of Tanzania, Mr Wilbert Chuma, has ordered all new civil cases to be filed in various courts across the country electronically in order to reduce congestion, avoid Coronavirus transmission and save costs in justice dispensation.
”All civil litigations involving lawyers should be filed online and not otherwise,” the Chief Registrar directed in a statement issued by the Directorate of Information and Communication of the Judiciary of Tanzania.
He pointed out that the Electronic Filling Rules, 2018 GN 148/2018, issued by the Chief Justice of Tanzania and came into effect on April 13, 2018, emphasized the need of opening cases through the online system.
Mr Chuma urged judiciary staff and advocates to be at the forefront of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to reduce crowding in court compounds and avoid corona virus transmission.
According to him, there are currently 1,732 advocates registered in the online filing system, but those using it are only 1,250.
He called on the advocates as well as judicial officers to appreciate the importance of using the new system especially during this period of the frightening COVID-19 pandemic.
The Chief Registrar also challenged ICT officers in conjunction with other judicial officers to enlighten ordinary citizens on the new system.
“The use of ICT for staff and advocates should be part of your daily work to enable you conduct cases without the need of the public to come to court, and thus reduce unnecessary congestion,” he said in the statement published on the Judiciary’s website.
Mr Chuma further said that officials at every level of the judiciary from the Court of Appeal to district courts should make sure a special place was earmarked and be equipped with all the necessary tools for registering cases online.
He explained that the process would help people who could not afford to use the service, especially those who have no representation in courts, to register their cases through the new system.
The Chief Registrar added that ICT officers should make sure that they provide the necessary support at all times in the areas to facilitate the exercise, including giving such rights to all the deserving people in accordance with the procedures.
”It is the responsibility of every Court Administrator in his or her area to make sure that the necessary needs are available in order to accomplish this exercise, ” he stressed.
The Chief Registrar called on administrators to cooperate with ICT officers in their respective areas, to ensure that all judges and magistrates have electronic signatures within 21 days, as per the orders he issued on April 14, 2020.
Mr Chuma also directed court officials to control the number of journalists entering court premises and not to allow any press conferences or interviews within the compounds, to reduce congestion.
On cases being conducted through the video conference system, the Chief Registrar disclosed that procurement procedures had already been implemented to facilitate the acquisition of such equipment to the courts that do not have such service.
He said 13 flat screen or televisions would be sent to various prisons and seven others to the High Court stations, whereby 24 computers and a scanner would be distributed to the sites.
On March 23, 2020, the Chief Justice of Tanzania, in his address to the public, called on court leaders at all levels to show leadership skills by helping Tanzanians to continue accessing justice services easily in a world that is experiencing COVID-19.
