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CJ`s speech: Action needed
2008-02-06 09:01:41
By Editor
When marking the National Law Day, the Chief Justice promised that he would do all in his power to address the issue of erosion of morals in the Judiciary.
He expressed his concern over cases taking too long, some up to eight years, and cited a case whereby an appeal took 12 years to be dealt with.
The rampant delay of court cases has tainted the image of the Judiciary, such that many people have lost patience—holding a conviction that the administration of justice in Tanzania is impossible.
The erosion of the foundations of justice has led to people taking the law into their own hands, and that is how mob justice comes in.
Apart from mob justice, the taking of the law into people`s hands takes many forms and is of different levels.
There is a growing tendency to by-pass the official legal course by people of all walks of life. This means that many persons have lost faith in the Judiciary.
The foundations of democracy and good governance rest on respecting and using our courts for seeking redress and whenever we see that we have been wronged.
With the Judiciary being among the other pillars of state, it goes without saying that the other arms of state should respect the Judiciary and not interfere in its functions, as they also need to reinforce it properly so that it can dispense justice properly and fairly.
The Chief Justice has himself admitted that cases are moving at snail`s pace, and this is one of the obvious examples of erosion of the foundations of good governance.
On the other hand, in the struggle to uproot corruption from its own ranks, the Judiciary itself must undertake an in depth soul-searching process.
To a certain extent, the delay in hearing court cases has been linked with corruption.
For that reason, judicial personnel must fight this ghost with all their strength, because it threatens to re-name and change their profession altogether to one related with delivery of injustice.
Finally, as the Chief Justice has said, the lack of facilities also hardens the tasks of the Judiciary.
For years, lack of stationery has been the norm such that it has led to delays in issuing court rulings for lack of paper.
If things reach to that level—apart from other critical shortages like proper office accommodation, housing and transport—then it betrays the fact that as a society, we are not serious about the dispensation of justice.
The other concern has been the outdated method of recording court proceedings. If the Chief Justice wants to leave his mark, he has to ensure an immediate application of electronic recording of court proceedings.
Nevertheless, the Executive cannot get away with the responsibility of facilitating the Judiciary as a matter of top priority, because the operations of the Judiciary always reflect the performance of government, be it negative or positive.
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