Chief Justice Flavian Zeija has warned parties in civil litigation against ambushing opponents with witnesses whose statements have not been disclosed before trial, saying the Judiciary has fully embraced a ‘cards-on-the-table’ approach aimed at speeding up case disposal and reducing backlog.
Speaking on Wednesday during a training session for selected judicial officers from Western Uganda on civil trial procedures, Justice Zeija said the requirement for parties to disclose witness statements before hearings is provided for under the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules, 2019.
‘With the new Rules, we moved to a ‘cards-on-the-table’ system. Under the amended Order 18, witness statements must be filed and served before the hearing. Thus, no more ‘surprise witnesses’ appearing in the dock to testify for five hours on facts the other side hasn’t seen,’ he said.
The Chief Justice explained that the reforms are intended to make hearings more efficient by allowing courts to focus on cross-examination rather than spending lengthy periods recording evidence-in-chief.
‘The hearings will now focus on cross-examination, not the slow crawl of recording evidence-in-chief. This alone can cut trial times by about 60 percent,’ he added.
Justice Zeija said the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules, 2019, together with a revamped Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) framework, are among the Judiciary’s key tools for addressing the persistent challenge of case backlog.
‘For too long, the ghost of case backlog has haunted our corridors, eroding public trust in the administration of justice. Under Article 126 of our Constitution, judicial power is derived from the people. Wherever I have gone, the people of Uganda are always demanding a system that is efficient, transparent and timely,’ he said.
The Chief Justice also warned litigants against filing cases and abandoning them, stressing that courts will strictly enforce timelines introduced under the amended rules.
He said a plaintiff has only 28 days after the close of pleadings to issue summons for directions, failure of which automatically leads to the abatement of the suit.
‘The plaintiff has exactly 28 days after the last pleading to take out these summons. If they fail, the suit abates automatically. No applications, no excuses,’ he cautioned.
He added: ‘We are shifting the burden of moving a case from the court’s shoulders back onto the litigants. If a party is not serious about their claim, the law will no longer let them waste our judicial time.’