Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo has cautioned judges against underperformance, warning that their honeymoon is over as the judiciary aims to track their output amidst case backlog challenges.
The head of the Judiciary while officially launching the Performance Enhancement Tool on October 17 in Kampala, said they had trouble with the old performance tool in effectively measuring the performance of judges, a scenario that saw some judges handle very few cases.
‘The Judiciary of Uganda today is migrating from a closed analog of appraisal system to a digital, efficient, and participatory appraisal system,’ CJ Dollo said.
He continued: ‘Previously, we have had trouble in measuring the output of our staff. Some judicial officers have very limited case disposal, while others have exhibited commendable performance. Some judicial officers involved in judicial work could not be effectively appraised.’
For the first time, the launched performance tool will also allow citizens to take part in the appraisal of the performance of the judicial officers.
‘For court users and the public, the Performance Enhancement Tool provides a voice to start with. Users can now contribute to assessing service quality, which will in turn reduce delays, enhance efficiency, and build public trust,’ Justice Mike Chibita, the chairperson of the committee that developed the tool, told the media on October 14 ahead of the launch.
He added: ‘It’s not about writing a judgment, but how do you treat court users when they come before you?’
With the coming into force of this performance tool, the Chief Justice, in his remarks, cautioned about the Judiciary being an institution of statistics but of justice.
He said, a given judicial officer might be able to dispose of so many cases hurriedly, but in the end are appealed against and even quashed.
He also emphasized the need for consideration of the weight of cases, reasoning that some cases are complicated as they involve numerous witnesses and other intricacies, while others are straightforward.
‘Each case presents unique features and requires unique management. For example, one case in the Anti-Corruption Division may need time and resources worth five cases in another division. Relatedly, a case in the International Crimes Division (ICD) will take a year or so to resolve, yet in an ordinary session of the criminal division, a judge may resolve 40 cases in one month,’ the CJ reasoned.
‘At times, we run into difficulties when we go into statistics. This reminds me of the Kampala bombing criminal trial, which took forever, and at the end of the hearing, the record was typed, and it was printed back-to-back; it took 10 box files to accommodate the record. There were over 40 witnesses. The presiding judge read the judgment for six hours. I don’t know how many ordinary cases would be equated to this case,’ he added.
The Performance Enhancement Tool is a web-based system that will help the Judiciary track and improve performance across the institution.
The tool is designed to monitor how judicial officers and court staff are doing, using clear standards and feedback, so that justice is delivered more efficiently and transparently.
Justice Dollo said those who will outperform will be rewarded, and those who will do mediocre work will be trained to up their game.
How the tool works
The Performance Enhancement Tool uses a 360-degree appraisal model. Performance is assessed not only by a supervisor but also by the officers themselves, their peers, subordinates, court users (the public), lawyers, and the prosecutors.
Everyone’s perspective on how a certain judicial officer is delivering justice counts, which makes the evaluation fair and comprehensive.