Judicial Training Institute Urges Magistrates to Improve Judgments, Embrace Mediation to Cut Delays

What the report says

The Judicial Training Institute has urged magistrates in Uganda to strengthen the way they write judgments and to make greater use of alternative dispute resolution, especially mediation, as part of efforts to reduce long delays in the courts. According to Nile Post, the appeal was made by JTI Executive Director Justice Prof Andrew Khaukha at the close of a two-day training session for judicial officers from Western Region Cluster One held at the Court of Appeal Conference Hall in Kampala.

Khaukha pointed to the reported average of 730 days for magistrates’ court cases to move from filing to disposal, saying this showed why judicial officers need to apply the skills gained in training to improve service delivery. The session focused on practical judgment writing, including how to structure decisions, assess evidence, apply the law to facts, and use the Judiciary’s new Judgment Writing Tool.

He also encouraged magistrates to adopt what he described as an ADR mindset, arguing that not every dispute should go through a full trial if it can be settled through mediation or another suitable process. Mediation, in general, gives parties a chance to reach agreement with help from a neutral third party. The Judiciary has been promoting such methods as one way to ease backlog and improve access to justice.

Participants welcomed the training, while also calling for further support on sentencing. The event was presented as part of wider Judiciary efforts to improve the quality, consistency and speed of judicial decisions.