East African Court of Justice Nairobi, 12th April 2018: The Court Plenary which is a court’s activity that takes place twice a year commenced yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya.
The President of the Court, Justice Dr Emmanuel Ugirashebuja congratulated the new Judge Justice Charles Nyachae from the Republic of Kenya, upon his appointment as Judge of the First Instance Division who will replace Justice Isaac Lenaola whose term will end in June 2018.
His Lordship, the President also congratulated Justice Dr Faustin Ntezilyayo who was designated by the EAC Heads of State in February this year, as a Deputy Principal Judge the same position that Justice Lenaola is holding. The President paid tribute to Justice Lenaola for his dedicated service for the last seven years and to his contribution to the development of the jurisprudence of the Court.
The Plenary received reports from two Divisions of the Court headed by the President and the Principal Judge and the Registrar on the progress, achievements, challenges and new developments of the Court.
The Plenary considered the court’s contribution in training of the bar associations in the region on the rules and procedure of the Court, such as the Rwanda Bar Association and that the rest will also be trained upon their requests. The Court further recommended to strengthen the collaboration of the Court with the Bar Associations in order to engage them as legal fraternity to support the court in raising the quality of advocacy.
Their Lordships during the Plenary, raised and deliberated on several concerns that affect the Court’s performance, including, the Court not holding sessions as scheduled due to budgetary constraints. The Plenary also recommended to the management to look for alternative funding and proposals to the Development Partners to fund the court’s activities.
In terms of enhancement of capacity of the court, it was recommended that, the Court utilizes its retired judges who are familiar with the East Africa Community Laws and practices of the Court for better knowledge and skills on handling issues pertaining to interpretation of the Treaty and Protocols for the Establishment of the East African Community.
The Judges also pointed out that, the Court needs to engage in the regional level workshops such as the East African Magistrates and Judges Association (EAMJA), and the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association (CMJA) to create more awareness of the Court to various stakeholders.
The Plenary also recommended to the management of the Court, to improve its internal communication for ease of sharing information among all Judges and staff to create a sense of knowledge on the updates and new developments of the Court.
Another important discussion was on proposed amendments to the Treaty particularly on Chapter eight (8). Several recommendations were made on amendments of the Treaty that would enhance the work of the Court. The Plenary will officially be closed by the Cabinet Secretary, Hon Peter Munya for East African Community and Northern Corridor Developments, Kenya.
The court Plenary followed several workshops: The Validation of the EACJ Strategic Plan for the next five (5) years 2018-2023, which will be adopted and the Court begins the implementation process, the Rules Committee meeting which reviewed and proposed amendments of the rules of procedure of the Court to ease the litigants concerns and the Training of Judges and Registrars on arbitration practices, drafting and decision making in settling disputes. All the meetings took place in Nairobi and were earlier officiated by the Chief Justice of Kenya.
The Plenary is being attended by the Judges, Registrars and other support staff of the Court.
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