BUJUMBURA January 7th (ABP) – Magistrates who will not achieve the expected results will be dismissed, as declared in Bujumbura on Friday by the Minister of Justice, Civil Protection and Seals Control, Ms. Aimée Laurentine Kanyana.
According to Ms. Kanyana, those newly established Mukaza, Ntahangwa, Muha Appeal Courts in Bujumbura City (West of Burundi) and Makamba (South) are intended to reduce the cases brought to the Courts of Appeal of Bujumbura and Bururi to ensure the well-being of the people through access to justice within a reasonable time.After the creation of four new courts of appeal last December, the heads of courts were invited by the minister responsible to make an inventory of pending cases, by subject, and bring them to the attention of the people. Minister Aimée Laurentine Kanyana declared it during a meeting organized for the heads of the courts of the judicial region, formerly known as the Court of Appeal of Bujumbura, with the aim of providing them information about the creation of those Courts of Appeal.
“Following the routine, some judicial cases can last up to 20 years or 30 years. When the procedure provides for a maximum period of 60 days to pronounce the judgment of a case taken under advisement, the pronouncement often waits for these 60 days whereas it can be available the same day of the trial,” lamented the minister, noting that this will change with the ongoing reforms.
Depending on the staff available and the work to be done, the authorities of the courts must, after the inventory, make an annual planning of the cases to be closed, specifying the period of adjudication. They are required to show the factors that will enable them to achieve the set objectives and the external factors that may hinder the achievement of the planned actions. “An evaluation will be done each quarter to see progressively achieved results,” Minister Kanyana said.
From this planning, performance contracts will be signed and the magistrates who will not achieve the expected results will be driven out, according to the minister. Their activities will be appreciated by the people, the Superior Council of the Judiciary and the Senate. Suggestion boxes will be placed in all courts of appeal and general courts of those courts so that plaintiffs not satisfied with the reception and the progress of the trial can express themselves. The General Inspectorate of Justice will now limit hearings in the office, rather follow the activities of magistrates on the field and establish reports so that those who work poorly are known and denounced.
The strict application of these guidelines or reforms will allow people who have legal cases to get an idea of the reasonable time of their closure since they will be informed on the number of criminal, civil, commercial cases, those relating to individuals and families, house rental disputes, those related to insurance and other matters pending before the courts, the minister said.
Minister Kanyana also announced that the system will be established with a single magistrate headquarters in place of three magistrates to know the relevant judges and avoid the current practice where no magistrate of the headquarters wants to be responsible the work poorly done saying it’s because of the other magistrate.
