The judiciary yesterday launched the long-awaited Electronic Court Case Management Information System (ECCMIS) at the Judiciary headquarters in Kampala which will help to fight case backlog and improve delivery of justice.
Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dollo said the move is a major building block to e-government service and particularly to the administration of justice and urged all the judicial officers to embrace the system for better service delivery.
“I encourage all stakeholders, most especially lawyers to embrace the initiative because the advent of Information technology is fundamentally changing the way people work and interact and now you will be able to file a case from your chambers or any other place of convenience at any time,” he said.
He added that ICT is being adopted in all aspects of society to facilitate online service delivery and that it is imperative that both government and private sector move in that direction by adopting emerging new technologies if they are to match and fit in the current global trend.
“This step will definitely provide a major building block to another e-government service in Uganda and particularly to the administration of justice sector,” he said.
The chairperson of the ECCMIS committee, Justice Immaculate Busingye, explained that the system is founded on the original judiciary process and rules.
The minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Matia Kasaija welcomed the innovation which he said will not only improve services delivery but contribute to the country revenue.
“I congratulate the Judiciary for commissioning ECCMIS. This will go a long way in enhancing the delivery of justice and addressing the challenges of case backlog,” he said.
The president of Uganda Law Society Pheona Wall said that they believe the system will deliver 360 degree impact on court processes and it will greatly contribute at reducing case backlog and time lags.
The system was developed in 2014 and will be piloted in courts starting February next year.