Jumamosi, 12 Agosti 2023

JUDICIARY TAKES ACTION ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE REPORT

By FAUSTINE KAPAMA-Judiciary

THE Judiciary of Tanzania has formed a sub-committee to review and analyze the Presidential Criminal Justice Commission’s report to determine all areas that need to be implemented in the whole context of providing justice to the people.

This was revealed by the Chief Justice, Prof. Ibrahim Hamis Juma after swearing in 38 new Resident Magistrates at an event held at the High Court of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.

"I would like to congratulate the Committee led by Court of Appeal Justice, Dr. Gerald Ndika. They have reviewed the report, analyzed and classified the areas related to the Judiciary. Our committee has identified 18 areas that involve the Judiciary of Tanzania.

"We wanted to know which areas in the report related to the Judiciary. We also wanted to know the recommendations that the presidential commission made about the judiciary, what advice have they given about the judiciary, what are the things that we need to implement," he said.

Similarly, the Chief Justice said the Committee analyzed the areas that the Presidential Commission had earmarked in order to improve the performance of Criminal Justice Institutions, especially those touch the Judiciary.

"Therefore, our Judiciary Committee identified the areas that affect other institutions, including the judiciary. So, have also to prepare ourselves to work on those areas since the implementation of Criminal Justice Commission report does not wait," Prof. Juma.

He directed the Judges, Magistrates and Court Administrators to study the areas that the Committee has identified so that the judiciary could start directly implementing those that are within its power, including ones which do not require money or discussions in meetings.

"The President's Commission saw that we had forgotten our legal obligations. Therefore, what it did was just to remind us to implement existing laws that do not require meetings or money," the Chief Justice said.

He noted that the area that touches Magistrates concerned provision of sentences where the Presidential Commission recommended that the law be amended to give the Court authority to consider the time of the accused person's stay in remand.

"You know our cases take a long time, a person is arrested and stays in remand, such time is not considered in the punishment, which is provided after the trial.

"The Commission has reminded us that Section 172 (2) © of the Criminal Procedure Act requires the Court to deduct the time the suspect or prisoner spent in prison when sentencing,” the Chief Justice said.

Prof. Juma said that they will monitor the statistics to see how well the magistrates are implementing the Commission's proposal because such issues does not wait for time, it was supposed to be implemented starting yesterdays.

He appealed to the Magistrates, as they are just starting judicial works, to consider the importance of implementing all the presidential committee recommendations which does not require amendments of laws.

The Chief Justice mentioned another area that is directly enforceable is the weak of imposing alternative sentences that are provided under the law.

He pointed out that there has been overuse of provision of custodian sentences, thus the Presidential Commission has given a reminder to make sure magistrates give alternative punishments.

"You know the people sometimes complain and they like to see someone who has been accused of committing an offence always go to prison, but as your oath says you are not supposed to listen to such complaints if you follow the rules and procedures according to your oaths," Prof. Juma said.

Therefore, he urged the Magistrates to use the law to give alternative punishments and refrain from resorting to send convicts to prisons which are overflowing to the extent that the blame goes back to the judiciary.

The Judiciary of Tanzania is one of the institutions that are required to implement the recommendations of the President's Commission designed to look at how to improve Criminal Justice Institutions in the country.

The Chief Justice, Prof. Ibrahim Hamis Juma.
Court of Appeal Justice, Dr. Gerald Ndika, the Chairman of the sub-committee.
Judge in Charge of High Court of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, Salma Maghimbi, a member of the sub-committee.
The Court Hammer.

Hakuna maoni:

Chapisha Maoni