CHIEF REGISTRAR HIGHLIGHTS TANZANIA’S JUDICIARY REMARKABLE IP ACHIEVEMENTS AT WIPO JUDGES FORUM

By Upendo Ngitiri, Judiciary of Tanzania, 21 October,2026 Geneva Switzerland

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) convened its annual Intellectual Property (IP) Judges Forum on 14 and 15 October 2026 at WIPO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum brought together judges from various jurisdictions to exchange experiences and discuss emerging developments and challenges in intellectual property adjudication and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

During the Forum, the Director of the WIPO Judicial Institute, Ms. Eun Joo Min, delivered a presentation on WIPO’s collaboration with judiciaries worldwide. She highlighted WIPO’s continued commitment to strengthening intellectual property adjudication through international judicial exchanges, continuing judicial education, the development and dissemination of judicial resources, and the provision of policy and technical assistance. These initiatives aim to enhance judicial capacity, promote the fair and effective administration of justice, and facilitate access to legal information and resources that support intellectual property protection and innovation ecosystems.

Among the judiciaries collaborating with WIPO, the Judiciary of Tanzania stood out as a model of successful and rewarding international cooperation, having recorded significant achievements through its longstanding partnership with WIPO. In recognition of this experience, the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary of Tanzania, Hon. Eva Nkya, was invited to share the Judiciary’s success story, highlighting how the collaboration had evolved over the years and the remarkable benefits realised in strengthening judicial capacity and professional development.

Addressing the Forum, Hon. Nkya traced the origins of the partnership to 2018, when Upendo Ngitiri, participated in a WIPO training programme in Stockholm, Sweden. She explained that this training opportunity led to the establishment of a collaboration between WIPO and the Judiciary of Tanzania, which subsequently culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2021. Since then, the collaboration has grown considerably, becoming a highly productive and rewarding partnership.

The Chief Registrar highlighted capacity building as one of the most significant achievements of the collaboration, noting that judges and magistrates had benefited from specialised intellectual property training through online courses, workshops, judicial colloquia and international forums. She particularly commended WIPO for facilitating access to international expertise and high-quality training opportunities to the Judiciary.

Of particular significance was her revelation that more than 1,270 judicial officers had benefited from intellectual property training programmes supported through the collaboration. She described this achievement as an important milestone in strengthening judicial expertise in a specialised and rapidly evolving area of law.

Beyond the impressive number of beneficiaries, Hon. Nkya emphasised the remarkable impact of the partnership on the administration of justice. She observed that the training programmes had enhanced judicial officers’ understanding of intellectual property law, strengthened their confidence in handling related disputes and contributed to improvements in the quality of judicial decisions. The collaboration had also stimulated greater awareness and interest in intellectual property matters, making the subject increasingly familiar among judges and magistrates.

Another notable achievement highlighted by the Chief Registrar was the growing international recognition of Tanzanian judicial officers. She cited the appointment of Hon. Dr. Mustapher Mohamed Siyani, Principal Judge of the High Court of Tanzania, as a member of the WIPO Advisory Board of Judges, a distinguished international body comprising judges from different jurisdictions.

She further revealed that eight Judges  have been listed as WIPO  mediators, while other judicial officers had gained opportunities to participate in professional networks and judicial engagements. These developments demonstrated how the collaboration had opened doors for Tanzanian judicial officers to gain international exposure, build professional relationships and contribute their expertise beyond national borders.

The Chief Registrar also acknowledged WIPO’s invaluable support in providing judicial learning materials, access to international jurisprudence and opportunities for knowledge exchange with experts from different legal systems. She noted that these resources had enabled judicial officers to broaden their perspectives, appreciate emerging legal developments and learn from different approaches to resolving intellectual property disputes.

In addition, the collaboration has contributed to strengthening mediation through capacity-building training and the use of WIPO’s online mediation tools, thereby supporting the Judiciary’s efforts to promote and enhance the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms.

Hon. Nkya further highlighted the positive impact of the partnership on the Judiciary’s engagement with national stakeholders involved in intellectual property administration, innovation, creativity and enforcement. Through joint initiatives, the collaboration had strengthened institutional relationships, improved communication and fostered a greater understanding of the complementary roles of different institutions while safeguarding judicial independence.

Reflecting on the achievements realised over the years, the Chief Registrar drew the Forum’s attention to the extraordinary journey of a partnership that began with the participation of a single judicial officer in an international training programme and subsequently created opportunities for an entire institution.

She underscored that the greatest value of international cooperation lies not only in the knowledge acquired through individual training programmes but also in the lasting relationships, institutional development and professional opportunities that emerge from such engagements.

Looking ahead, Hon. Nkya expressed the Judiciary’s commitment to further strengthening its partnership with WIPO, particularly in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and digital technology.

Concluding her presentation, the Chief Registrar expressed sincere appreciation to WIPO for its continued support and longstanding cooperation with the Judiciary of Tanzania. She underscored that the partnership had gone far beyond training, contributing to stronger judicial capacity, improved handling of intellectual property matters, enhanced professional confidence, international recognition and valuable institutional relationships.

 After the Forum, the Judiciary of Tanzania and WIPO held a series of bilateral meetings at WIPO Headquarters in Geneva to deliberate progress made under their ongoing collaboration and discuss activities planned for implementation in 2027.

The meetings were attended by Hon. Eva Nkya, Chief Registrar of the Judiciary of Tanzania; Upendo Ngitiri, the focal person for collaboration between WIPO and the Judiciary; and senior officials from the WIPO Judicial Institute, WIPO Academy and WIPO Lex.

Discussions focused on strengthening judicial capacity through training programmes, distance learning courses, customization of intellectual property courses, the development of judicial resource materials, and judicial exchanges through colloquia and international judges’ forums.

The longstanding partnership between the Judiciary of Tanzania and WIPO stands as an inspiring example of how sustained international cooperation can deliver lasting institutional benefits, and strengthen judicial expertise.