KAMPALA – At least 30 judges of the High Court have undergone training on Small Claims Procedure (SCP).
Small Claims procedure, a new justice procedure, was established by the Judiciary in 2012 to adjudicate over claims whose subject matter does not exceed Shs10m and lawyers are not involved. Such matters that are usually quickly disposed off like in less than a month, arise from the supply of goods, debts or rent arrears among other commercial disputes.
The lead facilitators at the training, which took place at Paito Restaurant in Kampala last Thursday, were the Principal Judge, Dr Yorokamu Bamwine, Court of Appeal Justices Geoffrey Kiryabwire (Chairperson of the SCP Implementation Committee) and Justice Stephen Musota.
While flagging off the training, the Principal Judge stressed the need for Judges to train in SCP.
He said SCP arose out of the need to address the needs of the poor, low-income earners, small business owners who need quick and affordable access to justice.
The PJ said Judges of the High Court are stakeholders in the implementation of SCP because of their supervisory role and powers to review judgement as provided by the Rules.
He appealed to the participants to promote the usage of SCP, both amongst the judicial officers and court users.
“Encourage the magistrates to look at the review process more seriously. I implore you, my lords, to encourage the use of SCP at your respective circuits,” he said.
He also applauded SCP Secretariat team for the work well-done both in training judicial officers and public sensitization.
Judges also shared ideas on how the rules and their implementation can be improved for the effective delivery of justice.
