KAMPALA – A technological innovation is a new or improved product or process whose technical characteristics are significantly different from before. Similar to many other nations, Uganda has embraced the use of technology in the majority of its sectors through cutting-edge platforms that have advanced the delivery of services ranging from banking, transportation, service delivery, and other internet-linked trade nationally. The legal fraternity hasn’t been an exception to this. To make their work easier, numerous government agencies, businesses, law firms, and individual lawyers have incorporated technology into their work in an effort to advance and serve larger populations and advocate for human rights and access to justice.
As a result of the rise in technology use, we have observed the development of creative websites, applications, and others including social media, phones, video, and other regularly used technologies that make up the majority of the innovations’ tools and technology. In order to address the most urgent justice issues, efforts are now required to make them work effectively and at scale. Uganda has so far incorporated some of these technological innovations. A case in point is the introduction of the use of Visual-Audio Links in Court hearings and the Electronic Case Management System (ECCMIS). These and many others are helping bridge the Justice gap in the Country as discussed:
Digitization of Courts helps reduce Case backlog in the Judiciary. This is because it is a much quicker process and reduces the congestion at Courts. Due to the fact that parties and their Counsel can take part in the hearing remotely and judicial officers don’t need to be physically present in one place, less travel is required. This, therefore, reduces delays and inconveniences.
Lowering judicial and legal costs for the majority of hourly clients also saves time and money. People with specific needs can more easily participate in the legal system, and so cheers to virtual trials and any other technology-based innovation. It also makes Justice more accessible to the majority of the people hence bridging the gap.
Furthermore, working in teams is simple and collaborative with case management systems. With the use of a case management system, all parties to a case have simple access to information. The system makes it possible for a single interface. A case management system streamlines and automates the workflow to guarantee quick case resolution. Using a dedicated cloud database, all data can be safely accessed and shared by authorized individuals wherever they may be located on the globe. Updates are reflected in real-time so cases are appropriately evaluated before, after, and throughout the trial which also goes a long way in bridging the Justice gap.
Technology-based innovations also bridge the gap through easily accessible registration systems. Unregistered land tends to be at a higher risk of fraudulent activities. Such fraud can be prevented with the use of Registration systems.
These systems can prevent and resist any third-party applications for adverse possession. Registration makes it easier to buy and sell the property as all the title information necessary for conveyance is available in the Land Register, which would be virtually accessible for everyone making it possible to establish property ownership and thus easing ascertaining of rights and responsibilities associated with it. This eliminates the common long waits associated with searches at Ministries.
Important to note is that by highlighting the locations with greater crime rates, crime forecasting systems assist law enforcement in enhancing community security. Data analysis is the main emphasis of predictive policing in order to spot trends in criminal behavior or locations where more crimes occur. Such data analysis aids in the development of more strategic forecasts of the locations and times where crimes are most likely to occur. As a result, crime prevention and decision-making are improved, and the justice system advances. Government can give faster crime diagnosis and reaction times as well as more specialized information to residents through electronic coordination and surveillance.
This also contributes to mitigating and managing crime in the country and is possible with technology-based innovations.
It is, therefore, spot on to say that technology-based innovations can help bridge the Justice gap in Uganda.
This writer, Asimiire Ritah Biirabo, is the executive director of Equality Mission Uganda
