Friday, March 29, 2024

Former Chief Justice Matthew Ngulube urges lawyers to work closely with Judges to resolve problems of case delays

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Former Chief Justice Matthew Ngulube has urged lawyers through the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) to work closely with judges to resolve the problem of delays in the administration of justice and delivery of judgments.

Mr Justice Ngulube said bench and LAZ should work together quietly in a shared resolve and commitment to confront the problem of delays in the justice system.

He was speaking in Livingstone on Saturday night when he officiated at the LAZ Gala Dinner at Zambezi Sun Hotel.

The LAZ Gala Dinner marked the end of the three-day annual conference in the tourist capital which was held under the theme Enhancing the Practice of Law through Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

“Since 1988, LAZ and the Judiciary have been making efforts to address the subject of delays in the administration of justice but I understand that delays are still a problem today.

I submit that there would be no alternative to the bench and the bar except the bench and LAZ working together preferably quietly in a shared resolve and commitment to confront the problem and defeat it,” he said.

Mr Justice Ngulube, who has over 44 years in the legal profession and is currently a retiree to the bench, said there was need for all stakeholders to put to an end the problem of delays in the administration of justice and delivery of judgments.

“I have been out of circulation for a good 11 years and I don’t know if there have been improvements in the delay producing the legal culture of the relaxed adjournment policy where learned colleagues courtesyly and routinely accede to each other’s request for adjournment,” he said.

He said in 1992, LAZ council held its first meeting in Ndola where the long standing problem of delayed judgments were discussed and remedial measures were suggested as outlined in the minutes item 5 (a) on delayed judgments.

Mr Justice Ngulube said since judges were blaming lawyers for contributing to delays in the dispensation of justice as outlined in the 1992 meeting, it was imperative that lawyers talk to the judges to find the solution to problem.

He said some judges had alleged that some lawyers go to court unprepared and ask for unnecessary adjournments thereby leading to delays in the dispose of justice.

According to the minutes, some members also observed the question of delays in delivering judgments should be different from the question of protracted trials.

“Whereas lawyers could be accused of contributing to protracted trials, they cannot be guilty of contributing to delays in the delivery of judgments because judges were solely responsible of delivering judgments.

In spite of these conflicting observations, the consensus among members was that lawyers should talk to judges and find a solution,” Mr Justice Ngulube said.

He said following the 1992 LAZ meeting, It was resolved that a special committee formed to address the problem and the committee was formed during the same year.

“The committee left no stone unturned and made many excellent suggestions to address the problems.

Practical and implementable solutions started being put in place and an example is the High Court Rules Committee which LAZ was an active and effective member which came up with the 1997 amendments designed to eliminate the problem. Under this amendment, each new case was supposed to be concluded within a period of 12 months,” he said.

He also said the first batch of judges were chosen and sent to United Kingdom for masters degree in commercial subjects while others went for an attachment for commercial courts in that country.

“I was also grateful to the former Norwegian Ambassador to Zambia Jon Lomoy who incidentally supported good and doubtful causes acceded to my pleas and persuaded his Government to fund 100 per cent construction of the new Magistrate Court opposite the Central prison in Lusaka.

This Court has effectively put an end to delays in criminal cases where a large number of their Worships used to share a few courtrooms and I hope active plants exit to address the same problem in other cities,” he said.

Mr Justice Ngulube said there were several ideals such as computerisation of the courts and the introduction of specialization or divisions so that the Lordships and Worships were called upon try cases only within their comfort zones.

Speaking at the same dinner, LAZ president James Banda thanked the delegate for attending the Association’s annual conference.

Notable delegates during the dinner included Home Affairs Minister Edgar Lungu, Attorney General Mumba Malila, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Rodgers Mwewa, Cabinet Office special duties permanent secretary Inutu Suba and Cabinet Administration permanent secretary Ala Mwewa.

Others notables included Southern Province Permanent Secretary Bernard Namachila, Southern African Development Community (SADC) Lawyers Association president Kondwa Chibiya, former Chief Justice Annel Silungwe and former Cabinet Minister in the MMD regime Bradford Machila.

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