Further to our earlier update on 2nd April 2020 concerning the conduct of the judicial sector operations during the scaling down period, The National Council on Administration of Justice (‘NCAJ’) has put in place further measures to ensure that all court and registry functions operate seamlessly during this period.
Some of the measures that have been put in place include:-
Electronic filing of all pleadings in addition to urgent and time-bound pleadings.
Perusal of court files, certification, payment of court fees and fixing of dates will also be conducted electronically.
Measures have also been put in place to facilitate virtual hearing of proceedings. Details regarding the mode and time of the hearing will be communicated to parties and their advocates in advance.
Open court hearings have been reserved for urgent pleas.
Where a court order is issued, the order will be extracted by court officers and scanned copies will be sent to the parties or their advocates electronically.
Any party desirous of obtaining hard copy documents or orders can request for the same and necessary arrangements made for collection at a court’s Customer Service Centre.
Additionally, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning Services has waived court fees in respect of commercial disputes where the value of the suit does not exceed one million shillings for two years commencing 1st April 2020.
We welcome the measures taken by the judiciary to upscale judicial operations through the use of technology to enhance access to justice and reduce the backlog of suits.
Further, these measures are geared towards enhancing the safety of court users so as to manage the further spread of the covid-19 virus.
We shall keep you updated on any further developments.
The notice from the National Council on Administration of Justice (‘NCAJ’) can be found here.
The Gazette notice from the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Planning Services can be found here.
Please contact us at info@cfllegal.com should you require further information.
