Lady Justice Njoki Ndung’u of the Supreme Court of Kenya has called for collaboration in the adjudication of disputes.
Speaking at the Mombasa Law Courts Dialogue Day, Justice Ndung’u revealed that only 10 per cent of cases end up in the courts, and the rest are settled in the communities.
“We want to encourage and teach more and more Kenyans to be able to settle their disputes outside rather than inside the formal structures,” stated Justice Ndungu.
The Judiciary, she noted, continues to encourage alternative justice systems and traditional systems.
The public was assured that the Judiciary would support the systems for more disputes to be solved before they end up in the legal system. “The legal system can be quite expensive for the common mwananchi by the time you pay an advocate and pay court fees, and yet in some of these disputes we can settle them kinyumbani so long as we respect human rights and we uphold justice,” stated the apex court Judge.
The dialogue, she said, is just the beginning, and they endeavour to make the judiciary responsive and accessible to the public needs.
She stressed the need to reflect on the national values and whether they provide the public with the services they need.
The dialogue, she said, enables the public and the Judiciary to engage face-to-face and relay feedback to Judicial Officers.
“This is more important than all the other ways we communicate because we communicate also through social media, but sometimes Judges are not able to respond through social media. A face-to-face dialogue like this is what works,” explained Justice Ndungu.
“Please tell us how we are working for you, where we need to improve, and what you need so that we can go and work on it and make sure that the judiciary becomes more efficient and delivers justice to Kenyans,” she added.
She promised the public that all the feedback, including complaints, would be taken into consideration in all the courts and encouraged the participation of the Court Users Committee in the dialogues to enrich the court’s works.
She further advised Judges and Advocates to continue upholding professional ethics and standards, whether inside or outside the courtroom. “Acting with decorum and mutual respect is a fundamental aspect of professional ethics in the practice of law,” said Justice Ndungu.
She called out vilification and subjection to abuses of Public Servants while performing their duties, noting, “I think we must always be courteous to one another. After all, we are all striving to build a better nation for each one of us, those who are public servants, those who are receiving services, and Kenyans at large.”
By Sadik Hassan