Download PDF - The Judiciary

State of Judiciary 2011-2012
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prefabricated courts as it continues with the scheduled construction
of courts (see Annex 5).
Court buildings across the stations are not standardised, thus
creating utilisation challenges. Some of the existing courts were
dilapidated and are now being refurbished, while those that were
unaccounted for are being brought into a national Judiciary
asset register. Even newly constructed courts were high on visibility
and low on utility. For instance, a new court building would be
completed without provision being made for Internet facilities or
access ramps and designated parking for persons with disabilities.
In an effort to standardise physical facilities, the Judiciary invited
public participation in the design of a prototype court. The design
competition attracted entries from artists, architects, designers and
members of the public, who also sent suggestions on changes
they would like to see in the design of the courts. Emerging from
the competition and public participation activities, guidelines for
designing court facilities were developed. Some of these include
separate washroom facilities for men and women, separate cells
for men, women and children.
The Judiciary was grossly understaffed and operated at 47 per
cent of the established staff capacity. In the past year, the Judicial
Service Commission (JSC) has hired 251 senior staff. These include
a Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice, 5 Supreme Court Judges,
seven Judges of the Court of Appeal, 36 Judges of the High Court,
the Chief Registrar of the Judiciary and the Deputy Chief Registrar,
seven Directors, five Registrars, 109 Resident Magistrates, and 63
Legal Researchers, among others. It has also recruited 12 judges
of Industrial Court, 15 judges for Environment and Land Court and
23 Kadhis.
Most of the directorates required to support the administration of
justice were grossly understaffed. For example, the Information,
Communication Technology directorate was operating at 19 per
cent of established staff capacity, while the directorate of Public
Affairs and Communication did not exist. None of the existing
directorates, such as finance and procurement, had substantive
heads.