Nairobi Kenya — Chief Justice Martha Koome says the Judiciary will set up courts that will try petty offenders in major urban areas to ease congestion and pressure from the criminal justice system.
Speaking during the development partners roundtable in support of Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) in Nairobi, Koome said congestion of the prisons with petty offenders has really hindered the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.
"We are keen on reversing this trend to divert petty offenders from the criminal justice system," she said.
"Towards this end, we intend to establish Courts of Petty Sessions in major urban areas to ease congestion in the criminal justice sector, operationalize instant traffic fines and support family rehabilitation programmes."
Koome added that the Judiciary plans to set up 100 small claims courts in the next five years across the country with the aim of promoting economic development through access to efficient commercial justice.
The Roll out strategy for these courts envisages to start from Nairobi and border towns before they move to other urban areas.
"To ensure access to efficient commercial justice that supports our country's quest for economic development, we are keen on having 100 fully established Small Claims Courts in the country within the next 5 years," she added.
The CJ acknowledged support by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and IDLO which have expressed their intention to support the roll out of the Small Claims Courts in border towns.
Koome also reiterated that Judiciary is committed to enhancing access to justice through the adoption of a people-centered approach.
The CJ revealed that the Judiciary is working closely with the Hague Institute for Innovation in Law (HiiL) to roll out people-centered justice system while at the same time leveraging on technology to ensure efficiency in service delivery.
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"I urge you to continue supporting the Judiciary directly or through HiiL to ensure that our blueprint inspires the entire justice sector to adopt a people-centered programming approach," Koome said
"We are investing in data and evidence to support decision-making, negotiating for additional resources, cultivating the political will necessary to support policy and law reform and deepening our partnerships with friends and allies to scale game-changing initiatives that we have seen to have substantial positive effect on access to justice."
She also said the Judiciary plans to establish Judiciary desks in all Huduma centers and e-filling support services as well as the scaling up of the automation of registry and court services.
She however, calls for support towards ICT Infrastructure Development given that some of the court stations are still not adequately equipped with the necessary ICT equipment.
"We are also keen on ensuring that our ICT based services are user friendly hence avoid the possibility of digital exclusion in the quest to access justice. Towards this end, we need support to establish Judiciary desks in all Huduma centers and e-filling support centers in all courts," she added.
