DAR ES SALAAM: THE Chief Justice of Tanzania, Professor Ibrahim Juma, has called for the adoption of technology and the digitisation of court decisions to improve accessibility, ensure preservation and enhance the delivery of justice, while also helping to combat petty corruption.
Prof Juma made this appeal during the opening of the TanzLii open access to law sustainability conference in Dar es Salaam, yesterday.
TanzLii is a legal research website established by the Judiciary of Tanzania to provide free and open access to Tanzanian laws, including case law, legislation, and the Tanzania Gazette.
"In 1996, a commission investigated the state of corruption in Tanzania, identifying the availability of court information as a significant issue. Individuals seeking copies of judgments often faced demands for money--petty corruption that affects ordinary citizens.
Even a small fee can be a burden for someone who deserves access to justice. We believe that making these materials available online can help combat such corruption," he stated.
The Chief Justice said that one of the urgent challenges faced by the Judiciary since initiating reforms in 2016 was the lack of law reports and the inaccessibility of decisions from the High Court and Court of Appeal.
These reforms began with the first five-year strategic plan under the Citizen-Centric Judicial Modernisation and Justice Service Delivery Project.
He explained that the Judiciary appointed a team to benchmark against other judicial systems on how to make court decisions publicly accessible and revive the Tanzania Law Reports, which had not been published since 2006.
"Benchmarking visits commenced in June 2019, involving members from the Registered Trustees of Tanzania Law Reports, its Secretariat, and personnel from the ICT Unit and Directorate of Case Management," he noted. The team conducted visits to Namibia, Nigeria, and South Africa to learn effective methods for compiling law reports that meet international standards.
He emphasised that the team learned standardised procedures for collecting, compiling, editing, and publishing law reports, integrating these processes with existing technological platforms.
In 2019, the Judiciary of Tanzania launched TanzLii to facilitate free access to legal materials, including case law, legislation, and the Tanzania Gazette.
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"Since its inception, TanzLii has significantly advanced access to legal information. In 2022, it recorded 469,052 visits, followed by 699,378 in 2023. As of September 17, 2024, the site had amassed 971,542 visits," said Dr Juma.
He noted that the platform's integration of the Tanzania Law Reports and its database of over 50,000 judgments and 1,000 pieces of legislation make it an invaluable resource for legal professionals, judges, government officials, and the public.
In his welcoming address, Dr Paul Kihwelo, Principal of the Institute for Judicial Administration Lushoto and Justice of the Court of Appeal, emphasised the importance of accessibility in law.
"There is no point in making decisions if those decisions are not accessible to the public. Access to justice means not only being able to enter a court but also being informed about previous rulings," he stated.
Director of Law Africa, Mrs Linda Amuor, informed attendees that AfricanLII is an open-access research platform for African law, operated by the AfricanLII programme at the University of Cape Town.
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She explained that the conference was organised in collaboration with the IGZ Rule of Law and Judiciary in Africa project.
The conference aims to ensure the sustainability of TanzLii, examine the current state of free access to law in Tanzania, and identify key challenges and opportunities.
Participants will share best practices and lessons learned from other regions, particularly within Africa, and develop sustainable strategies for the technological organisation and funding of legal information services.
Ms Katharina Kuehn from GIZ Tanzania and East Africa highlighted the critical role of access to information, laws, and judgments in upholding the rule of law. She noted that digitisation is a transformative tool that facilitates easier access to legal information.
