Malawi court case management system progress ‘impressive’ – Judge Mwaungulu

The judiciary says it is has digitalized 40 per cent of all legal cases tried in the country’s courts.

The case management system is an ongoing innovation being implemented by the judiciary to bring efficiency in the administration of cases with a view to improve service delivery. It was introduced in 2016.

Project Coordinator for Case Management System, Justice Dunstan Mwaungulu said with the program, they have so far digitalized 40 per cent of cases tried since 1998.

Mwaungulu said currently, all the high court registries in Zomba, Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu are connected to the system.

He added that the public could now easily access legal information, especially on the status of their case, name of the judge as well as time of their court case.

“The system is good and the progress is remarkable. We are able to replace much of the hardware and the public are able to access legal information.

“In terms of the overall output we are at 40 per cent,” he said

Justice Mwaungulu however observed that there was inadequate use of the system by judges and lawyers.

“We are very much aware that any system involves a cultural shift and this has not spared the legal fraternity, especially judges and lawyers who try at any cost to avoid the ICT.

“The law and practice make it compulsory for supreme and high court to use ICT for case management. As such, in a couple of weeks we will begin intensifying sensitization exercise on the importance of digitized case management system so that they adopt and use it on daily basis,” said Justice Mwaungulu.

Microsoft accredited the system and has an alert messaging tool that allows anyone involved in the case process to be alerted either on the phone or on computer for the incoming task anywhere they might be once their gadget is connected to internet, according to the project coordinator.

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