Kenya President decries shortage of judges in Commonwealth countries
Posted by African Press International on September 11, 2007
Nairobi (Kenya) President Mwai Kibaki has expressed concern that many Commonwealth countries in both the developed and developing world do not match the numbers of judges and magistrates to the caseload.
While opening the 15th Commonwealth Law Conference in Nairobi on Monday Kibaki noted that quality and capability of the prosecution services in the Commonwealth is often unable to cope with the demands of the criminal justice systems and emphasized that the administration of justice must be viewed as an integral part of the overall governance environment in the Commonwealth.
<President Mwai Kibaki
Kibaki said the rule of law cannot be divorced from cultural values and the aspirations of societies and observed that deficiencies in the criminal justice system are quite often the outcome of the way in which resources are structured and allocated to the various arms of the justice delivery systems.
\”Indeed, there is need for constant education and dissemination of the fundamental principles of the laws that we enact. When these laws become rooted in the hearts and minds of our people, it will be much easier to uphold them,\” he said.
He said the Commonwealth countries should not only uphold the rule of law but also promote the institutions and values that entrench the culture of equity and social justice.
\”I am happy that within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa\’s Development (NEPAD), African Union member countries have committed themselves to upholding the values of freedom, justice and accountability,” said Kibaki.
The five-day conference organized by Law Society of Kenya and Commonwealth Association of Lawyers has brought together lawyers and judges from 53 Commonwealth countries and is set to discuss issues including constitutional reforms and constitutionalism, refugee and immigration law, regional initiatives in the enforcement of human rights, corruption and economic crimes.
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