Kenya’s judicial sector is late in adopting information technology and this is affecting the quality of service, according to Martha Karua, the minister in charge of justice and constitutional affairs.
Kenyans are hoping for first-class service and technology will accelerate that, as well as improve efficiency in the judiciary, the attorney general’s chambers and the National Council for Law Reporting, Karua said at the launch of the inaugural law journal, which will be published annually, and the Grey book, which contains all of Kenya’s laws and amendments
Kenya is the only African country with a database of all legal precedents, available online free for all lawyers and judicial officers, Chief Justice Evan Gicheru said at the launch.
“The Web site is updated every hour, which means that lawyers, judges and magistrates can access information at the click of the mouse,” Gicheru said.
Judicial officers are expected to adjudicate cases by evaluating the evidence as well as researching legal precedents, and the online resources make it easier for judges and magistrates to determine cases faster, he said.
The judiciary will expand the available bandwidth to give judicial officers more room to access the Internet faster and download cases, said Justice Samuel Bosire, the chairman of the Judicial Library Committee.
The National Council for Law Reporting was formed in 2001, and by that time, the process of reporting was 20 years behind. But within seven years, the council has updated all laws and amendments and provided online backup.
The judiciary has in the past been criticized for its failure to implement technology, especially for filling cases and maintaining updates. Currently, the list of cases is available for download every day.
