Judiciary to start using new advanced case management system

TANZANIA: THE Judiciary of Tanzania will start using the new Electronic-Case Management System (E-Case Management System) from November 1, 2023 after the completion of trials at the end of this month.

Acting Chief Registrar of the Judiciary of Tanzania, who is the Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Mr Sylvester Kainda explained in a statement he gave on Monday that the start of the new system is part of the improvements made by the judiciary in various areas.

“The goal of this system is to improve access to justice services in a timely and cost-effective manner to citizens. One of these improvements is to use various ICT systems in the running of its activities including the Case Management System (JSDS2),” he explained.

The Acting Chief Registrar explained that the development follows the completing of the construction of the system, which replaces the JSDS2 that was in place since 2018.

“The construction of this system aims to increase productivity in judicial activities, reduce the costs of hearing cases on the part of the judiciary and the people, reduce the time to listen to cases and move judicial services closer to the people,” he explained.

He explained that the use of the e-CMS System also aims to solve various challenges of the JSDS2, including the increase in users and the use of the system that is not compatible with the original design of the system and the technology used to build it and not allowing cases to be recorded directly in the system.

Mr Kainda explained that the system has come up with a modern design and technology that is compatible with the current needs of the judiciary and its stakeholders and can be read with other internal systems of the judiciary and those of important stakeholders.

Among the stakeholders are the National Prosecution Office (NPS), the National Identification Authority (NIDA), Registration, Insolvency and Guarantee Agency (RITA) and other institutions.

The Acting Chief Registrar explained that the move would facilitate the access to important information from institutions and enable the stakeholders to get various information on the cases easily.

He said that the new system will also facilitate the registration of cases online, the assigning of cases for Judges and Magistrates, it will allow cases to be recorded directly in the system and stored electronically.

“In the System there are special forms or templates for various documents used in court, including case documents, charge sheets, judgments to be filled in by users within the system. The goal is to reduce the loading of many documents on the system that can affect its performance,” Mr Kainda said.

He said that when the judiciary starts using e-CMS, all the windows available to help the citizens who cannot use e-CMS that are used to help those who cannot access JSDS2 by themselves will also continue to be used.

The Judiciary of Tanzania started testing e-CMS on October 2, 2023 in all courts in the country and the exercise is still ongoing. The judiciary invites its citizens and stakeholders to open trials on the new system available through the address https://cmstraining.judiciary.go.tz/.