2010 Judges' Colloquium

Mombasa, Kenya

August, 2010 -

 

In the past years many reports from independent commissions, national institutions and international organizations have highlighted the need to reform the justice sector at large and to restore the integrity and the functioning of the judicial system as a matter of outmost priority.

Between 8 and 15 August 2010, the UNODC Regional Office for Eastern Africa (ROEA), in cooperation with the Kenya Judicial Training Institute (JTI) and the German Organization for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), co-organized and sponsored the 2010 Judges' Colloquium in Mombasa, Kenya.

The purpose of the 2010 Judges' Colloquium was to discuss the provisions of the existing code of ethics and professionalism in light of the 2005 Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, to analyze and discuss measures for an effective implementation of these principles, and to promote a sustainable and effective way forward to improve administration of justice.

The Colloquium was attended by Mr. Justice Evans Gicheru, Chief Justice of Kenya, Mr. Amos Wako, Attorney General, Prof. PLO Lumumba, Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, Mr. Abdikadir Mohammed, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitutional Review, along with of members of the highest benches of the Judiciary of the Republic of Kenya.

In his opening remarks, Prof. PLO Lumumba firmly stated that ". .You can survive with a bad Executive, you can even survive with a bad Legislature, but woe betides you if you have a bad judiciary".

In total, over 55 judges of the Appeal and High Courts agreed on sets of policies, measures and technical recommendations aimed at guiding the Judiciary to finalize medium and long term reform programs in the areas of integrity, professionalism and access to justice.

 

" Less than five days after the referendum on the proposed Constitution, UNODC ROEA supported the achievement of another historic event. This year's Colloquium constitutes the first step taken by the Government of Kenya towards the implementation of various principles enshrined in the newly adopted Constitution", said Ms. Loide Lungameni, UNODC ROEA Representative. She also added that this workshop, sponsored by the generous contribution of Sweden, Norway and Germany, laid the foundations of a broader criminal justice program that UNODC will soon roll out in support of the Government of Kenya.