Approach: Cultural Contextual Education aimed at bridging the gap between Law and Justice.

Training modules offered for the judiciary:

• Judicial Officers’ Induction Module
• Judicial Officers’ Continuous Education Modules
• Specially Tailored Training Module for Trial Judges
• Specially Tailored Training Module for Appellant Judges
• Specially Tailored Induction Modules for Newly Appointed Non- Judicial Staff to the Judiciary
• Court Registry Staff Induction Module.
• Registry Staff Special Skills Module.
• Registry Staff Continuous Education Training Module.
• Effective Judicial Secretaries Course.
• Court Interpreter’s Special Skills Module.
• Specially Tailored Continuous Education Training Module for the Judiciary Administrative, Non-core and Support Staff
• Administration of Justice Skills’ Training Module for Land Tribunal Members and Support Staff.

Judicial officers’ induction module

• Structures and the role of the judiciary in a modern democracy.
• Administrative functions of the judiciary.
• Judicial Independence and the rule of law.
• The Role of the Judicial Service Commission, issues of appointment, discipline and ethics.
• Judicial Technical services; Policies and procedures.
• The supervisory role of superior courts.
• Court Case Administration.
• Conduct of a criminal trial.
• How to handle criminal applications.
• Conduct of a civil trail.
• How to handle civil applications.
• Evaluation of evidence.
• Applying the law to the facts.
• Judgment writing techniques.
• Sentencing principals and practice.
• Community service as an alternative to imprisonment.
• Principles and practice of awarding damages and costs.
• Principles and practice of taxation of costs.
• Execution of orders and objection proceedings.
• Case flow management and scheduling judicial work.
• Introduction to ADR techniques and scheduling conferencing.
• The chain-linked initiative and public participation in the criminal justice system.
• Judicial ethics and judicial Decorum.
• Uganda Judicial Officers Association (UJOA)-Aims and Goals.
• National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ).
• Jurisprudence of equality.
• Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS).
• Managing the social transition from a non-judicial officer to a judicial officer.
• Time and stress management.

Judicial officers’ continuous education module

• Judicial Impartiality, Independence and Accountability Course
• Judicial Efficiency Course
• Judicial Effectiveness Course
• Management Course
• Life Skills Course
• Criminal Justice and Sentencing Course
• Commercial Justice Course
• Civil Justice Course
• Course on Key Aspects of the Evidence Law

Judicial impartiality, independence and accountability course

• The law and the legal System.
• The Concept of Justice/Access to Justice.
• Structure, Function and role of the Judiciary.
• Powers of Jurisdiction/ Doctrine of Separation of Powers.
• Judicial Ethics and Leadership.
• Judicial Bias/Discretion/ Courage.
• Media/Bench/Bar/Public Relationship.
• Customer Care/Courtesy.
• Judicial Code of Conduct and Peer Review Committees.
• The Judiciary against Corruption.

Judicial efficiency course

• Specially designed Information Communication Technology and Computer Training for judicial officers.
• Alternative Dispute Resolutions Mechanisms.
• Case Flow Management Systems
• Court and Registry Management Skills.
• Judicial leadership and Commitment.
• Time /Stress Management.
• Management of HIV related Cases.
• Making effective use of Court Clerks/Interpreters/other Support Staff.
• Scheduling and Conferencing cases.
• Speedy Justice Delivery Mechanisms.
• Harmonizing Judicial Roles.

Judicial effectiveness course

• Judicial skills in conducting trials, Judicial Wellness and Fitness.
• Exercise of Judicial Discretion and Inherent powers.
• Communication skills.
• The law of Contempt of Court.
• Legal research, data analysis and reporting.
• Gender sensitivity and access to Gender Justice.
• Legislative interpretation and judicial writing.
• Managing change. Social position and status of judicial officers.
• Judicial decision making - judicial activism and jurisprudence.
• Judicial review and creativity.
• Cultural diversity communication.
• The judicial role in democratic, economic, political, social and cultural development of Uganda.
• Contextual law-bridging the gap between law and justice.
• Relationship with key stakeholders in the judicial system.
• Domestic application and enforcement of International Instruments and Laws.
• Global trends in the Rule of Law.

Management course

• E-Governance.
• Strategic Management Planning.
• Developing the Annual Work Plans.
• Specially tailored Management Modules and Audit Systems.
• Performance Management.
• Managing quality of Judicial Services.
• Total quality management.
• Human resource policy and development.
• Managing HIV|AIDS.
• Integrated Financial Management Systems (IFMS) and handling judicial funds.
• Courts’ Estate Planning and Maintenance.
• Management of Information Systems and Court Case Administration process.
• Decision making for managers.
• Discipline, grievous handling skills and understanding difficult people.
• Leadership and Team building skills.
• Management Succession development.
• Motivating all staff.
• Mentoring and counseling skills.
• One minute manager and delegating skills.
• Activity Analysis.

Life skills course

• Personal financial planning.
• Business ownership and investments.
• Managing Debt, Providence and other Personal insurance opportunities.
• Estate and Education Planning.
• Value time and money.
• Disaster management/ Retirement preparations.
• Parenting and relationship tips.
• Personal Career development/ action plans.
• Decorum and etiquette.
• Self defense, Physical fitness/Health techniques and Defensive driving skills.
• How to Handle Sexual Harassment Advances.
• How to develop your hobbies and talents.

Access to criminal justice and sentencing course

• Structures of the criminal justice system.
• Current developments in criminal law and procedure
• Permanent and Adhoc criminal institutions in the world
• Chain-link program in Uganda
• Principles and practices of bail and other criminal applications
• How to handle criminal appeals
• How to handle commercial and other white collar crimes
• How to handle political and national security offences
• How to handle family criminal cases
• Use of ADR in criminal cases
• Plea bargaining as a mechanism of reducing case backlog.
• Recording, admissibility and evaluation of evidence in a criminal case.
• How to handle exhibits and expert witnesses.
• Forensic science and other modern developments in the investigation of crimes.
• Juvenile justice, children and other vulnerable groups.
• Principles and practices of Sentencing.
• Sentencing options available in Uganda.
• Uniform Sentencing mechanisms.
• Community service in Uganda.
• Sentencing and Human Rights.
• The Death Penalty.
• Sentencing and judicial independence.
• Judicial discretion in sentencing.
• Victim’s rights in sentencing.
• Handling Appeals against Sentence.
• Trends in Sentencing.

Access to commercial justice course

• E-Commerce.
• Principles and Practices of Commercial Justice.
• Intellectual Property Law.
• Principles and Practices of Bankruptcy.
• Banking and Financial Institutions laws and Practices
• Modern Corporate Law and Practices.
• Foreign Exchange Laws and the International Money Market.
• International and Domestic Arbitration Laws and Practices.
• International Trade Law, Policies, Procedures and Framework.
• Regional Integration and the Role of Courts.
• Globalisation and Foreign Direct Investment.
• Capital Markets in Uganda.
• Anti-Trust and Monopolies.
• Franchise and Licensing.
• Labour laws.
• Taxation and role of tax tribunals.
• Cyber space and internet law.
• Sale of Goods.
• Contract law.
• Negotiable Instruments.
• International Business Transactions.
• International Economic Relations.
• Legal issues in Privatization.
• Consumer protection and credit.
• Conflict of laws in commercial disputes.
• Commercial ADR Mechanisms.
• Commercial - E - evidence.
• Handling Commercial Appeals.

Access to civil justice

• Basic Principals in the Civil Justice systems.
• Land law and procedures.
• Access to Environmental Law, Policy, Procedure and Practices.
• Law of Torts and procedure.
• Succession law in Uganda.
• Health, Life, Science, law and the Courts.
• Property laws and procedures.
• Family laws and procedures.
• Constitutional laws, procedure and practices.
• Human rights laws, Minority rights and enforcement of Anti-discriminatory laws.
• Administrative laws and procedure.
• Refugee Law and Conflict Resolution
• Quasi-judicial institutions and their role in Administration of Justice.
• Handling election applications and petitions
• Assessment of Damages
• Handling Interim orders, injunctions and interlocutory applications
• Execution of court orders and execution proceedings
• Taxation of costs
• Developments in civil procedure
• Public Interest Litigation
• Handling cases of human rights violations by government agents
• Handling Civil Appeals

Special aspects of the law of evidence course

• Special means of establishing facts and truth finding.
• Use of judicial notice.
• Recording and evaluation of evidence.
• Managing expert witnesses and evidence.
• Managing special witnesses.
• Modern developments in the law of evidence.
• Modern methods of recording evidence.
• Nature of Judicial evidence.
• Evidence and procedure.
• Admissibility of facts.
• Applying facts to the laws applicable.
• Burden of proof.
• Cogency and findings on facts.
• Common trouble spots.

Specially tailored training module for trial judges

• Current state of affairs in the High Court
• Evaluating judicial performance.
• Judicial Ethics and Leadership.
• Judicial Bias/Discretion/Courage.
• Media/Bench/Bar/Public/Relationship.
• Customer care and courtesy.
• Case flow management systems.
• Speedy justice delivery mechanisms.
• Judicial skills in conducting trials and judicial wellness and fitness.
• Exercise of Judicial Discretion and Inherent powers.
• Legal research, data analysis and reporting.
• Legislative interpretation and judicial writing.
• Judicial decision making – judicial activism and jurisprudence.
• Judicial review and creativity.
• Cultural diversity communication.
• Domestic application and enforcement of international instruments and laws.
• Global trends in the rule of law.
• E-Governance.
• Leadership and team building skills.
• One minute manager.
• Sentencing guide lines.
• ADR Skills.

Specially tailored training module for appellant judges

• Impact of Domestic violence and Protection of victims.
• Risk assessments in courts.
• Application of sentencing principals on Appeal.
• Legal significance of genetic evidence and DND.
• Forensic evidence and modern developments in the Evidence collection.
• Judges as Leaders.
• Handling constitutional petitions.
• Handling election petition Appeals.
• Scheduling conferencing skills.
• Justice and the Media.
• Judicial ethics and peer committees.
• Oral Judgments.
• Statutory interpretation.
• Evidence Update.
• Plea bargaining.
• Tort/damage update.
• Family law update.
• Appeal procedures and practices.
• ADR skills for appellant judges.

Gender and human rights course

• Gender and related concepts.
• The concept of human rights.
• Relevance of gender to human rights.
• Violence against women.
• Violence against women in armed conflict.
• Application of international law to domestic cases.
• Gender and access to justice
• The role of culture and religion in access to gender justice
• How to handle women and children court users

Juvenile justice course

• International law and policy issues regarding children.
• Domestic law and policy dealing with children.
• Children in conflict with the law.
• Enforcement of civil and political rights for children.
• Family and children’s court systems.
• Child labour issues.
• Children in armed conflict.
• Child refugee’s cases.
• How to handle child court users

Court registry staff induction course

• E-Governance.
• Structure, Functions and role of the Judiciary.
• Role and duties of various registry staff in the administration of justice.
• Court, Registry, Records and Information Management skills.
• Time/Stress Management.
• Communication Skills/ Customer Care/Courtesy.
• Managing HIV/AIDS.
• Gender/Age Sensitivity Management.
• Judicial Code of Conduct and Peer Review Committees.
• The Judiciary against Corruption
• Duty of secrecy as a custodian of court information.
• Managing change.
• Media/Bench/Bar/Public relationship.
• Social position and status of registry staff in the community.
• Intercultural communication and cultural diversity issues.
• Relationship with key stakeholders in the judicial system.
• Defining the users of judicial records at various stages.
• Designing systems for use and control of files movements.
• Handling the needs of superior (&other) court registries (i.e. on appeal or case transfer).
• Archiving judicial records.

Registry staff special skills module

• Information, Communication, Technology.
• Computer Training.
• Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS).
• Management Information Systems (MIS).
• Court Case Administration System (CCAS).
• Basic statistical analysis/data processing/ display skills.
• Inventory management and control.
• Classification, storage, archiving and retrieval of records.
• Role of a court clerk in providing support services
• Court Interpretation Skills
• Case registration and court procedures
• Preparing court documents
• Fundamentals of service of process and return of process
• Handing court users
• Management of court exhibits

Registry staff continuous education training modules
In-charge registry course

• Building and working as a team
• Understanding groups and individuals.
• Team building and maintenance.
• Creative problem solving.
• Office etiquette
• Judicial ethics
• Office management
• Legal document preparation
• Legal research
• Legal technology
• Advanced word processing
• Internet basics
• Supervision skills.
• Delegating skills.
• Leadership skills.

Court interpreters special skills course

• Principles and practise of communication
• Introduction to interpretation.
• Interpretation techniques
• Commonly used legal terms and their interpretation into local languages.
• Pronunciation.
• Local language.
• Appreciating special sections of the public (e.g. women, the aged, rural, hard of hearing etc.)
• Introduction and explanation of legal terms and their common usage with special reference to the duties of support staff.
• Understanding groups and individuals.
• Team building and maintenance.
• Creative problem solving.
• The heterogeneous nature of the public and it’s implications for staff of the judiciary.
• Gender perspective in understanding the needs of women, men, boys and girls in the public which uses the court system in Uganda.
• Skills in addressing gender issues.
• Understanding and responding to the special needs of children, the aged and people with difficulties in reading and writing, hearing and speaking.

Specially tailored judiciary administrative, non- core and support staff course

• The hierarchy of the courts.
• Outline of their respective jurisdictions, original and appellate.
• The local council courts and their judicial powers.
• Explanation of relevance to support
• Introduction to a court station.
• Introduction to office practice.
• Gender issues and perspectives in the workplace in the judiciary.
• Office etiquette.
• Interpersonal relations (horizontal and vertical)
• Basic filing and records management.
• Ethics in the performance of duties.
• Understanding groups and individuals.
• Team building and maintenance.
• Creative problem solving.
• Introduction to civil service and departmental standing orders, regulations & written standing orders.
• Staff rights, obligations, procedures e.g. disciplinary procedures, performance appraisal etc.

Specially tailored training module for all accounting officers and personnel managing judicial resources

• The Judicial system in Uganda.
• Introduction to a court station.
• Introduction to office practice.
• Gender issues and perspectives in the workplace in the judiciary.
• Office etiquette.
• Interpersonal relations (horizontal and vertical)
• Basic filing and records management.
• Ethics in the performance of duties.
• Communication skills and individual responsibility.
• Gender issues and perspectives in the work place.
• Introduction to civil service and departmental standing orders, regulations
• Staff rights, obligations, procedures e.g. disciplinary procedures, performance appraisal etc.

Professional judicial secretaries training unit module

• Office etiquette.
• Judicial ethics.
• Office management.
• Legal document preparation.
• Legal research.
• Legal technology.
• Computer course in word processing.
• Internet basics.
• Refresher course in typing and shorthand (not for in charge typing).
• Secretarial Duties refresher course.
Telecommunications. Management of files. Scheduling and prioritization of workload. Office equipment (typewriter, photocopying machine) Sources of information. Correspondence. Maintenance of office supplies. Public relations.
• English language Grammar test.

Specially individually tailored training unit modules for judicial itc personnel

• C#, Winforms and VB.net.
• Microsoft Certified Solutions Engineer. (MCSE)
• Oracle software introduction.

Administration of justice skills’ training module for land tribunal members.

• Induction in judicial hierarchy.
• Structures and role of the judiciary.
• How to handle a land trial.
• Judgment writing.
• Time/Stress management.
• Recording of proceedings during trial.
• ADR mechanisms, conferencing.
• Judicial integrity and Code of conduct.
• Conflict management.
• Communication skills.
• Intercultural communications.
• Independence of the judiciary and rules of Nature Justice.
• Public relations and customer care.
• Law & regulations governing land tribunals.
• Land tenure system and law, policy enforcement.
• Landlord and tenant relationship.
• Public land hold.
• Customary land tenure.
• Lease hold tenure.
• Land and women rights.
• Contempt of court.
• Team work and building.
• Civil Procedure Act and Rules.
• Financial management.
• Evaluation of evidence.
• Customer care and courtesy.
• Work planning and scheduling.
• Case management.
• Human Rights and land law.
• Land succession and Trusts