KAS

The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation under the aegis of the Rule of Law Program for Sub Saharan Africa and the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists held a consultative workshop with key stakeholders drawn from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and Southern Sudan on the establishment of an Online legal Resource Centre for East Africa in Nairobi. The main objective of the workshop was to offer background information on the conceptualisation of the project and to share country reports on the status of law reporting among the East African Community member states with a view to assessing the viability of establishing an online resource centre in the region.

The workshop brought together participants drawn from the national judiciaries, the East African Court of Justice (EACJ), the bar associations and the institutions mandated to undertake law reporting at the national level from among the member states of the East African Community. Mr. Paul Kukubo, the Chief Executive Officer, ICT Board Kenya, gave the keynote address underscoring the importance of ICT in every sphere in today’s society. The conference was graced by Justice Johnstone Busingye, the Principal Judge, EACJ; Justice Florence Muchemi, High Court Judge, Kenya; Judge Francois Regis Rukundakuvuga, Supreme Court of Rwanda; Prof. Dietmar Moeller and Dr. Berhanu Beyene both of the University of Hamburg; Prof. Christian Roschmann, the Director, Rule of Law Program for Sub Saharan Africa; and Mr. George Kegoro, the Executive Director, ICJ-Kenya, among others.

From the country reports, it was clear that Kenya has made tremendous strides as far law reporting is concerned and there was commendable progress in Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. Prof. Moeller and Dr. Beyene took participants through the technical aspects of the project.

The participants expressed their support for the project, lauding it as a timely initiative that will be of great benefit not only to the lawyers and judicial officers but also to the consumers of justice and the general public as a whole, in the region and beyond.

The challenges of collecting and collating material at the national level, translations of the same and coordination of the project across the region were highlighted. Nonetheless, it was unanimously agreed these challenges were surmountable and the participants resolved to establish an editorial committee to explore ways of mitigating these challenges and chart the way forward. Each country is expected to nominate one person, in addition to having a representative from the EACJ.