The Chief Registrar Sara Langa Siu has urged members of the general public not to give material items and Money to judicial officers in appreciation of services offered to them because thats what they are paid to do Constitutional mandate).
“That is a form of corruption which the public should be able to shun, the salaries that are paid to Judicial officers and Staff of the judiciary, that is the thank you you are receiving from the people of Uganda . There should be no additional thank you however good the decision may be.” remarked Langa on addressing the press at Judiciary headquarters in Kampala on Friday
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She also advised the members of the public only to pay for services where they are issued with receipts and never to pay cash to any judiciary staff.
“Court fees are paid in the bank , but in some places without banks ,cashiers have been given powers to receive the money and issue out receipts court users
All court fees are paid to an approved bank as directed by the cashier, but where banks are inaccessible, fees can be paid to an authorized court cashier. Upon payment of the relevant fee, a receipt has to be issued to the payee by the cashier and after a copy of the receipt or bank slip has to be placed on the court file.”
The registrar also noted that matters/Documents that are administrative in nature for example
correspondences/letters do not attract payment of fees.
That unlike bail, court fees cannot be reclaimed from government but can be recovered by a successful party from the losing party in their bill of costs.
“In criminal matters, the fees payable are generally minimal and relate to filing of appeals and revisions. Filing of criminal cases does not at the
first instance attract payment of fees.”
She also noted that some services are free like; The request for production warrants and handling of administrative matters in criminal matters – is free, Visits to locus in quo – are funded by the Judiciary and are not conducted at the cost of litigants and Service of court process – such as summons, hearing notices etc.
The Judiciary provides funds for Court process servers and service, and
motor bikes have been availed in some stations to facilitate this process.
The Chief Registrar commended the media for increasing awareness on matters of bail refund which has led to increased number of applicants seeking the bail money to be refunded after successful completion of their trial.
