The Chief Judge of River State, Justice I.A Iyayi-Lamikanra has said that the automation of the state’s judiciary in the last year has brought tremendous improvement in justice delivery and administration.
The CJ stated that the judiciary noticed that to initiate lasting reforms in the justice sector and to replace the archaic procedures and outmoded administrative and management systems, it has to develop holistic information and communications technology (ICT) solutions to provide end-to-end automation of the cash flow system
Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra who spoke in a statement released by the Chief Registrar to mark one year anniversary of the automation of the state’s judiciary said: “I believe that Information and communications technology have brought a turning point in the history of human civilization. It has brought about numerous changes and innovations in all fields of human activity. It has resulted in enhanced efficiency, productivity, and quality of output in every walk of life. And the Justice sector is not an exception.”
According to her, the last 365 days in the Rivers State Judiciary have been a journey of automating processes for improved speed in the administration of justice.
The journey, the CJ said, has been experiential with a lot of positive feedback and improvements on an ongoing basis.
“Most of the Rules that operate in our courts today date back to decades of manual and analog practice that always require human intrusion to achieve the desired goal of effective justice administration.
More than ever before, the pandemic revealed most of the inadequacies of the manual system and informed how the use of technology can greatly improve the access to justice and speed up the delivery of the same. The all-round support from the State Government gave the needed impetus for us to embark on the audacious journey of automating the Rivers State Judiciary,” the CJ declared, highlighting some of the achievements in the first year.
According to Justice Iyayi- Lamikanra, some of the landmark achievements in the last year when it adopted the Rivers State Court Management System (RIVCOMIS) include; E-filing of cases, online payments, virtual/remote court hearing, e-Affidavits, Capacity Development (for effective, efficient, and sustainable implementation of the RivCOMiS platform, migration of old cases among others.
The Chief Registrar, Vivienne Kobani-Buzugbe said: “To get to this point, Rivers State led by the Executive Governor, Nyesom Wike, and PoS Africa has left no stone unturned in funding the project even as his lordship, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice A. I. Iyayi-Lamikanra took ownership of the implementation and gave direction to its adoption and domestication in the Rivers State Judiciary through a well-composed Judiciary ICT committee led by Honourable Justice Elsie Thompson.
“Part of our implementation strategy was to ensure that the Bar in Rivers State was carried along and they have cooperated thus far, making useful input that has helped in the improvement of deployment to the benefit of all stakeholders. We appreciate their partnership and support. Today, the journey which began over a year ago has turned into the country’s leading online court management system.”
Guardian