Kenya’s Judiciary, the country’s ruling court authority, is sending out notices on social media informing lawyers that it will be delivering pending judgements through electronic means – including videochat and emails – writes Tech Weez.
Like many other government and private organisations, social distancing because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced thousands towards online platforms to continue important work. The Judiciary is focused on Skype and Gmail to continue to proliferate its ruling.
[Tweet “Kenya’s Judiciary is focused on Skype and Gmail to continue to proliferate its rulings.”]
The Justice Department announced on Twitter that they will deliver a number of judgements via Skype on 3 April, Friday.
CAUSE-LIST FOR DELIVERY OF JUDGMENTS VIDE VIDEO LINK (SKYPE) ON FRIDAY THE 3RD APRIL, 2020 AT 9.00 AM.@lawsocietykenya pic.twitter.com/gLcfTUCy7W
— The Judiciary Kenya (@Kenyajudiciary) March 31, 2020
The Judiciary has also announced that all courts will be making arrangements to deliver pending judgements via email. Lawyers have been advised to send information to emails provided by the Judiciary itself, which includes case numbers, email addresses, telephone numbers, as well as additional case details like whether the case is awaiting ruling or judgement, the date of the judgement TBD, and finally the name of the respective appointed judge.
In an interesting note, the Judiciary has forgone the government’s official electronic mailing service for Gmail, possibly as a sign of lacking trust for the government’s own platform – especially to handle such delicate matters.
It has also chosen old-favourite Skype, over the newly rising Zoom platform. Zoom itself is currently embroiled in a few privacy controversies, and perhaps this has influenced the decision.
Courts in South Africa have yet to adopt such methods in the delivery of judgements, but perhaps as the coronavirus continues to spread globally – extreme cases such as this will only become the new norm in more countries around the world.
Edited by Luis Monzon
Follow Luis Monzon on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter
