adminTHE idea behind coming up with a national Constitution is to define normative expectations of a people and in the process criminalise deviant behaviour. Members of society are therefore required to conduct themselves in a manner that mirrors what is required of them at law otherwise justice will take its course when they transgress.Over the years, members of the public viewed the courts as institutions that are only concerned with sending people to prison after conviction. Even those not accused of doing anything but are summoned to court as witnesses, hesitated to enter a court room for the fear of the unknown.
This explains why it is rare to find commoners visiting the court to hear cases out of interest.
More often than not, the people you see at the courts are either suspects, witnesses or their relatives who want to follow proceedings because their kith and kin are involved.
The result of all this is that members of the public, over the years, developed bad perceptions about the courts because the door was shut in their faces.
At this point in time, we want to praise the Judicial Service Commission for running a fruitful open day last Saturday in Mutare whose main thrust was to familiarize members of the public with the operations of the justice delivery system.
The objective of the open day was to raise awareness on the mandate of the JSC, monitor and evaluate public relations strategies as well as receiving feedback from members of the public on the performance of the courts.
It was aimed at fostering public trust and confidence in the justice system and to undertake public education to improve knowledge of the courts.
The open day, which ran under the theme: “Access to justice: Know your courts”, saw various players taking part.
These include the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, High Court, Labour Court, Magistrates’ Court, Offices of the Sheriff and the Master of the High Court, legal practitioners, Law Society of Zimbabwe and law-based non-governmental organisations.
Elsewhere in this issue we carry a story in which members of the public appreciated the open day for it gave them the opportunity to have first hand information on the functions of the courts.
From their testimonies they said they were now a knowledgeable lot and will fully enjoy their rights as enshrined in the national Constitution because they now understand the justice delivery system.
Some said innocent people were going to jail for crimes they did not commit because they did not know that there are legal practitioners that represent them in court.
Others were equally shocked that there are non-governmental organisations that can provide legal services to under-privileged members of the society free of charge.
Because of the open day and the vital information members of the public got, the delivery of justice will be easier and efficient of the courts.
Most of the people will come to the courts informed and they will definitely be prepared for fair trials, arbitrations or set downs.
It is our view that these judicial public expos must be a common feature on our calendars.
In the same vein other Government departments that provide vital services to the people must follow suit and come out in the open.
If the Registrar-General’s Office does the same we are quite sure that the long queues that form at their offices will be long gone because people will come there prepared and not to inquire.
Online Reporter