adminMathew Masinge
VISITING Namibian Deputy Chief Justice, Petrus Tileinge Damaseb, said he will take home lasting solutions to solve their commercial disputes.
He toured the recently-commissioned electronic filing system.
Zimbabwe adopted an electronic case management system that has seen the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and the High Court going paperless.
The Namibian DCJ, Damaseb, accompanied by Justice Shafimana Fikameni, chief registrar, Immanuel Ueitele and two other officials, are here on a five-day familiarisation tour.
In an interview shortly after a closed door meeting with CJ Malaba, Damaseb said they were here to learn.
“This is a benchmark for our Zimbabwean colleagues in terms of innovations and reforms that have been introduced here in commercial dispute resolutions.
“We are planning to introduce a commercial division of the High Court in Namibia and we are here to learn from our colleagues on how to effectively run the system.
“Our expectations are high and we are to take the good things from the practices that Zimbabwe has introduced so that we can use that to introduce reforms in our own country.”
The Namibia DCJ said the two countries have a long standing relationship in the delivery of justice.
“We have a very long standing relationship between the Zimbabwean and Namibian judiciary.
“As you know, a number of judges from here have worked in our country since we gained independence,” he said.
JSC secretary, Walter Chikwanha, said the paperless court was doing well since its introduction in May.
“Our Namibian counterparts are here to benchmark some of the success we have recorded so far after we introduced the first paperless Commercial Court.
“The process has done very well, filings are being done electronically, hearings are being done virtually and litigants are doing this from the comfort of their homes.
“These are some of the things that have been happening in the judiciary system and we have also received inquiries from Zambia,” said Chikwanha.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter