April 2015
From March 6–7, the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) organized a conference in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), allowing stakeholders, including national and regional government, United Nations, as well as non-governmental organization representatives, military and civilian judges, information technology professionals and prosecutors from North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema provinces, to take stock of the ABA ROLI-supported digital case database.
The database will help to increase the justice sector’s capacity to adjudicate cases more effectively by providing justice sector actors with a system that allows them to access timely and accurate case information.
ABA ROLI developed the database in close cooperation with local stakeholders and first piloted it in South Kivu in 2010 to increase the justice sector’s capacity to adjudicate cases more effectively by providing justice sector actors with a system that allows them to access timely and accurate case information. The database has since expanded to North Kivu and Maniema provinces. Conference participants said that the database improved court personnel efficiency in retrieving records and producing statistics. To help enhance the performance and effectiveness of courts, participants made targeted recommendations on increasing the capacity and role of database administrators, improving management of database equipment and addressing resource needs. They suggested that a law integrating new information and communication technologies into the justice system be adopted, that additional information technology specialists be recruited and that current database users receive additional training. They also recommended administrative penalties for database misuse and regular inventory of database equipment.
Reaffirming the DRC government’s support for and commitment to the database, a representative of the Ministry of Justice said, “[The database is a] necessary step towards strengthening the justice sector.”
ABA ROLI’s work on the court database is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the MacArthur Foundation and the U.S. Department of State.
To learn more about our work in the DRC, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at [email protected].