By Elkass Sannoh
President Bio, on the 18th May 2021, reaffirmed the massive reforms ongoing in the Judiciary of Sierra Leone under the leadership of the Hon. Chief Justice His Lordship Justice Desmond Babatunde Edwards.
Speaking in the Well of Parliament during the State Opening of the Fourth Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, President Bio insisted that “every citizen should benefit from a fair, impartial, and effective justice system”.
He said in order to increase access to justice his Government has supported the appointment of 15 more High Court judges and 11 more Magistrates, adding that “there are now regular High Court Criminal Sessions in Pujehun, Tonkolili, Bonthe, Kambia, Koinadugu, Kailahun, Moyamba, Port Loko, and Kono Districts.”
He went on to note that the Judiciary under the Hon. Chief Justice, now has more qualified women to serve in senior management positions in the judiciary including the Master and Registrar, Court Operations Manager, Human Resource Manager, Deputy Master and Registrar, and Court of Appeal Registrar.
According to President Bio, 2 female judges in the Supreme Court, 5 in the Court of Appeal, and 5 in the High Court have been appointed in line with his gender policy to empower more women.
“Through Constitutional Instrument, the High Court has been divided into eight divisions with three specialised courts adjudicating corruption cases, dealing with industrial and social security disputes, and handling sexual offences cases,” he said, stressing that, “digitalisation of court processes is ongoing.”
Impressed with the current leadership provided by Hon. Justice Edwards, President Bio said his Government has improved the landscape for commercial law by acceding to international instruments. He went further to disclose that a small claims commercial court has been set up to fast track cases in Magistrate court with claims of under 50 million Leones.
