By: NyimaSillah
The Judiciary of the Gambia on Friday with stakeholders converged at Sir Dawda Kairaba conference centre for the validation of a draft bill for the establishment of the Gambia Institute for Judicial Training.
The judicial, one of the critical components of the democratization process, the formation of the institute will empower judicial officials in expeditious adjudication of cases.
Justice Sulaiman Jallow, Justice of the Supreme Court speaking on behalf of the Chief Justice hailed the timeliness and noted that the review was not only for the institute but also to ensure effective training institute for judicial officials to ensure effective and efficient delivery of services.
“One thing we are very good at doing in this country is writing very good laws, but we are particularly not good at enforcement. We need to make a difference. We have been assisted in this process by the ABA and other stakeholders.”
“We need to ensure that once the bill is properly drafted when it comes to the implementation process, we have the necessary tools to ensure that the objectives of the bill are achieved,” he said.
Mr. SalieuTaal, President of the Gambia Bar Association, complimented the judiciary for taking such a timely step and also acknowledged the support of the American Bar Association.
“The common law jurisdiction judges don’t have any formal training but legal practice and administrational justice are evolving and are dynamic. So surely, there is a need to train judges to adapt to the realities of the time,” he told judicial officials.
He continued: “In the Gambia, the judiciary has exclusive power to determine what the law is, the only body to decide what the law is all about in our constitution is the judiciary which has the final say
Mr. Taal stated that the judiciary has a noble and secret role that comes with a lot of responsibilities so for that reason, it is important that the men and women entrusted with a heavy burden of noble duty be well-equipped to establish law in terms of knowledge, wisdom, diligence, and ethics. “As a Bar Association, we welcome the establishment of an institute that will help enhance and build the capacity and knowledge of judges and hopefully other stakeholders.”