Story by Fungai Jachi
The Mozambican justice department has approached the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for insights on the juvenile justice system which has been successfully implemented in Zimbabwe to protect children’s rights.
The delegation which was led by the Vice President of the Supreme Court of Mozambique, Honourable João Antonio Beirão paid a courtesy call on Chief Justice Luke Malaba in Harare this Tuesday with the delegates interested in tapping into the Children’s Courts.
“We look forward that our visit here will enlighten us on how we can improve the justice system in our country so that we fully protect the rights of children who find themselves in courts. We have learnt a lot from the JSC and we continue to learn,” said Supreme Court of Mozambique vice president, Honourable João António Beirão.
Chief Justice Malaba assured the delegation that the JSC will continue to find ways of improving the juvenile justice system.
“The reforms in the juvenile justice system can be possible is there is an all stakeholder approach. It is important that courts take into cognisant of the need to protect children whether they are perpetrators or victims. Children should be able to give evidence in a free environment far from the trauma accompanying being in court. In our courts we have created Victim Friendly Courts where children testify in camera and we also abolished the corporal punishment meaning children are no longer sentenced whipping. This is because the courts wait to take a leading role in protecting the rights of children,” he said.
Earlier this year, another delegation from Mozambique’s justice department was in Zimbabwe for another benchmarking mission where they got an insight on how the Integrated Electronic Case Management System (IECMS) operates.
