Stop excitement - Prof Bashasha tips lawyers

Seasoned city lawyer and advocate of the High Court of Uganda, Professor Alex Bashasha warned lawyers against using impenetrable language (words, terms impossible to understand) when presenting their cases in courts, fellow lawyers and clients.

Bashasha says it’s prudent for lawyers whenever they are deliberating to use the simplest terms and language for even the lay person to understand in the same way lawyers may do rather than appearing to impress.

“I’m one of the people who believe that not all people understand the same way and are able to digest issues at the same speed. From experience, even us learned friends DO NOT understand and digest issues the same way; that means therefore that we also need to help each other as lawyers to be at the same level of understanding and thus move at the same speed,” said Prof. Bashasha on Friday at Hotel Africana, Kampala where he had been invited to deliver a keynote address at the Annual General Meeting of Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity under the theme “Institutional Sustainability in Promoting Access to Justice”.

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“May be we all remember the excitement, the language and terms we used while talking to our first clients. Some of us picked on and used deep legal terminologies before clients, fellow lawyers and sometimes even before judicial service officers.

“Behind our heads, we wanted to prove that we had mastered law better than anybody else. Actually we lost some cases simply because we had spent more time looking for tough legal terminologies instead of understanding the ingredients of the cases. In most cases we ended up speaking for our individual selves instead of speaking for those we represent.

“We discovered later that it was not about the terminologies but legal interpretation of issues at hand. As elders, we sit in our chambers and listen to young colleagues discussing cases and files and one thing always comes out clear that they are trying to show that they are better than each other than exploring the dynamics of the particular files or cases so that they are better prepared to stand in court,” he added.

on top of being the fraternity’s patron, Bashasha is also the Director General of TABKEN Consults on Development and Fellow of Unicareabean Business School-Geneva also reminded the Christian lawyers’ fraternity members to always be good.

“Above all, we must be good lawyers as our Lord and savior condemns or rebukes or admonishes bad lawyers.”

Those in attendance included Hon. Justice Mike Chibita, Deputy IGG, Hon.Justice Christopher Madrama, Lady Justice Catherine Bamugemereire,Justice Vincent Mugabo, Chancellor Church of Uganda, ULS president among others.

Below is the full keynote address:

INSTITUTIONAL SUSTAINABILITY IN PROMOTING ACCESS TO JUSTICE:

By Professor Alex Bashasha

As defenders of law, we have a duty to make law known and understandable to all and therefore whenever we get an opportunity to make submissions on issues relating to law it is imperative that we translate provisions of the law to the simplest terms for all people to understand even those who we may be against in particular instances.

Whenever we get to gatherings like this one that are intended to bring us together to share experiences and ideas purposely to promote the deliverance of the law, I feel it is important to revisit and explore the fundamentals of law in respect to society in which we operate and the times.

We all agree that even similar cases and files come with different and unique dynamics that may call for exploration of new approaches. I further feel that we may always need to treat ourselves as beginners during these sessions in the same way we begin to handle new files that we pick on each day.

Secondly we have a duty to prepare the society in which we operate for the members to understand the importance of the roles we lawyers play in positive advancement of the law.

As such whenever we meet and whatever we deliberate on should be translated to the simplest terms and language for even the lay person to understand in the same way lawyers may do.

I’m one of the people who believe that not all people understand the same way and are able to digest issues at the same speed. From experience, even us learned friends DO NOT understand and digest issues the same way; that means therefore that we also need to help each other as lawyers to be at the same level of understanding and thus move at the same speed.

May be we all remember the excitement, the language and terms we used while talking to our first clients. Some of us picked on and used deep legal terminologies before clients, fellow lawyers and sometimes even before judicial service officers. Behind our heads, we wanted to prove that we had mastered law better than anybody else. Actually we lost some cases simply because we had spent more time looking for tough legal terminologies instead of understanding the ingredients of the cases. In most cases we ended up speaking for our individual selves instead of speaking for those we represent. We discovered later that it was not about the terminologies but legal interpretation of issues at hand. As elders, we sit in our chambers and listen to young colleagues discussing cases and files and one thing always comes out clear that they are trying to show that they are better than each other than exploring the dynamics of the particular files or cases so that they are better prepared to stand in court.

Today’s gathering is a general meeting of Christian Lawyers Fraternity and we are sharing on “Institutional Sustainability in Promoting Access to Justice”

In this let’s first look at “Institutional Sustainability” and “Access to Justice” and later we shall look at the “promotion”. As we are Christian Lawyers, I will focus my presentation on the Law and Christianity.

But first let’s give brief background to what Christianity is and its roles in society then we can also think about the term Christian Lawyers and our roles in building institutions that promote access to Justice.

What is the role of religion in a society?

Generally, religion serves to motivate people to work towards and for positive social change. It reinforces unity and stability through promotion of Respect, Rights and Responsibility. Religion therefore serves as an agent of social control, promoting psychological and physical well-being of people. An thus is the role of Christianity.

And a Christian is one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ as all of us here are.

We are first of all Christians and then we are lawyers; what are then our roles in motivating people towards positive social change? What have we done to reinforce unity and stability in society? These are the fundamental questions that we need to ask ourselves every time we meet as Christian lawyers.

On another hand,

What is the role of law in society?

By definition, the law is a set of rules and regulations that govern human behaviour and interaction. The Laws therefore provide a framework within which people can conduct their affairs safely and securely. Fundamentally, the law establishes codes of conduct which people must adhere to regardless of their social status or economic power and thus plays a role of protecting our rights as citizens against abuses by other people, by organizations and by the government itself thereby ensuring our general safety and security at local, regional and national levels.

The presence and respect of the law makes the environment safe and secure for all citizens regardless of their social or economic status.

This ensures that everyone is treated fairly and equally under the law, and that there is no arbitrary use of power or unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority. Any expressed wish must have a serious reason or purpose behind it even when it occurs suddenly.

Another crucial role of law is to promote justice. Laws provide a means for individuals to seek redress when they have been wronged. They also establish a system of punishment for those who break the law, which serves as a deterrent to others. By promoting justice, law ensures that the vulnerable in society are protected from exploitation and abuse, and that everyone is held accountable for their actions.

In addition to promoting social order, justice, and values, law also serves an economic function. Laws provide a framework within which businesses can operate, and establish rules for contracts, property rights, and intellectual property. This creates a stable and predictable environment for economic activity, which encourages investment and growth.

Now let’s remind ourselves about what it means by “getting access to Justice”. Then later I will endeavour to give an opinion on what roles we as Christian Lawyers can play in building and sustaining institutions that promote access to Justice.

As earlier noted, the laws promote justice. Laws provide a means for individuals to seek redress when they have been wronged. They also establish a system of punishment for those who break the law, which serves as a deterrent to others. By promoting justice, law ensures that the vulnerable in society are protected from exploitation and abuse, and that everyone is held accountable for their actions.

But

What do we understand by “Access to Justice?”

Different scholars have defined access to justice differently; with many referring to it simply as to mean formal ability to appear and to be treated fairly in court. But critically analyzing it, the term Access to Justice explores wider social contexts of our court system and lays out possible barriers that members of community have faced or likely to face in their bid or simply inability to appear in court.

Broadly, “Access to Justice” involves normative legal protection, legal awareness, legal aid and counsel, adjudication, enforcement, and civil society oversight.The outcome of these are summed as:-

The Right to appear in Court. This refers to an individual’s formal right to litigate or defend.
Advocacy for those who cannot afford it as foundation for today’s legal aid and poverty law clinics.
Reforming the Justice system by simplifying procedural and formal requirements and implementing mechanisms for group and third-party claims.
Equality of outcomes including reforming and streamlining many areas of the legal system, as well as reforming other social institutions with the goal of creating a more holistic model of service.
The future of Access to Justice by encouraging the justice systems to develop partnerships with communities, organizations and governments to develop holistic and lasting solutions to reduction or total elimination of known barriers to accessing justice.

Christian lawyers and the bible….

Generally, a lawyer is an individual who has been trained in the law of a country and has acquired the relevant professional qualification to practice law. The Christian lawyer therefore, apart from attaining the above status must be seen as one who identifies with the Holy Bible especially the works of our Lord Jesus Christ in conduct and conversation.

The most fundamental and original purpose of lawyers is to plead for society and people and defend the poor; deliver those who are drawn towards death and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.

Proverbs 31:8-9:

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

We must speak up for the marginalized if, because they are poor, they are treated unfairly. Christian lawyers are God’s Ambassadors, acting on His behalf to defend those who are violated. How many of us have rendered pro bono services? How many of us are good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

What roles can we Christian lawyers play in building and sustaining institutions that promote access to justice?

Religion and Justice are as old as the story of creation in the Bible.

Christianity has had a long and complex relationship to law. Christian communities maintain well-established bodies of canon law and church government that govern the polity, property, doctrine, and liturgy of the church as well as the spiritual and moral lives of clergy and laity.

Various books of the bible, talk about God expressing his Will, demonstrating His Holiness, Justice and goodness. The books mention boundaries of behavior in which God expects us to be; the purposes concerning human conduct and relationships binding upon all people in very age. They distinguish between right and wrong, between righteousness and sin.

“Obedience” is God’s first law of heaven, the cornerstone upon which all righteousness and progression rest. It consists in compliance with divine law, in conformity to the mind and will of “divine nature”

Obedience simply means compliance with an order, request, or law or submission to another’s authority.

Between the maker of the law and one submits to it, stands an advocate , intercessor, mediator, conciliator, minister in the temple of justice; this the unique position a Christian lawyer occupies.

A Christian lawyer is unique because they ascribe to the biblical values on Justice on top of the ordinary civic and professional conduct.

For a Christian lawyer, your role in society is a biblical calling to stand for a free society. We therefore have a duty to promote deep Christian reflection on fundamentals of law and to build further ecumenical legal understanding across Christian denominations and to link and amplify

the diverse and sometimes isolated Christian legal voices and visions in society.

In this presentation, I will focus on the role of a Christian lawyer in the transformation of society in general and why a Christian lawyer is in a more privileged position to play a significant role in the transformation of society.

First I will ask a rhetoric questions; truly speaking, can one be a lawyer and a true Christian? How does society perceive of us Christian lawyers? Do they agree that we can transform society for the better? The answers to these and many more questions are with us.

As lawyers we all know and agree that we represent and defend wrong doers and we have helped them win cases in courts of law, not once, not twice but many times.

Isaiah 59:4:

No one enters suit justly; no one goes to law honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.

William Ames, a student of Perkins, wrote that conscience is “a man’s judgment of himself, according to the judgment of God of him.” Regardless of what we love with our affections or choose with our will, there is a part of our understanding that judges us and makes gives us a sense of moral approval or guilt accordingly

As a Christian lawyer, what does your conscience tell you when someone confides in you that he has done wrong but needs your legal representation in courts of law or before any other authority? For example, the biblical law says “Thou shall not kill” and the Penal Code Act states than any person who of malice aforethought causes the death of another person by an unlawful act or omission commits murder; but one who has committed murder comes to you, confesses to you that he has done it but he wants you to defend him….

Of late we have had instances where land grabbers have demolished churches; as a Christian lawyers, would we represent such people if they sought our services?

We have conflicts in churches, where the congregation gets divided either against themselves or against the Church leadership, as a Christian lawyer which role are supposed to play in sustaining the church?

As lawyers, we are accused of being money minded and only offering services to only those who can afford it.

Uganda Christian Lawyers’ Fraternity (UCLF) mission is premised on Proverbs 31: 19 ‘ Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and the needy.’

This verse is what I want to focus on. What are you doing as a Christian lawyer to live up to the values of this verse?

Do you speak up against unfairness in society? Do you judge fairly?

Do you defend the rights of the poor and needy? Your answers to these questions will determine if you are effectively contributing to the transformation of society as a Christian lawyer.

Ethics and integrity are the core of professionalism in the legal fraternity. A Christian should exercise high levels of ethics and integrity. In 2021, The Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny-Dolo urged Christian lawyers to shun corruption and be ambassadors of justice and the rule of law.

He noted that there is corruption in the judiciary and wondered if Christian lawyers can be exonerated from the vice. He was speaking at a public lecture organized by the Uganda Christian Lawyers Federation to remember the life of the organization’s first president Charles Owor. The chief justice said if lawyers and judicial officers were to use the principles of justice in the Bible, they would ably dispense justice to the public.

The challenge we have as Christian lawyers is to balance faith with profession or money so that we are seen as true Christians (as we are supposed to be) at the same time offering legal services in a more professional manner. The question is, where do we start?

In my personal opinion, we need to start with supporting efforts that are geared towards the transformation of institutions that pave way to accessing justice by all.

Transforming society starts with transforming institutions through which service delivery is expended to citizens.

Access to information on law and rights is a big challenge for many people. We have a big section of illiterate people without resources and capacity to seek justice. This is where Christian lawyers are expected to come in and help those who have no access to legal information and their rights.

We all know that society is full of inequalities. Yet before God, we should all be equal. As a Christian lawyer, you are in a privileged position to advocate for, represent and advice those who have no voice and are unfairly disadvantaged. Are you doing this? When the last time was represented the disadvantaged to ensure that they get justice. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Many people in society are disadvantaged because seeking justice is out of reach for many Ugandans. If you do not have resources, you cannot get justice. It is bad that some people may not even afford a transport fare to report a case or travel to court. These are the realities of the justice system in Uganda and most developing countries.

Our vibrant association of Christian legal professionals, was started in 1986 as a fellowship of Christian law students. It has since grown to over 500 members who are working in the different facets of the Justice, Law and Order Sector and the Private Sector.

If all of us took on the responsibility of creating and disseminating of legal information to all people then society would transform in the shortest time possible.

Christian lawyers should encourage member participation in ethical and legal practices and community involvement by providing pro-bono opportunities. Probono services are key because many of the poor people can’t seek justice without such. Court processes are tedious and expensive. They require a lot of resources including hiring of lawyers yet most people cannot afford. Therefore, as a Christian lawyer, providing probono is a big contribution to the transformation of society.

On the theme of sustaining institutions that promote Access to Justice, as Christian Lawyers, we urgently need to to start with building and sustain Church/Christianity as an institution.

In earlier paragraphs we hinted on the roles and importance of Christianity in society and therefore in it incumbent on us as lawyers to research on how we can prevent the replica of problems in church or affecting Christianity to day.

For example, how do we reduce or totally eradicate leadership conflicts in church?
How can we root out saboteurs who are in church for different and personal missions other than for praise / faith? Between the congregation/followers and the leaders, how do detect self-seekers whose mission in church is to satisfy their individual selfish motives? And how do we prevent or fail them from achieving their goals?

1 John 4:1.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

What are the likely problems that may affect the Church/Christianity and how do we proactively prevent them.
What roles can we play to build church so that it get back as the top-most agent of moral change and development?

After enforcing Church and teaching communities the basics of law then we shall need to get to the legal institutions and advocate for systems improvement and strengthen them to deliver services to all equally.

Uganda is currently in the process of amending several laws. As a Christian lawyer what role have you played in advocating for the enactment and implementation of fair laws and policies, which are in harmony with Christian principles.

The world is changing so fast and the changes come with many dynamics that may affect the delivery of justice. Research and advocacy are therefore critical for every legal practitioner. As a Christian lawyer, find time to do research on issues that affect society in relation to time and how they can be resolved. Always work towards setting a precedent. What positive thing will be talked about you in the legal profession even you die; how will you be remembered?

The late Prof Dani Nabudere in his paper “ The fast tracking of Federalism and Constitutionalism in East Africa” notes that Sir UdoUdoma (first African Chief Justice of Uganda) was very instrumental in setting the pace and tenor for the Africanization of law in Uganda by making rulings that were first of their kind in the country subsequently setting major precedents.

Conclusion

Above all, we must be good lawyers as our Lord and Savior condemn or rebuke or admonish bad lawyers.19 However, always remember the most important commandment –

Luke 10:25-37:

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” …

Thank you for your attention and God bless.

-END-

Professor Alex Bashasha is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda

He is the Director General of TABKEN Consults on Development and Fellow of Unicareabean Business School-Geneva