Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace, Dili, 15 December 2020
During a meeting with President Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, the president of the Court of Appeal Deolindo dos Santos explained the drop in the number of cases pending before the courts with the service-level changes introduced in the last two years.
According to Deolindo dos Santos, the judicial movement, the replacement of secretaries and bailiffs, the mobile courts, and the training of human resources were decisive in expediting the response to the backlog of cases.
These changes aim to improve the service of the courts to ensure that citizens have access to justice.
Timor-Leste currently has four courts – Dili, Suai, Baucau, and Oe-Cusse – and three more are planned to be built in Ermera, Viqueque, and Maliana, in an effort to bring justice closer to citizens. However, the creation of new courts requires the amendment of the Judiciary Organisation Law.
Deolindo dos Santos promised to maximise the potential of mobile courts to bring justice to the most remote locations. The president of the Court of Appeal is confident that the development partners will support the optimisation of the mobile courts’ performance.
The president of the Court of Appeal also took the opportunity to inform the Head of State that he has yet to receive the registrations of new political parties from the Ministry of Justice.
PR MEDIA.