How do Matters Reach the Court?
Matters reach the Court when they are filed at the Magistrates Registry. There are either civil or criminal in nature. The majority of Civil matters are filed by the Lawyer on the behalf of the Plaintiff and the Commissioner of Police for the crown in the case of criminal matters.
Filing a claim in a Civil Suit is the first stage of proceedings. These cases are lodged and dated.The matters are then entered into the order books, and given a Suit number and date of hearing.
Judgment debtors summonses are the second stage, and commitment summonses are the last stage before the person can apply for a warrant of commitment. These are filed in separate registers, and given a number and date of hearing. They are then given to the typist for the particular district, who will then type the summonses. Upon return from the typist, the complaint along with the summonses, is then sent to the magistrate for the district for signature. After signature, the complaint along with the summonses is returned to the Filing Clerk, who will then separate the complaints from the summonses. The complaints are then filed in the complaints' register and the summonses in the summons' register. These are then placed in the suits cupboard in the date appointed for hearing.
Criminal and Traffic Cases
Upon receipt at the Registry, the complaints are dated and given to the Typist of the particular districts who would then type Summonses, which are attached to the complaint. They are then sent to the magistrate for signature. On return from the magistrate, the same complaint, along with summonses, are then given to the clerks of court, who will then file these in the order books. The clerks then enter the judgments in the order books. The monthly statistics are prepared. These statistics are then typed, dispatched and filed. The disposed cases are then stored in the cupboards in bundles according to the month of disposal.
