MUTARE– The Judicial Service Commission is mooting introduction of a grid sentencing system to avoid sentence disparities for petty offences, a High Court Judge has said.
This was said by Justice Charles Hungwe at the opening of the High Court circuit in Manicaland amid calls for the judiciary to be more open and accessible to the public.
Hungwe said the prudence of the grid sentencing system, applied successfully in other jurisdictions, would put clear cut parameters to avoid too high or too low sentences of similar matters.
“In this regard it is my view that one of the many ways to address divergent opinions regarding sentence would be to consider a sentencing grid for every offence.
“Other jurisdictions have done so with success. In light of the fact that we have codified our criminal law, it is easier to consider establishing a sentence grid for each particular offence,” he said.
Justice Hungwe said setting up minimum, intermediary and maximum sentences would ease the challenge of sentence disparities in magistrate’s courts for petty offences.
“One could start with providing a minimum sentencing framework for the common offenses and later provide intermediary and finally the maximum penalty for each crime.
“The point I make can be demonstrated by the disparities apparent in sentences passed in the magistrates’ courts for what can be considered petty offences,” he said.
Legal practitioners said move would restore confidence into the judiciary as the general public looked for uniformity in the sentencing of cases.
Gorge Lock, a senior partner with Henning and Lock, said disparities in sentences bring the judiciary into disrepute, eroding people’s confidence in the system.
He said if sentences are not in line with precedence set by the courts on matters of a similar nature, the general public will have a low opinion of justice delivery.
“Although I am not clear with what the Justice referred to in this matter, grid sentencing is done to ensure that people can see uniformity in the handling of the matter because without this consistence sometimes justice isn’t seen to be done.
“Having a sentencing grid will ensure that no sentence is too high or too low by maintaining parameters then not sentence can be outside that range on similar offences.
“With this disparity, where there is no grid framework, comes loss of people’s confidence in the system and this brings justice delivery into disrepute,” he said.
Justice Hungwe said the Mutare High Court circuit was also currently inundated by a backlog of cases from the previous year as only 37 cases were sat and resolved.
The three circuits accorded to Manicaland took ten days each, and only sat for trial as the sessions are not cleared to attend ordinary High Court cases.
He said the current backlog was indicative of the need to decentralize the High Court to Manicaland to deal with these issues.
“A total of thirty seven cases were sat down for trial. Currently there are 137 cases constituting a backlog for this court.
“At this rate it is not possible to clear this backlog within a reasonable time,” he said.
