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…judges and magistrates receive refresher training
Morosi Zian
White-collar crime remains the biggest challenge plaguing the nation’s economy.
Justice Minister Richard Ramoeletsi said the government saw a need to equip judges and magistrates to effectively try the growing number of money laundering and corruption cases.
Mr RamoeletsiSixty judges and magistrates met in Maseru on Monday to discuss tackling corruption, money laundering, fraud, cybercrime and other serious economic crimes.
The training was funded by the European Union’s Support to Reform and Strengthening Governance in Lesotho programme and was conducted by UN consultant Fitzroy Drayton.
Mr Lamoletsi said Mr Drayton’s role was to provide the judiciary with knowledge and skills to better deal with white-collar crime.
“Money laundering poses a serious threat to the integrity of the economic and financial system and the security of citizens,” Lamoletsi said.
“The impacts of corruption are wide-ranging: it discourages investment, limits economic growth, has an adverse impact on government spending, often undermining future economic growth, and diverts resources away from their most beneficial use.
“The advisory service aims to equip the justice system with knowledge and skills to better deal with corruption, money laundering, fraud and other related financial crimes. This training comes at a timely moment and is aimed at improving the justice system’s ability to handle criminal and civil cases and sentence criminals who abuse the financial system, as well as better handle asset confiscation related to economic crimes.”
Mr. Lamoletsi said the world was constantly evolving and therefore, it was wise for the judiciary to keep pace with the times and adapt to changes that would positively impact the work of judicial officers.
“Given that society and its legal environment are constantly evolving, pre-service legal training, regardless of the quality and duration of the initial training, is not sufficient to ensure that judges are effective during their tenure. Judges have a duty to keep abreast of changes in legislation and relevant case law to help them stay up to date, particularly given the heavy workloads that judges face in some cases.
“Governments have a responsibility to provide adequate funding and other resources to those responsible for conducting training, and to establish systems to ensure that all judicial personnel receive training. Judicial training is essential to ensure high standards of competence and performance and is vital to safeguarding judicial independence, the rule of law and the protection of human rights for all.”
EU Ambassador Paula Amadi said the training was a testament to the EU’s commitment to helping Lesotho and the judiciary to effectively administer justice.
“The activities we are launching today reflect our shared commitment to improving the efficiency and quality of justice services. The EU is proud to support this important training, which has the specific aim of improving the capacity of the judiciary to better try complex economic crime cases.
“Financial crimes such as money laundering, corruption and fraud pose a significant threat to society and the economy. The judiciary must be well-equipped to effectively respond to these challenges, ensure justice and safeguard the integrity of the financial system.
“During this training, 60 judges and magistrates from various regions of Lesotho will work with an international expert who has extensive experience in training judicial officials from various jurisdictions.
“The comprehensiveness of this training cannot be overstated. It covers key elements such as judicial case management, handling of evidence, procedures for money laundering and its predicate offences, and the intricacies of mutual legal assistance. At the end of these workshops, we expect judges and magistrates to have enhanced capabilities to adjudicate serious economic crimes with greater efficiency and accuracy. We foresee an increase in efficiency in dealing with financial crimes, both in criminal and civil proceedings,” said Ms. Amadi.
Justice Masforo Mahase, on behalf of Chief Justice Sakhoane Sakhoane, thanked the European Union for its financial support and implored his colleagues to take the training seriously and ensure that it equips them with the necessary skills.
“I am very happyAfter many years, we finally have a symposium like this. The purpose and goal of this symposium is to address the growing crime of money laundering and corruption. Let us embrace it, participate in it and do our best to make it a success.
“We hear a lot in the media about money laundering and corruption but we see no progress in the cases. I could be wrong but all I know is that there are a lot of rumours about certain people being charged but we never see the end of these cases. I admit that once again the European Union has come to our rescue and they have been providing funding to the Lesotho government,” said Judge Mahase.
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