From the executive secretary’s desk

IN the discourse on planning, strategic thinkers often speak of risk and risk mitigation. Very often, the perception of risk is largely informed by experience. It is very difficult to hold a crystal ball in your hands and predict a future which is not predicated on your previous experience.

Humankind has encountered pandemics in the past but it appears that the world, including health experts with a wealth of epidemiological knowledge, were ill-prepared to deal with COVID-19.

All, including businesses, social experts and medical experts were caught flat-footed. COVID-19 came with a silent but swift mode of spreading never contemplated before.

In all their imaginations and risk planning, businesses had not thought of them being forced to remotely run their businesses in the manner foisted upon them by COVID-19.

Ability to operate virtually became the one and surest way of ensuring business continuity as various governments imposed compulsory lockdowns.

Most businesses rely on the physical presence of their workers to provide services and goods. Despite some businesses having achieved a high level of automation, the need for the physical presence of manpower to input into the systems has not been dispensed with.

The justice delivery system was not spared. The courts could not operate remotely. Filing of court processes could not be done. Many law firms rely on face-to-face interactions with their clients. They suddenly found themselves unable to offer services to their clients.

Although many of the services that lawyers provide to their clients can be provided online, not many law firms had the necessary infrastructure to dispense their services online. Very few law firms have an interactive presence on the internet.

Given the national lockdown, the stream of walk-in clients ground to a halt, while legal practitioners struggled to access existing clients who, in turn, have had problems paying up for services rendered. On a positive note, however, most firms have been quick to adapt and start offering services virtually.

A new normal has set in, but the systems have not yet adapted. The Deeds Office remains manual. The companies’ office is in no better condition. The courts registries are still manually based, while courtrooms remain in brick and mortar form. All these ought to evolve and adapt to the new normal.

In order for the inevitable changes to be optimally used, it is necessary that the full legal sector ecosystem must be holistically marshalled in the same direction with a collective mindset towards our goals. The courts must adapt, the legal framework must adapt too. The courtroom advocacy must change, while the conduct of criminal and civil trials must be made to adapt to the new normal. How this is to be achieved is up to the key stakeholders to come together and collectively devise workable solutions.

There will always be aspects of the justice system that cannot be remotely done. This includes arrests, incarceration, executions and evictions. These will have to be exceptions.

Before the legal profession looks at the other stakeholders to upgrade their systems, the profession has to introspect. Over the past two summer schools, the profession has been debating the issue of how to cope with information communication technologies (ICTs).

It has been agreed that ICT was a doubleedged sword providing solutions and challenges. The use of ICT has been accelerated by COVID-19. There is no going back. Members have to master the ICTs available to them.

Members must familiarise themselves with the risks attendant to use of ICTs. The risks include hacking, leading to breach of confidentiality and leaking of privileged information, theft of trust funds electronically, among others. ICTs use may also raise challenges around professional conduct.

The Law Society of Zimbabwe must provide leadership in this regard. To its credit, the council of the society is already working on providing the relevant guidelines for membership to adopt or adapt.

As we embrace this new normal, members are called upon to be very deliberate in what systems we chose and how we deploy the system. Members are called upon to remain ethical. This issue of Zim Juris has been dedicated to covering the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the Zimbabwean legal profession as well as the justice sector in general. I trust you will enjoy the read and be edified.