Township courts empowered to adjudicate civil lawsuits not exceeding K50 million

The Union Supreme Court announced on 14 February that the township courts had been conferred the authority to adjudicate civil lawsuits not exceeding K50 million under Section 63 of the Union Judiciary Law.
As a result, civil lawsuits worth less than K50 million are to be judged by township judges and associate township judges without needing to refer the cases to the district court. Township judges now have the right to adjudicate civil lawsuits not surpassing K50 million, while associate township judges are able to hear civil lawsuits not exceeding K20 million. The above order released by the Union Supreme Court will come into force on 1 April 2024.
In the past, the township judges and associate township judges were entrusted with the authority to adjudicate cases that were not more than K10 million, and the associate township judges were empowered to handle cases that were less than K3 million.
According to the Union Supreme Court’s instructions, township judges must delegate cases to the judges of the township court. When the township judge is temporarily unable to discharge their duties, the delegated judges can transfer cases to other judges for adjudication on behalf of the township judge. However, the cases filed to the self-administered division/zones level courts and district courts before 1 April 2024 are not to be transferred to the township courts. — TWA/TH