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ADMINISTRATION OF LAW
The administration of law in Uganda refers to how laws are implemented,
interpreted and enforced within a country. It covers the institutions, processes
and officials responsible for ensuring justice, maintaining order and protecting
citizens` rights. In Uganda, this involves a combination of the executive,
legislature and judiciary along with various law enforcement and administrative
agencies.
COURTS IN UGANDA.
The judiciary is an independent organ of government entrusted to administer
justice through courts of judicature. Article 129 of the constitution of Uganda
establishes the judicature and establishes all the courts and their hierarchy. These
courts have powers to entertain appeals and this is called appellant jurisdiction
and may have powers over the other courts and this known as supervisory
jurisdiction and have powers to make revision of other courts known as
reversionary jurisdiction. These include; supreme court, The court of appeal, The
high court and other tribunals established by the parliament. Subordinate courts
include Magistrates court, local council courts, military courts etc.
The functions of the judiciary are;
To interpret the constitution and the laws
To promote human rights, social justice and morality
To adjudicate civil and criminal cases.
The judiciary is established under Cap 8, Article 126 (1) of the 1995 constitution of
Uganda states that, judicial power is derived from the people and shall be
exercised by the courts in the name of the people and in conformity with law and
with values, norms and aspirations of the people.
To this end, the constitution expressly states that the Supreme Court, the court of
appeal and the high court of Uganda shall be superior courts of records.
The courts of Uganda are analyzed as below in general;
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THE SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court is at the apex of the Ugandan judicial hierarchy. It is the final
court of appeal in the judicial hierarchy and hears appeals from the court of
appeal. According to the constitution (Article 131) it is composed of the chief
justice who is the head of the judiciary and the Supreme Court and not less than
six justices. But when hearing Constitutional Appeal cases, the Supreme Court is
constituted by seven bench of justices. The Supreme court furthermore, has
exclusive jurisdiction on presidential election petitions See Col (Rtd) Dr Kizza
Besigye v Yoweri Kaguta Museveni & Electoral Commission (Presidential
Election Petition No . 1 of 2001).
Key function of the Supreme Court: It is the final arbiter of all legal disputes in
Uganda setting binding precedents for all lower courts.
THE COURT OF APPEAL
Article 135 of the constitution of Uganda talks about the composition of the court
of appeal. It is the second in the Ugandan judicial hierarchy and hears appeals
from the high court. It is presided by the deputy chief justice who is the head of
the court of appeal and deputizes the chief justice as overall head of judiciary.
When hearing appeals from the high court, it is duly constituted when composed
with an odd number of justices of appeal not less than three in number, when
serving as an constitutional court they are always five. Furthermore, the court of
appeal also sits as a constitution court when hearing matters concerning the
interpretation of the constitution according to article 137. This means that a
person may petition the constitutional court for a redress necessary where he/she
alleges, either on any law or act of parliament done under authority of any law or
any act or omission any person or authority is inconsistent to the provisions of the
constitution.
THE HIGH COURT
Article 138 of the constitution of Uganda talks about the composition of the high
court, it is the third court of the record courts, unlike the Supreme Court and the
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court of appeal, the high court is ordained with unlimited original jurisdiction in
every matter, be it of civil or criminal nature. In addition, it is also baptized with
appellate jurisdiction from subordinate courts. Furthermore, it is presided by the
principle judge. The high court is made up of eight (8) divisions namely; Anti-
corrupt division, civil division, commercial division, execution and bailiffs divisions,
family division, international crimes division and the land division.
SURBODINATE COURTES
The constitution creates subordinate courts as may by law, be established by
parliament. Furthermore subordinate courts are courts under another`s authority
or control. In Uganda, the High Court is given the supervisory role over all
subordinate courts and these include; chief magistrates court, industrial court,
magistrates grade I, ii etc. in Uganda, subordinate courts are not courts of records
therefore their judgments are not only binding but also are not recorded in any
law report despite of them handling a huge chunk of cases.
They are analyzed below;
Magistrates courts: The Magistrate Courts Act (MCA) Cap 16 establishes
magistrate courts in various areas with due jurisdiction headed by a magistrate.
The MCA further establishes 4 grades of magistrate courts and these are; Chief
Magistrate, Magistrate Court Grade I, ii, iii. However, with time, grade iii
Magistrate Court has been phased owing to its ineffectiveness since it was led by
non judicial officers but men of good moral standing. The jurisdictions of the
Magistrate Courts is laid out specifically in section 207(1) (a), ( b) and( c) of the
Magistrate Courts Act am amended by Act No. 7 of 2007. The Act provided as
follows;
The Chief Magistrates Court; This is headed by the chief magistrate who is
a trained judicial officer. It`s the highest magistrates court with a
supervisory role over other magisterial grades. It is the only appellant
magistrates courts. It has original jurisdictions over all civil matters whose
money worth does not exceed 50M, and criminal matters whose maximum
sentence is not death penalty.
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Chief Magistrates Court grade I; This is the second magistrates court after
the Chief Magistrates Court. It`s presided over by grade I magistrates who
must be a qualified lawyer. Their criminal jurisdiction is limited to offenses
whose maximum penalty is not death or life imprisonment. Their civil
jurisdiction is limited to matters where the value of the subject matter does
not exceed 20M.
Chief Magistrates Court grade ii; These are at a verge of being phased out
due to their limited jurisdictions over subject matter. Their aim of
dispensing off quick justice is being over taken by applicants who file
straight to grade i or chief magistrate.
Tribunals; They are defined as court of justice or other adjudicatory body. They
can also be any government department. Tribunals are a creature of statute
which means they were created by law or an act of parliament e.g. Tax Appeal
Tribunal (TAT article 152) Land Tribunal (article 243), Uganda Human Rights
Commission (UHRC article 51).
Military courts/Court Martial; they play an important role in the administration
of justice in Uganda. They were originally designed to try serving members of the
armed forces for suspected infractions of military law and in particular the
commission of military offences. To this end, section 179 of the UPDF Act
stipulates that the persons to be tried in Military Courts are those who are a
subject to military law who commit an act in Uganda which constitutes an offence
under the Penal Code Act or any other enactment. These courts are as follows;
Field Court Martial, Division Court Martial, General Court Martial, Court Martial
Appeal Court.
PRINCIPLES OF JUSTICE
There are several principals of justice that are important in ensuring a fair
and equitable legal system. Some of the key principles of justice are
explained as below;
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Equality; this principal requires that each individual is treated equally
under the law regardless of their background, race, gender or social
status.
Fairness; It requires that the legal system is fair to all parties involved
including the accused, the victims and any witness. This means that
every individual should have access to legal representation and a fair
trial and the evidence should be impartial and base on facts.
Access to justice; it involves ensuring that every individual has access
to the legal system, regardless of their financial situation. This means
that the legal aid should be available those who cannot afford it.
LEGAL INSTITUTIONS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS.
Legal institutions are the formal bodies and processes that create, interpret
and enforce laws with their main function being rule setting, law enforcement and
dispute resolution. They are as follows;
Legislature; is a deliberative assembly with legal authority to make laws for a
political entity such as a country or city and its functions are as follows;
Creates, amend, and repeal laws for a good governance.
Approves budgets and expenditures and provides means for
government work through taxes and loans.
Holds the executive branch accountable through oversight,
investigation, interrogation and votes of no confidence.
Judiciary; is a system of courts and judges that interpret, defend and applies
the law to resolve disputes and administer justice. Its functions are as follows;
Administer justice through resolving disputes and enforcing legal rights.
Develops case law through judicial precedents.
Safe guards human rights and ensures human trials.
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Executive; refers to a branch of government responsible for implementing and
enforcing laws e.g. Government departments and agencies that enforce laws
passed by the legislature. Its functions are as follows;
Implements and enforces laws made by the Legislature.
Maintains law and order through security agencies and police.
Conducts foreign relations and manages National defense.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE MECHANISM.
This refers to the method of settling disputes outside a traditional court or
formal court proceedings.
Types of ADR
Negotiation; this is where parties themselves discuss the
dispute without the help of the neutral third party to reach a
settlement.
Mediation; a neutral third party, the mediator facilitates
communication and negotiation between the parties to help
them reach their own voluntary agreement. The mediator
does not make a decision for them.
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UPDF Act No. 7 2005, 1995 Constitution of Uganda, Magistrates court act cap 16
