The Judiciary is an independent organ of government entrusted to administer justicethrough

courts of judicature. Article 1291establishes the judicature and establishes all the courts
and their hierarchy. The Judiciary is entrusted with the mandate to administer justice in both
civil and criminal matters through the courts of judicature and subordinate courts.

According to Article 126 (1)2, judicial power is derived from the people and shall be exercised
by the courts established underthis Constitution in the name of the people and in conformity
with law and with thevalues, norms and aspirations of the people. Further Article 129 3
stipulates that judicial power shall be exercised by thecourts of judicature. The courts therefore
have both pecuniary and territorial jurisdictionas provided for by the constitution and the
different acts.

According to Article 128 (1)4, the courts shall be independent and shall not be subject tocontrol
or direction of any person or authority. Judicial independence is the notion thatthe judiciary
should be independent from the other branches of government. Thismeans that
the courts should not be subject to improper influence from the otherbranches of
government or from private or partisan interests. In the case of His worship Aggrey Bwire vs.
Attorney General & Judicial Service Commission SCCA5.

The court system in Uganda is established by the Constitution of the Republic of

uganda, 1995 under Chapter 8.

THE HIERARCHY , ESTABLISHMENT, STRUCTURE, COMPOSITION AND JURISDICTION OF

UGANDAN COURTS.

Supreme court :

Hierarchy: The Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Uganda It's established under
Article130 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 as amended. According to Article
1326 the Supreme Court is the final court of appeal, it has jurisdiction to entertain appeals
from the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. Section 1 7 elevated the number of
supreme Court Justices to eleven and is headed by the chief justice and presides ateach sitting
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of the Court. In his absence, the most senior member of the Court as instituted presides.
Currently the Chief Justice of Uganda is Justice Alphonse OwinyiDollo.

The Supreme Court also has original jurisdiction in matters of presidential election petitions as
Seen in the case of Amama Mbabazi vs. Yoweri Museveni & Ors SupremeCourt Election
Petition8.

The Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal is established under Article 1349. It is the second
highest Court of record in Uganda. Section 210 which replaced Section 9 of the JudicatureAct
Cap 13 elevated the number of the Justices of Appeal to 15 Justices. The Court of Appeal also
serves as the Constitutional Court when sitting with a bench of five justicesof appeal to
determine questions of interpretation of the Constitution. The Deputy ChiefJustice is the head
of the Court and in that capacity assists the Chief Justice in theadministration of the Court.
Currently the Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda is JusticeRichard Butera. A minimum of three
Justices of Appeal constitute the Coram of thecourt to hear and determine appeals to the
Court.

The Constitutional Cour, t Article 137 (1)11provides that any question as to the interpretation of
the Constitution shall bedetermined by the Court of Appeal sitting as the Constitutional Court.
The import of this article is that the Constitutional Court is constituted by the Court of Appeal
sitting as theConstitutional Court. When sitting as a Constitutional Court, the court must consist
of abench of five justices. (Article 137 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda)

The High Court

The High Court is the third highest Court of record in Uganda. is established underArticle 138 of
the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. it possesses and exercises unlimited jurisdiction in
both Criminal and Civil cases. In addition, it hears appeals from Magistrates courts and exercises
general supervisory power over them. It is headed bythe Principal Judge who in this also capacity
assists the Chief Justice in administrationof these Courts

The High Court is divided into eight divisions; ( 1) Civil Division. The functions of the Division include
hearing appeal cases from the Magistrates' courtsin connection with torts committed against the
person, Defamation, Bankruptcy andcompany winding up matters, Partnership matters,
Companies matters, Real andpersonal property. (2) Commercial Division The Commercial Court was
established in 1996 as a division of the High Court of Uganda devoted to hearing and

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determining commercial disputes with currentjurisdiction (as established under Legal Notice No.4 of
1996 and Instruction circular No.1 of 1996). The mission of the court is to deliver to the commercial
community anefficient, expeditious and cost-effective mode of adjudicating disputes that affect
directlyand significantly the economic, commercial and financial life of Uganda. (3) Family Division This
division was created in April 2005. The Division handles: Administration causes,Family causes,
(Adoption, Guardianship, Affiliation/maintenance), Miscellaneouscauses, Miscellaneous
applications, Civil appeals, Civil suits, Originating summons,Civil revisions and Divorce causes. (4)
Land Division the land Division is established in 2005 with three judges with a separate registry for
theDivision. The Division is charged with the following functions: Responsibility of supervising the work
of Land Tribunals.The adjudication of all land related dispute falls under this Division. (5) Criminal
Division The division is Responsible for hearing all serious criminal offences referred to it by
theMagistrates' Courts. All criminal offences such as Murder manslaughter, Rape,Defilement,
Treason and other offences carrying death sentence or life imprisonment. (6) Anti-Corruption Division
The Anti-corruption Division was established in July 2008, as a specialized Division toadjudicate
corruption and corruption related cases. The Division commenced hearingcases in December 2008.
The objective of the division is to provide an orderlymechanism for the adjudication of
corruption cases based on merit, speed, efficiencyand fairness of corruption cases. (7) International
Crimes Division The International War Crimes Division (ICD) (formerly War Crimes Division) in 2008
tofulfil both the ICC’s requirement of a competent Court under Article 17 and the
Government of Uganda’s commitment to the actualization of the Juba Agreement onAccountability and
Reconciliation of 29th June 2007. It is a competent Court whichhandles and prosecutes the war crimes
and crimes against humanity. (8) Execution and Bailiffs Division. The Execution and Bailiffs Division
handles all matters relating to the enforcement ofcourt orders, execution of court decisions and to
regulate the operations of Court Bailiffsin execution of the Court process in Uganda.

The High Court holds sessions in various parts of Uganda called High Court Circuits forthe trial of civil
and criminal cases. Most of the business of the High Court is conductedat its headquarters in Kampala,
but with the decentralization of the High Court, itsservices are now obtained at its High
Court circuits namely: -Masaka High Court,Masindi High Court ,Mbarara High Court ,Mbale High
Court ,Moroto High Court, MpigiHigh Court ,Mubende High Court Mukono High Court ,Rukungiri High
Court ,Soroti HighCourt, Arua High Court ,Fort Portal High Court ,Gulu High Court ,Hoima High
Court,Iganga High Court ,Jinja High Court ,Kabale High Court ,Lira High Court , LuweroHigh Court

Magistrate’s Courts

Magistrates Courts are established under the Magistrates Court Act Cap 16 asamended.
The High Court is empowered by the Judicature Act to supervise them. They consist of grades ranging
from;

1) Chief Magistrate, In Civil Cases; A Chief Magistrate has jurisdiction to hear and determine matters
whosesubject matter does not Ugx 50,000,000/= (Uganda Shillings fifty million only) (Section 207 (1) (a)
of the Magistrates Courts Act Cap 16 as Amended). While in criminal cases Achief magistrate has power
to try any offence other than an offence in respect of whichthe maximum penalty is death. Section 161
(1) (a) of the Magistrates Courts Act Cap 16as amended).

2) Magistrate Grade I, A Magistrate Grade 1 has jurisdiction to hear and determine matters whose
subjectmatter does not exceed Ugx 20,000,000/= (Uganda Shillings twenty million only)
(Section 207 (1) (b) 12. While inCriminal Cases a magistrate Grade I has power to try any offence
other than anoffence in respect of which the maximum penalty is death or imprisonment for
life .Section 161 (1) (b)13.

3) Magistrate Grade II. A Magistrate Grade II has power to hear and determine matters who subject
matterdoes not exceed Ugx 500,000/= (Uganda Shillings five hundred thousand only) (Section207 (1) (c)
of the Magistrates Courts Act Cap 16). While in criminal a magistrate gradeII may try any offence under
and shall have jurisdiction to administer and enforce any ofthe provisions of, any written law other than
the offences and provisions specified in the first Schedule to the Magistrates Courts Act. These include
offences like; Incitement toviolence, smuggling, rape, attempt to commit rape, abduction, defilement of
girl underthe age of eighteen, defilement of idiots or imbeciles, procuration.

A party dissatisfied with a decision of a Chief Magistrate or Magistrate Grade 1 has aright to appeal to
the High Court of Uganda. A party dissatisfied with a decision of a Magistrate Grade 2 has a right to
appeal to the Chief Magistrate

Specialized Courts

Thesa are Courts that are created by an Act of Parliament to deal with specific mattersas provided under
the Constitution of Uganda.

The Military courts. Part VIII of the UPDF Act deals with the establishment andoperation of
military courts in Uganda. From the structural point of view, military courtsin Uganda comprise of the
Summary Trial Authority, Unit Disciplinary Committees andCourts Martial. Under “Courts Martial”, the
UPDF Act provides for a four-tier militarycourt system; i) Field Courts Martial; limited to only
circumstances where it is impractical for the offender to be tried by a Unit Disciplinary Committee or a
Division Court Martial According Section 200 (1) of the UPDF Actii) The General Court Martial; its
established under Section 197 (1) of the UPDF Act is the second highest military court in the country
and has bothoriginal and appellate jurisdiction which is limited to hearing and determiningappeals
referred to it from decisions of Division Courts Martial and UnitDisciplinary Committees. iii)
The Court Martial Appeal Court. The Court Martial Appeal Court hears anddetermines all appeals
referred to it from decisions of the General CourtMartial.

The Court Martial Appeal Court is the last appellate military tribunal inUganda. No appeal lies from the
Court Martial Appeal Court to any othercourt, except cases of appeal against convictions involving
death sentence orlife imprisonment which have been upheld by it. In such cases, the appellanthas a

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right of further appeal to the Court of Appeal of Uganda as seen Sgt.Kalemera Frank vs. Uganda SCCA14,
the Supreme Court heldthat appeals from the Court Martial Appeal Court must first be made to
theCourt of Appeal with the Supreme Court being the final appellate Court. The Industrial Court.

The Industrial Court of Uganda is an established Court under theLabour Disputes (Arbitration and
Settlement) Act, 2006 Cap 224, section 7. The Court’sjurisdiction is referral and its functions are to
arbitrate labour disputes referred to itunder the Act; adjudicating questions of law arising from
references to it by any otherlaw; and dispose of the labour disputes without undue delay.

The Family and Children Court established under Section 1315. This Court is presided over by a
Magistrate Grade Iand II. According to Section 9316 of the Children Act, it has power to hear and
determineapplications relating to child care and protection (e.g. custody, maintenance
andparentage) as well as criminal charges against a child except any offence punishable by death or any
offence for which a child is jointly charged with a person over eighteenyears of age; Local Council
Courts. These are established under Section 317 for the administration of justice at every village, parish,
town, divisionand sub-county. jurisdiction of Local Council Courts extends only to matters arising inthe
territory of the Local Council where the court is established or to matters arisingelsewhere if the
defendant or accused ordinarily resides in that territorial area.

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Local CouncilCourts Act 2006