MAKEREREUNI

VERSI
TY
SCHOOLOFLAW
MODULE:I
NTRODUCTIONTOLAW
Whati sLaw?
Thedef i
niti
ons
Lawmayv aryfrom ideologi
cal
,sociol
ogical,poli
ti
caloreconomi cstandpoints.Toadd
defi
ni t
ions
Object i
v es:
Bytheendoft hi
ssessi on,youshoul
dbeabl eto:
Definel aw,explainthediffer
entschoolsthatattemptt odefi
nelaw,demonst rate
thepur poseofl aw insoci et
y,understandt hel anguageofl aw explaint he
dif
ferentt ypes oflaw,and expl ai
n/li
stt he dif
ferenttypes oflaw t hatar e
applicabl einUganda,l aw makingpr ocess,andi nterpr
etat
ionofstatut esand
deeds.

Her
earesomedef i
ni ti
ons:
Var
iousschool si nf luenci ngt hedef i
niti
onofl aw
a)Nat urallawschoolbel i
evest hatlawi set ernal anddi vine.Ci cero, ascholar0ft his
schoolasser ted t hatnat ur allaw i si nbor n,uni versal,and unchangi ng ( or
i
mmut abl e). Keyal sot ot henat uralt heor yi sabel ievet hatl aw shouldhav e
i
nt ernal mor ality( ethics)
b)Posi ti
vistschol arsdef i
nel awast hecommandoft hesov ereignaut hor
it
ycapabl e
ofmai ntai ningl awandor derwi thinaspeci f i
edgeogr aphi calar ea.Thesov ereign
aut horitycoul dt aket hef or m ofamonar chy ,ademocr aticallyel ect
edleaderor
an aut ocr at/di ctator.Keyt ot he posi ti
v i
stl i
ne oft houghti st hatlaw i sa
commandenf orceabl ebypenalsanct ionsonl y.Thishascomet obeknownas
theAust inianschemeofl aw,af terAIAust i
n,i tsmai npr oponent .Theposi tivistic
schol arsal sot eacht hatl aw andmor alityar esepar ateandmustnotbemi xed
(i
.e.Thesepar abilit
yt hesis)
c)Thehi stor icalschoolasexpoundedbySav ignyl ooksatl aw asapr oductof
historicaldev elopment sinapar ti
cul arsoci ety .Thi sschooloft houghtbel ieves
thatl aw i sadev el
opedbycust om andpopul araccept ancef ort heconcer ned
soci etyandnotbyar bitr
aryact i
on.
d)Thesoci ologi calschoolasadv ancedbyPr of.RoscoePoundl ooksatl aw asa
productofv aluesandat titudesofagi vensoci ety.Accor dingt ohistheor yof
soci alengi neer i
ng,l aw isamachi nedesi gnedt omeett her equirement sofa
par ti
cularsoci et y.Ot herschol ar sundert hi ssameschooli ncl udeMaxi mi l
li
en
Webber( Ger manschol ar)andEmi l
eDur khei m( Frenchschol ar).
e)Legalr eal istsadv ancet hev iewt hatl awshoul dbel ookeduponf rom t
hepoi ntof
viewofappl i
cat i
onoft her ulesbyt hecour ts.
f) Mar xi
sts:Kar lMar xdi dnotv iew law i nt hesamewayasot herschol ar s.He

1
 arguedt hatl awwasat ool( orinst rument )forpr omot ionoft heinterestsofthe
domi nantcapi tali
stcl ass.Accor dingt oMar x,l
awandt hest at
ewer ecr eati
onsof
thedomi nantcl assasani deol ogicalt oolf orpur posesofper petuating t
he
exploit
ationoft hel essercl asses.Hi stheor yofl awhasgotanumberofgener al
themeswhi chcoul dbesummar isedasf ollows:
1. Lawi spol iti
cal andcannotbedet achedf rom politi
cs.
2. Lawandt hest atear ecl osel yconnect edt hought heycanbesepar ated.
3. Law gi vesef fectt ot hepr ev aili
ngeconomi cr el
ations,Law i sar eflecti
onof
thepr evaili
ngeconomi crel ationsatt hemat eri
albaseofsoci ety
, andassuch
thereisnoi ndependentt heor yoft helaw.
4. Lawi spot entiall
ycoer civeandmani fest sthest at
e’ scontrolovert hemeans
ofcoer cion.
5. Lawi sani deological tool meantt oobscur epowerr elat
ions.

Allt
heabovedefi
nit
ions,however
,havesomecommonel ementswhi
chcanhelpinthe
underst
andi
ngofthemeani ngoflaw.Theykeyelement
scapturet
heideaofsources,
appl
icat
ionandef
fectofthelaw.Theseel
ementsare:

(
a)Law isacommand. Acommandi sacompul sor
yr equir
ement . Whati tl ay
s
downi snotsubj ectofdiscussionormodi fi
cati
on.Thepur poseist omai ntai
n
l
awandor der.Nor msascust om whi char enotcommandsar enotlaws.
(
b)Thecommandmustbecompl iedwi thandbi ndsallper sonsirrespecti
veof
social
,economi corpolit
icalstatus/affil
iation.Lawshav euni f
orm appli
cationin
ter
msofr equi
rement s.Except i
ont ot hel awcanonl ybegi venbyt helawi tsel
f.
Allpersonsaretherefor
eunderl egal compul si
ontoobeyt helaw.
(
c)Thel aw putsinpl acesanct i
onst hatmaybei mposedont hosewhodonot
compl ywithi
t.Sanct i
onsincludef i
nes, disquali
fi
cati
ons,impr i
sonmente. t
.c.

Gener aldefi
niti
on
Wi t
houthi ngingonapar t
icularschooloft hought,law mayt herefor
ebedef i
nedas
“r
ulesand r egulat
ionst hatgov ern a parti
cul
arsoci ety”
.Accor ding tot heconcise
dicti
onaryofl aw:lawi sdefinedasanobl i
gatoryr
uleofconductandcommandofhi m
orthem t hathavecoer ci
vepower, andast oGlanvil
l
eWi l
l
iamsi nhisbookLear ningthe
Lawonp. 1defi
nesl awas‘ thecementoft hesocietyandal soanessent ialmedium of
change’.Itisgener al
lyacceptedt hatl
awi sabodyofr ul
esf ortheguidanceofhuman
conduct ,whichisimposeduponandenf orcedamongt hemember sofagiv ensociet
y.

LawAppl i
cabl
einUganda/Sourcesoflaw
Secti
on14oft heJudi
catur
eActst atesthelaw appl
icableinUgandaandt heli
st
i
ncludestheConst
it
uti
on,wri
tt
enlaw,commonl awandest abl
ishedandcurr
entcust
om
orusage.Eachoft
heseappli
cabl
elawsinUgandadeserv
esabr iefcomment
.

2
 1. Theconst i
tuti
on
TheConst i
tutionofTheRepubl icofUganda( 1995)i
st hesupr emel aw.Ar t2of
theConst i
tutionprovidest hattheConst it
utionshalltakepr ecedentoverallother
l
aws.Anyot herlaw,cust om thatisi nconsist entwit
ht heconst it
uti
onisnul land
voidtotheext entofthei nconsistency .Supr emacyoft heconst i
tut
ionbindst he
executi
ve( President)
, Parl
iament( legislatur
e)andt heJudi ciary.Thecourts( The
Constit
utionalCour tofUganda)candecl areapr ovi
sionofal awanact i
on, poli
cy
1
pract
ice,nor m orcult
ur al
obser vanceasunconst it
uti
onal andt heref
orei
nv ali
d.

2. Act sofPar l
iament/Principl
elegislat
ion
TheConst i
tutiongi ves,inArt79,par l
i
amentpower st oenactl awsf or“peace”,
orderanddev elopmentofUganda.Par l
iamenti sthesupr emel awmaki ngor gan.
No ot her aut hor i
ty can make l aws wi thout t he aut hori
ty of parliament.
Parli
amentmakesl awsbyenact i
ngAct sofpar l
iamentexampl esofAct sof
parl
iamenti ncl udet heLocalgov er
nment sAct ,thePubl i
c-Heal thAct,etc.The
ActsofPar liamentAct ,Cap2,pr ovi
desf orat hor oughpr ocedureandf ormatf or
maki ngl awsbyt hePar li
ament .Pri
nciplelegislationt hereforeincludesAct sof
Parli
ament ,Decr ees (Passed during a per iod wi t
h no el ected Parl
iament )
,
Statutes( PassedbyaLegi sl
ativ
eAssembl yandnotanel ectedPar l
iament)

Par
li
amentsometimesexerci
sesi
tsl
awmakingpowersthroughdelegat
ionofi
ts
aut
hori
ty,
aprocesst
hatleadstot
heenact
mentofsubsi
diaryl
egi
slati
on.

Subsidi
aryLegisl
ati
on
UnderAr t79oft heConst i
tuti
on,parl
iamentcanaut hori
seanyot herpubl
icbody( usuall
yan
executi
veaut hori
ty)tomakel aws. Thedel egati
onofaut hor
it
yi snormal
lyjust
if
iedbecause
parl
iamentdoesnothav eenought ime,r
esources,andexper
ti
setoat t
endtoal
ll
egisl
ati
veissuesin
the countr
y. Subsi di
arylegisl
ati
on i
ssubor dinatetolaws made bypar l
i
ament . Subsidi
ary
l
egislat
ionmayal sobereferr
edt oassubordi
nateordelegat
edlegi
slati
on.

Theprinci
pler
easonwhyParli
amentdelegat
esit
slawmakingpower sisthecomplexi
tyofli
vi
ngin
aciv
ili
zedsoci
etyandthenecessi
tyf
orsomanyl awscontai
ninghighlev
elsoftechni
caldet
ail
s.I
t
wouldbeimpossibl
eforPar
li
amenttoretai
nabsol
uter
esponsibi
li
tyforal
lofi
t.

I
nr ecogni
zi
ngthepr act
icalut
ili
tyandnecessi
tyfordel
egatedl
egi
slati
on,Par
li
amentrouti
nel
y
del
egatesit
slaw makingfunct
ion.Howev
er,Parl
iamentmustbesat
isfi
edthat
,ineachcase,t
he
del
egati
oncanobject
ivel
ybejusti
fied.

Ty
pesofSubsi
diar
yLegi
slat
ion

Subsi
diar
ylegi
slat
ioni
ncl
udet
hef
oll
owi
ng-

1
Ar
ti
cle137oft
heConst
it
uti
on.
3
(
a)Regulati
ons;Thisi stheterm used toref
erto subsi
diar
ylegi
slat
ionwhich l
aysdown
l
egisl
ativ
erequirements,
iti
sinquali
tyandnat
urel
i
keanActbutgivemor edetai
l
sregar
ding
toprocedural
issues.

(
b)Rules;
Thesearegeneral
l
ypr ocedur
alr
equi
rement
swhi
chi
ndi
cat
est
epst
hatmustbet
aken
forapart
icul
arpur
posese.g.CourtRul
es

(
c)Or
der
s;

(
d)LegalNot
ice;

(
e)Bye-
laws/Or
dinances;Usedt oref
ert olawsmadebyl ocalaut
horit
y/council
sanddeal s
mostlywi
thmattersofheal
th,sani
tati
on,welf
are,educati
onatlocalauthor
ityl
evel
.Itmay
al
sobeusedtorefertor
ulesfori
nternalmanagementofbodiese.g.stat
utor
ycorpor
ations.

(
f)Procl
amation;ref
erstoformalnot
icebyaHeadofStatee.
g.decl
arati
onofast at
eof
emergency
.Si ncetheexecut
ivear
m ofgover
nmentdoesnotmakel aws,pr
ocl
amation
shoul
dstri
ctl
ynotbeusedtolaydownthel
aw.

(
g)Execut
ivei
nstr
uments/or
derset
c,usedi
nsomejuri
sdict
ionstoindi
cateexecuti
veact
sthe
basi
sofwhicharef
oundinspeci
fi
cActsi
nthej
uri
sdi
cti
onse.g.deport
ati
onor der
s

3. CommonLaw
CommonLawmeanst hereasoni ngofEngl ishJudgeswhi chhavecr ystal
li
sedi nto
l
egalprincipl
esbyt heirconstantappl i
cat i
oni ndecidingcases. Thet erm common
l
awwasi nusei nthet imeofEdwar d1t odescr i
bet hatpartofthelawcommont o
thewhol eofEngl andwhi chwasnotst atutory. Thiscommonl awi sonl yappli
cable
wherethemat terisnotcov er
edbyt heconst it
ution,Actsofparli
amentorsubsi di
ary
l
egisl
ation.Int hecaseofJohnNser ekovGeor geGi tt
a[1975]HCB152I twashel d
bySsekandiAgJ.t hatcommonl aw meantt helaw whi chwasnotasar esultof
l
egisl
ation.Itwast helaw whi chwascr eat edoutoft hecustom oft hepeopl eand
embodiedi nt hedeci si
onsofj udges.Ugandaofcour seinheri
tedthecommonl aw
doctr
inesconcer ningt heauthor i
tyofj udicialprecedentassour cesofl aw,because
ofthereceptionofEngl ishlawi noursl aws.

4. Judi cialDeci si
ons.
Whenaj udgedeci desacasehei ssuesanor dergivi
ngeffecttohisdecisi
onwhich
i
sent eredont her ecordofthecour t.Thisisajudici
aldecisi
onorJudgmenti nthe
stri
ctsense,andi sbi ndingonlyont heparti
est othecase.Butt hejudgmentwil
l
have been based on some l egalpr inci
ple(rati
o deci
dendi )which shoul
d be
appli
cabletoal lcasesofasi mil
arkind,andi ti
sinevit
ablethatjudgesshouldtoa
greaterorl ess degr ee fol
low t he formerdeci si
ons oft hemselves and t
hei
r
coll
eaguesandpr edecessorsundert hedoct r
ineofPrecedent.

Thedoct
ri
neofpr
ecedentr
equi
resj
udgesandcour
tst
ofol
l
owt
her
easoni
ngl
aid
4
 downi nolder/pre-exi
sti
ngdeci si
ons.Thedoctri
neofpr ecedentgivesr i
set othe
doctri
neof“ St
ar edecisi
s”wher ethejudgesmustabi debyt hedecisionsofhi gher
courts,beginningwi ththeHi ghCour t
.HenceMagi strat
esCour tsmustf oll
ow the
decisionsandr easoningoft heHighCour t
,Cour
tofAppealandt heSupr emeCour t
.
Inthesamemanner ,t
heHi ghcourtfol
lowsdeci
sionsoft hecour tofAppealandt he
SupremeCour t,justast heCour tofAppealmustf ol
low thedeci sionsoft he
SupremeCour t.Thedeci si
onofTheSupr emecour tbindsallthelowercour ts,asthe
SupremeCour tisthehighestappellat
ecourti
nthel and.

TheDoct r
ineofprecedenti sj usti
fiedonthef oll
owinggr ounds
a)Wr i
ttenlawdoesnotcov erallsit
uat
ionsthatar eli
kelytoleadt oconf l
ict.
b)Reasoni nginpr ev i
ouscasesai dini nt
erpretati
onofwr itt
enl awst hatar enot
clear.
c)Followingprecedentl eadst ocertai
ntyofwhatcour t
sar elikelytodeci de.Thatis
personsandt heirlegaladv i
serscanhav econf idencei nthef ut
ureact i
onoft he
cour t
s.Itisbetterint hewor dsoflordEl donLC“ t
hel awshoul dbecer tai
nt han
2
thatev eryj
udgeshoul dspecul ateuponimpr ovement sinit”
d)Precedentensur esuni formi t
yindecisionmaki ngasl ikecasesar etreatedinthe
sameway .
e)Precedenthelpsi nqui ckdi spensati
onofj usti
ce.Thedoct ri
neofpr ecedental so
all
owsUgandacour tst ouse( wi t
houtbeingbound)t hedeci sionsofot herhigher
cour t
sandl awsf rom ot hercommonl awcount r
ies.

Thedoct rineofpr ecedenthowev erhasi tsshor tcomings.Thedoct rineprevent s

thedev el
opmentoft helawt ocov ernewmat tersthathavenotar i
senbef oree. g.
arti
fi
cialferti
li
ty;thedoct r
ineofpr ecedentcanl eadtoi nj
usti
ceespeci al
lywher e
courtsadher et oahar shpr inci
pleofl aw e,gf r
eedom ofcont ract;thedoct r
ine
alsokill
st hespi ritofjudicialacti
vism asj udicialdi
screti
onist akenaway ;the
doctri
nemayal sol eadstoal otdelayaspr eciouslit
tleti
mei sspentondi gging
upr ecordsofear l
ierdecisions.Just i
cedelayedi sjusti
cedenied.Thedi scretion
ofthecour t
sisf ett
ered,andt heyqui t
ef r
equent l
yhavet ogivedecisionsofwhi ch
theystronglydisappr ovebutt heyareboundbyabi ndingprecedent.

5. CustomaryLaw
Meani ngofcust omarylaw
Therei snosi ngl
edef i
niti
onofcust omar
ylaw agreedt obyl awyers,j
uri
sts,social
anthropol
ogistsandot herswhomaybeconcer nedwithit.Bothcust
om andlawmaybe
used in numberofdef er
ring sensesdepending on therequir
ementoft hewr it
ers
approach.SeeWhi te;Afri
canCust omarylaw:Thepr oblem ofConceptandDef i
nit
ion
Cit
edi nWil
liam Bur net
t‘ AnIntroducti
ontolegalsy stemsinEastAf ri
ca.Howev er,

2
Shel
donvGoodr
ich(
1803)8Ves.
Jr481,
497.
5
All
ottinhisar t
icleCust omaryLaw:i t
spl aceandmeani ngincont emporaryAf r
ican
Legalsyst
ems’ ,
definescustom nati
velawornat i
veandcust om tomeani nrelati
ontoa
part
icul
artri
beori nrelat
iontoanynativecommuni t
youtsideanytri
balareathegener al
l
aw orcust om ofsuch t ri
beorcommuni ty exceptso f arast hesamemaybe
i
ncompat i
blewiththedueexer ciseofhisMaj est
y’spowerandj uri
sdi
cti
onorr epugnant
tomor al
it
y,humani ty,ornatur
aljust
ice,orinjur
ioustot hewel f
areofthenat i
ves.He
adoptedthi
sdef ini
ti
onf r
om Bechuanaland–nat iveCourtsProclamati
on,1942,section
1( .SeeHar
2) veyp.444.

Secti
on1(a)oftheMagist
rat
esCour tActdefi
neCivi
lcustomaryl
aw as‘meanst he
rul
esofconductwhi
chgovernlegalr
elati
onshi
psasestabl
i
shedbycustom andusage
andnotbyfor
mingpartoft
hecommonl awnorfor
mall
yenactedbypar
li
ament.

Abriefbackgroundofcust omarylaw
Aswehav eseenabov e,thefir
stlaw toal low t
heappl i
cat
ionofcust omarylaw the
Afri
canOr derinCouncilandl at
ert heorderi nCouncil1902whi chprov i
dedthat‘al
l
casesinwhi cht
heparti
esar enati
veswhet hercivi
linnatur
eorcriminal
towhi chnati
ves
arepart
ies,ever
ycourt…shallbeguidedbyt henativelawsofarasitisappli
cableandis
notrepugnantt ojusti
ceandmor ali
tyori nconsi
stentwithanyor derinCounci lor
ordi
nanceoranyr egul
ationorrul
emadeunderanyOr derinCouncil
orordinance.

TheMagi st
rat
eCourtAct,Act38of1964( Cap36)sect i
on15(1)thereofprovi
dedthat
subj
ecttot heConsti
tuti
onandpr ov i
sionsoft hisAct ,theamagi strat
esCour tshal
l
admini
ster–
(
a)The customarylaw prevail
ing i
nt he ar
ea ofi tsjuri
sdicti
on so farasi tis
appli
cableandisnotr epugnantt onaturaljusti
ce,equit
yandgoodconsci ence
andnotinconfl
ictwit
hanywr i
tt
enl awforthet i
mebei nginforcewithi
nthearea.

TheJudicatureAct ,
Act11of1967al soimpl oredcour tt
oapplycustomar y.Sect
ion8(1)
provi
dedt hat‘nothi
ngi nthi
sActshalldepri
v etheHi ghCourtoftherightt oobser
v eor
enforcetheobser vanceoforshal ldepri
veanyper sonoft hebenefitof,anyex ist
ing
custom,whi chisnotr epugnantt
onat ur
aljustice,equit
yandgoodconsci enceandnot
i
ncompat ibl
eei t
herdir
ectlyorbynecessaryimpl i
cati
onwi t
hanywr i
tt
enl aw.

(
2) Nopartyt ot
hesui
tshallbeenti
tl
edtoclaimthebenefi
tofanycustom
i
tappear sfr
om ex
presscontr
actorthenat ur
efthetr
ansacti
onoutof
whichthesuitorquest
ionhasar i
senthatsuchpartyagreedthathis
obli
gat
ions in connecti
on with transacti
on shal
l be r egul
ated
excl
usi
v el
ybylaw,ot
herthanbythecustomarylaw.

Stat
utor
yprov
isi
onsontheappli
cabil
it
yofcust
omaryl
aw
Thebasisf
orthecur
rentappl
i
cabil
i
tyofcustomar
ylawispr
emi
sedi
ntheConst
it
uti
on
6
whichprovi
desforthelawtobeappli
edi
nUganda.Articl
e2oftheConsti
tut
ionthatthe
Consti
tuti
ons i
st he supr
eme law ofUganda and shal
lhav
e bindi
ng force on al
l
aut
hori
tiesandpersonsthr
oughoutUganda.

Arti
cle2(2)fur
therprovidesifanyot herl
aw orcust
om i
sinconsi
stentwi
thanyt
he
provi
sionsofthisconst i
tut
ion,theconstit
uti
onshal
lpr
evai
l,andthatotherl
aw or
custom shal
l
,totheextentofinconsi
stency
,bevoi
d.

TheJudicat
ureAct,Cap13,Sect
ion15reproducestheaboveprovisi
on.Thispr
ovi
sion
i
st hebasi
sfortheappli
cat
ionofcustomaryinUganda.AlsotheMagi st
rat
eCourtAct
16,sect
ion10pr ovi
desfortheappl
icat
ioncivi
lcustomar
yl aw andhow itshoul
dbe
appli
ed.

S.10( 1)nothi
nginthisActshal
ldeprivetheMagistr
atescourtoftheri
ghttoobserveor
enforcet heobservanceof,orshal ldepr i
veanyper sonoft hebenefitof,anycivi
l
customar yl
awwhi chmayappl i
cablethatisnotrepugnantt
onat uralj
ust
ice,equi
tyand
goodconsci enceandnotincompatibleeitheri
ntermsorbynecessar yimpli
cati
onwith
anywr it
tenlawforti
mebeinginforce.

S.10(2)Not withstandi
ngsubsect i
on(1)
, Nopartyt otheacivilcauseormat t
ershallbe
enti
tl
edt ocl
aimt hebenefitofanycivi
lcustomar ylawi fi
tappears,eit
herfr
om express
contr
actorf rom thenaturethetransact
ionsoutofwhi chanycivilcauseormat t
ershal
l
havear isen,thatheorsheagr eedormustbet akent ohaveagr eedthathisorher
obli
gationsinconnect i
onwi thallsuchtransact
ionsshoul dber egulat
edexclusi
vel
yby
somel awot herthancivil
customar yl
aw.

Gener
allyinorderforacust om t obeappli
cabl
eort obel egalcustom itmustfulf
il
lthe
fol
l
owingcondi ti
ons;
1. Reasonabl enessAcust om mustber easonable.Theaut horityofusagei snot
absolute,butcondi t
ionaloncer tai
nmeasur esofconf or
mi t
ywi thjusti
ceand
publicut i
l
ity
.Thi sdoesnotmeant hatcourtshoul ddisregardacust omarya
custom whenev ersati
sfiedast oabsolut
er ecti
tudeandwi sdom orwhenev er
theyt hink thata betterr ul
e coul
d be for
mul ated i
n exer ci
se oftheirown
judgment .

Thiswil
lbet odepr i
vet hecust om ofit
saut hori
ty.Thet r
uerulei sthatacust om
i
st obedepr i
vedofi tsl
egaleff i
cacyifitissoobviousandser iouslyr epugnantto
ri
ghtandr easont hattoenf orcei twoulddomor emi schi
efthant hatwhi chwill
resul
tfr
om ov ert
urningit.Vali
dcust om theref
ore,mustber easonabl e.
2. Conformit
ywi ththel aw–i nthesecondpl aceacust om mustnotbecont rar
yto
anActofPar l
iament .I
nt hewor dsofCoke‘ nocustom orpr escriptioncant ake
wayt heforceofanActofPar l
iament.Thi scanbeseeni nt hepr ovi
sionsof
7
 ar
ti
cle2oft heConsti
tut
ionwhichprovi
desthatifanyot herlaw orcustom is
i
nconsist
entwithanytheprov
isi
onsoft hi
sConsti
t ut
ion,theConstit
uti
onshall
pr
evail
,andthatot
herl
aworcustom shal
l
, t
otheextentofinconsi
stency,
bevoid.

Customar ylaw ranks 3rd inthe hierar

chyofl egalfor
ce,is subjecttot he
constit
uti
onandt hewr i
ttenlaw.Wher ecust
omarylawconfli
ctswithwr i
tt
enlaw,
wri
ttenlawpr evai
l
sandsuchcust om losest
heforceoflaw.Normallycustomary
l
aw i sappli
cableinl andmat t
ers,domesti
crelati
ons.Itisalsoappl i
cabl
ei n
contract
se.g.loancontracts.

3. Observanceasofr i
ght
r
d
The3 r equisiteoftheoper ationofthecust om asasour ceofl aw ithasbeen
observedasar i
ght.Thisdoesnotmeant hatthecust om mustbeacqui escedin
asamat terofmor alright.Thi smeanst hatacust om mustbef ol
lowedopenl y
wit
houtt henecessar il
yf orf orcei.eshoul dnotbef orcedupont hepeopl e.
Howev er
, i
tmustbecompul sor ysothatev erybodyr egar dsi taslaw.
4. Foracust om tohav eaf orceofl aw,i tshoul dbei mmemor i
alinnat urei.
ei t
shouldhav ebeeninusef orsuchal ongt i
met hatnobodyr emember sit
sor i
gins.
Arecentormoder ncust om nor mall
yhav enol egal effect.
5. Acust om shoul dbel ocali nnat ur
ewi thal imitedappl i
cat ionwithinal i
mited
soci
ety.Itshouldbecer tai
nasr egardsthesubj ectmat ter,locali
tyandper sonsto
benefi
tfrom it.
6. Consist
encyi tmustbeconsi stentwithothercust omsi nt hepar t
icul
arcommuni ty
wit
houtcont radi
cti
on.

I
NWHI
CH/
WHATI
NSTANCESI
SCUSTOMARYLAW APPLI
CABLE?

Asal readynot edearli

ertheconstit
utionrest
ri
ctstheappl i
cationofcust omar ylaw t o
onlyci vi
ldisputes.(SeetheConst it
ution1995Ar t28(2).Simi l
arl
y,allotherr el
ev ant
Statuesar etothesameef fectli
mittheappli
cati
onofcustomar yl awtosomei nstances
ofci vi
lrelati
onsofwhi chthesalientoneswher ecivi
lcust omar ylaw appl i
esbei ng
propertyanddomest icrel
ati
ons.Customarylawalsotoal esserextentappliesint orts
suchas, adultery
,pregnancy,def
amat i
onandt r
espasstolandandgoods.

Customar ylaw playsav eryimportantr olei n spheres ofl and control,holding,

acquisi
t i
onanddi sposal.Mostoft hel andhol dingi nUgandaar eundercust omar y
tenurewhi chisonetypeoflandholdi
ngr ecogni zedbyt heConsti
tutionsee( Art
.273(3)).
Itthereforef ol
l
owst hatthe Const
it
ut i
on r ecognizest he i
mpor tantr ol
e played by
customar ylawinmoder nUgandathusent renchingt heprovi
siont osafeguar dther ol
e
andexi stenceofcustomarytenurevestsright sofowner shi
pi nthet enantthatisitcan
betransferred,i
nheri
tedormor t
gagedlikeanyot herlandunderadi ff
erentholding.

8
I
nt hecaseofMut amburi
revs.Kimer a,(
Civi
lAppeal33/72)itwashel
dthatcustomary
tenantor“ Ki
banj
ahol
der”forallpurposes,enj
oyssecur
ityoftenur
eandhist i
tl
ei sas
goodast hatofanownerofl andundercust omarytenure.Hecansellhis“kibanj
a”
pledgeitorevenmort
gageitatwill
.

Proofofcust
omarylaw
Customarylaw shoul
d be pr
oved bya per
son who int
ends t
orel
yon i
t.Wher
e
customaryl
awisaquesti
onoffactt
heni
thastobeprov
ed.

6. Doct rinesofEqui ty
Equi tyi
sabodyofr ulesoffairnessornat uralj
ust
icesorpubl icmorali
tyinapar t
icul
ar
communi t
y.Thesear epri
nciplesoff air
nessthatwereadopt edbyEngl i
shcour t
s
(chancer ycourts)tomi ni
miset heef f
ectsofunfai
rcommonl awprinci
ples.Those
principlesarebasedonconsi derationofequali
tyandfairness.Thesepr inci
plesare
expr essedbywayofmaxi ms( say i
ngs)
Her ebel owaresomeoft hemaxi mst hatareappl
iedinadjudicati
onofdi sput
es
accor dingtothedoct ri
neofequi ty.
a.Whoev ercomest oequi t
ymustcomewi thcleanhands
b.Equi tydoesnotal lowawr ongtohavenor emedy
c.Aper soncannotbenef i
tfrom hi
sownwr ong
d.Equi tyshoul dfoll
owt hefacts
e.Whoev erseeksequi t
ymustdoequi ty
f. Equityai dsthev i
gilant
g.Equi tyr egar
dst hatwhi choughttobedoneasdone
h.Hewhocomest oequi t
ymustcomewi t
hcl eanshands.
i. Equalityisequity

Statutoryprovi
sionsont heappl icabili
tyofEquity
Equityisappli
cabl einUgandabyv ir
tueofst atut
oryprovisi
onsf orinstancesect i
on10
(1)ofM CAst atest hatinev erycivilcauseormat terbeforeamagi strate’
scour t
,law
andequi tyshallbeadmi ni
st eredconcur rent
lyandsect i
on14( 5)oftheJudi catureAct
stat
es t hatfort he purposesoft his sect
ion,the expressions“ common l aw”and
“doctri
nesofequi ty”meant hosepar tsofthelawofUganda, othert
hant hewr i
tt
enlaw,
theappl i
edlawort hecust omar ylaw,obser vedandadmi ni
steredbyt heHi ghCour tas
thecommonl aw andt hedoct ri
nesofequi tyrespect
ively
.Thusequi tyi slaw inthe
senset hati
tispar tofthelawofEngl andappliedinUganda.

However,i
nthecaseofconf l
ictorv ari
ancebetweenther ul
esofcommonl awandt he
rul
esofequit
y,equi
tyshall
prev ai
lastosecti
on14( 4)oftheJudi
catureActt
hatinever
y
causeormatterbef
oretheHi ghCour t
,therul
esofequi t
yandtherulesofcommonl aw
shal
lbeadmi ni
ster
edconcur rentl
y;andifthereisaconf li
ctorvari
ancebetweenthe
rul
esofequityandther ul
esofcommonl aw wit
hr efer
encetothesamesubj ect,t
he
9
r
ulesofequi
tyshal
lpr
evai
l
.

Act
ivi
ty
 Fi ndandreadanycasej udgmentfrom thenearestcourtorl
ibr
aryto
whereyoustay.Ident
ifythety
peofl awthatthecourtappli
ed.
 I dent
if
yanycust om f
rom anyonecul t
ureyouarewel lknowl
edgeabl
e
aboutwhi
chi sincompatibl
eorrepugnanttoanywr it
tenlaw.

Languageoft hel aw.

Arti
cle6oft he1995const i
tutionspellst
heof ficiall
egall
anguageasEngl ish.Howev er,
i
ti sof t
endi f
ficultforstudent swhobegi nst udyi
nglaw,becausel aw hasi t
sown
l
anguaget hatcreedsf rom thet i
mel awdeveloped.Thus, Lati
nmaxims, abbreviat
ionsof
l
aw,par ti
cularwayofphr asingt heEnglishl anguagedi ff
erwhil
est udy i
ngl aw.The
reasonwhyt hisso, i
sbecauset hereisneedt opr eser
velawi ni
tsnaturalcharacterand
development.Ot herwiseinterpreti
ngsomeoft hewor dst oatypicalEnglishphr asi
ng
wouldleadtot hedisappearanceoft heri
chlanguageofl aw.

Classi
ficati
on/ Di
visionoft helaw
Thewor dLawi susedi nbroadterms.Lawhascl assesordi
visi
onsthataredist
inctand
appli
cable onl yin speci fi
ed circumstances. The classi
fi
cati
on ofl aw has many
advantages:
1)I tenablesappl i
cat i
onofpr i
ncipl
escorrect
lyandeasil
y.
2)I tmakeseasyr efer
ence.
3)I tdeterminest heappr opr
iatecourtforset
tl
ementofdisputes.
4)Thecl assi
ficationofthelawdi ct
atestheremediestobeawar dedbythecourts,

Classi
fication of l aws may depend on cont ent,appl i
cabil
ity,origi
n or ot
her
characteri
st i
cs.
Theusual classifi
cationsoflawar et
hefol
lowi ng:-
1.Wr it
tenl aw Unwr i
tt
enLaw
Const i
tutionofUgandaAct sof e.g.Cust omaryLaw
Parli
amente. g.Local Government sAct
Subsidi
ar yLegi slat
ione.gor dinances
andBy eLaws
CivilLaw
2.CommonLaw Followsacodeofpr inci
plewr i
tten
-Basedondeci dedcasesf ollowing downonapar ti
cularsubject.
doctri
neofpr ecedent( caselaw) . Somet i
mescal l
edNapol eonicCode.
-Appl i
cabl einEngl andandt he Commonl yappli
edincont i
nental
Commonweal t
h Eur ope.
-Doesnotf ol
l
owdoct ri
nepr ecedent
Internati
onalLaw
10
3.Munici
palLaw Lawappl i
cableandgoverni
ngrelat
ions
Lawsapplicablewithi
naparti
cul
ar betweenindependentstat
es.
countr
yandwhi chdonotaff
ectother Disputesresolv
edinInt
ernat
ional
countr
ies Courtse.gInter
nat
ionalCour
tof
Disput
esar eresolv
edinnati
onalcour
ts Justi
ce.
e.
g.theHighCour tofUganda.
CivilLaw
4.Cr imi nalLaw Relatest odi sput esbet weenpr i
vate
-Relat est ocr i
mesagai nstt ostat
e personse. g.cont racts,tor
ts,divorce,
e.
g.t heft,Robber y,forgery, t
reason proper ty
-Aimsatpuni shmentofof fenderor Aimsatr est orationorcompensat ionto
prevent i
onofof fence theaf fectedper son.Awar dsinclude
-Puni shabl ebyf ines,ori mpr i
sonment damagesandot herfor msof
-Profbey ondal lr
easonabl edoubt compensat ion
Proofont hebal anceofpr obabilit
ies
5.Publ i
cLaw PrivateLaw
-Relat est omat t
ersinwhi chthestate Regul atesr elationbet weenpr i
vate
hasani nterest. persons.
-Thest atei susual l
yapar tytothe Thest ateisnotapar t ytodisputee. g.
di
sput ebef orecour t
sofl awe. g. Fami lylaw( divor ce),
commer cial
const i
tutional l
aw, Judicialreviewsin disputeset c.Insuchcasest hest ate
Admi nistrativeLaw maybeapar t
yasi fi
twasapr ivate
person.

Civ
ilLaw
6.Mil
tary(Marshall
)Law Appli
cabletoci
vil
ianswhoar enot
Appli
cabletoserv
ingmember softhe ser
vinginthemili
taryfor
cese.g.High
mil
it
aryforces Courtandothercourtsofjudi
catur
e.
Enf
orceableinmili
tar
yCourtsfol
l
owing
mil
it
arycodesandpr ocedur
ee.g.UPDF
Act.
Proceduraloradjecti
v allaw
7.subst
antiveLaw Thisclassifi
cati
oncont ainslawst hat
Thiscl
assif
icat
ioncont
ainslawsthat pr escri
bet heproceduref orenfor
cinga
provi
dethesubstanceofalegalmater
. substanti
ve l aw e. g. t he Crimi nal
ForexamplethePenalCodeAct ProcedureCodepr ovi
desf ort
hest eps
provi
desforcri
mesandpuni shments. i
nt heenf orcementoft hePenalCode
Act.

11
THELAW MAKI NGPROCESS.
Thispar tintroducesthestudenttoproceduresofmakingthelawsspecifi
call
y
Actsofpar l
iamentorpr i
ncipall
egisl
ati
onandr egul
ati
onsmadebymi ni
steror
subsidi
aryl egisl
ati
oninUganda.Toenabl epar l
iamentcar
ryoutthemandat ed
servi
ces,t he1995const i
tuti
ongivesthem power st
omakel awsonanymat t
er
forpeace,or der,devel
opmentandgoodgov er
nanceofUganda[Art
icl
e79oft he
constit
ution].

THEROLEOFLEGI SLATI ON
Theroleoflegislati
oni stost i
pul
ateri
ghtsandobl i
gat
ions.I tlaysdownpower s,
pri
vi
legesanddut i
es.Itstateswhatcanandcannotbedone.
Ther ul
eofl aw pr omotesgoodgov ernanceandst i
mul atesdev elopmentf or
wit
houtlaw,therei schaos.Hi ghqual
it
ylegisl
ati
onisenduringanddoesnotneed
fr
equentamendment .Itgiveseff
ecttogovernmentpoli
cyandr educesthefiscal
ri
skstotheGov ernment .Itavoi
dsthecour t
shavingtodeci deonwhati tmeans
andreducescompl i
ancecost sforusesbylimit
ingthescopef oravoidance.

Highquali
tylegi slati
onshoul
dbedr aftedinaccordancewit
hthefoll
owing
gener
al pr
inciples.
1.Legislationshoul dbedraft
edincl ear
,simpleandpreci
selanguage.Clari
ty
determi nes ease ofunder standing and removes ambigui
ty.Simplici
ty
requirest hatunnecessaryelement sareexcludedbutshouldnotresulti
n
legi
slationf ai
li
ngtohav eit
si ntendedeffect.Pr
ecisi
onensurestherei s
certaintyi nthemindofthereader .

2.Legi
slationshoul dtakei ntoaccountt heend- useroft hel awt owhom t he
l
awi stoappl yandt heper sonr esponsiblef orapplyingt helaw.Member s
ofPar l
i
amentshoul dunder st
andt hest atutest hatPar l
iamentenact sand
theExecut i
v eshouldunder standt hest atutoryprovisionsi tapproves.End
usersrangef rom thepopul ationatl arget ospeci ali
stsi nspecificfields,
each shoul d expect t hat the l egislati
on uses l anguage t hey can
understand.Thosei mplement ingthel awmayr angef rom publ i
cser vants
toscientist
sandj udges.Thel anguageoft heActshoul daccountf orthis,
wheret hel aw incl
udest echnicalrequi r
ement s,t
heymustbeunder stood
bythepr ofessionalswhoi mpl ementt hem.

3.Act
sshoul dbeconci seandthecontentshoul
dbeasuni f
orm aspossible.
Agoodl egisl
ati
vestyleshoul
dexpresskeyideassucci
nct
ly.Thelanguage
oftheActshoul dbeconsi st
ent.Abasiclaw shoul
dnotcontaindetail
ed
pr
ov i
sions;these should be i
ncl
uded in a Schedul
e ori n subsi
diary

12
 l
egisl
ati
on.Act
sshoul
dbeconsi
stentwi
thot
herlegislat
ionandshoul
dnot
overl
aporconf
li
ctwi
thot
herl
egi
slati
oni
nagivenfield.

4.Thelegisl
ati
vesentenceshoul dbesimple.Eachsect ionshouldcontai
na
si
mplepr ovi
sion.Longsentencesshoul dbeav oided.Thesent encemay
bespl i
tint
osubdi vi
sionsthatfol
l
ow thepr ogressionoft hereasoning,
si
nceacompactbl ockoftextishardfortheeyet ofollowandthemi ndto
absorb.

5.Thet ermi nol

ogyused in a par
ticularlegisl
ati
on shoul d beconsi stent
i
nternall
yand wi th ot
herlaws,especi allyint he same f ield.Ident
ical
conceptsshoul dbeexpr essedi nt hesamet er msasf araspossi ble
wit
houtdepar ti
ngf r
om t
hemeani ngi nordi
narylegalortechni call
anguage.
Formali nconsist
encyrequir
est hatt heActdoesnotcont aininherent
contradict
ionsbetweenanyofitspr ovi
sions.Definedtermsmustbeused
i
n a uni form manner.Defini
ti
ons onl yappl yt ot he parti
cularActi n
question.

6.Legi
slat
ionshoul
dusegender-
neutr
all anguage;genderspecifi
cwor ds
shouldbeavoi
ded.I
fhoweverthesubst anceofthelegisl
ati
vesentence
appl
iesonl
ytoonegender
,wor
dsthatident i
fyt
hatgendershouldbeused.

7.Whenl egi
slat
ionisexpressedindifferentoff
ici
all
anguages,thedif
fer
ent
ver
sionsshouldbei denticali
nstructureandsubst ant
ivemeaning.Each
ver
sionoft hetextshouldbei ncorr
ecti di
omaticmeaning.Thestruct
ure
oft
hel egi
slat
ivesentenceshouldbet hesamei neachlanguage.

8.Thereshouldbegoodor ganisati
onofmat eri
al.
 Themat eri
alshouldbear rangedinlogi
calorder
 Gener alprovi
sionsshoul dbefoll
owedbyspeci fi
cprovi
sionsand
except i
ons
 Provisionsthatrel
atet othesamesubj ectmattershoul
dbe
groupedt ogether.
 Provisionsshouldbear r
angedintempor al
sequence
 Provisionsthataresignifi
cantshouldcomebef oreprov
isionsof
lessersignif
icance.
 Sectionsshoul dbeli
mi tedinthenumberofsubsect i
onst hey
containandasagener alrul
eshouldnothav emorethansi x
subsect i
ons.

13
  TheActshouldbedivi
dedi
ntogr
oupsofsect
ionsunderheadi
ngs
 Sect
ionsshouldbenumber
ed.

POLI
CYANDLEGI
SLATI
ON

1.
0Whati
sapol
icy

Dict
ionar
ydefini
ti
on:
Acour
seofact
ionadopt
edandpur
suedbyaGov
ernment
,a
part
yorar ul
er.

Techni
caldefi
nit
ion:Thepr
ocessbywhi
chGov ernmentt
ransl
atesi
tspol
i
tical
vi
sioni
ntoprogr
ammesandact i
onst
odel
i
verdesir
edchanges.

Poli
ciesarer
esponsestonewgoal
sandnewvalues;
pol
icyprovi
desdir
ecti
onf
or
theachiev
ementofcert
aingoal
sandt
hedevel
opmentofcert
ainsect
ors.

1.
1Whyi
sPol
icyr
elev
ant

-Al
lGovernmentsar ejudgedbyhow wel
ltheydel
i
verr
esul
tsorhow wel
lthey
handl
eissuessuchas:
 Widespr eadpovert
y
 Unempl oy ment
 Accesst oeducati
on
 Health
 Environmentdegradati
on
 Crimepr eventi
on
 Transpor ti
nfr
astr
uctur
e
 Taxes
 Corruption,et
c.

-Thecapaci
tyt
odel
i
veri
spar
toft
hei
mpl
i
citcont
ractbet
weent
hest
ateandi
ts
cit
izens.

-
Poli
ciesareoneoft
hemostimport
antwayst
hroughwhi
chGov
ernmentdel
i
ver
s
i
tsprogrammesandser
vicest
othepeopl
e.

1.
2Ty
pesofpol
icy

(
a)Wel
lwr
it
ten(
for
mal
)pol
ici
es

Thesearef or
mallywr i
ttenandcar ef
ull
ynamedpol
icydocument
s.Usual
l
y,
theprocessoff ormul atingandmaki ngsuchpol
ici
esisprotr
act
edand
i
nvolv
est horoughresear chandanalysi
sonsuchi
ssuesas-
 Clearidentificat
ionoft
heprobl
em
 Stati
sticaltrends

14
  I
nfluencingfactor
sinnati
onal andinter
nat
ionalscene
 Drawsexper i
encef r
om othercountri
es
 Consultati
onswi t
hmajorstakeholders
 Assessest heimpactofimplement i
ngthepoli
cy

Theresul
tisawell
-r
esearched,well
-wri
tt
enpol
i
cydocument
,whi
chi
s
for
mall
yadopt
edandpassedbyCabinet.

Examplesofsuchpol i
ciesi
nclude-
 NationalgenderPoli
cy
 NationalEnvi
ronmentPol i
cy
 FishPoli
cy
 UgandaFor estr
yPolicy
 Populati
onPol i
cy

(
b)Nonf
ormalpol
ici
es

I
nt hiscat
egory,thereisnotaf or
mal l
ywr i
tt
enornamedpol i
cy.The
processofformulat
ingthesekindsofpol i
ciesisnotv er
yconsul
tati
ve.
Thesepoli
ciestypi
call
yrespondtour gentsoci
al,economi
candpol i
ti
cal
i
ssues.

Exampl
esinclude-
 Uni
versalSecondar
yEducat
ion(
USE)
 Pol
i
cyondef i
l
ement

(c)Poli
ciesarisingoutofInternati
onalobl
igat
ions
Arti
cle123 oft heConst i
tuti
on empower sthePr esidentoranyot her
person authorized by the Pr esi
dentt o make treaties,convent
ions,
agreementsoranyot herar r
angement sbetweenUgandaandanyot her
countr
yorbet weenUgandaandanyot heri
nter
nati
onalor gani
zat
ion.

Consequentl
y,Uganda has si
gned and r
ati
fi
ed sev
erali
nter
nat
ional
agreementsandisalsoamemberofsev er
alRegi
onalandI
nter
nat
ional
groupi
ngssuchasEastAfri
canCommunit
y,COMESA,WTO,Af
ri
canUnion,
etc.

TheseInt
ernat
ionalAgreement
susuall
yimposecertainobli
gati
ons,which
membercount ri
esmustcompl ywith.Oneoft hebasicr ul
esgov er
ning
tr
eati
es i
st hatmemberst at
es mustcompl ywi t
ht reatyobli
gati
ons.
Governmentsthusadoptthepol
icyi
nthosetreat
iesandmakest hem part
ofthei
rown,normall
ythrought
heprocessofdomesticat
ion.

2.
0Pol
icyI
mpl
ement
ati
on

Pol
i
cyi
mpl
ement
ati
oni
stheconsci
ousconv
ersi
onofpol
i
cypl
ansi
ntor
eal
i
ty.

15
Wi
thouti
mpl
ement
ati
on,
pol
i
cy,
howev
erwel
lwr
it
tenhasnosi
gni
fi
cance.

Pol
i
cydecisionsmaybei mplement edthrought hefol
lowingmechanisms:
 By means of l egisl
ation such as dr afti
ng of Bil
l
s and st at
utor
y
i
nstrument s
 Admi ni
strat
ivemeasuressuchasgui deli
nesandcodesofpr act
ice
 Economi cmeasuressuchasgi v
ingi ncent
ives,taxi
nducement s,gr
ants,
l
oansorsubsi di
es
 I
nformat i
on and sensitizati
on through adv ise,gui
dance,t hreat
s or
persuasionbywidedissemi nat
ion

Themostcommonmet hodofpoli
cyimplementat
ioni
slegi
slati
on.Anumberof
Gover
nmentpoli
ciesarehoweveri
mplementedthr
oughadministr
ati
vemeansor
acombinat
ionofl
egisl
ati
onandadminist
rat
ivemeans.

Examples ofGov er
nmentpol ici
es i
mplement
ed t
hrough means ot
hert
han
l
egisl
ati
oninclude-
 Univer
sal Pri
maryeducation
 Univer
sal SecondaryEducati
on
 Immuni zati
on
 VoluntaryCounseli
ngandTest i
ng(
VCT)
 BonnaBagagawal e

3.
0Pol
icyandBi
ll
s

Poli
cydr ivesBi ll
s.Bi llsarelegislati
v eproposal sintendedt oimplementpol icy
deci
sionsorr ecommendat i
ons.Billsdot hef ollowing-
 Gi veef fectt oGov ernmentpol icywhi chcanonl ybeef f
ectedbyenact ing
l
awse. g.l awsi mposingt axes,cr eat ingorl i
mi t
ingcertainrights,laws
creating st atutory bodies and gi ving t hem cer t
ainfunctions,l aws
prohibitingcer tainconduct ,etc
 Tax l aws passed annual lyt or ai se Gov ernment revenue t o meet
Gov ernment ’sexpensesi .e.IncomeTaxandVal ueAddedTax
 Gi vet hef orceofl awi nUgandat ointer nat
ionalobl i
gati
onsundert reaties
andconv entions
 I mplement r ecommendat i
ons f or l aw r eform ar i
sing f rom
recommendat ionsoflawr ef orm Commi ssi
on
 I ndi
v i
dualMember sofPar li
amentor i
ginate Pr i
vate Member s’Bill
st o
enactl awswhi chtheyt hi
nkar eurgentbutGov ernmenthasnotgi vensuch
mat tersdueat tent
ion.

THEENACTMENTPROCESS
KEYSTATUTORYTERMI
NOLOGY.

16
Act
:Al
awmadebyPar
li
ament
-anActofPar
li
ament
.

Amendi
ngAct:AnactpassedbyPar
li
amentt
oal
teranot
herexi
sti
ngActof
Par
li
amentort
oal
teranenact
ment

Assent
:Theapprov
algiventoanActofPar
li
amentbyt
hePr
esi
dent
,rei
gni
ng
Ki
ngorqueenofsover
eignr
epresent
ati
ve

Bil
l:ThedraftofaproposedActofPar
li
ament
.Bi
lli
sthet
erm usedt
odescr
ibe
thedraf
tbeforePar
li
amenthaspassedi
tasanAct
.

Consoli
datingAct:AnActpassedt obr i
ngint
ooneActofParli
amentanor i
ginal
Acttogetherwithal lamendmentsthathavebeenmadet othatori
ginalActby
var
iousamendi ngAct sofParl
iament,oranActpassedtobri
ngintooneActof
Par
liamentpr ovi
sionswhichhav eprevi
ouslybeenscat
ter
edi nvari
ousear l
ier
Act
swhi chitrepeals.

Del
egat
edLegislati
on:Lawwhichi
smadebysomeper sonot
hert
hanPar
li
ament
andact
ingundertheauthor
it
yofanActofPar
li
ament
.

Di
visi
on:I
fanActofParl
iamenti
sdi
videdi
ntopar
ts,t
hosepar
tsmaythemselves
bediv
idedi
ntodi
vi
sionseachofwhi
chisli
kel
ytocont
ainanumberofsect
ions

Enact
ment
:AnAct

Hansar
d: Thepubl
icat
ioni
nwhi
char
erecodedt
hespeeches/del
i
ber
ati
ons
madeinPar
li
ament
.

Headi
ng:Wordsappeari
ngatthetopofapar
tordi
visi
onofanActofPar
li
ament
,
t
heyapproxi
matetothechapt
erheadi
nginabook.

Longti
tl
e:Thel
ongeroft
het wotitl
eswhicharegiv
ent
oanActofPar
li
ament
,
thel
ongti
tl
eset
soutsomeindicat
ionofscopeoft
heAct
.

Margi
nalnote:anotesetint
hemar gi
noftheAct;itsetsout( notalway
s
accur
atel
y)ani
ndi
cat
ionoft
hemat
ter
sdealtwi
thi
nthesect
ionorsubsect
ion.

Par
agr
aph:apor
ti
onofasubsect
ion

Par
t:ForanActofPar
li
amentt
hepar
tcor
respondst
othechapt
erofabook

Schedul
e:Apr ovisi
onofanActofPar li
amentappeari
ngatt
heendoftheAct,i
t
i
smostcommonl yusedt oprescr
ibeaf or
mt hati
stobeusedinadmini
ster
ing
theActortoprescri
ber
ulesforcarry
ingsomepr ov
isi
onsoft
heActi
ntoeff
ect.I
t
corr
espondstoanappendixinabook.

17
Secti
on:Ev eryActofParl
iamenti
sdiv
idedintosect
ionswhi
char
enumber
ed
consecut
ivel
yandwhichapproxi
mat
etotheverseofabookoft
heBi
ble.

Shor
tti
tl
e:t
henameofapar
ti
cul
arActofPar
li
ament
.

Si
denot
e:Anot
hernamef
ormar
ginal
not
e.

St
atut
e:Anot
hernamef
oranActofPar
li
ament
.

Subsect
ion:Asecti
onmayit
sel
fbesubdi
vi
dedint
opr
ovi
sionswhichar
eknown
as“subsecti
ons”andwhi
charethemsel
vesnumber
ednumericall
ywit
hint
he
sect
ion.

Ti
tl
e:EachActofPar
li
amenthast
wot
it
les-t
heLongt
it
leandt
heshor
tti
tl
e.

Generalpr ocedur efortheenact mentofsubst anti

velegislation
Theprocessf ortheenact mentofanActofPar li
amentbegi nswi t
har equestfor
poli
cyappr ovalf rom t heCabi netf ort heproposedl egislationbyt heMi ni
stry
concerned.Ther equestmustbei nt hef or
m ofaCabi netMemor andum setti
ng
outthef oll
owi ng:
 t hepur poseoft hememor andum
 t hebackgr oundf orthelegi slation
 issuesf orconsiderati
onbyCabi net
 I nter-depar t
ment alorMinist erial consul
tati
onst hathav ebeenhel dwith
bodi esoragenci esofrelev ance.
 f inancial ,
considerati
onssuppor tedbyast atementt hatt heMinist
ryof
Financehasbeenconsul ted
 empl oymentconsi derati
ons, ifany
 whet herornott hereisexist i
ngl egisl
ati
on
 whet heramendmentornewl egi slati
onisrequir
ed, andt her
ecommended
actiont obet akenbyCabi net .

ThecabinetMemor andum mustbepresent

edbythesponsori
ngmini
stert
o
Cabinetundercoverofal
ettert
otheSecret
aryt
otheCabinetsi
gnedbythe
concernedminist
er.

Aft
erconsi derat
ionofthememor andum, Cabinetapprovali
scommuni cat edina
l
ettersi
gnedbyt heSecretarytot heCabi nettot hesponsoringMi nisterand
copiedtot heAttorney-
General.Thislet
tergivesdirecti
onfortheprepar ati
onof
thelegi
slationconcerned.Itisusefulifacopyoft heCabinetmemor andum is
att
achedt heCabi netapprovaltotheAt tor
ney -
Generalbecausetheexpl anator
y

18
memorandum t
hatgoeswitheachBilli
sprepar
edbyt
hedr
aft
eront
hebasi
sof
t
hecabinetmemorandum f
orpol
icyapprov
al.

Thesi gnif
icanceoftheCabinetapprovalisthatitauthor
izest hesponsor
ing
Ministerthrough t
he schedul
e of
fi
cert oi ssue dr
aft
ing inst
ructi
ons t
ot he
l
egislati
veDr af
ti
ngDiv
isi
onoftheAtt
orney-General
’
sDepartment.

Thedraft
ingi nstruct i
onsshoul dfoll
owt hecontentsoft heCabinetmemor andum
andshouldi ncludet hef oll
owi ng:
 object i
vesi ntendedt obeachi evedbyt heBill
 report sont hemat terincludinganyr el
evantlegal opini
ons
 referencest oexistinglegislation
 indicationofanyconsequent ialamendment s, t
ransiti
onalorsavi
ngs
prov i
sionsr equi r
ed
 prospect ivecommencementdat ei fr
equir
ed, andt henameoft he
schedul eof ficerintheMi nistr
y ,
Depar tmentorAgencywhoi stoli
aise
witht heLegi slati
v eDraf ti
ngDi visionoftheAt torney-General
’s
Depar tment .

The draftBi l
lwi l
lbe pr epar
ed byt he Legisl
ati
ve Draft
ing Di
v i
sion in cl
ose
col
laborationwitht hesponsor i
ngMi nist
rythroughthescheduleof f
icer.Aft
er
consult
at i
on between t he Legisl
ati
ve Drafti
ng Div
ision and the sponsor i
ng
Minist
ry,theBi l
lisfinal
ized.Uponf i
nali
zati
on,thedraftBil
lissubmi t
tedt othe
sponsoringMi ni
str
ywi thanEx pl
anatorymemor andum att
ached.

ThedraftBil
lwit
hthememor andum unsi gnedi sthensubmittedbyThe
Mini
stertoCabinettoseekappr ovalfortheBilltobelaidbeforeparl
iament.The
Secr
etarytotheCabinetcommuni catestheappr ovalofCabinettotheAttorney
-
Generalandthesponsor i
ngMi nistr
y.Afterthat,arr
angement saremadebyt he
Legi
slati
veDr af
ti
ngDi v
isi
onf ort hepr i
nti
ngandpubl icat
ionoft heBil
li nthe
Gazet
t eforthest at
utoryfourteen dayper iod asgener all
ystipul
ated i
nt he
Const
ituti
on.

TheBilli
st henlaidi
nPar li
amentbythesponsor
ingMi
nisterandgoesthrough
theParli
ament ar
yprocessofpassageintoanActofParl
iament.Whi
chinclude
thefol
l
owi ng;
 The1str eadi
ngoft hebil
lbef
orethefl
oorofpar
li
amenti smade,though
thereisnodebate.
 Thebi lli
sthenforwardedtot
heresear
chcommitt
ee,uponcompletionof

19
 theresear
ch, the2ndreadi
ngi smadeanddebati
ngoft hebi
llbypar
li
ament
begi
ns.
 Upont he3rd r
eading,voti
ngisdone,andthebil
listher
eaft
erfor
wardedto
thepresi
dentf orassent[Art
icle91oft
heconsti
tuti
on]
 Thequestionofhow l ongeachr eadi
ngtakesdependsoncompl exi
tyof
thebil
lorurgencyt hegovernmentputstoit
.

I
fitisassent
edtobythePr esi
dentitcomesi ntofor
ceafteri
thasbeenpublished
i
nt heGazett
ein accordancewiththepr ovi
sionsintheConsti
tut
ion.I
nthecase
ofUgandavJoseph[ 1972]ULR, courtheldthatanActofparli
amentcomesi nto
forceasisprov
idedintheActofPar li
amentoront hedateofitspubli
cat
ionas
provi
dedinthegazet
te.

Wher ethedr
aftBil
lissponsor
edbyanagencyordepartmentorpr
ivat
emember
whichdoesnotfallunderaMi ni
str
y,t
heAtt
orney-
Gener
altakesr
esponsi
bil
i
tyto
submi tthedraf
tBi l
lto Cabi
netseekapprovalfort
heBi l
ltobel ai
dbef or
e
Parl
iament.

Thepr ocedureforamendmentofanActofParl
iamenti
ssimilartothatf
orfresh
l
egislati
on,itbegi
nswit
hthesponsor
ingMi
nist
ryobtai
ningapprovalf
rom cabi
net
forthepolicyoftheamendmentandconti
nuesinthesameast heenact
mentof
newl egi
slati
on.

Whereitisdeterminedandcer t
if
iedbyaCommi t
teeofParli
amentthat
Bil
lisofanur gentnature,t
hatBi l
lmaybei nt
roducedwithoutpubli
cat
ion.ABil
l
maybel aidinPar l
iamentafterithasbeenpubl i
shedintheGazet t
ebutbefore
thestat
utoryfourt
eendayper iodhasel apsedifParl
iamentconsider
sthematter
tobeurgent.Thisoftenappl
iestof i
nanciall
egisl
ati
on.

Procedurefortheenact mentofsubsi diarylegislat

ion
Mostsubsidiarylegislati
on,Or ders,RulesorRegul ati
onsar eprocedurali
nnature
andof t
endonotr equi r
epr i
orCabi netappr ovalbefor ethepolicyproposalare
submitted for dr afting to t he At torney-General’
s Depar tment. Howev er
,
i
nstrumentst hathav ef i
nancialimplicationsf ortheSt ateorarebyt henatureof
thei
rcontentsl i
kelyt oi ndi
cat eapol icyshi ftordr asticchangei nanexi st
ing
sit
uati
onr equireCabi netappr ovalandmustt hereforebesubmi t
tedforpr i
or
Cabinetapprovalbef or edrafti
ngbegi ns.

Aft
ertheproposal
sforthesubsi
diar
ylegisl
ati
onhavebeenrecei
vedfrom the
sponsor
s,t
hedr af
tOrder
,Rul
eorRegulati
onwi l
lbepr
eparedbytheLegisl
ati
ve

20
Draft
ing Di
vi
sion i
n col
l
abor
ati
on wi
tht
he sponsor
ing Mi
nist
ryt
hrough t
he
schedul
eoffi
cer.

I
naccor dancewiththepr
ovisi
onsin.theConst it
ut i
on,thedraftorder.Rul eor
Regulati
on mustbe publi
shed i
nt he Gazet te on the dayi tisl ai
d before
parli
amentandcomesi ntofor
ceont heexpi rati
onoft wenty
-one si t
ti
ngday s
unlesstheparl
iamentannulstheOrder ,RuleorRegul ationbyt hevotesofnot
l
esst hantwo-thi
rdofthemember sofPar l
i
amentbef oretheexpirati
onoft he
twenty-
onedays.Theprocedur
ef ortheamendmentofsubsi diaryl
egislat
ionis
thesameast hemakingoffr
eshsubsidiarylegisl
ation.

PROCESSOFMAKI NGORDI NANCES

Ordi
nances may be made t oImpl ementgov ernmentpol i
cy and r egulat
e
behaviourinapar ti
cularcommuni ty.Ordi
nancesmeanl awsmadebydi st
r i
ctand
ci
tycounci ls.Whent heseor di
nancesar emade,t heyonlyapplytotheboundar y
orwithinthedi st
ri
ctswhent heyaremade,t heycannotext endtootherdistri
cts.
E.g.Regul ationmadei nKampal aCi t
ycannotappl ytoWaki sodist
ri
ct.Theyar e
supposedt ocov erpol i
ciesthathavebeendev elopedatt hecit
yordi str
ictlevel
andshoul dnotbei nconf li
ctwit
hnat i
onallaws.

Theprocess/
stages
Abil
lforanordi
nancemaybei
ntr
oducedbyanymemberoft
hecounci
l

Step1Whomayi nt
roduceanor di
nance
Amemberwhoi ntendst oint
roducelegi
slati
onbyor
dinanceconsul
tswi
tht
he
rel
evantdepar
tment,causesabil
ltobedrafted

St
ep2Memberofcounci lmayintr
oduceabil
lbymot i
on
Amemberofthecouncilmov esamotioni
ntr
oducingabil
lforanor
dinance,t
he
moti
oni
sdebatedandifagreedthebi
lli
spubl
ished

Step3Bi l
lmustbepubli
shedatthecounciloffi
ces
IftheothermembersofthecouncilagreewiththemotionandtheBil
latt
ached
thebillwil
lbepubli
shedi naconspi cuousplaceatt henoti
ceboar dofthe
council
/outsi
dethedooroft hedi
strictcounci
loffi
ceorsupplycopi
est othe
publi
c.
Thepubl i
cati
onshal
lbeaccompani edbyamemor andum st
ati
ngt hepoli
cy
object
iveandhowthebil
lseekstoi
mpl ementthatpol
icy

21
Step4Di st
ri
but i
onofcopiesoftheBi
llt
omember s
Onpubl i
cati
ont hecl
erki
sr equi
redt
odistr
ibutecopi
esoftheBi
l
ltomembersof
the counci
l,to enabl
et hem studythe bil
land consul
tforviews f
rom t
he
publi
c/consti
tuenci
es

Step5Publicat
ionofBil
l
Withi
n14day sfrom t
hedateofpublicat
ion,t
hememberwhoi
ntr
oducedt
heBi
l
l
shall
rei
ntr
oduceittothecounci
lfordebate

Step6Debat ingtheBill
Thespeakeroft hecouncilcal
l
soutthenameoft hememberi ntr
oducingbill
,to
i
ntroduceit
Theclerkthenproceedstoreadtheti
tleoftheBil
landthememberi sthencalled
upongi v
eanintroduct
oryspeechstat
ingthejust
if
icati
on/reasonsofthebill
Aft
ert heintr
oductoryremarksthemember sthenpr oceedt odebatet heBi l
l
,
basedont heint
roductor
yremarksandt hememor andum

Sept7PassingtheBil
l
Aft
erthedebatethespeakeri
srequi
redtoputquesti
onstot hemember
softhe
counci
l(cl
ausebyclause)astowhethertheypasstheclausesaspubl
i
shedor
wit
hamendment sthatmayhavebeenmadedur i
ngthedebate

Step8.Chair
personofthecouncilt
osendcopiesofbi
llt
oAt
tor
neyGeneral
UponpassingtheBi l
l
,theChairmanisrequi
redtosendacopytot
heAt tor
ney
Generalforadvi
ce.Theattorneygener
almaymakeamendment sorr etur
nit
withoutamendments.

St
ep9.Att
orneyGener almayreturnthecopi
eswi thorwithoutamendments
WhentheBi
lli
sreturnedbytheAt t
orneyGeneral,
theChair
mani srequi
redt
osign
5copi
esoftheordinanceanditshallbepubl
ishedinthegazett
e

St
ep10.Ordinancetocomeinfor
ceondat
especi
fied
Onpubli
cat
iontheordi
nanceshal
lbegi
venanumberandshallcomei
ntof
orce
onthedat
especifi
edasthedat
eofcommencementofthebi
l
l.

FORM ANDCONTENTSOFTHEBI
LLFORORDI
NANCE

(a) Bil
ltohaveatitl
e.
Eachbil
lshal
lbeidenti
fi
edbyatit
lepl
acedatthebeginni
ngofthebil
l
,thet
itl
eof
thebi
ll
shalli
ncl
udet hesubj
ectmatt
eroftheordi
nanceingeneral
ter
ms.E.G.

22
“
Dumpi
ngofGar
bageOr
dinance”

(b)Ordai
ningcl
ause.
Eachbil
lmusthaveanordai
ningclausepl
acedimmedi
atel
ybelowtheti
tl
eoft
he
bil
l
.
Theordai
ningcl
auseusual
lyr
eadsasf oll
ows—
“BEITORDAINEDbythecouncilofthedi
stri
ctof(
nameofdist
ri
ct)asf
oll
ows:
”

(
c)Arr
angementofclauses
TheBil
lmusthaveclausesi
ndescendi
ngor
der

(
d)Headnote
Thi
sstat
esthebriefofwhati
scont
ainedinthecl
ausee.
g.“dumpi
ngof
gar
bage”“of
fenceforfai
l
uret
odumbgar bage”

(
e)Clauses
TheBill
musthaveor
dai
ningcl
auses,
prov
isi
onswhi
chpr
ovi
dei
ndet
ail
what
theordi
nancesay
s

(
f)Repealandsav i
ng
Theseprovisi
onswil
lsav
eorr
epeal
cer
tai
nact
swhi
char
eaf
fect
edbyt
he
newordinance

MEMORANDUM ACCOMPANYI NGTHEBI LL

Eachbi llf
oranor di
nancemustbeaccompani edbyamemor andum st
ati
ngt he
objectandj usti
fi
cationoftheor di
nance.Usuall
yt hi
smemor andum muststate
specif
icall
yt her easonsofcer tai
ncl ausesoft heBillandhow t heywillbe
i
mpl ement ed.Thisisintendedtogi v
emember soft hecouncilandthegener al
publi
ct heintent
ionandunder st
andingoft heBi
ll
andusuallyitwill
for
mt hebasis
ofthedebat eanddi scussi
ons.

Thememor andum mustbesi

gnedbyt
hememberi
ntr
oduci
ngt
hebi
l
lfort
he
ordi
nance.

INTERPRETINGSTATUTESANDDEEDS
Ther ul
esofint
erpret
ati
onaredev el
opedbythejudgesbothtoassistt
hecourt
s
themselvesandt oeli
minat
eanyr i
skofarbit
raryint
erpr
etat
ion.Thetextofa
stat
utemustbeexami nedobjectiv
ely.I
tst
andsbyi tsel
fandt heint
enti
onof
parl
iamentmustbeascertai
nedfrom thewor
dsoft hestat
ute.

23
Ther ulesofst atutoryi
nterpr
etat i
on.
Literal
Byt hel i
teralrule,wordsi nast at
utemustbegi vent heirplai
n,ordinar
yor
l
iteralmeani ng.Theobj ecti
veoft hecourtistodi scovert hei nt
enti
onof
par l
i
amentasexpr essedi nt
hewor dsused.InthecaseofRvj udgeoft he
cityexpar t
eWhi telyChappell[1868]LR4 cour tnotedi fthewor dsoft he
statut ear eint hemsel v
espr eciseandunambi guous,thennomor ecanbe
necessar ythant oexpoundt hosewor dsinthei
rnaturalandor dinarysense.
Thewor dst hemsel vesalonedo,i nsuchcase,bestdecl arethei nt
enti
onof
thelawmaker .
I
n SussexPeerageCase(1844)8ER1034,
ci
tedwit
happrovali
nthecase
St
anbicBankOfUgandaLtdandot
her
svsAtt
orneyGener
alHMA-0645-
2011,
wher
ecourtnot
edthatthat
:

“…theonl yr ul ef ort heconst ructionofAct sofParl

iamenti s,thattheyshoul dbe
constr
uedaccor di ngt othei ntentoft hePar l
iamentwhi chpassedt heAct .Ifthe
wordsoft hest at utear eint hemsel vespr eci
seandunambi guous,thennomor e
canbenecessar yt hant oexpoundt hosewor dsint heirnat uralandor dinar y
sense.Thewor dst hemselv esal onedo,i nsuchcase,bestdescr ibetheintention
ofthelawgi v er.”Gol denRul e
Thegol denr ul epr ovidesthati fthewor dsusedar eambi guous,t hecourtshoul d
adoptani nt er pretat i
onwhi chav oidsanabsur dresult
.InGr eyvPear son[ 1857]
6HLCas61l ordWensl eydadsai d“ …..t
hegr ammat i
calandor di
narysenseoft he
wordsi stobeadher edt o,unlesst hatwoul dleadtosomeabsur dit
y,repugnance
orinconsistencywi thther estoft hei nstrument,inwhichcaset hegrammat ical
andor dinarysenseoft hewor dsmaybemodi fi
ed,soast oav oi
dt hatabsur dity
andinconsi st ency .”

Mischiefrul e
Themi schi efrul
ei scontainedi nHay donsCase[ 1584]3coRep7,andal l
ows
thecourtt olookatt hestat
eoft hef ormerlawi nor dertodiscoverthemi schi
efin
i
twhi cht hepr esentstatut
ewasdesi gnedt oremedy .Thecour tstat
edt hatfor
thetr
uei nterpretati
onofallstatutesfourthingsar et obeconsidered;
- Whatwast hecommonl awbef orethemaki ngoft heAct
- Whatwast hemischiefanddef ectf orwhi chthecommonl aw didnot
provide
- Whatr emedypar l
i
amentr esolv
edandi ntendedt ocure
- Thet r
uer easonoft her emedyandt hent hef uncti
onoft hejudgeist o
makesuchconst ructi
onasshal lsupr esst hemi schiefandadv ancet he

24
 r
emedy
.

InthecaseofSmi thvHughes[ 1960]2ALLER859i nthecasesixwomenhad

beenchargedwithsolici
ti
ngandpr osti
tuti
ononstr eetscontrar
ytothelawt hat
prohi
bit
edprost
it
utiononst r
eet
s.Howev eronewomanhadbeenont hebalcony
andothersbehi
ndthewi dowsofgr oundf l
oorr
ooms.Thei ssuewaswhet herthe
l
awappl i
edtothem, courtheldthattheywer egui
l
tybecauset hemischi
efaimed
atwaspeoplebeingmol estedorsolici
tedbyprost
itutes.

ThePur posiveappr
oach
Thepur posi
veapproachi sonet hatwi llpromot et hegener all
egisl
ativepurposes
underly
ingtheprovi
sions.Ther ewi l
lbeacompar i
sonofr eadingsoft heprovisi
on
i
nquest i
onbasedont hel it
eralorgr ammat i
calmeani ngoft hewor dswi t
h
readi
ngsbasedonapur posiveappr oach.I nthecaseofJonesvTowerBootCo
Ltd[1997]2ALLER406.Thecompl ainantsuf f
eredr acialabuseatwor k,which
heclaimedamount edtor acialdiscr
imi nati
onf orwhi chtheempl oy er
swer eliabl
e
undersect i
on32oft her acialdiscriminationAct1976.Thecour tappli
edt he
purposiveapproachandhel dt hattheact sofdi scriminationwer ecommi t
tedin
the course ofempl oyment .Any ot heri nterpretati
on r an countert o whole
l
egislat
iveschemeandunder lyi
ngpol icyofsect ion32oft heAct.

Ejusdem Gener i
sRul e
Generalwor dsf ollowingpar t
icularwor dswi llbei nt
erpretedi nthel i
ghtoft he
parti
cul
arones.Thepr i
nci palisbasedont hel ogicalappr oachtocl assifi
cation
anddef i
nit
ionby“ genusetdi f
ferential
”.Thepr incipalprovidesthatwher et hereis
al i
stofpar t
icularspeci eswhi chunderonegenusandt hesear efoll
owedby
generalwor dst hepot entialscopeoft helatterwor dsiscutdownt omaket hem
fi
tintothegenus.Thepr inci
palisbasedongr ammar ,sy ntaxandl ogic.Int he
caseofPowel lvKempt onpar kRacecour se[ 1899]AC143.I twasanof fencet o
use a “house,of fi
ce,r oom orot herplace f orbet t
ing”.Thedef endantwas
operati
ngf rom apl aceout doors.Thecour thel dt hat“ot
herpl aces”hadt orefer
tootherindoorpl acesbecauset hewor dsint hel istwereindoorpl acesandsohe
wasnotgui lty.

Thef
ollowingshouldbeconsider
edininter
pretati
on-
 I nt
ernalcontext-ever
ywor dofapi eceofl egi
slat
ionmustber eadin
contextoftheotherwordsoftheprovisi
oninwhichitappear
s;thepartof
thelegi
slat
ioninwhichiti
ssi
tuatedandt heschemeoft hel
egi
slat
ionasa
whole;

25
  Thepr ov
isi
on-al
lpr
ovi
si
onst
akecol
ourf
rom t
hewor
dsi
mmedi
atel
y
sur
roundi
ngthem;

 Par
tofthelegi
slat
ion-aprovi
sionmustber
eadinthel
ightoft
hesubj
ect
matt
eroft
hepartoft hel
egisl
ati
oni
nwhichi
tappear
s;

 Schemeoft helegi
slat
ion-pr
ovi
sionmustbeincont
extoftheActasa
wholei .
e.purpose,theme,or phil
osophy whi
ch the r
eader must
under
stand;

 Indi
cat
ions-headingsandmar gi
nalnotesinlegisl
ati
oncangener al
lynot
beusedforthepur poseofi
nter
preti
nglegi
slat
ionunlessother
wisestat
ed,
theyar
eonlyguidesandwor dsofthesubstant
iveprovisi
onsprevai
l;

 Purposeprovi
sions-manyAct snow cont
ainapurposesectionwhich
stat
esinsomedet ai
ls,t
hepurposeoftheAct
.Thepurposesecti
onsare
keyimport
ancegiventhatenact
mentsaret
obeint
erpr
etedintheli
ghtof
thei
rpur
pose;

 Inter
pretat
ion sections-most Act s cont
ain near the begi
nni
ng an
i
nterpretat
ionsecti
onwhi chpr
ovidesadicti
onaryf
ort heActbydef
ini
nga
numberofkeywor dsandphr aseswhi chappearthroughoutt
hebodyof
theAct .Thewor dsandphr asesdefinedmaybet heoneswhi chcoul
d
otherwiseriseambiguit
y.

COURTSYSTEM I
NUGANDA

I
nt r
oducti
on
Thissessionint
roducesy
outoCourtsofJudicatureinUganda.I
texpl
orest
he
functi
onsofvari
ousCourt
sinUgandaandt
heirli
mi t
ati
ons.

Obj
ect
ives:
Byt
heendoft hissessionyoushoul dbeableto:
 Def i
neaCour t
 Descr i
bet hewor koftheSupr emeCour t,Cour
tofAppeal,HighCour tand
Magi str
atesCour t
.
 Adv i
seacompl ai
nantofwhi chCourtwoul dbemostappr opriat
et ohear
his/hercase.
 Explainthenat ureandwor koftheIndustri
alCourt
,theAppealTr i
bunals,
HumanRi ghtsCommi ssion,LocalCouncilCourts,and mili
tar
ycour ts,
amongot hers.
 Explainhowt heLandTr i
bunalusedtowor kandwhyi t
s
juri
sdict
ionwast r
ansferr
edt oMagistr
atesCourt.
26
Acour ti saf orum usedt oadj udicatedi sput esinsoci ety.Secti
on2( v)oft he
InterpretationActdef inesacour ttomeanacour tofcompet entjur
isdi
ct i
oni n
Uganda
Sec2 ( 1)( a)oft heEv i
denceActdef inescour ttoi ncludeallMagi strates
funct i
onsandassessor sandal lper sonsexceptar bit
ratorslegall
yauthorisedt o
takeev idence.
Article126oft heConst i
tutionpr ovidesf urtherthatjudici
alpoweri sderi
vedf rom
thepeopl eandshal lbeexer cisedbyt hecour tsinthenameoft hepeopleandi n
conf ormi tywi t
ht hel awandwi ththev alues, normsandaspi rati
onsofthepeopl e.
Cour tsf allundert hej udici
ar ywhi chi sani ndependentl egalorganprovi
dedf or
undert heConst itution( Articl
e128) .Theyar eentrustedwi ththeadmi ni
st r
ation
ofjust i
ceandcour tsofjudi catureinclude:-
 Supr emeCour t
 Cour tofAppeal
 Hi ghCour t
 Magi str
atesCour t

Inadditi
ont herear eLocalCouncilcourtsandTr i
bunal
sl i
ketheIndust ri
alCourts,
TaxAppeal sTr ibunal,HumanRight sCommi ssi onandinthepast ,LandTr i
bunals.
Thesei nsti
tutionsal sodealwitht her esolutionofdi sputesbyt heyareei t
her
speciali
sedorl i
mi t
edt omatter
soff act,whi chi sdi
ff
erentfrom whatcour tsof
j
udicature ar e and do. Unl ike t hese speci al
ised di spute r esoluti
on
i
nst i
tuti
ons/bodi es,court
sofjudi
cat urear eopent oal
lpeopleandal lmannerof
disputesintermsofsubj ectmatter.Similarl
y, court
sofjudicaturear enotmer el
y
courtsoff acts,theyar ecour
tsofl awandf orm partoft hejudi
ciaryamongt he
organsoft hest ate.

Matt
ersthatwer eprev
iousl
yhandledbyLandTr ibunal
sweretransf
err
edt o
Magist
rat
eCour tsin2006.Thismeanst hatwhereasthelandt
ri
bunalsarenot
oper
ati
onal,theMagistr
atescourtshavebeenconf err
edwitht
hepower sthey
hadi
nentertaini
ngall
mat t
ersrel
ati
ngtol
anddisputes.

Thehier
archyofcour tsisprovi
dedf orunderArt
icl
e129oftheConstituti
onand
theSupr
emeCour tisthehighestfol
l
owedbyt heCourtofAppeal
,theHi ghCour
t
andfi
nall
yallsubordinat
ecour t
sthatParl
iamentmaybylawestabl
ished.

Applicati
onofCommonLawandt heDoctr
ineofPrecedent
Art
icle132(4)oftheConst
it
uti
onprovi
dest hatt
heSupr emeCour
tcant r
eatit
s
decisionsasbindi
ng,buti
tisall
owedt odepartfr
om itsear
li
erdeci
sionsifit

27
thi
nksrighttodoso.Butallt
heothercourtsaswellasjudi
cialand-quasi
-j
udicial
tri
bunal
sar eboundtofoll
owt hedecisi
onsoftheSupr emeCour t.Thisi
scalled
thedoctri
neofprecedent
.Ther i
gidi
tyofthedoctri
neofprecedentisjust
if
iedon
thegroundthati
tensuresthedemandsofpr edi
ctabil
i
tyanduni f
ormitywhi
char e
essenti
altoanysyst
em oflaw.

I
nMohamedv sBakariandot
hers(2005)2E.A,itwashel dthataHighcour
t
Judgeunderthedoctr
ineofpr
ecedenti
sboundbyt hedecisi
onsoftheCour
tof
Appeal
evenifhemaynotapproveofaparti
cul
ardecisi
on.

Magi stratesCourts
MagistratesCourt
s-ar eestabl
ishedunderMagist
ratesCourtAct(Cap16) .They
areimpor tanti
nt ryi
ngtor educethebulkofcasesi nthehighercourtsi nthe
country
.I tisforthisreasont hatthecount
ryisdi v
idedi
ntoMagi st
erialareas
under t he Magi str
ates Cour t( Magi
ster
ial Areas) I
nstrument, Statut
ory
Inst
rument s16-1.

Magistrat
e’scour t
saredi
videdint
othreelayer
si.
e.ChiefMagist
rates,Magist
rat
e
GradeI,Magi strat
eGradeII.Thejur
isdi
cti
onoft hi
scourtisdeterminedbyboth
geographicallocati
onandnatureofthecase.AMagi str
atewhoi sassignedtoa
gi
venmagi st
erialar
eacannotsiti
nanothermagister
ial
.

Crimi naljur
isdicti
onofmagi strates.
Undert heMagi str
atesCour tsAct ,jurisdicti
onoft heChi efMagi stratecour ts
i
ncl udespowert otryal lcri
mi nalof f
encesot herthant hoseofacapi t
alnat ure
thatcar ri
esadeat hsent ence[ section161( 1)(a)MCA]whi char eonlyt r
iableby
theHi ghCour texercising or iginaljurisdicti
onand super iorcour tsact i
ng as
appel l
atecour ts.Thent hemagi strateGr ade1mayt ryanyof f
enceot herthanan
offencei nr espectofwhi cht hemaxi mum penal t
yi sdeat hori mprisonmentf or
l
ifeandcanpassasent encenotexceedi ng10y earsorf i
nenotexceedi ngf our
millioneighthundr edt housandshi lli
ngsorbot h.Ast oamagi strateGr adeIIshall
hav ej ur
isdi
ctiontoadmi ni
sterandenf orceanyoft hepr ovisionsof ,anywr itten
st
l
aw ot herthant heof fencesandpr ovi
sionsspeci f
iedi nthe1 Schedul etot his
Actandpasssent enceofi mpr isonmentf orper i
odnotexceedi ng3y earsorf ine
ofnotexceedi ng500, 000shi ll
ingsorbot h.[Readsect ion161&162ofMCA] .

Civi
ljuri
sdi
ctionofmagist
rates
Asf arascivilcl
aimsareconcerned,thejur
isdi
cti
onofthecour
twasrecent
ly
i
ncreased byt he Magi
str
ates Court
s AmendmentAct2007 wherei
ni twas
st
ipulat
edt hattheChiefMagistr
ates'pecuniar
yjuri
sdi
cti
oni
snow setat50

28
Mill
i
onShi l
li
ngsandunlimitedjur
isdi
cti
onindi sputesr el
ati
ngt o conver
sion,
damaget oproper
tyortr
espass.Grade1Magi st
ratescanhandlecaseswhose
monetaryval
uesdoesnotexceed20mi l
li
onShi l
l
ingswi t
hunlimit
edj uri
sdi
cti
on
onmat ter
sgov er
nedbycivilcust
omar ylaw andGr adeI IMagist
rateshandle
matter
swhosemonet ar
yvaluesdoesnotexceed500, 000/=[Readsection207of
theMCA]

TheHighCour t.
I
tisthet hirdsuper
iorcourti
nr ecor
dpossessingunli
mi t
edorigi
nalj
uri
sdi
cti
onin
bot
hcr imi nalandcivi
lcasesandexer ci
sing.Inaddi
tion,ithear
sappealsfr
om
Magist
r ates court
s and exer ci
ses generalsupervi
sory powers overthem.
Unl
imitedor igi
nalj
uri
sdict
ionmeanst hattheHighCour tcantryanycaseofany
val
ue,andcr i
meofanymagni tudeandkind.

Act
ivi
ty:
 Ho wdoestheSupremeCo urtdi
fferf
rom t
heHighCo ur
t?
 Ho wdoestheHighCou rtdi
ff
erfr
om theMa gi
str
atesCourt
?
 Re adtheLocalCoun ci
lActof20 06ande xpl
ain/
li
stthe
power
softhelocalcounci
lcour
ts.

Theor i
ginaljurisdictionoft heHi ghCour tcanonl ybeexcl udedbyt hepar ti
es
expressagr eementandf ort hisr easonthatpar t
iesusuallyhav eacl ausei n
agreementwhi chdeal swi t
hdi sput eresoluti
on.Iti snotenoughf orpar t
iest o
statet he law appl i
cable.Unl imi ted juri
sdict
ion oft heHigh Cour thasbeen
subjectedt ocasesi nsi t
uationswher ethemat t
erst akentotheHi ghCour tfall
s
undert hej uri
sdi ct
ionofaspeci alisedtri
bunale. gt heTaxAppeal sTr ibunal.In
RaboEnt erprisesUgandaLi mitedv sCommi ssionerGener al,UgandaRev enue
Author i
ty,Cour tofAppealCi vi
lAppeal55/ 2003, t
hei ssuewaswhet hert heHi gh
Cour thadunl i
mi tedj uri
sdictioninal lmatt
ersincludingmat t
ersthatthe
taxappeal st r
ibunalhadj urisdictiont ohandle.TheCour tofAppealdeci dedt hat
theHi ghCour thadunl imitedj urisdicti
oni nallmat ter
sincl
udingt hecaset hat
wasbef oreitev ent houghaspeci alActofPar l
iamenthadgi v
enj ur
isdi cti
ont oa
statutorytri
bunal .

Supervisorypower softheHi ghCour t

TheHi ghCour talsohast hejurisdi
cti
ontoexerciseadmi ni
str
ati
vecont
rolov
er
thedecisionsofthecour t
s, bodiesandtri
bunalsbelowit
.UnderSecti
on17ofthe
Judicatur
eActpr ov i
dest hattheHi ghCour tisempower edtoexerci
segeneral
supervi
sor ypower soverMagi strat
escourts.Withregardt osuchpowersthe

29
Hi
ghCourti
sempower
edtotakeal
lsuchst
epsrequi
redf
orpr
event
ingabuseof
t
hepr
ocessoft
hecour
tandprev
ent
ingdel
ays.

Funct i
onsofHi ghCour t
ThePr i
nci palJudgei stheheadoft heHighCour tandsubor dinat
ecour tsandi n
thatcapaci t
yassi stst heChi efJust i
ceint headmi nistrati
onoft heHi ghCour tand
subor dinatecour t
s.TheHi ghCour tisdivi
dedi nt
osev eraldivisi
ons
i
. Ci vil
ii
. Cr imi nal
iii
. Commer cial
iv. Fami ly
v. LandDi v
ision;
v i
. Warcr i
mesand
vii
. Ant icorr
upt ion
viii
.
The di visions oft he Hi gh Cour tar e notdi f
ferentcour t
s.Theyar e simpl y
admi nistrativedi vi
sionstoeaset hef l
owofwor k.AJudgef rom anydivisionmay
exercisej urisdi
ct i
onofot herdivisionswhenhei sappoi ntedinsuchadi vi
sion.
EachJudgeoft heHi ghCour tisassi gnedapar t
iculardiv i
sionandi seligibl
ef or
transfert oanot herdiv i
sion.Al t
hougheachdi vi
sionhasi t
sadmi nistr
ativeHead
theyar eal lundert hesuper vi
sionandcont rolofthePr incipalJudge.

TheDi vi
sions
a)Civ i
ldi v
isi
on i
st helar
gestand oneoft heoldestdi vi
sionsofH. C.The
j
uri
sdiction ofthe Civ
ilDivi
sion mainlyincludes hearing appeal
sf rom the
Magistrate'
sCourt
s.Therearehowev ercert
ainmat t
erswhi chcanonl ybeheard
byitincludi
ngwindinguppetit
ions.Theor i
ginalj
uri
sdicti
onoft heCivilDiv
isi
on
compr i
sesoftort
scommi tt
edagainstpersons,defamation,bankrupt
cyetc.

b) Cr i
mi naldi
visi
onhasj ur
isdicti
oni nallcapi
talcri
mi naloff
encessuchas
murder,rapemansl aughter
,defil
ement ,ar
sonandanyot heroffencescarryi
nga
deathsent ence,al i
feimprisonmentoral argerimprisonmentt erm.Cr i
minal
Divi
sionhasal soappel l
ateandr evi
sionalpowersdealingwi thproceedingson
appealandr ev
isi
onf r
om Magi stratescour t
s.Inadditi
on,t hedivi
sionconfi
rms
sentencesfrom Magistr
ateCour ts.

c)TheCommer cialdi
vi
sionwasest abl
i
shedtodeliv
eref f
icient
,expedi
ti
ousand
costeffect
ivej
usti
cetot hecommer ci
alandeconomicsect orofUganda.The
Juri
sdict
ionoft
hedivi
sionincl
udesbutisnotnecessarylimitedtothesuppl
yand
exchangeofgoodsandser vi
ces,banki
ng,negot
iableinstruments,i
nter
nat
ional

30
cr
editandsimil
arfi
nancialser
vices,i
nsuranceandr e-i
nsur
ance,t
heoper at
ions
ofst
ockandf or
eignexchangemar ket
s,thecar r
iageofgoodsbywat er
,landand
ai
r,f
orei
gnjudgmentsandcommer ci
alar
bitrat
ionr equest
s.

Act
ivi
ty:
L istthefunctionsofth eCivi
l,
Criminal
,Comme rci
aland
familydivi
sionoft heHighCou rt.
 Statefiv
er easonsth atcoul
dj ust
if
ythecreat
ionof
dif
ferentdivisi
onsoft heHighCou rt.
 Statefiv
er easonsfort hejust
ifi
cati
onofthetri
bunal
sand
othercou r
tswh icharen otpartofthecour
tsofjudi
catur
e.

Thepr oceduresinthecommer cialcour

tsar
emorefl
exi
blethan i
n nor
mal
ordi
narycour t
s,thuspromoti
ngspeedandsimpl
i
cit
yandther
ebydispensi
ng
substant
ivejust
icemoreeff
ici
ent
ly.

d)TheFami lydivision:-
Itwasest ablishedt ohandleallcausesandmat ter
sconnect edwi t
ht hestatus
andwel fareoff ami li
es.Thej uri
sdicti
onoft hedivisionincludesprobat
eand
administ
rationcauses,cust ody,guardianshi
p,adopt ion,paterni
tyormat erni
ty
causes,issuesi nv olvi
ngtrustsaswel lasmat ri
monialcausessuchaspet i
tions
fordiv
orceandj udicialseparat
ionoranyot hercausesasmaybeconf er
redt o
thedivi
sionbyt hePr i
ncipalJudge.

e)LandDiv
ision
Thi
sdealswi t
hlandmat
ter
se.
g.t
respass,f
raud,i
n-l
andt
ransf
ers,andunl
awf
ul
evi
cti
onse.
t.c.

TheCour tofAppeal
Iti
st hethir
dcour tofrecordandi sbet weent heSupr emeCour tandtheHi gh
Cour t
.I thasappell
atejuri
sdi
cti
onov ert heHi ghCour t
.Iti
snotacour toffir
st
i
nst anceexceptwhenhear i
ngconst i
tutionalcasessi nceitalsodoubl esast he
Const it
uti
onalcourt.Ar
ticl
e134est abli
shest hestruct
ureoftheCour tofAppeal
toconsi stof:-DeputyChiefJusti
ceandsuchnumberofJust icesofappealnot
beingl essthan7asPar li
amentmaybyl aw prescri
be.Howev ert heJudicat
ure
(amendment )Act,2011section2amendi ngsection9oft heActt hecourtof
appeal shall
consistofthedeputychiefjust i
ceandf ourt
eenjusticesofappeal.

Ar
ti
cle 134(
2)gi
ves t
he Cour
tofAppealj
uri
sdi
cti
on t
o hearappeal
sfr
om

31
deci
sionsoft heHighCourt.Theprovi
sionsofAr t
icle134wer eincorpor
atedin
theJudicat
ureActaswel l
.Forpurposesofhearinganddet er
mi ni
ngofappeal s,
theCour tofAppealisgivenallthepower s,authorit
yandj uri
sdict
ionvested
underanywr i
ttenlaw i
nthecourtofori
ginalj
uri
sdi ct
ionf
rom whi chtheappeal
ori
ginal
lyori
ginat
ed.

Act
ivi
ty:
 Statetwor easonstojust
ifyt
h eexi
stenceoft
hec ourtofAppeal
.
 Statethreereasonsforrequi
ringmorejudgestod et
erminecases
inthec ourtofAppe alunli
kei nt
heHi ghCourta ndMa gi
str
ates
Cou r
t.
I nyouropinion,gi
vefivereasonstoexplai
ntheimpor t
anceofthe
creati
onofHi ghCou r
tCircui
ts?

Consti
tuti
onalcourt
TheCour tofAppealdoesnotexer ciseor i
ginaljurisdicti
on inanyci vi
land
cri
minalmat ters.Itonly exer ci
ses or igi
nalj ur
isdicti
on when si tt
ing as a
Consti
tut
ionalCour tunderpower s conf er
red on itbyar ticle 137(1)oft he
const
itut
ionwhi chprovi
desthat :-"Anyquest ionast ot heint er
pretati
onoft he
const
itut
ion shallbe determi ned by t he Courtof Appealsi t
ting as t he
Consti
tut
ionalCour t
"InAGv sMaj orGener alDavidTi ny enfuza( Const i
tut
ional
AppealNo.1 of1997) .Itwas st ated that. .
.t he Const it
uti
on gi ves the
const
itut
ionalcourtj
uri
sdi
cti
ont oi nterprett
heconst it
ut i
oni nthesenseofgi vi
ng
meaningtowor dsandexpressionsasusedi nit.

Inexecut i
ngt heabov epower s,theConst i
tuti
onalCour tcandecl areunjustor
discriminativel awst obeunconst it
utionalormayr eadthem andbr i
ngthem i n
conf ormitywi t
ht heConst i
tut
ion.TheConst ituti
onalCourtcanal sodecl arelaws
tobeun- constitutionalaswast hecaseUgandaAssoci at
ionofWomenLawy ers
andot hersv sA. G( Consti
tuti
onPet iti
onNo.2of2003)wher ethecour theldthat
certainpr ovi
sionsoft heDivorceActwer einconsi st
enttotheConst ituti
on.These
i
ncl udedar ti
clesonl yentitl
i
ngal imonyt obepai dt owivesondi vorce.
Ar t
icle 50 oft he Constit
uti
on pr ovides fort he enf or
cementofr i
ghts and
freedoms by cour ts.Under t he Ar t
icl
e,any per son,who cl aims t hat a
fundament alorot herr i
ghtorf reedom guar anteedundert heConst it
uti
onhas
beeni nfri
ngedort hreat
ened,isent i
tl
edt oappl ytoacompet entcour tforredr
ess
whi chmayi ncludecompensat ion.

I
nTextQuest
ion:

32
CanapersongototheConst
it
uti
onalCour
ttochal
lengeabi
ll
bef
orei
tbecomesanActofPar
li
amen t
?

Operat
ionoftheCourtofAppeal
Thecourtcauselist
scivi
landconsti
tut
ionalcasesi
nonemont handcri
minal
matt
ersinthefol
lowingmonth.Theal
ter
nativ
ecauseli
sti
nggoesonthr
oughout
they
ear.

TheSupr emeCour t(S.C)

TheS.Ci sestabli
shedbyAr ti
cle130oftheConst itut
ionandi sthecour toflast
i
nstanceoft hewholej udici
alreal
m andcer t
ainl
ythemostpower fulcourti
nt he
l
and.The S. C only decides cases on appealf rom l owercour ts savef or
Presi
dentialElect
ion Petiti
ons,wheretheS. C hasor i
ginaljur
isdict
ion which
meanst hatanaggr i
ev edcandidateinapr esi
dentialelecti
onhast opet i
ti
ont he
S.
Cdi r
ect l
yandnoot hercourt.Thedeci
sionsoft heS. Cf orm pr
ecedentswhi ch
al
l l
owercourtsarerequiredtof ol
l
ow.

TheChi efJust
iceistheHeadoftheSupremeCourtandpr esidesatit
sfullsi
tt
ing
andinhi sabsencethemostseniormemberoft hecourtpr esent.Whenhearing
appealsf r
om theCourtofAppealsit
ti
ngast heconstit
utionalcourt,t
heS. Cis
requi
redbyl awt obeconst
it
utedbyaful
lbenchofmember soft hecourt.Where
anyoft heJusticesi
sunabletoatt
endthenthePresidentshal lf
orthatpurpose
appointanactingJusti
ce.

Thedeci si
onoft hecour ti
susuallygiv
eni nasi nglejudgment .Incaseofa
unanimousdeci si
onbutwher ethepresidingjusticest at
est hattherewasa
dissent
ingv i
ew,asepar atejudgmentisgi venaswel lfortheJust i
cewhoi s
dissent
ing.TheS.Chaspower stoconfi
rm orv aryt hedecisi
onoft heCourtof
Appealwi t
hsuchdi r
ect
ionsasmaybeappr opr
iat
e.I tmayalternat
ivel
yordera
retr
ial
.Thereisnoappealf r
om thedecisionoft heS. C.andaccor dingtothe
Judicat
ure(Amendment )Act2011t heSupr emeCour tshal
lconsistofthechief
j
ust i
ceandtenjusti
cesoftheSupremeCour t.

Milit
aryCourts
A parall
eljudicialsyst
em exist
sf ortheMi l
it
arywi t
htheCour tMart
ialCourt
establi
shedundert heUPDFAct2005.Thepanelj udgesint heCourtMarti
al
consistofser v i
ng armyoffi
cersheaded byt heChai rman butwho arenot
necessari
lytrainedinlaw.Thepanelofj udgesl argel
ydependsont hecounsel
guidanceoft heJudgeAdv ocatewhodi r
ectscour tonmat t
ersoflawbutleav
es
thepanel t
odeci deasitdeemsright.

33
Act
ivi
ty:
 Givef i
ver easonst hatexplai
nt hes upr
ema cy oft he
Sup r
emeCou r
t
 Doy outh i
nkac our
tc anr
enderjust
icewhenit
sjudge sare
nott r
ainedinlaw?I fso,gi
vef i
vereasonsinsupp ortof
youra nswer.

Summa ry:
I
nt hi
ss essi
ony ouhavelearntabouttheoperat
ionsofCourt
s
name l
y, Supreme Cou rt
, Cou r
t of Ap peal
, High Cou r
t,
Ma gi
str
atesCou rt
sandaf ew ot
hersli
keComme rci
alCour
ts,
Huma n Right
sCommi s si
on.Th ediff
erencesamon gstal
lof
themh avealsobeenshown.

Fur
therReading:
Theconsti
tuti
onofUganda
TheJudicat
ureAc t
TheUPDFAc t

34