An Act to give effect to the provisions of the Constitution relating to the judiciary; to provide for judicial review and for related matters.

Judicature Act

<p>The Judicature Act establishes the structure and powers of Uganda's highest courts—the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court—and sets out how they operate, hear appeals, and handle cases. It applies to anyone who is a party to proceedings before these courts, whether in civil or criminal matters, and to judicial officers and court staff. It also contains rules on sentencing, court procedures, remedies such as habeas corpus and judicial review, and the continued application of certain old United Kingdom laws.</p>
<h3>Key Definitions</h3>
<p>When reading this Act, these terms have specific meanings unless the context requires otherwise:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Applied law</strong> means the United Kingdom Acts whose application is continued by section 52 of this Act.</li>
<li><strong>Parliament</strong> takes the meaning given to it in the Constitution.</li>
<li><strong>Rules of court</strong> means rules of court made or continued in force under this Act.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Hierarchy and Composition of Uganda's Higher Courts</h3>
<p>The Act fixes the order of judicial seniority and the number of judges on each higher court.</p>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>Chief Justice</strong> ranks highest, followed by the <strong>Deputy Chief Justice</strong>, then the <strong>Principal Judge</strong>.</li>
<li>Justices of the Supreme Court rank next, followed by Justices of the Court of Appeal, then High Court judges.</li>
<li>Among judges of the same court, the one who took office earlier ranks higher; if appointment dates are equal, the older judge ranks higher.</li>
<li>The <strong>Supreme Court</strong> consists of the Chief Justice and ten justices of the Supreme Court.</li>
<li>The <strong>Court of Appeal</strong> consists of the Deputy Chief Justice and thirty-four Justices of the Court of Appeal.</li>
<li>The <strong>High Court</strong> consists of the Principal Judge and twenty-five judges of the High Court, unless Parliament by resolution sets a higher number.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Appeals to the Supreme Court</h3>
<p>An appeal to the Supreme Court is only possible if the Constitution, this Act, or another written law allows it. The Supreme Court acts as the final court for matters the law considers important enough.</p>
<ul>
<li>In <strong>criminal cases</strong>, there is an automatic right of appeal when a person is convicted of a capital offence and the Court of Appeal confirms a death sentence, or when the High Court acquits but the Court of Appeal reverses the acquittal and convicts. In non-capital cases, appeal is limited to questions of law only. A person who pleaded guilty may appeal only on the legality of the plea or the legality or extent of the sentence.</li>
<li>In <strong>civil cases</strong>, an appeal lies automatically when the Court of Appeal confirms, varies, or reverses a High Court judgment or order. A third appeal from a chief magistrate's or magistrate grade I's decision is allowed only if the Court of Appeal certifies a matter of law of great public or general importance, or if the Supreme Court itself decides it should hear the appeal to see that justice is done.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court on appeal may exercise every power, authority, and jurisdiction that the original court had under written law.</li>
<li>A single justice of the Supreme Court may handle preliminary or procedural matters; a dissatisfied person may have the decision reviewed by a bench of three Supreme Court justices.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Appeals to the Court of Appeal</h3>
<p>A person may appeal to the Court of Appeal from decisions of the High Court only when the Constitution, this Act, or any other law allows it. There is no appeal from a High Court decision unless a law specifically provides for it.</p>
<ul>
<li>When hearing an appeal, the Court of Appeal may use every power given to the original court by written law, but only for hearing and determining that appeal.</li>
<li>A single justice of the Court of Appeal may deal with interlocutory matters; a dissatisfied person may have the matter decided by a bench of three justices of the Court of Appeal, which may confirm, vary, or reverse the decision.</li>
</ul>
<h3>High Court Jurisdiction and Customary Law</h3>
<p>The High Court has <strong>unlimited original jurisdiction</strong>, subject to the Constitution. It also exercises appellate and other jurisdiction given by the Constitution, this Act, or another written law.</p>
<ul>
<li>In exercising its jurisdiction, the High Court follows written law, and where written law is silent, it applies common law, doctrines of equity, established customs or usages, and its former practice consistent with this Act.</li>
<li>If no law or rule applies, the court decides according to <strong>justice, equity, and good conscience</strong>.</li>
<li>The High Court administers equity and common law at the same time; if they conflict, equity prevails.</li>
<li>Applied law, common law, and equity apply only to the extent that Uganda's circumstances and its people allow.</li>
<li>An existing custom can be relied on unless it is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience or incompatible with any written law. A person cannot rely on a custom if they expressly agreed in a contract to be regulated only by written law, or if the nature of the transaction shows that customary law was excluded.</li>
<li>The High Court hears appeals from magistrates' courts and other lower courts allowed by written law, and decides questions of law referred by a magistrate through a case stated.</li>
<li>The High Court supervises magistrates courts and may use its inherent powers to stop abuse of court process, reduce delays, limit discontinued prosecutions, and order quick trials while ensuring real justice without excessive technicalities.</li>
</ul>
<h3>High Court Administration and Sittings</h3>
<p>The Act sets rules for how High Court judges sit and how business is distributed.</p>
<ul>
<li>High Court judges must sit continuously to hear civil and criminal cases, as far as reasonably practicable, subject to court vacations, the Constitution, this Act, and rules of court.</li>
<li>The Chief Justice, in consultation with the Principal Judge, may declare any area a <strong>High Court circuit</strong> and decide when and where High Court sessions are held.</li>
<li>The <strong>Principal Judge</strong> may distribute work among judges and assign judicial tasks, following the Constitution. Usually, every High Court proceeding is heard and decided by one judge.</li>
<li>After a final judgment or order, later steps should, as far as practical and convenient, go before the same judge who originally heard the matter.</li>
<li>A judge may exercise the High Court's jurisdiction in court or in chambers, subject to written law. Orders made in chambers about practice and procedure can be challenged, except orders that only deal with costs.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Offences Committed at Sea</h3>
<p>The High Court has special authority for offences involving Ugandan vessels.</p>
<ul>
<li>A person charged with an offence committed on a Ugandan-registered vessel at sea or on other waters outside the High Court's local jurisdiction may be investigated, tried, and decided by any public officer and the High Court as if the offence occurred on waters within Uganda.</li>
<li>If a person dies in Uganda after being injured at sea or on waters outside the High Court's local jurisdiction, Ugandan courts may inquire into, try, determine, and punish the offence as if it had been wholly committed in Uganda.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Attorney General's Role in Nullity or Divorce Cases</h3>
<p>In a nullity or divorce petition in the High Court, the court may send necessary papers to the <strong>Attorney General</strong>.</p>
<ul>
<li>The Attorney General may argue any question in the case personally or through another counsel if the court considers full argument necessary.</li>
<li>Any person may give the Attorney General information material to the case before the decree nisi is made absolute.</li>
<li>If satisfied that a party is acting in collusion to obtain a decree contrary to justice, the Attorney General may seek leave of the High Court to intervene and may subpoena witnesses to prove the alleged collusion.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Relief from Re-entry or Forfeiture for Unpaid Rent</h3>
<p>If a landlord tries to re-enter rented property or end a lease for unpaid rent, the tenant can ask the High Court for relief.</p>
<ul>
<li>The High Court can grant any relief it considers proper, including an injunction to stop future non-payment, or refuse the request.</li>
<li>If relief is granted, the tenant continues to hold the property under the original lease without needing a new lease.</li>
<li>Even after a judgment for re-entry or forfeiture, a tenant can still ask for relief within six months from the date the judgment is executed, subject to the court's terms.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Referral to Referees and Arbitrators</h3>
<p>In non-criminal matters, the High Court may refer questions or entire cases to referees or arbitrators.</p>
<ul>
<li>The High Court may send a question arising in a non-criminal cause or matter to an official or special referee for inquiry and report, following rules of court. The referee's report may be adopted and enforced as a High Court judgment or order.</li>
<li>The High Court may order the whole case or a disputed question of fact to be tried by a special referee, an arbitrator agreed to by the parties, an official referee, or an officer of the High Court if all interested parties who are not under disability agree, or if the case needs prolonged document examination, scientific or legal investigation, or partly involves accounts.</li>
<li>A referee or arbitrator is treated as an officer of the High Court, and their powers are limited to what the High Court directs.</li>
<li>A referee or arbitrator may state a question of law for the High Court's opinion in a special case.</li>
<li>The High Court may attach cost terms to an order for inquiry or trial by reference, and decides the remuneration of a special referee or arbitrator.</li>
<li>The <strong>Government cannot be forced into an inquiry or trial before a referee or arbitrator unless the Attorney General consents</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sentencing: Life Imprisonment and the Death Penalty</h3>
<p>The Act contains strict rules for life imprisonment and death sentences.</p>
<ul>
<li>A person sentenced to <strong>life imprisonment</strong> under Ugandan law must serve the rest of his or her natural life, but a court may instead impose a shorter term of imprisonment not exceeding fifty years, order a minimum term before parole, or allow reductions for remissions.</li>
<li>The High Court may only pass a <strong>death sentence</strong> in exceptional circumstances when satisfied that life imprisonment or another custodial sentence is clearly inadequate.</li>
<li>When the High Court sentences someone to death, the registrar must send the judgment and proceedings to the Supreme Court within thirty days after conviction if no appeal is filed in time. The Supreme Court may only confirm the death sentence if the circumstances justify it; otherwise it must impose an appropriate sentence or make other suitable orders.</li>
<li>If confirmed, the registrar sends a report to the <strong>Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy</strong>. Within six months, the Committee considers the case and advises the President. On that advice, the President may order execution, grant a pardon, delay execution, reduce the punishment, or cancel part or all of it.</li>
<li>A death sentence imposed by any court or military tribunal can only be carried out after Supreme Court confirmation and a Presidential order.</li>
<li>A confirmed death sentence must be carried out within three years of confirmation. If not, it is automatically commuted to life imprisonment, and the convicted person becomes liable to imprisonment for fifty years.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Remedies Available from the High Court</h3>
<p>The High Court must grant every remedy a party is entitled to for any legal or equitable claim properly brought before it, so that all matters in dispute are completely and finally determined.</p>
<ul>
<li>A person deprived of personal liberty, or someone on their behalf, may complain to the High Court and seek a <strong>writ of habeas corpus</strong>. The court can also issue a writ of habeas corpus ad testificandum or ad respondendum to bring a prisoner before a court or tribunal for trial or examination.</li>
<li>A person aggrieved by a habeas corpus order may appeal to the Court of Appeal within thirty days, whether the order was made in a civil or criminal case.</li>
<li>The High Court can grant <strong>mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, an injunction, or a declaration</strong> in civil or criminal matters, and may award damages instead of or alongside those orders. No return or prohibition pleadings are allowed against such orders, and the order is final subject to appeal.</li>
<li>An injunction can be granted before, at, or after a hearing to prevent waste or trespass. If an injunction stops a person from acting in an office they are not entitled to hold, the court may also declare that office vacant.</li>
<li>Applications for mandamus, prohibition, or certiorari must be made promptly and within three months from when the ground arose, unless the court extends time for good reason.</li>
<li>The High Court may also grant mandamus, an injunction, or appoint a receiver by interlocutory order when it considers it just or convenient.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Practice and Procedure in the High Court</h3>
<p>The High Court must follow the practice and procedure set by the Constitution, this Act, other written laws, or rules and orders of court. If no procedure is provided, the court may choose a procedure that fits the circumstances of the case.</p>
<h3>Court Rules and Sentencing Guidelines</h3>
<p>A <strong>Rules Committee</strong> is established, chaired by the <strong>Chief Justice</strong>. Its other members are the Attorney General, the Deputy Chief Justice, the Principal Judge, two practising advocates nominated by the Uganda Law Society, and the Director of the Law Development Centre.</p>
<ul>
<li>The Rules Committee may make statutory instruments to regulate the practice and procedure of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, and all subordinate courts, covering matters like sittings, processes, pleading, fees, records, appeals, costs, and enforcement. Rules about fees and financial matters need the agreement of the Minister responsible for finance.</li>
<li>Rules of court made under this section apply to all proceedings by or against the State, and any instrument must be laid before Parliament and can be annulled by Parliament.</li>
<li>The <strong>Chief Justice</strong> may issue statutory instruments for procedures relating to habeas corpus and orders of mandamus, prohibition, or certiorari, including leave requirements and time limits.</li>
<li>The Chief Justice must issue <strong>sentencing guidelines</strong> for judicial officers. These guidelines must set out purposes of sentencing, principles and ranges, consider interests of crime victims and the community, and promote uniformity, consistency, and transparency in sentencing. The guidelines must be laid before Parliament.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Court Officers, Seals, Process and Judicial Protection</h3>
<ul>
<li>Courts of judicature must have the officers needed for their duties, including the <strong>chief registrar, registrars, deputy registrars and assistant registrars</strong>, under the general direction and supervision of the Chief Justice.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court and High Court seals continue as before the Constitution; a Court of Appeal seal is established. The Chief Justice is custodian of the Supreme Court seal, the Deputy Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal seal, and the Principal Judge of the High Court seal.</li>
<li>Process issued by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, or High Court runs throughout Uganda. An order or judgment from the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal may be executed and enforced as if it were from the High Court.</li>
<li>A judge or other person acting judicially cannot be sued in a civil court for any act done or ordered in performing judicial functions, even if outside their jurisdiction. An officer of the court executing a judge's order or warrant is also protected for lawful or authorised acts.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Continued Application of Certain UK Acts</h3>
<p>Courts in Uganda must continue to apply certain Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament as amended before 11 August 1902, subject to adaptations and modifications set out in Schedule 1. The High Court must apply one specified UK Statute listed in Part I of Schedule 2, subject to modifications in Part II of Schedule 2.</p>
<p>This overview is for general information only and is not legal advice. For a full understanding of how the Judicature Act applies to a specific situation, please consult the official text of the Act or seek assistance from a qualified legal practitioner.</p>

You have the right to rely on an existing custom as long as it is not repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience and not incompatible with any written law. The High Court has the right to observe and enforce such a custom. No one can deprive you of the benefit of that custom. If you expressly agreed in a contract that your obligations would be regulated only by written law and not by customary law, you cannot later claim the benefit of the custom. The same applies if the nature of the transaction shows that you agreed to exclude customary law.

Preserves existing customs not repugnant to natural justice, equity, good conscience and not incompatible with any written law.

Section 15: Observance of Existing Customary Law

Nothing in this Act shall deprive the High Court of the right to observe or enforce the observance of, or shall deprive any person of the benefit of, any existing custom, which is not repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience and not incompatible either directly or by necessary implication with any written law.

No party to a suit shall be entitled to claim the benefit of any custom if it appears from express contract or from the nature of the transaction out of which the suit or question has arisen, that the party agreed that his or her obligations in connection with the transaction shall be regulated exclusively by law, other than by customary law.

Section 15: Observance of Existing Customary Law

15.Customary law

Plain English Summary