Court starts monthlong annual vacation

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The monthlong annual court vacation for judicial officers has started, New Vision Online has learnt

A statement released by the Judiciary’s communications unit on July 16, 2025, says the court vacation for the High Court and Magistrates’ Courts officially commenced on July 15 and is expected to end on August 15.

Judiciary spokesperson James Ereemye also informed the public that the court vacation for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal will run from August 1 to August 31.

“During this period, all court registries across the country will remain open and operate normally to facilitate the filing of new cases and other registry-related activities,” he said.

Ereemye says the court vacation is provided for under the Judicature (Court Vacation) Rules, Statutory Instrument 13-20.

According to him, the vacation is intended to allow judicial officers to focus on writing pending judgments and rulings, weeding out inactive cases from the system, reviewing work from the previous period, and planning for the next period.

The Judiciary emphasises that the vacation period applies only to civil matters.

Ereemye says urgent civil cases will be handled upon filing and a grant of a certificate of urgency by designated duty judicial officers.

However, he adds that criminal cases will continue to be heard and managed as usual throughout the vacation period.

Criminal cases are legal proceedings where the government (prosecution) brings charges against an individual (accused person) for committing a crime against society. If found guilty, the accused may face penalties such as imprisonment, fines, or other sanctions.