Regional law society rebukes Uganda Judiciary over ULS cases

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The East African Law Society (EALS) has lambasted the Ugandan Judiciary, saying it is playing petty games by removing law society appeals from the cause list. A cause list is a schedule of pending court cases. It tells you which cases are going to be heard in court and when.

The rebuke is contained in a strongly-873-worded statement dated July 9, 2025.

“The East African Community has learnt with dismay of the unlawful decauselisting of critical Uganda Law Society appeals by the Ugandan judiciary,” the statement reads in part.

According to EALS, the umbrella regional bar association for the East African region uniting over 45,000 legal professionals across the East African Community, the 'deliberate act undermines ULS’s constitutional mandate'.

The regional law society also contends that it violates Uganda’s international and regional obligations, and threatens judicial independence, imperilling the rule of law and democratic governance.

"EALS, therefore, demands the immediate restoration of these appeals with strict compliance with judicial processes, and accountability for the egregious interference with the legal profession".

"EALS reminds the Judiciary of Uganda that its authority derives from fidelity to the rule of law, not from administrative caprice. A judiciary that obstructs justice undermines its own legitimacy and imperils the Republic".

EALS says it stands resolute in defending ULS and the principles of justice, accountability, and democracy across the East African Community. The restoration of ULS’s mandate is our collective imperative.

On July 3, 2025, Court of Appeal registrar Allen Rukundo Owembabazi issued a letter removing four critical ULS appeals from the cause list scheduled for July 10, 2025, at 9:00am, citing “erroneous cause listing.”

Some of the cases

In a letter dated July 4, 2025, ULS vice-president Anthony Asiimwe condemned the act as “procedurally flawed and legally indefensible,” accusing the registrar of “bias and manipulation of the court.”

He said the decauselisting of the appeals violates Rule 20 of the Judicature (Court of Appeal) Rules, which vests cause listing with judicial authority, prohibiting unilateral registry revision.

Asiimwe argued that the registrar’s directive to redirect these matters to “conferencing” lacks legal foundation, as affirmed in the 2013 case of Security Group Uganda Limited versus Marie Stopes Uganda, which holds that conferencing is not mandatory for appeals.

He said the appeals removed from the cause list are integral to ULS’s constitutional mandate under Article 146(2)(c) of the Ugandan Constitution on nomination of representatives to the 7th Judicial Service Commission and its statutory duties under Sections 15 and 16 of the Uganda Law Society Act on convening general meetings.

According to Asiimwe, the sections address critical issues, including obstruction of court-mandated JSC elections, as ordered by the High Court on February 2, 2024, in city lawyer Steven Kalali versus ULS; the frustration of member-requisitioned and council-ordered general meetings and alleged judicial harassment of the ULS President, Isaac Ssemakadde.

“By paralysing ULS’s operations, the action erodes public trust in the judiciary and jeopardises a crisis of constitutional governance,” he said.

Asiimwe argued that removing ULS appeals from the cause list also constitutes a systemic violation of Uganda’s domestic and international commitments, including:

▪️International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (ratified by Uganda on 21st June 1995): Article 14 guarantees the right to a fair, timely, and public hearing by an independent tribunal.

▪️African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) (ratified on 10th May 1986): Article 7 ensures access to courts and appeals, while Article 26 mandates states to safeguard judicial independence.

▪️Protocol to the African Charter on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ratified on 16th February 2001): Reinforces fair trial principles and judicial integrity.

▪️UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (1990): Principles 16, 17, and 23 protect lawyers and their associations from interference, ensuring their freedom to fulfil professional and associational duties.

▪️East African Community Treaty (1999): Articles 6(d) and 7(2) obligate Uganda to uphold good governance, democracy, and the rule of law, contingent on the functionality of institutions

Asiimwe said by tolerating the procedural sabotage, the Judiciary of Uganda breaches these binding norms, fostering perceptions of bias and administrative overreach that undermine its legitimacy.

To preserve judicial independence and allow ULS to effectively deliver on its mandate, EALS unequivocally support ULS’s call for members to assemble peacefully at the Court of Appeal on Thursday, July 10, 2025, at 9:00am, to demand the hearing of these appeals.

This gathering is a lawful defence of constitutionalism, judicial accountability, and the legal profession’s integrity.

Demands

ULS also demands for the immediate restoration of the appeals with expedited hearings, adherence to Judicial Rules: Enforce Rule 20 of the Judicature (Court of Appeal) Rules, prohibiting unauthorised registry interference.

It also demands for independent investigation, launches a transparent inquiry into the registrar’s actions, with disciplinary or legal consequences for procedural violations, protection of ULS’s mandate to safeguard ULS’s constitutional role in JSC nominations and statutory governance duties from further obstruction.

ULS also demands for Bar-Bench dialogue between the Judiciary and ULS by July 31, 2025, to restore trust and strengthen judicial independence.