Law Revision Act, 2020

1. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—“Commission” means the Uganda Law Reform Commission established by the Uganda Law Reform Commission Act;“Revised Edition” means any Revised Edition of the Laws of Uganda prepared under this Act.

2. Commission to prepare Revised Edition

3. Attorney General to approve printing and publication of Revised Edition

4. Bringing a Revised Edition into force

5. Validity of the Revised Edition

From the date the Revised Edition comes into force, all Acts, statutory instruments and legal notices included in the Revised Edition, or any volume of any of those documents, shall be taken for all purposes to be the laws of Uganda and shall be judicially noticed.

6. Revised Edition to be authentic text

The Revised Edition is in all courts and for all purposes the sole authentic text of the Laws of Uganda.

7. Continuance of text of revised laws for certain purposes

The inclusion or exclusion of a law from the Revised Edition does not affect any civil or criminal proceedings previously commenced under that law, but every such proceeding may be continued and concluded in all respects as if the law has not been so included or excluded.

8. Construction of references to repealed or amended enactments

Where in any enactment or in any instrument or document, reference is made to any written law which is repealed or otherwise affected by the operation of this Act, the reference shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be deemed to be a reference to the corresponding law comprised in a Revised Edition and all cross references in that enactment, instrument or document shall, where they are affected by the operation of this Act, be construed with such modification as circumstances require.

9. Contents of any Revised Edition

10. Powers of Commission

Subject to any directions that may be given in writing by the Attorney General, the Commission shall, in the preparation of a Revised Edition have the following powers—(a)to omit—(i)all Acts, statutory instruments, legal notices or any part of those documents which have been expressly repealed or which have had full effect;(ii)all repealing Acts, statutory instruments, legal notices or any part of those documents and all tables and lists of repealed enactments, whether contained in Schedules or otherwise;(iii)all amending Acts, statutory instruments, legal notices or any part of those documents where such amendments have been incorporated in the Act, statutory instrument or legal notice to which they relate;(iv)all preambles to Acts, statutory instruments, legal notices or any part of them, where the omission can, in the opinion of the Commission, conveniently be made;(v)all words of enactment in any Act, statutory instrument or legal notice;(vi)all provisions appointing the date when an Act, statutory instrument, legal notice or any part of those documents is to come into force, where the omission can, in the opinion of the Commission, conveniently be made;(vii)all statutory instruments made under the authority of Acts which have been repealed and not re-enacted;(viii)all Appropriation Acts and Supplementary Appropriation Acts;(ix)all statutory instruments granting remission of tax, customs tariff duties, excise duties and similar measures to the extent the omission is approved by the Attorney General by statutory instrument;(x)all statutory instruments which the Attorney General has, by statutory instrument, specified as inconsistent with any Act repealing and re-enacting the Act under which the statutory instrument was made;(xi)all expressions which have become obsolete as a result of constitutional changes or changes specified in Acts, statutory instruments, legal notices and substitute the expressions authorised by those changes;(b)to renumber sections, paragraphs and other subdivisions in an amended Act, statutory instrument or legal notice;(c)to redesignate legal notices as statutory instruments;(d)to arrange the Acts, statutory instruments and legal notices in any sequence and groups that may be convenient, irrespective of the dates of enactment;(e)to correct cross references;(f)to correct grammatical and typographical errors, and for that purpose, to make additions, omissions or alterations;(g)to make capitalisation consistent;(h)to make such formal alterations as to names, localities, offices and otherwise as may be necessary to bring an Act, statutory instrument or legal notice into conformity with the circumstances in Uganda;(i)to make reviser's notes and footnotes where necessary;(j)to add such indexes, tables and other editorial features as the Commission considers appropriate;(k)to provide editorial notes by way of amplification; and(l)to do all things relating to form and method which, in the opinion of the Commission, are necessary or useful for perfecting the Revised Edition.

11. No power to change substance and meaning

This Act shall not be taken to grant to the Commission the power to make any alteration or amendments in the substance of any enactment.

12. Power to modify references to UK Acts

Where in any law to be included in the Revised Edition, a reference is made to any enactment of the United Kingdom or England, the Attorney General may, by statutory instrument, direct that the reference should be omitted or that the law shall be modified in a particular manner taking into account changes, if any, in the law of Uganda.

13. Permanent Secretaries to furnish proposals

14. Volumes to be printed

The Revised Edition shall be printed in the number of volumes and format determined by the Commission.

15. Printing of Revised Edition

A Revised Edition shall be printed by the Government Printer.

16. Commission to prepare reprints

17. Saving in respect of Revised Edition before commencement of this Act

The first Revised Edition prepared under this Act may be brought into force notwithstanding that it was not prepared with the assistance of the persons referred to in section 2(3).

18. Consequential amendment of Acts of Parliament Act, Cap. 2

The Acts of Parliament Act is amended by repealing section 18.