Constitutional Court of Uganda - 2021 March

10 judgments
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10 judgments
Citation
Judgment date
March 2021
18 March 2021
EC's failure to review constituencies after censuses breached Articles 61 and 63; Parliament's county‑creation practice violated Articles 63 and 179.
Constitutional law — Electoral law — Article 63(1) (Parliament prescribes number of constituencies) vs Article 63(5) (EC must review/re‑demarcate within 12 months of census) — failure to review after 2002 and 2014 censuses unconstitutional; Parliamentary creation of counties/constituencies without following constitutional/local‑government procedures contravenes Articles 63 and 179; retention of one woman MP per district lawful under Article 78(2).
18 March 2021
18 March 2021
Parliament may set nomination fees; higher fees not automatically unconstitutional absent proof they unjustifiably limit the right to stand.
Constitutional law – public participation in legislation – no constitutional time‑frame; Electoral law – nomination fees – permissibility and proportionality of fees as regulatory measures not additional qualifications; Right to stand – derogable right subject to demonstrably justifiable limitations; Comparative practice in election law.
15 March 2021
Constitutional Court dismisses petition as res judicata; enforcement of rights and damages must be pursued in High Court.
Constitutional law – Article 137 – jurisdiction of the Constitutional Court limited to ‘‘questions as to interpretation’’; res judicata applies to constitutional interpretations previously decided. Separation of powers – Parliamentary inquiries and PAC reports cannot be relitigated where constitutional interpretation has already been determined; enforcement and factual disputes belong to ordinary courts under Article 50. Consent judgments – treated as contracts; can be set aside only on ordinary contractual/estoppel or illegality grounds in a competent court. Judicial accountability – judges are accountable to constitutionally mandated bodies (e.g., Judicial Service Commission) as clarified by higher court authority.
15 March 2021
The Court dismissed the applicants' challenge to Busoga leadership elections for lacking a constitutional interpretation question.
Constitutional jurisdiction – Article 137 – Constitutional Court’s jurisdiction limited to interpretation of the Constitution; disputes over cultural institution leadership (Article 246) are factual and may be pursued under Article 50 or by judicial review; res judicata where prior court decisions addressed the same constitutional questions.
15 March 2021
11 March 2021
9 March 2021
Applicant’s challenge to Government–company agreement dismissed for lacking constitutional interpretation and failing on merits.
Constitutional jurisdiction – Article 137 – requirement of a question as to interpretation; equality and non‑discrimination (Art.21) – limits of challenge where no statute is impugned; economic rights (Art.40(2)) – requirement to prove deprivation of right; public finance and guarantees (Arts.152–159, 153–154) – matters for judicial review/Parliament; procedural bars – prior dismissal and non‑joinder; right to fair hearing – necessity to join directly affected private party.
4 March 2021
Petition challenging closed party primaries and nominations struck out for lack of justiciable constitutional question.
Constitutional law – political parties – internal primaries and nominations – private party processes versus citizens’ voting rights; Justiciability and jurisdiction – whether exclusion from party primaries raises a constitutional question; Electoral law – candidate nomination and the limits of constitutional review of party internal affairs.
1 March 2021