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30 judgments found.
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December 2018
Court refused security for costs, finding a prima facie case and ordered the suit to proceed and be fast‑tracked.
Civil procedure — Security for costs — Whether an applicant should be ordered to furnish security for costs where the underlying suit raises serious fraud allegations and one respondent allegedly resides abroad — Court to assess prima facie merits from pleadings and affidavits
19 December 2018
10 December 2018
November 2018
Court adjudged the patient of unsound mind and appointed the applicant manager of his estate with bond and supervisory conditions.
Mental health — Administration of estates — Determination of a person of unsound mind by High Court inquiry supported by medical evidence
Administration of estates — Appointment of manager — Bond, restrictions on disposal and investment, inventory and annual accounting obligations
Mental Treatment Act Cap 279 — Administration of Estates of Persons of Unsound Mind Act Cap 155 — Administration Rules (procedure)
15 November 2018
Whether applicants may obtain an interlocutory injunction to restrain alleged disposal of estate pending challenge to letters of administration.
Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunction — Preservation of property pending suit under Order 41 CPR — Prima facie case, irreparable injury, balance of convenience
Probate/estate administration — Letters of administration — Allegations of fraudulent grant and disposal of estate land pending distribution
12 November 2018
October 2018
Whether a taxing officer’s award of advocates’ costs was justified and when a judge may disturb a taxation assessment.
Civil procedure — Taxation of costs — Validity of taxing master’s ruling and signature
Advocates' costs — Instruction fees — Filing pleadings as evidence of instructions and basis for instruction fees
Taxation — Judicial interference — Judge may only vary taxing officer’s discretion where wrong principle or manifestly excessive/low award
31 October 2018
Court refuses vacatur of caveat or title transfer absent hearing of caveator and proper estate administration.
Land law — Caveats — Vacatur — Court will not vacate a caveat where the caveator is not joined and not heard
Succession — Administration of intestate estates — Renunciation of letters of administration creates a management vacuum to be filled by Administrator General
Land registration — Mutation and transfer — Court will not order transfer where title remains in name of renounced administrator and no proper administration has been done
24 October 2018
Court allowed a non‑citizen to adopt an abandoned Ugandan child, waiving foreign clearance and prioritizing the child's best interests.
Family law
— Adoption — Inter‑country adoption and waiver of foreign clearance — Court discretion under Children Amendment Act ss 45–46
— Child welfare — Best interests principle and factors to consider in adoption — Children Amendment Act s 3
— Consent to adoption — Dispensation where biological parents are unknown
16 October 2018
Court granted international adoption after finding waiver of residence requirement justified and adoption in the children’s best interests.
Family law
— Adoption — Intercountry adoption by non‑citizen — Exceptional circumstances and waiver of statutory residence/fostering requirements — Children (Amendment) Act 2016 s 46
— Child welfare — Best interests principle — Paramount consideration in adoption proceedings — Children (Amendment) Act 2016 s 3(1)
11 October 2018
Applicants failed to establish irreparable harm for an interlocutory injunction over disputed intestate family land.
Civil procedure — Interlocutory injunctions — Criteria: prima facie case, irreparable harm, balance of convenience
Succession/Property — Intestate estate — Validity of dealings and conversions to registered title without letters of administration — Matters for full trial
8 October 2018
2 October 2018
Court permits adoptive parents to add their surname to adopted children's names as being in the children's best interests.
Family law — Adoption — Change of name of adopted child — Child's welfare as paramount consideration — Children Act and Constitution Article 34(1)
Civil procedure — Change of name procedure — Deed poll insufficient for adopted children — Court order required for amendment of official records
Administrative law — Registration of vital records — Direction to NIRA and Registrar of Births and Deaths to update particulars following court order
2 October 2018
September 2018
Non‑citizen applicants meeting statutory and foster‑care requirements may be granted adoption if in the child's best interests.
Family law — Adoption
— Eligibility of foreign nationals — Application of s.46 Children Act (requirements for non‑citizen adoption)
— Best interests of the child — Welfare principle and s.3 Children Act considerations
— Evidentiary weight of care order, probation officer recommendation and home‑study report
27 September 2018
Court appointed the biological mother guardian of her two children, imposing a UGX 500,000 bond and restrictions on estate dealings.
Family law — Guardianship
— Appointment of legal guardian — Best interests and welfare principle under The Children Act
— Management of minors' estate — Court-ordered non-cash bond and restrictions on disposal, leasing and investment
25 September 2018
Inter‑country adoption granted where petitioners met statutory requirements and adoption served the child’s best interests.
Family law
— Adoption — Inter‑country adoption by non‑citizen — Requirements under s45 and s46 Children Act (age/age difference, one‑year foster placement, good conduct, recommendation, recognition)
— Child welfare — Best interests principle — Application of s3(1) and s3(3) factors (ascertainable wishes, effects of change, health and developmental needs, parental capacity)
— Consent and alternative care — Effect of biological parents’ and grandparents’ consent, care order, probation officer and home‑study recommendations
25 September 2018
Applicants may cure affidavits defective due to a struck‑off advocate under Advocates Amendment Act s.14A client‑protection rule.
Civil procedure — Affidavits — Validity where commissioned by advocate struck off the roll — Effect of Advocates Amendment Act 2002 s.14A (protection of clients)
19 September 2018
Inter‑country adoption granted where applicants met Children Act requirements and adoption served the child's best interests.
Family law — Adoption
— Inter‑country adoption requirements under The Children Act — Age, residence, fostering period, good conduct and receiving state recognition
— Best interests of the child — Welfare principle as paramount in adoption decisions
Administrative law — Registration of adoption — Duty to record adoption and issue certificate; notification to Registrar General and Consular Department
17 September 2018
August 2018
Long‑term resident petitioners were permitted to adopt Ugandan children; court waived foreign home‑study and dispensed parental consent due to incapacity.
Family law — Adoption
— Intercountry adoption by non‑citizens — Waiver of home‑country recommendation where petitioners are long‑term residents with robust local assessments
— Best interests of the child — Welfare paramount; adoption appropriate after unsuccessful alternative and foster placements
— Parental consent — Dispensing with consent where biological parent is mentally incapable
24 August 2018
July 2018
Mother appointed guardian to mortgage children’s land for their welfare, applying the Children Act welfare principle.
Family law — Guardianship — Appointment of guardian to permit mortgaging infants' land to obtain loan for their welfare — Children Act s.3 welfare principle
Constitutional/constitutional practice — High Court jurisdiction — Inherent jurisdiction to grant remedies including guardianship orders — Article 139(1); Judicature Act s.14; Civil Procedure Act s.98
Children law — Administration of infants’ property — Welfare of the child paramount in decisions affecting administration
11 July 2018
Inter‑country adoption refused where statutory residence/fostering requirements unmet and material documentary and procedural deficiencies existed.
Family law — Adoption
— Inter‑country adoption — Compliance with section 46 residency and supervised fostering requirements
— Best interests of the child — Parental bonding, suitability and medical/documentary evidence
Family law — Procedure — Notice to absent fathers and support for vulnerable birth parents — Requirement for independent advice and adequate social work supervision
11 July 2018
Court refused inter-country adoption due to inadequate fostering, documentary inconsistencies, and procedural deficiencies, prioritising children’s best interests.
Family law — Adoption — Inter‑country adoption — Requirements under Children's Act s.46 and best interests of the child
Evidence — Documentary consistency and supervision reports — Importance of accurate birth records and supervised fostering
Procedure — Consent and protection of vulnerable biological parents — Need for independent counsel and timely publicity
9 July 2018
Non‑citizen petitioners met statutory requirements and adoption was found to be in the abandoned child's best interests.
Family law — Adoption — Eligibility of non‑citizen adoptive parents under s.46 — Residency, one‑year fostering, good conduct and recommendations required
Child welfare — Best interests — Welfare of the child paramount under s.3 — consideration of child's needs, effects of change and capacity of proposed parents
5 July 2018
June 2018
Court allowed adoption by foreign sole applicant, waiving 12‑month physical fostering requirement as exceptional in child’s best interest.
Family law — Adoption
— Waiver of statutory fostering requirement — Exceptional circumstances and best interests of the child
— Foreign adopter — Residency, suitability and recommendation requirements under Children Act ss.45 and 46
13 June 2018
May 2018
Second appellate court restored custody to the applicant after finding the first appellate court mis-evaluated evidence and erred on domicile and welfare.
Family law — custody of children — appellate review — duty of second appellate court to re-evaluate evidence where first appellate court failed; domicile — domicile by choice vs. citizenship; child welfare paramount over parental financial comparison; inadmissible reliance on unsupported findings of temperament.
31 May 2018
Court granted guardianship to the applicant as being in the children's best interests and ordered registration.
Family law — Guardianship — Granting legal guardianship in the best interests of the child — Children Act ss.43, 43B — Registration with URSB and NIRA
15 May 2018
Court declared a long-missing person presumed dead based on prolonged absence and corroborating police and local evidence.
Presumption of death; Registration of Persons Act s.47(2); sufficiency of evidence for presumption (prolonged absence, police report, newspaper notice, family and local council attestations); Civil Procedure Act s.98 and Order 52 Rules 1 & 2; effect of court declaration as equivalent to death certificate.
8 May 2018
April 2018
Court granted applicant limited legal guardianship to manage minors' land in their best interests.
Legal guardianship — jurisdiction to entertain guardianship applications — welfare of the child paramount — management and administration of minors' land — minors inability to contract — guardianship limited to property administration for best interests.
19 April 2018
March 2018
22 March 2018
Court allowed inter‑country adoption, waiving the foster‑care requirement as being in the child’s best interests.
Children law
— Inter‑country adoption — Waiver of statutory foster‑care and residence requirements in exceptional circumstances — Welfare of the child paramount
— Adoption — Fitness of adoptive parents — Home‑study, probation report and criminal clearances as evidence of suitability
— Adoption orders — Registration and issuance of adoption certificate by Registrar General; recognition by foreign authorities
22 March 2018
Decree nisi granted where the respondent’s abandonment, cruelty and adultery were established; costs awarded to the applicant.
Family law
— Divorce — Grounds for divorce — Adultery, desertion and cruelty as grounds for decree nisi
— Proof — Uncontested evidence and failure to file a defence — Effect of service and email acknowledgement
— Relief — Decree nisi and costs — Where marriage irretrievably broken down
20 March 2018
January 2018
Court allowed the applicants to adopt, waiving residency and fostering requirements for urgent medical and welfare reasons.
Family law — Adoption
— Intercountry adoption — Waiver of residency and fostering requirements in exceptional circumstances — Children Act ss 45–46
— Open adoption — Court’s inherent powers to permit continued contact where in child's best interests — Judicature Act s33; Civil Procedure Act s98
Children law — Welfare principle — Paramountcy of child's best interests — Medical necessity and stability as grounds for adoption
19 January 2018