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Judiciary |
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 Uganda portal |
TheSupreme Court of Uganda is the highestjudicial organ inUganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the1995 Constitution. It is primarily anappellate court with originaljurisdiction in only one type of case: apresidential election petition.[1]
The Supreme Court Building is located at Plot 2, The Square, onNakasero Hill. This is in theCentral Division ofKampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.[1] The coordinates of the Supreme Court Building are: 0°18'55.0"N, 32°34'47.0"E (Latitude:0.315278; Longitude:32.579722).[2]
The Supreme Court is headed by thechief justice and has ten other justices. The quorum required for a court decision varies depending on the type of case under consideration. When hearing a constitutional appeal, the required quorum is seven justices. In a criminal or a civil appeal, only five justices are required for a quorum.[1]
In the absence of the chief justice, the most senior member of the court presides. The court sits eight sessions a year with a break of two weeks between sessions to conduct research and write judgments. It has the power to uphold, reverse, substitute its judgment, or order a new trial when hearing an appeal from a lower court.[1]
As of 20 February 2025, the following justices sat on the Supreme Court:[3]
Among the controversial cases heard by the Supreme Court was in 2008 when the validity of thedeath penalty was contested. The case was heard on appeal from the constitutional court. The main appellant wasSusan Kigula who has since lost her appeal against her own death sentence for murdering her husband.[7]
Other cases include four of the last five presidential election petitions in which the court ruled 3:2 in 2001, 4:3 in 2006, 5:4 in 2011, and 9:0 in 2016 in favor of PresidentYoweri Museveni's re-election.[8]
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