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Attorney General v Uganda Law Society (Miscellaneous Cause 8 of 2024)

High Court · [2024] UGHCCD 213 · 2024 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking orders of prohibition and permanent injunction
Decision
Application granted. Orders of prohibition and permanent injunction issued preventing Uganda Law Society from convening EGM to discuss judicial conduct.

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the Uganda Law Society's decision to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting to discuss alleged judicial misconduct by a High Court judge was illegal, irrational, and procedurally improper. The Constitution vests the Judicial Service Commission with the mandate to receive and process complaints concerning the judiciary, not the Uganda Law Society. Judicial decisions can only be challenged through appeal, revision, or review, not through discussion at a general meeting. Orders of prohibition and permanent injunction granted preventing the meeting.

Outcome

Application granted. Orders of prohibition and permanent injunction issued preventing Uganda Law Society from convening EGM to discuss judicial conduct.

Facts

The Attorney General applied for judicial review after the Uganda Law Society (ULS) issued notice of an Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled for 12 January 2024. The EGM was requisitioned by 21 members (including Counsel Eron Kiiza) to discuss alleged judicial misconduct, incompetence, bias, and irregularities by Justice Byaruhanga Jesse Rugyema following his ruling in Hoima High Court Misc. Cause No. 24 of 2023 (AG v Kisembo Rugadya & 41 Others), where he ordered the Attorney General to deposit assessed compensation money for petroleum activities. The Attorney General, who sits on the ULS Council and is a Judicial Service Commission member, challenged the decision on grounds that: (1) ULS lacked mandate to discuss judicial conduct; (2) this power is constitutionally vested in the Judicial Service Commission; (3) the requisitioning member had already lodged a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission; and (4) the Attorney General was not consulted before the Council resolved to convene the EGM.

Issues

  1. Whether the decision to call the Extraordinary General Meeting is amenable to judicial review?
  2. Whether the Respondent is mandated to inquire into the conduct of Judicial Officers?
  3. What are the remedies available to the parties?

Orders

  • Application for judicial review allowed.
  • An order of prohibition is hereby issued against the Respondent from discussing the alleged judicial misconduct, incompetence, bias, irregularities and illegalities of His Lordship Byaruhanga Jesse Rugyema.
  • A permanent injunction is hereby issued restraining the Respondent from convening an EGM to discuss the alleged judicial misconduct, incompetence, bias, irregularities and illegalities of His Lordship Byaruhanga Jesse Rugyema threatening Tilenga Project Affected Persons vide High Court of Uganda Hoima Misc. Cause No. 24 of 2023: AG Vs Kisembo Rugadya and 41 others.
  • Given the nature and circumstances of this case, no orders as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Amenability — Exhaustion of Alternative Remedies
The rule on exhaustion of existing remedies before seeking judicial review is a rule of discretion and is stricter where the challenge is premised on the merits of a decision rather than the decision-making process. Where the challenge is directed against the decision-making process itself, judicial review may be the more preferable option given the particular circumstances of the case.
Judicial Service Commission — Exclusive Mandate — Complaints Against Judicial Officers
The Constitution of Uganda vests the Judicial Service Commission with the exclusive mandate to receive and process complaints concerning the judiciary and the administration of justice under Article 147(1)(d). No other body, including the Uganda Law Society, has authority to investigate or discuss complaints about the conduct of judicial officers in the exercise of their judicial functions.
Judicial Review — Illegality — Ultra Vires Acts
Where a statutory body acts outside the scope of its powers as defined by enabling legislation, even in purported exercise of a procedural power, such action constitutes an illegality amenable to judicial review. Section 16 of the Uganda Law Society Act, which permits members to requisition a general meeting, does not authorize the convening of a meeting to discuss matters outside the Uganda Law Society's statutory mandate.
Judicial Independence — Protection from Extra-Judicial Discussion of Decisions
Judicial decisions can only be challenged through the proper legal channels of appeal, revision, or review. They cannot be subjected to discussion or explanation outside the judgment itself by any body, including professional associations, as doing so amounts to an attack on judicial independence.
Judicial Review — Irrationality — Wednesbury Unreasonableness
A decision is irrational when it is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or accepted moral standards that no sensible person who had applied their mind to the question could have arrived at it. A professional body of lawyers convening a meeting to discuss and criticize a judicial officer's decision, when proper constitutional mechanisms exist for complaints and when the decision is appealable, constitutes an irrational decision amenable to judicial review.
Judicial Review — Procedural Impropriety — Failure to Consult Affected Council Member
Procedural impropriety occurs when a decision-making body fails to observe basic rules of natural justice or to act with procedural fairness toward persons who will be affected by the decision. Where a member of a Council who will be directly affected by the subject matter of a proposed meeting is not consulted before the Council resolves to convene that meeting, this constitutes procedural impropriety.

Legislation cited (21)

Cases cited (10)

  • Centre for Public Interest Law Ltd v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 91 of 2020)
  • Dr Lam Lagoro James v Muni University (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 7 of 2016)
  • Council for Civil Service Union
  • Dr Stella Nyanzi v Makerere University (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 304 of 2018)
  • Ojangole Patricia v Attorney General (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 303 of 2013)
  • John Jet Tumwebaze v Makerere University Council & Ors (Court of Appeal No. 78 of 2005)
  • John Ssentongo v Commissioner Land Registration & Others (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 13 of 2019)
  • Oyiki Sirino & Ors v Kampala University (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 129 of 2022)
  • Leads Insurance Company Ltd v Insurance Regulatory Authority (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 237 of 2015)
  • Attorney General v Yustus Tinasimiire & Others (Court of Appeal Civil Appeal No. 208 of 2013)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Attorney General v Uganda Law Society (Miscellaneous Cause 8 of 2024) [2024] UGHCCD 213 (9 May 2024)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.