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Center for food and adequate living rights v Attorney General of Uganda and Another (Misc Cause No. 436 of 2019)

High Court · [2022] UGHCCD 87 · 2022 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Constitutional enforcement application under Article 50(2) seeking declarations and orders regarding regulation of unhealthy food marketing to children
Decision
Application dismissed on preliminary objection for prematurity

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed on preliminary objection an application seeking declarations that government failure to restrict unhealthy food marketing to children violated constitutional rights. The Court held that where the Uganda Communications Act provides a statutory complaints mechanism through the Uganda Communications Commission, an applicant must exhaust that remedy before approaching the High Court. The application was premature because the applicant had not first filed a complaint with the Commission as required under Section 5(1)(j) of the Act.

Outcome

Application dismissed on preliminary objection for prematurity

Facts

The applicant, Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights, brought a constitutional enforcement application seeking declarations that government failure to regulate marketing and advertising of unhealthy foods to children violated children's constitutional rights to adequate food, health and safety. The applicant sought multiple orders including bans on unhealthy food marketing to children, amendments to advertising standards, and nutrition labelling regulations. The application was brought under Article 50(2) of the Constitution and related legislation against the Attorney General and the Uganda Communications Commission. The 2nd Respondent raised three preliminary objections, including that the application was prematurely brought because the applicant had not first filed a complaint with the Commission as required by the Uganda Communications Act 2013. The 1st Respondent was served but did not file a response.

Issues

  1. Whether the 2nd Respondent is a right party to be sued in this application and whether the application is properly before Court
  2. Whether the application was prematurely brought before Court against the 2nd Respondent
  3. Whether the 2nd Respondent's failure and omission to restrict marketing, broadcasting and advertisement of unhealthy foods to children threatens and is in violation of their right to adequate food, health and safety
  4. Whether the advertising standards are a threat and in violation of children's rights to safety, health and adequate food

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs to the 2nd Respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Administrative Law — Exhaustion of Statutory Remedies — Requirement to Use Complaints Mechanism Before Court Action
Where a statute provides a specific complaints mechanism and procedure, a party must exhaust that statutory remedy before filing an action in court.
Administrative Law — Uganda Communications Commission — Mandatory Complaints Procedure
Under Section 5(1)(j) of the Uganda Communications Act 2013, the Uganda Communications Commission is mandated to receive, investigate and arbitrate complaints relating to communications services before a matter can proceed to court or tribunal.
Civil Procedure — Preliminary Objections — Prematurity — Applications Brought Before Exhausting Statutory Remedies
An application is premature and liable to dismissal where the applicant has not first pursued the statutory complaints mechanism provided by the relevant legislation before approaching the High Court.

Legislation cited (27)

Cases cited (7)

  • Attorney General v Major General David Tinyefuza (Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 1997)
  • Environmental Action Network Ltd v Attorney General and Another (HCMA No. 39 of 2001)
  • Abudu Katuntu v MTN and 6 Others (HCCS No. 248 of 2012)
  • Sewanyana Jimmy v Kampala International University (HCMC No. 207 of 2016)
  • Charles Nsubuga v Eng. Badru Kiggundu and 3 Others (HCMC No. 148 of 2015)
  • Bernard Mulage -v- Fineserve Africa Limited & 3 Others Petition No. 503 of 2014
  • Speaker of National Assembly -v- Ngenga Karume [2008] 1 KLR 425

Full judgment

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

Center for food and adequate living rights v Attorney General of Uganda and Another (Misc Cause No. 436 of 2019) [2022] UGHCCD 87 (25 May 2022)
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.