Wakilii

Sekyewa v Attorney General (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NO. 354 OF 2013)

High Court · [2017] UGHCCD 63 · 2017 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking mandamus and declaratory orders to compel implementation of statutory provisions
Decision
Application for judicial review dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that governmental inaction in making regulations required by statute is not amenable to judicial review where the enabling legislation prescribes no timeline for action, the government has not made a final decision not to act, and no emergency circumstances exist. Application dismissed.

Outcome

Application for judicial review dismissed

Facts

The applicant, an investigative journalist, sought access to wealth declarations submitted by Permanent Secretaries to the Inspector General of Government under the Leadership Code Act 2002. The IGG declined the request on grounds that no statutory form had been prescribed for public access and granting access might expose the IGG to litigation. The applicant applied for judicial review seeking declaratory orders that the government's delay in prescribing the statutory form and failure to operationalise the Leadership Code Tribunal were unjustifiable. Parties attempted mediation and agreed on a one-year grace period for Cabinet to approve amendment legislation, but the agreement failed. The applicant sought mandamus compelling the government to prescribe the form and operationalise the tribunal within six months.

Issues

  1. Whether governmental inaction in prescribing a form for public access to wealth declarations under the Leadership Code Act 2002 is amenable to judicial review.
  2. Whether the absence of a prescribed statutory timeline renders governmental inaction unreviewable by the courts.
  3. Whether failure to operationalise the Leadership Code Tribunal constitutes a justiciable decision.

Orders

  • Application dismissed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Scope and Limits — Review of Governmental Inaction
Judicial review is concerned with the decision-making process, not the decision itself. It is a supervisory jurisdiction exercised to ensure public powers are exercised in accordance with legality, fairness and rationality, not to vindicate rights as such or to substitute the court's view for that of the decision-maker.
Judicial Review — Reviewability of Inaction — Requirements for Justiciability
Governmental inaction or failure to implement a statute is generally not suitable for judicial review unless the applicant demonstrates that the respondent has made a firm final decision not to act, or unless the case involves extreme delay where the statute requires action within a specified timeline or emergency circumstances exist.
Judicial Review — Reviewability of Inaction — Absence of Statutory Timeline
Where enabling legislation confers discretionary power on a minister or government agency to make regulations but prescribes no timeline for action, and the government has not made a final decision refusing to act but is still considering the matter, the inaction is not amenable to judicial review.
Administrative Law — Discretion of Government Agencies — Judicial Reluctance to Interfere
Courts should be reluctant to exercise judicial review power over governmental delay in implementing statutory obligations because such review infringes on government agencies' discretion, except in extreme cases involving excessive delay where the agency is statutorily required to act within a specified time.

Legislation cited (11)

Cases cited (9)

  • Mwebaze v Makerere University Council and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 353 of 2005)
  • Kazibwe v Ssenyondo (Miscellaneous Application No. 108 of 2004)
  • Koluo and 2 Others v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 106 of 2010)
  • Chief Constable of North Wales Police Vs Heavens [1982] Vol. 3 All ER
  • Oil Chemical Atomic Workers Union Vs OSHA, 145 F 3d 120 (3rd Cir 1998)
  • Public Citizen Health Research Group v. Chao, 314 F.3d 143 (3d Cir) 2002
  • General David Sejusa v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 176 of 2015)
  • Environmental Defense Fund v. Hardin, 428 F 2d 1093, 1097 (D.C Cir 1970)
  • Environment Defense Fund Vs Ruckleshaus, 439 F. 2d 584 (D.C Cir 1971)

Full judgment

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

Sekyewa v Attorney General (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NO. 354 OF 2013) [2017] UGHCCD 63 (2 March 2017)
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.