The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has criticized the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for excluding key stakeholders, including the ULS, from decision-making processes related to the appointment and promotion of judicial officers. This exclusion, according to the ULS, contravenes legal principles and undermines the commission’s effectiveness.
Dennis Kusasira, the newly appointed head of the desk tasked with accelerating reforms in the judiciary and the JSC, addressed ULS members during an event commemorating advocates as targets of tyranny at Kololo in Kampala. He stated that the JSC is not fully constituted and lacks the quorum necessary to perform its duties effectively.
“We have been locked out of the commission’s decision-making processes, which is against the law, and we will resist it,” Kusasira declared.
He highlighted the need to amend the Judicial Service Act to include all key stakeholders, noting that the 2005 regulations failed to incorporate the ULS, which was meant to drive necessary reforms.
Kusasira emphasized that the current JSC has limited impact due to the absence of ULS representation, the Public Service Commission, two non-lawyer members, and the Attorney General, who is supposed to serve as an ex-officio member.
Kusasira questioned how many lawyers had read the Constitutional Review Commission report by Justice Benjamin Odoki, describing it as “insane and illegal” to delegate the JSC’s duties to only five members. He expressed concern that the same five individuals also serve as commissioners, which he argued compromises the commission’s integrity.
He further criticized the regulations allowing only two people to appoint the Chief Justice and Deputy Chief Justice, calling them “bogus.”
Kusasira stressed that Parliament has a mandate to regulate the JSC’s duties, a responsibility he claimed is currently neglected. He noted that these regulations were never tabled before Parliament and urged immediate action to challenge them.
Kusasira, a prominent lawyer who previously contested to represent the ULS at the JSC before withdrawing, warned the judiciary to remain vigilant.
“Two people can form a quorum and make decisions against you,” he cautioned, emphasizing the ULS’s role as defenders of the judiciary.
He called on opponents of the proposed reforms to refrain from discouraging progress, stating, “Those trying to discourage us should remain silent.” Kusasira urged constitutional lawyers to boldly challenge these “bogus” laws, asserting that the independence of the judiciary begins with an independent appointing body.
