The Supreme Court of Uganda is the highest judicial organ in Uganda. It derives its powers from Article 130 of the 1995 Constitution. It is primarily an appellate court with original jurisdiction in only one type of case: a presidential election petition.
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Location
The Supreme Court Building is located at 10 Upper Kololo, at the corner with Mabua Road, on Kololo Hill. This is in the Central Division of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The coordinates of the Supreme Court Building are: 0°19'45.0"N, 32°35'23.0"E (Latitude:0.329165; Longitude:32.589725).
Overview
The Supreme Court is headed by the chief 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 appellate case, the required quorum is seven justices. In a criminal or a civil appeal, only five justices are required for a quorum.
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.
Composition
As of 31 December 2015, the following justices sat on the Supreme Court:
Cases heard
Among the controversial cases heard by the Supreme Court was in 2008 when the validity of the death penalty was contested. The case was heard on appeal from the constitutional court. The main appellant was Susan Kigula who has since lost her appeal against her own death sentence for murdering her husband.
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 President Yoweri Museveni's re-election.