Law Council

Ms. Margaret Nabakooza; Ag. SECRETARY LAW COUNCIL

The Uganda Law Council is established by Section 2 of the Advocates Act Charpter 267(as amended by Act 27 of 2002) as the overall Regulatory body of the Legal Profession in Uganda. The Uganda Law Council consists of ;— (a) A Judge, appointed by the Attorney General after consultation with the Chief Justice, who is the chairperson of the Council, (b) The Solicitor General or his or her representative, (c) The President of the Uganda Law Society; (d) The Director of the Law Development Centre

To act as the overall Regulatory Authority for the entire legal profession and Legal Aid Service Providers in Uganda”.

Inspect Law Chambers

The department does the following;

• Inspect all Law Chambers by or before 31st March of each year;
• Issue a Certificate of Approval of Chambers (CAC) for chambers that conform to the required standards prescribed by the Advocates (Inspection of Chambers) Regulations, 2005 within fourteen (14) days after inspection;
• Publish in the print media a list of both approved and non-approved law chambers by 31st August of each year; and
• Receive, process and respond to requests for information relating to law chambers within fourteen (14) days from the date of receipt of the request.

 Inspection of Universities Offering Law Degree Programmes.

The department does the following;

• Receive applications for accreditation of universities or institutions seeking to offer courses leading to the accord of law degrees and forward them to the Committee on Legal Education and Training for consideration within 5 days of receipt;
• Inspect the applicant universities or institutions within 90 days from the date of approval by the Committee;
• Undertake annual inspection of accredited universities by September of each year; and
• Inform the universities or institutions inspected of the decision of the Law Council within 14 days.

 Consideration of Foreign Legal Qualifications.

The department does the following;

• Receive applications for recognition of foreign legal qualifications and forward them to the Committee on Legal Education and training within a period of 5 days; and

Inform the applicant of the decision of the Committee within fourteen (14) days from the date of the decision

 Continuing Legal Education.

The department does the following;

• Receive reports on continuing legal education from the service providers and present them for consideration to the Committee on Legal Education and Training within 7 days from the date of receipt;
• receive applications for accreditation of training programs and submit to the
• Committee on Legal Education and Training within seven (7) days from the date of receipt; and
• Inform the applicant of the Committee’s decision within fourteen (14) days from the date of the decision.

Eligibility for Enrolment

The department does the following;

• Receive, process and respond to requests for any information relating to eligibility for enrolment within 5 days;
• Verify applications for eligibility for enrolment and issue a Notice to gazette with the Uganda Gazette within fourteen (14) days;
• Process the applications for certificates of eligibility to enroll as an advocate and submit to the Law Council for consideration within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the Notice of the Gazette;
• Display on the Notice Board a list of both successful and unsuccessful applicants within 5 days from the date of the decision;
• Process and forward a schedule (list) of successful applicants to the Chief Registrar, Judiciary, within 14 days from the date of approval.

  Disciplinary Matters

• Receive complaints and open files for the complainants upon assessment and proof of payment within 1 day;
• Process the complaint and notify the respective advocate or respondent within 5 days of the filing of the complaint;
• Give the advocate or respondent 21 days within which to respond to the complaint and file a response upon payment of the requisite fees;
• Fix the matter for hearing by the Disciplinary Committee within fourteen (14) days from the date of expiry of the response period;
• The Disciplinary Committee shall give its ruling within six (6) months from the last hearing; and

Extract a decree within 14 days after the ruling

  Legal Aid

The department is charged with the following;

• Receive, process and respond to requests for any information relating to legal aid within 5 days;
• Receive applications for registration of Legal Aid Service Providers and forward them to the Sub-Committee on Legal Aid within 7 days;
• Inspect all Legal Aid Service Providers by or before 31st March of each year;
• Issue Certificates of Approval to approved premises of Legal Aid Service Providers within fourteen (14) days after inspection;
• Prepare an annual comprehensive report on the inspection of Legal Aid Service Providers by the second week of December of each year; and
• Publish in the print media, a list of both approved and non – approved Legal Aid Service Providers by May of each year.

  Pro bono Services

The department does the following;

• Receive, process and respond to requests for information relating to Pro Bono services within 5 days;
• Require every advocate to provide 40 hours of pro bono / free legal services to an indigent person by December of each year;
• Prepare a report on advocates compliance with pro bono services requirement by the third week of January of each year; and
• Inform advocates who have failed to comply with the requirements of pro bono services by the second (2) week of December of every year.

Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs,

P.O.Box 7183, Kampala.

E-mail: info@justice.go.ug

Website: www.justice.go.ug