TABLE OF CONTENT
Declaration ................................................................................................................................ i
S . ' A I .. upervtsor s pprova ............................................................................................................. n
Table of content. ..................................................................................................................... iii
Dedication ............................................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................. vii
Acronyms ............................................................................................................................. viii
Abstract .................................................................................................................................. .ix
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................... !
1.3 MAIN INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 2
1.4: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................ 5
1.5 HPOTHESIS/RESEARCH QUESTIONS ......................................................................... 6
1.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................... 7
1.6.2 Main Objective ................................................................................................................ 7
1.6.2 Other Objectives .............................................................................................................. 7
1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................... 8
1.8 METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................. 8
1.9 DESK/LIBRARY RESEARCH ......................................................................................... 8
1.10 INTERVIEWS ................................................................................................................. 9
1.11 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................ 9
1.12 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 9
1.13 CHAPTERIZATION ..................................................................................................... 12
iii
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................ 14
2.2 The Origin of the doctrine of Judicial Independence ....................................................... 16
2.3 Principle of separation of powers vis-a-vis the doctrine of judicial independence .......... l6
2.5 The Concept of Judicial Independence in Uganda ........................................................... 21
CHAPTER THREE
3. 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 28
3.2 Appointment of Judicial officers ...................................................................................... 28
3.3 The Interference of the judicial functions by the executive arm of govemment ............. 31
3.4 Corruption in the Judiciary ............................................................................................... 34
3.5 The physical security of the judicial officers ................................................................... 39
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 41
4.2 The findings and analysis of the study and interpretation of the available data ............. .41
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 45
5.2 Appointment of Judges and other judicial officers ......................................................... .45
5.2.1 Involvement all stake holders in the process of appointment ...................................... .45
5.2.2 Establishing of an Independent Judicial Appointment Commission ........................... .46
5.2.3 Adopting of appointment by way of open competition after advertising .................... .46
5.2.4 making available of the information regarding the appointment to the civil society and
the media ................................................................................................................................ 47
ABSTRACT This is a study on the principle of judicial independence. This is a doctrine that has attained universal force which requires that in the performance of its functions, the judiciary must act independently. The judiciary is the only institution that is entrusted with the role to protect the freedom and liberty of persons by way of interpreting the law. It therefore means that for efficient protection of personal freedom and liberty the judiciary must not be subject to any person or authority in the exercise of its powers. The study looks at the origin or the genesis of the doctrine of judicial independence, its links with the British monarch rule and why it became important to separate the three arms of the government. It is fundamental that for the three arms of the government to act efficiently and meaningfully to the people, there has to be a clear separation of powers within the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. The separation of arms promotes independence of the arms and enhances checks and balances with high level of accountability. The judiciary being the sole organ with the constitutional mandate to interpret the laws, has high responsibility to protect the liberties and freedoms of the people granted under the law. This is a responsibility that can only be fully and meaningfully performed by an independent, fearless and impartial judiciary. The research looks into the legal basis of the doctrine of judicial independence. Legal provisions on the independence of the judiciary both at a national and international level are studied into extensively. The study of the legal basis of the doctrine highlights the basic principles of judicial independence. This include among others but not limited to the security of the tenure of judicial officers, financial security and autonomy of the institution, and protection from liability arising from the exercise of judicial powers. The study looks at the performance of judicial independence in Uganda and the reasons why the principle has not been fully effective in our local justice system. It is looked in this research to what level the comments acted independently and why the public still perceives the judiciary as not being independent. Interference by the executive arm, corruption and the level of openness in the appointing of judicial officers are some of the factors that have affected the efficiency of the national courts. The study finally looks into the possible solutions to the problems that have negatively affected the independence of the judiciary in the form of recommendations.
