Lawyers under the Uganda Law Society has petitioned the constitutional court over the alleged continued marginalization of the Judiciary by the Executive and Legislature .
The lawyers led by the Uganda Law Society President, Francis Gimara, claim the meagre budgetary allocations to the judiciary by both the Executive and Legislature hampers it from independently performing its core functions.
Gimara contends that the Minister of Finance’s instructions to the Secretary to the Judiciary to submit budget estimates for continuous cuttings is inconsistent with several provisions of the Constitution and has an adverse effect on the expeditious disposal of cases, which negates the fundamental human right to a speedy and fair trial.
The lawyers further accuse the other 2 arms of the government of neglecting their mandate to implement the judiciary's constitutional and self-accounting status by refusing to enact the Judiciary Administration Law which would ensure the financial independence of the judiciary.
The lawyers are seeking orders compelling the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister to present the Judiciary Administration Bill to parliament within one month and a permanent injunction restraining parliament from subjecting the submitted judiciary budget to further cuts.
Court is yet to summon the Attorney General who has been listed as a respondent to file his defence.
On 25th August 2017, judicial officers went on strike for 2 weeks while protesting low salaries and poor working conditions.
However, they temporarily called off their strike but promised to resume their industrial action in February this year if the government does not meet their demands.