The judges’ value for failed public curiosity litigation is flawed, Ssewanyana

Public interest litigation describes legal steps taken to protect or enforce the rights of members of the public or large parts thereof.

Ssewanyana spoke to lawyers to host members of the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity in Kampala.

Public interest litigation describes legal steps taken to protect or enforce the rights of members of the public or large parts thereof.

DISH|JUDGE|LITIGATION

KAMPALA – The human rights activist and founder of the Foundation of Human Rights Initiative, Dr. Livingstone Ssewanyana, has rejected decisions by judges increasingly awarding costs for unsuccessful public interest litigation.

“I think they are trying to reduce petitioners’ appetites so you have to be correct,” he warned members of the public and lawyers who want to take cases to court.

Ssewanyana spoke to lawyers in Kampala on Saturday (December 5th, 2020) to enroll members of the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity.

Public interest litigation describes legal steps taken to protect or enforce the rights of members of the public or large parts thereof.

Some of them involve litigation on grounds such as environmental protection, human rights and access to information.

Ssewanyana said previous litigation for these could only result in dismissal if judges saw no merit in the submitted case, but it is now becoming increasingly common for judges to award costs against petitioners.

Analysts warn that this could prove counterproductive in the long run and will discourage lawyers and members of the public from including these cases for decision as such cases are very expensive and tedious for petitioners. This could be a deterrent to democracy.

Recent public interest litigation in Uganda includes the Attorney General v Susan Kigula and 417 before the Constitutional Court in 2009 that resulted in changes to Ugandan law regarding the death penalty. and the 2005 Muwanga Kivumbi v. Attorney General, which led to the declaration of Section 32 (2) of the Police Act as unconstitutional, making it difficult for police to break off arbitrarily peaceful rallies.

Regarding the former [Susan Kigula Vs attorney General]Ssewanyana, who was the petitioner, said the case had a major impact on the legal system not only in Uganda but also abroad in countries such as Malawi and Kenya, and resulted in mitigation hearings for many people whose rights were violated.