Uganda High Court Challenges National Court’s Jurisdiction in the Interpretation and Application of the EAC Treaty (April 27, 2015) [1]
On April 27, 2014, the High Court of Uganda submitted a matter to the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) to determine whether national courts have the jurisdiction to interpret provisions of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community [3] (EAC Treaty). According to the press release [4], the senior state attorney representing the attorney general of Uganda argued that “Article 27 of the Treaty specifically provides initial jurisdiction to interpret and apply the provisions of the Treaty and that there is no similar provision conferring jurisdiction to interpret the Treaty on the National Courts.” The principal legal officer of the secretary general of the East African Community, on the other hand, noted that the attorney general’s view was different from that of the Republic of Uganda and argued that “the framers of the Treaty wanted the National Courts to participate together with the regional mechanism to ensure the Treaty is interpreted and complied with at National Level.” Moreover, “the Treaty for EAC has been domesticated under EAC Act 2002 section 3 which states that, ‘the Treaty as set out in the schedule of this Act shall have the force in the Law of Uganda’ and therefore the Treaty has acquired the force of law in Uganda and is applicable to National Courts.” Tanzania and Kenya have joined the case, with the former agreeing with the attorney general of Uganda and the latter contending that “Kenyan National Courts have jurisdiction according to Article 33(2) of the Treaty but [the article] has to be read with the Constitution depending on the subject of the dispute.” The parties await the decision of the Appellate Division of the EACJ.