Uganda\u2019s judiciary has pushed back against a directive by the country\u2019s lawyers\u2019 association instructing its members to stop addressing judges as \u201cMy Lord\u201d or \u201cMy Lady\u201d and to abandon the longstanding practice of bowing before them.<\/p>\n
In the directive, the Uganda Law Society (ULS) said such \u201cfeudal and colonial honorifics\u201d elevate judicial officers above citizens, \u201cwho are in reality their employers\u201d.<\/p>\n
But judiciary spokesperson James Ereemye told the BBC that the ULS had no authority to tell judges \u201cwhat to do or say\u201d and would continue to \u201cdemand the known decorum\u201d from lawyers.<\/p>\n
Like many former British colonies, Uganda inherited its legal system and many courtroom traditions from the UK.<\/p>\n
The ULS, the professional body which represents advocates, said the \u201carchaic\u201d colonial structure had contributed to the \u201cfailure\u201d of Uganda\u2019s judicial system.<\/p>\n
The society said colonial courtroom practices \u201cforce Ugandans into postures of humiliation as the powerful enjoy comfort and deference\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe practice of bowing or any other form of physical subservience before judicial officers is henceforth prohibited for all members of the Uganda Law Society,\u201d it said in a statement signed by its president Isaac Ssemakadde.<\/p>\n
It added that as part of reforms aimed at \u201cdecolonising justice and restoring dignity to the people\u201d, lawyers should stop addressing judges and magistrates with titles such as \u201cMy Lord\u201d, \u201cYour Lordship\u201d, \u201cMy Lady\u201d and \u201cYour Worship\u201d.<\/p>\n
Instead, lawyers should use plain forms of address such as \u201cMr Justice\u201d, \u201cMadam Justice\u201d, \u201cMr Judge\u201d, \u201cMadam Judge\u201d, \u201cMr Magistrate\u201d or simply refer to judicial officers by their surnames where appropriate.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll advocates and litigants appearing before any court or tribunal shall stand upright and speak as free citizens,\u201d the ULS added.<\/p>\n
Responding to the directive, Ereemye, the judiciary spokesperson, said the courts were an independent arm of government and could not be instructed by any outside body.<\/p>\n
He dismissed the ULS as \u201cjust a section of young people who have failed to know the principles of agenda setting in management and administration\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have a point, you use the appropriate forum for discussion and when you make a good case, it forms part of the policy or the policy,\u201d added Ereemye.<\/p>\n
Across Africa, lawyers and other legal practitioners have long debated whether colonial-era courtroom traditions, including wigs and robes, should be abandoned as part of broader efforts to reform judicial systems.<\/p>\n
In 2011, Kenya\u2019s then-Chief Justice Willy Mutunga criticised the judges\u2019 dress code and chose to take his oath of office in a suit.<\/p>\n
Similar debates have emerged in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Ghana, where critics argue that some colonial-era court practices and attire are no longer appropriate for modern Africa.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Uganda\u2019s judiciary has pushed back against a directive by the country\u2019s lawyers\u2019 association instructing its members to stop addressing judges as \u201cMy Lord\u201d or \u201cMy Lady\u201d and to abandon the longstanding practice of bowing before them. In the directive, the Uganda Law Society (ULS) said such \u201cfeudal and colonial honorifics\u201d elevate judicial officers above citizens, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146298\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}