Legal analysts warn that increasing the jurisdiction of lower courts without proportionately expanding human resources could simply transfer case backlogs from one level of the justice system to another.
The recent amendment to Uganda’s Magistrates Courts Act is expected to shift thousands of cases from the High Court to lower courts in a bid to ease case backlogs and improve access to justice. However, concerns are emerging over whether the Judiciary has sufficient personnel and operational courts to handle the increased workload.
Data from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) indicates that efforts have been made to strengthen staffing within the Judiciary. During the 2023/24 financial year, the commission recruited 127 judicial officers, including 11 High Court judges, two Chief Magistrates, and 93 Magistrate Grade One officers. In addition, 164 judicial officers were confirmed into substantive positions.
Despite these recruitment efforts, the Judiciary continues to face significant staffing gaps. According to the Sixth Judiciary Strategic Plan for FY2025/26–FY2029/30, only 37 percent of approved staff positions had been filled by the end of FY2024/25.
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The report shows that only 90 of the approved 150 High Court judge positions were occupied. Similarly, the Judiciary had 100 Chief Magistrates against an approved establishment of 160, while only 334 Magistrate Grade One officers were in place out of the approved 514 positions.
Legal analysts warn that increasing the jurisdiction of lower courts without proportionately expanding human resources could simply transfer case backlogs from one level of the justice system to another.
The Judiciary has already taken steps to expand court coverage. In June 2024, it increased the number of magisterial areas from 82 to 157 and expanded magistrates’ courts from 396 to 696. However, the institution noted at the time that many of the newly created courts would only become operational once additional judicial officers were recruited and deployed.
The challenge is further highlighted by Judiciary statistics showing that by the end of FY2024/25, only 58 percent of Chief Magistrates’ Courts and 20 percent of Magistrate Grade One Courts were operational.
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The Judiciary’s strategic plan also reveals that although Uganda has 900 gazetted courts nationwide, only 271 were operational by the end of the same financial year. This has raised questions about the readiness of lower courts to absorb the additional caseload anticipated under the amended law.
Parliament was informed that the reform could transfer approximately 34,481 pending cases from the High Court. At the same time, Chief Magistrates’ Courts are expected to receive an additional 14,975 cases, while Magistrates’ Courts could take on another 19,506 cases.
Observers argue that the true measure of the amendment’s success will not be the passage of the law itself, but whether it leads to faster case disposal and improved service delivery.
Current Judiciary figures paint a challenging picture. The average time taken to conclude a case stands at 935.5 days, with civil matters taking an average of 685 days and criminal cases averaging 1,186 days.
As the implementation of the amended Magistrates Courts Act begins, attention is likely to focus on whether the Judiciary can match the expanded jurisdiction of lower courts with adequate staffing, operational facilities, and resources needed to deliver timely justice.