Rights
The 1995 constitution, with term and age limits removed by amendment
The 1995 constitution established a presidential republic with a justiciable bill of rights and a Constitutional Court. The 2005 amendment removed presidential term limits and the 2017 amendment removed the age limit, both upheld in substance by the Supreme Court.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Court of Appeal sitting as the Constitutional Court determines constitutional questions; the Supreme Court hears presidential election petitions and constitutional appeals.
- Deadline — Presidential term: five years, without limit on the number of terms since 2005
- Deadline — Presidential election petition: filed within fifteen days; the Supreme Court decides within 45 days
Governing law
- Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995as amended 2005 and 2017
- Constitutional Court (Petitions and References) Rules
- Human Rights (Enforcement) Act, 2019
In practice
Uganda's constitutional structure is distinctive in routing constitutional interpretation through the Court of Appeal sitting as a Constitutional Court, with appeal to the Supreme Court — a two-stage process that has made constitutional litigation slow. The 2005 and 2017 amendments removing term and age limits are the substance of most modern constitutional argument, and the Constitutional Court's annulment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 on quorum grounds is its best-known intervention.