Uganda

• The Constitution of 1995, the highest law
• Acts of Parliament
• English common law and equity, received by statute and applied by the courts
• Customary law, and Islamic law for Muslims in family matters, if not contrary to justice or the Constitution

• The Supreme Court at the top
• The Court of Appeal, which also sits as the Constitutional Court
• The High Court, magistrates' courts and local council courts

A law degree, then the Bar Course at the Law Development Centre and admission as an advocate by the High Court.

• The Constitutional Court is not a separate court but a role the Court of Appeal takes on.
• Local council courts, led by elected local officials, hear small disputes at village level.
• Customary law applies only where it does not conflict with the Constitution or basic justice.
• Uganda's courts still cite English cases, but they are persuasive, not binding.

Kenya, Tanzania, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Ghana

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Uganda as: Common law, Customary. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Ghana, Grenada, India, Ireland, Jamaica.

• The Judiciary of Uganda
• ULII: Uganda Legal Information Institute

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.