THE STRUCTURE OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN UGANDA

David J. Bakibinga, Makerere University, Uganda

 

 

 

 

            A.        HISTORICAL CONSPECTUS

 

The legal system in Uganda has been influenced by the English Legal system mainly because Uganda was a protectorate of the United Kingdom from 1894 to 1962. The content and structure of Legal Education in Uganda was consequently influenced initially by the set up in England.

 

Up to about the early 1960s, to qualify to practice law in Uganda, one had to be a Barrister or Solicitor trained in England or in a few cases, India, South Africa and Ireland.

 

In 1960 a Committee on Legal Education for students from Africa was set up by the Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom under the Chairmanship of the late Lord Denning. The Committee proposed the setting up of a Faculty of Law at the University College of Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). This was effected in 1961 and courses in law were offered leading to the award of the LL.B. degree of the University of London until the University of East Africa was set up. This provided an alternative avenue for legal education in Uganda. Nevertheless the idea of localising legal education persisted and in 1961 a Law School was set up at Entebbe, Uganda (then the capital of Uganda). The school's main objective was to train magistrates to man the then local courts. Additionally courses for Part I of the English Bar Examination were offered with successful candidates proceeding to London to pursue the Final Examination.

 

At about the sane time a Council for Legal Education comprising the Chief Justice as Chairman, Dean Faculty of Law University of Dar-es-salaam, Attorney General and two members nominated by he Law Society.  The Council was empowered by the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 1963 inter alia “to exercise general supervision and control over legal education in Uganda and to advise the Government in relation thereto.

                      

Subsequently, a decision was made to move the Law school at Entebbe to Kampala and in particular to be attached to Makerere University college. This led to the establishment of a Department of Law in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Makerere University College in June 1968. In July 1968 the Law Development Centre was established as a separate institution to take over the functions of the Law School at Entebbe.

 

Following the decentralisation of the University of East Africa into the Universities of Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania, Makerere in Uganda and Nairobi in Kenya, in 1970, the Department of Law at Makerere University became a Faculty.

 

 

            B.        PRESENT STRUCTURE OF LEGAL EDUCATION

 

1.         Admission Requirements

 

(a)        Entry into Faculty of Law

            To be admitted to read Law at the Faculty of Law Makerere University, a candidate must score at least two (2) Principal Passes at the Advanced Level Examination conducted by the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) leading to the award of a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Examination.

 

            Given the high competition for admission to the Faculty of Law, in practice, admissions on Government Scholarship have been passes normally at the grades of “A” and “E”.

            With the introduction of the Privately Sponsored and Evening Programmes, the cut off points have been relaxed for those categories of students.

 

            Additionally, the previous practice of restricting admission to students who had studied Literature In English, History and Economics was discarded following the Report on Legal Education Training and Accreditation in Uganda 1995. The result of this is that any candidate who satisfies the University Admission Requirements may be admitted into the Faculty of Law regardless of courses previously studied.

 

            For the LL.B. Course, therefore, admissions are open to:

 

(i)         Advanced Level Certificate Holders;

(ii)        Diploma Holders;

(iii)       Graduates of other Disciplines;

(iv)       Mature Age Entrants following an Examination conducted by the Institute of Adult and Continuing Education of the University.

 

            The first category comprises Advanced level Certificate School Leavers on merit with the two best passed subjects at “A” level carrying a multiplication factor of 3 (Essential), the third principal (relevant) carrying a weight of 2, General Paper and Subsidiary Mathematics carrying a weight of 1 and the fourth principal subject (other) carrying a weight of 0.5.

 

            The second category are holders of the Diploma In Law from the Development Centre with or without working experience and other diploma holders with at least a Second Class Diploma.

 

(b)               Entry Into the Law Development Centre

 

            By regulations made under the Advocates Act, 1970, to qualify for admission to pursue the Diploma in Legal Practice at the Law Development Centre (a perquisite for practicing Law in Uganda), a candidate must hold the LL.B. Degree of either of the Universities of Dar-es-Salaam, Makerere University, Nairobi or Zambia or be admitted as barrister or solicitor in the United Kingdom.

 

            Legal reform is underway to widen category of graduates who are eligible to pursue the Diploma In Legal Practice.

 

(c)        Entry into the Post Graduate School Makerere University

To qualify for admission to study for the LL.M. Course at Makerere University, a candidate must be a holder of at least a Second Class LL.B. Degree.

 

            Admission to pursue the Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) Course requires the candidate to be a holder of a Master of Laws degree of Makerere or other recognised University who had initially registered for the LLM degree and after one year of study has shown outstanding performance, may be admitted to pursue the LL.D. Course.

 

2.         Duration of Courses

 

(a)        Bachelor of Laws

            The LL.B. lasts 4 academic sessions or 8 semesters and should in any case be completed within 6 academic sessions or 12 semesters. For this purpose there is no difference between Day and Evening students.

(b)        Masters of Laws

            The minimum duration of the LL.M. course is four (4) semesters and a maximum of six (6) semesters.

 

(c)        Doctor of Laws

            The LL.D should be pursued over a minimum of two years and not more than five years.

 

(d)        Diploma In Legal Practice

            The Diploma in Legal Practice lasts one Calendar year. The recent Report on Legal Education in Uganda has proposed raising the period to two years. This is yet to be implemented.

 

3.         Curriculum

 

(a)        LL.B. Degree

A student is expected to undergo training in Courses offered by the Faculty of Law over a period of 8 semesters.  During the First Year, a total of ten compulsory courses are taken. They broadly cover Introducing Law and Legal Method.  Social Science Research Methodology, Constitutional Law & History, Criminal Law and Contract.

 

            The Second Year also covers ten compulsory courses with five in each semester.  They broadly cover Administrative Law, Equity & Trusts, Family Law & Succession, Land Law & Transactions, Torts and Estate Planning.

 

            The Third Year similarly comprises ten compulsory courses split equally among the two semesters. The courses broadly cover Evidence, Jurisprudence, Business Associations, Banking & Negotiable Instruments, International Trade, Sales and

            Business Transactions and Criminal procedure.

 

            The Final Year has two compulsory courses, namely the Research Paper and Civil Procedure. In addition, the student is expected to choose 3 optional courses per semester from a wide choice of courses which include International Law, Human Rights, Labour Law, Revenue Law & Taxation, Environmental Law, Intellectual Property Law to mention a few.

 

            To qualify for the award of the LL.B. Degree student should obtain an average Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0 and complete a total of 200 credits each credit being equivalent to 15 contract hours.  In percentage terms GPA of 2.0 is 50%.

 

(b)        LL.M. Degree

 

            A student is expected to undertake study of a minimum of four (4) courses per semester during the first year of study. A candidate who did not offer Jurisprudence at the LL.B. Level is expected to offer it at the LL.M. Degree level. The curriculum broadly covers Environmental Law, Gender and the Law, Human rights, International Law, Revenue Law and Taxation, International Trade, Intellectual Property Law, Refugee Law & Migration and Criminology and Penology, among others.

 

            In the Second Year the student curries out research on an approved topic and prepares a dissertation.

 

(c)        Formulation of Curriculum

The curriculum is formulated by academic members of the Faculty of Law and approved by a University Semate, following recommendation from the Faculty Board of Law.

 

(d)        Diploma In Legal Practice

The Curriculum covers Civil Proceedings, Commercial Transactions, Criminal Proceedings, Domestic Relations and Land Transactions. An oral examination is also conducted.  Students serve clerkship in Legal Chambers or offices for three months.

 

 

 

(C)        FACULTY

 

            Presently the Faculty of Law consists of about 32 lecturers including one Professor, 3 Associate Professors and 7 Senior Lecturers. All the Faculty are either graduates of Makerere University, University of London or University of Dar-es-Salaam, with postgraduate training undertaken in Universities in Europe, U.S.A. Canada, South Africa and Tanzania. Some have wide teaching experience in West Africa, United Kingdom, U.S. A., Tanzania and Zambia.

 

(D)       OUTLETS FOR LAW GRADUATES

 

            Most of the Law Graduates, following completion of the Diploma In Legal Practice, are either absorbed in the public service as State Attorneys Magistrates public Corporation Legal officers or find outlet in the private sector working with private Law firms, Companies or Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as FIDA and the Legal Aid Project.