Rev Charles Oode Okunya v Registered Trustees of the Church of Uganda
Rev Charles Oode Okunya v Registered Trustees of the Church of Uganda (Civil Suit No. 35 of 2020) [2021] UGHCCD 74 (30 June 2021)
The court held that the dispute was fundamentally religious, involving the revocation of the plaintiff's election as Bishop, and thus non-justiciable in civil courts due to the church autonomy doctrine and ministerial exception. The Registered Trustees of the Church of Uganda were not the proper party to be sued, as they do not play any role in the election or consecration of Bishops; such functions are reserved for the House of Bishops and the Archbishop. The plaintiff failed to exhaust internal church dispute resolution mechanisms as required by the Provincial Constitution. Furthermore, the…
Source excerpt
- Justiciability Of Religious Disputes
- Ministerial Exception Doctrine
- Proper Party Suing
- Age Requirement For Bishop
- Internal Dispute Resolution
- Church Autonomy