Uganda Act or statute

Parliament of Uganda

Justices of the Peace Act

Jurisdiction: Uganda
Structure: 11 provisions
Citation: Chapter 17
Dates: Undated source snapshot

More statute details

Dates: Undated source snapshot

Source attribution: Source: Uganda Legal Information Institute

On this page

Professional statute overview

Enactment structure, operative effect and source provenance

Purpose and legislative effect

“The Minister may appoint residents who are Ugandan citizens or Commonwealth citizens as justices of the peace; every justice of the peace must take and subscribe the same oaths or affirmations as a magistrate on appointment.”

The Chief Justice may issue instructions and rules of court (so long as they are not inconsistent with this or any other Act) for guiding justices of the peace, and every justice of the peace must comply with and obey those instructions and rules. Every justice of the peace must keep accurate accounts of fees and money received for or on behalf of the Government, produce those accounts when required by the Auditor General or an officer authorised by the Minister, and render returns and pay the monies to the Treasury as the Minister directs. The Minister may appoint residents who are Ugandan citizens or Commonwealth citizens as justices of the peace; every justice of the peace must take and subscribe the same oaths or affirmations as a magistrate on appointment. A justice of the peace must, subject to the Act and within the limits of appointment, have and exercise the powers, rights, duties and jurisdictions vested in a justice of the peace by this Act or any other Act in force in Uganda. Justices of the peace must have the same powers and duties as magistrates (including administering oaths, releasing on bail, remanding in custody, taking affidavits, attesting signatures, certifying copies) and must exercise those powers and take the same fees on behalf of the Government; they may remand a person only for a single period not exceeding ten days, subject to subsection (2).

How the instrument operates

01
Start with the recorded version

Undated source snapshot. The date shown identifies this source expression and should not be treated as proof that no later change exists.
02
Locate the controlling provision

Use the provision map, part headings and full-text filter to move from the broad subject to the exact legal language.
03
Read conditions and exceptions together

Keep subsections, definitions, provisos and cross-references in context before drawing a legal conclusion.
04
Verify currency and official wording

Confirm later legislation, commencement notices and corrections with the official publisher before advice, filing or reliance.

Research entry points

Selected provisions across the instrument. Open any row to continue with the exact stored text.

1. Appointment of justices of the peace

The Minister may appoint residents who are Ugandan citizens or Commonwealth citizens as justices of the peace; every justice of the peace must take and subscribe the same oaths or affirmations as a magistrate on appointment.

Section 1

2. General powers of justices

A justice of the peace must, subject to the Act and within the limits of appointment, have and exercise the powers, rights, duties and jurisdictions vested in a justice of the peace by this Act or any other Act in force in Uganda.

Section 2

4. Power of justices to arrest

Justices of the peace have, within their local jurisdiction, the same powers of arrest as police officers for offences committed in their presence and must promptly bring arrested persons before the nearest magistrate or otherwise issue a warrant and notify…

Section 4

7. Issue of process or dismissal of complaint

A justice of the peace must immediately forward specified documents to the appropriate court when issuing process or when dismissing a complaint.

Section 7

9. Power of High Court to order further inquiry; appeal by person aggrieved

A High Court judge may order a subordinate court to inquire further into complaints dismissed by a justice of the peace; a person aggrieved may appeal to the High Court on payment of a fee prescribed by rules of court.

Section 9

Source and current-law status

Source record view

Stored legal source record · Undated source snapshot

Verify current force

The source record does not state a definitive current-law status. Check the official publisher and later amendments before relying on this text.

For advice, pleadings, or compliance decisions, retain the official source and confirm the current consolidated provision.

Source-indexed provision map

Sections and provisions

Search by section, heading, part or exact legal wording. Every result remains linked to the stored source record.

Search within this statute

Search all stored provisions in this version.

Showing 11 of 11 provisions

Provision 8Offence 3

§ 11. Appointment of justices of the peaceProvision

Section 1. Appointment of justices of the peace Section 1(1) The Minister may appoint under his or her hand, as occasion may require, any resident of Uganda being a citizen of Uganda or of a country of the Commonwealth to be a justice of the peace for Uganda or for any part of Uganda, whose appointment shall be notified in the Gazette . Section 1(2) Every justice of the peace shall on appointment take and subscribe the same oaths or affirmations as are required to be taken by a magistrate and in the manner prescribed by law for the taking of an oath or affirmation by a magistrate.

Section 1

§ 1010. Power of Chief Justice to issue instructions and rules of courtProvision

Section 10. Power of Chief Justice to issue instructions and rules of court Section The Chief Justice may issue instructions and rules of court not being inconsistent with this or any other Act, as may seem proper to him or her, for the guidance and control of justices of the peace in the exercise and performance of their powers and duties as such, and every justice of the peace is required to comply with and obey those instructions and rules.

Section 10

§ 1111. Justices to account for fees, etc. receivedProvision

Every justice of the peace must keep accurate accounts of fees and money received for or on behalf of the Government, produce those accounts when required by the Auditor General or an officer authorised by the Minister, and render returns and pay the monies to the Treasury as the Minister directs.

Section 11. Justices to account for fees, etc. received Section Every justice of the peace shall keep, in such form as may be required by the Minister, true and faithful account of all fees and money paid to him or her under this Act or any other Act or law for the time being in force authorising or requiring him or her to receive any fee or money for or on behalf of the Government, and shall produce all such accounts whenever so required by the Auditor General or other officer authorised by the Minister for that purpose, and shall render such returns and pay over to the Treasury all fees and money as aforesaid in such manner and at such times and through such officers as the Minister shall direct.

Section 11

§ 22. General powers of justicesProvision

Section 2. General powers of justices Section A justice of the peace shall, subject to this Act, have and exercise within the limits for which he or she is appointed, such powers, rights, duties and jurisdictions as are vested in a justice of the peace by this Act or by or in virtue of any other Act for the time being in force in Uganda.

Section 2

§ 33. Justices to have certain powers and duties of magistrates to administer oaths, etc.Provision

Justices of the peace must have the same powers and duties as magistrates (including administering oaths, releasing on bail, remanding in custody, taking affidavits, attesting signatures, certifying copies) and must exercise those powers and take the same fees on behalf of the Government; they may remand a person only for a single period not exceeding ten days, subject to subsection (2).

Section 3. Justices to have certain powers and duties of magistrates to administer oaths, etc. Section 3(1) A justice of the peace shall have the same powers and duties as a magistrate to administer oaths and affirmations, to release on bail, to remand in custody, to take affidavits, to attest signatures and to certify to copies of documents, and shall exercise those powers in like manner and take the same fees therefor on behalf of the Government. Section 3(2) A person remanded in custody by a justice of the peace shall be brought before a magistrate as soon as practicable. Section 3(3) Subject to subsection (2) , a justice of the peace shall only remand a person for a single period not exceeding ten days.

Section 3

§ 44. Power of justices to arrestOffence

Section 4. Power of justices to arrest Section 4(1) A justice of the peace shall, within the local limits of his or her jurisdiction, have the same powers of arrest as a police officer in respect of any offence committed in his or her presence; except that a justice of the peace shall, without unnecessary delay, take the offender or cause him or her to be taken before the nearest magistrate within whose jurisdiction the offence shall have been committed. Section 4(2) A justice of the peace may, at any time, arrest or direct the arrest in his or her presence within the local limits of his or her jurisdiction, of any person for whose arrest he or she is competent at the time and in the circumstances to issue a warrant, and shall, without unnecessary delay, take that person or cause him or her to be taken before the nearest magistrate within whose local jurisdiction that person shall have been arrested. Section 4(3) Whenever a justice of the peace arrests or causes any person to be arrested under subsection (1) or (2) and does not himself or herself take the person arrested before the magistrate, he or she shall issue a warrant under his or her hand in the form in the Schedule to this Act, and that warrant shall be sufficient authority to the person to whom it is directed to take the person arrested before the magistrate; and if the person shall have been arrested for an offence committed in the presence of the justice of the peace, the justice of the peace shall, without unnecessary delay, send to the magistrate a statement setting forth the facts relating to the offence and the names and addresses of persons known to him or her to have been witnesses to the commission of the offence.

Section 4

§ 55. Power of justices to take cognisance of an offence on complaint or police reportOffence

Justices of the peace may take cognisance of offences on a complaint or police report, but must be satisfied there is sufficient ground and are restricted from taking cognisance or issuing warrants except where conditions in law apply; fees payable if process would have been issued by a magistrate must be paid at that magistrate's court.

Section 5. Power of justices to take cognisance of an offence on complaint or police report Section 5(1) A justice of the peace may— Section 5(1)(a) upon receiving a complaint of facts which constitute an offence; or Section 5(1)(b) upon receiving a police report of such facts, Section 5(2) A justice of the peace shall not take cognisance of an offence unless he or she is satisfied that there is sufficient ground for proceeding; neither shall he or she issue a warrant unless the case is one in which, under the law of criminal procedure for the time being in force in Uganda, a warrant should issue in the first instance or he or she has reason to believe that the person accused has absconded or will not obey a summons. Section 5(3) Whenever, by the law for the time being in force, any court is prohibited from taking cognisance of any case except with the sanction or on the complaint of the Minister or a court or a public servant or any person, a justice of the peace shall not take cognisance of that case, except with the sanction or on the complaint required by that law. Section 5(4) If any fee would, under the law for the time being in force, have been payable if the process had been issued by a magistrate, the fee shall be paid by the person or persons liable to pay it at the court of the magistrate, before whom the process is returnable.

Section 5

§ 66. Examination of complainant by justiceOffence

A justice of the peace who receives a complaint must immediately examine the complainant under oath, record the examination in writing, and have it signed by both the complainant and the justice; but if the complaint is written and the justice is satisfied it shows sufficient grounds, the justice need not examine the complainant before issuing process to compel the accused's attendance before a magistrate.

Section 6. Examination of complainant by justice Section A justice of the peace taking cognisance of an offence on complaint shall at once examine the complainant upon oath, and the substance of the examination shall be reduced to writing and be signed by the complainant and also by the justice of the peace; except that when a complaint is made in writing, nothing in this section shall be deemed to require a justice of the peace to examine the complainant before issuing process for the purpose of compelling the attendance of the accused before a magistrate as provided in section 5 , if the justice of the peace is satisfied that the complaint shows sufficient grounds for proceeding.

Section 6

§ 77. Issue of process or dismissal of complaintProvision

A justice of the peace must immediately forward specified documents to the appropriate court when issuing process or when dismissing a complaint.

Section 7. Issue of process or dismissal of complaint Section 7(1) Whenever a justice of the peace issues process as provided in section 5 , he or she shall immediately forward to the magistrate before whom the process is returnable, the substance of the examination, if any, taken and signed as provided in section 6 or, if there is no such examination, the written complaint or police report on which the process has been issued. Section 7(2) Whenever a justice of the peace dismisses a complaint, he or she shall immediately forward to the High Court the written complaint, if any, and the substance of the examination taken and signed as provided in section 6 together with a statement of his or her reasons for dismissing the complaint.

Section 7

§ 88. Jurisdiction of magistrate on process issued by justiceProvision

Magistrates have the same jurisdiction when an accused is brought under section 4 or when a process from a justice is made returnable before them; if a magistrate lacks power to try or commit the accused they must issue process to a magistrate who is empowered; magistrates must not proceed with trial if required fees are unpaid unless lawfully remitted and may dismiss if fees remain unpaid within a reasonable time.

Section 8. Jurisdiction of magistrate on process issued by justice Section 8(1) A magistrate before whom any accused person is brought under section 4 , or before whom any process issued by a justice of the peace has been made returnable, shall have the like jurisdiction in the case as if the person had come before him or her on a process issued by himself or herself or as if the process issued had been issued by himself or herself. Section 8(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) — Section 8(2)(a) if the person is brought or the process is made returnable before a magistrate who is not empowered to try the accused or to commit the accused for trial, that magistrate shall immediately issue process returnable before a magistrate duly empowered to try or commit the accused for trial; Section 8(2)(b) when by any law for the time being in force any process fee or other fees are payable, the magistrate shall not proceed with the trial of the case until the fees are paid, unless the fees are lawfully remitted; and if the fees are not paid within a reasonable time, the magistrate may dismiss the complaint.

Section 8

§ 99. Power of High Court to order further inquiry; appeal by person aggrievedProvision

Section 9. Power of High Court to order further inquiry; appeal by person aggrieved Section 9(1) A judge of the High Court on examining any record required by section 7(2) to be forwarded to the High Court may direct any court subordinate to the High Court to make, and that court shall then make, further inquiry into any complaint which has been dismissed by a justice of the peace. Section 9(2) A person aggrieved by an order made by a justice of the peace dismissing a complaint may appeal to the High Court against the order, upon payment of such fee as may be prescribed by rules of court.

Section 9

Legislative relationships

0 referenced instruments

Names are derived from the stored provision headings and citation-enrichment layer. Treat this as a research index and verify each relationship against the source text.

No structured legislative relationships were detected

The statute remains fully searchable by provision. Consult the source text for amendments and cross-references that have not yet been indexed.

Recorded versions and source checkpoint

1 version available in this collection

Current-law checkpoint

Undated version · currentEnglish

This relationship view does not by itself establish whether another instrument remains in force.

Source-linked research

Ask AI about this statute

The overview, provisions, and source records above are public. Continue in a separate conversation with this statute’s jurisdiction and source version attached.