The Judiciary has established eight Court of Appeal Circuits across the country in a major reform aimed at bringing appellate justice closer to the people, reducing case backlog, and lowering the cost of accessing justice.
According to a press statement issued by the Judiciary on Saturday, the reform is also intended to decongest the Court of Appeal in Kampala, shorten appeal timelines, and improve efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of justice nationwide.
The Judiciary says the establishment of the circuits is anchored in Legal Notice Number 21 of 2025, The Constitution (Creation of the Court of Appeal Circuits) (Practice) Directions, 2025, which was issued on October 30th 2025 by then Chief Justice Emeritus, Justice Alfonse Chigamoy Owiny-Dollo, pursuant to Article 133(1)(b) of the Constitution.
Under the new arrangement, the Court of Appeal will sit in Arua, Fort Portal, Gulu, Jinja, Masaka, Mbale, Mbarara, and Mubende. The Judiciary notes that this will enable advocates and litigants to access appellate court services closer to their regions of residence and operation, significantly reducing travel costs and delays associated with attending court in Kampala.
In the statement, the Judiciary explains that the reform forms part of its broader commitment to strengthening access to justice, enhancing public confidence in the justice system, and improving service delivery across the country.
The Judiciary further indicates that the operationalisation of the Court of Appeal Circuits will be undertaken in phases, beginning with Gulu and Mbarara, upon completion of the construction of the respective courthouses.
As a transitional measure, the Judiciary says all appeals and constitutional petitions currently pending before the Court of Appeal in Kampala, which fall within the jurisdiction of the newly created circuits and have not yet been heard, will be transferred to the respective circuits once they become operational.
According to the Judiciary, the Kampala Court of Appeal will continue to handle appeals arising from the Family, Land, Criminal, International Crimes, Civil, Commercial, and Anti-Corruption Divisions of the High Court, as well as High Court circuits of Wakiso, Luwero, and Entebbe.
The statement outlines that Arua Circuit will serve Arua, Moyo, and Nebbi; Fort Portal Circuit will cover Fort Portal, Hoima, Kasese, and Masindi; Gulu Circuit will serve Gulu, Apac, Dokolo, Kitgum, Lira, and Patongo; while Jinja Circuit will cover Jinja, Bugiri, Iganga, Lugazi, and Mukono.
Masaka Circuit will serve Masaka, Rakai, and Mpigi; Mbale Circuit will cover Mbale, Pallisa, Tororo, Soroti, Kumi, and Moroto; Mbarara Circuit will serve Mbarara, Bushenyi, Ibanda, Kabale, Rukungiri, and Ntungamo; while Mubende Circuit will cover Mubende and Kiboga.
The Judiciary adds that each Court of Appeal Circuit will be composed of five Justices assigned by the Deputy Chief Justice. The Deputy Chief Justice, in consultation with the Chief Justice, will also designate a Head and Deputy Head for each circuit.
The Judiciary says the decentralisation of the Court of Appeal is expected to significantly improve timely, affordable, and effective access to appellate justice for Ugandans.
In 2022, Cabinet approved the construction of eight regional appellant Courts across the country in a bid to take justice closer to people.
The Chief Justice Emeritus, then indicated that Construction of regional Appellate Courts was to started that financial year in Mbarara and Gulu districts where they had already secured land. He said the project was later on expected to extend to Masaka, Arua, Mbale Jinja, Soroti, and Mubende districts in the subsequent financial years when the funds come in.
At the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of Gulu Regional Court of Appeal, it was alone expected to cost 30 billion shillings.
Currently, Uganda has a single Appellant court, which seats in Kampala and justice seekers have been travelling from border to border to reach Kampala in order for their Appeal cases to be heard.
The operationalization of these courts come at the time when Judiciary is struggling with a chronic problem of casebacklog and under staffing gaps.
The second Judiciary National Court Case Census report revealed three days ago by the new Chief Justice Dr Flavian Zeija indicated that the number of unresolved cases in the judiciary had a subject matter of 14 trillion shillings, all of this being money tied up in the economy and equivalent to Uganda’s GDP of 7 percent for 2024 .
According to the report, UGX 10.73 trillion of the total value is tied up in cases before the High Court, while UGX 3.36 trillion is held in cases before the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court.
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