The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee has been given seven days to scrutinise a proposed amendment to Uganda’s magistrates’ courts law, a reform the government says is critical to easing case backlog and bringing justice closer to ordinary citizens.
The proposed Magistrates’ Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was tabled for its first reading in Parliament on Thursday, March 12, 2026, by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Norbert Mao. The bill seeks to expand the powers and financial jurisdiction of lower courts to accelerate the resolution of civil and criminal disputes.
The proposed amendments target the Magistrates’ Courts Act, last comprehensively revised in 2007, and aim to strengthen the role of lower courts in handling a wider range of cases.
Under the proposed changes, Chief Magistrates’ Courts would handle civil disputes of up to 100 million Shillings, up from the current 50 million Shillings, while Magistrates’ Courts would preside over cases worth up to 50 million Shillings, up from 20 million Shillings.
Mao argues that expanding the jurisdiction of magistrates will enable more cases to be resolved closer to communities, thereby reducing pressure on the Judiciary, particularly the High Court, which currently handles many matters that could be decided at lower levels.
The bill also proposes several administrative and procedural changes aimed at streamlining court operations. These include removing references to the now-defunct Magistrate Grade II rank and aligning the law with the Judiciary’s updated service structure.
Another reform would empower Chief Magistrates to transfer cases mistakenly filed in the wrong court to the appropriate jurisdiction instead of dismissing them outright, a change expected to reduce costly delays for litigants.
The amendments also propose higher maximum fines that magistrates can impose in criminal cases, alongside transitional provisions that would allow certain High Court cases to be transferred to magistrates’ courts if they fall within the new pecuniary limits.
According to Mao, the urgency of the reforms is underscored by findings from the Judiciary National Court Case Census 2025, which highlight severe congestion in Uganda’s justice system.
The census indicates that 167,353 cases are currently pending across courts nationwide, with 46,542 cases classified as backlog. The High Court alone carries 70,006 pending cases, including 25,098 backlog matters, while the Chief Magistrates’ Courts account for 64,937 pending cases.
Even more concerning, the census found that 2,327 cases have remained unresolved for more than ten years, while civil disputes worth 14.2 trillion Shillings remain locked in litigation, capital that could otherwise circulate within the economy.
Immediately after the tabling of the bill, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, directed the committee, chaired by Stephen Baka Mugabi, to analyse the proposed legislation and present its report within a week to allow the House to proceed to the second reading.The proposed amendments align with priorities outlined in the Judiciary Sixth Strategic Plan (2025/26-2029/30), which identifies expanding magistrates’ jurisdiction and decentralising justice services as key strategies to tackle case backlog and improve access to justice.
The reforms are also anchored in Article 129 of the Constitution of Uganda, which establishes the structure of courts and mandates Parliament to legislate on their jurisdiction and powers.
If passed, the law could shift thousands of civil disputes from higher courts to magistrates’ courts, potentially accelerating case resolution while reducing litigation costs for ordinary Ugandans. URN