Uganda 1995 Constitution
|The Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2000 |Current Constitutional Events|

Uganda's post independence history is characterised by political and constitutional instability with authoritarian rule, tyranny and dictatorship on one hand and revolutionary struggles for freedom, constitutionalism, rule of law and democracy on the other. The 1995 Constitution is a dividend of the peoples struggles and sacred blood for posterity. View Uganda 1995 CONSTITUTION

You can also access extracts of the the Draft Constitution and Report of the Uganda Constitutional Commission that was appointed to review the then Constitution, make proposals for a new Constitution and prepare a Draft Constitution together with the Uganda Constitutional Commission Statute 1988 (repealed). For researchers the earlier Constitutional Instruments that have shaped Uganda's constitutional history are available online:
 

 The Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2000

The Uganda Parliament passed the first amendment to the 1995 Constitution entitled the Constitution (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2000. The enactment of the constitutional amendment followed the nullification of the Referendum and Other Provisions No. 2 of 1999 by the Constitutional Court in Constitutional Petition No. 3 of 1999. The judgment of the Constitutional Court followed the judgment of the Supreme Court in Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2000. Go to judgment in Const Petition No. 3/99 and SC Const Appeal No. 1/2000

Against the above background, the Constitutional Amendment Act No 13 of 2000 was challenged in the Constitutional Court as being unconstitutional in Constitutional Petition No. 7 of 2000. The Constitutional Court in a majority judgment of three to two dismissed Petition No. 7 of 2000 and held that the Constitutional Amendment Act No. 13 of 2000 had properly amended Articles 88, 89, 90, 97 and 257 of the 1995 Constitution. See judgment in Const Petition No. 7/2000

The judgment of the Constitutional Court in Petition No. 7 of 2000 was appealed against in Constitutional Appeal No. 1 of 2002 to the Supreme Court and on 29th January, 2004 the Supreme Court declared the Constitutional (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 2000 as unconstitutional and accordingly struck it down as null and void. See SC Appeal Judgment in Const Appeal No. 1/2002 
 

 Constitutional Amendments

During the 2001 Presidential Election Campaigns, the Government of Uganda established a Constitutional Review Commission under the Commission of Inquiry (Constitutional Review) Legal Notice No. 1 of 2001. The Constitutional Review Commission completed its work on the 10th December, 2003 and submitted the Report of its Findings and Recommendations. View Report.

The Uganda Cabinet, after studying the Report, Findings and Recommendations of the Constitutional Review Commission, prepared a Government White Paper in September, 2004. View Government White Paper.

The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Uganda Parliament considered the Government White paper and submitted its report on the 20th December 2004. View the Report of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs on the Government White Paper on Constitution Review and Political Transition.

Parliament subsequently passed the Constitution (Amendment) Act 2005 and the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2005