The Uganda Bar Association (UBA) has directed lawyers across the country to stop bowing to judges and discontinue the use of colonial-era honorifics in courtrooms, describing the practices as outdated and incompatible with a modern justice system.
The directive took immediate effect following an executive order signed by the association’s president, Isaac Ssemakadde, on Tuesday to mark Saba Saba Day, which commemorates resistance against authoritarianism in East Africa.
In the order, the association said Uganda’s judiciary continues to grapple with challenges including executive interference, delays in the administration of justice, judicial corruption, selective justice and attacks on legal practitioners.
The UBA also accused the military of undermining judicial independence through unlawful arrests, invasions of court premises, the detention of civilians, obstruction of lawyers and journalists, and the trial of civilians before military courts.
According to the association, these concerns have been reinforced by colonial-era courtroom traditions that place judicial officers above ordinary citizens through compulsory displays of deference.
Under the new directive, lawyers are prohibited from bowing or engaging in any form of physical subservience before judicial officers.
The association also abolished the use of traditional courtroom titles such as “My Lord,” “Your Lordship,” “My Lady,” “Your Ladyship,” and “Your Worship.”
Instead, lawyers have been instructed to address appellate court judges as “Mr. Justice” or “Madam Justice,” High Court judges as “Mr. Judge” or “Madam Judge,” and magistrates as “Mr. Magistrate” or “Madam Magistrate.”Judicial officers may also be addressed by their surnames where appropriate.
The UBA further directed lawyers and litigants to “stand upright and speak as free citizens,” stressing that members should no longer participate in courtroom practices that it believes diminish citizens while elevating public officials.
As part of the reform agenda, the association announced plans to launch a nationwide consultation within the next 90 days to review judicial dress, courtroom language and other long-standing court traditions.
The consultation will consider whether colonial wigs, gowns and foreign-language requirements should be replaced with alternatives that better reflect Uganda’s history, culture and climate.
It will also review the judiciary’s client charter to ensure it is written in plain language and guarantees citizens the rights to dignity, timely justice, access to information and effective redress.
The reforms form part of the association’s broader campaign to decolonise Uganda’s legal system and promote a more accessible and citizen-centred administration of justice.