Jurisdiction in Ugandan Private International Law: A Functionalist Critique

Abstract

Abstract

This article interrogates Uganda's judicial approach to adjudicatory jurisdiction in Private International Law (PIL). While the High Court asserts ‘unlimited jurisdiction’ under Articles 138 and 139 of the 1995 Constitution, this mandate frequently conflicts with statutory territoriality and the international standard of reasonableness in the conflict of laws, producing what the authors term a ‘jurisdictional paradox’. Existing Ugandan scholarship has examined jurisdiction largely through a doctrinal, constitutional lens, with limited engagement with the functionalist theory that underpins jurisdictional analysis in comparable common-law and EU systems; consequently, the tension between constitutional universalism and transnational legal certainty remains under-theorised. The article addresses this gap through a doctrinal legal research methodology, enhanced by a functionalist analytical framework drawn from Hartley's tripartite model of sovereign interest (statism), individual interest (party autonomy) and international interest (comity). Nineteen landmark decisions of the Ugandan superior courts, together with the 1995 Constitution, the Judicature Act, and the Civil Procedure Act, are audited against this framework. The authors argue for a conceptual shift from a territorial ‘power-oriented’ model of jurisdiction toward a ‘nexus-based’ system that balances State sovereignty, party autonomy, and international comity. The audit reveals that Ugandan courts consistently privilege sovereign interest over individual and international interest, that the ‘Tag’ rule of transient presence persists despite its incompatibility with the real-and-substantial-connection standard, and that this pattern produces judgments that are difficult to enforce abroad. The article concludes by proposing the enactment of a comprehensive Conflict of Laws Act, the reinterpretation of the High Court's unlimited jurisdiction as a doctrine of forum necessitatis, regional harmonisation within the East African Community, and reform of how private international law is taught and applied.