Uganda law students panic over EAC curriculum omission

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Uganda law students are up in arms over the non-inclusion of the East African Community (EAC) law into the Uganda school syllabus.

The Law Students Association of East Africa (LSAEA) filed the petition against the EAC secretary general, the Uganda Law Council and the Attorney General of Uganda.

The suit was filed last month in the East African Court of Justice, but it is yet to be allocated to a panel of justices for hearing.

The students lament that such an omission disadvantages Ugandan lawyers during practice, making them fall far behind colleagues in the regional law fraternity.

“The glaring omission results in law graduates from Uganda entering the legal profession with little or no formal knowledge of the foundational principles, institutions, laws and jurisprudence of the EAC,” LSAEA president Gideon Mwanje noted.

Mwanje says as a result, the graduates are ill-equipped to effectively advise on matters about EAC trade, investment and services.

He said such students also fail to represent clients before the EAC institutions, engage in meaningful cross-border legal practice within the community and contribute to the ongoing harmonisation and development of the EAC law. 

The students seek the court’s interpretation and application of the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC and its protocols, particularly concerning the alleged failure by the Ugandan government to ensure the comprehensive teaching and integration of the EAC law within the legal education curricula of Uganda law schools. 

The applicant contends that the omission constitutes a fundamental hindrance to regional integration, cross-border legal practice and the realisation of the objectives and principles enshrined in the Treaty.

“Legal professionals play a pivotal role in facilitating and sustaining regional integration. They are critical in advising individuals and businesses on cross-border transactions, resolving disputes within the regional framework and advocating for the effective application of the EAC law,” Mwanje said.

The applicant contends that the failure of the respondents to ensure the comprehensive teaching of the EAC law in Ugandan law schools contravenes the Treaty for the establishment of the EAC and its protocols.

Muwanje says they have engaged the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka and Uganda Law Council on incorporating EAC law in the curriculum, but their efforts did not yield fruit.

“We wrote multiple letters to both entities, highlighting the urgent need to incorporate EAC law into the curricula of Ugandan law schools, but they have not acted,” he said.

Prayers

The applicant seeks a declaration that the respondents, by failing to ensure the comprehensive teaching and integration of the EAC law as a mandatory component within the legal education curricula of law schools in Uganda, have acted in contravention of their obligations.

The students also want the court to issue an order compelling the Attorney General and Uganda Law Council to review and revise the legal education curriculum in Uganda to ensure that the EAC law is taught as a comprehensive, mandatory, and examinable subject in all law schools within Uganda.

They further seek an order compelling the Uganda Law Council to require 18 law schools to adopt, implement and integrate the revised curriculum, ensuring the effective and comprehensive teaching of the EAC law within a specified timeframe.

The students also want the court to direct the EAC secretary general to monitor and report on the compliance of Uganda with the orders and the treaty obligations regarding legal education harmonisation.