Kampala, Uganda (Running Africa) — Uganda’s judiciary has rejected a directive issued by the Uganda Law Society (ULS) instructing lawyers to stop addressing judges as “My Lord” and “My Lady” and to discontinue the longstanding practice of bowing in court.
The dispute has intensified a broader national debate over whether Uganda’s legal system should move away from courtroom customs inherited during British colonial rule.
The Uganda Law Society argues that the traditional forms of address are colonial-era practices that reinforce hierarchy and undermine the principle of equality before the law. The legal body says the proposed changes form part of a wider effort to decolonize Uganda’s justice system and make court proceedings more accessible and inclusive for ordinary citizens.
Judicial officials, however, have rejected the directive, maintaining that the Uganda Law Society does not have the authority to alter courtroom procedures or judicial protocol.
The judiciary has insisted that established standards of courtroom decorum, professional respect and judicial independence should remain unchanged unless modified through the appropriate legal and institutional processes.
Uganda’s legal system is largely based on the British common law tradition inherited at independence in 1962, with many colonial-era practices—including judicial attire, courtroom etiquette and forms of address—remaining part of the country’s judicial framework.
The debate mirrors a wider conversation taking place across Africa as governments, legal professionals and civil society organizations reassess institutions and traditions shaped during the colonial period.
Similar discussions have emerged in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi and Zimbabwe, where legal experts and reform advocates have questioned whether colonial courtroom customs remain relevant in modern democratic societies.
The disagreement underscores the broader challenge facing many African countries as they seek to balance respect for judicial tradition with growing calls for institutional reform, inclusivity and the decolonization of public institutions in the post-independence era.
