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Beke, Dirk. Legislation and Decentralisation in Uganda: From Resistance Councils to Elected Local Councils with Guaranteed Representation

By analyzing the legislation process of decentralization in Uganda, Dirk Beke aims in this chapter to contribute to legal anthropology in the field of public law in Africa. He conducts his analysis not through a discussion of formal legal procedures in Uganda, but through examination of the legislative process in its political and social environment, as well as through exploration of the impact of the new rules on Ugandan society and government. More specifically, Beke looks at the origin, objectives, recent evolution, and implementation of legislation concerning decentralization in Uganda. Decentralization is an important component of the wider policy reform that started in 1986 after more than twenty years of dictatorship and civil war. While Beke does deal with certain elements of traditional leadership in his analysis, he focuses on the political environment and the role of other local actors, such as non-governmental organizations and foreign donors.

Community Service in Uganda

On November 6th 2001, the Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda announced the official implementation of Community Service orders in Uganda. The announcement marked the culmination of several years of development and preparation. Originally intended to lower prison populations and provide more humane treatment for offenders, the new policies provide space for participation by victims and the community, while creating room for the growing use of restorative process.

Deputy Chief Justice Of Uganda. National Community Service Committee

Community service is part of penal reform in this country, which will ultimately contribute to the improvement of the rule of law in the country. The decision to include community service among punishments for offences in the crime was taken for various reasons.

Hovil, Lucy and Quinn, Joanna. Peace First, Justice Later: Traditional Justice in Northern Uganda

The following report seeks to engage in the current debate on issues of post-conflict reconstruction and appropriate mechanisms of justice within northern Uganda. It begins by outlining both the goals of any reconstruction phase, as well as defining the two words, peace and justice. It then argues that there is a clear order in which they should happen: peace needs to be secured before justice can be decided upon and carried out. This sequencing explains, in part, the apparent contradictions that emerged both between different individuals, and within the same interview: the separating out of restorative and retributive aspects of justice is seen to be false. It therefore considers the current and potential role of traditional, or localised, mechanisms of justice within the conflict zone and in any future period of transition. While findings indicate that many individuals still recognise the relevance of such mechanisms, they are currently seen to have future rather than current value: there was consensus that many of the values and processes underpinning traditional mechanisms have been displaced along with the people of the conflict-affected area. That said, many are of the opinion that they should play a significant role in any postconflict phase. The report is based on field research conducted in October and November 2004, and March 2005, predominantly in the northern districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader. A total of 109 interviews were conduced with a wide spectrum of individuals, including local government officials, religious and cultural leaders and, most importantly, civilians currently living in the IDP camps. (Author's abstract)

Liebmann, Marian. Developing a Ugandan Victim-Offender Mediation Model

Marian Liebmann has worked in the criminal justice field with victims and offenders for more than twenty years. Her experience includes involvement with restorative justice and mediation training in general, and with Mediation UK in particular. In this pamphlet she looks at the development of victim-offender mediation in Uganda. The project originated with Save the Children (UK) in Uganda. From working with children, members of this organization felt that awareness of victims and restorative justice was inadequate in Uganda. This led to an effort in August 2002 to train community leaders and Local Council (Village) courts in victim-offender mediation skills. Liebmann describes the legislative background in Uganda to the project, the structure of the training, and her participation as a trainer.

Liebmann, Marian. Restorative Justice in Uganda and Russia

This paper is based on one training visit to Uganda in 1999 and two training visits to Russia, one in 1999 and the other in 2001. The reflections are drawn from personal experience and therefore may not convey the total picture in these countries.

Liebmann, Marian. Visit to Uganda 31 July- 28 August 2002. Victim Offender Mediation Skills Training Full Report

As indicated in the title, this paper is Marian Liebmann's report on her visit to Uganda in 2002 to conduct skills training in victim offender mediation. This visit followed a trip to Uganda by Liebmann in 1999, at the behest of the Restorative Justice Initiative, in which she provided training for criminal justice professionals. Subsequent to that, Save the Children (a UK organization with work in Uganda) asked Grace Kiconco Sirrah of Restorative Justice Initiative to write a manual to be used to train people all around Uganda in victim offender mediation. The impetus for this manual and training was the Children Statute 1996 in Uganda, a significant and promising piece of legislation, but poorly understood and practiced because there was little awareness of victims' rights and needs or of restorative justice. Liebmann reports on her involvement in the testing of the use of this manual for training in Uganda. In particular, she describes in detail the pilot training project over a three-week period in various locations in Uganda.

Liu Institute for Global Issues.. Roco Wat I Acoli. Restoring Relationships in Acholi-land: Traditional Approaches to Justice and Reintegration.

This report, Roco Wat I Acoli, provides a much needed analysis of what traditional justice in northern Uganda is, how it is currently practiced and what value it could add. It documents existing practices of traditional justice in 16 internally displaced persons camps in Northern Uganda. It further examines how some of these rituals have been adapted to promote the reintegration of former rebels. It does so in order to provide an initial assessment of whether or not traditional rituals and ceremonies could be further adapted in the context of the enduring 19-year old conflict. (excerpt)

Minister of Internal Affairs. Statutory Instrument. The Community Service Regulations

Statutory instrument regulating the use of community service orders in Uganda.

National Community Service Committee . Workshop Report for the National Community Service Programme

A workshop to review the National Community Service Project document covering the pilot phase was held on December 17-18, 2001 at the Jokas Hotel near Kampala.

National Community Service Committee. Community Service Programme: An Update National Community Service Committee.

This document provides an overview of the efforts to establish the use of community service orders in Uganda.

Sita, N. Masamba and Edanyu, G. Wilson. Awareness and attitude of the public towards community service: Research Sub-Committeexe2x80x99s report

This document stems from a pilot research project on community service. The research had two aims: (1) gather public opinion about the introduction of a community service law in Uganda; and (2) evaluate different activities carried out since 1997 related to the actual introduction of community service. Data on public opinion were collected through a questionnaire (the questions and analysis of the collected data are in the report) and administered to a representative sample of the population in Uganda. The questions sought information on how people heard about the community service initiative and what they thought of it.