The 2017 new legal year began today in Uganda with a celebration that took place at the High Court in Uganda.
Welcome back from the holidays and Happy New Year. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and are geared up for the year ahead of us.
The President of the Ugandan Law Society (ULS) Francis Gimara, in his speech said that the new year we will focus on the theme “Combating Judicial Corruption, Restoring Professional Dignity and Promoting the Rule of Law.” He said that it will be achieved through having continuous meetings with ULS members aimed at promoting an ethical legal profession.
He said “We recently visited advocates in Gulu, Mbale and Mbarara to discuss ways in which we can work together to serve the Society better. We intend to continue with these visits in other parts of the country to help strengthen the profession as a whole.
We shall be strengthening the coalition on the independence of the judiciary and working with like-minded organizations to strive for judicial independence. Advocacy for the passage of the Judiciary Administration Bill is going to be very high on our agenda.
We shall roll out the implementation of the New Strategic plan for the Uganda Law Society 2017-2021.
There will also be robust follow up with the Judicial Service Commission to check the appointment, discipline and retirement of judicial service officials to ensure conformity with the law.
During this year’s pre-AGM we shall adopt the International Bar Association’s Judicial Anti-corruption compact that will help us deal with the issue of judicial corruption.
During this quarter, we will host the very first Annual Law Conference under the theme, “The Future of the Legal Profession”. The Conference will take place on the 30th and 31st of March 2017 at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel Entebbe just before the Annual General Meeting on 1st April 2017.”
He also pleaded with members to work with him to rid the profession of mafias.
The honourable Chief Judge Bart Katureebe, the honourable Speaker Rebecca Kadaga and members of the Judiciary were in attendance.
The Vice President of Uganda Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi was also president.
