Justice Centres Uganda is a Government project of the Justice, Law and Order Sector, hosted and supervised by the Judiciary of Uganda — providing free legal services to poor, vulnerable and marginalised Ugandans since 2009.
Who we are
JCU was established in 2009 to provide free legal services to the poor, vulnerable and marginalised individuals and communities of Uganda to realise their rights.
The JCU model seeks to empower vulnerable communities through quality, human-rights-based legal aid, community outreaches and advocacy — to claim their rights and demand policy and social change.
Together we are strong — JCU staff and partners in the field.
Free of charge
Beyond the courtroom
Our impact
Evidence-based advocacy is one of JCU’s foundations: a results-based monitoring strategy measures what the programme delivers — and holds it to account.
Our strategy
Set under JCU’s strategic plan, these four commitments answer the challenges and opportunities of delivering legal aid at national scale.
Enhance awareness of legal and human rights and empower communities to realise their rights.
Enable vulnerable individuals and communities to effectively resolve disputes using both litigation and mediation.
Undertake evidence-based advocacy for reform of laws, policies and practices to facilitate access to justice for the poor.
Strengthen JCU’s institutional capacity to deliver legal aid on behalf of the State.
The bigger picture
In Uganda, the State under the Constitution, is mandated to provide legal aid for persons accused of capital offences (ARTILCE 28(3)(e) of the Constitution). This is also known as the State Brief Scheme. However, the State Brief Scheme only caters for criminal cases but not all criminal cases – specifically capital offences. This essentially leaves out persons with civil matters and other criminal offences who cannot afford a lawyer. This makes it hard for such persons since court and legal processes and procedures are complex and one requires a lawyer to ably navigate the process.
This is key because rights awareness is low among many people – especially the indigent and vulnerable. Those who are lucky enough to know their rights might not be able to afford a lawyer. So, persons who cannot afford a lawyer or paid legal services are at a disadvantage because the state does not fully provide legal services to them.
However, there is no policy or legal framework that governs the various legal aid service providers. That’s why there is a need for a National Legal Aid Law. The law will address all aspects of legal aid:
Essentially, the objective for the creation of Justice Centres Uganda by JLOS and the Judiciary was to enhance, deepen and widen access of the poor, the marginalized and the vulnerable groups to justice in Uganda. In line with JLOS strategic objective, JCU was established to supplement the ongoing government interventions of the State Brief Scheme that catered for capital offences only.
Against this background, Justice Centres Uganda was established within the Judiciary by Chief Justice Circular number one of 2010 as a project of JLOS. The establishment of Justice Centres Uganda was done after a consultative process that was undertaken from 2006–2008. This process involved Civil Society Organisations, the Ministry of Justice & Constitutional Affairs, the Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS) and Development Partners. It is from this process that it was agreed that there was need for involvement of the State in the provision of legal aid to the people of Uganda. JCU was therefore established to provide lessons to support the development of a National Legal Aid Policy and Law, as well as the establishment of a comprehensive National Institution on Legal Aid.
The establishment of JCU has already made an impact for its indigent and vulnerable clients: In the years 2016-2020 approximately 2 Billion UGX has been recovered on the behalf of the clients of JCU.
Where we work
The National Coordination Office sits at the Judiciary Registry of Planning & Development, Plot 6 George Street, Kampala — with Justice Centres in Kampala, Fort Portal, Hoima, Jinja, Masaka, Mubende, Mukono, Mbale, Tororo, Lira, Bundibugyo, Kasese and Yumbe.
Together we are strong
Cooperation with stakeholders across the legal sector and public information supports our aim: advocating for and supporting the indigent and vulnerable to realise their legal rights.
